cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Treatment of Scleroderma-Interstitial Lung Disease With Cyclophosphamide Is Associated With Less Progressive Fibrosis on Serial Thoracic High-Resolution CT Scan Than Placebo: Findings From the Scleroderma Lung Study

Background: The Scleroderma Lung Study (SLS) demonstrated significant treatment-associated improvements in pulmonary function and symptoms when patients with scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) were treated with a 1-year course of cyclophosphamide (CYC) in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial. This study examined thoracic highresolution CT (HRCT) scans obtained during the SLS for treatment-associated changes over time. Methods: Ninety-eight of the 158 subjects (CYC group, 49 subjects; placebo group, 49 subjects) participating in the SLS underwent thoracic HRCT scans both at baseline and after 12 months of treatment, which were available for analysis. Two independent radiologists visually scored the baseline HRCT scans for the presence of ground-glass opacities (GGOs), fibrosis (FIB), and honeycomb cysts (HCs) on a scale of 0 to 4. The treatment effect at 12 months was assessed by a blinded comparison of baseline and follow-up scans for evidence of stability and improvement (not worse) or deterioration (worse). Results: At the end of treatment, FIB was significantly worse in the placebo treatment group than in the CYC treatment group (p 0.014). Furthermore, differences in the 12-month change in FIB between the CYC and placebo groups correlated significantly with other outcome measures, including the 12-month changes in FVC (p < 0.05), total lung capacity (p < 0.05), and dyspnea (p < 0.001) scores. However, no differences were noted between the two groups with respect to changes in either GGOs or HCs. Conclusions: A 1-year course of treatment of SSc-ILD with CYC was associated with treatment-related changes in FIB scores on HRCT scans, which correlated with other measures of treatment response. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00004563 (CHEST 2009; 136:1333–1340) Abbreviations: CYC cyclophosphamide; Dlco diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide; FIB fibrosis; GGO ground-glass opacity; HAQ-DI Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index; HC honeycomb cyst; HRCT high-resolution CT; SF-36 Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short-form; SLS Scleroderma Lung Study; SSc-ILD scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease; TDI transitional dyspnea index; TLC total lung capacity
Nanomechanics of carbon tubes: Instabilities beyond linear response.

Carbon nanotubes subject to large deformations reversibly switch into different morphological patterns. Each shape change corresponds to an abrupt release of energy and a singularity in the stress-strain curve. These transformations, simulated using a realistic many-body potential, are explained by a continuum shell model. With properly chosen parameters, the model provides a remarkably accurate ``roadmap'' of nanotube behavior beyond Hooke's law.
Sleep disturbance in osteoarthritis: linkages with pain, disability, and depressive symptoms.

Objective It is known that osteoarthritis (OA) increases the risk of sleep disturbance, and that both pain and sleep problems may trigger functional disability and depression. However, studies examining all 4 variables simultaneously are rare. The aim of this study was to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of self-reported sleep disturbance with OA-related pain and disability and depressive symptoms. Methods At baseline, 367 persons with physician-diagnosed knee OA reported sleep disturbances, pain, functional limitations, and depressive symptoms. At 1-year followup, all measures were repeated in 288 of the subjects. Baseline analyses examined the independent and interactive associations of sleep disturbance with pain, disability, and depression, net of demographics and general health. Longitudinal analyses used baseline sleep disturbance to predict the 1-year change in pain, disability, and depression. Results At baseline, sleep was independently associated with pain and depression but not disability. The sleep–pain relationship was mediated by depressive symptoms; sleep interacted with pain to exacerbate depression among persons with high levels of pain. Baseline sleep disturbance predicted increased depression and disability, but not pain, at followup. Conclusion These data confirm known cross-sectional relationships between sleep disturbance and pain and depression and provide new insights regarding longitudinal associations among those variables. Depression appears to play a strong role in the sleep–pain linkage, particularly when pain is severe. The unique predictive role of sleep in the progression of disability requires further study but may be an important point of intervention to prevent OA-related functional decline among persons whose sleep is disrupted by OA-related pain.
Neonatal Pharmacology and Nursing in Russia

Our world is shrinking due to computerized linkages and the mobility of society. Information is shared rapidly around the world. Issues surrounding newborn and infant nursing are global. In efforts to acknowledge the international community, each Newborn and Infant Nursing Review issue will feature a column that highlights care-related issues from a featured country or region of the world. This article focuses on Russia. Newborn and infant health issues are global ones. To review issues occurring in different areas of the world, a different area of the globe will be featured that addresses Newborn and Infant Nursing Review 's theme-oriented topic. This month, Russia will be featured. Our guest author is Ms. Marina Boykova, MSc, RN, and Regional Network Contact for the Council of International Neonatal Nurses for Russia. This month's article focuses on Neonatal Pharmacology.
A 150MHz, 84% efficiency, two phase interleaved DC-DC converter in AlGaAs/GaAs P-HEMT technology for integrated power amplifier modules

