cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prophylaxis and therapy of ventricular fibrillation: bretylium reviewed and lidocaine refuted

Ventricular fibrillation is the major cause of death in patients with ischemic heart disease and its prevention should be the primary goal of drug therapy. Bretylium tosylate and its chemical and pharmacologic analog bethanidine sulphate are unique prototype antifibrillatory compounds that specifically reduce the vulnerability of the heart to undergo and/or sustain ventricular fibrillation. Both drugs increase ventricular fibrillation threshold manyfold [l-lo] (Fig. 1) and have the capacity to induce chemical (pharmacological) ventricular defibrillation (Figs. 2 and 3) restoring sinus rhythm without need for electrical countershock [l-3,7,10].
Superconductivity of disordered Dirac fermions

uctuations suggests that locally superconducting puddles should form at a much higher temperature, and should establish global phase coherence at a temperature that is only exponentially small in weak disorder. Thus, mesoscopic uctuations exponentially enhance the superconducting critical temperature. We also discuss the eect of disorder on the quantum critical point of the clean system, building in the eect of disorder through a replica eld theory. We show that disorder is a relevant perturbation to the supersymmetric quantum critical point. We expect that in the presence of attractive interactions, the ow away from the critical point ends up in the superconducting phase, although rm conclusions cannot be drawn since the renormalization group analysis ows to strong coupling. We argue that although we expect the quantum critical point to get buried under a superconducting phase, signatures of the critical point may be visible in the nite temperature quantum critical regime. Our results have implications for experiments on proximity induced superconductivity in Dirac fermion systems, where they imply an enormous disorder-enhancement of the superconducting susceptibility. As a result, the proximity induced superconductivity in dirty systems is expected to be much stronger than that in clean systems at the Dirac point.
An algorithm for reliability analysis of phased-mission systems

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to describe an efficient Boolean algebraic algorithm that provides exact solution to the unreliability of a multi-phase mission system where the configurations are described through fault trees. The algorithm extends and improves the Boolean method originally proposed by Somani and Trivedi. By using the Boolean algebraic method, we provide an efficient modeling approach which avoids the state space explosion and the mapping problems that are encountered by the Markov chain approach. To calculate the exact solution of the phased-mission system with deterministic phase durations, we introduce the sum of disjoint phase products (SDPP) formula, which is a phased-extension of the sum of disjoint products (SDP) formula. Computationally, the algorithm is quite efficient because it calls an SDP generation algorithm in the early stage of the SDPP computation. In this way, the phase products generated in the early stage of the SDPP formula are guaranteed to be disjoint. Consequently, the number of the intermediate phase products is greatly reduced. In this paper, we also consider the transient analysis of the phased-mission system. Special care is needed to account for the possible latent failures at the mission phase change times. If there are more stringent success criteria just after a mission phase change time, an unreliability jump would occur at that time. Finally, the algorithm has been implemented in the software package sharpe . With sharpe , the complexities of the phased-mission system is made transparent to the potential users. The user can conveniently specify a phased-mission model at a high level (through fault trees) and analyze the system quantitatively.
Alternative Applications of the Femtosecond Laser in Ophthalmology

Purpose: To provide an update of novel applications for the femtosecond (FS) laser in ophthalmology.Design: Perspective, literature review, case report, and commentary.Methods: Literature review.Results: The many advantages of etching flaps with the FS laser for laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) have been well established. Alternative applications of the FS have been approved and are now used in clinical practice. In refractive ophthalmology, the FS laser can be used for lenticule extraction to correct myopia and intrastromal biochemical manipulation to correct presbyopia. This laser can be used for preparing host and donor tissue for both full thickness and lamellar keratoplasty. Research is underway, exploring ways to employ the FS laser for different stages of cataract surgery. Cosmetic procedures with FS-assisted tattooing serve to correct leukoria.Conclusions: Advancements in technology have allowed measurable improvements in the surgical safety, efficiency, speed, and versatility of FS lasers in ...
Understanding as an Antidote for the Dysfunctional Consequences of Organizational Politics as a Stressor 1

The proposition that organizational politics perceptions are potential stressors with potentially dysfunctional outcomes was set forth based on previous theory. The hypothesis that the dysfunctional outcomes of stress associated with the perceptions of the organizational political climate can be ameliorated by understanding the environment was tested in a field study. Results provided strong support for the hypothesis, demonstrating a significant interaction of politics x understanding on job anxiety, and showing that understanding can serve as an antidote of sorts to the dysfunctional effects of organizational politics.
The role of graded nerve root compression on axonal damage, neuropeptide changes, and pain-related behaviors.

