cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High-Throughput Classification of Radiographs Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

The study aimed to determine if computer vision techniques rooted in deep learning can use a small set of radiographs to perform clinically relevant image classification with high fidelity. One thousand eight hundred eighty-five chest radiographs on 909 patients obtained between January 2013 and July 2015 at our institution were retrieved and anonymized. The source images were manually annotated as frontal or lateral and randomly divided into training, validation, and test sets. Training and validation sets were augmented to over 150,000 images using standard image manipulations. We then pre-trained a series of deep convolutional networks based on the open-source GoogLeNet with various transformations of the open-source ImageNet (non-radiology) images. These trained networks were then fine-tuned using the original and augmented radiology images. The model with highest validation accuracy was applied to our institutional test set and a publicly available set. Accuracy was assessed by using the Youden Index to set a binary cutoff for frontal or lateral classification. This retrospective study was IRB approved prior to initiation. A network pre-trained on 1.2 million greyscale ImageNet images and fine-tuned on augmented radiographs was chosen. The binary classification method correctly classified 100 % (95 % CI 99.73-100 %) of both our test set and the publicly available images. Classification was rapid, at 38 images per second. A deep convolutional neural network created using non-radiological images, and an augmented set of radiographs is effective in highly accurate classification of chest radiograph view type and is a feasible, rapid method for high-throughput annotation.
Direct Cost Analysis of Outpatient Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair in Medicare and Non-Medicare Populations

Background:Providing high-quality care while also containing cost is a paramount goal in orthopaedic surgery. Increasingly, insurance providers in the United States, including government payers, are requiring financial and performance accountability for episodes of care, including a push toward bundled payments.Hypothesis:The direct cost of outpatient arthroscopic rotator cuff repair was assessed to determine whether, due to an older population, rotator cuff surgery was more costly in Medicare-insured patients than in patients covered by other insurers. We hypothesized that operative time, implant cost, and overall higher cost would be observed in Medicare patients.Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:Billing and operative reports from 184 outpatient arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs performed by 5 fellowship-trained arthroscopic surgeons were reviewed. Operative time, number and cost of implants, hospital reimbursement, surgeon reimbursement, and insurance type were determined from bil...
Epstein-Barr virus-positive follicular lymphoma.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) -associated follicular lymphoma is only rarely reported. Herein, we report the largest series analyzing prevalence and clinicopathologic characteristics of EBV-associated follicular lymphoma occurring in unselected cases. Out of 382 analyzed cases, 10 EBV-positive follicular lymphomas were identified (prevalence=2.6%, 95% confidence interval 1.3-4.0%). All EBV-positive follicular lymphomas showed EBV-encoded small RNA-positive lymphoma cells present in a follicular distribution. Of these, eight also had tissue available for testing of expression of latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), out of which six (75%) were positive. There was a significant association with grades 3A-3B follicular lymphoma (P<0.0001) and CD30 expression (P=0.0002). EBV-positive follicular lymphomas were otherwise morphologically and immunophenotypically indistinguishable from EBV-negative cases of similar grade. Nine of the EBV-positive follicular lymphomas occurred in patients with no known history of immunosuppression, while one patient had a history of hydroxychloroquine administration for Sjogren's syndrome. The mean age in the EBV-positive and -negative follicular lymphomas was 56 (range 31-83 years) and 49 years (range 25-92 years), respectively, with no statistically significant difference. Seven of the patients with EBV-positive follicular lymphoma had additional biopsies from different time points available for review, all of which showed progression of disease in the form of progression of tumor grade. Five of these progressed to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, one of which had tissue available for testing and was EBV-positive. Our findings suggest that EBV infection may have a role in lymphomagenesis and/or disease progression in a subset of follicular lymphomas, thereby expanding the spectrum of recognized EBV-associated B-cell lymphomas.
Origins of Ripples in CVD-Grown Few-layered MoS 2 Structures under Applied Strain at Atomic Scales

The potential of the applicability of two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) structures, in various electronics, optoelectronics, and flexible devices requires a fundamental understanding of the effects of strain on the electronic, magnetic and optical properties. Particularly important is the recent capability to grow large flakes of few-layered structures using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) wherein the top layers are relatively smaller in size than the bottom layers, resulting in the presence of edges/steps across adjacent layers. This paper investigates the strain response of such suspended few-layered structures at the atomic scales using classic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. MD simulations suggest that the suspended CVD-grown structures are able to relax the applied in-plane strain through the nucleation of ripples under both tensile and compressive loading conditions. The presence of terraced edges in these structures is the cause for the nucleation of ripples at the edges that grow towards the center of the structure under applied in-plane strains. The peak amplitudes of ripples observed are in excellent agreement with the experimental observations. The study provides critical insights into the mechanisms of strain relaxation of suspended few-layered MoS2 structures that determine the interplay between the mechanical response and the electronic properties of CVD-grown structures.
A PC-based shutter glasses controller for visual stimulation using multithreading in LabWindows/CVI

