cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Genetic Factors Contributing to Atherosclerosis: From Humans to Mice and Back Again

Genetic methods to analyze atherosclerosis in mice and in humans have recently been surveyed by other reviews and will not be repeated here1-3. This review will provide examples of the synergy gained by simultaneous studies of atherosclerosis in mice and humans. This synergy arises largely because analysis of atherosclerosis in humans is greatly complicated by environmental and genetic heterogeneity4, problems that do not exist in mouse models. There are, however, some significant differences between the mouse model of atherosclerosis and human atherosclerosis5. Another potential advantage of coordinated studies of atherosclerosis in mice and humans is that systematic linkage mapping in humans can detect novel genetic loci underlying atherosclerosis, but methods are not currently available to clone novel loci for complex multifactorial disease. In contrast, methods are available to clone novel loci underlying complex diseases in mouse models6-8. Furthermore, a wide variety of methods are available that can be used to test hypotheses in mouse models about the roles of specific genes in the atherosclerosis disease process -- construction of transgenics and targeted mutations9,10. Thus, studies of atherosclerosis in mice and humans produce a synergism that provides a deeper understanding of t h e mechanisms, causes and treatments for atherosclerosis.
Sales Variability in Service Stations

The fact that individual retail outlets differ substantially from one another in sales volume is not news to marketing executives. Yet static patterns for measuring retail success and failure conti...
Disinfection Effect of Medical Institutions in Maoming City during 2008-2009

[Objective]To understand the disinfection condition of medical institutions in Maoming city,find out the common problems,and adopt relevant measures,so as to improve the disinfection effect of medical institutions in Maoming area and other places.[Methods]According to the Hygiene Standards for Hospital Disinfection(GB 15982-1995) and the Technical Standards for Disinfection(2002),the disinfection effects of medical institutions in the past two years in Maoming city were supervised and statistically analyzed.[Results]1867 samples collected from municipal medical institutions and private clinics were detected,and the total eligible rate of medical disinfection was 95.45%.The eligible rate of soak solution for sterilized instruments,disinfectant in use and hospital sewage was all for 100%.The average eligible rate of sterile medical articles,surface disinfection,hand disinfection of medical staff and total bacterial count in air was 98.73%,99.15%,99.00% and 84.84%,respectively.[Conclusion]The disinfection effects of medical institutions in Maoming city are generally good,but the eligible rate of total bacterial count in air(84.84%) was low,which indicated that the air disinfection in medical institutions should be improved.
Simultaneous Determination of Arsenic, Selenium, and Antimony in Environmental Samples by Hydride Generation for Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry

Total arsenic, selenium, and antimony are determined simultaneously by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP AES) with hydride vapor generation. A 1 g wet, 0.25 g dry, or 10 mL water sample is digested by 1 of 2 methods in a 10 mL volumetric culture tube on a programmed heating block by heating with nitric acid and then boiling in a mixture of sulfuric and perchloric acids. For soils, a 0.25 g sample is digested in a 10 mL volumetric culture tube with hydrochloric acid. After digestion, the sample is treated with additional hydrochloric acid. Arsenic, selenium, and antimony are reduced to their hydrides by sodium borohydride in a simplified continuous-flow manifold. A standard pneumatic nebulizer separates the gaseous hydrides (AsH 3 , SeH 2 , and SbH 3 ), which are then quantitated by ICP AES at 193.696, 196.026, and 231.147 nm, respectively. The detection limits for As, Se, and Sb are 0.55, 1.0, and 0.41 μg/L, respectively. Recoveries from 10 matrixes are 65 to 109% ; recovery ranges for As, Se, and Sb are 81-109, 87-108, and 65-123%, respectively. The method demonstrates good accuracy and precision for environmental samples and is especially suited for analysis of small samples. It requires no additional apparatus for hydride generation or sample introduction.
Off-label treatment of severe childhood narcolepsy-cataplexy with sodium oxybate.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy and side-effect profile of off-label sodium oxybate (gamma hydroxy butyrate) therapy in severe childhood narcolepsy-cataplexy. DESIGN Retrospective; chart review. SETTING A multidisciplinary tertiary sleep center. PATIENTS A group of eight children with severe narcolepsy-cataplexy diagnosed on the basis of clinical history, nocturnal polysomnography and the multiple sleep latency test were studied. A modified Epworth Sleepiness Scale and an arbitrary cataplexy severity scale (1 = minimal weakness, 2 = voluntarily preventable falls, 3 = falls to the ground) were utilized. INTERVENTIONS Sodium oxybate therapy; concurrent medications were maintained. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Before sodium oxybate therapy, all subjects had suboptimally controlled sleepiness and cataplexy. Following treatment with sodium oxybate, 7/8 subjects (88%) improved. Cataplexy frequency decreased from a median of 38.5 to 4.5/ week (p = 0.0078). Cataplexy severity decreased from 2.75 to 1.75 (p = 0.06). The Epworth Sleepiness Scores improved from a median of 19 to 12.5 (p = 0.02). Suicidal ideation, dissociative episodes, tremor and constipation occurred in one subject each and terminal insomnia in two. Three of the 8 (38%) discontinued therapy. Two stopped the drug owing to side effects and one due to problems with postal delivery of the medication. CONCLUSIONS This is the first report on sodium oxybate therapy in childhood narcolepsy-cataplexy. Our finding of improvement in cataplexy and sleepiness suggests that this medication is effective in treating severe childhood narcolepsy-cataplexy.
Visual Loss in Tuberous Sclerosis