Rapid neck motions can load cervical nerve roots and produce persistent pain. This study investigated the cellular basis of radicular pain and mechanical implications of tissue loading rate. A range of peak loads was applied in an in vivo rat model of dorsal root compression, and mechanical allodynia (i.e. pain) was measured. Axonal damage and nociceptive mediators were assessed in the axons and cell bodies of compressed dorsal roots in separate groups of rats at days 1 and 7 after injury. In the day 7 group, damage in the compressed axons, evaluated by decreased heavy chain neurofilament immunoreactivity, was increased for compressions above a load of 34.08mN, which is similar to the load-threshold for producing persistent pain in that model. Also, the neuropeptide substance P and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor and its receptor significantly decreased (p<0.02) with increasing load in the small nociceptive neurons of the dorsal root ganglion, suggesting that axonal damage may also decrease neurotrophic support in injured nociceptive afferent fibers. In a separate study, roots were compressed at 2mm/s, and held, to develop a quasi-linear viscoelastic model that was validated through comparisons to quasistatic loading. The model demonstrated that nearly 23% less displacement was required to reach the axonal injury load threshold during dynamic loading than for quasistatic rates. Together, these studies demonstrate that nerve root compressions that produce pain symptoms are sufficient to mediate nociceptive cellular changes, and that thresholds for pain and nociceptive pathophysiology may be lower for dynamic loading scenarios.
Patient and Psychiatrist Ratings of Hypothetical Schizophrenia Research Protocols: Assessment of Harm Potential and Factors Influencing Participation Decisions

Objective: A central ethical issue in schizophrenia research is whether participants are able to provide informed consent, particularly for protocols entailing medication washouts or placebo treatments. Few data show how patients with schizophrenia and psychiatrists assess such scientific designs regarding potential harm, willingness to participate, and the relative influence of clinicians, family members, and financial incentives upon participation decisions. Method: In this preliminary study, structured interviews were conducted with schizophrenia patients (N=59), and parallel surveys were completed by attending and resident psychiatrists (N=70). Four hypothetical research protocols were rated. Patients were asked about their own views; psychiatrists provided both their personal views and predictions of patient views. Results: Patients and psychiatrists both perceived substantially different levels of harm across the four protocols, identifying significantly greater harm for medication washouts or placebo treatments. Participants were less willing to enroll in protocols perceived as more harmful. Schizophrenia patients found enrollment decisions relatively easy. Patients and psychiatrists indicated that doctor recommendations, monetary incentives, and, to a lesser extent, family preferences had a mild influence on participation decisions. Conclusions: Given hypothetical protocols with variable design elements, schizophrenia patients and psychiatrists made meaningful and discerning harm assessments and participation decisions. These findings suggest that schizophrenia patients may have strengths in the research consent process that may not be fully recognized. The impact of outside influences upon research enrollment decisions remains uncertain. While psychiatrists were often accurate in predicting patient responses, data suggest the importance of clarifying views of individual patients regarding specific protocols.
The influence of user experience and presentation medium on strategies of viewing algorithms

Two empirical studies of the interaction between presentation medium and users' experience are reported. Subjects were presented with sets of algorithms that either showed their textual definition or demonstrated their behavior using graphics as an alternative presentation medium. Results of the first experiment showed an interaction between experience, presentation medium, and the algorithm itself. In particular, the presentation order plays a significant role. Textural presentations prior to graphical ones seem to provide the necessary framework for later assimilation of detailed information. A wide range of scan patterns was found. The findings suggest that textual and graphical presentation media differ in the way they facilitate understanding of algorithms. Furthermore, the great variety of viewing styles could be categorized according to the user's programming experience. >
Dual surface immunoglobulin light-chain expression in B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders.

Abstract Context.—Mature B lymphocytes exhibit allelic exclusion in which only a single class of immunoglobulin heavy chain and a single class of light chain, either κ or λ, are expressed. There have been several reports indicating that double light-chain gene rearrangements or dual light-chain expression can occur in B-cell malignant neoplasms, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Currently, it is a common notion that demonstration of light-chain restriction in a B-cell population is generally considered proof of monoclonality and indicates malignancy. Objective.—To increase awareness of the existence of the dual κ/λ immunoglobulin light-chain expressing B-cell leukemia/lymphoma, to emphasize the importance of visual inspection of flow cytometric data, and to present the guidelines for flow cytometric interpretation of dual κ/λ coexpressing populations. Data Sources.—Through comprehensive literature review, this article discusses the current understandings regarding the dual light-chain expression in ...
Impact of axillary ultrasound and core needle biopsy on the utility of intraoperative frozen section analysis and treatment decision making in women with invasive breast cancer

