cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
PARSIMONY, MOLECULAR EVOLUTION, AND BIOGEOGRAPHY: THE CASE OF THE NORTH AMERICAN GIANT SALAMANDER.

To draw biogeographic conclusions about the Central Highlands region of the United States, we reconstructed the phylogeny of hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) populations from restriction-site variation in mtDNA. We were unable to root the phylogeny using an outgroup and therefore could not weight restriction-site gains more heavily than site losses. As a result, maximum parsimony results in low phylogenetic resolution because of high levels of homoplasy in the data set. Use of a recently published algorithm based on an explicit model of molecular evolution yielded much greater resolution of the mtDNA relationships. This phylogeny indicates the two subspecies of hellbenders are paraphyletic with respect to one another. Hellbenders found in the southern Ozarks (C. a. bishopi) are either most closely related to populations of C. a. alleganiensis inhabiting the Tennessee River drainage or are so divergent that phylogenetic affinities are undetectable. Extremely low levels of divergence among mtDNA haplotypes found in popu- lations from Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, and the northern Missouri Ozarks suggest a recent, probably post-Pleistocene, invasion of this region from a refugium in one of these areas. Biogeo- graphic hypotheses of the causes and timing of hellbender distributions differ significantly from those postulated from analyses of fish species relationships. Possible reasons for the discrepancy are discussed.
Capturing Collaborative Decision-Making Rationale during Science Mission Operations

[Abstract] The development of increasingly sophisticated autonomous vehicles capable of being deployed from great distances and for extended periods of time brings new challenges, including tracing collaboratively-made decisions regarding these assets and relating collected data to such decisions and their rationale. For scientific data gathering, this rationale commonly is in the form of research questions, hypotheses, and observations. By “closing the loop” between motivations and rationale for gathering data and the data themselves, their intended uses are made more clear, and a precise, evaluable trace of mission actions is generated. Tracking asset deployment rationale facilitates long-term mission planning and, particularly for complex data gathering missions, can prevent repetitive or extraneous deployments and reduce the likelihood of overlooking deployment opportunities. It also can provide a valuable reference for planning subsequent missions. We have had several opportunities to develop ontological models for describing data gathering rationale and linking them to collected data stored in the ScienceOrganizer semantic information repository. The models include concepts for describing assets, activities, and various types of scientific rationale, and also, importantly, the logical connections to data products (e.g., instrument data). We have demonstrated use of these models: for automated scientific operations for the NASA Astrobiology Institute; as part of NASA’s Mobile Agents Architecture; to demonstrate round-trip data tracking for the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) missions; and for the Adaptive Ocean Sampling Networks Monterey Bay 2006 data collection campaign (MB06). The decision-making processes in each of these operational settings have a number of similarities: the generation of research questions and/or specific hypotheses that may be tested by observations; negotiation among multiple parties on proposals for observations through voting or other processes; execution of observations yielding instrument data; analyses of data that can refute or support hypotheses. This suggests the kinds of decision and data-tracking models we have developed could be applied to a wide variety of collaborative-control data gathering missions. However, a key problem is rationale acquisition; manual entry of rationale knowledge is quite labor intensive. Further efforts to improve rationale capture and develop specialized applications to evaluate and display rationale information are needed.
Toxicity and potential utility of ivermectin and moxidectin as xenointoxicants against the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L.

The recent resurgence of the common bed bug Cimex lectularius L. throughout western industrialized nations has been facilitated in part by the insect becoming pesticide-resistant. Novel control strategies, including xenointoxication, should be considered to combat C. lectularius. Ivermectin, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment for several human parasites, and the antiparasitic drug moxidectin, currently being explored in human clinical trials, were evaluated for efficacy against C. lectularius. Results showed that C. lectularius fed on ivermectin or moxidectin blood concentrations of >25 ng/mL and had significantly higher mortality (50–100 %) than controls (0–6 %) by day 13. Bed bugs that survived a blood meal containing >2.5 ng/mL of ivermectin suffered long-term sequelae including reduced fecundity, feeding difficulty, and incomplete ecdysis. Some insects that survived a blood meal containing ≤75 ng/mL moxidectin were able to feed and reproduce.
Inherited causes of liver disease.

Diseases that can afflict children's livers include galactosemia, cystic fibrosis, glycogen-storage disease, polycystic disease and hepatic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia. Although Wilson's disease and hemochromatosis also start in childhood, their effect on the liver may not become evident until adult life. It is important to recognize both diseases, for Wilson's disease responds to penicillamine and hemochromatosis to repeated bloodletting.
Contribution of a speech recognition system to a computerized pneumonia guideline in the emergency department.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the effect of a radiology speech recognition system on a real-time computerized guideline in the emergency department. METHODS: We collected all chest x-ray reports (n = 727) generated for patients in the emergency department during a six-week period. We divided the concurrently generated reports into those generated with speech recognition and those generated by traditional dictation. We compared the two sets of reports for availability during the patient's emergency department encounter and for readability. RESULTS: Reports generated by speech recognition were available seven times more often during the patients' encounters than reports generated by traditional dictation. Using speech recognition reduced the turnover time of reports from 12 hours 33 minutes to 2 hours 13 minutes. Readability scores were identical for both kinds of reports. CONCLUSION: Using speech recognition to generate chest x-ray reports reduces turnover time so reports are available while patients are in the emergency department.
Contraceptive self-efficacy in adolescents: a comparative study of male and female contraceptive practices.

