cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Model spinal cord injury system trends, and implications for the future

Abstract In the 25 years since the federally designated Model Spinal Cord Injury Systems program was started, many changes have occurred. The systems have increased in number and location and have changed in composition. Data are available on approximately 19,000 acutely injured traumatic spinal cord injured individuals, with more than 117,000 total records. This volume of data allows analysis of many trends affecting the care of people with spinal cord injuries. The time span covered by the database allows comparison of various time periods, including the most recent decade—during which managed care has emerged as a dominant force in health care evolution. This article summarizes these trends, based on information in the articles in this special issue devoted to the Model Spinal Cord Injury Systems. Finally, this article offers an analysis of future implications for SCI care in general and the federally designated Model Spinal Cord Injury Systems program in particular.
Anomaly Detection in Aircraft Gas Turbine Engines

ERFORMANCE,reliability,andoperationalﬂexibilityarecriticalrequirementsofcomplexmechanicalsystems,suchasaircraftpropulsion,andtheserequirementsmayvarywithdifferentmissionperspectivesduringtheservicelife. In spite of meticulous engineering design, complex systems do eventually degrade and often fail to yield theanticipatedperformanceduringthelaterphasesoftheiroperationallife.Recently,muchattentionhasbeendevotedtocondition-based maintenance using the online information of sensor-based observables. For example, life extendingcontrol
Impact of Instructional Strategies on Motivation and Engagement for Simulation-Based Training of Robot-Aided ISR Tasks

The U.S. Army projects a considerable increase in the number of operational Unmanned Ground Systems (UGS) within the next ten years. There is a need to enhance UGS capabilities to support remote Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) operations involving the identification of High-Value Individuals (HVI). Emerging UGS capability requirements will inevitably result in new or revised training requirements. The U.S. Army identifies Simulation-Based Training (SBT) as a required training platform for robot-aided ISR tasks utilizing UGSs. In order to implement an effective SBT system, there are several factors to consider related to training systems design and trainee needs. Factors addressed in this study include the selection of effective SBT instructional strategies and the impact on trainee motivation and engagement. Results from this study contribute to design and future research recommendations regarding SBT for robot-aided ISR tasks.
VLSI Implementation of Motion Centroid Localization for Autonomous Navigation

A circuit for fast, compact and low-power focal-plane motion centroid localization is presented. This chip, which uses mixed signal CMOS components to implement photodetection, edge detection, ON-set detection and centroid localization, models the retina and superior colliculus. The centroid localization circuit uses time-windowed asynchronously triggered row and column address events and two linear resistive grids to provide the analog coordinates of the motion centroid. This VLSI chip is used to realize fast lightweight autonavigating vehicles. The obstacle avoiding line-following algorithm is discussed.
CGEF-1 and CHIN-1 regulate CDC-42 activity during asymmetric division in the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo.

The anterior–posterior axis of the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo is elaborated at the one-cell stage by the polarization of the partitioning (PAR) proteins at the cell cortex. Polarization is established under the control of the Rho GTPase RHO-1 and is maintained by the Rho GTPase CDC-42. To understand more clearly the role of the Rho family GTPases in polarization and division of the early embryo, we constructed a fluorescent biosensor to determine the localization of CDC-42 activity in the living embryo. A genetic screen using this biosensor identified one positive (putative guanine nucleotide exchange factor [GEF]) and one negative (putative GTPase activating protein [GAP]) regulator of CDC-42 activity: CGEF-1 and CHIN-1. CGEF-1 was required for robust activation, whereas CHIN-1 restricted the spatial extent of CDC-42 activity. Genetic studies placed CHIN-1 in a novel regulatory loop, parallel to loop described previously, that maintains cortical PAR polarity. We found that polarized distributions of the nonmuscle myosin NMY-2 at the cell cortex are independently produced by the actions of RHO-1, and its effector kinase LET-502, during establishment phase and CDC-42, and its effector kinase MRCK-1, during maintenance phase. CHIN-1 restricted NMY-2 recruitment to the anterior during maintenance phase, consistent with its role in polarizing CDC-42 activity during this phase.
Adipocyte-Like Differentiation in a Posttreatment Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma

We describe a 16-year-old boy with rhabdomyosarcoma, consistent with embryonal subtype, of the lower extremity who received systemic neoadjuvant chemotherapy and subsequent excision. Microscopic sections of the postchemotherapy excision demonstrated diffuse, prominent, and immature adipocyte-like differentiation, in addition to skeletal muscle differentiation. Adipocyte-like differentiation was confirmed by a combination of positive Oil Red O and adipophilin immunohistochemical staining. To our knowledge, this represents the first report of an unusual phenomenon of differentiation of a soft tissue rhabdomyosarcoma into adipocyte-like cells after chemotherapy.
Dynamical spacetime symmetry

