cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Organizations in Mass Spectrometry: Past, Present and Future

We are coming to expect more and more of [mass spectrometry] and our demands seem to be satisfied.... The big invasion into everyday chemistry came when fairly complex mixtures could be analyzed.... Analysis of solid samples, or of high molecular weight compounds is now moving into the forefront. These comments, which sound contemporaneous, are in fact to be found in the opening remarks of Cyril Hinshelwood to the delegates to the first International Mass Spectrometry Conference, held in London in 1958 1 the program of which is reproduced in Table 1. What follows are reflections on mass spectrometry and its formal organization, occasioned by a consideration of this conference.
A novel Switched Capacitor circuit for efficient voltage regulation

Switched capacitor (SC) circuits are used as voltage regulators in very low power applications. They are not suitable to generate regulated output voltage for medium or high power applications especially with a wide range of input voltages. A novel fixed type SC circuit is presented that addresses this issue and provides regulated voltage at high efficiency over a wide range of input voltage. This paper presents how charge flow analysis can be extended to this converter, which simplifies analysis considerably. Analysis, simulation results and experimental results from prototype fabricated on a PCB are presented.
Further results in the fast estimation of a single frequency

The author proposes a new frequency estimator for a single complex sinusoid in complex white Gaussian noise. The estimator is applicable to problems in communications requiring high speed, recursive frequency estimation. The estimator is computationally efficient yet obtains near optimum performance at moderate signal-to-noise ratios. >
Liquid chromatographic analysis of glucosamine in commercial dietary supplements using indirect fluorescence detection

A method of using indirect fluorescence detection is evaluated for the analysis of glucosamine in commercial dietary supplements following chromatographic separation. In this method, the eluting analyte, glucosamine, was detected by monitoring an increase in the fluorescence signal for L-tryptophan (L-Trp) or DL-5-methoxytryptophan (5-MTP) after glucosamine complexed with a copper(II) ion and released either L-Trp or 5-MTP from a copper(II) complex, which is introduced postcolumn. The fluorescence of L-Trp and 5-MTP are quenched when complexed with the copper(II) ion. The results obtained using indirect fluorescence detection are compared with the results obtained for precolumn derivatization with phenylisothiocyanate. Statistical analysis is performed to compare the results obtained for the two postcolumn interaction components, Cu(L-Trp)2 and Cu(5-MTP)2, as well as the results obtained using the indirect fluorescence detection method and a precolumn derivatization method. The indirect fluorescence detection method provided an alternative to precolumn derivatization for determining the concentration of glucosamine in commercial dietary supplements. The stability of the glucosamine-o-phthalaldehyde-3-mercaptopropionic acid derivative is also evaluated to investigate the applicability of the popular precolumn derivatization reagent, o-phthalaldehyde-3-mercaptopropionic acid, for this analysis.
The Electrochemical Behavior of Trialkylimidazolium Imide Based Ionic Liquids and Their Polymer Gel Electrolytes

The physical and electrochemical properties of 1,2-dimethyl-3-n-R-imidazolium ionic liquids [R = propyl (MMPI) and butyl (MMBI)] were investigated. The anions studied were bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI) or bis(perfluoroethanesulfonyl)imide (PFESI). In addition, polymer gel electrolytes were prepared using polyethylene oxide of poly(vinylidenefluoride-cohexafluoropropene) (PVDF-HFP) and these ionic liquids with and without 1.0 M Li+. Electrochemical measurements showed similar behavior for the TFSI based ionic liquids, although MMBITFSI exhibited lower ionic conductivity than MMPITFSI. The MMPIPFESI is an extremely viscous liquid, which solidifies if cooled slightly below room temperature. MMBIPFESI is a wax at room temperature. For both MMPIPFESI and MMBIPFESI, addition of 1.0 M lithium (as LiPFESI) resulted in crystallization of the pure ionic liquid at room temperature. Electrochemical studies indicated that in all cases, the PVDF-HFP polymer gel systems exhibited higher charge/discharge efficiencies and higher ionic conductivity than the PEO based polymer gel systems.
JUMBO CUPS AND MORSELIZED GRAFT

Aseptic loosening of the acetabular component following total hip arthroplasty (THA) becomes increasingly frequent after about 10 years. Revision of failed acetabular components is a formidable problem, and this is primarily related to loss of bone stock that accompanies the prosthetic loosening. 1,9,11 There is often insufficient amount of bone into which the new prosthetic components can be cemented. The remaining host bone is often sclerotic and it is difficult to obtain adequate cement intrusion and component fixation. Medial acetabular defects and anterior column defects are often present in these cases, making it impossible to use cemented components. Unacceptably high loosening rates have been reported with cemented acetabular revisions in general, ranging from 9% to 30% at short follow-up periods of only 3.6 to 7.4 years. 1,9,14 Each subsequent revision becomes more difficult and is more likely to fail. Many of these patients also tend to be younger, more active, carry a higher risk of loosening, and yet have longer life expectancies than the usual patients needing total hips. Often the only recourse in these patients is resection arthroplasty that leaves them with inadequate pain relief and function. Uncemented acetabular components with porous coatings that use supplemental screw fixation have dramatically improved the success rates of revision surgery in the face of major bone loss. Very large acetabular components can be wedged in between the ilium, ischium, and the pubis, and the defects can be grafted with morselized bone grafts.
A constrained variational principle for direct estimation and smoothing of the diffusion tensor field from complex DWI