This study investigated the relationship between self-efficacy theory and contraceptive practices in male and female adolescents. Data were collected from a sample of 101 male and 106 female college students enrolled at a large midwestern university. All subjects were 18 through 20 years of age, sexually active, single, and had had one sexual partner for at least three months. In addition to assessing demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial variables, a contraceptive self-efficacy construct was adapted to allow its use with male subjects. Findings indicated that both genders need to develop necessary communication skills regarding contraception issues. Contraceptive self-efficacy was found to be different for males and females in the following areas: females need to learn how to take responsibility and to become more efficacious in procuring contraceptives; males need to learn to be assertive about refusing to engage in sexual intercourse when not using contraception and to develop the ability to commun...
Case Study on Rapid Scanning Techniques for Concrete Bridge Decks with Asphalt Overlay: Ground-Penetrating Radar and Infrared Thermography

AbstractAs of 2013, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimated that one-third of the total bridge deck area in the United States was structurally deficient. Providing for the effective management and repair of these decks requires transportation agencies to have access to the best available information about structural conditions. Bridge deck inspection has long relied on sounding techniques, such as tapping and chain drag, which can be time intensive and may not provide enough information for accurate repair estimating. Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques may provide faster and more accurate data collection, but their value needs to be proven to transportation agencies and bridge owners. This paper describes a case study considering the two NDE techniques available for inspecting bridge decks with asphalt overlay: ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and infrared (IR) thermography. NDE scanning results and as-built repair data for four bridge decks were made available to the research team. Comp...
Regulation of Calcium in the Cerebellum

Ca2+ is an important ion in CNS biology, where if plays a critical role in basic functions of neurons, glia and other cell types. In CNS neurons, Ca2+ is a participant in the generation of electrical signals, an inducer and regulator of synaptic transmission, and a second messenger that controls many biochemical processes. Ca2+ is also a signal transmitter and second messenger in glial cells. Ca2+ levels in neurons and glia are dynamic but judiciously controlled in order to maintain biological processes at a level compatible with life. An excess or deficit of Ca2+ can result in cell damage or death. A variety of cellular mechanisms contribute to or enable the changes in intracellular Ca2+, referred to as Ca2+ signaling, that are essential for normal cell function, some of which are present in all cells and others that are unique to a particular class of cells. This chapter will briefly describe the cellular mechanisms that contribute to Ca2+ signaling in cerebellar and other CNS neurons. These mechanisms are located at presynaptic sites (e.g., axon terminals), where they regulate transmitter release, and/or at postsynaptic sites (e.g., dendrites), where they influence synaptic responses and other physiological functions.
Endoscopic Tympanoplasty Using Nasal Septal Cartilage Allograft

The purpose of the study was to analyze the morphological and functional outcomes in a series of 60 patients for whom Type I tympanoplasty was done using alcohol preserved nasal septal cartilage allograft through endoscopic permeatal route. The study was a prospective, interventional (surgical) study of 60 patients between October 2012 and September 2014. Patients were operated using 0°, 4 mm, 18 cm long Hopkin’s rod endoscope through permeatal route. 70% ethyl alcohol preserved allogeneic nasal septal cartilage with thickness of around 0.5 mm was used for grafting. At the end of 6 months, final assessment of morphological outcome i.e. intact tympanic membrane and functional outcome i.e. reduction in Air Bone gap, was done. At the end of 6 months, 57 patients (95%) had intact tympanic membrane. Mean ABG in postoperative patients was 11.83 dB. The operative time taken in 42 patients (70%) was 30–45 min. 42 patients (70%) returned to normal activity in 3–5 days. Endoscopic cartilage tympanoplasty using allogenic nasal septal cartilage can be safely and effectively used for Type I tympanoplasty with good anatomical and audiological results with benefits of reduced operating time, morbidity, pain and ‘No scar’.
InAlAs photovoltaic cell design for high device efficiency

This study presents a new design for a single-junction InAlAs solar cell, which reduces parasitic absorption losses from the low band-gap contact layer while maintaining a functional window layer by integrating a selective etch stop. The etch stop is then removed prior to depositing an anti-reflective coating. The final cell had a 17.9% efficiency under 1-sun AM1.5 with an anti-reflective coating. Minority carrier diffusion lengths were extracted from external quantum efficiency data using physics-based device simulation software yielding 170 nm in the n-type emitter and 4.6 μm in the p-type base, which is more than four times the diffusion length previously reported for a p-type InAlAs base. This report represents significant progress towards a high-performance InAlAs top cell for a triple-junction design lattice-matched to InP. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Summer area requirements of pileated woodpeckeers in western Oregon.