Visual loss in 4 patients with tuberous sclerosis complicated by subependymal giant-cell astrocytoma is reported from the Departments of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Radiology, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI.
Overview of the American College of Rheumatology's Electronic Health Record-Enabled Registry: The Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness

The Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness (RISE) Registry was developed by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) to serve US rheumatologists for the significant challenges of a rapidly changing healthcare environment. More than 400 rheumatologists have sent data from more than 3 million encounters of more than 650,000 patients as of August 11, 2016, through their electronic medical records (EMRs), with no additional work or interference with workflow on the part of the rheumatologists. RISE includes patients with all diagnoses seen by participating rheumatologists, at no cost to the rheumatologist.
In vivo label-free photoacoustic flow cytography and on-the-spot laser killing of single circulating melanoma cells

Metastasis causes as many as 90% of cancer-related deaths, especially for the deadliest skin cancer, melanoma. Since hematogenous dissemination of circulating tumor cells is the major route of metastasis, detection and destruction of circulating tumor cells are vital for impeding metastasis and improving patient prognosis. Exploiting the exquisite intrinsic optical absorption contrast of circulating melanoma cells, we developed dual-wavelength photoacoustic flow cytography coupled with a nanosecond-pulsed melanoma-specific laser therapy mechanism. We have successfully achieved in vivo label-free imaging of rare single circulating melanoma cells in both arteries and veins of mice. Further, the photoacoustic signal from a circulating melanoma cell immediately hardware-triggers a lethal pinpoint laser irradiation to kill it on the spot in a thermally confined manner without causing collateral damage. A pseudo-therapy study including both in vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated the performance and the potential clinical value of our method, which can facilitate early treatment of metastasis by clearing circulating tumor cells from vasculature.
“Big Data”: A new twist to accounting

Abstract This commentary introduces the “Big Data” (hereafter, Big Data) Special Issue of the Journal of Accounting Education. We argue that while the data sets are now larger than ever before and better data analytic software is available, the primary goal of accounting has always been the same - to create and provide information to internal and external decision makers. In addition, this commentary identifies resources for incorporating Big Data into the classroom. These resources include links to free datasets, software tools, cases, and class slides. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of the articles in this Special Issue and how they fit into the existing Big Data literature.
Design and Development of a Self Deployable Structural Element

Over the past two decades there has been considerable need for reliable lightweight structures for various space applications, ranging from communication antennae to that of building the first spac...
Detecting infrared luminescence and non-chemical signaling of living cells: single cell mid-IR spectroscopy in cryogenic environments

Many life-relevant interaction energies are in IR range, and it is reasonable to believe that some biochemical reactions inside cells can results in emission of IR photons. Cells can use this emission for non-chemical and non-electrical signaling. Detecting weak infrared radiation from live cells is complicated because of strong thermal radiation background and absorption of radiation by tissues. A microfluidic device with live cells inside a vacuum cryogenic environment should suppress this background, and thereby permit observation of live cell auto-luminescence or signaling in the IR regime. One can make IR-transparent windows not emitting in this range, so only the cell and a small amount of liquid around it will emit infrared radiation. Currently mid-IR spectroscopy of single cells requires the use of a synchrotron source to measure absorption or reflection spectra. Decreasing of thermal radiation background will allow absorption and reflection spectroscopy of cells without using synchrotron light. Moreover, cell auto-luminescence can be directly measured. The complete absence of thermal background radiation for cryogenically cooled samples allows the use IR photon-sensitive detectors and obtaining single molecule sensitivity in IR photo-luminescence measurements. Due to low photon energies, photo-luminescence measurements will be non-distractive for pressures samples. The technique described here is based upon US patent 9366574.
OpenCL Interoperability with OpenVX Graphs

OpenVX is a computer vision framework that enables embedded and real-time applications to optimize computer vision processing for performance and power. OpenVX addresses system-level optimizations by making use of a graph-based computational API. Although this gives a clear advantage over other traditional computer vision libraries such as OpenCV, which mainly addresses kernel-level optimizations, OpenVX still relies on vendor implementations to optimize individual built-in kernels. OpenVX implements several computer vision kernels but in order to increase adoption and user flexibility, OpenVX added support for C based user-kernels, which by default are single-threaded and there is no particular way to accelerate kernels or offload the computation to an accelerator such us a GPU. The user has to do the heavy lifting of supporting a multi-threaded implementation. We propose two different OpenVX API extensions to allow developers deploy accelerated user-kernels using OpenCL.
The Democratic Partyâ€™s 50-State Strategy: Reinvigorating an Apathetic Electorate