In this paper, we present a novel constrained variational principle for simultaneous smoothing and estimation of the diffusion tensor field from complex valued diffusion-weighted images (DWI). The constrained variational principle involves the minimization of a regularization term of L/sup p/ norms, subject to a nonlinear inequality constraint on the data. The data term we employ is the original Stejskal-Tanner equation instead of the linearized version usually employed in literature. The complex valued nonlinear form leads to a more accurate (when compared to the linearized version) estimate of the tensor field. The inequality constraint requires that the nonlinear least squares data term be bounded from above by a known tolerance factor. Finally, in order to accommodate the positive definite constraint on the diffusion tensor, it is expressed in terms of Cholesky factors and estimated. The constrained variational principle is solved using the augmented Lagrangian technique in conjunction with the limited memory quasi-Newton method. Experiments with complex-valued synthetic and real data are shown to depict the performance of our tensor field estimation and smoothing algorithm.
The effect of kinesio taping on lower trunk range of motions.

The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of kinesio taping (KT) on trunk flexion, extension, and lateral flexion. Thirty healthy subjects with no history of lower trunk or back issues participated in the study. Subjects performed two experimental measurements of range of motion (with and without the application of KT) in trunk flexion, extension, and right lateral flexion. A dependent t test was used to compare the range of motion measurements before and after the application of KT. Through evaluation of the sum of all scores, KT in flexion produced a gain of 17.8 cm compared with the non-kinesiotape group (t (29) = 2.51, p 0.05) or lateral flexion (3 cm; t (29) = -1.25, p > 0.05). Based on the findings, we determined that KT applied over the lower trunk may increase active lower trunk flexion range of motion. Further investigation on the effects of KT is warranted.
A Variational Solution of the 120-Degree Partial Journal Bearing

Reynolds equation reduced to ordinary differential equations by separation of variables. Two resulting equations integrated directly. Third equation and boundary conditions interpreted and solved as an isoperimetric problem.
THERMODYNAMICS OF EXTRACTION OF NITRIC ACID BY TRI-n-BUTYL PHOSPHATE- HYDROCARBON DILUENT SOLUTIONS. II. DENSITIES, MOLAR VOLUMES, AND WATER SOLUBILITIES OF TBP-AMSCO 125-82-HNO*SUB 3/-H*SUB 2/0 SOLUTIONS

Densities and water contents of nearly dry and of water-saturated TBP-Amsco 125–82 solutions were measured. From these the molar volumes of TBP and this diluent were calculated to be 273.6 and 246....
Allorecognition, via TgrB1 and TgrC1, mediates the transition from unicellularity to multicellularity in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum

The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum integrates into a multicellular organism when individual starving cells aggregate and form a mound. The cells then integrate into defined tissues and develop into a fruiting body that consists of a stalk and spores. Aggregation is initially orchestrated by waves of extracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), and previous theory suggested that cAMP and other field-wide diffusible signals mediate tissue integration and terminal differentiation as well. Cooperation between cells depends on an allorecognition system comprising the polymorphic adhesion proteins TgrB1 and TgrC1. Binding between compatible TgrB1 and TgrC1 variants ensures that non-matching cells segregate into distinct aggregates prior to terminal development. Here, we have embedded a small number of cells with incompatible allotypes within fields of developing cells with compatible allotypes. We found that compatibility of the allotype encoded by the tgrB1 and tgrC1 genes is required for tissue integration, as manifested in cell polarization, coordinated movement and differentiation into prestalk and prespore cells. Our results show that the molecules that mediate allorecognition in D. discoideum also control the integration of individual cells into a unified developing organism, and this acts as a gating step for multicellularity.
Spatially distributed multiagent path planning

Multiagent path planning is important in a variety of fields, ranging from games to robotics and warehouse management. Although centralized control in the joint action space can provide optimal plans, this often is computationally infeasible. Decoupled planning is much more scalable. Traditional decoupled approaches perform a unit-centric decomposition, replacing a multi-agent search with a series of single-agent searches, one for each mobile unit. We introduce an orthogonal, significantly different approach, following a spatial distribution that partitions a map into high-contention, bottleneck areas and low-contention areas. Local agents called controllers are in charge with one local area each, routing mobile units in their corresponding area. Distributing the knowledge across the map, each controller can observe only the state of its own area. Adjacent controllers can communicate to negotiate the transfer of mobile units. We evaluate our implemented algorithm, SDP, on real game maps with a mixture of larger areas and narrow, bottleneck gateways. The results demonstrate that spatially distributed planning can have substantial benefits in terms of makespan quality and computation speed.
Hepatic Blood Flow in Chronically Splenectomized Dogs

SummaryHepatic blood flow of chronically splenectomized dogs estimated by the bromsulphalein method was found not to be significantly different than that found in normal intact anesthetized and unanesthetized dogs.
Notes on the genus Brevilegnia: two excluded taxa.