Studies of pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) in the Pacific Northwest have focused on specific components of the forest used when nesting and foraging (McClelland and Frissell 1975, Bull and Meslow 1977, McClelland 1979, McClelland et al. 1979, Bull 1980, Mannan et al. 1980). Territory size and habitat use within territories have not been studied, yet information on these topics is valuable when developing management plans for this species (e.g., Thomas et al. 1979). This study gathered preliminary information on the size of territories of pileated woodpeckers during summer in western Oregon, and assessed habitat use within territories.
Relationships of Agricultural Land Use to an Expanded Road Network within Tropical Forest Landscapes of Cameroon and Republic of the Congo

Road building in Congo Basin forests has increased due to expansion of commercial logging, with potential to expose intact forests to greater establishment of agriculture. We developed new knowledge of agriculture clearing sizes, spatial patterns, and relationships with roads in seven case study sites comprising 7,529 km2. Using very high spatial resolution satellite imagery, we mapped roads and rivers, plus clearings for agriculture, settlements, and logging. Mapped clearings (N = 1,781) ranged in size from 0.008 ha to more than 300 ha; most were smallholder agriculture, with 64 percent ≤ 1 ha. Statistical tests of spatial pattern confirmed that agriculture occurred in an inhomogeneous-aggregated pattern, suggesting interactions with other landscape elements. Proximity analyses showed that 76 percent of clearings were within 1 km of a road or river. Thirty-five percent of agriculture clearings were within 1 km of main public roads built before 1990, compared to 17 percent for logging roads built after 20...
Abstract 424: Activation of the S1P3 Receptors is Responsible for S1P-mediated RhoA Activation and Cardioprotection

Sphingosine-1-phoshpate (S1P) is a bioactive lysophospholipid, generated and released at sites of tissue injury. S1P signals through a variety of G-protein coupled receptor subtypes and there are three major sub-types, S1P 1 , S1P 2 , and S1P 3 , to mediate cardiovascular responses. S1P 2 and S1P 3 receptors couple to Gα i , Gα 12 , Gα 13 and Gα q and we first examined the contribution of S1P 2 and S1P 3 to cardiac hypertrophy using S1P 2 and S1P 3 knockout (KO) mice and found that there is no difference in hypertrophy induced by pressure-overload. We previously showed that S1P provides cardioprotection against oxidative stress such as ischemia/reperfusion in which RhoA activation and its downstream effector PKD1 play an important role. It has not, however, been determined which S1P receptor subtype is responsible for S1P mediated cardioprotection. We knocked down the three major S1P receptors using siRNA in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) and assessed RhoA and PKD1 activation induced by S1P. Knockdown of S1P 3 abolished RhoA activation and largely attenuated phosphorylation of PKD1 while knockdown of S1P 1 and S1P 2 did not. Using siRNA or pertussis toxin to inhibit different G-proteins, we further established that S1P regulates RhoA activation through Gα 13 , but not Gα 12 , Gα q , or Gα i . To investigate the role of S1P 3 receptors in the adult heart, hearts were isolated from wild-type or S1P 3 KO adult mice, perfused in the Langendorff mode and subjected to ex vivo ischemia/reperfusion. As previously reported, S1P perfusion significantly reduced infarct size induced by ischemia/reperfusion in WT hearts (by 50%), but this protection was abolished in the S1P 3 KO mouse heart. To further confirm the role of S1P 3 in cardioprotection we perfused WT mouse hearts with an S1P 3 -specific agonist CYM-51736. We observed that CYM-51736 attenuated the infarct size to a similar degree as that observed with S1P. Our findings reveal that activation of the S1P 3 receptor coupling to Gα 13 and subsequent RhoA activation is responsible for cardioprotection against ischemia/reperfusion. Accordingly specific drug targeting of S1P 3 receptors could provide therapeutic benefits in ischemic heart disease without the undesirable effects of global activation of other cardiac S1P receptors.
An investigation into the drivers of avolition in schizophrenia.