According to the Coleman-Mandula theorem, any gauge theory of gravity combined with an internal symmetry based on a Lie group must take the form of a direct product in order to be consistent with basic assumptions of quantum field theory. However, we show that an alternative gauging of a simple group can lead dynamically to a spacetime with compact internal symmetry. The biconformal gauging of the conformal symmetry of n-dimensional Euclidean space doubles the dimension to give a symplectic manifold. Examining one of the Lagrangian submanifolds in the flat case, we find that in addition to the expected SO(n) connection and curvature, the solder form necessarily becomes Lorentzian. General coordinate invariance gives rise to an SO(n−1,1) connection on the spacetime. The principal fiber bundle character of the original SO(n) guarantees that the two symmetries enter as a direct product, in agreement with the Coleman-Mandula theorem.
Prognosis in Schizophrenia as Related to Treatment

In the preceding chapters, we have described and evaluated the predicting power of prognostic factors associated with the rehospitalization or absence of rehospitalization of schizophrenics. As you have seen, our research raises serious questions as to the validity of some of the existing prognostic indicators, particularly in the light of the new approach to the treatment of schizophrenics in the community.
An Austrian Inquiry into the Wealth of Nations

This paper reviews our combined experiences teaching a graduate-level course in development economics. Our goal is to provide an overview of the course with an emphasis on the connection with Austrian themes. Due to the natural trajectory of the field of development economics, a course in this area provides a unique opportunity for the instructor to incorporate certain elements of Austrian economics.
Basis of the Stereospecific Preference of Porcine Kidney Fibroblasts for d-2-Hydroxy-4-Methylthiobutanoic Acid as a Source of Methionine

In previous studies we have found that porcine kidney fibroblasts will grow in medium containing D-2-hydroxy-4-methylthiobutanoic acid (D-methionine hydroxy analogue, D-MHA) as the sole source of methionine but not in medium containing the L-isomer (L-MHA) alone. The fibroblasts have been found to have both D-2-hydroxy acid dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.99.6), which uses D-MHA as substrate (Km = 6.0 mM) and L-2-hydroxy acid oxidase (EC 1.1.3.1), which uses L-MHA as substrate (Km = 7.1 mM). These two activities should make it possible for the fibroblasts to grow on either isomer. Only one protein band with L-2-hydroxy acid oxidase activity can be detected with enzyme-specific staining of protein profiles obtained after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme L-2-hydroxy acid oxidase from porcine kidney has properties that are different from the two porcine isozymes reported previously by others. Passage of DL-[14C]MHA at tracer levels into the porcine kidney fibroblasts in culture is reduced to 31% of control in the presence of 3.75 mM D-MHA, 86% of control with 3.75 mM L-MHA and 65% with 3.75 mM D-lactate but is not affected by up to 3.75 mM L-lactate. It appears that the transport specificity is the basis for the growth promotion of kidney fibroblasts by the D-isomer of MHA as opposed to L-MHA when each is used as the sole source of methionine.
Autoxidation and Antioxidants. Basic Principles and New Developments

Abstract There is no doubt that liquid-phase hydrocarbon autoxidation is one of the most thoroughly understood reactions in organic chemistry. Our knowledge of the elementary reactions involved in ...
Wittgenstein and Perception

Nine papers and an introduction comprise this important collection of new essays arising from a conference on Wittgenstein's philosophy of perception held at King's College, London in 2011. The int...
Influence of thermosonication on Geobacillus stearothermophilus inactivation in skim milk

Abstract The influence of high intensity ultrasound coupled with thermoprocessing on the inactivation of Geobacillus stearothermophilus vegetative cells and spores in skim milk powder was explored using response surface methodology and two polynomial models were developed. Optimization of cell reduction (4.8 log) was found to be at 19.75% total solids (TS), 45 °C, and 30 s, while optimization of spore reduction (0.45 log) was found to be at 31.5% TS, 67.5 °C, and 17.5 s. Model verification experiments were performed using common milk powder processing conditions. Results showed the inactivation of cells and spores to be most effective before (9.2% TS, 75 °C, and 10 s) and after (50% TS, 60 °C, and 10 s) the evaporator during milk powder processing and may produce an additive effect in microbial reduction when the two locations are combined, resulting in a 5.8 log reduction for vegetative cells and 0.51 log reduction for spores.
Modeling and Numerical Analyses of Skin Design Concepts

This paper examines dierent skin designs (lled honeycomb, honeycomb with facesheet, honeycomb with scales, stretched membrane) for morphing aircraft application with numerical experiments. The points of comparison are the energy required to deform the skin and the out-of-plane displacement under a given pressure distribution. Some of the designs have been presented before, other present new results for the design of passive exible skin for morphing aircraft applications. The properties of each design are evaluated with both analytical and numerical analyses. All the designs are compared based upon their respective Pareto fronts corresponding to minimization of both actuation energy and out-of-plane displacement under constant and uniform pressure.
El Real Tribunal de Minería de Lima (1785-1821)

