cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Should a Price Change Be Handled as a New Product Introduction? The Hidden Costs (Considerations) of Implementing a Price Change

Abstract Often price changes are viewed as having impacts only on the units sold, the revenue and the profits of a company. Impacts of price changes can be much more pervasive to the company and can cause disruptions in systems and processes. If impacts throughout the company are not considered, the product and firm may suffer disastrous consequences. This case study focuses on five principles that companies should consider when implementing price changes. It recommends that stage gating, a new product development process be followed to support successful price changes. The study also examines these principles through the example of an implementation of a tiered price structure on the DSL offering of a telecommunications company. The company avoided risk, organizational chaos, work system capacity overloads, and customer dissatisfaction by handling the price change through the new product development process.
Electron Pulse Compression With a Practical Reflectron Design for Ultrafast Electron Diffraction

Ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) is a powerful method for studying time-resolved structural changes. Currently, space-charge-induced temporal broadening prevents obtaining high-brightness electron pulses with sub-100 fs durations limiting the range of phenomena that can be studied with this technique. We review the state of the art of UED in this respect and propose a practical design for reflectron-based pulse compression that utilizes only electrostatic optics and has a tunable temporal focal point. Our simulation shows that this scheme is capable of compressing an electron pulse containing 100 000 electrons with 60:1 temporal compression ratio.
Reef growth and volcanism on the submarine southwest rift zone of Mauna Loa, Hawaii

A marine sampling program, utilizing the PISCES-5 submersible operated by the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (NOAA), has confirmed the presence of a major submerged coral reef offshore from Ka Lae (South Point), Hawaii. The top of the reef is now 150–160 m below sea level. Radiocarbon and Useries dating indicates that it drowned about 13.9 ka by the combined effects of island subsidence (2.5 mm/year) and the rapid rise of sea level at the end of the last glaciation so that the relative submergence rate of more than 10 mm/year exceeded the upward growth rate of the reef. The submerged reef caps the offshore part of the southwest rift-zone ridge of Mauna Loa, which has apparently undergone little volcanic activity offshore since 170 ka, and possibly since 270 ka. This fact suggests that rift zone activity is becoming increasingly restricted toward the upper part of the volcano, a condition possibly heralding the end of the shield-building stage.
Minimizing the number of segments in a delivery sequence for intensity-modulated radiation therapy with a multileaf collimator

This paper proposes a sequencing algorithm for intensity-modulated radiation therapy with a multileaf collimator in the static mode. The algorithm aims to minimize the number of segments in a delivery sequence. For a machine with a long verification and recording overhead time (e.g., 15 s per segment), minimizing the number of segments is equivalent to minimizing the delivery time. The proposed new algorithm is based on checking numerous candidates for a segment and selecting the candidate that results in a residual intensity matrix with the least complexity. When there is more than one candidate resulting in the same complexity, the candidate with the largest size is selected. The complexity of an intensity matrix is measured in the new algorithm in terms of the number of segments in the delivery sequence obtained by using a published algorithm. The beam delivery efficiency of the proposed algorithm and the influence of different published algorithms used to calculate the complexity of an intensity matrix were tested with clinical intensity-modulated beams. The results show that no matter which published algorithm is used to calculate the complexity of an intensity matrix, the sequence generated by the algorithm proposed here is always more efficient than that generated by the published algorithm itself. The results also show that the algorithm used to calculate the complexity of an intensity matrix affects the efficiency of beam delivery. The delivery sequences are frequently most efficient when the algorithm of Bortfeld et al. is used to calculate the complexity of an intensity matrix. Because no single variation is most efficient for all beams tested, we suggest implementing multiple variations of our algorithm.
Neutrophil-dependent augmentation of PAF-induced vasoconstriction and albumin flux in coronary arterioles

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of ischemic heart disease, reperfusion injury, and inflammatory reactions. Although neutrophils have been shown to primarily...
10 Bioarchaeological Perspectives on the Materiality of Everyday Life Activities

The activities of everyday life influence not only the extrasomatic material world, but also the material properties of our own bodies. Living bone tissue is a dynamic material that responds to external and internal stimuli to alter its size, shape, and structure, and the repetitive actions from daily life performances leave traces that can be interpreted from archaeological skeletal remains. This chapter examines how the human body can be interpreted as a type of material object that both shapes and is shaped by our behavior. These changes are highlighted through the examination of a small skeletal population from the Postclassic site of Xaltocan in Central Mexico. Bioarchaeological analyses of these material changes add a unique perspective to the discussion of the materiality of everyday life in the past.
Clinical recovery from surgery correlates with single-cell immune signatures.