The genus Brevilegnia was established by Coker and Couch (Coker, 1927) to include five watermold taxa forming depauperate mycelia, producing uniovulate oogonia, and displaying thraustothecoid spore release. Since its inception, Brevilegnia has been expanded to include as many as twenty-two taxa. This rapid expansion has been accompanied by numerous questions concerning the taxonomic validity of a number of species assigned to the genus. Some of the taxonomic questions surrounding the genus have involved isolates assigned to Brevilegnia which do not conform to its original description. Specifically, for example, inconsistencies in spore discharge patterns figured prominently in the reassignments of B. variabilis Indoh to Dictyuchus (Chiou and Chang, 1976) and of B. bispora Couch to Achlya (Langsam, 1986). Another question involved two taxa which were not only misidentified as members of Brevilegnia, but were misaligned with the Saprolegniaceae. Sorenson (1968) responded to this problem by reassigning B. gracilis van Eek and B. macrospora van Eek to the genus Pythium. While these efforts have helped to place Brevilegnia on firmer taxonomic ground, a number of other taxonomic difficulties have yet to be addressed. A case in point involves two Brevilegnia species, B. subterranea Sorgel and B. globosa Ziegler. Both taxa are currently aligned with Brevilegnia on the basis of inadequate descriptions. The taxonomic fate of B. subterranea is
Low-Sidelobe Antenna Beamforming Via Stochastic Optimization

We describe a novel iterative methodology for computing a set of low-sidelobe beamforming weights for an airborne, electronically-steered phased-array radar using an in-flight stochastic optimization routine performed over a number of coherent processing intervals (CPIs). The proposed approach is notable in that it does not rely upon a good antenna calibration and only requires digitization of the radar's sum beam. By observing the radar ground clutter, the algorithm iteratively adjusts the beamformer. Furthermore, it is computationally inexpensive and scales favorably to radars comprising very large numbers of antenna elements and requiring extremely low sidelobes.
Base-pairing energies of proton-bound heterodimers of cytosine and modified cytosines: implications for the stability of DNA i-motif conformations.

The DNA i-motif conformation was discovered in (CCG)•(CGG)n trinucleotide repeats, which are associated with fragile X syndrome, the most widespread inherited cause of mental retardation in humans. The DNA i-motif is a four-stranded structure whose strands are held together by proton-bound dimers of cytosine (C+•C). The stronger base-pairing interactions in C+•C proton-bound dimers as compared to Watson–Crick G•C base pairs are the major forces responsible for stabilization of i-motif conformations. Methylation of cytosine results in silencing of the FMR1 gene and causes fragile X syndrome. However, the influence of methylation or other modifications such as halogenation of cytosine on the base-pairing energies (BPEs) in the i-motif remains elusive. To address this, proton-bound heterodimers of cytosine and 5-methylcytosine, 5-fluorocytosine, 5-bromocytosine, and 5-iodocytosine are probed in detail. Experimentally, the BPEs of proton-bound heterodimers of cytosine and modified cytosines are determined usi...
An Investigation of Competition in Natural Populations of Mice

Three approaches were used to study interactions between Peromyscus polionotus and Mus musculus : (1) a 15-month study of natural populations in six 3.5-acre grids located in a large abandoned field on the AEC Savannah River Plant Reservation which is located on the Upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina, (2) a comparison of behavior and food requirements of the mice in the laboratory, (3) a 7-month study of the 2 species confined to a one-acre enclosure located in the field. No evidence of aggressive competition (fighting, etc.) was obtained but Mus was definitely at a disadvantage in competition for food when population density was high or when the 2 species were confined in the enclosure. It is postulated that the migratory behavior of Mus is a mechanism which reduces competition between it and the more sendentary Peromyscus enabling both species to coexist in the same habitat even when Mus appears to be less well adapted to the Upper Coastal Plain environment.
Privacy Preserving Disease Treatment & Complication Prediction System (PDTCPS)

