cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Symptoms of psychosis in schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder: A comparison of African Americans and Caucasians in the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort

Several studies have reported differences between African Americans and Caucasians in relative proportion of psychotic symptoms and disorders, but whether this reflects racial bias in the assessment of psychosis is unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the distribution of psychotic symptoms and potential bias in symptoms assessed via semi-structured interview using a cohort of 3,389 African American and 5,692 Caucasian participants who were diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder. In this cohort, the diagnosis of schizophrenia was relatively more common, and the diagnosis of bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder-bipolar type was less relatively common, among African Americans than Caucasians. With regard to symptoms, relatively more African Americans than Caucasians endorsed hallucinations and delusions symptoms, and this pattern was striking among cases diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizoaffective-bipolar disorder. In contrast, the relative endorsement of psychotic symptoms was more similar among cases diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder-depressed type. Differential item function analysis revealed that African Americans with mild psychosis over-endorsed "hallucinations in any modality" and under-endorsed "widespread delusions" relative to Caucasians. Other symptoms did not show evidence of racial bias. Thus, racial bias in assessment of psychotic symptoms does not appear to explain differences in the proportion of symptoms between Caucasians and African Americans. Rather, this may reflect ascertainment bias, perhaps indicative of a disparity in access to services, or differential exposure to risk factors for psychosis by race. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in literature: Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar.

Abstract Sylvia Plath's well-known novel, The Bell Jar, recounts her experience of a severe depressive episode. In the novel, the protagonist is treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), as was Plath in life. The first ECT is given in the now-obsolete “unmodified” form, without general anesthesia. Later in the story, she receives ECT again, this time with full general anesthesia and muscle relaxation, as is the standard of care today. This chapter examines how the novelistic descriptions of the treatment compare with actual clinical practice.
Site of Treatment for Non-Urgent Conditions by Medicare Beneficiaries: Is There a Role for Urgent Care Centers?

Abstract Background There is limited information on where and how often Medicare beneficiaries seek care for non-urgent conditions when a physician office visit is not available. Emergency departments are often an alternative site of care, and urgent care centers have now also emerged to fill this need. The purpose of the study was to characterize the site of care for Medicare beneficiaries with non-urgent conditions; the relationship between physician office, urgent care center, and emergency department utilization; and specifically the role of urgent care centers. Methods The study is a retrospective, cross-sectional study of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries for fiscal year 2012. The main outcome was rate and geographic variation of urgent care center, emergency department, or physician office utilization. Results Care for non-urgent conditions most commonly occurred in physician offices (65.0 per 100 beneficiaries). In contrast, urgent care centers (6.0 per 100 beneficiaries) were a more common site of care than emergency departments (1.0 per 100 beneficiaries). Overall, 83% of non-urgent visits were physician offices, 14% urgent care centers, and 3% emergency departments. There was regional variation in urgent care center, emergency department, and physician office utilization for non-urgent conditions. Areas of higher emergency department utilization correspond to areas of lower urgent care center and physician office utilization, whereas areas of higher urgent care center utilization had lower emergency department utilization. Conclusions Urgent care centers are an important site of care for Medicare beneficiaries for non-urgent conditions. There is regional variation in the use of urgent care centers, emergency departments, and physician offices, with areas of low urgent care center utilization having higher emergency department utilization. The utilization of urgent care centers for treatment for non-urgent conditions may decrease emergency department utilization.
Reductive Intercalation of Vanadyl Layered Perovskites

A new series of triple layered Ruddlesden-Popper compounds of the general formula (LixVO)La2Ti3O10, where X = 0.83, 0.93, 1.4 and 1.8, have been prepared. Lithium is intercalated into the layered perovskite in a reductive manner to produce new mixed valence compounds. The structure of the parent, (VO)La2Ti3O10, is maintained upon intercalation. Above a certain lithium content, the magnetic behavior of (LixVO)La2Ti3O10 changes from paramagnetic, for X = 0.83, 0.93, 1.4, to a magnetically ordered material for (Li1.8VO)La2Ti3O10.
Activity and activation of the granulocyte superoxide-generating system.

