cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Trauma and trichotillomania: A tenuous relationship

Abstract Some have argued that hair pulling in trichotillomania (TTM) is triggered by traumatic events, but reliable evidence linking trauma to TTM is limited. However, research has shown that hair pulling is associated with emotion regulation, suggesting a connection between negative affect and TTM. We investigated the associations between trauma, negative affect, and hair pulling in a cross-sectional sample of treatment seeking adults with TTM (N=85). In the current study, participants’ self-reported traumatic experiences were assessed during a structured clinical interview, and participants completed several measures of hair pulling severity, global TTM severity, depression, anxiety, experiential avoidance, and quality of life. Those who experienced trauma had more depressive symptoms, increased experiential avoidance, and greater global TTM severity. Although the presence of a trauma history was not related to the severity of hair pulling symptoms in the past week, depressive symptoms mediated the relationship between traumatic experiences and global TTM severity. These findings cast doubt on the notion that TTM is directly linked to trauma, but suggest that trauma leads to negative affect that individuals cope with through hair pulling. Implications for the conceptualization and treatment of TTM are discussed.
Behavior of Bonded Composite Repairs on Dynamically Loaded Pressure Vessels

Bonded composite repairs are increasingly installed on degraded pressure equipment are and frequently treated as permanent repairs. While bonded repairs for these applications have been thoroughly investigated with respect to quasi-static and fatigue performance little research has been done regarding the effectiveness of these repairs under variable dynamic loading and high strain rate conditions. These loading conditions can be found in processing plants, offshore oil platforms, or during short duration events, such as seismic activity. This paper presents experimental results on the response of bonded composite repairs on carbon steel tubing with machined defects in dynamic 4-point bending. Dynamic loading is generated using a hydraulic load system that excites the test specimen near the natural frequency. The impact of reinforcement composition on repair performance is also investigated.
Cesium incorporation in hollandite-rich multiphasic ceramic waste forms

Abstract Hollandite-rich multiphase waste form compositions processed by melt-solidification and spark plasma sintering (SPS) were characterized, compared, and validated for nuclear waste incorporation. Phase identification by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) confirmed hollandite as the major phase present in these samples along with perovskite, pyrochlore and zirconolite. Distribution of selected elements observed by wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS) maps indicated that Cs formed a secondary phase during SPS processing, which was considered undesirable. On the other hand, Cs partitioned into the hollandite phase in melt-processed samples. Further analysis of hollandite structure in melt-processed composition by selected area electron diffraction (SAED) revealed ordered arrangement of tunnel ions (Ba/Cs) and vacancies, suggesting efficient Cs incorporation into the lattice.
The new interdependence approach: theoretical development and empirical demonstration

ABSTRACTMainstream approaches to international political economy seek to explain the political transformations that have made more open trade relations possible. They stress how changing coalitions of interest groups within particular states and changing functional needs of states give rise to new international agreements. While these approaches remain valuable, they only imperfectly encompass a new set of important causal relations. We now live in the world that trade built – a world where greater interdependence has major consequences both for actors' interests and their ability to pursue those interests. A new body of work, which we have called the 'new interdependence' explains how these transformations are playing out. The new interdependence stresses a structural vision of international politics based on rule overlap between different national jurisdictions, which leads to clashes over whose rules should apply when. This not only generates tensions, but also opportunity structures that may help acto...
Palliative Care in the Management of Patients with Advanced Heart Failure.