Affordable cloud computing technologies allow users to efficiently store, and manage their Personal Health Records (PHRs) and share with their caregivers or physicians. This in turn improves the quality of healthcare services, and lower health care cost. However, serious security and privacy concerns emerge because people upload their personal information and PHRs to the public cloud. Data encryption provides privacy protection of medical information but it is challenging to utilize encrypted data. In this paper, we present a privacy-preserving disease treatment, complication prediction scheme (PDTCPS), which allows authorized users to conduct searches for disease diagnosis, personalized treatments, and prediction of potential complications. $PDTCPS$ uses a tree-based structure to boost search efficiency, a wildcard approach to support fuzzy keyword search, and a Bloom-filter to improve search accuracy and storage efficiency. In addition, our design also allows health care providers and the public cloud to collectively generate aggregated training models for disease diagnosis, personalized treatments and complications prediction. Moreover, our design provides query unlinkability and hides both search & access patterns. Finally, our evaluation results using two UCI datasets show that our scheme is more efficient and accurate than two existing schemes.
What Every Law Student Really Needs to Know: Introducing New Law Students to the Study of Law

Law school is an exciting and enriching experience but also an intimidating and difficult one for students. Students and professors want students to succeed. We have written this essay and a book in order to decrease students' anxiety and increase their chances of achieving academic success. We offer here a short introduction to how a new law student can succeed, taken from the Introduction and first chapter of the book. The full book serves as a law school success guide, featuring insight into how and why law school works the way it does and the tools and techniques to fully understand first-year substantive law. In addition to teaching techniques for getting the most out of reading and out of class, the book also conveys information about the American legal system and court structure, and about cross-cutting legal concepts such as burdens of proof and standards of review. By reading this book before law school, students will be able to not only get by, but thrive in the classroom. We want to help law students feel more confident starting their new academic endeavor and be better prepared with the knowledge of what is to come and how to conquer it. We provide a foundation on which law teachers can build in the first year.
The BET Protein BRD2 Cooperates with CTCF to Enforce Transcriptional and Architectural Boundaries.

Bromodomain and extraterminal motif (BET) proteins are pharmacologic targets for the treatment of diverse diseases, yet the roles of individual BET family members remain unclear. We find that BRD2, but not BRD4, co-localizes with the architectural/insulator protein CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) genome-wide. CTCF recruits BRD2 to co-bound sites whereas BRD2 is dispensable for CTCF occupancy. Disruption of a CTCF/BRD2-occupied element positioned between two unrelated genes enables regulatory influence to spread from one gene to another, suggesting that CTCF and BRD2 form a transcriptional boundary. Accordingly, single-molecule mRNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) reveals that, upon site-specific CTCF disruption or BRD2 depletion, expression of the two genes becomes increasingly correlated. HiC shows that BRD2 depletion weakens boundaries co-occupied by CTCF and BRD2, but not those that lack BRD2. These findings indicate that BRD2 supports boundary activity, and they raise the possibility that pharmacologic BET inhibitors can influence gene expression in part by perturbing domain boundary function.
Avian Influenza Virus Sample Types, Collection, and Handling

Successful detection of avian influenza (AI) virus, viral antigen, nucleic acid, or antibody is dependent upon the collection of the appropriate sample type, the quality of the sample, and the proper storage and handling of the sample. The diagnostic tests to be performed should be considered prior to sample collection. Sera are acceptable samples for ELISA or agar gel immunodiffusion tests, but not for real-time RT-PCR. Likewise, swabs and/or tissues are acceptable for real-time RT-PCR and virus isolation. The sample type will also depend on the type of birds that are being tested; oropharyngeal swabs from gallinaceous poultry and cloacal swabs from waterfowl are the preferred specimens for most diagnostic tests, although it is optimal to collect swabs from both locations, if possible. In addition to collecting the appropriate sample for the tests to be performed, selecting the right materials for sample collection (i.e., type of swab) is very important. This chapter will outline the collection of different specimen types and procedures for proper specimen handling.
Abstract 1968: A novel mechanism of metastasis: Extracellular ATP promotes invasion and metastasis independent of purinergic receptor signaling