Abstract Background Our objective was to evaluate the impact of preoperative axillary ultrasound and core needle biopsy (CNB) on breast cancer treatment decision making. A secondary aim was to evaluate the impact on the utility of intraoperative sentinel lymph node (SLN) frozen section. Methods A review of 84 patients with clinically negative axilla who underwent axillary ultrasound was performed. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive/negative predictive value for axillary ultrasound with CNB was calculated. Results Thirty-one (37%) had suspicious nodes. Of 27 amenable to CNB, 12 (14%) were malignant, changing treatment plans. The sensitivity of ultrasound and CNB was 54% and specificity 100%; the positive and negative predictive values were 100% and 80%, respectively. In 41 patients with normal ultrasounds who underwent SLN frozen section, 10 (24%) were positive. Conclusions Preoperative axillary ultrasound impacts treatment decision making in 14%. With a sensitivity of 54%, it is a useful adjunct to, but not replacement for, SLN biopsy. Frozen section remains of utility even after a negative axillary ultrasound.
Decision framework for building platform as a service (PaaS) based government services

PaaS is the operating environment of the cloud with the tools you need on demand to create and host online services, software, Web sites, and mobile applications. With PaaS, you can concentrate on delivering applications rather than on the underlying infrastructure, which a service provider maintains and updates in its data centers. With PaaS, government can develop new applications or services in the cloud that do not depend on a specific platform to run, and you can make them widely available to users through the Internet.
Making diabetes self-management education culturally relevant for Filipino Americans in Hawaii.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify the cultural val- ues, traditions, and perceptions of diabetes risk and self- care among Filipino Americans in Hawaii with type 2 diabetes that facilitate or impede engagement in diabetes self-management behaviors and education classes.Methods This qualitative study used 2 rounds of semistructured focus groups and interviews. Participants included 15 patients with type 2 diabetes recruited from a large health-maintenance organization in Hawaii and 7 health care and cultural experts recruited from the community. The taped and transcribed focus groups and interviews were coded thematically. Participants evaluated example materials for diabetes self-management education (DSME) with Filipino Americans.Results Several aspects of Filipino American culture were identi- fied as central to understanding the challenges of engag- ing in self-management behaviors and DSME: (1) undertaking self-management while prioritizing the fam- ily and maintaining social relations...
Integration of Financial Constraints into Optimal Generation Planning

This paper describes the development and application of a methodology for electric utility generation planning which calculates the optimal strategy to satisfy both standard and financial constraints in a single program. The current model has been developed on the basis of OPPLAN, an optimal generation planning methodology based on linear programming techniques. One of the financial constraints imposed on the linear program in the OPPLAN specifies that the interest coverage ratio must be greater than a user-specified minimum coverage ratio. Three nonlinear relationships were encountered during formulating the coverage ratio. The following statements express the nonlinear relationships. 1) When retained earnings are greater than new equity, all retained earnings must be used for construction. 2) The federal income tax (FIT) must be included only if it is positive. 3) The AFUDC portion allowed in the coverage ratio calculations must be equal to the lesser of the total amount of AFUDC and a certain percentage (usually 10%) of operating income. These are linearized by use of 0, 1 variables. To accelerate the computing speed, two provisions are made: 1) a user specifies whether there will be any equity issuance annually, and he then runs OPPLAN, and compares the selection with RPIFSM (a financial simulation programs) results. If the results are different, he corrects the selection according to RPIFSM. 2) FIT is positive by default. These two options provide rapid convergence to a solution. The new methodology is applied to several case studies.
Semiconductor perspective on test standards

Developing testable products cost-effectively requires that a standard, such as JTAG and the IEEE P-1149, be adopted. The system developer and semiconductor manufacturer need to share in this development effort to accelerate adoption. The system developer must gain a better understanding of the total cost of ownership for a testable vs. a nontestable product and the semiconductor manufacturer must be willing to provide initial product offerings before a well defined and quantified market exists. Efforts must be put in place to implement standards in software tools and data formats required to support test. >
The Medicalization of the Human Condition

eagerness to include all varieties and vagaries of human feelings and behavior in their professional domain, are running the risk of trying to medicalize not only psychiatry but the human condition itself. To medical ize the human condition is to apply a diagnostic label to various unpleasant or undesirable feelings or behaviors that are not distinctly abnormal but that fall within a gray area not readily distinguishable from the range of experiences that are often inescapable aspects of the fate of being human.
A novel microparticulate vaccine for melanoma cancer using transdermal delivery