Abstract Over a century of research has documented that avolition is a core symptom in schizophrenia. However, the drivers of avolition remain unclear. Conceptually, there are at least two potential mutually compatible drivers that could cause avolition in schizophrenia. First, people with schizophrenia might have differences in preferences that result in less goal-directed behavior than non-clinical populations (preference-differences). Second, people with schizophrenia might have difficulty translating their preferences into manifest behavior at rates similar to non-clinical populations (psychological-inertia). In the present work, we modified and validated a well-validated paradigm from the motivation/decision making literature to compare levels of preference-differences and psychological-inertia. To measure preference-differences, people with and without schizophrenia choose between a lower-valenced and higher-valenced image. We measured the rate at which the normatively lower-valenced image was preferred. To measure psychological-inertia, both groups were given the opportunity to volitionally switch from a lower-valenced image and view a higher-valenced image. Contrary to expectations, people with schizophrenia did not differ on either preference-differences or psychological-inertia. Statistical analysis revealed that the possibility of a Type II error for even a weak effect was small. The present data suggest new avenues for research investigating mechanisms underlying avolition and clinical interventions targeting avolition in schizophrenia.
Multidetector-row CT imaging evaluation of superior and inferior vena cava normal anatomy and caval variants: Report of our cases and literature review with embryologic correlation.

ObjectiveTo assess the potential of multidetector-row computed tomography imaging and its reformations in the evaluation of the superior and inferior vena cava normal anatomy and their anatomical v...
Automatic diagnosis of melanoma from dermoscopic image using real-time object detection

Among all types of skin cancer, a melanoma is the deadliest. Melanoma is typically a small, usually black or brown colored mole, which can develop anywhere on the skin. Detecting melanoma in its earliest stages is among the most important factors in improving the outcome of a melanoma diagnosis. In this paper, a real-time object detection technique is used to automatically detect melanoma in dermoscopic images. For detecting melanoma in real-time a state-of-the art detection model named YOLOv2 (You Only Look Once: version 2) is used. YOLOv2 uses a single neural network to the full image, enabling real-time performance. It is capable of processing images at 40–60 fps using a Titan X GPU. Our proposed model predicts the diagnosis of a mole with an accuracy of 86.00%, sensitivity = 86.35% and specificity = 85.90%. In addition, the proposed method is shown to be invariant to the presence of hair in the image.
PROMETHEAN FORESIGHT OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND MHC ANTIGEN POLYMORPHISM

ABSTRACT In order to cope with rapid mutation rates of parasitic viruses and bacteria, the mammalian immune system violated the Epimethean rule of evolution and acquired Promethean foresight. V genes in the mammalian genome by random mutations and reassembly generate a very large number of antigen binding sites; many of which are directed against antigens not yet in existence. As the penalty for the above audacity, status quo prevails among the V genes, as to their antigen binding capacities. Consequently, ever-lasting contests between parasitic viruses and the host immune system involve the former's attempts to disguise their antigens as selves of the host and the host's attempts to distinguish these viral pseudoselves from true selves. The host utilizes extensively polymorphic MHC antigens as the principal tool for pseudoself versus true self distinction. The key for generation of diverse humoral antibodies is found in the V L + J L or V H + D H + J H pretranscriptional fusion mechanism. We propose that the key for generation of diverse T cell receptors is found in V H + V H pretranscritional coding sequence fusion.
PTLD: Survival and analysis of prognostic factors in a cohort of 138 patients from a single institution.

e19048Background: The outcome and prognostic factors of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) varies in currently reported literature. We present one of the largest single institution...
Synthesis and characterization of polyaniline nanofibers as cathode active material for sodium-ion battery

Conducting electroactive polymers are promising candidates for next-generation sodium-ion batteries due to their environmentally benign properties, high stability, and low cost. In this work, polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers have been successfully prepared by interfacial polymerization and characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effect of initiator concentration and interfacial contact area on the yield and surface morphology of PANI nanofibers has been studied. The yield and nanofibrous structure of PANI are found to be directly proportional to the interfacial contact area and the concentration of initiator. PANI nanofibers prepared from 1 M ammonium persulfate (APS) in a container having highest interfacial area of 200 cm2 has the highest yield of 0.9 and uniform nanofibrous structure which is clear from SEM study. Preparation of PANI nanofibers and doping with sodium-ion salt is confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. Sodium-ion battery prepared with doped PANI delivered a highest discharge capacity value of 112 mAh g−1 at 0.047 mA cm−2 during initial cycling. The rate capability tests indicated that after cycling at different C-rates, the cell regained its initial discharge capacity value of 123 mAh g−1 at 0.047 mA cm−2.
32-digit values of the first 100 recurrence coefficients for the Bose-Einstein-type weight function with exponent 3

32-digit values of the first 100 recurrence coefficients for the weight function w(x)=[x/(exp(x)-1)]^r on [0,Inf], r=3
Expanding Television’s Cultural Forum in the Digital Era: Prime Time Television, Twitter, and Black Lives Matter

Twitter updates and expands television’s cultural forum model by letting viewers speak to current events such as the Black Live Matter (BLM) movement. This article analyzes 1,985 tweets in response...
Revisiting the effect of warrantless domestic violence arrest laws on intimate partner homicides