Estudio de dicho real tribunal desde su creacion (1785) a su abolicion (1821). Enmarcado dentro de la linea del reformismo ilustrado con elementos arcaicos e innovadores que por su contradiccion interior y el momento historico conflictivo en que se desenvuelve le van a conducir al fracaso el autor lo estudia institucionalmente y en su incidencia respecto al desarrollo de la mineria peruana y de los problemas que esta tiene planteados (financiacion preparacion tecnica politica minera y general creacion de bancos y companias).
Attachment of CdSe Nanoparticles to TiO2 via Aqueous Linker-Assisted Assembly: Influence of Molecular Linkers on Electronic Properties and Interfacial Electron Transfer

CdSe nanoparticles (NPs) capped with cysteinate (Cys), 3-mercaptopropionate (MP), and mercaptosuccinate (MS) were adsorbed to TiO2 from basic aqueous dispersions. Native capping groups served as molecular linkers to TiO2. Thus, the materials-assembly chemistry was simplified and made more reproducible and environmentally benign. The electronic properties of CdSe and the electron-transfer reactivity at CdSe-linker-TiO2 interfaces varied with the structure and functionality of the capping groups. Cys-capped CdSe NPs exhibited a narrow and intense first excitonic absorption band centered at 422 nm, suggesting that they were magic-sized nanocrystals (MSCs) with diameters less than 2 nm. MP- and MS-capped CdSe NPs had broader and lower-energy absorption bands, which are typical of regular quantum dots. Photocurrent action spectra of nanocrystalline TiO2 films functionalized with Cys-CdSe, MP-CdSe, and MS-CdSe overlaid closely with absorption spectra, indicating that excitation of CdSe gave rise to the injectio...
Die Bestimmung der Nucleinsäuren inChlorella-Kulturen

Der Einflus der Extraktionsbedingungen auf die Bestimmung der Nucleinsauren beiChlorella pyrenoidosa wurde untersucht. Hohe Temperaturen und Perchlorsaure-Konzentrationen beschleunigten die Extraktion, verursachten aber gleichzeitig betrachtliche Verluste an, colorimetrisch mit der Indol- und Diphenylreaktion bestimmbaren DNS-Komponenten. Daruber hinaus enthielten diese Extrakte gros Mengen von Kohlenhydrat- und Proteinspaltprodukten, welche bei der UV-Absorption und der colorimetrischen Bestimmung von RNS und DNS storten.
Investigation on lymphocyte micronucleus and chromosome aberrations of 150 cases of radiation workers in Tongling City

Objective To investigate the change peripheral blood lymphocytes micronuclei and chromosomal aberration rate among sadiation workers,to provide a basis for the protection of radiation.Methods Peripheral blood lymphocyte chromosome aberration rate and micronucleus rate of 150 radiation workers were detected with conventional methods.Results The incidence of micronuclei and chromosomal aberrations in medical group and industrial group were 8.5%,2.9% and 4.5%,2.9% respectively.The incidence increased with the length of service.Conclusion The low-dose ionizing radiation had a certain impact on the genetic material of radiation workers.Different exposure conditions could result in different degreie injuries of radiation.
Gold Implantation in Silicon: Mos C-V Characterization

Gold-doping by ion implantation offers an attractive alternative to conventional diffusion processes that are currently used to control minority carrier lifetime. This study reports on the effect of gold implantation on the properties of silicon as determined by a C-V analysis of MOS capacitors. The capacitor dielectric was formed by oxidation of the implanted wafer at 900°C. The three effects typical of gold-doping, i.e. substrate compensation, negative interface charge and reduced minority carrier lifetime are all observed. The redistribution of the electrically active gold between the interface and the bulk was studied as a function of dose, anneal temperature and time and substrate orientation and type. In each case, the results were typical of those previously reported for gold-doped capacitors formed by conventional diffusion processes. Gold doping by ion implantation appears to be viable process.
Micromorphology of polygenetic soils in a small watershed, north central Kansas, U.S.A.

Abstract Wehmueller, W.A., Ransom, M.D. and Nettleton, W.D. 1994. Micromorphology of polygenetic soils in a small watershed, north central Kansas, U.S.A. In: A.J. Ringrose-Voase and G.S. Humphreys (Editors), Soil Micromorphology: Studies in Management and Genesis. Proc. IX Int. Working Meeting on Soil Micromorphology, Townsville, Australia, July 1992. Developments in Soil Science 22, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 247–255.
- Kin 1/2: Kin1 and Kin2 (S. cerevisiae)

Kin1 and Kin2 are closely related gene products from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Deletion of both KIN1 and KIN2 results in no apparent phenotypic defect. Kin1 autophosphorylates on serine and threonine, and phosphorylates a-casein on serine and threonine. Kin1 and Kin2 are also closely related to the SpKin1 gene product of Schizosaccharomyce pombe. Subunits of Kin1 and Kin2 have 1064 and 1148 amino acids, respectively, in their structure. The database accession numbers of Kin1 and Kin2 for EMBL are M69017 and M69018.
Women, Literacy, and Domesticity in the Public Imagination