This paper presents a high efficiency, high switching speed, two-stage interleaved DC-DC buck converter with negatively-coupled inductors in AlGaAs/GaAs technology, targeting integrated power amplifier modules. The flip chip DC-DC converter is implemented in 0.5 µm GaAs pHEMT process and occupies 2 × 2.1mm2 without the output network. The inductors in the output network are implemented in 65 µm thick top copper metal layer and have a quality factor of 25 at 150 MHz. The interleaved DC-DC converter achieves 84% efficiency when operating at 150MHz switching frequency with 4.5V/3.3V conversion ratio and 1A load current.
District magnitude, personal votes, and government expenditures

Previous research has that proportional-representation systems produce higher levels of government spending than do majoritarian systems. In some studies, scholars use district magnitude to reach this conclusion, showing a positive relationship between it and government expenditure. Yet, Carey and Shugart [1995: Electoral Studies 14, 417] argue that the effect of district magnitude on government expenditure is, in reality, conditioned on the level of incentives for personal voting in the electoral system. We find support for this hypothesis with an empirical analysis of government expenditure in 77 democracies between 1970 and 2000. 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Plasma Glycocalicin in Platelet Concentrates: Relationship to Other Parameters of the Storage Lesion

intact platelet membrane glycoprotein Ib (GPIb), of platelet concentrates over a period of 6 days and which is a critical protein for binding of von Willebrand factor (vWf). The reduction in GPIb integ- have analyzed the correlation of these parameters rity results from proteolytic cleavage of glycocalicin with the changes in GC. (GC), the carbohydrate-rich amino terminus of GPIb. GC has been shown to increase in the plasma of stored platelet concentrates (PCs) [2‐4]. 1. Materials and Methods
State estimation with small non-linearities

Abstract : A variety of techniques are available for estimating the states of non-linear dynamic systems from noisy data. These procedures are generally equivalent when applied to linear systems. This report investigates the difference between several of these procedures in the presence of small dynamic and observational non-linearities. Four discrete estimation algorithms are analyzed. The first is a strictly least square estimator, while the other three are recursive algorithms similar to the Kalman filter used for estimating the states of linear systems. The product of this research is a group of analytic expressions for the mean and covariance of the error in each of those estimators so that they may be compared without lengthy Monte-Carlo simulations. The covariance expressions show that, to first order, all the estimators have the same covariance. Expressions for the means, however, show that each estimator has a different bias. Several examples are carried out demonstrating that the relative magnitudes of the bias errors in the various estimators can be a strong function of such parameters as initial covariances and number of data points being considered. In fact, under some circumstances it appears that more complicated (seemingly superior) algorithms can have larger biases than smaller ones. (Author)
Piezoresistive Cantilever Performance—Part I: Analytical Model for Sensitivity

An accurate analytical model for the change in resistance of a piezoresistor is necessary for the design of silicon piezoresistive transducers. Ion implantation requires a high-temperature oxidation or annealing process to activate the dopant atoms, and this treatment results in a distorted dopant profile due to diffusion. Existing analytical models do not account for the concentration dependence of piezoresistance and are not accurate for nonuniform dopant profiles. We extend previous analytical work by introducing two nondimensional factors, namely, the efficiency and geometry factors. A practical benefit of this efficiency factor is that it separates the process parameters from the design parameters; thus, designers may address requirements for cantilever geometry and fabrication process independently. To facilitate the design process, we provide a lookup table for the efficiency factor over an extensive range of process conditions. The model was validated by comparing simulation results with the experimentally determined sensitivities of piezoresistive cantilevers. We performed 9200 TSUPREM4 simulations and fabricated 50 devices from six unique process flows; we systematically explored the design space relating process parameters and cantilever sensitivity. Our treatment focuses on piezoresistive cantilevers, but the analytical sensitivity model is extensible to other piezoresistive transducers such as membrane pressure sensors.
Chronic Low Level Maternal Carbon Monoxide Exposure and Fetal Growth and Development

We investigated the effects on fetal growth and development of continuous exposure of pregnant rats to low level carbon monoxide (30 or 90 ppM CO) and a low oxygen atmosphere (13% O/sub 2/). While neither CO concentration induced a hematologic response in the pregnant animals, 13% O/sub 2/ exposure elicited an increase in hematocrit, the number of erythrocytes and hemoglobin concentration. Fetal body growth was unaffected by either CO concentration; however, it was reduced significantly in fetuses exposed to 13% O/sub 2/. The individual organ weights were differentially affected by 90 ppM CO. The fetal brain wet weight increased 14%, whereas the lung weight decreased 24%. We attribute the brain enlargement in the 90 ppM CO fetuses to an increased water content as evidenced by decreased concentrations of brain protein, DNA, norepinephrine and serotonin and a reduced dry-wet weight ratio. The results indicate that the fetus in utero is affected by relatively low CO concentrations in the maternal environment.
Modeling the time-dependent transient radiation response of semiconductor junctions