Cancer is one of the top deadliest diseases in the US and worldwide. Metastasis, the dissemination of cancer cells from the primary tumors to distant organs, is responsible for 90% of solid tumor-related deaths. Tumor invasion and metastasis is a multistep process in which loss of cell-cell adhesion, increased proteolysis, and cell motility has been shown to be critical steps. Extracellular ATP is potentially a very important factor involved in tumor invasion and metastasis because both cell detachment and migration require energy, which is known to be mainly provided by ATP. Recent studies have indicated that the extracellular microenvironment of tumors contains much higher concentrations of ATP than normal tissues of the same cell origins. Our recent studies demonstrated that extracellular ATP is taken up by cancer cells through macropinocytosis and other endocytosis and promotes cancer cell growth, survival, and drug resistance (1-3). Based on all these, we hypothesized that extracellular ATP (eATP) plays critical roles in the regulation of tumor cell detachment, motility, invasion and tumor metastasis initiation. It was previously shown that ATP-induced purinergic receptor (PR) signaling is involved in metastasis. Our hypothesis is different in that eATP also mediates invasion and metastasis independent of PR signaling. Various bioassays were used in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) A549 cells to test our hypothesis. Our results show that eATP treatment led to a substantially increased number of floating cancer cells, and these cells were viable and formed clones in a clonogenic assay. This indicates that eATP induces cancer cell detachment. Moreover, treatment of eATP also induces cell migration in cell wounding and Transwell migration assays. In vitro invasion assay showed that eATP induced a dose-and time-dependent increase in the invasive capacities of the A549 cells. Western blot analysis indicates that eATP treatment reduced the expression of cell-cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin. PR inhibitors only slightly attenuated these effects. All these suggest novel ATP mechanisms independent of the PR signaling that are unreported before and imply novel targets for inhibiting/preventing metastasis. References 1. Qian et al. Cancer Letters 351; 242-251 (2014). 2. Chen, Qian, and Wu. Free Radical Biol Med 79; 253-263 (2015) 3. Qian et al. Mol Cancer Res 14(11); 1087-1096 (2016) Citation Format: Yanyang Cao, Xuan Wang, Xiaozhuo Chen. A novel mechanism of metastasis: Extracellular ATP promotes invasion and metastasis independent of purinergic receptor signaling [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1968. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1968
Optimal MRI sequences for 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/MRI in evaluation of biochemically recurrent prostate cancer.

PET/MRI can be used for the detection of disease in biochemical recurrence (BCR) patients imaged with 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET. This study was designed to determine the optimal MRI sequences to localize positive findings on 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET of patients with BCR after definitive therapy. Fifty-five consecutive prostate cancer patients with BCR imaged with 68Ga-PSMA-11 3.0T PET/MRI were retrospectively analyzed. Mean PSA was 7.9 ± 12.9 ng/ml, and mean PSA doubling time was 7.1 ± 6.6 months. Detection rates of anatomic correlates for prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-positive foci were evaluated on small field of view (FOV) T2, T1 post-contrast, and diffusion-weighted images. For prostate bed recurrences, the detection rate of dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) imaging for PSMA-positive foci was evaluated. Finally, the detection sensitivity for PSMA-avid foci on 3- and 8-min PET acquisitions was compared. PSMA-positive foci were detected in 89.1% (49/55) of patients evaluated. Small FOV T2 performed best for lymph nodes and detected correlates for all PSMA-avid lymph nodes. DCE imaging performed the best for suspected prostate bed recurrence, detecting correlates for 87.5% (14/16) of PSMA-positive prostate bed foci. The 8-min PET acquisition performed better than the 3-min acquisition for lymph nodes smaller than 1 cm, detecting 100% (57/57) of lymph nodes less than 1 cm, compared to 78.9% (45/57) for the 3-min acquisition. PSMA PET/MRI performed well for the detection of sites of suspected recurrent disease in patients with BCR. Of the MRI sequences obtained for localization, small FOV T2 images detected the greatest proportion of PSMA-positive abdominopelvic lymph nodes and DCE imaging detected the greatest proportion of PSMA-positive prostate bed foci. The 8-min PET acquisition was superior to the 3 min acquisition for detection of small lymph nodes.
Specifically differentiated T cell subset promotes tumor immunity over fatal immunity

Allogeneic immune cells, particularly T cells in donor grafts, recognize and eliminate leukemic cells via graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) reactivity, and transfer of these cells is often used for high-risk hematological malignancies, including acute myeloid leukemia. Unfortunately, these cells also attack host normal tissues through the often fatal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Full separation of GVL activity from GVHD has yet to be achieved. Here, we show that, in mice and humans, a population of interleukin-9 (IL-9)-producing T cells activated via the ST2-IL-33 pathway (T9IL-33 cells) increases GVL while decreasing GVHD through two opposing mechanisms: protection from fatal immunity by amphiregulin expression and augmentation of antileukemic activity compared with T9, T1, and unmanipulated T cells through CD8α expression. Thus, adoptive transfer of allogeneic T9IL-33 cells offers an attractive approach for separating GVL activity from GVHD.
Overview of Online Instruction and Learning Environments and Communities

Online instruction is used by a variety of organizations, including business and industry, military and government, higher education, and PK-12 schools to provide learners with training and educational opportunities. Types of online learning communities can vary greatly from one end of a continuum being highly independent forms of learning, in which learners complete the instruction individually and self-paced, with little to no interaction with an instructor or other learners and, at the other end, where learners and instructors form highly interactive and participatory learning environments with a strong sense of community.
Potential Adverse Effects of Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Exposure in the Intensive Care Unit.