Globally, there are 18-million individuals living with heart failure, a disease that is responsible for 12–15 million office visits and 6.5 million inpatient hospitalizations each year. As HF becomes advanced or end-stage, patients often live in a cycle of frequent transitions between care settings, and with unmet needs, including distress from inadequately managed symptoms. Prognostication in patients with heart failure can be challenging due to the unpredictable exacerbating-remitting illness trajectory that is associated with this progressive disease. Recurrent hospitalizations, worsening functional status and refractory symptoms, despite optimal therapies, are among the most salient predictors indicating that patients with advanced heart failure are nearing the end of life. Palliative care is a specialized form of medical care that has been shown to help improve severity of symptoms, facilitate discussions regarding medical decision making/advance care planning, and provide support for patients and their families. Palliative care can be used alongside curative treatments and has been shown to improve patient satisfaction and quality of life. Anorexia-cachexia syndrome, dyspnea, fatigue, pain and depression are among the most common symptoms experienced by patients suffering from advanced heart failure. Palliative care can help alleviate these symptoms and also facilitate conversations about decision making surrounding resuscitation status and use or deactivation of medical devices, such as an implantable-cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Clinical practice guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association report that aggressive life-sustaining treatments and therapies should not be utilized in patients with advanced heart failure who have refractory symptoms that are not responding to medical therapy. The focus of care should switch to controlling symptoms, reducing hospital admissions and improving health-related quality of life, which can be supported by the incorporation of palliative care into the treatment plan.
Cluj: A Jesuit Educational Outpost in Transylvania, 1693-1773

For the 80 years the Society of Jesus operated a complex of institutions in the Transylvanian town of Cluj, including an academy, a school for aristocratic boys, a residence, and an architecturally distinguished church. The Jesuits endeavored to convert the local population, which included Orthodox Romanians, Jews, Roma (Gypsies), Armenians, Lutherans, and Unitarians, to Catholicism and to introduce the program of studies outlines in their curricular guide, the Ratio Studiorum. While their conversion efforts met with only modest success, the Jesuits had a major impact on the culture of the region, training the local elites, introducing the Baroque aesthetic in the visual arts, operating a printing press and pharmacy, and employing outstanding scientists as teachers. The reasons for the failure of the Jesuits to make more progress in their missionary efforts may be found in both local circumstances and in the institutional culture of the Society itself. Political forces beyond the control of the Society sealed its fate, and it was suppressed by order of the pope in 1773. The vestiges of the Jesuit era in Cluj, however, are still visible today.
Structural zeroes and zero-inflated models

Summary In psychosocial and behavioral studies count outcomes recording the frequencies of the occurrence of some health or behavior outcomes (such as the number of unprotected sexual behaviors during a period of time) often contain a preponderance of zeroes because of the presence of ‘structural zeroes’ that occur when some subjects are not at risk for the behavior of interest. Unlike random zeroes (responses that can be greater than zero, but are zero due to sampling variability), structural zeroes are usually very different, both statistically and clinically. False interpretations of results and study findings may result if differences in the two types of zeroes are ignored. However, in practice, the status of the structural zeroes is often not observed and this latent nature complicates the data analysis. In this article, we focus on one model, the zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression model that is commonly used to address zero-inflated data. We first give a brief overview of the issues of structural zeroes and the ZIP model. We then given an illustration of ZIP with data from a study on HIV-risk sexual behaviors among adolescent girls. Sample codes in SAS and Stata are also included to help perform and explain ZIP analyses.
Clinical findings and normative ocular data for free-living Anna's (Calypte anna) and Black-chinned (Archilochus alexandri) Hummingbirds.

Author(s): Moore, Bret A; Maggs, David J; Kim, Soohyun; Motta, Monica J; Bandivadekar, Ruta; Tell, Lisa A; Murphy, Christopher J | Abstract: OBJECTIVE:To estimate the prevalence of ocular disease and obtain normative ocular data for free-living hummingbirds. ANIMALS STUDIED:Two hundred and sixty-three free-living, adult Hummingbirds from coastal and inland central California were studied, including Anna's (Calypte anna, n = 186) and Black-chinned (Archilochus alexandri; n = 77) hummingbirds. PROCEDURES:Slit lamp biomicroscopy and indirect ophthalmoscopy were performed on all individuals. Rebound tonometry, measurement of horizontal palpebral fissure length, and streak retinoscopy were performed on select individuals. Five conscious Anna's Hummingbirds underwent ocular imaging including fundus photography, digital slit lamp photography, and anterior segment and retinal optical coherence tomography. RESULTS:The prevalence of ocular disease in this population was 2.28%. Ocular imaging revealed a thin cornea, shallow anterior chamber, large lens, and a single central, deep convexiclivate fovea. Mean ± SD intraocular pressure was 11.21 ± 2.23 mm Hg. Mean ± SD eyelid length was 2.59 ± 0.19 mm. All eyes were emmetropic or mildly hyperopic with a mean (range) ± SD refractive error of +0.32 (-0.25 to +1) ± 0.33 diopters. CONCLUSIONS:Consistent with previous reports, these data suggest that hummingbirds have visual characteristics found in predatory and prey species, as well as a low prevalence of spontaneous ocular disease. This work provides a set of reference values and clinical findings that can be used in the future research on hummingbird vision and ocular disease. It also provides representative diagnostic images of normal birds and demonstrates that advanced ocular imaging can be performed on manually restrained hummingbirds without pharmacologic dilation.
Kink- and Polaron-Solitons in Models of Polyacetylene and Other Peierls-Distorted Materials