The role of the electorate has long been manipulated by the national political parties in the United States into different electoral sects, creating a division between those states defined as â€œbattlegroundâ€ states and those overlooked as â€œfly-overâ€ states. As a result, those left in the ideological minority were disempowered in their ability to affect government and issue politics on a national level. As national party politics became narrower and more focused, party identification dropped and voter participation slumped. In the past four years, the Democratic Party has pledged an end to this fragmented approach to politics by implementing a new approach spearheaded by Howard Deanâ€™s â€œ50-State Strategy.â€ This paper evaluates the approach of the 50-State Strategy by examining how it deals with the contemporary problems of the electorate and assessing its effectiveness as an election strategy for a national political party.
Binocular Vision Using Synthetic Nervous Systems

This paper presents a system that allows our 29 degree-of-freedom robot, MantisBot to detect the distance to an object labeled as “prey”. The prey is detected using two Pixy cameras with build-in software for object recognition. Each camera outputs analog signals encoding the azimuth and elevation of the prey, which are interpreted by MantisBot’s synthetic nervous system. An analytical derivation of the distance of an object from the robot as a function of the azimuth values from each camera produces training data for a neural network. The network learns this relationship, endowing MantisBot with binocular depth perception.
Gallium-Doped Poly-Si:Ga/SiO2 Passivated Emitters to n-Cz Wafers With iV oc >730 mV

We form gallium-doped poly-Si:Ga/SiO2 passivated contacts on n-type Czochralski (n-Cz) wafers using ion implantation of Ga and Ga-containing spin-on dopants. After annealing and passivation with Al2O3 , the contacts exhibit $iV_{{\rm{oc}}}$ values of >730 mV with corresponding $J_{{\rm{oe}}}$ values of $ . These are among the best-reported values for p-type poly-Si/SiO2 contacts. Secondary ion mass spectroscopic depth profile data show that, in contrast to B, Ga does not pileup at the SiO2 interface in agreement with its known high diffusivity in SiO2. This lack of Ga pileup may imply fewer dopant-related defects in the SiO2, compared with B dopants, and account for the excellent passivation.
Historical nitrogen fertilizer use in agricultural ecosystems of the contiguous United States during 1850–2015: application rate, timing, and fertilizer types

Abstract. A tremendous amount of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) fertilizer has been applied to agricultural lands to promote crop production in the US since the 1850s. However, inappropriate N management practices have caused numerous ecological and environmental problems which are difficult to quantify due to the paucity of spatially explicit time-series fertilizer use maps. Understanding and assessing N fertilizer management history could provide important implications for enhancing N use efficiency and reducing N loss. In this study, we therefore developed long-term gridded maps to depict crop-specific N fertilizer use rates, application timing, and the fractions of ammonium N (NH4+-N) and nitrate N (NO3−-N) used across the contiguous US at a resolution of 5 km × 5 km during the period from 1850 to 2015. We found that N use rates in the US increased from 0.22 g N m−2 yr−1 in 1940 to 9.04 g N m−2 yr−1 in 2015. Geospatial analysis revealed that hotspots for N fertilizer use have shifted from the southeastern and eastern US to the Midwest, the Great Plains, and the Northwest over the past century. Specifically, corn in the Corn Belt region received the most intensive N input in spring, followed by the application of a large amount of N in fall, implying a high N loss risk in this region. Moreover, spatial-temporal fraction of NH4+-N and NO3−-N varied largely among regions. Generally, farmers have increasingly favored ammonia N fertilizers over nitrate N fertilizers since the 1940s. The N fertilizer use data developed in this study could serve as an essential input for modeling communities to fully assess N addition impacts, and improve N management to alleviate environmental problems. Datasets used in this study are available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.883585 .
Using an intersectional approach to advance understanding of homeless persons’ vulnerability to disaster

Too often groups deemed as ‘vulnerable’ are homogenized in terms of their characteristics and experiences leading up to, during and after disaster. Although important exceptions exist, the identiti...
Electrically activated reactive synthesis (EARS) and electro-annealing of 3Ni–Al powder compacts

The present study investigates the electrically activated reactive synthesis (EARS) and post-reaction electro-annealing of 3Ni–Al powder compacts. The effect of initial relative green density on EARS processing and on the microstructure and phases produced was investigated. Post-reaction electro-annealing was also conducted to investigate its effects on phase transformations and consolidation. The initial reaction resulted in the formation of Ni3Al as the major phase, with 3R martensite also being formed. The investigated variation in relative green density was found to have limited effect on the product porosity and microstructure. Post-reaction electro-annealing, however, resulted in harder products with unique microstructures, particularly the formation of Ni4.22Al0.9 in very high amounts.
Correspondence in line drawings of multiple views of objects

As an object moves relative to a viewpoint, its appearance changes. In this paper we analyze the topological constraints on the changing appearance of line drawings of objects as the objects or the camera move. We start with a Huffman-Clowes junction dictionary. We show a way of deriving vertex types from junction types by inference rather than by table look-up. We then derive three constraints on the change in appearance of an object: conservation of vertices, conservation of vertex type, and conservation of adjacencies. Using these constraints, we develop a matching algorithm that traces vertices from one image to the next. Examples are given showing correct matching tor simple objects, including partially visible objects and multiple objects in the same scene.
Lymphocyte proliferation is associated with gender, caregiving, and psychosocial variables in older adults.