Phagocytic cells generate superoxide (O2) as a part of the respiratory burst of phagocytosis. We studied human granulocyte O2 production in vitro in response to phorbol myristate acetate, a soluble fatty acid ester that stimulates O2 generation. The properties of this compound permit the adaptation of a continuous assay of O2– production to the study of the activity and activation (i.e., the change from the resting to the active state) of the O2 -generating system. The two processes, measured respectively as the rate of O2– production and the lag time for its attainment, respond differently to manipulations involving temperature, pH, phorbol myristate acetate concentration, N-ethyl maleimide inhibition, and energy metabolism. Changes in pH profoundly influence the rate without changing the lag time. Increases in temperature above 37°C depress the rate but continue to shorten the lag time. Thus, the activation and activity of the O2 -generating system appear to have different pH and temperature dependency. In addition, they have different dose-response curves for phorbol myristate acetate stimulation: at high concentrations the rate reaches a plateau but the lag time continues to shorten. Activity of the human O2-generating system is sensitive to metabolic inhibitors, such as N-ethyl maleimide, 2-deoxyglucose, and the combination of 2-deoxyglucose with dinitrophenol or cyanide. The rate of activation (lag time) is unaffected by these compounds. These findings show that the activity of the human O2 -generating system and its activation are separable processes. Furthermore, comparison of the above characteristics of human peripheral blood and guinea pig peritoneal exudate granulocytes reveals several important differences.
Scrotal swelling in the Schönlein-Henoch syndrome.

AbstractTesticular and scrotal hemorrhage Is uncommon In the Schonleln-Henoch syndrome. The diagnosis of testicular torsion is difficult to make when It Is complicated by vasculitis of the testis. Since both conditions can occur simultaneously, torsion of the testis must be considered and surgical exploration performed whenever acute testicular pain and swelling occur during the course of the Schonleln-Henoch syndrome. Two patients with this syndrome as well as scrotal and testicular Involvement are described.
Measurement of excitonic and bimolecular radiative processes in quantum wells

The quantum-confined Stark effect has been studied extensively in both emission and absorption processes.1–6 In the case of emission, it has been observed that the luminescence intensity decreases with increasing field and completely quenches even at moderate fields.1 It has been proposed by several workers that the quenching is from an increase in lifetime caused by the polarization of the carriers by the electric field and the competition between radiative and nonradiative (including field-induced tunneling3 and enhanced photocurrent4) processes. It has also been reported that the quenching rate is dependent on the intensity of excitation.1 However, there has not yet been a consistent explanation for the magnitude of the quenching and its excitation-intensity dependence. In this paper we present a complete spectroscopic study that clearly indicates that luminescence quenching is attributable to the field-enhanced dissociation of excitons into free carriers.
Impact of respiratory motion on the detection of small pulmonary nodules in SPECT imaging

The objective of this investigation is to determine the impact of respiratory motion on the detection of small solitary pulmonary nodules (SPN) in single photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT) imaging. We have previously modeled the respiratory motion of SPN based on the change of location of anatomic structures within the lungs identified on breath-held CT images of volunteers acquired at two different stages of respiration. This information on respiratory motion within the lungs was combined with the end-expiration and time-averaged NCAT phantoms to allow the creation of source and attenuation maps for the normal background distribution of Tc-99m NeoTect. With the source and attenuation distribution thus defined, the SIMIND Monte Carlo program was used to produce SPECT projection data for the normal background and separately for each of 150 end-expiration and time-averaged simulated 1.0 cm tumors. Normal and tumor SPECT projection sets each containing one lesion were combined with a clinically realistic noise level and counts. These were reconstructed with RBI-EM using 1) no correction (NC), 2) attenuation correction (AC), 3) detector response correction (RC), and 4) attenuation correction, detector response correction, and scatter correction (ACRCSC). The post-reconstruction parameters of number of iterations and 3-D Gaussian filtering were optimized by human- observer studies. Comparison of lesion detection by human- observer LROC studies reveals that respiratory motion degrades tumor detection for all four reconstruction strategies, and that the magnitude of this effect is greatest for NC and RC, and least for AC RC SC. Additionally, the AC RC SC strategy results in the best detection of lesions.
Reclamation’s Empirical Method for Estimating Life Loss Due to Dam Failure

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) estimates life loss resulting from dam failure in support of dam safety risk analysis. To estimate life loss, Reclamation relies primarily on an empirical methodology which is tied to the interpretation of case histories of dam failures and other types of flood disaster events. The method is known as Reclamation’s Consequences Estimation Methodology, or RCEM. RCEM is a revision to an empirical method used by Reclamation since 1999, for which the case history database has been substantially expanded. Case histories, which come from dam failures, flash flood and coastal flooding events, are the basis for data points used in the estimation of fatality rates. Reclamation’s RCEM methodology employs a graphical approach for the selection of fatality rates based on ranges of DV (depth multiplied by velocity) and warning time. DV is used to quantify the intensity of flooding and can be related to lethality. The RCEM methodology is in many ways similar to Reclamation’s previous method, DSO-99-06. However, the new method requires greater application of judgment when selecting fatality rates. The paper will provide an overview of the new method, with emphasis on the case histories, and discussion of the importance of a team approach to life loss estimation.
Visualization in medicine: multidimensional object presentation methods for computer displays and volume holography