The “soliton” paradigm [1] by now has a long list of applications to quasi-1-dimensional condensed matter systems. Important examples are polymers and charge-transfer chains (both synthetic and biological). These represent some of the nicest cases of soliton consequences for structural, energetic and transport properties. A material in this class which has received intensive theoretical and experimental study is polyacetylene, (CH)X, synthesized as a film which can be doped to remarkably high conductivity levels [2].
Human Herpesvirus 6: An Update

The existence of human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) was first reported in 1986 (Salahuddin et al. 1986), after which many laboratories independently isolated other strains of HHV-6 (Agut et al. 1988; Downing et al. 1987; Lopez et al. 1988; Pietroboni et al. 1988a; Tedder et al. 1987; Yamanishi et al. 1988). Most isolates were initially derived by cultivation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with immune dysfunction, such as lymphoproliferative disorders (Salahuddin et al. 1986), acquired immunodeficiency virus (AIDS) (Agut et al. 1988; Becker et al. 1988; Downing et al. 1987; Lopez et al. 1988; Pietroboni et al. 1988a; Tedder et al. 1987), and organ transplants (Asano et al. 1989c; Okuno et al. 1990). HHV-6 has also been isolated from saliva of normal adults (Harnett et al. 1990; Levy et al. 1990) and children with roseola (Asano et al. 1989a; Yoshiyama et al. 1990).
Introduction: Recovering the Contexts of Early Modern Proto-Racism

The Renaissance became at once a period that marked a turning point in race history and an era whose role in racism has been obscured in the interest of arguments insisting on a divide between early modern and modern ideas of race. Dismissals of considerations of race in the Renaissance, often buttressed by assertions of anachronism, may satisfy desires for finding a race-free “golden age,” but they require an overlooking of evidence. Seeking to challenge such narratives, this discussion begins with a simple fact: the Renaissance oversaw the ushering in of the early modern slave trade in African people during its boom in the Atlantic sugar trade and in the wake of Ottoman conquest cutting off Western Europe’s access to the former white slave trade. Anti-black racism thus appeared as a purposeful rationalization of the “racial slavery” emerging in the Renaissance, well before American chattel slavery. Furthermore, English slave trading is under-documented and the presence of black people in England likewise under-reported. The marked consciousness of race expressed in estranging terms among seventeenth-century British Virginians was preceded by similarly negative entries for black people in Elizabethan parish records back in England. This period was also one in which colonialism first emerged alongside an expansion of linguistic and religiously inflected proto-nationalism. Moreover, what Renaissance Englishmen referred to as the “Stranger” functioned like later racialized fictions of “the Other” in Postcolonial analyses and worked in the promotion of a proto-racism, that is, the earliest observable pre-modern forms of racism preceding and underlying the derivative, so-called modern scientific racism. The latter was not founded upon biologism but, rather, received belief in the supposed rational and moral inferiority of blackness drawn from religious texts, moral allegory, metaphysical philosophy, and the many blackface fool traditions informed by them. Although the word racism first appeared amid scientific rhetoric, conceptually, racism is/was not free from preexisting beliefs. Race-belief remains at the core of racism.
HLS-based optimization and design space exploration for applications with variable loop bounds