Newer methods for treating amblyopia use shutter glasses to occlude the strong eye.Needed is a computer-based system to perform liquid crystal shuttering in laboratory and clinical settings, possibly also for home use.In order to achieve good timing performance in a bidirectional system under Windows, a multithreading programming technique with data protection is needed.We developed software based on multithreading under LabWindows/CVI (National Instruments) that allowed efficient real-time performance with inexpensive hardware. Background and objectives: Amblyopia, commonly known as lazy eye, is poor vision in an eye from prolonged neurologic suppression. It is a major public health problem, afflicting up to 3.6% of children, and will lead to lifelong visual impairment if not identified and treated in early childhood. Traditional treatment methods, such as occluding or penalizing the good eye with eye patches or blurring eye drops, do not always yield satisfactory results. Newer methods have emerged, based on liquid crystal shutter glasses that intermittently occlude the better eye, or alternately occlude the two eyes, thus stimulating vision in the lazy eye. As yet there is no technology that allows easy and efficient optimization of the shuttering characteristics for a given individual. The purpose of this study was to develop an inexpensive, computer-based system to perform liquid crystal shuttering in laboratory and clinical settings to help wake up the suppressed eye in amblyopic patients, and to help optimize the individual shuttering parameters such as wave shape, level of transparency/opacity, frequency, and duty cycle of the shuttering.Methods: We developed a liquid crystal glasses controller connected by USB cable to a PC computer. It generates the voltage waveforms going to the glasses, and has potentiometer knobs for interactive adjustments by the patient. In order to achieve good timing performance in this bidirectional system, we used multithreading programming techniques with data protection, implemented in LabWindows/CVI.Results: The hardware and software developed were assessed experimentally. We achieved an accuracy of 1Hz for the frequency, and 2% for the duty cycle of the occlusion pulses. We consider these values to be satisfactory for the purpose of optimizing the visual stimulation by means of shutter glasses. The system can be used for individual optimization of shuttering attributes by clinicians, for training sessions in clinical settings, or even at home, aimed at stimulating vision in the lazy eye.Conclusions: Multithreading offers significant benefits for data acquisition and instrument control, making it possible to implement time-efficient algorithms in inexpensive yet versatile medical instrumentation with only minimum requirements on the hardware.
Platelet Signaling: Protein Phosphorylation

Protein phosphorylation is the main mechanism by which platelet functional responses are regulated. There are myriad protein kinases in the platelet, which are classified by the residue in which they phosphorylate. Protein tyrosine kinases phosphorylate tyrosine residues, while protein serine/threonine kinases phosphorylate serine or threonine residues. Several important signaling cascades are initiated upon platelet activation. Here we will explore the relevance of phosphorylation of specific proteins important to several essential signaling cascades in platelets.
Penetrating injuries to the thoracic great vessels

Penetrating injuries to the thoracic great vessels have been diagnosed with increased frequency because of the escalating use of automatic weapons. The overall incidence is 5.3% of gunshot wounds and 2% of stab wounds to the chest. Most of these patients reach the hospital dead or in severe shock. The overall mortality of thoracic aortic injuries is higher than 90% and in subclavian vascular injuries higher than 65%. In the prehospital phase, the "scoop and run" policy offers the best chances of survival and no attempts should be made for any form of stabilization. Investigations should be reserved only for fairly stable patients. Angiography, color flow Doppler, and transesophageal echocardiography may be useful in selected cases. Patients in cardiac arrest or imminent cardiac arrest may benefit from an emergency room thoracotomy. The surgical approach to specific thoracic great vessels is described.
Types and Distribution of Payments From Industry to Physicians in 2015