Analytical one-dimensional time-dependent photocurrent models are developed from new solutions to the ambipolar transport equation. The p-n junction model incorporates the effects of an electric field in the quasi-neutral region, finite diode length, and an arbitrary generation function g=f(x,t). It provides improved accuracy over the Wirth-Rogers and Enlow-Alexander models. An approximate photocurrent solution for p-n-n/sup +/, n-p-p/sup +/, and p-i-n diode junctions is developed considering high-injection effects. Comparison with experimental data shows that a single set of physical parameters is adequate to characterize the model with respect to dose rate, pulse width, and geometry. >
Antimicrobial Effects of Wine on Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella typhimurium in a Model Stomach System

: Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. was evaluated in grape juice and wine. Bacteria were inactivated in wine within 60 min but survived up to 16 d in juice. A model stomach system containing food and synthetic gastric fluid (SGF) was designed to investigate the antibacterial effect of wine when consumed with a meal. In this system, wine had little effect on E. coli O157:H7 survival whereas Salmonella was undetectable after 120 min. A nonvolatile wine fraction (containing acids) was more effective in killing Salmonella than a volatile wine fraction (containing alcohol), suggesting that antibacterial activity of wine is primarily acid dependent.
A Computational Study of Insect Wing Cross-Sectional Geometry on Flight Performance

The influence of cross-sectional geometry on flight performance is investigated for an insect wing using bee-like kinematics. Bee flight is of particular interest due to its mechanical simplicity, utilizing only three degrees of freedom, a high flap frequency, and mechanically linked front and hind wings. These unique flapping flight kinematics result in extremely agile flight characteristics, capable of carrying extraordinary loads relative to the bee’s weight, at a biologically capable efficiency. The performance of a corrugated insect wing and a more intuitively aerodynamic profile are compared computationally. At velocities from 1–3 m/s, the approximated cross-section is foudn to overpredict the lift generated by the corrugated profile by up to 18%. At higher velocities, 4 and 5 m/s, the approximated profile underpredicts the lift generated by the corrugated cross-section by 15%. Based upon this information the cross-sectional geometry of an insect’s wing is significant to the investigation and quantification of insect flight characteristics, for both computational analysis and future robotic applications.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Advances in Decision Analysis: Negotiation Analysis: Between Decisions and Games

ABSTRACT . Conceptually located between decision analysis and game theory, the emergent field of negotiation analysis seeks to develop prescriptive theory and useful advice for negotiators and third parties. It generally emphasizes assessment of the parties' underlying interests, alternatives to negotiated agreement, approaches to productively manage the inherent tension between competitive actions to “claim” value individually and cooperative ones to “create” value jointly, as well as efforts to change perceptions of the negotiation itself. Because advice to one side does not necessarily presume the full (game-theoretic) rationality of the other side(s), negotiation analysts often draw on the findings of behavioral scientists and experimental economists. Further, this approach does not generally assume that all the elements of the negotiation or “game” are common knowledge. It tends to deemphasize the application of game-theoretic solution concepts or efforts to find unique equilibrium outcomes. Instead, to evaluate possible strategies and tactics, negotiation analysts generally focus on changes in perceptions of the “zone of possible agreement” and the (subjective) distribution of possible negotiated outcomes conditional on various actions. It has been used to develop prescriptive advice for the simplest bilateral negotiations between monolithic parties, for negotiations through agents or with linked “internal” and “external” aspects, for negotiations in hierarchies and networks, for more complex coalitional interactions, as well as for moves “away from the table” to change the perceived negotiation itself, including the challenge of “negotiation design” to enhance the likelihood of desirable outcomes.
Defensive Marketing in Globally Competitive Industrial Markets

A practical, analytical model of competitive strategy is developed for firms selling industrial products in international markets. Competitive launches, repositionings, and retaliations are modeled using per-dollar maps. The model is applied to three illustrative real cases based on actual industrial marketing situations in global settings.
AOA 2014-2015 Presidential Address: "Tipping points" in surgical education: AOA critical issues.

President Boden, Members of the AOA, Guests, Ladies, and Gentlemen, it is truly an honor to address you as the incoming president of this esteemed and historic organization. I would like to acknowledge any residents in the audience or those who may read future versions of this talk. For many of us in an academic orthopaedics, the residents are what our job is all about, and residents are what this talk is all about. We are in a time of tremendous change in health care, and surgical education is caught in the changes. Surgical education has been a focus throughout my career, and I have some thoughts on the challenges that we face in training the future generation of orthopaedic surgeons. I will concentrate on why and how surgical education has changed, is changing, and will change. Indeed, the concept of change is captured in the title. Surgical Graduate Medical Education (GME) is an important topic for AOA. Previous presidential addresses have focused on orthopaedic education. William Enneking and Michael Simon chose “The Education of Future Orthopaedists” as a title and spoke of the value of education over “training”1,2. Terry Peabody, in 2012, used teaching as his core theme3. The 2013 survey of AOA members rated resident education and the Council of Orthopaedic Residency Directors (CORD) among the top reasons for membership. GME is particularly important because, unlike the other changes in health care, the course of change can be altered. Organizations, and even individuals, can make a difference in GME. We can create change, and we can lead and guide change catalyzed by outside forces. Let us start by thinking about change. How does it occur? What causes it? What gets it started? In The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a …
Fluorescent Nanodiamonds for Molecular and Cellular Bioimaging

Fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) have generated immense interest as fluorescent probes for biomedical imaging due to their unparalleled photostability and potential biocompatibility. Diamond can become fluorescent due to defects; in particular, nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are fluorescent sources with remarkable optical properties. FNDs containing NV centers do not photo-bleach or blink, their fluorescence emission can be modulated with a magnetic field making them one of the most sensitive magnetic field sensors, and they have fluorescence lifetime longer than fluorescent biomolecules. Commercial cost-effective availability along with method development for easy functionalization and imaging have promoted vigorous research on using FNDs as versatile bioimaging probes. Methods to coat FNDs with silica for easy functionalization for biomedical applications and to image FNDs background-free in vitro and in vivo by applying an alternating magnetic field with a conventional fluorescence microscope have been achieved. Functionalized FNDs have been used to track biomolecules in vitro and in vivo . For future use in humans and regulatory approval, it is necessary to study biodistribution, biotoxicity, and clearance, all of which have been studied in animals. This review gives an overview of the entire spectrum of FND related research.
The Kenyan diaspora in the United States and the 2013 elections: when money does not equal power

This paper examines the expectations and realities of the influence of the US-based Kenyan diaspora during the lead up to the 2013 Kenyan elections. The 2013 Kenyan elections, important to a number of domestic and international actors, could have proved a galvanizing event for the diaspora: the international community had identified Kenya at elevated risk for electoral violence, substantial changes to domestic institutions were undertaken following the high profile 2007–2008 post-election violence, and there had been considerable discussion of engaging the diaspora since the last election. Despite the superior economic power of the Kenyan diaspora compared to other African diaspora communities, we find that the Kenyan diaspora did not play a significant role in the organization or outcome of these elections. The result appears counter-intuitive, as the diaspora is financially powerful and garners significant attention from political leaders. Instead, we find that the Kenyan diaspora did not politicize its...
Noise-Weighted FBP Algorithm for Uniformly Attenuated SPECT Projections

Noise-weighted FBP (filtered backprojection) algorithm and Bayesian FBP algorithm were developed recently for un-attenuated Radon transform, which have applications in x-ray CT (computed tomography). This paper extends the noise-weighted FBP algorithm to the case of uniformly attenuated Radon transform, and this extended FBP algorithm can be applied in uniformly attenuated SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography). Computer simulations and experimental data demonstrate that the proposed FBP algorithm has similar noise control capability as the iterative ML-EM (maximum likelihood expectation maximization) algorithm. In practice, the attenuator is rarely uniform. A stable FBP algorithm must be developed for non-uniform attenuators before the FBP algorithm can be applied in clinics when attenuation correction is required.
Overview of Progress and Future Prospects in Indirect Drive Implosions on the National Ignition Facility

Alpha-particle self-heating, the process of deuterium-tritium (DT) fusion reaction products depositing their kinetic energy locally within the fusion reaction region and thus increasing the temperature in the reacting region with a concomitant exponential increase in the fusion reaction-rate, is the essential process needed for a fusion plasma to ignite. For the first time in the laboratory, significant alpha-heating in a fusion plasma was inferred in experiments and fusion fuel gain was demonstrated on the U.S. National Ignition Facility (NIF). Experiments on the NIF have achieved the highest yet recorded stagnation pressures (Pstagnation > 150-230 Gigabar) of any facility based inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments, albeit they are still short of the pressures required for ignition on the NIF (i.e. ~ 300 - 400 Gbar), and have exhibited undesirable shape distortions that waste kinetic energy. We review the issues that have been uncovered and discuss the program strategy and plan that we are following to systematically address the known issues as we press on.
Panoramic Lutheranism and apocalyptic ambivalence: an appreciative critique of N. T. Wright's Paul and the Faithfulness of God

The basic agenda and resulting architecture of N. T. Wright's reconstruction of Paul's theology in Paul and the Faithfulness of God are a dramatic and brilliant break with most previous analyses and an important step forward. But closer analysis suggests that his project also contains some serious problems. First, it is not well executed: there are basic problems of method and exegesis with Wright's manner of reading Paul's texts. Second, Lutheranism and various modern dichotomies have not been purged sufficiently thoroughly from Wright's reconstruction of Paul's thought, resulting in tensions of truly tectonic proportions. One is left with the impression of a magnificent venture foundering in its haste – haste perhaps extending back to the venture's original design, when certain contradictory tendencies needed to be confronted and solved, but were not.
Past achievements and future directions of sarcoidosis research: a NHLBI perspective.