This chapter lays out the cultural contexts for female literary production in England and the Low Countries, analyzing key works by humanists and reformers on the division between the public and private realm, the nature of the household and domesticity, and female literacy and writing. The chapter examines English and Dutch household theory, most of which displayed Puritan and Protestant reformers’ interests in a new kind of household that mimicked the public realm in its political organization yet also provided a specific intimate space in which women could become teachers and discipliners of their children and servants. The second section of this chapter turns to representations of women in domestic settings in Dutch and English painting, with particular interest in images that represent female literacy. These cultural contexts reveal instability in seventeenth-century constructions of domesticity and the household that created openings for female literacy and self-expression.
Using data compression for buried hazard detection

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) based detection systems have used a variety of different features and machine learning methods to identify buried hazards and distinguish them from clutter and other objects. In this study, we describe a new feature extraction method based on Kolmogorov complexity and information theory. In particular, a three dimensional subset of GPR data centered at alarm location is partitioned into two-dimensional non-overlapping cells. Then, each cell is compressed using gzip and a feature vector is formed from the file sizes of the compressed cells. Finally, an SVM classifier is trained on compression features. The proposed method is applied to data acquired from outdoor test sites containing over 3800 buried hazards, including nonmetal and low-metal targets. The performance is measured by use of ROC curves and compared against four algorithms. These algorithms are based on geometric features and are fused with a powered geometric mean method. The compression-based algorithm outperforms the other individual methods. We also tested different fusion algorithms involving combinations of these five algorithms. The best combination, the product of compression algorithm and two of the others, dominates the current state of the art solution by a significant margin.
Influence of injection-induced cooling on deviatoric stress and shear reactivation of preexisting fractures in Enhanced Geothermal Systems

Abstract Cold water injection into a hot, fractured, geothermal reservoir may trigger shear activation of pre-existing fractures that can help to enhance reservoir permeability, but may also result in unwanted seismicity. In this paper, we investigate through numerical modeling of a hypothetical geothermal reservoir how injection-induced cooling may influence the potential for shear activation, paying special attention to the evolution of deviatoric stress under various stress regimes. In each case, we consider either a reservoir with homogeneous hydraulic properties or the presence of a more permeable fracture zone intersecting the injection well. This fracture zone is either oriented in the maximum (SHmax) or minimum (Shmin) horizontal stress direction. Our main finding is that depending on the configuration, injection-induced cooling stresses can favor or prevent shear reactivation of the preexisting fracture, and this effect can vary temporally and spatially.
Ligand-Promoted Palladium-Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidation Reactions

Palladium-catalyzed aerobic oxidation reactions have been the focus of industrial application and extensive research efforts for nearly 60 years. A significant transition occurred in this field approximately 20 years ago, with the introduction of catalysts supported by ancillary ligands. The ligands play crucial roles in the reactions, including promotion of direct oxidation of palladium(0) by O2, bypassing the typical requirement for Cu salts or related redox cocatalysts to facilitate oxidation of the reduced Pd catalyst; facilitation of key bond-breaking and bond-forming steps during substrate oxidation; and modulation of chemo-, regio-, or stereoselectivity of a reaction. The use of ligands has contributed to significant expansion of the scope of accessible aerobic oxidation reactions. Increased understanding of the role of ancillary ligands should promote the development of new synthetic transformations, enable improved control over the reaction selectivity, and improve catalyst activity and stability...
A Dynamic Multistage Stochastic Unit Commitment Formulation for Intraday Markets

As net-load becomes less predictable there is a lot of pressure in changing decision models for power markets such that they account explicitly for future scenarios in making commitment decisions. This paper proposes to make commitment decisions with multiple gate closures. Our proposed model also leverages a state-space formulation for the commitment variables, through which the operational constraints of generation units participating in the market are respected. We also study the problem of constructing scenario tree approximations for stochastic processes and evaluate our algorithms on scenario tree libraries derived from real net-load data.
Methods for Improving Chucking Accuracy

Since recent studies have demonstrated the benefits of hard turning over other abrasive machining processes as a finishing process in terms of surface integrity, a strong need has existed to improve the performance of chucking. It is because the poor repeatability and accuracy in the positioning of chucked workpieces became the major bottleneck in the implementation of finish hard turning for precision mechanical components. However, the understanding of chucking has not been adequate, nor has any systematic method been reported for improving chucking accuracy. In this paper, all the major factors that affect the positioning accuracy and repeatability of a chucked workpiece have been identified by error budgeting and systematic measurements. In addition, the characteristics of these factors, as well as their effect on chucking accuracy, were investigated. From the results, a chucking error map that summarizes the relations between these factors and the positioning error of a chucked workpiece was developed. Then, a series of experiments were carried out, based on the results of the earlier works to test the effectiveness of the error budget. The results demonstrated that the knowledge on these factors was accurate and it could be effectively used to improve the positioning accuracy and repeatability of a range of cylindrical workpieces chucked for machining. It was also shown that hard turning alone, without any extra machining process, could satisfy the same level of concentricity which is currently achieved by finish grinding in the machining of different types of cylindrical workpieces. Even if this study was originally intended for the implementation of finish hard turning that can replace finish grinding, the methods developed can be used to improve the final form accuracy of cylindrical workpieces in other finishing processes including grinding if any workholding devices similar to chucks are used to hold the workpieces. The methodology and the procedures for improving chucking accuracy are covered in a pending patent by the authors.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Biomarker Discovery in Cardio-Oncology.