Background The potential adverse effects of empiric broad-spectrum antimicrobial use among patients with suspected but subsequently excluded infection have not been fully characterized. We sought novel methods to quantify the risk of adverse effects of broad-spectrum antimicrobial exposure among patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Methods Among all adult patients admitted to ICUs at a single institution, we selected patients with negative blood cultures who also received ≥1 broad-spectrum antimicrobials. Broad-spectrum antimicrobials were categorized in ≥1 of 5 categories based on their spectrum of activity against potential pathogens. We performed, in serial, 5 cohort studies to measure the effect of each broad-spectrum category on patient outcomes. Exposed patients were defined as those receiving a specific category of broad-spectrum antimicrobial; nonexposed were all other patients in the cohort. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included length of hospital and ICU stay and nosocomial acquisition of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) or Clostridium difficile within 30 days of admission. Results Among the study cohort of 1918 patients, 316 (16.5%) died within 30 days, 821 (42.8%) had either a length of hospital stay >7 days or an ICU length of stay >3 days, and 106 (5.5%) acquired either a nosocomial ARB or C. difficile. The short-term use of broad-spectrum antimicrobials in any of the defined broad-spectrum categories was not significantly associated with either primary or secondary outcomes. Conclusions The prompt and brief empiric use of defined categories of broad-spectrum antimicrobials could not be associated with additional patient harm.
Absence of a quick fix does not mean ‘do nothing:’ time to address drug use in the ED

It is unsurprising that a brief counselling intervention for drug use has no effect on drug use or linkage to drug treatment. Although psychological interventions sometimes have delayed effects, the brief intervention studied by Merchant et al 1 had none at 3 months and still had none at 12 months. The study had some limitations as described by the authors, but it was null, just like prior studies in the ED and in primary care.2 3 Screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT in the USA), simply does not improve outcomes for unhealthy drug use. Unhealthy substance use is not just one risk factor (eg, weekly cannabis use) or disease (eg, opioid use disorder) just as heart disease comprises many diseases all of which have specific treatments. A one-size-fits-all approach like SBIRT will not be effective; tailoring will be necessary. No experienced clinician (or researcher familiar with relevant studies) would expect a patient not seeking help for an addiction consequence (eg, overdose) to cut down, quit or enter treatment based on brief advice. Some will enter treatment or change regardless of our advice (eg, the control group in Merchant et al 1); they are aware of the risks and want help. A few will have (1) low or …
Terror Management in Medical Culture

In the case of medicine, the role of doctor can be understood as a cultural hero-project. When the self-esteem of the physician is weakened, he or she is exposed to increased risk of burnout. To protect self-esteem, physicians can become prone to cognitive biases to protect self-worth, which can lead to “medical narcissism” and “defensive medicine” based on self-serving attributions that raise the risk of medical error. Worldview defense in medicine is linked to racism, sexism, and stigmatization of certain out-groups by medical professionals. Finally, medical scientism can operate as a form of existential dogmatism that, while serving as a worldview defense for medical professionals, can nevertheless undermine the ends of science as an open-ended inquiry.
Survey of Biometric Techniques for Automotive Applications

Although significant research has been dedicated to developing biometric solutions for motorized vehicles, there are currently no survey works charting the progress in this field. This paper discusses a selection of biometrics research focusing on improving vehicle safety and protecting vehicles against theft. Specifically, we discuss research that focuses on detecting a driver’s impaired ability to control the vehicle due to drowsiness, intoxication, or a medical emergency; developing techniques for identifying and preventing intrusions into the vehicle; and discovering driver distractions from within and without the vehicle. We also comment on the potential effectiveness, user-friendliness, privacy, security, and other aspects of the proposed approaches and identify directions for future research.
Modeling transposable element dynamics with fragmentation equations.

Abstract Transposable elements (TEs), segments of DNA capable of self-replication, are abundant in the genomes of most organisms and thus serve as a record of past mutational events. While some work suggests TEs may serve a regulatory function for the host, most empirical and theoretical studies have shown that TEs often have deleterious effects on a host. Because they are not essential, the host genome consists of both full-length (actively replicating) and partial length (inactive remnant) copies of TEs. We developed a novel mathematical formulation of TE dynamics by modeling the density of full and partial length copies resulting from mutations (insertions and deletions) and TE replication within the host genome. More specifically, we model the time-evolution of the complete TE length distribution (full and partial elements) in a genome using fragmentation equations in both a discrete and continuous framework under two models of TE replication. In the first case, we assume that full-length TEs replicate at a constant rate regardless of the number of full-length TEs present in the genome. While this assumption simplifies the underlying biological processes, it allows us to derive an explicit analytical form of the time-varying TE density, as well as the steady-state behavior, under both discrete and continuous formulations. Next, we take into account the potential deleterious effects of TEs by modeling TE replication with a logistic growth equation. Under this assumption, the number of actively replicating TEs in a genome is limited by a carrying capacity. While we are still able to derive to derive analytical forms for the time-varying TE density, for both discrete and continuous length formulations, these solutions are implicit. For all four proposed models, we prove existence and uniqueness of these solutions describing TE length distributions. We compare both models and note that the logistic and exponential models initially agree. Since most TEs have not reached carrying capacity, we use the explicit exponential solution to quantify rates of replication to mutations. We apply our model to present day annotated collections of TEs from the genomes of species of fruit-flies, birds, and primates to uncover quantitative relationships of TE dynamics. With the increasing availability of complete genomes, our method is likely to uncover relationships of biological drivers of genomic variation in many species.
Frequency Planning for Minimal Intermodulation Distortion