Delayed recovery from surgery causes personal suffering and substantial societal and economic costs. Whether immune mechanisms determine recovery after surgical trauma remains ill-defined. Single-cell mass cytometry was applied to serial whole-blood samples from 32 patients undergoing hip replacement to comprehensively characterize the phenotypic and functional immune response to surgical trauma. The simultaneous analysis of 14,000 phosphorylation events in precisely phenotyped immune cell subsets revealed uniform signaling responses among patients, demarcating a surgical immune signature. When regressed against clinical parameters of surgical recovery, including functional impairment and pain, strong correlations were found with STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription), CREB (adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate response element–binding protein), and NF-κB (nuclear factor κB) signaling responses in subsets of CD14 + monocytes ( R = 0.7 to 0.8, false discovery rate
Listeners’ judgments of the musical unity of structurally altered and intact musical compositions

The aims of this study were to examine how listeners judge musical unity and whether they can detect lack of unity in compositions that have been structurally altered. Participants listened to 15 p...
When is Pharmacogenetic Testing for Antidepressant Response Ready for the Clinic? A Cost-effectiveness Analysis Based on Data from the STAR * D Study

When is Pharmacogenetic Testing for Antidepressant Response Ready for the Clinic? A Cost-effectiveness Analysis Based on Data from the STAR * D Study
Flip-chip solder bump fatigue life enhanced by polymer encapsulation

Encapsulation of controlled collapse chip connection (C4) joints, using a filled epoxy resin having a matched coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), has provided a substantial increase in the life of C4 joints in accelerated thermal cycle (ATC) fatigue testing on both low-CTE organic and ceramic chip carriers. The C4 joints are encapsulated by dispensing a bead of resin along an edge of the chip. The encapsulation flows underneath the chip by capillary action and completely fills the gap between the chip and the substrate. Optimization of the filler size distribution and resin rheology to get consistent flow under the chip without any bubbles is discussed. The filler size distribution and flow under the chip are shown to cross sections of several different materials including low-alpha-emitting encapsulants for memory applications. Novel encapsulant formulations were tested by videotaping the flow of encapsulant under transparent quartz chips. The formation of bubbles as the encapsulant flows around the C4 joints and irregularities in the surface of the substrate can clearly be seen. Proper C4 encapsulation provides virtually complete coverage around all C4 connections. C4 life testing over various temperature ranges show a 5 to 10 times improvement for both memory and logic footprints when the C4 joints are encapsulated. The vast improvement in C4-joint reliability provided by encapsulation allows the C4 technology to be extended to much larger chips or to higher service-temperature ranges without conventional DNP (distance from neural point) constraints. >
Further observations on Protostrongylus sp. infection by transplacental transmission in bighorn sheep.

Tissues from two bighorn sheep fetuses and four neonatal bighorn sheep lambs were examined for evidence of natural Protostongylus infection occurring by the transplacental route. Forty-three third-stage larvae (L3) were recovered from the fetal liver of case 1; one L3 from the cotyledons of case 2; 189 L3 from the liver and 46 L3 from the lungs of case 3; 146 La from the liver and 43 L3 from the lungs of case 4; and 133 L3 from the liver and 33 L3 from the lungs of case 5. Fifty-two L3 and fourth-stage larvae (L4) were recovered from the lungs and five L3 from the liver of case 6. Digestion with Pepsin-HCL was a more effective method for recovery of L3 than baermannization, but L4 larvae were digested.
Investigating the transition between the 1967 Mudurnu Valley and 1999 Izmit earthquakes along the North Anatolian fault with static stress changes

SUMMARY The last major rupture along the North Anatolian fault (NAF) prior to the Izmit and Duzce earthquakes in 1999 was the Ms= 7.1 1967 July 22 Mudurnu Valley Earthquake, which ruptured approximately 80 km along the surface of the west-central NAF. The geographic continuity of the Mudurnu Valley and Izmit ruptures corresponds to the historical westward progression of major earthquakes along the NAF and encourages us to test the stress-triggering effects of the 1967 earthquake on the 1999 earthquake. Although the triggered earthquake sequence from 1939 to 1999 has been investigated by earlier workers, this study addresses several outstanding problems related to this most recent earthquake interaction in light of more detailed fault configurations and a posteriori knowledge of the 1999 events. The questions we hope to answer are: (1) did the stress perturbation caused by the 1967 Mudurnu Valley earthquake promote failure at the 1999 Izmit earthquake hypocentre and along Izmit fault segments? (2) Why did the 1999 Izmit earthquake rupture along faults in the centre of the Izmit–Akyazi depression rather than along the western continuation of the Mudurnu Valley fault that ruptured in 1967? (3) What is the rupture configuration at the western end of the 1967 earthquake fault that would most favour slip on the 1999 August 17 Izmit earthquake fault? Using a 3-D boundary element method, we test three possible rupture configurations for the 1967 Mudurnu Valley earthquake. Coulomb stress changes are calculated on major faults within the region due to non-uniform slip associated with the 1967 Mudurnu Valley earthquake. We find that for all three potential 1967 Mudurnu Valley rupture geometries there are positive Coulomb stress changes at the hypocentre of the 1999 Izmit earthquake. We also find, however, that only when subsurface rupture of the 1967 Mudurnu Valley earthquake deviates from the mountain-front fault and extends towards Lake Sapanca does an Izmit rupture segment (Sakarya segment) receive greater Coulomb stress changes than the mountain-front fault west of the Mudurnu rupture.
Equine model for soft‐tissue regeneration