In this article, we review current and emerging approaches to biomarker discovery to facilitate early diagnosis of cancer therapy-associated cardiovascular toxicity. Although small studies have demonstrated an association between established biomarkers of cardiac injury (troponins and brain natriuretic peptide) and acute or subacute cardiotoxicity, there is insufficient evidence to support their use in routine clinical care. Preclinical studies to define the molecular mechanisms of cardiotoxicity, as well as the use of unbiased “omics” techniques in small patient cohorts, have yielded promising candidate biomarkers that have the potential to enrich current risk stratification algorithms. New biomarkers of cardiotoxicity have the potential to improve patient outcomes in cardio-oncology. Further studies are needed to assess the clinical relevance of molecular mechanisms described in animal models. Similarly, findings from “omics” platforms require validation in large patient cohorts before they can be incorporated into everyday practice.
Capital Adequacy in Financial Institutions: Basel Proposals

The Basel Committee s proposal for a new capital adequacy standard was released in June 1999, with comments due by the end of March 2000.1 There is a desire to issue another proposal around the end of the year. The approach is based on three pillars. First, there are minimum capital requirements that banks have to meet; second, there is a supervisory review of capital; and third, there is market discipline. Another key aspect of the proposal in addition to introducing the three pillars is the desire to move to a more risk sensitive approach to the minimum requirements. Earlier in this conference volume, Professor Altman explained well why the broad-brush approach to minimum capital requirements of the current Basel Accord has created perverse incentives to shed low risk assets and hold more high-risk assets.2
Neuropathologic applications of immunohistochemical fiber typing in the non-neoplastic muscle biopsy

The determination of fiber types is routinely accomplished in skeletal muscle biopsy specimens by enzymatic histochemical analysis, which detects adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity on cryostat sections. This study assesses postmortem antigen degradation, the effects of fixation and processing, and the neuropathologic applications of MY-32, a monoclonal antibody to fast twitch skeletal myosin. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of skeletal muscle biopsy specimens obtained from the quadriceps femoris were immunoreacted with this antibody. Cryostat sections of the same muscle biopsy specimens were examined after brief fixation in either acetone or formalin. Parallel cryostat sections of frozen muscle were also assessed with ATPase preparations at pH 9.4 and 4.3. To evaluate the effect of postmortem interval and autolysis on antigen degradation, skeletal muscle samples obtained at 12 hours postmortem were immunoreacted after 12, 24, or 36 additional hours. These specimens were examined as immunoreacted cryostat sections and compared with parallel sections reacted for ATPase at pH 9.4 and 4.3. Representative sections from each time point were also fixed in formalin, routinely processed, paraffin embedded, and immunoreacted. Selected muscle biopsy specimens with a range of neuropathologic diagnoses, including fiber type grouping, Type II atrophy, and congenital fiber type disproportion, were also assessed for immunoreactivity. Our results indicate that the MY-32 monoclonal antibody specifically reacts with Type II (fast twitch) fibers. Immunoreactivity is most intense in cryostat sections immersion fixed in acetone, but moderately intense, specific immunoreactivity can be clearly identified in formalin-fixed (frozen or paraffin-embedded) tissue obtained even 48 hours after death. Application of this nonenzymatic method for fiber type determinations in the neuropathologic evaluation of skeletal muscle biopsies is presented.
Banks, Financial Markets and the Development of International Currencies

This chapter considers the rise and fall of international currencies in history and their relationship with banks and financial markets. It takes a long view, tracing the rise and decline of international currencies from the silver drachma coined in Athens in the fifth century bc to the Roman solidus, the Genoese genoin, the Florentine florin and the Venetian ducat, and culminating with the Dutch guilder, sterling and the dollar. It identifies four prerequisites for the acquisition of international currency status: size, stability, liquidity and power. This perspective is then used to speculate about the evolution of international money and finance in the twenty-first century.
Accounting for Spatiotemporal Variations of Curve Number Using Variable Initial Abstraction and Antecedent Moisture

The curve number (CN) of a watershed varies spatially due to heterogeneity, and temporally due to changes in soil moisture, land cover, temperature, and other processes. The conventional event-scale lumped-parameter CN method lacks the capability to account for spatiotemporal variations, which diminishes the accuracy of its predictions. Heterogeneity causes several parameters of the CN method, including the initial abstraction (Ia), to vary with event rainfall (P), so one way to account for heterogeneity is to treat Ia as a function of P. This modification to the CN method gives rise to variable Ia models. Including antecedent moisture (M) is a common way to account for the temporal variation of CN. This paper presents an improved method of including M, which when used together with variable Ia can allow for accounting of both spatial and temporal variability. A suite of models that use M and/or variable Ia was evaluated using published event-scale data from several studies along with rainfall-runoff observations from two small watersheds in South Carolina, USA. Including M in the CN models significantly improved the accuracy of the runoff predictions, whereas including variable Ia alone resulted in modest improvements. The best performance, NSE > 0.8, was achieved when both variable Ia and M were included together. These modifications significantly improve runoff predictions while only modestly increasing the complexity of the CN method.
Cost-effectiveness evaluation of HPV self-testing offered to non-attendees in cervical cancer screening in Switzerland.