A principal measure of the performance of a fiber optic link for transmission of multichannel subcarrier signal is linearity of the link as measured by metrics including composite-triple-beat (CTB) and composite-second-order (CSO). Definitions of these quantities can be found in Appendix A. For CATV trunking applications, a CTB and a CSO of − 65 dBc with a carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) of 52 dB are typical requirements. To achieve these low distortion levels at a sufficiently high modulation index to meet the link power budget required for distribution, numerous techniques have been proposed to reduce the distortion level [194, 195, 196, 198]. Among them are feed forward compensation, predistortion compensation, and TE-TM cancellation.
Conventional and U. V. Flash Temperature-Jump

The principles and some of the experimental aspects of the temperature-jump relaxation method are discussed.
U. S. Chemical Stockpile Disposal Programme: The Search for Alternative Technologies

The United States has maintained a stockpile of highly toxic chemical agents and munitions for more than half a century. Chemical agents are extremely hazardous, which is why they have been used in weapons. The manufacture of chemical agents and munitions and their subsequent stockpiling were undertaken in the belief that they had value as deterrents to the use of similar materials against U.S. forces. Today, other deterrents are considered more appropriate. In an attempt to avoid the worldwide risk posed by chemical warfare, the United States has entered into an agreement with many other nations to rid the world of all chemical weapons and munitions. Even apart from this agreement, the United States can no longer justify the continuing risk and expense of storing them. Consequently, there is ample incentive for the United States to dispose of its chemical agents and munitions as soon as this can be done safely.
Particle slip velocity influences inertial focusing of particles in curved microchannels

Size based separation and identification of particles in microfluidics through purely hydrodynamic means has gained significant interest due to a number of possible biomedical applications. Curved micro-channels, particularly spiral micro-channels with rectangular cross-section and the dynamics of particles in such channels have been extensively researched to achieve size based separation of particles. In this paper we present evidence that sheds new light on the dynamics of particles in such curved channels; that a unique particle slip velocity is associated with the focusing positions in the cross sections, which leads to a balance of forces. Our experiments therefore imply that the forces acting on the particle lead to convergence to an attractor in both the physical space (the cross section of the channel) and the slip velocity space.
Leaflet morphology classification of the Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve.

Objective We sought to describe the leaflet morphology variation in the Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve (TPV) and evaluate associated outcomes. The Melody TPV is constructed from harvested bovine jugular venous valves which have been rigorously tested. Natural anatomic leaflet variations are seen in the Melody TPV but have not been evaluated. Design A Melody TPV leaflet morphology classification system was devised after reviewing a subset of photographed and implanted TPVs. All images were blindly reviewed by implanters and classified. Midterm hemodynamic outcomes and complications of the Melody TPVs were compared by leaflet morphology. Results Photographed Melody TPVs implanted between 2011 and 2016 (n = 62) were categorized into the following leaflet morphology types: A-symmetric trileaflet (47%); B-asymmetric trileaflet with a single small leaflet (32%); C-asymmetric trileaflet with a single large leaflet (16%); D-rudimentary leaflet with near bicuspid appearance (5%). Acceptable hemodynamic function at 6 months postimplantation was seen in 97.5% of valves. Over a median follow-up of 1.5 years (range 0-4.4 years), two TPVs (Type A) had > mild regurgitation. Nine TPVs developed complications (endocarditis, 3; stent fracture, 2; refractory arrhythmia, 1; conduit replacement, 2; death, 1), of which 6 required reintervention. There was no significant difference in outcomes based on Melody TPV leaflet morphology type. Conclusions The Melody TPV can be classified into one of four categories based on leaflet morphology. Study outcomes were not associated with leaflet morphology. Further documentation and evaluation of Melody TPV morphology may lead to better understanding of this technology.
Predicting Radiation Therapy Process Reliability Using Voluntary Incident Learning System Data