UNLABELLED This history of research on sarcoidosis is largely from the perspective of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Insititutes of Health which has had an interest in this disease since the inception of the Lung Program in 1969. BACKGROUND Cutaneous sarcoidosis was described over 130 years ago and, subsequently, many reports have documented this illness affecting many organs or body sites. But a definitive cause has remained elusive. Multiple research stimuli converged in the early 1970s to begin an era of active investigation into the immunopathogensis of this granulomatous disease that included: new insights into host cellular immunity and lymphocytes; program analysis of lung research in 1971-72; new technology, especially the fiberoptic bronchoscope; and a focus by the NIH Intramural Pulmonary Branch to conduct research on interstitial lung diseases begun in 1974. During the mid 1970-80s, research into lung cellular immunity of sarcoidosis patients developed rapidly at NIH and at many other centers across the US, England, Europe, and Asia. PRESENT AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS NHLBI has continued active support of research in sarcoidosis, both basic and clinical, such as the A Case Control Etiologic Study of Sarcoidosis (ACCESS) program, 1995-2003, whose conclusions are continuing to be published. A workshop on "Future Directions in Sarcoidosis Research" provided new research ideas to explore basic immunity mechanisms in human sarcoidosis tissue and search for latent microbial agents in tissue. The organization of sarcoidosis patient support groups has heightened awareness of the need for research on multiple organs affected by the disease in addition to the respiratory tract. In response, a trans-NIH sarcoidosis working group has been formed to assess this need and to better coordinate NIH research efforts.
Unexpected evolutionarily conserved rapid effects of viral infection on oxytocin receptor and TGF-β/pSmad3

shRNA lentiviral vectors are extensively used for gene knockdowns in mammalian cells, and non-target shRNAs typically are considered the proper experimental control for general changes caused by RNAi. However, the effects of non-target lentivirus controls on the modulation of cell signaling pathways remain largely unknown. In this study, we evaluated the effect of control lentiviral transduction on oxytocin receptor (OXTR) expression through the ERK/MAPK pathway in mouse and human skeletal muscle cells, on myogenic activity, and in vivo on mouse muscle regeneration. Furthermore, we mined published data for the influence of viral infections on OXTR levels in human populations and found that unrelated viral pathologies have a common consequence: diminished levels of OXTR. We examined the change in OXTR mRNA expression upon transduction with control and Smad3-targeting viral vectors through real time RT-PCR and Western blotting, and confirmed with immunofluorescence. Changes in Smad3 and OXTR expression were examined both in vitro with mouse and human myoblasts and in vivo in mouse satellite cells. The general effects of viral infections on OXTR downregulation in humans were also examined by analyzing published Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. The change in myoblast myogenic activity caused by the viral transduction (the percent of Pax7 + Ki67+ cells) was examined by immunofluorescence. Results shown in this work establish that lentiviral control vectors significantly downregulate OXTR expression at mRNA and protein levels and diminish key downstream effectors of OXTR, ERK signaling, reducing the myogenic proliferation of infected cells. This effect is evolutionarily conserved between mouse and human myogenic cells, and it manifests in satellite cells after control lentiviral transduction of mice in vivo. Furthermore, an examination of published datasets uncovered similar OXTR downregulation in humans that are afflicted with different viral infections. Additionally, cells transduced with Smad3-targeting shRNA downregulate OXTR even more than cells transduced with control viruses. Our work suggests that experimental cohorts transduced with control viruses may not behave the same as un-transduced cells and animals, specifically that control viral vectors significantly change the intensity of key cell-signaling pathways, such as OXTR/ERK. Our results further demonstrate that lentiviral transduction significantly decreases myogenic proliferation and suggest that viral infections in general may play a role in decreasing muscle health and regeneration, a decline in metabolic health, and a lower sense of well-being, as these rely on effective OXTR signaling. Additionally, our data suggest pathway crosstalk between TGF-β/pSmad3 and OXTR, implying that sustained attenuation of the TGF-β/pSmad3 pathway will reduce pro-regenerative OXTR/pERK signaling.
SYNTHESIS OF BASTNAESITE

An attempt was made to synthesize bastonesite. Sevan of the runs were successful. Attempts to synthesize the rare-earth fluocarbonates directiy from rare-earthi nitrates were unsuccessful. For successful runs the carbonate was first prepared by the reaction of the particular rareearth nitrate with sodium carbonate. Identification of the natural and synthetic bastuaesite was made by the x-ray powder diffraction patterns. (auth)
Distribution and Habitat of the Endemic Earthworm Eisenoides lonnbergi (Michaelsen) in the Northeastern United States