In this study, we formulated a microparticulate melanoma cancer vaccine via the transdermal route. The vaccine was delivered using microneedle-based Dermaroller® which is available for cosmetic purposes. Unlike subcutaneous injections, administration using microneedles is painless and in general can increase the permeability of many compounds ranging in size from small molecules to proteins and microparticles that do not normally penetrate the skin. The vaccine microparticles were taken up by the antigen presenting cells which demonstrated a strong IgG titre level of 930 ug/mL in serum samples. The formulation increased the immunogenicity of the vaccine by incorporating the antigen into an albumin matrix having a size range of around 0.63–1.4 µm which acted as a synthetic adjuvant. The animals were vaccinated with 1 prime and 4 booster doses administered every 14 days over 8 weeks duration, followed by challenge with live tumour cells which showed protection after transdermal vaccination.
The certification of morphine and codeine in a human urine standard reference material

use In testing for bias in determinations of morphine and codeine in human urine. Each unit of this SRM consists of three vials with different levels of morphine and codeine in lyophilized urine. Three different analytical methods, employing GC/MS, LC/MS, and MS/MS, were used to certify the concentrations of each analyte. Results from the three methods were in good agreement and, therefore, were statistically combined to yield certified values of 138, 293, and 578 ng/mL for morphine and 134, 283, and 591 for codeine. A round-robin study on this material among nine military laboratories demonstrated the suitability of the SRM for its Intended purpose.
Defect Modeling Using Fault Tuples

Fault tuples represent a defect modeling mechanism capable of capturing the logical misbehavior of arbitrary defects in digital circuits. To justify this claim, this paper describes two types of logic faults (state transition and signal line faults) and formally shows how fault tuples can be used to precisely represent any number of faults of this kind. The capability of fault tuples to capture misbehaviors beyond logic faults is then illustrated using many examples of varying degree of complexity. In particular, the ability of fault tuples to modulate fault controllability and observability is examined. Finally, it is described how fault tuples can and have been used to enhance testing tasks such as fault simulation, test generation, and diagnosis, and enable new capabilities such as interfault collapsing and application-based quality metrics
Introductory lecture: Nonadiabatic effects in chemical dynamics

Recent progress in the theoretical treatment of electronically nonadiabatic processes is discussed. First we discuss the generalized Born–Oppenheimer approximation, which identifies a subset of strongly coupled states, and the relative advantages and disadvantages of adiabatic and diabatic representations of the coupled surfaces and their interactions are considered. Ab initio diabatic representations that do not require tracking geometric phases or calculating singular nonadiabatic nuclear momentum coupling will be presented as one promising approach for characterizing the coupled electronic states of polyatomic photochemical systems. Such representations can be accomplished by methods based on functionals of the adiabatic electronic density matrix and the identification of reference orbitals for use in an overlap criterion. Next, four approaches to calculating or modeling electronically nonadiabatic dynamics are discussed: (1) accurate quantum mechanical scattering calculations, (2) approximate wave packet methods, (3) surface hopping, and (4) self-consistent-potential semiclassical approaches. The last two of these are particularly useful for polyatomic photochemistry, and recent refinements of these approaches will be discussed. For example, considerable progress has been achieved in making the surface hopping method more applicable to the study of systems with weakly coupled electronic states. This includes introducing uncertainty principle considerations to alleviate the problem of classically forbidden surface hops and the development of an efficient sampling algorithm for low-probability events. A topic whose central importance in a number of quantum mechanical fields is becoming more widely appreciated is the introduction of decoherence into the quantal degrees of freedom to account for the effect of the classical treatment on the other degrees of freedom, and we discuss how the introduction of such decoherence into a self-consistent-potential approximation leads to a reasonably accurate but very practical trajectory method for electronically nonadiabatic processes. Finally, the performances of several dynamical methods for Landau–Zener-type and Rosen–Zener–Demkov-type reactive scattering problems are compared.
Raising nursing's voice for health care reform.

or, the ith ia, and the the r ercein ) oth are. ith oslan pand me iPamela H. Mitchell, RN, PhD, FAAN, FAHA, is an Associate Dean for Research, School of Nursing; The Elizabeth S. Soule Professor of Health Promotion, School of Nursing; Adjunct Professor, Department of Health Services; SPHCM Director, Center for Health Sciences Interprofessional Education at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA Corresponding author: Dr. Pamela H. Mitchell, University of Washington, Box 357265, Seattle, WA 98195-7265. E-mail: pmitch@u.washington.edu
Biology of the Mycoplasmas

There are, in my opinion, three major milestones in the current history of the mycoplasmas. The first concerns the recovery and description of the first organism in this group in 1898 (1), later to be designated Mycoplasma mycoides and shown to be the etiologic agent of contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia. The second involves the recognition (2) and subsequent cultivation (3) of the etiologic agent of primary atypical pneumonia (4). This organism, designated Mycoplasma pneumoniae, became the first mycoplasma shown to be pathogenic for man. Finally, the third event concerns recent observations that a group of helical, motile mycoplasmas, termed spiroplasmas (5), exist in nature as plant and insect pathogens (6-8), and possess capabilities of provoking disease in vertebrate hosts (9).
Comprehensive Reduction of Thermal Resistance in Air Cooled Condensers