Soft-tissue regeneration methods currently yield suboptimal clinical outcomes due to loss of tissue volume and a lack of functional tissue regeneration. Grafted tissues and natural biomaterials often degrade or resorb too quickly, while most synthetic materials do not degrade. In previous research we demonstrated that soft-tissue regeneration can be supported using silk porous biomaterials for at least 18 months in vivo in a rodent model. In the present study, we scaled the system to a survival study using a large animal model and demonstrated the feasibility of these biomaterials for soft-tissue regeneration in adult horses. Both slow and rapidly degrading silk matrices were evaluated in subcutaneous pocket and intramuscular defect depots. We showed that we can effectively employ an equine model over 6 months to simultaneously evaluate many different implants, reducing the number of animals needed. Furthermore, we were able to tailor matrix degradation by varying the initial format of the implanted silk. Finally, we demonstrate ultrasound imaging of implants to be an effective means for tracking tissue regeneration and implant degradation.
16. Michael Doyle. 1986. “Liberalism and World Politics.” American Political Science Review 80 (December): 1151–69. Cited 311 times.

“Liberalism and World Politics” had an impact because it is short and (by my standards) well written. I am sure its brevity has attracted anthologists. The more substantial reasons for its impact seem to me to be the following five: First, the article addressed an important anomaly. Traditional theories of democratic foreign policy said that democracies would inherently be peaceful. The mainstream of the literature on war and peace refuted that claim. A group of carefully done empirical studies suggested that democracies were peaceful, but only with one another. This article resolved the anomaly by outlining the logic of how states that were both liberal and representative would maintain peace with one another, but not reliably with nonliberal, nonrepresentative states. It argued that although states throughout history have gone to war with one another to advance both their rational national and nonnational governmental interests, liberal democratic peoples have, by and large, respected one another's sovereignty and security.
Microstructural Changes in the Crack Tip Region of Carbon-Black-Filled Natural Rubber

Abstract CB facilitates strain-induced crystallization and increases the size of the crystallized zone at the stressed crack tip. Both effects are major reinforcement mechanisms that increase the fracture resistance of CB-reinforced NR.
The Policy Delphi: A Method for Identifying Intended and Unintended Consequences of Educational Policy.

This article highlights a rarely utilized but effective technique for identifying intended and unintended consequences of past or current policy or policy change. The author guides the reader through the process of identifying potential participants, contacting participants, developing the policy Delphi instrument, and analyzing the findings by sharing an example of a research study he recently completed. In addition, the author also shares other potential uses of this methodology.
The effect of breech presentation on the accuracy of estimated fetal weight

To determine whether fetal presentation affects the accuracy of ultrasonographic estimated fetal weight (EFW). This is a retrospective cohort study of singleton pregnancies that underwent ultrasonographic EFW within 3 weeks of delivery at a single institution from 1993 to 2008. Breech presenting fetuses were compared with those presenting cephalic. EFW using the Hadlock formula was compared with actual birth weight (ABW) and reported as mean difference and mean percentage difference. Differences were also considered categorically. Subgroup analyses were performed of women who delivered within 4 days of scan and excluding women with comorbidities. Ability to detect small and large for gestational age infants was compared. Evaluation of 3770 patients, 183 (4.9%) breech presenting and 3587 (95.1%) cephalic presenting revealed no difference in mean gram difference (-222.1 g ± 312.6 vs. -210.7 g ± 793.2, p = 0.084), respectively, or ability to accurately predict within 10% of ABW (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.23; 95% CI, 0.89,1.69; p = 0.208). Subgroup analyses revealed similar results. There was no difference in the ability to detect small and large for gestational age infants. Presentation does not demonstrably affect the accuracy of ultrasonographic EFW when utilizing the Hadlock formula.
Multiple Resource–Constrained Scheduling Using Branch and Bound