Eisenoides lonnbergi is one of just a few native earthworm species known from north of the most recent glacial maximum and has been found most commonly in saturated soils. We sampled earthworms from wetlands in Upstate New York and compiled published and unpublished records of E. lonnbergi to better describe the distribution and habitat associations of this species in the Northeast. We found E. lonnbergi at 14 of 22 sampled sites, including 8 of 14 riparian areas and 6 of 8 wetlands of other types (bogs, fens, and swamps). Soil pH at colonized sites varied from 3.4 to 8.5. At the 3 most acidic sites, E. lonnbergi was the only species detected by our sampling. Published records with habitat data also support an association between E. lonnbergi and wetland habitats of variable pH, both above and below the most recent glacial maximum. Eisenoides lonnbergi is strongly associated with wetlands, including some habitats, such as acidic bogs, in which it may be the only earthworm present. Land managers and conservation biologists should consider Eisenoides lonnbergi along with other native species sensitive to the loss of wetlands in the Northeast.
Prediction Models for 30-Day Mortality and Complications After Total Knee and Hip Arthroplasties for Veteran Health Administration Patients With Osteoarthritis.

Abstract Background Statistical models to preoperatively predict patients' risk of death and major complications after total joint arthroplasty (TJA) could improve the quality of preoperative management and informed consent. Although risk models for TJA exist, they have limitations including poor transparency and/or unknown or poor performance. Thus, it is currently impossible to know how well currently available models predict short-term complications after TJA, or if newly developed models are more accurate. We sought to develop and conduct cross-validation of predictive risk models, and report details and performance metrics as benchmarks. Methods Over 90 preoperative variables were used as candidate predictors of death and major complications within 30 days for Veterans Health Administration patients with osteoarthritis who underwent TJA. Data were split into 3 samples—for selection of model tuning parameters, model development, and cross-validation. C-indexes (discrimination) and calibration plots were produced. Results A total of 70,569 patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis who received primary TJA were included. C-statistics and bootstrapped confidence intervals for the cross-validation of the boosted regression models were highest for cardiac complications (0.75; 0.71-0.79) and 30-day mortality (0.73; 0.66-0.79) and lowest for deep vein thrombosis (0.59; 0.55-0.64) and return to the operating room (0.60; 0.57-0.63). Conclusions Moderately accurate predictive models of 30-day mortality and cardiac complications after TJA in Veterans Health Administration patients were developed and internally cross-validated. By reporting model coefficients and performance metrics, other model developers can test these models on new samples and have a procedure and indication-specific benchmark to surpass.
Low-temperature graphitic formation promoted by confined interphase structures in polyacrylonitrile/carbon nanotube materials

Abstract In this work polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) composites with 50 wt% SWNT loading were studied. A previously studied solvent-based phase separation process was used to enhance PAN-SWNT crystallization conditions and interphase formation within the composites. Two types of SWNT species were used here to produce two composites materials with well-ordered PAN-SWNT interphase structures. All precursor composite films were stabilized and subsequently carbonized at temperatures ranging from 900 to 1500 °C under various carbonization times. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy were used to analyze the structural change in these precursors during carbonization. It was found that ordered graphitic structures were formed using specific temperature/time conditions as early as 900 °C. This low-temperature graphitic structure can be tracked directly to the PAN interphase structure within the precursors. This paper discusses the linkage between precursor PAN-SWNT interphase formation and subsequent low-temperature graphitic formation.
Indoor Tanning, Sunless Tanning, and Sun-Protection Behaviors Among Sexual Minority Men.

This cross-sectional analysis assesses the impact of sexual orientation on indoor tanning, sunless tanning, and sun-protection behaviors among men.
Interactive value-based curriculum: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND Current health care costs are unsustainable, with a large percentage of waste attributed to doctor practices. Medical educators are developing curricula to address value-based care (VBC) in education. There is, however, a paucity of curricula and assessments addressing levels higher than 'knows' at the base of Miller's pyramid of assessment. Our objective was to: (1) teach residents the principles of VBC using active learning strategies; and (2) develop and pilot a tool to assess residents' ability to apply principles of VBC at the higher level of 'knows how' on Miller's pyramid. METHODS Residents in medicine, medicine-paediatrics and medicine-dermatology participated in a 5-week VBC morning report curriculum using active learning techniques. Early sessions targeted knowledge and later sessions emphasised the application of VBC principles. Medical educators are developing curricula to address value-based care in education RESULTS: Thirty residents attended at least one session and completed both pre- and post-intervention tests, using a newly developed case-based assessment tool featuring a 'waste score' balanced with 'standard of care'. Residents, on average, reduced their waste score from pre-intervention to post-intervention [mean 8.8 (SD 6.3) versus mean 4.7 (SD 4.6), p = 0.001]. For those who reduced their waste score, most maintained or improved their standard of care. DISCUSSION Our results suggest that residents may be able to decrease health care waste, with the majority maintaining or improving their management of care in a case-based assessment after participation in the curriculum. We are working to further incorporate VBC principles into more morning reports, and to develop further interventions and assessments to evaluate our residents at higher levels on Miller's pyramid of assessment.
Ivy League–Big Ten Epidemiology of Concussion Study