Abstract Warrantless domestic violence arrest laws allow officers to make arrests of alleged offenders of domestic violence without warrants given probable cause. Existing literature classifies these laws into three groups based on the degree of arrest authority given to officers: discretionary, preferred, and mandatory. Using our updating of each type of warrantless domestic violence arrest law, we examine the causal effect of these laws on intimate partner homicides using differences-in-differences. In contrast to Iyengar (2009) , we find no evidence that mandatory arrest laws, which remove officer discretion by making arrest a required action, increased intimate partner homicides. Instead, we find some evidence that discretionary arrest statutes, which allowed officer discretion to make arrests, decreased current and former spousal homicides.
DIGESTA KINETICS, RUMINAL FERMENTATION CHARACTERISTICS AND SERUM METABOLITES OF PREGNANT AND LACTATING EWES FED CHOPPED ALFALFA HAY

Eight ruminally cannulated ewes (four control and four bred; average BW = 85.7 kg), limit-fed alfalfa hay (1.86% BW), were used in two experiments to determine the effects of pregnancy and lactation on digestive function and serum metabolites. Seven-day sampling periods were used starting on d 102, 118 and 132 of gestation (Exp. 1) and d 14 and 32 of lactation (Exp. 2). Particulate (6.8 vs 4.9%/h; PPR) and fluid passage rates (13.9 vs 10.9%/h) were greater (P less than .05) and gastrointestinal mean retention time (28.9 vs 35.7 h) and fluid turnover time (FTT, 7.5 vs 9.5 h) were lesser (P less than .05) in pregnant than in nonpregnant ewes, respectively. Isobutyrate concentration was lower (P less than .05) in pregnant (1.7 mol/100 mol) than in nonpregnant (1.9 mol/100 mol) ewes. No differences (P greater than .10) were noted for any other ruminal fermentation measures between pregnant and nonpregnant ewes. In Exp. 2, no differences (P greater than .10) were noted in digesta kinetics or ruminal fermentation measures except for isobutyrate and isovalerate molar proportions and serum urea N (SUN) concentration. Isobutyrate, isovalerate and SUN concentrations (21.8 vs 26.1 mg/dl) were lower (P less than .05) in lactating ewes than in nonlactating ewes. Gastrointestinal fill (5.7 vs 7.7 g/kg BW) and FTT (9.3 vs 12.7 h) were lesser and DM digestion (66.7 vs 57.4%) was greater (P less than .05) in lactating than in nonlactating ewes. Data suggest that, during pregnancy, passage rate increases occur without affecting DM digestion and that, during lactation, PPR is not affected when ewes are limit-fed.
Use of presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses in patients with prior corneal refractive surgery.

Purpose of review Corneal refractive surgery has achieved spectacle-free vision for millions of patients, but this aging population is now developing cataracts. Many of these patients may wish to avoid reliance on glasses after cataract surgery. Presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses (IOLs) offer a solution, but corneal changes after refractive surgery may compound higher order aberrations and dysphotopic symptoms associated with these IOLs. This review aims to discuss potential factors that could aid in determining suitable postkeratorefractive candidates for presbyopia-correcting IOLs. Recent findings Studies investigating which preoperative measures influence outcomes are lacking. The few studies that have examined presbyopia-correcting IOLs in postkeratorefractive patients report that satisfactory outcomes are possible. However, recommendations for preoperative thresholds appear limited to expert opinion and studies involving virgin corneas. Summary As the number of presbyopia-correcting IOLs and postkeratorefractive patients grows, continued investigation into relevant preoperative factors and appropriate IOLs is required to make evidence-based decisions. The current literature shows that with rigorous counseling and appropriate patient selection, presbyopia-correcting IOLs can provide postkeratorefractive patients with satisfactory results and spectacle independence. In addition, the development of postoperative modifiable IOLs may prove to be the preferred option.
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Microvascular Stacked and Conjoined-Flap Breast Reconstruction.

Background Stacked and conjoined (SC) flaps are a useful means of increasing flap volume in autologous breast reconstruction. The majority of studies, however, have been limited to smaller, single-center series. Methods A systematic literature review was performed to identify outcomes-based studies on microvascular SC-flap breast reconstruction. Pooled rates of flap and operative characteristics were analyzed. Meta-analytic effect size estimates were calculated for reconstructive complication rates and outcomes of studies comparing SC flaps to non-SC flaps. Meta-regression analysis identified risk factors for flap complications. Results Twenty-six studies were included for analysis (21 case series, five retrospective cohort studies) for a total of 869 patients, 1,003 breasts, and 2006 flaps. The majority of flaps were harvested from the bilateral abdomen (78%, 782 breasts) followed by combined abdomen-thigh stacked flaps (22.2%, 128 breasts). About 51.1% of flaps were anastomosed to anterograde/retrograde internal mammary vessels (230 breasts) and 41.8% used internal mammary/intraflap anastomoses (188 breasts). Meta-analysis revealed a rate of any flap complication of 2.3% (95% confidence interval: 1.4–3.3%), Q-statistic value p = 0.012 (I 2 = 43.3%). SC flaps had a decreased risk of fat necrosis compared with non-SC flaps (odds ratio = 0.126, p < 0.0001, I 2 = 0.00%), though rates of any flap and donor-site complication were similar. Age, body mass index, flap weight, and flap donor site and recipient vessels were not associated with increased risk of any flap complication. Conclusion A global appraisal of the current evidence demonstrated the safety of SC-flap breast reconstruction with low complication rates, regardless of donor site, and lower rates of fat necrosis compared with non-SC flaps.
Reducing administrative costs in US health care: Assessing single payer and its alternatives