Importance Given scrutiny over financial conflicts of interest in health care, it is important to understand the types and distribution of industry-related payments to physicians. Objective To determine the types and distribution of industry-related payments to physicians in 2015 and the association of physician specialty and sex with receipt of payments from industry. Design, Setting, and Participants Observational, retrospective, population-based study of licensed US physicians (per National Plan & Provider Enumeration System) linked to 2015 Open Payments reports of industry payments. A total of 933 295 allopathic and osteopathic physicians. Outcomes were compared across specialties (surgery, primary care, specialists, interventionalists) and between 620 166 male (66.4%) and 313 129 female (33.6%) physicians using regression models adjusting for geographic Medicare-spending region and sole proprietorship. Exposures Physician specialty and sex. Main Outcomes and Measures Reported physician payment from industry (including nature, number, and value), categorized as general payments (including consulting fees and food and beverage), ownership interests (including stock options, partnership shares), royalty or license payments, and research payments. Associations between physician characteristics and reported receipt of payment. Results In 2015, 449 864 of 933 295 physicians (133 842 [29.8%] women), representing approximately 48% of all US physicians were reported to have received $2.4 billion in industry payments, including approximately $1.8 billion for general payments, $544 million for ownership interests, and $75 million for research payments. Compared with 47.7% of primary care physicians (205 830 of 431 819), 61.0% of surgeons (110 604 of 181 372) were reported as receiving general payments (absolute difference, 13.3%; 95% CI, 13.1-13.6; odds ratio [OR], 1.72; P P P Conclusions and Relevance According to data from 2015 Open Payments reports, 48% of physicians were reported to have received a total of $2.4 billion in industry-related payments, primarily general payments, with a higher likelihood and higher value of payments to physicians in surgical vs primary care specialties and to male vs female physicians.
Efferent inhibition strength is a physiological correlate of hyperacusis in children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that is poorly understood. ASD can influence communication, social interaction, and behavior. Children with ASD often have sensory hypersensitivities, including auditory hypersensitivity (hyperacusis). In adults with hyperacusis who are otherwise neurotypical, the medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent reflex is stronger than usual. In children with ASD, the MOC reflex has been measured, but without also assessing hyperacusis. We assessed the MOC reflex in children with ASD by measuring the strength of MOC-induced inhibition of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs), a noninvasive physiological measure that reflects cochlear amplification. MOC activity was evoked by contralateral noise. Hyperacusis was assessed subjectively on the basis of the children's symptoms. We found a significant correlation between hyperacusis scores and MOC strength in children with ASD. When children were divided into ASD-with-severe-hyperacusis (ASDs), ASD-with-not-severe-hyperacusis (ASDns), and neurotypical (NT) groups, the last two groups had similar hyperacusis and MOC reflexes, whereas the ASDs group, on average, had hyperacusis and MOC reflexes that were approximately twice as strong. The MOC inhibition of TEOAEs averaged larger at all frequencies in the ASDs compared with ASDns and NT groups. The results suggest that the MOC reflex can be used to estimate hyperacusis in children with ASD and might be used to validate future questionnaires to assess hyperacusis. Our results also provide evidence that strong MOC reflexes in children with ASD are associated with hyperacusis and that hyperacusis is a comorbid condition and is not a necessary, integral part of the abnormal neural processing associated with ASD.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are a heterogeneous group, some with hyperacusis and some without. Our research shows that hyperacusis can be estimated in children with ASD by using medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex measurements. By establishing that an objective measure correlates with attributes of hyperacusis, our results enable future work to enable subtyping of children with ASD to provide improved individualized treatments to at-risk children and those without adequate language to describe their hyperacusis symptoms.
The Bible, religious storytelling, and revolution: The case of Solentiname, Nicaragua:

Building on the storytelling, political storytelling, and religious storytelling literatures, I examined the role religious stories play in the formation of revolutionary convictions. This study’s ...
Is the Real Number Line Something to Be Built or Occupied

Klein emphasized geometry and intuition, and made the concept of function central to mathematics education. In fact, number and operations form the backbone of the school mathematics curriculum. A high school graduate should comfortably and capably meet an expression like, “Let y = f(x) be a function of a real variable x,” implying that the student has a robust sense of the real number continuum, the home of x. This understanding is a central objective of the school mathematics curriculum, taken as a whole. Yet there are reasons to doubt whether typical (U.S.) high school graduates fully achieve this understanding. Why? And what can be done about this? I argue that there are obstacles already at the very foundations of number in the first grades. The construction narrative of the number line, characteristic of the prevailing curriculum, starts with cardinal counting and whole numbers and then builds the real number line through successive enlargements of the number systems studied. An alternative, based on ideas advanced by V. Davydov, the occupation narrative, begins with pre-numerical ideas of quantity and measurement, from which the geometric (number) line, as the environment of linear measure, can be made present from the beginning, and wherein new numbers progressively take up residence. I will compare these two approaches, including their cognitive premises, and suggest some advantages of the occupation narrative.
The Surgical Personality: Does Surgery Resident Motivation Predict Attrition?