Restriction on water consumption is becoming an increasing problem for the power generation industry. As an alternative both to once-through cooling and to surface condenser/wet-cooling tower combination, utility companies and equipment manufacturers are considering, and even implementing, air-cooled condenser (ACC). However, the industry is quite reluctant to switch over to ACC for three important reasons: (a) lower power output, (b) higher capital cost, and (c) larger physical foot-print, all because of the same reason — it is not as efficient to transfer heat from condensing steam to air as it is to transfer to water. In other words, overall thermal resistance from condensing steam to the ambient air is significantly higher than to cooling water.To get a clear and full understanding of the heat transfer process occur in air-cooling condenser, Detailed mathematical equations were derived to model the heat transfer process through the fined-tubes of the ACC. The total thermal resistance model was analyzed and investigated to identify the design components with highest affect in the process.The paper proposes a viable cooling system based on novel heat pipe technology which addresses these problems. This technology employs boiling as the means to store and transfer heat energy. A detailed mathematical set of equations was derived to model the heat pipe thermal resistance. A comparison of the heat transfer performances of the ACC technology and the proposed method is presented.The proposed cooling system suggests a solution for each of the three components of the thermal resistance, the super-hydrophobic coating of the steam ducts internal surfaces increased the condensing heat transfer rate by an order of magnitude, the proposed design of the heat pipes improved the external heat transfer, and the installation mechanism improves the fin efficiency by eliminating the contact resistance between steam duct and the heat pipe.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Creating Executable Agent-Based Models Using SysML

Simulation plays an important role in the analysis of alternatives during the early phases of systems engineering activities. This is especially true for endeavors in the system of systems realm where there is even more need for simulation to characterize interdependencies. In this paper, we develop a generic framework to translate a SysML conceptual model to an executable agent-based simulation model. We demonstrate the translation using a simplified air traffic management problem. Along with the potential advantages, we also identify major challenges and possible mismatches in accomplishing a suitable translation for real-world systems of systems.
Proteomic approaches to uncovering virus-host protein interactions during the progression of viral infection

The integration of proteomic methods to virology has facilitated a significant breadth of biological insight into mechanisms of virus replication, antiviral host responses and viral subversion of host defenses. Throughout the course of infection, these cellular mechanisms rely heavily on the formation of temporally and spatially regulated virus-host protein-protein interactions. Reviewed here are proteomic-based approaches that have been used to characterize this dynamic virus-host interplay. Specifically discussed are the contribution of integrative mass spectrometry, antibody-based affinity purification of protein complexes, cross-linking and protein array techniques for elucidating complex networks of virus-host protein associations during infection with a diverse range of RNA and DNA viruses. The benefits and limitations of applying proteomic methods to virology are explored, and the contribution of these approaches to important biological discoveries and to inspiring new tractable avenues for the design of antiviral therapeutics is highlighted.
Reorientational Motion and Phase Transitions of Cyclohexane in Restricted Geometries

Rotational motion of cyclohexane in the liquid and the solid plastic phase is studied using Raman light scattering. The results are compared with molecular dynamics simulations run for model pores of diameters similar to those used in the experiment. The presence of the surface layer and its effect on the relaxation times is discussed. The temperature of the solid-solid phase transition is determined from the analysis of the ν21 band shape. It is shown that the depression of the cubic to monoclinic phase transition depends on the pore diameter and is different for modified and unmodified surfaces. It is suggested that molecules near the pore walls form the amorphous structure and only molecules near the center of the pore form crystallographic structure.
MYCOFLORA OF COTTON SEED FROM THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES: A THREE YEAR STUDY OF DISTRIBUTION AND FREQUENCY

Delinted, surface-sterilized cotton seeds from Regional Cotton Variety Test locations in the southern USA were assessed for presence of filamentous fungi. There were no consistent differences in fungal flora among the cultivars examined. Of the thirty-seven taxa isolated, only Alternaria spp., Colletotrichum gossypii, Fusarium equiseti, and F. pallidoroseum (F. semitectum) were present in more than 10% of the seed at any sampling location in a given year. Infection levels varied greatly between locations and in different years within a location. Changes in infection levels for some of the species were attributable to precipitation and temperature variations during the growing season.
Experience and information loss in auditory and visual memory.