This paper presents and analyzes issues relating to visualization of medical data, with particular attention to "object-oriented" methods, computer rendering, and volume holography display. Topics discussed include information extraction, object definition, data form, perception, time multiplexing, and actual reality versus virtual reality.
Approach to the Patient with Renal Disease

A 35-year-old man presents with a 1-week history of progressive shortness of breath and an episode of hemoptysis earlier today. For the past 2 days he has had decreased urine volume and dark colored urine. He has no past medical history and takes no medications. Blood pressure is 145/85 mmHg. Pulse is 110 beats per minute. Temperature is 36.8 °C. Pulse oximetry is 87 % on room air. He is anxious and slightly pale. Pulmonary exam reveals bibasilar crackles. The remainder of his exam is unremarkable. His laboratory data is notable for a hemoglobin level of 10.9 g/dL and serum creatinine of 2.7 mg/dL. His chest X-ray shows bilateral pulmonary infiltrates.
Abstract 5538: A pH-responsive doxorubicin-lipid conjugate loaded nanomedicine for breast cancer treatment

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a chemotherapeutic agent widely used in the treatment of various cancers. However, its clinical use is restricted due to serious cardiotoxicity and the development of drug resistance. Many delivery strategies, including the use of liposomes, micelles, and polymer drug conjugates, have been used to improve the therapeutic efficacy and reduce the toxicity of DOX. Recently, lipid-drug conjugates have also been investigated for the delivery of anticancer drugs. The conjugation of lipids with DOX can increase its lipophilicity, thus enhance its loading in lipid-based nanoparticles, facilitate interaction with cells, and improve pharmacokinetic properties. In this study, we developed a micelle formulation with 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-amino polyethylene glycol-2000 (DSPE-PEG) to deliver a DOX-lipid conjugate to treat breast cancers. DOX was conjugated with palmitic acid (PA) through a pH sensitive hydrazone bond to yield a lipophilic pro-drug of DOX (PA-DOX). PA-DOX (Log P = 2) showed significantly increased lipophilicity than DOX (Log P = - 0.5). The micelles were prepared using a thin-film dispersion method. Due to the lipophilic nature of PA-DOX, it can be efficiently loaded into the hydrophobic core of DSPE-PEG micelles. In addition, the micelle formulation demonstrated superior stability, showing no leakage or precipitation of PA-DOX for at least two weeks during storage at 4°C. In vitro drug release was tested in sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.5) and sodium acetate buffer (pH 5.0), respectively. DOX-PA was stable at pH 7.4 and showed minimal DOX release (less than 10% at 24 hours). The release of DOX was significantly increased at pH 5 (approximately 75% at 24 hours). Anticancer activities were evaluated with MCF-7 breast cancer cells and MCF-7/MDR drug-resistant breast cancer cells. Cell viability was determined by a MTT assay. PA-DOX showed similar anticancer activity on MCF-7 cells as DOX itself. Anticancer activity of PA-DOX was significantly reduced in MCF-7/MDR cells but restored when used in combination with lapatinib. Citation Format: Feng Li, Marilyn Saulsbury, Simone Heyliger, Mikhail Bondarev, Chengan Du, Corinne C. Ramaley, KiTani P. Lemieux. A pH-responsive doxorubicin-lipid conjugate loaded nanomedicine for breast cancer treatment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 5538. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-5538
Internal Medicine Resident Perspectives Regarding Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Usage

Focus groups held with internal medicine residents discussed their perspectives regarding broad-spectrum antibiotic (BSA) usage. Residents knew of BSA-associated adverse events, but they did not associate such events with increased patient morbidity and mortality, and they were more likely to use BSA in situations with diagnostic uncertainty and sick patients.
CaNOP 3U CubeSat Attitude Determination and Control Testing System: Helmholtz Cage Design

Canopy Near Infrared Observing Project (CaNOP) is a WSGC-funded 3U CubeSat program to make multispectral reflectance measurements across a range of global forests. Â The project requires active attitude knowledge and control. This paper describes the design and construction of a test apparatus to validate the detumbling and attitude control systems of the CaNOP satellite. The apparatus generates a uniform 3-axis adjustable magnetic field to simulate on-orbit magnetic conditions. A Helmholtz cage implements six coils to create a region of uniform and adjustable magnetic field in which to test the orientation and attitude determination and control systems of a satellite.
LBA8 PRELIMINARY OUTCOMES OF A NOVEL PENILE TRACTION DEVICE (RESTOREX) IN MEN WITH PEYRONIE’S DISEASE: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED TRIAL

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:Penile traction therapy (PTT) is a common treatment used in the management of Peyronie’s disease (PD). However, existing PTT devices require daily utilization for ≥5 hou...
Erratum for DiEuliis and Gronvall, "A Holistic Assessment of the Risks and Benefits of the Synthesis of Horsepox Virus".