Background There is limited understanding of the wide variation in attrition rates among general surgery residencies. We used the validated Behavior Inhibitory System/Behavior Approach System (BIS/BAS) instrument to compare motivational traits among residents who did and not complete surgical training. Study Design All US general surgery categorical interns in the class of 2007-2008 were surveyed with a validated motivational trait assessment tool. American Board of Surgery records from 2008-2016 were used to determine who completed training. Motivation, an aspect of personality, was assessed with the BIS/BAS, which correlates with an individual's tendency to approach pleasant stimuli (BAS) or avoid negative stimuli (BIS). Subscale mean scores were compared with regard to the primary end point, attrition. Results Eight hundred and one (76.5%) interns completed the survey and had matching records. Six hundred and forty-five (80.5%) completed training. Men had lower scores than women in the BAS Drive subscale (12.0 vs 12.5; p Conclusions Surgery residents are characterized by a strong drive and persistence toward their goals. However, residents who drop out do not differ from those who complete training in their motivational personality traits.
Extensive young silicic volcanism produces large deep submarine lava flows in the NE Lau Basin

New field observations reveal that extensive (up to ~ 402 km2) aphyric, glassy dacite lavas were erupted at multiple sites in the recent past in the NE Lau basin, located about 200 km southwest of Samoa. This discovery of volumetrically significant and widespread submarine dacite lava flows extends the domain for siliceous effusive volcanism into the deep seafloor. Although several lava flow fields were discovered on the flank of a large silicic seamount, Niuatahi, two of the largest lava fields and several smaller ones (“northern lava flow fields”) were found well north of the seamount. The most distal portion of the northernmost of these fields is 60 km north of the center of Niuatahi caldera. We estimate that lava flow lengths from probable eruptive vents to the distal ends of flows range from a few km to more than 10 km. Camera tows on the shallower, near-vent areas show complex lava morphology that includes anastomosing tube-like pillow flows and ropey surfaces, endogenous domes and/or ridges, some with “crease-like” extrusion ridges, and inflated lobes with extrusion structures. A 2 × 1.5 km, 30-m deep depression could be an eruption center for one of the lava flow fields. The Lau lava flow fields appear to have erupted at presumptive high effusion rates and possibly reduced viscosity induced by presumptive high magmatic water content and/or a high eruption temperature, consistent with both erupted composition (~ 66% SiO2) and glassy low crystallinity groundmass textures. The large areal extent (236 km2) and relatively small range of compositional variation (σ = 0.60 for wt% Si02%) within the northern lava flow fields imply the existence of large, eruptible batches of differentiated melt in the upper mantle or lower crust of the NE Lau basin. At this site, the volcanism could be controlled by deep crustal fractures caused by the long-term extension in this rear-arc region. Submarine dacite flows exhibiting similar morphology have been described in ancient sequences from the Archaean through the Miocene and in small batches on present-day seafloor spreading centers. This study shows that extensive siliceous lavas can erupt on the modern seafloor under the right conditions.
Infancy: Sensitivity to Linguistic Form

Although most research on first language development has focused on children's productions, there is a growing evidence that infants are sensitive to form properties of their language during the first year of life. In particular, they appear to be able to keep track of statistical patterns in their input associated with phonetic categories, lexical forms, and syntax. The recent work raises the possibility that language development in post-infancy consists of linking the language forms noted in infancy with meaning. It raises the question about what degree of biological constraint specifically for language is needed to supplement infants' form detection abilities.
Molar crenulation trait definition and variation in modern human populations.

Abstract Crenulated molars have been used extensively in biological anthropology. However, the trait has not been formally defined, nor have population frequencies been thoroughly outlined. This study provides a formal definition of molar crenulations and data on their presence in a large sample. Data were collected on maxillary and mandibular molars of modern dental material from various populations: South African, Hispanic, Japanese, American White, and American Black (n = 750). Molar crenulations were defined and a rank-scale created. Statistical analyses include chi-squared, correspondence analysis, and trait correlations. Significant statistical differences were found between populations in all molars. Minimal sexual dimorphism was noted, and is most pronounced among the American Black sample. Generally, American White and Japanese samples showed lower frequencies of molar crenulations, the highest frequencies were seen in the American Black and South African samples, and the Hispanic sample was intermediate. Correspondence analysis showed that American Black samples tended towards grade 2, and South African samples were more often a grade 1. American White and Japanese samples were most often grade 0, and Hispanic samples were intermediate. Correlations were noted across the molars. Population differences exist in the presence of molar crenulations, which were likely shaped by evolution. Based on these results molar crenulations can be added to the suite of traits currently used to study population differences.
The conceptual basis for brain death revisited: loss of organic integration or loss of consciousness?