Recent studies show that recognition memory for sounds is inferior to memory for pictures. Four experiments were conducted to examine the nature of auditory and visual memory. Experiments 1–3 were ...
Projective shape analysis of contours and finite 3D configurations from digital camera images

We analyze infinite dimensional projective shape data collected from digital camera images, focusing on two-sample hypothesis testing for both finite and infinite extrinsic mean configurations. The two sample test methodology is based on a Lie group technique that was derived by Crane and Patrangenaru (J Multivar Anal 102:225–237, 2011) and Qiu et al. (Neighborhood hypothesis testing for mean change on infinite dimensional Lie groups and 3D projective shape analysis of matched contours, 2015). In infinite dimensions, the equality of two extrinsic means is likely to be rejected, thus a neighborhood hypothesis is suitably tested, combining the ideas in these two papers with data analysis methods on Hilbert manifolds in Ellingson et al. (J Multivar Anal 122:317–333, 2013). In this manuscript, we apply these general results to the two sample problem for independent projective shapes of 3D facial configurations and for matched projective shapes of 2D and 3D contours. Digital images of 3D scenes are today at the fingertips of any statistician. Here and in the literature referenced in the in this paper, we provide a methodology for properly analyzing such data, when more pictures of a given scene are available.
Looking Beyond Statins: Will the Dollars Make Sense?

Article, see p 1931 > “It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see.” > > —Winston Churchill The noteworthy article by Ray et al1 in this issue of Circulation provides a tantalizing glimpse into the future. It points to the potential of 2 nonstatins—alirocumab, a proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor, and ezetemibe—to reduce atherogenic lipoproteins with proportional reductions in major adverse cardiovascular events beyond that achieved with statins alone. The authors make an important observation: a continuous relationship exists between average on-treatment low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and major adverse cardiovascular events. Moreover, they found no observed effect attenuation at low achieved levels of LDL-C <50 mg/dL. But their analysis is not conclusive. As the authors note, there are significant limitations due to a low number of events, the short trial duration (≤2 years), and, importantly, the post hoc nature of the analysis. On the other hand, if results from prospective outcome trials are in accord with these preliminary data, it will be appropriate to update current cholesterol guidelines. It is helpful to review what current guidelines stated. The 2013 American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) Cholesterol Guidelines (2013 GL) endorsed lifestyle as the foundation for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) prevention.2 The guideline panel proposed 3 critical questions to determine when and how pharmacologic treatment should be implemented. These critical questions generated a comprehensive search for high-quality randomized clinical trials (RCTs) or meta-analyses of these RCTs by an outside contractor chosen by the National Heart Lung Blood Institute. Low-quality studies were not allowed to contribute to the evidence. The panel then published their final recommendations under the auspices of the ACC and AHA. Other guidelines that adhered closely to the RCT evidence include the National Institutes of Clinical Excellence guidelines3 …
Combined spheropolyhedral discrete element (DE)–finite element (FE) computational modeling of vertical plate loading on cohesionless soil

This paper presents a combined spheropolyhedral discrete element (DE)–finite element (FE) computational approach to simulating vertical plate loading on cohesionless soils such as gravels. The gravel particles are modeled as discrete elements, and the plate is modeled as a deformable FE continuum. The simulations provide a meaningful step toward better understanding how deformable bodies transmit loads to granular materials. The DE–FE contact algorithm is verified through comparison with an analytical solution for impact between two symmetric bars. A parametric study is conducted to ensure boundary effects are not significantly influencing the simulations. Numerical simulations are compared to experimental test results of lightweight deflectometer loading on a gravel base course with satisfactory agreement. Future developments of the approach intend to simulate wheel loading of military aircraft on unsurfaced airfields.
Smooth muscle cell proliferation induced by oxidized LDL-borne lysophosphatidylcholine: Evidence for FGF-2 release from cells not extracellular matrix

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL), which accumulates in vascular lesions, alters vascular cell function in ways that can be construed as atherogenic. Among these is the observation that oxLDL and its lipids promote smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation. A number of schemes have been proposed to explain this phenomenon. Our published data support the concept that part of the proliferation is mediated by lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) and structurally related phospholipids borne by oxLDL, which cause FGF-2 release via an oxidant-dependent mechanism. Since FGF-2 can bind extracellular matrices, we wanted to determine whether the FGF-2 released came from an intracellular or an extracellular matrix-bound pool. We tested whether lysoPC was capable of releasing FGF-2 from SMC matrices, whether agents that release FGF-2 from matrices could cause proliferation, and whether lysoPC-mediated proliferation could occur by stimulating metalloproteinase (MMP)-induced matrix degradation, which released matrix-bound FGF-2. Our results indicate that the source of FGF-2 released by lysoPC and related lipids is a preexisting cellular pool and not from matrix, and that the mechanism likely involves transient, sublethal cell permeabilization. These results enhance understanding of a mechanism by which oxLDL could contribute to SMC proliferation in arterial lesions.
Structural dynamics of bacterial ribosomes. I. Characterization of vacant couples and their relation to complexed ribosomes.