Volume 3, no. 2, e00074-18, 2018, [https://doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.00074-18][1]. Page 6 of the PDF, third full paragraph, line 4: “smallpox” should be “horsepox.” The corrected sentence should read “Given much of this information already exists in the literature, the publication of the
An efficient partitioning and scheduling algorithm for streaming applications on FPGA with resource constraint

Hardware and software partitioning and reconfiguration cost minimization are two major design challenges for the performance improvement of data-intensive streaming applications by hardware and software co-design approach. In this paper a novel partitioning and scheduling algorithm is proposed for a hybrid system of a microprocessor and a reconfigurable hardware with resource constraint to optimize between hardware resource usage and execution time of an application. We balance the exploitation of spatial parallelism and temporal parallelism in streaming applications by considering the reconfiguration cost vs. the data transfer cost. As the reconfiguration cost is configuration bits size plus the configuration time we try to keep it minimum by exploiting the temporal parallelism maximally.
Instrumental REM sleep deprivation in neonates leads to adult depression-like behaviors in rats.

Study Objectives: Previous studies have demonstrated that neonatal suppression of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep by pharmacologic agents, particularly clomipramine, produces adult depressive behavior. These findings suggest the hypothesis that REM sleep deprivation (RSD) mediates the depressogenic behaviors of neonatally administered antidepressant drugs. Drug suppression of RSD, however, was thought to be confounded by the other effects of the drugs. The current study was aimed to show the adult effect of neonatal RSD in rats by instrumental means, ie, a computer-controlled shaking method. Design: Three treatment groups were studied: an instrumental RSD group, a yoked control group, and a nonshaken, maternally separated, control group. All treatments began at the age of 14 days and lasted for 7 days. Adult behavior measurements including tests of sexual activity, locomotor activity, shock-induced fighting, and sleep recording were subsequently performed. Measurements and Results: The major findings of our investigation were that rats subjected to neonatal instrumental RSD demonstrated diminished sexual activity, decreased aggressive behavior, increased percentage of REM sleep, and decreased wake-REM sleep ratio compared with yoked control rats. These data are compatible with the findings from adult rats subjected to neonatal treatment with the REM-sleep suppressant, clomipramine, and supports the hypothesis that neonatal RSD results in adult depressive abnormalities. Conclusion: Neonatal RSD induced by a nondrug method results in adult depression-like changes similar to those induced by a REM-sleep suppressant drug, although the extent of these changes varies.
Conformal invariance in the dual symmetric theory of hadrons

In the space-time picture for dual-resonance models proposed by Susskind we consider the groupSL2R suggested as the group of gauge transformations for this theory. The analysis of disc-preserving mappings in a Lagrangian scheme provides the expression for the operator that generates the linear relations for the first mode and, by an extension, those found by Virasoro for all modes.
Distal Femoral Rotation is not Associated With Preoperative Proximal Tibial Varus Angle in Patients With Isolated Medial Compartment Osteoarthritis.

Abstract Background Prior studies have found that greater proximal tibial varus was associated with increased external femoral rotation at time of total knee arthroplasty. These works suggest that measuring the tibial plateau-tibial shaft (TPTS) angle on preoperative weight-bearing long leg radiographs could predict significant variations in the posterior condylar angle. Methods A minimum of 68 patients were needed to reach 80% power. Patients were included if they had primary medial compartment osteoarthritis and excluded if they had a valgus mechanical axis. The clinical posterior condylar angle (cPCA) was defined as the angle between the anatomic transepicondylar axis and posterior condylar line. Correlation analyses were performed to test for any relationship between the TPTS and cPCA. Two patient groups were created based on TPTS angle: TPTS ≤4° (mild varus) and TPTS >4° (moderate varus). Mechanical axis and rotational measurements were compared between the groups using independent t-tests. Results The mean mechanical axis and TPTS angle were 6.9° and 4.8° of varus, respectively. The mean cPCA was 5.0° (standard deviation [SD], 1.4°; range, 2.4°-7.9°). No correlation was found between the TPTS angle and cPCA (P = .15). The mean cPCA in the mild varus group (n = 28 patients) was 5.2° (SD, 1.5°; range, 2.7°-7.9°), and the mean cPCA in the moderate varus group (n = 45 patients) was 4.4° (SD, 1.7°; range, 0.6°-7.5°). These groups were not statistically significantly different from each other (P = .62). Conclusion The present study does not support the conclusions of previous works and suggests that the amount of distal femoral rotation cannot be predicted by tibial varus alignment measured on preoperative long leg radiographs. Consequently, we believe that proximal tibial varus should not be used to preoperatively predict external rotation of the femoral component in patients with isolated medial compartment osteoarthritis.
Odor-Specific Daily Rhythms in the Olfactory Sensitivity and Behavior of Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