Abstract Objective About 30% of women who are eligible for cervical cancer (CC) screening remain un-screened or under-screened in Switzerland. HPV testing on self-collected vaginal samples (Self-HPV) has shown to be more sensitive than cytology while also reaching non-attendees. The objective of this study was to explore the cost-effectiveness of offering Self-HPV to non-attendees in Switzerland. Methods A recursive decision-tree with one-year cycles was used to model the life-long natural HPV history. Markov cohort simulations were used to assess the expected outcomes from the model. The outcomes of three strategies were compared with the absence of screening: Self-HPV and triage with colposcopy (Self-HPV/colpo), Self-HPV and triage with Pap cytology (Self-HPV/PAP), cytological screening and triage with HPV (PAP/HPV). Sensitivity analyses for the key parameters of the model were conducted to check the robustness of findings. Results Offering a Self-HPV screening to non-attendees could prevent 90% of CC and 94% of CC-related deaths in the study population. The current cytology-based program could reduce by 83% the number of CC cases and by 88% the number of CC-related deaths over the population's lifetime. Compared to the absence of screening, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) were estimated to be, per saved Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY), 12413US$ for the strategy Self-HPV/colpo, 11138US$ for the strategy Self-HPV/Pap and 22488US$ for the strategy PAP/HPV. Conclusions Offering Self-HPV as a CC screening strategy to non-attendees in Switzerland is a cost-effective solution that is associated with a reduction of CC cases and related deaths. Self-HPV is more cost-effective than the currently used cytology-based screening.
Alcohol’s Effects on Extracellular Striatal Dopamine

Abstract Striatal dopamine plays a critical role in the expression of goal-directed behaviors and in mediating the reinforcing effects of various drugs of abuse, including alcohol. Techniques such as microdialysis and fast-scan voltammetry, which enable monitoring molecules in the extracellular space of freely behaving animals, have permitted the study of ethanol’s effects on dopamine activity in striatal subregions. Animal models have demonstrated that alcohol produces differential effects on extracellular dopamine, depending on the route of administration, dose, and subregion. Clinical studies using positron emission tomography have generally supported the findings from animal models, showing that the striatal dopamine response to acute alcohol and alcohol-related cues varies by subregion and drinking status (e.g., social, heavy, or alcoholic). While decades of research have provided an abundance of data, the implications of alcohol’s effects on extracellular striatal dopamine continues to be investigated.
Site of extranodal metastasis impacts survival in patients with testicular germ cell tumors.

BACKGROUND Using a large, nationally representative, population-based cancer registry, this study systematically evaluated the impact of the location and burden of extranodal testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT) metastases on survival. METHODS Men with stage III TGCTs captured by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry from 2010 to 2015 with distant extranodal metastases were identified. Clinicopathologic information was collected, and patients were subdivided according to the specific organ site or sites of metastatic involvement (lung, liver, bone, and/or brain). Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariable Cox regression were used to evaluate cancer-specific survival (CSS), and model performance was assessed with Harrell's C statistic. RESULTS Nine hundred sixty-nine patients with stage III TGCTs were included with predominantly nonseminomatous histology (84%). Most patients (91%) had pulmonary metastases, whereas 20%, 10%, and 10% had liver, bone, and brain metastases, respectively. Over a median follow-up of 21 months, 19% of these men died of TGCTs. When they were grouped by the primary site of metastasis, patients with more than 1 extrapulmonary metastasis exhibited the worst CSS (hazard ratio [HR] vs isolated pulmonary involvement, 4.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.60-7.00; P < .01). Among patients with isolated extrapulmonary involvement, those with brain metastases had the poorest survival (HR, 3.24; 95% CI, 1.98-5.28; P < .01), and they were followed by patients with liver (HR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.56-3.35; P < .01) and bone metastases (HR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.11-3.50; P = .02). Harrell's C statistic (multivariable) was 0.71. CONCLUSIONS The site of metastatic involvement affects survival outcomes for patients with TGCTs, and this may reflect both the aggressive biology and the challenging treatment of these tumors. Further incorporation of organotropism into current prognostic models for metastatic TGCTs warrants attention.
Validation of a Semiautomated Natural Language Processing-Based Procedure for Meta-Analysis of Cancer Susceptibility Gene Penetrance.

PURPOSEQuantifying the risk of cancer associated with pathogenic mutations in germline cancer susceptibility genes—that is, penetrance—enables the personalization of preventive management strategie...
Place of Residence and Inequities in Adverse Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes in India.