The Big Ten/Ivy League Traumatic Brain Injury Research Collaboration is a multi-institutional research effort supported by the Big Ten and Ivy League conference Presidents1–3 whose mission is to better understand the causes and effects of sport-related head injury and concussion. Established in 2012, the 22-insitution membership is an integrated group of clinicians and scientists working in partnership to study the effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in sports and to, ultimately, improve the health and wellness of student athletes. The flagship example of the TBI Collaboration’s vision to use science evidence to produce benefits for student-athlete well-being is the Ivy League–Big Ten Epidemiology of Concussion Study. The Concussion Study, operating in its fifth year of data collection, was implemented by the Ivy League Presidents and now has been joined by many of the Big Ten universities. Given the collegiate setting, the elite athletes who are the focus …
Zooplankton Mortality Mechanisms

Mortality among zooplankton can be broken down into two large categories: (1) predation, and (2) all other causes, including disease, physical stress, parasitism, starvation, and senescence. Quantification of the relative importance of these two categories of mechanisms for the various stages and species included in the Lake Lanao zooplankton is possible because the rates of predation can be computed.
Digital Filtering of the Pupil Diameter Signal for Affective Assessment of a Computer User

There is an increasing interest in investigating means to detect the level of stress of a computer user for applications such as computer-based tutoring. This study presents a new approach to recognize the affective state (relaxed vs. stressed) of a computer user through filtering of the pupil diameter (PD) signal. Wavelet denoising and Kalman filtering are applied for the removal of abrupt changes in the PD signal, which are not likely to be the actual pupillary reactions. Wavelet denoising comprises three steps: Wavelet decomposition, threshold setting and signal reconstruction. Kalman filtering includes prediction and correction applied as two recursive blocks. This study summarizes the preliminary results obtained for noise removal and imposes a threshold on the filtered signal to identify the “stress” state of the computer users. Direct classification applied on the filtered PD signals achieved 75 % or better accuracy for stress detection in ¾ of the subjects tested. These encouraging results indicate that the combination of wavelet denoising and Kalman filtering seems to be an appropriate processing approach to emphasize the PD signal changes due to affective variations in the subject. The results also show that the PD signal is an important physiological signal that can be monitored non-invasively for the affective assessment of a computer user.
A New Model for Energy-Efficient All-Wireless Networks

We extend the work of energy-efficient wireless communication initiated by Wieselthier et al. in a new direction. Instead of minimizing the total energy consumption, our goal is to minimize the maximum energy consumption among all nodes, thereby achieving the longest network lifetime. We formulate a new model for energy-efficient communication in wireless networks, called the MinMax energy model, that distributes the energy consumption among nodes evenly by constructing appropriate multicast/broadcast trees which may not consume minimum total energy. We propose a few fundamental computational problems related to our model and study their complexities.
6 – Multinomial Response Models

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the multinomial response models. Multinomial response models, or multinomial logit models, are generalizations of logit models in which one or more independent variables are used to predict one or more polytomous dependent variables. If the dependent variable is dichotomous, then the multinomial response model is a logit model. Multinomial response models for two-way tables may be used to illustrate many of the general principles of multinomial response models. In the case of two-way tables, interpretation in terms of simultaneous logit models is attractive. A multinomial response model may be defined in terms of a series of related logit models. Multinomial response models for three or more dichotomous or polytomous variables are direct generalizations of multinomial response models for one polytomous dependent variable and one polytomous independent variable. In hierarchical models, a set of λ-parameters with a common superscript is either set to 0 or is completely unrestricted. Standardized parameter estimates are used to simplify models. Results of model simplification are judged in terms of the reduction achieved in the likelihood-ratio chi-square statistic.
COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF P16 PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN NORMAL AND DYSPLASTIC ORAL MUCOSAL EPITHELIUM

Objective Expression of the protein marker p 16INK4a is used as a surrogate for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in biopsies of oral and tonsillar mucosa. While HPV infection accounts for Findings Fifteen of the 24 HGDs (62.5%), fourteen of the 24 LGDs (58.3%) and four of the 24 CMs (16.6%) were positive for p 16INK4a expression. The difference in p16 expression between HGD versus CM and LGD versus CM were analyzed by Wilcoxon signed rank test and statistically significantly different at level with p-values of 0.0001 and 0.0009, respectively. Greater p16 expression was noted in HGDs compared to LGDs (p-value = 0.01960, which was significant at level). A step-down Holm-Bonferroni method to account for multiple comparisons showed adjusted p-values of 0.0003 (HG versus CM), 0.0018 (LG versus CM) and 0.0196 (HG versus low LG) among three groups. Conclusion p16 expression was statistically-significantly greater in LGD and HGD lesions compared to CM, with a trend of greater expression being associated with higher grade of dysplasia.
Assessing Integrative Psychiatry Curriculum Needs.