When a neurological criterion for determining death was formally introduced in the recommendation of the 1968 Ad Hoc Committee of the Harvard Medical School, the conceptual basis for accepting the criterion was unclear.1 As Martin Pernick notes, the Committee shifted back and forth between endorsing the loss of consciousness, as opposed to the loss of bodily integration, as the conceptual foundation for the new criterion that the Committee eventually proposed.2 Indeed, the Committee’s characterization of the criterion as “irreversible coma” reflected this ambiguity, as the term had been used in the past to describe the condition of individuals in deep coma or persistent vegetative state.3 In fact, although the Committee proposed a new criterion for determining death, it had little to say about the definition or concept of death for which the criterion was proposed.
Vitamin K: Biochemistry, Metabolism, and Nutritional Aspects

The term vitamin K refers to a number of compounds containing a 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone ring with a hydrophobic side chain constituted at the 3-position. The biochemical role of the vitamin was not established until the mid-1970s, when it was shown that it was a substrate for a microsomal enzyme that converted protein-bound glutamyl residues to γ -carboxyglutamyl (Gla) residues. This posttranslational modification has been found in relatively few proteins.
Sleep Laboratory Study of Lormetazepam in Older Insomniacs

Lormetazepam is a new benzodiazepine hypnotic. Previous work has indicated that lormetaze-pam has an intermediate to short elimination half-life, i.e. in the range of 5–15 h. Hence, in older patients, the drug should be safe and hypnotically active in doses equal to or less than the doses recommended for young adults. The present study tested this hypothesis. We studied ten healthy subjects, aged 55 and older, with both subjective and objective insomnia. Subjective insomnia was the complaint of requiring at least 45 min to fall asleep and sleeping less than six and a half hours per night.
Agent-based model illustrates the role of the microenvironment in regeneration in healthy and mdx skeletal muscle

A computational model predicted that satellite stem cell (SSC) counts are correlated with muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) recovery following injury. In simulations with impaired CSA recovery, SSC...
A glass-based, continuously zonated and vascularized human liver acinus microphysiological system (vLAMPS) designed for experimental modeling of diseases and ADME/TOX

The vLAMPS is a human, biomimetic liver MPS, in which the ECM and cell seeding of the intermediate layer prior to assembly, simplifies construction of the model and makes the platform user-friendly. This primarily glass microfluidic device is optimal for real-time imaging, while minimizing the binding of hydrophobic drugs/biologics to the materials that constitute the device. The assembly of the three layered device with primary human hepatocytes and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), and human cell lines for stellate and Kupffer cells, creates a vascular channel separated from the hepatic channel (chamber) by a porous membrane that allows communication between channels, recapitulating the 3D structure of the liver acinus. The vascular channel can be used to deliver drugs, immune cells, as well as various circulating cells and other factors to a stand-alone liver MPS and/or to couple the liver MPS to other organ MPS. We have successfully created continuous oxygen zonation by controlling the flow rates of media in the distinct vascular and hepatic channels and validated the computational modeling of zonation with oxygen sensitive and insensitive beads. This allows the direct investigation of the role of zonation in physiology, toxicology and disease progression. The vascular channel is lined with human LSECs, recapitulating partial immunologic functions within the liver sinusoid, including the activation of LSECs, promoting the binding of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) followed by transmigration into the hepatic chamber. The vLAMPS is a valuable platform to investigate the functions of the healthy and diseased human liver using all primary human cell types and/or iPSC-derived cells.
Docile, criminal, and upwardly mobile?: Visual news framing of Mexican migrants and the logics of neoliberal multiculturalism

This study examines visual and textual representations of Mexican migrants in English-language photojournalism over the course of a decade. We find three clusters of representations: (1) male laborers portrayed as outside the bounds of society but often unfairly victimized (2) migrants portrayed as criminal in encounters with law enforcement, and (3) all other migrants, often portrayed in ways that valorized those who had “made good” or fit in. These clusters initially appeared to employ entirely separate tropes about different demographics of migrants. However, we find that they instead often reflect the same migrant demographics in different geographies and at different moments of the migration trajectory. We argue that these tropes collectively reflect and promote the cultural and economic logic of neoliberal multiculturalism, serving the neoliberal state and legitimating the precarity of migrants in labor markets.
Medium‐term effects of active management on the structure of mature Douglas‐fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) stands

We developed an observational study to (1) examine differences in the structure of mature Douglas‐fir stands representing thinned, structural retention harvest and unmanaged conditions, and (2) assess the extent to which active management in mature stands expedites development of old‐growth structure, relative to two old‐growth indices. Time since treatment averaged 38 and 22 yr in thinned and retention harvest conditions, respectively, and stand age ranged from 106 to 193 yr when sampled. Differences in stand structure were apparent between all three management conditions, with attributes associated with stumps, live tree diameter diversity, understory vegetation, and vertical foliage structure being the strongest individual drivers of these differences. Mean old‐growth index scores were lower than expected of true old‐growth for each of the management conditions examined here, but were not significantly different between thinned and unmanaged stands. Our results suggest thinning in mature stands may promote certain elements of old‐growth structure, including foliage height diversity, but also indicate the need for provisions against the depletion of dead wood resources. Stumps are an understudied dead wood structure, and in actively managed mature stands, our results imply that stumps may provide a degree of functional substitution where down log availability is low.
Tree Demography Plots