Many biological processes and behaviors in mosquitoes display rhythmic patterns, allowing for fine tuning to cyclic environmental conditions. In mosquitoes, vector-host interactions are primarily mediated by olfactory signals. Previous studies have established that, in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae, rhythmic expression of odorant binding proteins and takeout proteins in the antenna resulted in a corresponding rhythm in olfactory sensitivity to relevant host odors. However, it remained unclear how rhythms observed in olfactory sensitivity affect or explain rhythms in behavioral output, which ultimately impacts disease transmission. In order to address this knowledge gap, we quantified and compared patterns in locomotor activity, olfactory sensitivity, and olfactory behaviors in adult female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Here, we demonstrate an odorant-specific modulation of olfactory sensitivity in Ae. aegypti, decoupled from rhythms in olfactory behavior. Additionally, behavioral assays performed herein represent the first evidence of a time-dependence of the olfactory activation of behavior in Ae. aegypti mosquitoes. Results suggest that olfactory behavior of Aedes mosquitoes is modulated at both the peripheral (antenna) and central levels. As such, this work serves as a foundation for future studies aimed at further understanding the neural and molecular mechanisms underlying behavioral plasticity.
Hemorrhagic Cystitis: Treatment With Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Patients With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

BACKGROUND:Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a rare treatment modality for hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) following BK virus reactivation in the immunosuppressed population. Clinicians need to be aware of the etiology, preventive measures, complications, and various management techniques in HC while treating
Coagulopathy and bleeding associated with salicylate toxicity

AbstractIntroduction: Salicylate toxicity is a common cause of morbidity and hospitalization. Animal and human studies suggest that salicylates cause a dose-dependent inhibition of the activation o...
The long-term impacts of carbon and variable renewable energy policies on electricity markets

Abstract We present a computationally-efficient optimization model that finds the least-cost generation unit expansion, commitment, and dispatch plan to serve hourly electricity demand and ancillary service requirements. We apply the model to a case study based on data from the electricity market in Texas (ERCOT) to analyze the market and investment impacts of several incentive mechanisms that support variable renewable energy (VRE) investments and carbon emission reductions. In contrast to many previous studies, the model determines least-cost VRE investments under different cost and incentive assumptions rather than analyzing scenarios where VRE expansion is pre-determined. We find that electricity prices can vary significantly under different incentive mechanisms, even when comparable generation portfolios result. Therefore, the preferred incentive mechanism depends on stakeholder objectives as well as the prevailing electricity market framework. Our results indicate that a carbon tax is more system cost-efficient for reducing emissions, while production and investment tax credits are more system cost-efficient for increasing VRE investments. Similarly, incentive mechanisms that reduce electricity prices may increase the need for separate revenue sufficiency mechanisms (e.g. a capacity market) more than a policy that increases electricity prices. Moreover, the impacts on consumer payments are not always aligned with changes in system costs. Overall, the analysis illustrates the importance of considering electricity market impacts in assessing the economic efficiency of VRE and carbon incentive mechanisms.
The General Features of Membrane Traffic During Endocytosis in Polarized and Non-Polarized Cells

One of the most remarkable features of cellular membranes in their ability to engage in dynamic interactions across organelle boundaries without compromising either the biochemical specificity or the function of the interacting organelles. This feature is particularly well illustrated in the case of endocytosis, where the continuous formation of endocytic vesicles can result in the interiorization of membrane vesicles accounting for over 100-200% of the plasma membrane’s entire surface area every hour (Steinman et al. , 1983). Although this membrane is delivered to and recycled from an array of endocytic organelles, the individual properties of these organelles and of the plasma membrane itself are preserved. The mechanisms responsible for governing these events lie at the foundation of our understanding of intracellular membrane transport and include the ability of cells to selectively sort membrane and soluble proteins into specific transport vesicles as well as the ability to target those transport vesicles to their appropriate destinations. This chapter will review the salient features of the endocytic pathway in animal cells and discuss our understanding of mechanisms of protein sorting. Although it is usually more advantageous to consider such matters in the simplest available cell type, in this case, it turns out that our consideration of membrane transport in polarized epithelial cells over the past several years has yielded fundamental principles that would not have otherwise been immediately obvious.
Pore Air Pressure in Soil Subjected to Shock Waves

The propagation of pore air pressure in specimens of soil subjected to a shock wave was investigated. The soils were uniformly graded pea gravel, standard 20-30 Ottawa sand, and well-graded silty sand. The orientation of the shock wave to the soil sample was side-on, and the range in nominal incident overpressure investigated was 25 psi to 100 psi. The principal factors determining the magnitude of the pore air pressure and its penetration for a given overpressure were found to be (1) peak overpressure, (2) soil permeability, and (3) shock shape. It was found that approximately 8 ft of pea gravel or 5 ft of Ottawa sand (average void ratios of 0.05 and 0.45, respectively) would be required to reduce a maximum incident overpressure of 100 psi to zero. Six inches of wellgraded silty sand (void ratio 0.75) were required to produce the same results. The rate of attenuation of pore air pressure with penetration was found, as a first approximation, to be independent of overpressure.
Iliac Vein Stenting for Chronic Proximal Venous Outflow Obstruction in a Predominantly Asian-American Cohort.