Background and Objectives: India, the second most populous country in the world, has two-thirds of its population living in rural areas. Rural women in developing countries like India have worse access to healthcare compared to their urban counterparts. We examined the association between place of residence and various pregnancy and birth outcomes among Indian women. Methods: We analyzed data from the 2015-2016 India Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). Sociodemographic and reproductive health-related information were obtained from Indian women of reproductive age. We calculated the prevalence of selected pregnancy and birth outcomes among the study participants. We conducted adjusted survey log binomial regression to determine the level of association between place of residence and various pregnancy and birth outcomes. Results: About 66.4% of the survey responders resided in villages. When adjusted for covariates, rural women had increased likelihood of experiencing miscarriage, stillbirth, early neonatal, late neonatal and infant mortality as compared to urban women. Urban women had 22% higher likelihood (PR = 1.22, 95% CI=1.10-1.35) of having an abortion as compared to rural dwellers. Conclusion and Global Health Implications: Despite India’s extensive efforts to improve maternal and reproductive health, wide geo graph ical disparities exist between its urban and rural population. Interventions at various socio-ecologic and cultural levels, along with improved health literacy, access to improved health care and sanitation need attention when formulating and implementing policies and programs for equi table progress towards improved maternal and reproductive health. Copyright © 2020 Dongarwar and Salihu. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0.
4.32 – Evolutionary Psychology

A materialist view of psychology requires that we eventually consider the functions for which the mind has been sculpted by natural and sexual selection. These various adaptive functions are the raisons d’etre of the large array of cognitive modules that comprise the human mind. These modules are not designed for direct, conscious fitness calculations, but for responding efficiently to stimuli that were probabilistically associated with positive or negative fitness outcomes in ancestral human environments. Two methods – cross- species comparison and reverse engineering – can be used to test adaptive hypotheses about the existence and function of particular cognitive modules. Examples are given from the realms of child abuse, logical capacities, facial memory, and cognitive sex differences.
Impact of the implementation of a pharmacist-driven chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation orderset in an inpatient setting

PURPOSE The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines provide recommendations for the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation. Studies have demonstrated shortened hospital length of stay (LOS) with use of guideline-adherent systemic corticosteroid therapy. There are no published studies evaluating the impact of an inpatient orderset on patient-oriented outcomes. METHODS This institutional review board-approved, retrospective, quasi-experimental, single-center cohort study included adult patients admitted to an internal medicine service for a documented COPD exacerbation from January 2014 through December 2015 (the pre-orderset group) or January 2017 through December 2018 (the post-orderset group). A pharmacy and therapeutics committee-approved orderset recommending guideline-adherent treatment with systemic corticosteroids, scheduled short-acting bronchodilators, and antibiotics was used in the post-orderset group. The primary outcome was hospital LOS. Secondary outcomes included 30-day all-cause and COPD-related readmission rates, systemic corticosteroid-related adverse events, and antibiotic use. RESULTS A total of 358 unique patient encounters were identified for the pre-orderset group (n = 220) and post-orderset group (n = 138). The mean (SD) hospital LOS was significantly shorter in the post-orderset group (3.4 [2.4] days vs 4.3 [3.0] days; P = 0.004). There were no significant between-group differences in rates of 30-day all-cause and COPD-related readmissions. The overall rate of antibiotic use was lower in the post-orderset group vs the pre-orderset group (71% vs 90.2%; P < 0.001). The rate of occurrence of new blood glucose elevation was significantly lower in the post-orderset group (49.3% vs 79.1%; P < 0.001), with no significant between-group difference in occurrence of new blood pressure elevation. CONCLUSION A significant reduction in hospital LOS was found with the implementation of a pharmacist-driven COPD exacerbation orderset.
Coupled Multibody and Finite Element Modelling of Track Settlement