Abstract Purpose This study aimed to present an innovative approach to quantify, visualize, and predict radiation therapy (RT) process reliability using data captured from a voluntary incident learning system, with an overall aim to improve patient safety outcomes. Methods and Materials We analyzed 111 reported deviations that were tripped and caught within 159 mapped RT process steps included within 7 major stages of RT delivery, 94 of which were any type of quality assurance (QA) controls. This allowed for us to compute the trip rate and fail-to-catch-rate (FCR) per each QA control with the available data. Next, we used a logistic regression model to identify significant variables predictive of FCRs, predicted FCRs for each QA control without available data, and thus, attempted to quantify RT process reliability expressed as percentage of patients with uncaught deviations after treatment planning, before their first treatment, and during treatment delivery. Results Using the predicted FCRs, we computed the upper 95% likelihood that a deviation remains uncaught in a patient's course of treatment at the following RT process stages: immediately after treatment planning at 10.26%; before the first treatment at 0.0052%; and throughout treatment delivery at 0.0276%. Conclusions The results suggest that RT process reliability can be predicted and visualized using data from incident learning systems. If implemented and used as a safety metric, this could help RT clinics to proactively maintain their preoccupation with patient safety. RT process reliability may also help guide future work on standardization and continuous improvement of the design of RT QA programs.
CHAPTER NINE – Combining Heat Integration with Mass Integration: Synthesis of Combined Heat and Reactive Mass-Exchange Networks

The chapter presents the problem of synthesizing combined heat and reactive mass-exchange networks (CHARMEN) and illustrates its incorporation in a heat-mass integration framework. The basic principles of synthesizing heat-exchange networks "HENs" are also reviewed in the chapter. Numerous methods have been developed for the synthesis of HENs. One of the key advances in synthesizing HENs is the identification of minimum utility targets ahead of designing the network. Several methods of determining minimum-utility targets – such as pinch diagram, algebraic cascade diagram, mathematical programming (optimization) – are also described in the chapter. Mass-exchange equilibrium relations are dependent upon temperature and the selection of optimal mass-exchange temperatures is an important element of design for the synthesis of CHARMEN.
A Dynamic Evaluation of Blockers to Risk-Taking and Growth During the Agent's Employment in the Firm

This paper examines some of the implications that technological innovations have had on the retail side of the commercial banking industry in the recent decade. These innovations enabled financial institutions to overcome previous constraining blockages to growth and costs savings, such as geographic distances and volume processing obstacles but at the same time also removed many of the previous blockages that prevented competitors from invading their turf. The nature of such constraints (or blockages) has changed as technology changed, and the financial intermediation delivery has changed with it. Although this paper focuses on the innovations relevant to retail banking, many of the implications can be of interest to other aspects of the financial services industry outside the scope here. While enabling a greater variety of services and improved productivity, technology poses challenges to society since non-banks are often less regulated, compared to depository institutions. As noted in recent studies, despite the free spill-over of information, technology has the potential to increase monopolistic powers of institutions that develop advantages in the use of propriety information and technology. This paper reviews some recent innovations in the financial services industry that have a further potential role in the continuation of the transformation process. One needs to become familiar with them before one can proceed with further contemplation of the challenges that they pose to the banking and non-banking industries. This paper also addresses significant gaps in existing knowledge about the Internet banking landscape. Using information drawn from a survey of national bank examiners, it finds that as early as 5 years ago, while only 20 percent of national banks offered Internet banking in Q3 1999, these transactional Internet banks accounted for 84 percent of the total number of small deposit accounts. Today both numbers are already much higher. An estimated 45 percent of all national banks were offering Internet banking by the beginning of 2001, and today most already do. While most of the growth in new Internet banking was be due to small banks coming online, almost half of all national banks in 2001 had no plans to offer Internet services, while today the majority do. However, Internet was just a step and other products and service are emerging, and Banking institutions are becoming more challenged by those new competitors.
RFID-Based Crack Detection of Ultra High-Performance Concrete Retrofitted Beams

Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is a novel material with multiple known uses and many still yet to be discovered. Recently, the use of encasing welded shear studs in UHPC on the web of corroded steel beams was developed. This creates a bearing force transfer mechanism to bypass the corroded web plate. This new material and its uses come with many uncertainties in the short and long term. Structural health monitoring (SHM) can be a tool to observe the development. Specifically, radio frequency technology (RFID) can be used. RFID has existed commercially since the 1960s and has been used as a crack sensor before, but never with UHPC. RFID-based crack sensing is being used to monitor the UHPC retrofit. A crack is simulated on the UHPC specimen and then a commercial, low cost tag is secured. Using backscatter power, the tag reads the crack existence and its increasing volume with every new damage stage. Using a damage index, comparing the uncracked and each cracked stage, this method is not restricted to the raw received signal strength indicator (RSSI), which could be different at each tag. With this sensor, the small cracks that occur in UHPC during its creation can be monitored to ensure the capacity of the retrofitting is maintained. The tested RFID-based crack sensor can be used on various other forms of UHPC.