Background We investigated the outcome of vein stenting placement for chronic proximal venous outflow obstruction (PVOO) in a predominantly Asian-American cohort to improve patient selection, enhance technical approach, and better define quality measurements of this emerging vascular intervention. Methods A total of 462 consecutive patients, 73% Asian American (n = 336), who underwent iliac vein stenting for chronic PVOO from October 2013 to July 2016 were reviewed. Postoperative outcomes at five follow-up visits were assessed. Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests were run for demographic and operative variables. Ordered logistic regressions were run for the outcome at each time point, and Chi-squared tests as well as Fisher's exact tests were used for categorical variables. Results Follow-up was maintained in 90% of patients, with a mean follow-up time of 695 days. Asian-American patients were more likely to present with varicose veins (77.4% vs. 54.8%, P 1 year mark (80% significantly improved or better vs. 59%, P Conclusions Asian-American patients undergoing vein stent placement for chronic PVOO had comparatively worse outcomes than non-Asian patients at 30 days and better outcomes after one year. These patient groups had different outcomes postoperatively and outcomes which evolve differently over time.
Current Evidence-Based Practice for Pediatric Emergence Agitation

This article provides a systematic review of pediatric emergence agitation, also known as emergence delirium. Major topics of this review include the incidence, risk factors, and impact of the phenomenon, in addition to current evidence-based strategies for prevention of pediatric emergence agitation. Emergence agitation causes tremendous psychological distress for the patient, family, and healthcare providers, as well as concerns for physical safety. Risk factors for pediatric emergence agitation are the child's age, genetic profile, length and type of surgical procedure, and use of inhalational anesthesia. In an attempt to prevent this problem, anesthesia providers should consider these factors and possible interventions when implementing an anesthetic plan. Evidence-based interventions that may decrease the incidence of pediatric emergence agitation include technology, familial involvement, pharmacologic adjuncts, and alternative methods of general anesthesia.
Unanticipated Respiratory Compromise and Unplanned Intubations on General Medical and Surgical Floors

BACKGROUND: Unanticipated respiratory compromise that lead to unplanned intubations is a known phenomenon in hospitalized patients. Most events occur in patients at high risk in well-monitored units; less is known about the incidence, risk factors, and trajectory of patients thought at low risk on lightly monitored general care wards. The aims of our study were to quantify demographic and clinical characteristics associated with unplanned intubations on general care floors and to analyze the medications administered, monitoring strategies, and vital-sign trajectories before the event. METHODS: We performed a multicenter retrospective cohort study of hospitalized subjects on the general floor who had unanticipated, unplanned intubations on general care floors from August 2014 to February 2018. RESULTS: We identified 448 unplanned intubations. The incidence rate was 0.420 per 1,000 bed-days (95% CI 0.374–0.470) in the academic hospital and was 0.430 (95% CI 0.352–0.520) and 0.394 per 1,000 bed-days (95% CI 0.301–0.506) at our community hospitals. Extrapolating these rates to total hospital admissions in the United States, we estimate 64,000 events annually. The mortality rate was 49.1%. Within 12 h preceding the event, 35.3% of the subjects received opiates. All received vital-sign assessments. Most were monitored with pulse oximetry. In contrast, 2.5% were on cardiac telemetry, and only 4 subjects used capnography; 53.7% showed significant vital-sign changes in the 24 h before the event. However, 46.3% had no significant change in any vital signs. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed unanticipated respiratory compromise that required an unplanned intubation of subjects on the general care floor, although not common, carried a high mortality. Besides pulse oximetry and routine vital-sign assessments, very little monitoring was in use. A significant portion of the subjects had no vital-sign abnormalities leading up to the event. Further research is needed to determine the phenotype of the different etiologies of unexpected acute respiratory failure to identify better risk stratification and monitoring strategies.
Repeated group alternation as a programming strategy for essential tremor patients experiencing rapid habituation with deep brain stimulation treatment.