Abstract This paper focuses upon the problem of assigning feasible start times to a set of activities making up a project, static job shop, or static flowship type schedules under two constraint sets: (1) no activity may be started until all activities technologically established as its predecessor set have been completed, and (2) the total resource requirements of all activities in process at any time in the schedule must not exceed the level of availability for each of the multiple resource classes. The solution procedure used for these problems is branch and bound, and the resulting complete schedules are optimized with an objective of minimizing the completion time of the entire set of activities. Computational results on tests conducted on a number of randomly generated problem sets with up to 60 activities and six resource classes are presented.
Comparison of the QRS Complex, ST-Segment, and T-Wave Among Patients with Left Bundle Branch Block with and without Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Abstract Background The modified Sgarbossa criteria have been validated as a rule for diagnosis of acute coronary occlusion (ACO) in left bundle branch block (LBBB). However, no analysis has been done on differences in the QRS complex, T-wave, or ST-segment concordance of Objective We compare findings involving the QRS amplitude, ST-segment morphology, ST-concordance Methods Retrospectively, emergency department patients were identified with LBBB and ischemic symptoms but no MI, with angiographically proven ACO, and with non-STEMI. Results ACO, non-STEMI, and no MI groups consisted of 33, 24, and 105 patients. The sum of the maximum deflection of the QRS amplitude across all leads (ΣQRS) was smaller in patients with ACO than those without ACO (101.5 mm vs. 132.5 mm; p Conclusions We found differences in QRS amplitude, ST-segment morphology, and T-waves between patients with LBBB and ACO, non-STEMI, and no MI. However, none of these criteria outperformed the modified Sgarbossa criteria for diagnosis of ACO in LBBB.
Dose-Response Relationship between Noise Exposure and Hypertension of Paper Mill Workers

[Objective] To investigate the impact of noise produced in the process of paper manufacturing on workers' blood pressure.[Methods] Sound pressure levels of different workplaces were detected in a large paper mill.Workers with occupational exposure to the noise in the mill were selected as observation group and administration staff from other factories as control group.A physical examination including blood pressure was conducted.Data obtained were used to analyze the prevalence of hypertension in workers with different noise exposure levels.[Results] The prevalence of hypertension in the observation group(9.1%) was obviously higher than that in the control group(4.9%)(P 0.01).Trend chi-square test showed a clear dose-response relationship between noise exposure(8 h equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure level,LAeq) and the prevalence of hypertension(P 0.05).[Conclusion] Noise pollution exists in the paper mill.Long-time exposure to the noise could affect workers' blood pressure and induce hypertension.
Progress of Mid-season Super Hybrid Rice Breeding in Southern China

The production of mid-season hybrid rice in southern China is important.Great achievement was made in China on mid-season super hybrid rice breeding in the past ten years owed to right breeding technological route.The paper reviewed the achievement of breeding new parents(or combinations),building breeding technology system and extending the fruits.The problems of lack eurytopic combination,small extending power,lack combinations that having high yield,high quality and high resistance existed in the mid-season super hybrid rice breeding were pointed out.These problems were solved through 3 aspects including widening the genetic base;breeding the eurytopic combination,exploiting the special germ plasm,breeding the combination having the excellent characters and building light-duty cultivation system;strengthening the extension.The conversion research findings,breeding the mid-season super hybrid rice combination having the eurytopic and excellent characters and strengthening the research of the 3th super hybrid rice were discussed.
Potential for using aromatase inhibitors for preventing breast cancer

Substantial evidence supports the concept that estrogens cause breast cancer in animals and in women but the precise mechanism is unknown. The most commonly held theory is that estrogens stimulate proliferation of breast cells and thus statistically increase the chances for genetic mutations which could result in cancer. Another theory is that estrogen metabolism generates oxygen-free radicals and quinones which produce both stable and unstable DNA adducts. Both result in genetic mutations which accumulate and could ultimately cause cancer. A major criticism of the latter hypothesis is that breast tissue contains insufficient concentrations of estrogen for accumulation of genotoxic metabolites. Our hypothesis is that breast tissue estrogen levels, as a result of in situ synthesis, are much higher than previously thought. With sufficient amounts of aromatase in breast tissue, enough estradiol as substrate should be available to allow formation of substantial amounts of genotoxic metabolites. We postulate that aromatase overexpression may in this way cause breast cancer. As evidence supporting this concept, four animal models of aromatase overexpression and either breast cancer or pre-malignant lesions have been described. We have provided evidence that normal breast tissue can make estrogen and that certain stimulatory compounds can increase aromatase activity in the breast by nearly 10,000-fold. If our concepts are correct, it might be possible to prevent breast cancer by blocking the aromatase enzyme. Aromatase inhibitors might be more effective than antiestrogens in preventing breast cancer because of their dual role to block both initiation and promotion of breast cancer.
Dynamics of Early-Type Galaxies

The form of the velocity and velocity dispersion profiles in elliptical galaxies, and their implications for anisotropy and mass-tolight ratio changes in ellipticals are discussed. Recent results on the luminosity dependence of the rotational properties of ellipticals are summarized, as are questions concerning the shapes of ellipticals. The relation of bulges to ellipticals, in the light of these new data, is considered.
Thermal Interaction between Pavement and Building Surfaces

Pavement heat can influence near-surface air temperature profiles and consequently influence human thermal comfort and air quality in hot periods, as discussed in the previous chapter. In addition to the thermal impact on near-surface air, pavement heat potentially would also increase the temperature of building surfaces as well as reflecting solar radiation that can be absorbed by building surfaces, consequently increasing the energy use for cooling the building in hot periods. This chapter preliminarily evaluates the thermal interaction between pavement and building walls through both experiments and simulations, to characterize the impacts of various pavement types on building surface temperatures.
Job Crafting and Cultivating Positive Meaning and Identity in Work