We examined lymphocyte responses to mitogens [phytohemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A, pokeweed] in spouse caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease (n = 82; mean age = 69.4) and noncaregiver spouses (n = 83) group matched on age and gender. Data were collected at study entry (T1) and 15–18 months later (T2). In men (n = 52), a depressed mood factor was negatively related to all mitogen responses at T1 and PHA at T2. Loneliness was the most important variable in the depressed mood factor. No relationships occurred in women (n = 113). At T2 an anger expression factor (anger-out − anger-control) was negatively related to all mitogen responses in caregivers. Anger-out was the most important variable for anger expression. Depressed mood at T1 predicted residualized changes in PHA at T2 in men. In conclusion, men with higher depressed mood and caregivers with higher anger expression may be at risk for lower proliferation responses.
Three-year retention in methadone opioid agonist treatment: A survival analysis of clients by dose, area deprivation, and availability of alcohol and cannabis outlets.

Abstract Objective To determine the effect of clinical, socio-demographic, and contextual characteristics on treatment retention in an opioid treatment program (OTP). Methods A retrospective longitudinal review of 851 clients who received methadone at the only state-funded OTP in Spokane County, Washington between 2015 and 2017. A time variable (the number of days in treatment) and a status indicator (to distinguish between clients who dropped out or censored) worked together to define retention in treatment. Our hypothesized covariates included: area deprivation, distance to the OTP, availability of cannabis retail outlets, availability of on-premise and off-premise alcohol outlets, methadone dosage, age, gender, race, and years on treatment. Cox regression within the family of survival analysis was used to model time-to-event data in the presence of censored cases. Results The median duration of retention was 394 (95%CI = 324–464) days. In the multivariable Cox regression, factors predicting treatment retention were area deprivation (HR = 1.79, 95%CI = 1.02–3.15, p = 0.04), age (HR=0.99, 95%CI=0.98-.99, p = 0.008), dosage of methadone (HR=0.98, 95%CI=0.98-0.98, p p Conclusions The findings of this study showed age and methadone dosage were protective factors and area deprivation and years on treatment were risk factors for treatment retention. After dichotomizing methadone dosage, a unique finding of this study was that higher dosage of methadone did not lead to increasingly smaller HRs for dropping out of treatment. Considering that opioid use disorder is a chronic condition, efforts need to be made to target factors associated with retention.
Dualist Effects on Structure and Dynamics

Human/nature dualisms can distort and/or collapse the structure and dynamics of interdependent human-nature relationships, as adapted from interhuman interdependence theory in the previous chapter. Some of the fields and disciplines that contain such dualisms are conservation psychology, place theories, sustainability, and posthumanist fields such as common worlds pedagogy and critical animal studies. Even in these posthumanist theories, various human/nature dualist assumptions (some obvious and others extraordinarily subtle) about the passive materiality and limited relational capacities of more-than-human beings, operate to impinge upon and sometimes destroy the possibility for reciprocal closeness.
The crack number density theory on air-plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coating

Abstract A crack number density (CND) theory model is developed for air-plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coating (TBC), which describes the evolution of crack number and size distribution as function of exposure time. The model is compared in good agreement with experimental measurements from quasi-isothermal-cyclic oxidation tests. Both the CND model and experimental observations indicate that thermally-grown oxides (TGO) are responsible for crack nucleation and growth. The model can be used to define TBC failure (spallation) by coalescence of microcracks into a maximum allowable crack size with a given probability.
(303) Does Pain-Inducing Massage Produce Pain Sensitivity Changes Similar to a Conditioned Pain Modulation Paradigm? A Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial

Massage is analgesic for some people with pain-inducing massage (PIM) resulting in greater pain sensitivity changes compared to pain-free massage (PFM). However, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are not well-understood. Given that the experience of pain and analgesia rely on the functioning of pain inhibitory systems, PIM may exert analgesia via mechanisms consistent with conditioned pain modulation (CPM). Thus, we aimed to determine if PIM used as a conditioning stimulus would result in comparable self-reported and experimental pain sensitivity changes as a cold pressor task or a PFM control. Fifty healthy participants (68% female, mean age 22 years (SD=4.72)) were randomly assigned to four, one-minute exposures to a cold pressor to the hand, a PIM or PFM to the neck. Pressure pain thresholds (PPT) were assessed on the contralateral foot before and after each intervention period. Cold pressor pain ratings (M=39.78, SD=24.43)) exceeded PIM pain reports (M=22.04, SD= 14.54, p 0.05). Pearson correlation revealed that greater intervention-related pain was associated with increases in PPT (r=0.29, p=0.04). Although PIM resulted in less self-reported pain than a cold pressor task, both resulted in similar magnitude of the CPM response suggesting shared underlying mechanisms. Future studies are needed to elucidate the neurobiological substrates of PIM that can help identify therapeutic outcomes.
State and Revolution in the Making of the Indonesian Republic