The pantropical network of large tree demography plots coordinated by the Smithsonian’s Center for Tropical Forest Science has now gone global, as part of the Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatories. Some four million tropical trees, representing about 10,000 species, are now tagged, provisionally identified and periodically recensused. Some 3,000 species are captured in the six plots within Malesia. These include species rarely collected and many that are now endangered. Easy location of trees for periodic examination for fertile material and detailed ecological data, together with seasoned in-country research teams, provide unique opportunities for research collaboration.
Use of a Smartwatch for Assessment of the QT Interval in Outpatients with Coronavirus Disease 2019

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has necessitated rapid implementation of innovative strategies to manage patients remotely to help reduce the risk of community and nosocomial transmission. This case demonstrates the use of an Apple Watch (Apple, Cupertino, CA, USA) to monitor for arrhythmias and QT prolongation in a patient with COVID-19 during home isolation.
Angiographic Anatomy of Major Aortopulmonary Collateral Arteries and Association With Early Surgical Outcomes in Tetralogy of Fallot.

Background Due in part to the heterogeneity of the pulmonary circulation in patients with tetralogy of Fallot and major aortopulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAs), research on this condition has f...
COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy in the United States: A Rapid National Assessment.

Given the results from early trials, COVID-19 vaccines will be available by 2021. However, little is known about what Americans think of getting immunized with a COVID-19 vaccine. Thus, the purpose of this study was to conduct a comprehensive and systematic national assessment of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in a community-based sample of the American adult population. A multi-item valid and reliable questionnaire was deployed online via mTurk and social media sites to recruit U.S. adults from the general population. A total of 1878 individuals participated in the study where the majority were: females (52%), Whites (74%), non-Hispanic (81%), married (56%), employed full time (68%), and with a bachelor's degree or higher (77%). The likelihood of getting a COVID-19 immunization in the study population was: very likely (52%), somewhat likely (27%), not likely (15%), definitely not (7%), with individuals who had lower education, income, or perceived threat of getting infected being more likely to report that they were not likely/definitely not going to get COVID-19 vaccine (i.e., vaccine hesitancy). In unadjusted group comparisons, compared to their counterparts, vaccine hesitancy was higher among African-Americans (34%), Hispanics (29%), those who had children at home (25%), rural dwellers (29%), people in the northeastern U.S. (25%), and those who identified as Republicans (29%). In multiple regression analyses, vaccine hesitancy was predicted significantly by sex, education, employment, income, having children at home, political affiliation, and the perceived threat of getting infected with COVID-19 in the next 1 year. Given the high prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, evidence-based communication, mass media strategies, and policy measures will have to be implemented across the U.S. to convert vaccines into vaccinations and mass immunization with special attention to the groups identified in this study.
Parsimonious Least Norm Approximation

A theoretically justifiable fast finite successive linear approximation algorithm is proposed for obtaining a parsimonious solutionto a corrupted linear system Ax=b+p, where the corruptionp is due to noise or error in measurement. The proposedlinear-programming-based algorithm finds a solutionx by parametrically minimizing the number of nonzeroelements in x and the error VAx-b-pV_1.Numerical tests on a signal-processing-based exampleindicate that the proposed method is comparable to a method that parametrically minimizesthe1 -norm of the solution x and the error VAx-b-pV_1, and that both methods are superior, byorders of magnitude, to solutions obtained by least squares as well by combinatorially choosing an optimal solution with a specific number of nonzero elements.
Determining the source of equine bloodstains by dinucleotide repeats.

A novel multiplex of independent dinucleotide tandem repeat (DTR) loci was previously described that is capable of not only dis- criminating human and equine DNA, but of identifying a single equine source. We report a case in which a bloodstained syringe and two needles were found during inspection of a barn by inspectors of the Pennsylvania Racing Commissions. Using the multiplex and single-locus detection, all 21 equine DTR markers were detected in a suspect horse and two evidence samples, indicating the evidence samples came from the suspect animal. Only six markers were detected in the third evidence sample because the volume of blood was limited. Following whole-genome amplification and single-locus PCR, the third evidence sample detected a total of 17 markers and the likelihood of identity (probability from suspect horse ⁄ probability from a random pacer) was 7.0 · 10 6 . The DTR multiplex has some technical limitations, but it is already practical for casework. There are several ways to prevent doping of race horses, which adversely affects their welfare. These include testing of blood or urine postcompetition and the prohibition of needles and syringes from racetracks, except when they are used by practicing veterinari- ans. The PA Racing Commissions may require testing a biologic sample for presence of drugs whether it has been obtained from a horse or from a syringe or needle found after unannounced barn searches. A sample's chain-of-custody documentation may be chal- lenged so that it is important to identify the source of the sample. The origin of as ample from an eedle or syringe may be equine or human, and some blood samples may be limited in quantity or degraded. Therefore, it is important to examine the sample DNA for species and individual by robust methods. Recently, analysis of 21 equine dinucleotide tandem repeat (DTR) loci (1) and whole- genome amplification (WGA) (2) have permitted identifications with almost no (3.1 · 10 )13 ) error. In this article, we describe an actual case to demonstrate how dried blood from a needle and syringe was analyzed and shown to be from a suspect horse.
The Distribution of Financial Ratios—A Note:

Three competitive distributions are offered by the literature to explain the non-normality and skewness of the cross-sectional distribution of financial ratios: the mixture of normal distributions, the lognormal distribution, and the gamma distribution. Using a new technique, this paper shows that the lognormal distribution and the gamma distribution are not supported by the empirical evidence. Although these two distributions indeed capture skewness, they do not portray the correct shape of the distributions. The non-normal stable Paretian distribution seems to be good candidate to describe the distribution of financial ratios.
Systems Engineering: Using Systems Thinking to Design Better Aerospace Systems

As aerospace systems have become more complex, the ability of the aerospace community to deliver a working system on-time and on-cost has diminished. Indeed, a review of major aerospace programs at the start of the twenty-first century shows most to be late and over budget. There are many reasons why these programs have faltered yet there is a unifying thread that provides a rational basis for understanding the issues. That thread can be exposed by adopting a systems approach, moreover, it leads to a solution and this introductory chapter argues the case for a systems approach to the design of aerospace systems as the only realistic option to address the increasingly poor program performance. A lack of understanding of systems, Systems Thinking, Systems Approaches and Systems Engineering is cited as one of the major factors contributing to program performance. Accordingly this introductory chapter aims to: introduce the concepts and benefits of Systems Thinking and of a Systems Engineering approach to the development of complex aerospace systems show how Systems Engineering is the systematic application of Systems Thinking to the creation of a system show that Systems Engineering demands the integration of people, processes and tools. Keywords: Systems Engineering; Systems Thinking; systems design; systems; emergent behavior; robust design; system architecting
Analysis of high-performance floating-point arithmetic on FPGAs

Summary form only given. FPGAs are increasingly being used in the high performance and scientific computing community to implement floating-point based hardware accelerators. We analyze the floating-point multiplier and adder/subtractor units by considering the number of pipeline stages of the units as a parameter and use throughput/area as the metric. We achieve throughput rates of more than 240 Mhz (200 Mhz) for single (double) precision operations by deeply pipelining the units. To illustrate the impact of the floating-point units on a kernel, we implement a matrix multiplication kernel based on our floating-point units and show that a state-of-the-art FPGA device is capable of achieving about 15 GFLOPS (8 GFLOPS) for the single (double) precision floating-point based matrix multiplication. We also show that FPGAs are capable of achieving up to 6x improvement (for single precision) in terms of the GFLOPS/W (performance per unit power) metric over that of general purpose processors. We then discuss the impact of floating-point units on the design of an energy efficient architecture for the matrix multiply kernel.
A phase I study of anti-GD3 ganglioside monoclonal antibody R24 and recombinant human macrophage-colony stimulating factor in patients with metastatic melanoma.

Background. Macrophages activated by macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) are potent immune effector cells and can mediate both in vitro cytotoxicity and antitumor effects in vivo. A Phase I trial combining M-CSF with R24, a mouse monoclonal antibody against GD3 ganglioside that has been shown to localize to melanoma tumors, induce inflammation at tumor sites, and result in major tumor responses in some patients with melanoma was performed. Methods. Nineteen patients with metastatic melanoma received a 14-day continuous intravenous infusion of 80 μg/kg/day of recombinant human M-CSF. R24 was administered daily by intravenous infusion on days 6-10 at doses of 1, 3,10, 30, and 50 μg/m 2 /day. Results. All patients developed pruritus and urticaria; 13 patients developed transient thrombocytopenia less than 100,000/mm 3 . The maximum tolerated dose was not reached. All patients developed a monocytosis characterized by increased expression of the antigen HLA-DR and decreased expression of CD14, a phenotype reported to represent a subpopulation of monocytes active in mediating antibody-directed cellular cytotoxicity. Other biologic effects of treatment included marked but transient decreases in total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, and high density lipoprotein. Three patients experienced tumor regression in breast, liver, and lymph node metastases and received a second course of therapy. Six of the 19 patients, one of whom received no further therapy, survived more than 2 years and 4 of these patients remain alive 24 to 37 months after treatment. Of the six patients with liver metastases, three (50%) survived more than 2.5 years and one remains alive at 37+ months. Conclusions. Combination therapy with R24 and M-CSF resulted in both clinical and biologic effects that warrant further investigation of this combination. Cancer 1995 ;75 :2251-7.
Materials Budgets in the Electronic Age: A Survey of Academic Libraries