AIM The term habituation refers to the rapid loss of therapeutic effects that occurs following an initially beneficial adjustment of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) parameters. DBS habituation typically occurs over a period of days to weeks and has been observed in a subgroup of essential tremor (ET) patients undergoing stimulation of the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus (VIM). The negative consequences of DBS habituation include protracted periods of ineffective therapy, the exacerbation of symptoms beyond presurgical levels (rebound), and the requirement for repeated office visits for stimulation adjustments. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this case series, we describe a programming strategy implemented in three patients with ET experiencing DBS habituation. This strategy involves the planned alternation between pre-programmed electrode configurations ('groups'), performed by the patient prior to or in response to the loss of therapeutic efficacy in habituation. Results/Conclusions: We provide here additional support for group alternation as a treatment option for DBS patients with ET complicated by tremor habituation.
CHAPTER 7 – Linear Regression

Publisher Summary This chapter introduces the use of the regression model to make inferences on means of populations identified by specified values of one or more quantitative factor variables. It discusses the uses of the linear regression model and explains the procedures for the estimation of the parameters of that model and the subsequent inferences about those parameters. It provides an introduction to diagnosing possible difficulties in implementing the model, along with giving some hints on computer usage and discussing inferences for the response variable. It also presents the related concept of correlation and discusses the information and formulas necessary to obtain the regression parameter estimates by using a handheld calculator. A regression analysis starts with an estimate of the population mean(s) using a mathematical formula, called a “function,” which explains the relationship between the predictor variable(s) and the response variable. This function is called the “regression model” or “regression function.” In simple linear regression, the relationship is speciﬁed to have only one predictor variable and the relationship is described by a straight line.
MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF AORTIC VALVE VIBRATION

It has beer, shown experimentally that the second heart sound is produced by diastolic vibrations of the closed aortic valve. In the present paper a mathematical model of this vibration is developed from first principles. The model assumes a one dimensional (planar velocity profiles) but non linear fluid behavior. The problem is coupled through a non linear, viscoelastic, planar (assumed) valve. A solution is obtained using the method of characteristics developed in finite difference form. The resulting valve frequency and amplitude are in reasonable agreement with patient data. The model predicts a strong dependency of response on the valve forcing function and valve stiffness; and a weaker dependency of response on valve mass. Error in the model as well as potential improvements are discussed.
Histologic changes caused by injection of a novel submucosal lifting agent for endoscopic resection in GI lesions

ABSTRACT Background and Aims ORISE Gel is a recently introduced, FDA-approved submucosal lifting agent used in endoscopic resection of GI lesions. Histologically evident gel deposits in resected specimens may pose a potential diagnostic pitfall. In order to aid in recognition of this procedure-related artifact, we report the largest histologic series of ORISE Gel in endoscopic and surgical resection specimens to date. Methods Included were 58 endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR)/endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) specimens with ORISE Gel injection, and 5 interval surgical resection specimens with previous ORISE Gel injection. Patient demographics and endoscopy reports were obtained. Histologic slides from all cases were reviewed. Histochemical stains were performed on select cases. Results Fifty-one EMR and 7 ESD specimens were identified. In 51 out of 58 (88%) endoscopic resection specimens, amorphous, pale blue-gray, finely granular material was evident in the submucosa, as well as focally within the mucosa in 4 cases. Most cases showed homogenous near-complete filling of the submucosa with this material, whereas a few demonstrated areas of condensation and retraction. Mucicarmine and PAS stains were negative for mucin. Interval surgical resection specimens revealed extensive deposition of dense, eosinophilic material with associated multinucleated giant cells in the submucosa in all cases, with transmural extension in 3 cases. Conclusion ORISE Gel injection during endoscopic resection of gastrointestinal lesions results in deposition of amorphous, blue-gray material seen in histologic sections, whereas interval surgical resection specimens demonstrate dense, eosinophilic material with an associated giant cell reaction. Awareness of these artifacts will help avoid misinterpretation of their presence as pathologic findings.
Behaviour of the blood-brain barrier toward biogenic amines in experimental cerebral ischemia.

Considering the blood-brain barrier (BBB) as a conglomerate of regulatory systems concerned with maintenance of a homeostatically controlled biochemical environment for the brain parenchyma, it can be assumed that any dysfunction of these systems caused by cerebral ischemia may significantly influence the pathology of resulting lesions. Previous studies of the effect of ischemia on the BBB demonstrated that various substances differ with regard to the time and intensity of their abnormal passage from blood into brain. Thus, it was demonstrated that after cerebral ischemia, the breakdown of the BBB to micromolecular substances such as 14C-sucrose or sodium fluorescein precedes and lasts much longer than the breakdown of the BBB to proteins (1), which occurs with a delay dependent upon the severity of ischemic insult, according to the principle of the “maturation” phenomenon (2,3).
Trade Facilitation and Country Size

It is argued that compared with large countries, small countries rely more on trade and therefore they are more likely to adopt liberal trading policies. The present paper extends this idea beyond the conventional trade openness measures by analyzing the relationship between country size and the number of documents required to export and import, a measure of trade facilitation. Three important results follow. First, trade facilitation does improve as country size becomes smaller; that is, small countries perform better than large countries in terms of trade facilitation. Second, the relationship between country size and trade facilitation is non-linear, much stronger for the relatively small than the large countries. Third, contrary to what existing studies might suggest, the relationship between country size and trade facilitation does not appear to be driven by the fact that small countries trade more as a proportion of their gross domestic product than the large countries.
Unpacking Young Adults' Experiences of Race and Gender-Based Microaggressions.