While much ink has been spilled in the effort of explaining the Indonesian National Revolution, major questions remain unanswered. What was the true character of the Indonesian revolution, and when did it end? This article builds a case for a new perspective on viewing Indonesia's "revolution" by perceiving it as a simultaneously national and social revolution. Based on a revisionist reading of classic texts on the Revolution, I argue that the idea of a singular, elite-driven and Java-centric "revolution" dismisses the central meaning of the revolution itself, as it was simultaneously national and regional in scope, political and social in character, and it spanned more than the five years as it was previously examined.
FRI0445 IDENTIFICATION OF PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS USING AN ADMINISTRATIVE CLAIMS-BASED ALGORITHM

Background Accurately identifying psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in large electronic healthcare database is critical for epidemiological studies. Objectives To develop and validate a claims-based algorithm to identify patients with PsA. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of the Partners Healthcare electronic medical record linked to Medicare claims from year 2012 to 2014. 7 claims-based algorithms were developed to identify PsA: 1) ≥2 International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes for PsA (696.0) and at least one diagnosis of psoriasis (696.1) by any physician; 2) ≥2 diagnosis of PsA with at least 1 diagnosis by rheumatologist; 3) ≥2 PsA diagnosis with at least 1 diagnosis by rheumatologist and ≤1 diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (714.0); 4) ≥2 diagnosis of PsA and at least 1 diagnosis of psoriasis by dermatologist; 5) ≥1 diagnosis of PsA by rheumatologist and ≥1 diagnosis of psoriasis by dermatologist; 6) ≥2 diagnosis of PsA by any physician and ≥1 claims for PsA medication; 7) ≥2 diagnosis of PsA with at least 1 diagnosis by rheumatologist and ≥1 claims for PsA medication. The ICD-9 codes were separated by ≥7 days but Results The 7 algorithms identified 357, 399, 315, 223, 215, 372, and 276 records, respectively. Approximately 45% of the identified records with adequate data were reviewed. The PPV of the algorithms ranged from 75.2% to 88.6% (Table 1). Mean age of identified PsA patients ranged from 72.6 to 73.5 years old. Presence of psoriasis 1 year prior to index date of PsA ranged from 54.2% to 89.2%. Algorithm 6 which captured ≥2 diagnosis of PsA and ≥1 claims for PsA-related medications identified second highest number of patients (n=372) yet still yielded high PPV of 82.4% (95% CI 76.5, 88.3). Conclusion All seven claims-based algorithms had a high PPV of 75-89% in identifying PsA. A claims-based algorithm utilizing two or more diagnosis codes of PsA by any physician with a claim for PsA medication can be a useful and efficient tool to identify the PsA population in large claims databases. References [1] Ciccia F, et al. The New England journal of medicine. May252017;376(21):2094-2095. Acknowledgement This study was supported by an investigator-initiated research grant from Pfizer. Disclosure of Interests Hemin Lee: None declared, Julia Ford: None declared, Yinzhu Jin: None declared, Adrian J. Santiago Ortiz: None declared, Angela Y. Tong: None declared, Seoyoung Kim Grant/research support from: Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche/Genentech and AbbVie.
Thalassospiramides A and B, Immunosuppressive Peptides from the Marine Bacterium Thalassospira sp.

[structure: see text] Two new cyclic peptides, thalassospiramides A and B (1 and 2), were isolated from a new member of the marine alpha-proteobacterium Thalassospira. The thalassospiramides, the structures of which were assigned by combined spectral and chemical methods, bear unusual gamma-amino acids and show immunosuppressive activity in an interleukin-5 production inhibition assay (IC50 = 5 muM for thalassospiramide B).
Nb$_{3}$Sn 11 T Dipole for the High Luminosity LHC (FNAL)

This chapter describes the design and parameters of the 11 T dipole developed at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) in collaboration with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) for the High Luminosity LHC project, and presents details of the single-aperture and twin-aperture dipole models that were constructed and tested. Magnet test results including magnet quench performance, magnetic measurements, and quench protection studies performed using the dipole mirror and single-aperture and twin-aperture dipole models are summarized and discussed.
Adolescents' and Parents' Perspectives of a Revised Protein-Sparing Modified Fast (rPSMF) for Severe Obesity.