Objective Excess administrative costs in the US health care system are routinely referenced as a justification for comprehensive reform. While there is agreement that these costs are too high, there is little understanding of what generates administrative costs and what policy options might mitigate them. Data sources Literature review and national utilization and expenditure data. Study design We developed a simulation model of physician billing and insurance-related (BIR) costs to estimate how certain policy reforms would generate savings. Our model is based on structural elements of the payment process in the United States and considers each provider's number of health plan contracts, the number of features in each health plan, the clinical and nonclinical processes required to submit a bill for payment, and the compliance costs associated with medical billing. Data extraction For several types of visits, we estimated fixed and variable costs of the billing process. We used the model to estimate the BIR costs at a national level under a variety of policy scenarios, including variations of a single payer "Medicare-for-All" model that extends fee-for-service Medicare to the entire population and policy efforts to reduce administrative costs in a multi-payer model. We conducted sensitivity analyses of a wide variety of model parameters. Principal findings Our model estimates that national BIR costs are reduced between 33% and 53% in Medicare-for-All style single-payer models and between 27% and 63% in various multi-payer models. Under a wide range of assumptions and sensitivity analyses, standardizing contracts generates larger savings with less variance than savings from single-payer strategies. Conclusion Although moving toward a single-payer system will reduce BIR costs, certain reforms to payer-provider contracts could generate at least as many administrative cost savings without radically reforming the entire health system. BIR costs can be meaningfully reduced without abandoning a multi-payer system.
Machine learning and multiscale methods in the identification of bivalve larvae

We describe a novel application of support vector machines and multiscale texture and color invariants to a problem in biological oceanography: the identification of 6 species of bivalve larvae. Our data consists of polarized color images of scallop and other bivalve larvae (between 2 and 17 days old) collected from the ocean by a shipboard optical imaging system of our design. Larvae of scallops, clams, and oysters are small (100 microns) with few distinguishing features when observed under standard light microscopy. However, the use of polarized light with a full wave retardation plate produces a vivid color, birefringence pattern. The patterns display very subtle differences between species, often not discernable to human observers. We show that a soft-margin support vector machine with Gaussian RBF kernel is a good discriminator on a feature set extracted from Gabor wavelet transforms and color distribution angles of each image. By constraining the Gabor center frequencies to be low, the resulting system can attain classification accuracy in excess of 90% for vertically oriented images, and in excess of 80% for randomly oriented images.
A Note on Behavioral Aspects of Health Education and Promotion Interventions

Evidently, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-related interventions, either separate or in combination, reduce waterborne diseases and increase child growth in rural contexts. Although the effect sizes vary across the studied areas, some research has demonstrated low or no impacts. The likely reason for these lower impacts is the presence of unknown transmission pathways of pathogens; however, the efficient use of promotional health products also depends on a household’s mental model and the determinants of the household members’ behavioral adoptions. A multifaceted intervention consisting of pecuniary and behavioral strategies including economic, educational, social, and behavioral components could be more effective than a single intervention in eliciting a change in behavior regarding the adoption of health practices.
COVID‐19 and Mental Health of Young Adult Children in China: Economic Impact, Family Dynamics, and Resilience

Objective Background Method Results Conclusion Implications The current study aimed to examine the economic impact of COVID‐19 virus on family dynamics and college‐age children's mental health in China and to identity personal and social or relational resilience factors that could buffer the negative consequences of COVID‐19.Since an outbreak of COVID‐19 was first reported in China in December 2019, it has profoundly changed the lives of families and children of all ages. In particular, it has created challenges among families with college‐age young adult children.Using a sample of 484 college students from 21 universities in China, an online survey design was utilized to obtain information from these students on their family demographics and economic situation, parent–child interactions, and individual well‐being during COVID‐19.Results from structural equation modeling suggested that family income loss due to COVID‐19 was related to economic pressure. Economic pressure was associated with negative interactions between parents and young adult children, which were associated with problems in young adult children's mental health (i.e., anxiety and depressive symptoms). Further, self‐control was found to buffer the association between family income loss and economic pressure, and respect for family was found to weaken the association between economic pressure and negative parent–child interactions.Findings supported the hypotheses of the negative impacts of COVID‐19 on young adult children's mental health and the resilience factors that buffered the negative impacts.Implications to family researchers, family life educators, practitioners, and policymakers were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Family Relations is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
What Is the Utility of Measuring Lactate Levels in Patients with Sepsis and Septic Shock