Abstract Ribosomes not engaged in protein synthesis (vacant couples), in contrast to complexed ribosomes bearing nascent chains, dissociate during sedimentation in sucrose gradients at high g forces and at Mg2+ concentrations below 15 m m . As a result of this dissociation, a new peak between the 70 S complexed ribosomes and the free 50 S subunits is observed, the position of which shifts from about 55 S to 70 S as the Mg2+ concentration in the gradient is raised from 5 to 15 m m . The apparent 60 S peak consists of 50 S subunits produced during dissociation in the gradient. At low g forces, the sedimentation rate of complexed and vacant ribosomes is indistinguishable, even at 5 m m -Mg2+. These sedimentation properties are valid criteria to differentiate vacant and complexed ribosomes. This is shown by converting complexed ribosomes quantitatively into vacant couples by removing the nascent chains through termination release or with puromycin, or by converting vacant couples into initiation complexes with R17 RNA, fMet-tRNA and initiation factors. Ribosomes from cells harvested by slow cooling consist almost entirely of vacant couples, all of which are active in protein synthesis with natural messengers. The structural features responsible for the interaction between subunits are discussed.
The myth of human races

By Alain F. Corcos. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press. 1997. 214 pp. ISBN 0-87013-439-6. $17.95 (paper).
Compliance by Design: Influence of Acceleration Trade-offs on CO2 Emissions and Costs of Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Regulations

The ability of automakers to improve the fuel economy of vehicles using engineering design modifications that compromise other performance attributes, such as acceleration, is not currently considered when setting fuel economy and greenhouse-gas emission standards for passenger cars and light trucks. We examine the role of these design tradeoffs by simulating automaker responses to recently reformed vehicle standards with and without the ability to adjust acceleration performance. Results indicate that acceleration tradeoffs can be important in two respects: (1) they can reduce the compliance costs of the standards, and (2) they can significantly reduce emissions associated with a particular level of the standards by mitigating incentives to shift sales toward larger vehicles and light trucks relative to passenger cars. We contrast simulation-based results with observed changes in vehicle attributes under the reformed standards. We find evidence that is consistent with firms using acceleration tradeoffs t...
Factors Influencing Patient Selection of an Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Physician.

Background:The rise in consumer-centric health insurance plans has increased the importance of the patient in choosing a provider. There is a paucity of studies that examine how patients select an ...
Prediction of venous thromboembolism using semantic and sentiment analyses of clinical narratives.

Abstract Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is the third most common cardiovascular disorder. It affects people of both genders at ages as young as 20 years. The increased number of VTE cases with a high fatality rate of 25% at first occurrence makes preventive measures essential. Clinical narratives are a rich source of knowledge and should be included in the diagnosis and treatment processes, as they may contain critical information on risk factors. It is very important to make such narrative blocks of information usable for searching, health analytics, and decision-making. This paper proposes a Semantic Extraction and Sentiment Assessment of Risk Factors (SESARF) framework. Unlike traditional machine-learning approaches, SESARF, which consists of two main algorithms, namely, ExtractRiskFactor and FindSeverity, prepares a feature vector as the input to a support vector machine (SVM) classifier to make a diagnosis. SESARF matches and maps the concepts of VTE risk factors and finds adjectives and adverbs that reflect their levels of severity. SESARF uses a semantic- and sentiment-based approach to analyze clinical narratives of electronic health records (EHR) and then predict a diagnosis of VTE. We use a dataset of 150 clinical narratives, 80% of which are used to train our prediction classifier support vector machine, with the remaining 20% used for testing. Semantic extraction and sentiment analysis results yielded precisions of 81% and 70%, respectively. Using a support vector machine, prediction of patients with VTE yielded precision and recall values of 54.5% and 85.7%, respectively.
Turboflow: information rich flow record generation on commodity switches

Fine-grained traffic flow records enable many powerful applications, especially in combination with telemetry systems that supports high coverage, i.e., of every link and at all times. Current solutions, however, make undesirable trade-offs between infrastructure cost and information richness. Switches that generate flow records, e.g., NetFlow switches, are a low cost solution but current designs sacrifice information richness, e.g., by sampling. Information rich alternatives rely heavily on servers, which increases cost to the point that they are impractical for high coverage. In this paper, we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of TurboFlow, a flow record generator for programmable switches that does not compromise on either cost or information richness. TurboFlow produces fine- grained and unsampled flow records with custom features entirely at the switch without relying on any support from external servers. This is a challenge given high traffic rates and the limitations of switch hardware. To overcome, we decompose the flow record generation algorithm and optimize it for the heterogeneous processors in programmable switches. We show that with this design, TurboFlow can support multi-terabit workloads on readily available commodity switches to enable information rich monitoring with high coverage.
Surfactant-controlled ink drying enables high-speed deposition of perovskite films for efficient photovoltaic modules