The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the acceptability to adolescents (11–18 years old) and their parents using a revised protein-sparing modified fast (rPSMF) for 12 months as an intervention for severe obesity in a tertiary pediatric weight management clinic (PWMC). To assess acceptability (satisfaction, confidence) with the rPSMF protocol, surveys were completed by adolescents and parents at baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, with adolescent height and weight measured. Analyses were conducted to assess differences in satisfaction and confidence based on adolescent response (weight loss) and adherence to the rPSMF. Adolescents’ adherence with the rPSMF was close to 50% in the first 3 months, but dropped to 14.7% at 6 months. Adolescents were most confident with choosing low carbohydrate foods at baseline. Over 12 months, adolescents and parents reported weight loss as “the most liked” part of the rPSMF. Adolescents who were adherent were more satisfied with their weight loss than their non-adherent peers. Parents and adolescents reported lack of food variety and difficulty following the protocol as challenges with the rPSMF. Adolescents and their parents were able to follow the rPSMF protocol, with weight loss, but with decreased adherence over time.
Convergence bids and market manipulation in the California electricity market

Abstract Financial instruments are designed to improve the efficiency of a physical market in theory. In practice, underlying physical relationships may prevent financial instruments from working as intended. This paper analyzes the relationship between two financial instruments in electricity markets: convergence bidding and congestion revenue rights. Convergence bids allow participants to trade virtual power, whereas congestion revenue rights capture the value of congestion on a transmission line. Both instruments were introduced to solve inefficiencies, however the interaction of these two instruments provides incentives for manipulation. In this work I test whether the financial instruments are being used as intended. The results show that electricity market participants are more likely to hold unprofitable convergence bids on a node where the convergence bid can benefit the value of the congestion revenue rights held at that node. This type of uneconomic convergence bid is consistent with manipulative behavior. I then perform a back of the envelope calculation that shows these potentially manipulative convergence bids create inefficiencies in the market.
Coding agricultural injury: Factors affecting coder agreement.

Abstract Objectives: To determine coders’ agreement level for the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) source of injury and injury event codes, and the Farm and Agricultural Injury Classification (FAIC) code in the AgInjuryNews.org and to determine the effects of supplemental information and follow-up discussion in final code assignments. Methods: Two independent researchers initially coded 1304 injury cases from AgInjurynews.org using the OIICS and the FAIC coding schemes. Code agreement levels for injury source, event, and FAIC and the effect of supplemental information and follow-up discussions on final coding was assessed. Results: Coders’ agreement levels were almost perfect for OIICS source and event categories at the 3-digit level, with lower agreement at the 4-digit level. By using supplemental information and follow-up discussion, coders improved the coding accuracy by an average 20% for FAIC. Supplemental information and follow-up discussions had helped finalize the disagreed codes 55% of the time for OIICS source coding assignments and 40% of time for OIICS event coding assignments for most detailed 4-digit levels. Five key themes emerged regarding accurate and consistent coding of the agricultural injuries: inclusion/exclusion based on industry classification system; inconsistent/discrepant reports; incomplete/nonspecific reports; effects of supplemental information on coding; and differing interpretations of code selection rules. Practical applications: Quantifying the level of agreement for agricultural injuries will lead to a better understanding of coding discrepancies and may uncover areas for improvement to coding scheme itself. High level of initial and final agreement with FAIC and OIICS codes suggest that these coding schemes are user-friendly and amenable to widespread use.
Teaching With American Factory: Illustrating Management Concepts in a Multinational Enterprise With a Documentary Film:

This article reviews the documentary film American Factory as a resource for undergraduate management courses, especially those with a global emphasis. The film illustrates several themes, includin...
Deep learning-based least squares forward-backward stochastic differential equation solver for high-dimensional derivative pricing

We propose a new forward-backward stochastic differential equation solver for high-dimensional derivative pricing problems by combining a deep learning solver with a least squares regression techni...
Vishniacozyma victoriae (syn. Cryptococcus victoriae) in the homes of asthmatic and non-asthmatic children in New York City.

BACKGROUND Indoor environments contain a broad diversity of non-pathogenic Basidiomycota yeasts, but their role in exacerbating adverse health effects has remained unclear. OBJECTIVE To understand the role of Vishniacozyma victoriae exposure and its impact on human health. METHODS A qPCR assay was developed to detect and quantify an abundant indoor yeast species, Vishniacozyma victoriae (syn. Cryptococcus victoriae), from homes participating in the New York City Neighborhood Asthma and Allergy Study (NAAS). We evaluated the associations between V. victoriae, housing characteristics, and asthma relevant health endpoints. RESULTS V. victoriae was quantified in 236 of the 256 bedroom floor dust samples ranging from less than 300-45,918 cell equivalents/mg of dust. Higher concentrations of V. victoriae were significantly associated with carpeted bedroom floors (P = 0.044), mean specific humidity (P = 0.004), winter (P < 0.0001) and spring (P = 0.001) seasons, and the presence of dog (P = 0.010) and dog allergen Can f 1 (P = 0.027). V. victoriae concentrations were lower in homes of children with asthma vs. without asthma (P = 0.027), an association observed only among the non-seroatopic children.
Decreased Global Myocardial Work Efficiency Correlates with Coronary Vasculopathy in Pediatric Heart Transplant Patients.