To date the majority of the research on microaggressions has focused on the experiences of targets, rather than the perpetrators, of microaggresive behaviors. The present study set out to investiga...
Detection and Defense from False Data Injection Attacks In Aviation Cyber-Physical Systems Using Artificial Immune Systems

In recent years, there has been a rapid expansion in the development of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), which allows the physical components and the cyber components of a system to be fully integrated and interacted with each other and with the physical world. The commercial aviation industry is shifting towards Aviation Cyber-Physical Systems (ACPS) framework because it allows real-time monitoring and diagnostics, real-time data analytics, and the use of Artificial Intelligent technologies in decision making. Inevitably, ACPS is not immune to cyber-attacks due to integrating a network system, which introduces serious security threats. False Data Injection (FDI) attack is widely used against CPS. It is a serious threat to the integrity of the connected physical components. In this paper, we propose a novel security algorithm for detecting FDI attacks in the communication network of ACPS using Artificial Immune System (AIS). The algorithm was developed based on the negative selection approach. The negative selection algorithm is used to detect malicious network packets and drop them. Then, a Nonlinear Autoregressive Exogenous (NARX) network is used to predict packets that dropped by the negative selection algorithm. The developed algorithm was implemented and tested on a networked control system of commercial aircraft as an Aviation Cyber-physical system.
Network Coding Techniques for Wireless and Sensor Networks

Network coding is a technique where relay nodes mix packets using mathematical operations, which can increase the throughput. Network coding was first proposed for wired networks to solve the bottleneck in a single multicast session problem and to increase the throughput. However, the broadcast nature of wireless networks and the diversity of the links make network coding more attractive in wireless networks. Network coding can be classified as either inter or intra-session. Inter-session network coding allows the packets from different sessions (sources) to be mixed to increase the throughput. In contrast, intra-session network coding, which can be used to address the packet loss problem, uses the diversity of the wireless links and mixes packets from the same sessions. In this chapter, we survey the recent works on network coding in both general wireless networks and wireless sensor networks. We present various network coding techniques, their assumptions, applications, as well as an overview of the proposed methods.
The Constitutionality of Reverse Racial Discrimination

The problems were so intractable that this time it really looked like Fred and Ginger might not get together. But then Fred sang "I Used to be Color Blind,"' and suddenly we knew that everything would turn out all right. Unfortunately, life is not an Astaire-Rogers musical-let alone one called, as this one was, Carefree-and though not being colorblind may begin to solve some of our problems, it raises serious new ones. If we are to have even a chance of curing our society of the sickness of racism, we will need a lot more Black professionals. And whatever the complex of reasons, it seems we will not get them in the foreseeable future unless we take blackness into account and weight it positively when we allocate opportunities. But that must mean denying opportunities to some people solely because they were born White. Either way, it's no musical, and I confess I have trouble understanding the place of righteous indignation on either side of this wrenching moral issue.2 On the surface at least, the constitutional issue is also quite troubling. We would not allow a state university to favor applicants because they are White, not even an iota, whether it called the adjustment a quota, affirmative action, or anything else. To allow it to favor applicants because they are Black seems to be countenancing the most flagrant of double standards.3
Far-Field Prediction by Only Magnetic Near Fields on a Simplified Huygens's Surface

For radiation source locating above a ground plane, its far field can be predicted by only the magnetic near field through the method proposed in this paper. This method applies the finite element method to get the equivalent current sources from the tangential magnetic near fields. With the equivalent current sources, the far-field radiation can be calculated based on Huygens's principle and image theory. The magnetic near field is scanned on a Huygens's surface that encloses the source with its ground. In this paper, this Huygens's surface was first proposed as a five-surface cube on the ground. Then, the Huygens's surface was further simplified by using four lines instead of four side walls to make the proposed method easier in regards to practical near-field scanning. Several numerical examples were tested to validate the proposed method. In addition, the proposed method was validated experimentally by using a patch antenna. The performance of using only the top plane near fields was also investigated and discussed. By using only the magnetic near fields on the simplified Huygens's surface, the proposed method significantly saves measurement time and cost while also retaining good far-field prediction.