The design of a job is deeply consequential for employees’ psychological experiences at work. Jobs are collections of tasks and relationships that are grouped together and assigned to an individual (Ilgen & Hollenbeck, 1992), and scholars have long been interested in the way these elements come together to constitute the experience of a job (Griffin, 1987; Hackman & Oldham, 1980). Research in this area has traditionally built on a core assumption that managers design jobs in a top-down fashion for employees, which places employees in the relatively passive role of being the recipients of the jobs they hold.
Seizures and Thyrotoxicosis

Two thyrotoxic children, ages 10 and 11 years, who presented with seizures and coma are reported from the Departments of Pediatrics, Bolzano Hospital and the University of Pavia, Italy.
The social brain network in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: a diffusion tensor imaging study

Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) is a neurogenetic disorder that is associated with a 25-fold increase in schizophrenia. Both individuals with 22q11.2DS and those with schizophrenia present with social cognitive deficits, which are putatively subserved by a network of brain regions that are involved in the processing of social cognitive information. This study used two-tensor tractography to examine the white matter tracts believed to underlie the social brain network in a group of 57 young adults with 22q11.2DS compared to 30 unaffected controls. Results indicated that relative to controls, participants with 22q11.2DS showed significant differences in several DTI metrics within the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, cingulum bundle, thalamo-frontal tract, and inferior longitudinal fasciculus. In addition, participants with 22q11.2DS showed significant differences in scores on measures of social cognition, including the Social Responsiveness Scale and Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire. Further analyses among individuals with 22q11.2DS demonstrated an association between DTI metrics and positive and negative symptoms of psychosis, as well as differentiation between individuals with 22q11.2DS and overt psychosis, relative to those with positive prodromal symptoms or no psychosis. Findings suggest that white matter disruption, specifically disrupted axonal coherence in the right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, may be a biomarker for social cognitive difficulties and psychosis in individuals with 22q11.2DS.
Pokémon Go: digital health interventions to reduce cardiovascular risk.

Physical activity is associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease/cardiovascular disease mortality, and current guidelines recommend physical activity for primary prevention in healthy individuals and secondary prevention in patients with coronary heart disease/cardiovascular disease. Over the last decade, playing classic video games has become one of the most popular leisure activities in the world, but is associated with a sedentary lifestyle. In the new era of rapidly evolving augmented reality technology, Pokemon Go, a well-known augmented reality game, may promote physical activity and prevent cardiovascular disease risks – that is, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. Pokemon Go makes players willing to be physically active for regular and long periods of time. We report on an assessment of regular walking and playing Pokemon Go by performing data mining in Twitter.
Risk of drug resistance in repeat gram-negative infections among patients with multiple hospitalizations

Abstract Purpose Drug resistance in gram-negative bacterial hospital-acquired infections (GNB HAIs) has become ubiquitous in recent years. Patients who experience multiple hospitalizations are at high risk of developing repeat GNB HAIs. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between repeat GNB HAIs and antibiotic susceptibility patterns. Methods Using electronic medical records from three hospitals, 4053 patients were identified with at least one HAI caused by K. pneumoniae or P. aeruginosa over multiple hospitalizations in a 9-year period. Modified Poisson regression was used to evaluate the risk of drug resistance with increasing number of prior susceptible infections. Drug resistance was defined as resistant to carbapenems for K. pneumoniae and resistant to levofloxacin for P. aeruginosa. Results In patients with repeat infections, almost 15% of consecutive infections changed from susceptible to drug-resistant. Patients with K. pneumoniae infections had a 1.14 times increased risk of acquiring a drug-resistant HAI with each prior HAI, after adjusting for potential confounders and antibiotic use prior to infection. Patients with P. aeruginosa infections had a 1.23 times increased risk of a drug-resistant infection with each prior P. aeruginosa HAI. Conclusions Prevention of repeat infections in high healthcare utilizers may be important in reducing drug resistance in this population.
A retrospective analysis of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel for the treatment of metastatic cholangiocarcinoma.

e15616Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a progressively fatal disease with an annual incidence of 1-2 cases per 100,000 people in the USA. Complete surgical resection is the only curative opt...
Role of Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization, Cholangioscopic Biopsies, and EUS-FNA in the Evaluation of Biliary Strictures.