Coronary angiography remains the standard for diagnosis of cardiac transplant vasculopathy (CAV), but it is invasive. Non-invasively derived left ventricle (LV) global myocardial work (GMW) indices have not been evaluated. We aimed to assess for correlations between LV GMW and the presence of CAV in a pediatric population. 24 heart transplant patients and 24 normal controls were prospectively enrolled. Patients were age-matched into groups with: orthotopic heart transplant and CAV (OHT-CAV; 6 patients, 33% male, mean age 13.5 years [SD 4.2]), orthotopic heart transplant without CAV (OHT; 18 patients, 67% male, mean age 11.1 years [SD 4.8]), and normal healthy controls (42% male, mean age 12.8 years [SD 5.0]). Transplant patients underwent cardiac catheterization with coronary angiography within 3 months of echocardiogram. Post-processing of echocardiograms with speckle-tracking echocardiography and derivation of GMW indices was performed. OHT-CAV patients had decreased global work efficiency (GWE) compared to OHT (mean difference = 7.01 [1.76, 12.25], adjusted p < 0.01). LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) and LV ejection fraction were not different between groups. Both global work index and GWE were decreased in OHT-CAV and OHT when compared to normal controls (OHT-CAV 1311.23 mmHg% vs OHT 1426.22 mmHg% vs controls 1802.81 mmHg%, adjusted p < 0.01; OHT-CAV 83.87% vs. OHT 90.87% vs. controls 95.41%, adjusted p < 0.01). GWE correlated negatively with the presence of CAV (r = − 0.44 [− 0.72, − 0.05]). This pilot study demonstrates decreased GWE correlates with pediatric CAV. This supports the need for further investigation of this promising diagnostic tool.
Acute Limb Ischemia: A Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract Background Acute limb ischemia (ALI), although uncommon, can present with profound symptoms, including disabling pain in the setting of acute vascular and neurologic deficits. The most appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic strategy has evolved with emerging technologies inclusive of less-invasive endovascular diagnostic and therapeutic options. Objective We present a case of ALI to illustrate the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches with a summary of the most common literature. Discussion Utilizing the clinical findings applied to the Rutherford classification, the emergency physician, in consultation with a vascular surgeon and interventional radiologist, can strategize a methodical approach for better clinical outcomes, often with less-invasive endovascular interventions, ideally within 6 h of symptom onset. Conclusions We present a case of ALI to illustrate the diagnostic and therapeutic approach with a summary of the most current literature. Emergency physicians should be aware of optimized clinical outcomes with the use of time-sensitive enhanced endovascular therapies as a recommended option for the best outcomes for the treatment of ALI.
Benchmarking with your head in the cloud

Recent advances in Cloud Computing present challenges to those who create and manage performance benchmarks. A performance benchmark tends to rely on physical consistency --- a known hardware configuration, a known software configuration and consistent measurements from run to run. These aspects are not typically present in Cloud Computing. Other aspects change, too. For the consumer, the computation of Total Cost of Ownership shifts to a computation of ongoing expense. Concepts of service and reliability also change from the end-user perspective. For an organization like the Transaction Processing Performance Council, the expansion of clouds into the commercial, run-your-business space presents new challenges that must be addressed if viable benchmarks are to be created in this important sector of the computing industry. This paper explores these challenges and proposes methods for addressing them.
Natural products as antibacterial agents

Abstract For thousands of years medicinal plants have played a significant role in the treatment of a wide range of medical conditions, including infectious diseases. Some naturally occurring chemical compounds serve as models for a large percentage clinically proven drugs, and many are now being re-assessed as antimicrobial agents. The primary reason for this renaissance is the fact that infectious disease remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, accounting for approximately 50% of all deaths in tropical countries and as much as 20% of deaths in the Americas. Despite the significant progress made in microbiology and the control of microorganisms, sporadic incidents of epidemics due to drug resistant microorganisms and previously unknown disease-causing microbes pose an enormous threat to global public health. These negative health trends call for a global initiative for the development of new strategies for the prevention and treatment of infectious disease, including natural products. Literally thousands of plant species have been tested against hundreds of bacterial strains in vitro, and many medicinal plants are active against a wide range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. However, very few of these medicinal plant extracts have been tested in animal or human studies to determine safety and efficacy. This review focuses on the medicinal plants and phytochemical for which there is significant published in vitro, in vivo and clinical data available. The examples provided in this review such as St. John's wort, tree tea oil, and green tea demonstrate that even commonly used plant extracts may offer prospective new treatment of bacterial infections, including multi-drug resistant bacteria. One interesting example is St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) and its active constituent hyperforin, both of which have significant activity against MRSA in microgram concentrations. This antibacterial discovery was based on the ethnomedical use of St. John's wort to treat skin infections and wounds. Review of the published data indicates that medicinal plants offer significant potential for the development of novel antibacterial therapies and adjunct treatments (i.e. MDR pump inhibitors). However, new investigations should employ modern methodology, including using nationally recognized protocols and standards for microbial testing, the generation of minimum inhibitory concentrations, as well as standardization of the quality of plant materials used for testing.
Evaluation of the iron status of a population