Differential settlement, particularly at stiffness transitions such as bridge approaches, is a major issue in the rail industry. It generally leads to increased wear and maintenance as well as speed restrictions. Left unchecked, settlement can cause damage or derailment. In this research, we apply a coupled multibody and finite element approach to predict rail settlement. Wheel-rail contact is governed by a penalty formulation based on Hertzian contact. The track substructure, including rails, fasteners, sleepers, ballast, subballast and subgrade, is input as a linearized model, using modal decomposition to improve efficiency. The contact forces between the wheel and rail are extracted from the multibody simulation, and input into a nonlinear finite element analysis determine the settlement of the soil. An elasto-viscoplastic soil model is introduced to determine the yielding and permanent settlement of the soil during a given pass. The model includes nonlinear pressure-dependent shear strength, compaction or dilation at different mean stresses, rate dependence, and effects of triaxial stress state. Since the yielding is small during a given pass, the linear stiffness of the multibody model will still be relatively accurate. The simulations can be used to help predict settlement and examine mitigation techniques or help optimize maintenance schedules.
High-risk Behavior Screening and Interventions in Hospitalized Adolescents.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Risky behaviors are the main threats to adolescents’ health. Consequently, guidelines recommend adolescents be screened annually for high-risk behaviors. Our objectives were to (1) determine rates of physician-documented risk behavior screening of hospitalized adolescents, (2) determine rates of positive screening results, and (3) evaluate associations between risk behavior screening and provision of risk behavior–related health care interventions. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients aged 12 to 24 years admitted to the pediatric hospital medicine service at an urban tertiary children’s hospital from January to December 2018. Exclusion criteria were transfer to a different service, nonverbal status, or altered mental status. We reviewed 20 charts per month. Outcomes included (1) documentation of risk behavior screening (mood, sexual activity, substance use, abuse and/or violence, and suicidal ideation), and (2) risk behavior–related health care interventions (eg, testing for sexually transmitted infections). We determined associations between screening and risk behavior–related interventions using χ2 tests. RESULTS: We found that 38% (90 of 240) of adolescents had any documented risk behavior screening, 15% (37 of 240) had screening in 4 of 5 risk behavior domains, and 2% (5 of 240) had screening in all 5 domains. The majority of screened adolescents had a positive screening result (66%), and most with positive results received a risk behavior–related health care intervention (64%–100% across domains). Adolescents with documented screening were significantly more likely to receive a risk behavior–related health care intervention. CONCLUSIONS: We found low rates of risk behavior screening documentation among hospitalized adolescents. There was a high rate of positive screen results, and those who were documented as screened were more likely to receive risk behavior–related interventions.
Isotopic evidence for the formation of the Moon in a canonical giant impact.

Isotopic measurements of lunar and terrestrial rocks have revealed that, unlike any other body in the solar system, the Moon is indistinguishable from the Earth for nearly every isotopic system. This observation, however, contradicts predictions by the standard model for the origin of the Moon, the canonical giant impact. Here we show that the vanadium isotopic composition of the Moon is offset from that of the bulk silicate Earth by 0.18 ± 0.04 parts per thousand towards the chondritic value. This offset most likely results from isotope fractionation on proto-Earth during the main stage of terrestrial core formation (pre-giant impact), followed by a canonical giant impact where ~80% of the Moon originates from the impactor of chondritic composition. Our data refute the possibility of post-giant impact equilibration between the Earth and Moon, and implies that the impactor and proto-Earth mainly accreted from a common isotopic reservoir in the inner solar system. Here, the authors show that Earth and Moon are characterized by different vanadium isotope compositions, which is most likely resulting from vanadium isotope fractionation of the bulk silicate proto-Earth during the main stage of terrestrial core formation—followed by a canonical giant impact scenario, where 80% of the Moon originates from an impactor of chondritic composition.
Associations among patient race, sedation practices, and mortality in a large multi-center registry of COVID-19 patients

Introduction: Racial and ethnic minorities have accounted for the majority of intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalizations for COVID-19. At the same time, ICUs were forced to deviate from long-established care processes in response to a steep increase in admissions and to prevent healthcare worker infections. These shifts may have resulted in changes to sedation practices, such as level of sedation or sedation holidays, that differed by patient race or ethnicity. We aimed to examine associations among patient race and ethnicity, sedation practices, and mortality in a large, national sample of patients receiving mechanical ventilation for COVID-19. Methods: We analyzed granular daily data from the Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study (VIRUS) Registry for COVID-19 patients admitted to ICUs between February and November 2020. We included patients over 18 years of age, who were mechanically ventilated following clinical or PCR-confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis. We will calculate descriptive statistics for mortality at discharge and 28 days by patient race/ethnicity, sex, and two care processes associated with mechanical ventilation: sedation level and sedation holidays. We will estimate risk-adjusted, hospital-level mortality differentials by race. We will use mixed effects logistic regression and causal mediation analysis to test associations among patient race/ethnicity, sedation practices for mechanical ventilation, and mortality at 28 days, controlling for comorbidities, markers of severity, and time to admission, and adjusting for clustering by ICU. Results: Among 19,626 patients hospitalized for COVID-19, 8,668 (14.6%) received mechanical ventilation at 238 hospitals. The median age was 62 (IQR 40-72) and 45.1% were female. Among hospitalized patients, 23.3% self-identified as Hispanic, 26.6% as non-Hispanic Black, 35.6% as non-Hispanic White, and 14.5% as non-Hispanic and another racial group. Approximately 1% (n=236) of patients were missing race/ethnicity. At 28 days, 20.7% (n=4,076) of hospitalized patients were deceased. Use of benzodiazepines was highly clustered by hospital (intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.63). In cluster-adjusted analyses, Hispanic patients were more likely to receive benzodiazepines at least once during hospitalization than either non-Hispanic White (Odds Ratio (OR) 0.76, p=0.013) or non-Hispanic Black (OR 0.70, p=0.003) patients. Multivariable mixed effects and causal mediation analyses are ongoing. Conclusions: Sedation practices, such as level of sedation and sedation holidays, are associated with mortality;yet these practices may differ based on a patient's race or ethnicity. We will leverage a unique, multi-center database with granular clinical information to understand how these differences may influence racial and ethnic disparities in respiratory failure.