Our goal was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of FISH in the detection of malignancy compared with other standard diagnostic modalities, including brush cytology and biopsy specimens over a 10-year period of prospective data collection. We conducted a review of all consecutive biliary strictures evaluated between 2006 and 2016. Patients with a final pathologic diagnosis or conclusive follow-up were included. We evaluated the performance of FISH polysomy (CEP 3, 7, and 17) and 9p21 deletion as well as cholangioscopic biopsy (CBx) and EUS-FNA. Statistical analysis was performed with the Mann–Whitney U and Fisher’s exact tests. Of 382 patients with indeterminate strictures, 281 met inclusion criteria. Forty-nine percent were malignant. Cytology, FISH polysomy, and FISH polysomy/9p21 showed a specificity of 99.3%. FISH polysomy/9p21 as a single modality was the most sensitive at 56% (p < 0.001). The sensitivity of FISH polysomy/9p21 and cytology was significantly higher than cytology alone at 63 versus 35% (p < 0.05). EUS-FNA for distal strictures and CBx for proximal strictures increased sensitivity from 33 to 93% (p < 0.001) and 48–76% (p = 0.05) in cytology-negative strictures. The high specificity of FISH polysomy/9p21 suggests that a positive result is sufficient for diagnosing malignancy in indeterminate strictures. The significantly higher sensitivity of FISH polysomy/9p21 compared to cytology supports the use of FISH in all non-diagnostic cases. Although both EUS-FNA and CBx were complimentary, our results suggest that distal strictures should be evaluated by EUS initially. Proximal strictures may be evaluated by FISH first and then by CBx if inconclusive.
Nursing review of spinal meningiomas.

Background Spinal meningiomas are found in patients typically between the ages of 75 and 84: some report the average age to be 50. They occur with an incidence of approximately 1000 patients per year in the US, are mostly single (90%) rather than multiple (10%), and arise from the spinal meninges (arachnoid/dura). Tumors are typically posterior/posterolateral (70%) in location, leaving the remaining 30% in the anterior/anterolateral spinal canal. They produce symptoms and signs of radiculopathy (nerve root) and/or myelopathy (cord compression) depending on their site of origin. Methods Meningiomas may be single/sporadic (90%) or multifocal. They may arise primarily/spontaneously, can be radiation-induced, or associated with neurofibromatosis. They are found most frequently in females vs. males in up to a 3.4:1 ratio, occur predominantly in the thoracic spine. They are found in decreasing order in the cervical and lumbar spinal canals. The diagnosis of a meningioma is based on magnetic resonance (MR) studies, where tumors are isointense on T1 weighted MR, and hyperintense onf T2-weighted MR images; they also typically uniformly enhance with Gd-DTPA. On computed tomography (CT) examinations, they are usually characterized as calcified/hyperdense. Results The neurological deficits resulting from meningiomas and the rapidity of symptom/sign progression dictate whether they are treated surgically or nonsurgically. Management choices include; stereotactic radiation therapy only, and/or in combination with varied surgical resection techniques. Conclusions The majority of benign spinal cord tumors are meningiomas (40%) that are predominantly found in the thoracic spine in middle-aged females. Tumor levels (e.g. in descending order cervical, thoracic, lumbar), and their location (e.g. anterior/anterolateral 30%; dorsal/dorsolateral 70%) best determine whether nonoperative, operative, and/or operative intervention combined with routine vs. stereotactic radiosurgery are warranted.
Urinary Bladder Cancer in Egypt: Are There Gender Differences in Its Histopathological Presentation?

We investigated gender differences in the histopathologic presentation of bladder cancer cases in Egypt, where both urothelial cell carcinoma (UC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) types are highly prevalent. We used logistic regression to estimate the unadjusted (OR) and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of the associations between gender and different histopathologic and sociodemographic parameters of 2,186 confirmed cases of primary bladder cancer (1,775 males and 411 females; 784 SCC and 1,402 UC). There were no statistically significant gender differences in tumor grade, stage, mucosal ulcer, or inflammatory cystitis, regardless of the cancer type, but men were less likely than women to have undergone cystectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy. Having Schistosoma haematobium (SH) ova in the bladder tissue was significantly associated with male gender in the fully adjusted model of either SCC (AOR (95% CI) = 2.12 (1.15-3.89)) or UC cases (3.78 (1.89-7.55)). Compared to females, male cases were significantly older at time of diagnosis and smokers. In Egypt, regardless of the type of bladder cancer (SCC or UC), male more than female cases had evidence of SH infection, but not other histopathologic differences, in bladder tissue specimens.
Reflections on Blended Learning

Three semesters of a blended learning course about gender and information technology (IT) were studied to explore the ways in which students’ interaction with course material can be altered based upon: the (a)synchronous nature of the medium, the intended audience of students’ comments, and students’ familiarity with the subject matter. This examination of blended learning course materials provides a valuable insight into a setting in which students engage with the same course material in a myriad of technology-mediated settings.
Commonsense reasoning with verbs

KT encodes commonsense knowledge (CK) about entities and relations in a cross-classified Ontology and a database of generic (prototypical and inherent) information. The verb Ontology combines linguistic and psycholinguistic classification. The generic information for verbs encodes typical associations with actions and events. This knowledge base is useful for word-sense disambiguation, inferencing without scripts, discourse reasoning, and post-verbal PP attachment.
Drug and Poison Information Centers

Drug and poison information centers, also commonly referred to as poison control centers, provide free, timely advice, and information to parents, child care providers, pharmacists, nurses, and doctors. These centers also play a significant role in reducing the cost of treatment and the severity of poisonings.
High prevalence and adverse health effects of loneliness in community-dwelling adults across the lifespan: role of wisdom as a protective factor.