In order to further increase the productivity of field-programmable gate array (FPGA) programmers, several design space exploration (DSE) frameworks for high-level synthesis (HLS) tools have been recently proposed to automatically determine the FPGA design parameters. However, one of the common limitations found in these tools is that they cannot find a design point with large speedup for applications with variable loop bounds. The reason is that loops with variable loop bounds cannot be efficiently parallelized or pipelined with simple insertion of HLS directives. Also, making highly accurate prediction of cycles and resource consumption on the entire design space becomes a challenging task because of the inaccuracy of the HLS tool cycle prediction and the wide design space. In this paper we present an HLS-based FPGA optimization and DSE framework that produces a high-performance design even in the presence of variable loop bounds. We propose code transformations that increase the utilization of the compute resources for variable loops, including several computation patterns with loop-carried dependency such as floating-point reduction and prefix sum. In order to rapidly perform DSE with high accuracy, we describe a resource and cycle estimation model constructed from the information obtained from the actual HLS synthesis. Experiments on applications with variable loop bounds in Polybench benchmarks with Vivado HLS show that our framework improves the baseline implementation by 75X on average and outperforms current state-of-the-art DSE frameworks.
Data-driven item selection for the Shirts and Shoes Test.

Abstract Purpose The first stage of test development is the generation of a pool of potential items to be used in the assessment. Ideally, these items are then tested in the field on members of the population for which the assessment is intended. This initial analysis assures that tests build in validity at the level of the individual items. Method Seventy-four potential test items developed for the Shirts and Shoes Test (Plante & Vance, 2012) were tested on 513 children between the ages of 3 and 6 years. An Item Response Theory (IRT) approach was used to identify potential items in the item pool which are unsuitable due to one or more types of deviation from the IRT model. Furthermore, an IRT approach provides data that permits the ordering of items by difficulty. Results A total of 19 items were discarded due to noteworthy deviations in one or more of the measures related to item response characteristics. The remaining 55 items reflected a range of skill difficulty and were deemed suitable for an age range of 3- to 6-years. Conclusions Item Response Theory can be used productively to identify items that fail to add to the reliability and validity of a test during the earliest stages of test development. The number of items culled for this test demonstrates that the content of the items alone does not assure that the items perform in ways that promote accurate skill measurement.
Utility of multiple myeloma screening in Gaucher disease

Gaucher disease (GD) is a lysosomal storage disease characterized by deficiency of glucocerebrosidase within lysosomes, altering degradation of glycosphingolipids, which causes accumulation of glycosylceramide. Patients with GD type 1 (GD1) have an increased incidence of gammopathy (i.e., hypergammaglobulinemia, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance [MGUS]), and multiple myeloma (MM) when compared to the general population. No formal evaluation of gammopathy screening has been reported in the literature. We conducted an IRB approved retrospective analysis of clinical and laboratory data, including screening for MM, in adults with GD at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center between 2010 and 2018. During the 8-year study period, 20 adults with GD (11 females/9 males) ages 19 to 71 (mean = 51.95 years) were screened for MM using serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) and immunofixation (IFE). Of those, 10 were treated with substrate reduction therapy (SRT) and 9 with enzyme therapy (ET). We identified no patients with MM, 2 with MGUS, and 1 with persistent polyclonal gammopathy. The 2 MGUS patients were 48 and 61 years-old, female and male respectively, with intact spleens. SPE and IFE follow-up has been stable without progression. The polyclonal gammopathy patient was a 54-year-old splenectomized male. All patients with abnormal SPE or IFE were on therapy (2 ET/ 1 SRT). Only one abnormal patient’s GBA genotype was known (p.Asn409Ser, p.Leu483Pro). Other SPE abnormalities included slight increases/decreases in albumin, protein, and beta globulin, or slight decreases in alpha 2 or gamma globulin without clinical significance. Family history of cancer was documented in 10 individuals, with no MM or blood-related malignancies reported. Our data show that as in the general population and previous GD studies, gammopathies are more common in patients greater than 50 years. These data support screening in GD1 for gammopathy greater than age 40 years.
Abstract TP136: Mitochondrial Mechanisms of Resilience Revealed by Arctic Ground Squirrel Neural Cells