The iron status of a population of 1564 subjects living in the northwestern United States was evaluated by measurements of transferrin saturation, red cell protoporphyrin, and serum ferritin. The frequency distribution of these parameters showed no distinct separation between normal and iron-deficient subjects. When only one of these three parameters was abnormal (transferrin saturation below 15%, red cell protoporphyrin above 100 mug/ml packed red blood cells, serum ferritin below 12 ng/ml), the prevalence of anemia was only slightly greater (10.9%) than in the entire sample (8.3%). The prevalence of anemia was increased to 28% in individuals with two or more abnormal parameters, and to 63% when all three parameters were abnormal. As defined by the presence of at least two abnormal parameters, the prevalence of iron deficiency in various populations separated on the basis of age and sex ranged from 3% in adolescent and adult males to 20% in menstruating women. It is concluded that the accuracy of detecting iron deficiency in population surveys can be substantially improved by employing a battery of laboratory measurements of the iron status.
Design and Implementation of a General Control System Platform

In this study, the design and implementation of a general control system platform for educational purposes was performed. This project has been designed to facilitate the understanding of control systems in mechanical engineering by creating a foundational system to position-control the rotation of a DC motor, and then employing it as a teaching tool in the undergraduate Control Systems course at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). The objective of this effort was to lay the groundwork for a more “hands-on” control systems education at LMU by designing the general mechanical platform and a pilot on-off controller to illustrate its functionality and feasibility in the classroom. With the foundational stages complete, students in future classes will be able to design and build different controllers for this same device in order to investigate and apply their newly-acquired knowledge of control systems.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
A community study of the effect of particulate matter on blood measures of inflammation and thrombosis in an elderly population

The mechanism behind the triggering effect of fine particulate matter (PM) air pollution on cardiovascular events remains elusive. We postulated that elevated levels of PM would be associated with increased blood levels of inflammatory and thrombotic markers in elderly individuals. We also hypothesized that elevated PM would increase levels of cytokines in individuals with heart disease. We measured these blood markers in 47 elderly individuals with (23) and without (16 COPD and 8 healthy) cardiovascular disease (CVD) on 2 or 3 mornings over a 5 or 10-day period between February 2000 and March 2002. Blood measures were paired with residence level outdoor PM measured by nephelometry. Analyses determined the within-individual effect of 24-hour averaged outdoor PM on blood measures. Analyses found no statistically significant effect of a same day 10 ug/m3 increase in fine PM on log transformed levels of CRP 1.21 fold-rise [95% CI: 0.86, 1.70], fibrinogen 1.02 fold-rise [95% CI: 0.98, 1.06], or D-dimer 1.02 fold-rise [95% CI: 0.88, 1.17] in individuals with CVD. One-day lagged analyses in the CVD subgroup found similar null results. These same models found no change in these blood markers at the same-day or 1-day lag in the group without CVD. In 21 individuals with CVD, a 10 μg/m3 increase in same-day PM was associated with a 1.3 fold-rise [95% CI: 1.1, 1.7] in the level of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. We did not find consistent effects of low ambient levels of PM on blood measures of inflammation or thrombosis in elderly individuals.
Learning multiple fault diagnosis

The authors describe two methods for integrating model-based diagnosis (MBD) and explanation-based learning (EBL). The first method, EBL, uses a generate-test-debug paradigm, generating diagnostic hypotheses using learned associational rules that summarize model-based diagnostic experiences. This strategy is a form of learning while doing model-based troubleshooting and could be called online learning. The second diagnosis and learning method described here (EBL-STATIC) involves learning in advance. Learning begins in a training phase prior to performance or testing. Empirical results of computational experiments comparing the learning methods with MBD on two devices (the polybox and the binary full adder) are reported. For the same diagnostic performance, EBL-STATIC is several orders of magnitude faster than MBD, while EBL can cause performance slow-down. >
Persistence Pays Off

Constructing the next generation of optical, electronic, and magnetic materials requires creating organized, defect-free structures on a nanoscale. In his perspective, Ober discusses new work ( Belcher et al.) that merges biomolecular engineering with materials science to create a nanocomposite of bacteriophage and ZnS nanoparticles. The nanoparticles occupy narrow layers periodically spaced by long viral rods.
How do you define success in stress urinary incontinence treatment

At present, there is no consensus on the best way to define treatment success in the context of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). There is, however, a recognition that it is important to include patient-reported outcomes among the core assessments. Going forward, there is a need to unite outcome reporting tools to be able to compare data across studies and perform meaningful meta analyses.
Viscosity B-Coefficients and Activation Parameters of Viscous Flow for Hexanedioic Acid in Aqueous Poly(vinyl alcohol) Solution

Viscosity and density for the ternary solution of hexanedioic acid dissolved in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) + water at the temperatures (293.15, 298.15, 303.15, 308.15, and 313.15) K are reported in this paper. A linear relation between the viscosity and the concentration of hexanedioic acid is observed, and the viscosity B-coefficient is extracted. The activation free energy for the viscous flow of the solution is found from the slope of the linear equation by using the Eyring−Feakins equation. By investigating the concentration effect, we have found that with the increase of PVA concentration the activation free energy of viscous flow first decreases and then increases. This implies that PVA promotes the diffusion of hexanedioic acid at lower concentration but demotes the diffusion of hexanedioic acid at higher concentration.