Objectives:This study of loneliness across adult lifespan examined its associations with sociodemographics, mental health (positive and negative psychological states and traits), subjective cognitive complaints, and physical functioning.Design:Analysis of cross-sectional dataParticipants:340 community-dwelling adults in San Diego, California, mean age 62 (SD = 18) years, range 27–101 years, who participated in three community-based studies.Measurements:Loneliness measures included UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3 (UCLA-3), 4-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Social Isolation Scale, and a single-item measure from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD) scale. Other measures included the San Diego Wisdom Scale (SD-WISE) and Medical Outcomes Survey- Short form 36.Results:Seventy-six percent of subjects had moderate-high levels of loneliness on UCLA-3, using standardized cut-points. Loneliness was correlated with worse mental health and inversely with positive psychological states/traits. Even moderate severity of loneliness was associated with worse mental and physical functioning. Loneliness severity and age had a complex relationship, with increased loneliness in the late-20s, mid-50s, and late-80s. There were no sex differences in loneliness prevalence, severity, and age relationships. The best-fit multiple regression model accounted for 45% of the variance in UCLA-3 scores, and three factors emerged with small-medium effect sizes: wisdom, living alone and mental well-being.Conclusions:The alarmingly high prevalence of loneliness and its association with worse health-related measures underscore major challenges for society. The non-linear age-loneliness severity relationship deserves further study. The strong negative association of wisdom with loneliness highlights the potentially critical role of wisdom as a target for psychosocial/behavioral interventions to reduce loneliness. Building a wiser society may help us develop a more connected, less lonely, and happier society.
Optimizing Post-Intensive Care Unit Rehabilitation

Survivors of intensive care unit (ICU) admission face unique challenges after hospital discharge. In addition to an increased overall mortality and rates of hospital readmission, patients often experience difficulties in physical functioning, cognition, and mental health, which are collectively termed post-intensive care syndrome. To this date, there are no established strategies to address these deleterious outcomes. A number of studies have examined various unique methods to prevent and treat PICS symptoms, including early physical and occupational therapy, providing post-discharge education, or facilitating routine follow up in post-ICU clinics. These trials have yet to demonstrate any substantial or meaningful effect in post-ICU patients and collectively reinforce the need for further research to identify effective intervention for patients who survive critical illness.
Characteristics of measles epidemics in China (1951-2004) and implications for elimination: A case study of three key locations

Measles is a highly infectious, severe viral disease. The disease is targeted for global eradication; however, this result has proven challenging. In China, where countrywide vaccination coverage for the last decade has been above 95% (the threshold for measles elimination), measles continues to cause large epidemics. To diagnose factors contributing to the persistency of measles, here we develop a model-inference system to infer measles transmission dynamics in China. The model-inference system uses demographic and vaccination data for each year as model inputs to directly account for changing population dynamics (including births, deaths, migrations, and vaccination). In addition, it simultaneously estimates unobserved model variables and parameters based on incidence data. When fitted to yearly incidence data for the entire population, it is able to accurately estimate independent, out-of-sample age-specific incidence. Using this validated model-inference system, we are thus able to estimate epidemiological and demographical characteristics key to measles transmission during 1951-2004 for three key locations in China, including its capital Beijing. These characteristics include age-specific population susceptibility and incidence rates, the basic reproductive number (R0), reporting rate, population mixing intensity, and amplitude of seasonality. Key differences among the three sites reveal population and epidemiological characteristics crucial for understanding the current persistence of measles epidemics in China. We also discuss the implications our findings have for future elimination strategies.
Abstract 252: Innovative Cell-therapy for Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD)

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is one of the major vascular complications of diabetes, which is associated with glomerulosclerosis and poor perfusion. Therefore, improving the renal perfusion may he...
Soft-matter damage detection systems for electronics and structures

Soft-matter technologies are essential for emerging applications in wearable computing, human-machine interaction, and soft robotics. However, as these technologies gain adoption in society and interact with unstructured environments, material and structure damage becomes inevitable. Here, we present a robotic material that mimics soft tissues found in biological systems to identify, compute, and respond to damage. This system is composed of liquid metal droplets dispersed in soft elastomers that rupture when damaged, creating electrically conductive pathways that are identified with a soft active-matrix grid. This presents new opportunities to autonomously identify damage, calculate severity, and respond to prevent failure within robotic systems.
Identification of species from visible and near-infrared spectral emission of a nitromethane-air diffusion flame

Abstract The combustion processes of nitromethane, an explosive used in many combustion applications, are not fully captured in current state-of-the-art nitromethane kinetic schemes. There is a need for data on transient species to further improve understanding of nitromethane chemistry and dynamics. This work aims to identify transient species present during nitromethane-air combustion through characterization of the spectral emission of a flame stabilized on an aluminum oxide wick at atmospheric pressure. Assignments were made using a spectral library assembled from prior literature and through comparison with spectra taken in two additional air-diffusion flames, CD3NO2 and CH3OH. Several new emitters were detected in excited electronic states: HNO*(A′), CN* (A2 Σ ), NO2*, and in ground electronic states: CH, OH, NH, and H2O. The previously observed reaction species CH*(A2 Δ ) was also observed, while formaldehyde and the characteristic C2*(A3 Π g) Swan bands were not.
Improving paediatric cardiologists' awareness about the needs of childhood cancer survivors: results of a single-centre directed educational initiative.