Novel photovoltaic technologies such as perovskites hold the promise of a reduced levelized cost of electricity, but the low-cost potential depends on the ability to scale-up solution-based deposition. So far, complex fluid dynamics have limited the solution deposition of uniform pinhole-free organic–inorganic perovskite thin films over large areas. Here, we show that very small amounts (tens of parts per million) of surfactants (for example, l-α-Phosphatidylcholine) dramatically alter the fluid drying dynamics and increase the adhesion of the perovskite ink to the underlying non-wetting charge transport layer. The additives enable blading of smooth perovskite films at a coating rate of 180 m h–1 with root-mean-square roughness of 14.5 nm over 1 cm. The surfactants also passivate charge traps, resulting in efficiencies over 20% for small-area solar cells. Fast blading in air of perovskite films results in stabilized module efficiencies of 15.3% and 14.6% measured at aperture areas of 33.0 cm2 and 57.2 cm2, respectively. Scaling up perovskite film deposition necessitates controlling the film formation dynamics. Here, Deng et al. use amphoteric choline surfactants to blade-coat well-passivated films, reaching module efficiencies of ~15% for aperture areas up to 57 cm2.
Strategies for Effecting Change in Teaching Practices: A Review of Current Models

The goal of this paper is to describe an ideal faculty development program for the continuous quality improvement of the educational contributions of faculty members in medical education. First the literature will be reviewed to answer two questions: What have we learned about the power of various faculty development activities in effecting change in teaching practices?; What are the essential components of a faculty development program designed to improve teaching and learning in medical education? Based on the literature a developmental model for a comprehensive program of Faculty Development will be described.
A serendipity family of locally supported splines in S 8 2 (Δ)

For a given triangulation Δ of a region R of interest, let $$S_8^2 (\Delta ): = \left\{ {s \in C^2 (R):s|_1 \in \mathbb{P}_8 ,\forall t \in \Delta } \right\}$$ be the space of all splines of degree 8 and smoothness 2, where t denotes any triangle of Δ andP 8 the space of polynomials of total degree⪯8. Furthermore, let $$\overset{\lower0.5em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\frown}$}}{S} _8^2 (\Delta ): = \left\{ {s \in S_8^2 (\Delta ):s \in C^3 at \nu , \forall \nu \in \Delta } \right\}$$ be a super spline subspace of S 8 2 (Δ). We construct a collection of locally supported splines in S 8 2 (Δ) which can be used to achieve the full approximation order of S 8 2 (Δ) and its cardinality is less than the dimension of super spline space S 8 2 (Δ).
Development, mechanisms of action and evaluation of IUD performance

The intrauterine device (IUD) is often referred to as a modern medical contraceptive although its origin may be rooted in antiquity. A commonly quoted, but unconfirmed, story dating back to ancient times explains how desert travelers placed small stones in the uteri of their camels to prevent pregnancy during long caravan journeys. The specific observation that intrauterine foreign bodies have an antifertility effect has been credited to Hippocrates.
Towards Example-Guided Network Synthesis

In recent years, there has been a proliferation in network domain-specific languages (DSL). These languages enable us to exploit the programmability of these networks, while still providing correctness guarantees through verification and analysis of DSLs. However, none of these DSLs have received widespread adoption. First these new languages require a learning curve among operators who may not be trained programmers. Second, these new SDN applications sometimes rely on functionality in legacy networks that cannot be easily migrated or analyzed.To address these challenges, we propose Facon, a new tool that enables us to automatically generate programs in arbitrary DSLs, based on input/output examples. Since input/output examples applies to any network protocols, this approach can be generalized, hence enabling us to migrate legacy networks to new DSLs, or to transform one DSL to another. As an initial feasibility study, we apply Facon to a family of logic-based network DSLs based on declarative networking. Facon takes as examples input/output examples either provided by an operator or observed from a legacy system. Facon then automatically generates a declarative networking program faithful to these examples. We propose an efficient search algorithm that exploits syntactic constraints in declarative networking to prune the search space, and semantics as heuristics to guide the search direction. Our initial results are promising. Facon successfully synthesizes declarative networking programs at a scale beyond previous logic program synthesis tools can handle.
EVALUATING TEACHER PERFORMANCE IN THE UNITED STATES

Teaching is a complex task. It requires academic content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and skills, organizational skills, understanding of human development, and interpersonal skills to engage with students, colleagues, and, in the United States, increasingly diverse families. Given its complexity, its evaluation likely needs to be multifaceted. This article first briefly presents the policy context for teacher evaluation in the United States. It then examines policies under which students’ scores from standardized tests have been the essential source of data to evaluate teacher performance and describes how these evaluation systems influence teachers’ classroom practice. Finally, it briefly considers evaluation systems that may better reflect, inform, and support the complex task of teaching.
Abstract 192: Gender and Racial Disparities in Secondary Prevention of Stroke

Introduction: In the US, 795 000 people suffer a stroke and 133 000 die from it annually. Among the survivors, 185 000 get a recurrent stroke. There are gender and racial disparities in stroke mort...