BackgroundResearch on incorporating integrative medicine (IM) into medical training is increasing. Programs and organizations around IM have been established, but there has not previously been a ne...
Intelligent Trend for Telecommunications Networks’ Energy Equipment

This paper proposes that the goal of intelligence of energy equipment in telecommunications networks is to achieve higher energy availability and higher energy efficiency in telecommunications networks, and better use experience of telecommunications network energy. The paper recognizes that the intelligence of telecommunications networks’ energy equipment is mainly reflected in the digitization of energy equipment’s system architecture and components, the intelligence of power supply modes, the automatic improvement of energy efficiency, the intelligence of fault diagnosis, the intelligence of operation and maintenance, and the intelligence of operations. In this paper, we propose that we should learn from the intelligence experience in the field of information and communication to upgrade the intelligence level of communication network' energy equipment, so as to bring about the continuous improvement of energy availability and the continuous reduction of TCO.
Leadership of Higher Education Assessment: A Guide to Theory for Practitioners

Leadership of Higher Education Assessment provides a comprehensive treatment of leadership theories and helps practitioners integrate this knowledge into their assessment work. Synthesizing leadership theories into manageable concepts relevant to the college and university context, this useful guide supports assessment leaders in addressing complex institutional situations and developing their own unique philosophy of assessment and leadership style. In the face of ongoing challenges such as data accessibility, data security concerns, a shifting accreditation environment, complex politics, and lack of available resources, this book is a critical guide for assessment leaders who want to take command of their practice.
H₂O-Cloud: A Resource and Quality of Service-Aware Task Scheduling Framework for Warehouse-Scale Data Centers

Cloud computing has attracted both end-users and cloud service providers (CSPs) in recent years. Improving resource utilization rate (RUtR), such as CPU and memory usages on servers, while maintaining quality of service (QoS) is one key challenge faced by CSPs with warehouse-scale datacenters. Prior works proposed various algorithms to reduce energy cost or to improve RUtR, which either lack the fine-grained task scheduling capabilities, or fail to take a comprehensive system model into consideration. This article presents H2O-Cloud, a Hierarchical and Hybrid Online task scheduling framework for warehouse-scale Cloud service providers, to improve resource usage effectiveness while maintaining QoS. H2O-Cloud is highly scalable and considers comprehensive information, such as various workload scenarios, cloud platform configurations, user request information, and dynamic pricing model. The hierarchy and hybridity of the framework, combined with its deep reinforcement learning (DRL) engines, enable H2O-Cloud to efficiently start on-the-go scheduling and learning in an unpredictable environment without pretraining. Our experiments confirm the high efficiency of the proposed H2O-Cloud when compared to baseline approaches, in terms of energy and cost while maintaining QoS. Compared with a state-of-the-art DRL-based algorithm, H2O-Cloud achieves up to 201.17% energy cost efficiency improvement, 47.88% energy efficiency improvement, and 551.76% reward rate improvement.
Metric Geometry of Finite Subset Spaces

If $X$ is a (topological) space, the $n$th finite subset space of $X$, denoted by $X(n)$, consists of $n$-point subsets of $X$ (i.e., nonempty subsets of cardinality at most $n$) with the quotient topology induced by the unordering map $q:X^n\to X(n)$, $(x_1,\cdots,x_n)\mapsto\{x_1,\cdots,x_n\}$. That is, a set $A\subset X(n)$ is open if and only if its preimage $q^{-1}(A)$ is open in the product space $X^n$. Given a space $X$, let $H(X)$ denote all homeomorphisms of $X$. For any class of homeomorphisms $C\subset H(X)$, the $C$-geometry of $X$ refers to the description of $X$ up to homeomorphisms in $C$. Therefore, the topology of $X$ is the $H(X)$-geometry of $X$. By a ($C$-) geometric property of $X$ we will mean a property of $X$ that is preserved by homeomorphisms of $X$ (in $C$). Metric geometry of a space $X$ refers to the study of geometry of $X$ in terms of notions of metrics (e.g., distance, or length of a path, between points) on $X$. In such a study, we call a space $X$ metrizable if $X$ is homeomorphic to a metric space. Naturally, $X(n)$ always inherits some aspect of every geometric property of $X$ or $X^n$. Thus, the geometry of $X(n)$ is in general richer than that of $X$ or $X^n$. For example, it is known that if $X$ is an orientable manifold, then (unlike $X^n$) $X(n)$ for $n>1$ can be an orientable manifold, a non-orientable manifold, or a non-manifold. In studying geometry of $X(n)$, a central research question is "If $X$ has geometric property $P$, does it follow that $X(n)$ also has property $P$?". A related question is "If $X$ and $Y$ have a geometric relation $R$, does it follow that $X(n)$ and $Y(n)$ also have the relation $R$?". (Truncated)