Background Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in childhood cancer survivors. Cardiologists must be aware of risk factors and long-term follow-up guidelines, which have historically been the purview of oncologists. Little is known about paediatric cardiologists' knowledge regarding the cardiotoxicity of cancer treatment and how to improve this knowledge. Methods A total of 58 paediatric cardiologists anonymously completed a 21-question, web-based survey focused on four cardio-oncology themes: cancer treatment-related risk factors (n = 6), patient-related risk factors (n = 6), recommended surveillance (n = 3), and cardiac-specific considerations (n = 6). Following the baseline survey, a multi-disciplinary team of paediatric cardiologists and cancer survivor providers developed an in-person and web-based educational intervention. A post-intervention survey was conducted 5 months later. Results The response rate was 41/58 (70.7%) pre-intervention and 30/58 (51.7%) post-intervention. On the baseline survey, the percentage of correct answers was 68.8 ± 10.3%, which improved to 79.2 ± 16.2% after the intervention (p = 0.009). The theme with the most profound knowledge deficit was surveillance; however, it also had the greatest improvement after the intervention (49.6 ± 26.7 versus 66.7 ± 27.7% correct, p = 0.025). Individual questions with the largest per cent improvement pertained to risk of cardiac dysfunction with time since treatment (52.4 versus 93.1%, p = 0.002) and the role of dexrazoxane (48.8 versus 82.8%, p = 0.020). Conclusion Specific knowledge deficits about the care of paediatric cancer survivors were identified amongst cardiologists using a web-based survey. Knowledge of surveillance was initially lowest but improved the most after an educational intervention. This highlights the need for cardio-oncology-based educational initiatives among paediatric cardiologists.
A machine learning approach to estimation of phase diagrams for three-component lipid mixtures.

Abstract The plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells is commonly believed to contain ordered lipid domains. The interest in understanding the origin of such domains has led to extensive studies on the phase behavior of mixed lipid systems. Three-component phase diagrams, composed of a high melting temperature (Tm) lipid, cholesterol, and a low Tm lipid have been valuable in studying lipid phase behavior. However, developing phase diagrams over the entire composition space and with precise tie-lines requires significant experimental effort. In this study, a machine learning approach was used to predict the Tm of lipids and generate phase diagrams from lipid mixtures. First, artificial neural network (ANN) was used for the prediction of Tm. The network was trained using available Tm data and was able to generate Tm values that closely matched literature results for its testing dataset. This model was then used to predict the Tm for lipids that have not yet been experimentally tested. Then, random forests (RF) and support vector machines (SVM) were trained and tested for their ability to predict a test three-component phase diagram. The model from the RF algorithm was able to generate a diagram that closely matched published results. This model was then used to generate phase diagrams for lipid mixtures at various temperatures and various degrees of unsaturation. This machine learning approach to the generation of lipid phase diagrams has the potential to save significant time and resources in studies of lipid phase behavior.
On target or missing the mark? Instruction courses in LIS graduate programs

The literature on academic librarians’ teaching experience consistently reflects a disconnect between the education Library and Information Science (LIS) graduates receive and the knowledge and ski...
Playing with meaning: Productive frictions between gaming and dancing in Bound:

Research into gaming and dancing has tended to highlight educational benefits, such as positive effects on problem-solving, creativity, and motivation (Hutton E and Sundar S, 2010. Can video games ...
MDS Mimics Including CHIP, ICUS, and CCUS

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are often challenging to diagnose accurately. Diagnostic criteria for MDS include subjective morphologic interpretations or findings of low specificity. There exist several MDS “mimics” that share findings with MDS but are caused by more benign conditions, other neoplasms, or less well-characterized pre-malignant states. Vitamin and iron deficiencies need to be excluded along with autoimmune conditions, medication effects, toxic exposures, viral infections, and congenital syndromes. We now recognize mutational events common to patients with MDS. However, most somatic events indicative of clonal hematopoiesis are not synonymous with MDS as they are found in other myeloid disorders and clonal cytopenias that fail to meet diagnostic criteria for MDS. Interpretation of molecular findings depends on the clinical context in which they occur as the same somatic mutations can have different clinical implications in different settings. This chapter will highlight common MDS mimics with special attention to potentially pre-malignant states.