Elevations in blood lactate concentrations have been studied in sepsis and other disease states for decades and are well known to be associated with increased mortality. Many studies have also demonstrated the prognostic accuracy of serial lactate levels, and some have suggested that lactate clearance may be a useful therapeutic target for resuscitation. Lactate measurements have therefore gained an increasingly prominent role in sepsis definitions, screening protocols, management guidelines, and quality measures over the past two decades. The heavy emphasis on lactate monitoring, however, has also generated controversy and concerns. Lactate is not specific to infection and its frequent use for sepsis screening and diagnosis may therefore trigger unnecessary broad-spectrum antibiotic use in some patients. Because hyperlactatemia does not always reflect fluid-responsive hypoperfusion, titrating resuscitation to lactate clearance can also lead to unnecessary fluid and volume overload. More broadly, there is a lack of high-quality evidence demonstrating that initial and serial lactate monitoring leads to better patient-centered outcomes. Indeed, a recent randomized controlled trial comparing resuscitation strategies based on lactate clearance versus normalizing capillary refill time showed no benefit and potential harm with lactate-guided therapy. In this article, we review the basic pathobiology of lactate metabolism and delineate why the traditional paradigm that hyperlactatemia reflects tissue hypoxia is overly simplistic and incomplete. We then review the evidence behind the diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic uses of lactate monitoring and place this in the context of evolving sepsis diagnosis and management guidelines.
Consent to Sexual Relations

1. Introduction 2. Law 3. The psychology of sex 4. The psychology of perpetrators 5. The harm of rape 6. The value of consent 7. The ontology of consent 8. Coercion 9. Deception 10. Competence 11. Intoxication 12. Sex and justice Appendix.
PHEO-ATTENDING: Pheochromocytoma Workup and Conflicting Expertise

The PHEO-ATTENDING system extends the exploration of the critiquing approach beyond medical management into an area of medical workup. PHEO-ATTENDING is designed to critique a physician’s workup of a patient with a sus-pected pheochromocytoma. To use PHEO-ATTENDING, a physician first inputs a modest amount of information describing the patient and indicates any tests or procedures that he has ordered, or that he plans to order. He also specifies the results of any tests and procedures that have already been performed.
Evolutionary algorithm based on-line PHEV energy management system with self-adaptive SOC control

The energy management system (EMS) is crucial to a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) in reducing its fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. The EMS determines how energy flows in a hybrid powertrain should be managed in response to a variety of driving conditions. In the development of EMS, the battery state-of-charge (SOC) control strategy plays a critical role. This paper proposes a novel evolutionary algorithm (EA)-based EMS with self-adaptive SOC control strategy for PHEVs, which can achieve the optimal fuel efficiency without trip length (by time) information. Numerical studies show that this proposed system can save up to 13% fuel, compared to other on-line EMS with different SOC control strategies. Further analysis indicates that the proposed system is less sensitive to the errors in predicting propulsion power in real-time, which is favorable for on-line implementation.
Ground-Water Hydraulics in Aquifer Management

The method first replaces the differential equations of ground-water flow by finite-difference approximations that include unknown sink/source terms. The resulting system of algebraic linear equations has a rectangular matrix of coefficients. This system, together with linear inequalities relating sink/source terms, heads or both, and together with an objective function, forms a linear programming (LP) model. The method is applied to small-scale models of confined and unconfined saturated flow for steady-state and transient cases. The steady-state LP models are solved using available computer codes. For the transient confined model, the Crank-Nicolson scheme is used, and a single LP problem is solved covering all of the time steps. For the transient unconfined model, a predictor technique is used, and a LP problem is solved at each corrector step. The optimal solutions are consistent with the results of traditional analyses.
Establishing a Marketplace of Women in Peacekeeping: An Analysis of Gender Mainstreaming and its Viability in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations

What best explains the United Nations’ (UN) attempts to mainstream gender in peacekeeping? And, in light of the fact that the top personnel contributing countries to UN peacekeeping missions are characterized by high levels of gender inequality, how feasible are the efforts to include more women in peacekeeping missions? This paper examines both the rationale for and feasibility of increasing the number of women involved in peacekeeping missions. A demand-driven explanation for gender mainstreaming is advanced, followed by an analysis regarding the feasibility of policy implementation. By observing patterns of troop and police contributions to peacekeeping missions this paper concludes that the UN must effectively increase incentives for personnel contributing states to deploy more women in their peacekeeping forces in order to improve gender equality in peacekeeping operations while taking into account the potential domestic barriers to the implementation of gender mainstreaming policies.
Characterizing middleware mechanisms for future sensor networks