Arctic ground squirrels (AGS) are extreme hibernators capable of withstanding months of freezing temperatures. Curiously, AGS do not experience ischemic or reperfusion injuries despite limited card...
Teaching and Implementing Ideation in Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Approach

Idea creation is significant to all disciplines, yet it is even more crucial for entrepreneurs since the process of entrepreneurship requires new and novel ideas in all phases. Ideation should be taught and implemented in an intentional and systematic approach in order to increase the efficiency of idea generation in entrepreneurial activity. Systematic ideation is comprised of a series of steps including observation, building the right ideation team, using multiple thinking methods and idea generation methods together and validating the idea for further improvement. Many of the entrepreneurship programs teach students the process of entrepreneurship after the individual comes forth with an idea, focusing on developing personal skills and business models required for a successful venture. Little attention and focus is dedicated to the initial step of idea creation. Systematic approach to teaching and implementing ideation would fill this gap in entrepreneurship education and field.
Use of 254 nm ultraviolet light for decontamination of fresh produce and wash water

Abstract Fresh produce has been identified as the transmission vehicle for many foodborne illness outbreaks every year. They could be contaminated by pathogens at any point within the farm-to-fork food chain. Washing is often used to remove dirt and pathogens on fresh produce. Moreover, an effective decontamination method is required for wash water to prevent cross-contamination. Our group developed a water-assisted ultraviolet (UV) decontamination system (WUV) which combined washing and UV treatments. We evaluated the influence of turbidity (0–100 NTU) and chemical oxygen demand (COD; 0–2500 ppm) on UV inactivation of Salmonella in simulated wash water with different produce extracts. In the worst condition tested (turbidity of 100 NTU and COD of 2500 ppm), Salmonella in simulated wash water could be eliminated by UV (23–28 mW/cm2; wavelength peak at 254 nm) in 90 s (>6 log CFU/mL reduction), indicating the potential of UV for fresh produce wash water disinfection. Within the ranges tested, the effectiveness of UV inactivation of Salmonella was significantly decreased with increasing COD, but not with turbidity. In addition, ultraviolet lamps were installed in different locations (above and/or in the washing tank).Three WUV configurations showed similar Salmonella reduction on blueberries (1.8–2.0 log) and tomatoes (2.4–2.9 log). However, the Overhead and Dual WUV configurations reduced significantly (P
Management of IgG4-related orbital disease: when not in doubt, cut it out?

Most retrospective reviews of the efficacy of treatments for orbital inflammation, whether for idiopathic orbital inflammation (IOI) or for IgG4-related ophthalmic disease (IgG4-ROD) are hampered by the fact that many patients receive multiple treatments, frequently overlapping, and often at different dosages and durations. The natural course of the disease is thereby modified in myriad ways, making an accurate assessment of the treatment modalities difficult. Once a treatment has been accepted as the best first-line therapy (corticosteroids in this case), the physician becomes inclined to his purpose to the extent that, to date, there are no well-designed prospective studies of these two conditions where a single treatment has been assessed with defined treatment, dosage duration and outcomes. Although a retrospective study, Ominato et al 1 present 15 cases (8 unilateral and 7 bilateral) of IgG4-ROD treated solely with surgical debulking. The study is of interest because no other treatment before, during or after surgery was administered to any of the patients, thereby allowing …
What is the best predictor that you can compute in five minutes using a given Bayesian hierarchical model

The goal of this paper is to provide a way for statisticians to answer the question posed in the title of this article using any Bayesian hierarchical model of their choosing and without imposing additional restrictive model assumptions. We are motivated by the fact that the rise of ``big data'' has created difficulties for statisticians to directly apply their methods to big datasets. We introduce a ``data subset model'' to the popular ``data model, process model, and parameter model'' framework used to summarize Bayesian hierarchical models. The hyperparameters of the data subset model are specified constructively in that they are chosen such that the implied size of the subset satisfies pre-defined computational constraints. Thus, these hyperparameters effectively calibrates the statistical model to the computer itself to obtain predictions/estimations in a pre-specified amount of time. Several properties of the data subset model are provided including: propriety, partial sufficiency, and semi-parametric properties. Furthermore, we show that subsets of normally distributed data are asymptotically partially sufficient under reasonable constraints. Results from a simulated dataset will be presented across different computers, to show the effect of the computer on the statistical analysis. Additionally, we provide a joint spatial analysis of two different environmental datasets.
PT-symmetric potentials having continuous spectra