Academic libraries face a host of expenditures for products and services, which, though not materials per se, provide access to materials. The extent to which libraries fund these services through materials budgets is the focus of a survey of academic librarians in the United States and Canada. In September 1994, the author sent questionnaires to the head librarians of 230 academic libraries. The survey generated a 76.9 percent response rate. Over two-thirds of the respondents indicated they allocate less than six percent of their materials budgets to nondata resources. Seven out of ten respondents agree, however, that it is natural for materials budgets to absorb certain technology costs. In addition, only 23 percent think that materials budgets should be limited to materials in a traditional sense. These findings suggest that most librarians are continuing to allocate materials budgets in a traditional manner, while recognizing the inevitable shifts in allocation of scarce resources.
Immunoglobulin Replacement Therapy in Children

The benefit of immunoglobulin (IG) replacement in primary antibody deficiencies is unquestionable. Many of these congenital disorders present early in life and this therapy is often first implemented in the young. This article focuses on the indications of IG replacement in children, with an emphasis on the specific diagnostic problems encountered in this population. Also presented is an overview of the practical aspects of IG administration in the pediatric setting, including the recognition and management of adverse reactions. Finally, the advent of subcutaneous IG, a therapeutic IG modality with the potential to have a great impact on the quality of life of children with antibody deficiencies and their families, is discussed.
Assessment of transcutaneous bilirubinometry in hospitalized adults.

Background Transcutaneous techniques to measure serum bilirubin have been validated in neonates but not in adult patients. We evaluated transcutaneous bilirubinometry (TcB) in adults at risk for or diagnosed with hepatic dysfunction to determine if this technology has clinical use in quantifying the presence and magnitude of hyperbilirubinemia. Design Unblinded, consecutive hospitalized adult patients (n = 80) from the general surgery, trauma surgery, and liver resection/transplantation services of a tertiary care, university-affiliated medical center, who were having serum bilirubin measurements performed, underwent transcutaneous bilirubin measurement from the forehead, sternum, forearm, and deltoid. Transcutaneous bilirubin measurements were repeated each time serum bilirubin measurements were performed. Results Transcutaneous bilirubin measurements from the forehead correlated with serum bilirubin better ( r , 0.963) than measurements from the forearm ( r , 0.792), deltoid ( r , 0.922), or sternum ( r , 0.928). Forehead TcB detected hepatic dysfunction (serum bilirubin ≥ 2 mg/dL) by receiver operator curves (area under the curve=0.971) and sternum (area under the curve=0.970) and better than deltoid and forearm measurements (area under the curve=0.935 and 0.893, respectively). A Bland-Altman plot demonstrated that forehead measurements became less accurate as the magnitude of hyperbilirubinemia increased. Conclusions Forehead TcB correlated best with serum bilirubin levels but became less accurate at higher values. Refinements in the technology will be required before this technique, although promising, can be considered for routine clinical application in adults being evaluated for hyperbilirubinemia.
Randomly oscillating turbulent channel flows

The velocity response to a sinusoidally oscillating pressure gradient is obtained for turbulent flow in a two-dimensional channel. The statistical relations between a spectrum of such pressure pulsations and the resulting spectrum of velocity oscillations are then written in terms of a spectral transfer function. This function, which incorporates the dynamic solution is complicated, but is well approximated with a simple expression.
Cost‐effectiveness of audio teletraining for the U.S. Army National Guard

Abstract A cost‐effectiveness analysis of training Army National Guard soldiers by audio teletraining technology was conducted. The trainees were n = 225 soldiers nationwide. About half of the trainees received training in a three‐week Unit Clerk Course through traditional residence training, and the remainder received the same instruction through audio teletraining. Objective performance data were collected from written tests on sixteen of the forty‐seven tasks taught. The percentage of trainees in the audio teletraining group that reached criterion (93%) on the first test was significantly higher (by statistical test) than the residence group (85%). In comparing costs, the audio teletraining group had lower training costs per trainee. Projected on an annual basis, the Army National Guard can save $292,404 per year through the use of audio teletraining for the Unit Clerk Course.
Liquid xenon scintillators for imaging of positron emitters

The current understanding of xenon scintillation physics is summarized and keyed to the use of xenon as a ..gamma.. ray detector in medical radioisotope imaging systems. Liquid xenon has a short scintillation pulse (approx.10/sup -8/ sec) and high ..gamma..-ray absorption and scintillation efficiencies. The fast pulse may facilitate imaging in vivo distributions of hot positron sources and allow recovery of additional spatial information by time-of-flight techniques. We begin by describing our own study of the feasibility of making a practical positron scanning system, and consider the problems of scintillation decay time, linearity, efficiency, purity, and electric-field amplitifcation. The prospects for a practical instrument are considered. (AIP)