Due to their promise for supporting applications society cares about and their unique blend of distributed systems and networking issues, wireless sensor networks (SN) have become an active research area. Most current SN use an arrangement of nodes with limited capabilities. Given SN device technology trends, we believe future SN nodes will have the computational capability of today's handhelds, and communication capabilities well beyond today's “motes”. Applications will demand these increased capabilities in SN for performing computations in-network on higher bit-rate streaming data. We focus on interesting fusion applications such as automated surveillance. These applications combine one or more input streams via synthesis, or fusion, operations in a hierarchical fashion to produce high-level inference output streams. For SN to successfully support fusion applications, they will need to be constructed to achieve application throughput and latency requirements while minimizing energy usage to increase application lifetime. This thesis investigates novel middleware mechanisms for improving application lifetime while achieving required latency and throughput, in the context of a variety of SN topologies and scales, models of potential fusion applications, and device radio and CPU capabilities. We present a novel architecture, DFuse, for supporting data fusion applications in SN. Using a DFuse implementation and a novel simulator, MSSN, of the DFuse middleware, we investigate several middleware mechanisms for managing energy in SN. We demonstrate reasonable overhead for our prototype DFuse implementation on a small iPAQ SN. We propose and evaluate extensively an elegant distributed, local role-assignment heuristic that dynamically adapts the mapping of a fusion application to the SN, guided by a cost function. Using several studies with DFuse and MSSN, we show that this heuristic scales well and enables significant lifetime extension. We propose and evaluate with MSSN a predictive CPU scaling mechanism for dynamically optimizing energy usage by processors performing fusion. The scaling heuristic seeks to make the ratio of processing time to communication time for each synthesis operation conform to an input parameter. We show how tuning this parameter trades latency degradation for improved lifetime. These investigations demonstrate MSSN's utility for exposing tradeoffs fundamental to successful SN construction.
New synthetic methods for hypericum natural products

Organic chemistry has served as a solid foundation for interdisciplinary research areas, such as molecular biology and medicinal chemistry. An understanding of the biological activities and structural elucidations of natural products can lead to the development of clinically valuable therapeutic options. The advancements of modern synthetic methodologies allow for more elaborate and concise natural product syntheses. The theme of this study centers on the synthesis of natural products with particularly challenging structures and interesting biological activities. The synthetic expertise developed here will be applicable to analog syntheses and to other research problems.
Solar energy in California industry - Applications, characteristics and potential

Results of a survey to determine the potential applicability of solar thermal energy to industrial processes in California are presented. It is found that if the heat for all industrial processes at temperatures below 212 F were supplied by solar energy, total state energy consumption could be reduced by 100 trillion Btus (2%), while the use of solar energy in processes between 212 and 350 F could displace 500 trillion Btus. The issues and problems with which solar energy must contend are illustrated by a description of fluid milk processing operations. Solar energy application is found to be technically feasible for processes with thermal energy requirements below 212 F, with design, and degree of technical, economic and management feasibility being site specific. It is recommended that the state provide support for federal and industrial research, development and demonstration programs in order to stimulate acceptance of solar process heat application by industry.
The role of excitatory amino acid transmitters in the mudpuppy retina: an analysis with kainic acid and N-methyl aspartate

A variety of glutamate and aspartate analogues were used to characterize the excitatory amino acid receptors in the mudpuppy retina. This approach revealed two general classes of receptors which were represented by the agonists kainic acid and N-methyl aspartic acid. Kainic acid was found to be a potent photoreceptor transmitter agonist on all three types of second-order neurons, and it was a powerful excitant of amacrine and ganglion cells. N-Methyl aspartate had little effect in the outer retina, but it had potent stimulatory effects on inner retinal neurons. N-Methyl aspartate antagonists selectively blocked light responses in some sustained OFF ganglion cells. These results suggest that both photoreceptors and bipolar neurons may use glutamate Or an analogue, whereas aspartate may be utilized by a class of sustained ON amacrine cells.
Active Site of an Industrial Catalyst

The active site of a heterogeneous catalyst can be thought of as the ensemble of atoms that directly catalyzes a reaction. Knowledge of the structure and composition of the active site is crucial for understanding and improving the properties of catalysts ( 1 , 2 ). The advent of atomically resolved in situ spectroscopies, enhanced surface science techniques, and accurate electronic structure calculations has led to important advances in understanding single crystal-based catalysts and metal nanoparticles ( 3 – 7 ). However, little progress has been made in probing the active sites of more challenging catalysts, in which interactions between the active metals and the oxide supports are highly synergistic and sensitive to the environmental and reaction conditions ( 8 ). On page 893 of this issue, Behrens et al. ( 9 ) report a comprehensive experimental and theoretical analysis of the active site structure of one such catalyst that is of crucial importance in industry.