One-dimensional PT-symmetric quantum-mechanical Hamiltonians having continuous spectra are studied. The Hamiltonians considered have the form $H=p^2+V(x)$, where $V(x)$ is odd in $x$, pure imaginary, and vanishes as $|x|\to\infty$. Five PT-symmetric potentials are studied: the Scarf-II potential $V_1(x)=iA_1\,{\rm sech}(x)\tanh(x)$, which decays exponentially for large $|x|$; the rational potentials $V_2(x)=iA_2\,x/(1+x^4)$ and $V_3(x)=iA_3\,x/(1+|x|^3)$, which decay algebraically for large $|x|$; the step-function potential $V_4(x)=iA_4\,{\rm sgn}(x)\theta(2.5-|x|)$, which has compact support; the regulated Coulomb potential $V_5(x)=iA_5\,x/(1+x^2)$, which decays slowly as $|x|\to\infty$ and may be viewed as a long-range potential. The real parameters $A_n$ measure the strengths of these potentials. Numerical techniques for solving the time-independent Schr\"odinger eigenvalue problems associated with these potentials reveal that the spectra of the corresponding Hamiltonians exhibit universal properties. In general, the eigenvalues are partly real and partly complex. The real eigenvalues form the continuous part of the spectrum and the complex eigenvalues form the discrete part of the spectrum. The real eigenvalues range continuously in value from $0$ to $+\infty$. The complex eigenvalues occur in discrete complex-conjugate pairs and for $V_n(x)$ ($1\leq n\leq4$) the number of these pairs is finite and increases as the value of the strength parameter $A_n$ increases. However, for $V_5(x)$ there is an {\it infinite} sequence of discrete eigenvalues with a limit point at the origin. This sequence is complex, but it is similar to the Balmer series for the hydrogen atom because it has inverse-square convergence.
Surgical Patient Safety Officers in the United States: Negotiating Contradictions Between Compliance and Workplace Transformation:

A largely uncoordinated patient safety movement arose in response to the Institute of Medicine’s 1999 report on patient safety, To Err Is Human. Two key outcomes have resulted from that movement: (...
Combining sanitizers and nonthermal processing technologies to improve fresh-cut produce safety

Abstract Fresh and fresh-cut produce are often consumed raw and are an important part of a healthy, balanced diet. In recent years, the consumption of fresh produce has been associated with outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7, hepatitis A virus (HAV), and human norovirus (NoV), for example. Methods for improving fresh and fresh-cut produce safety would have tremendous benefit both for consumers, in terms of health and safety, and for the industry. This chapter addresses the development of combinations of chemical sanitizers (chlorine, ozone, chlorine dioxide) and nonthermal processing technologies that have potential commercial applications, such as the use of ultrasound to dislodge pathogens from fresh produce surfaces, and the use of energy-independent ClO2 technologies developed for forward military deployments to disinfect produce or food contact and handling surfaces.
Crural closure, not fundoplication, results in a significant decrease in lower esophageal sphincter distensibility

The esophagogastric junction (EGJ) is a complex anti-reflux barrier whose integrity relies on both the intrinsic lower esophageal sphincter (LES) and extrinsic crural diaphragm. During hiatal hernia repair, it is unclear whether the crural closure or the fundoplication is more important to restore the anti-reflux barrier. The objective of this study is to analyze changes in LES minimum diameter (Dmin) and distensibility index (DI) using the endoluminal functional lumen imaging probe (FLIP) during hiatal hernia repair. Following implementation of a standardized operative FLIP protocol, all data were collected prospectively and entered into a quality database. This data were reviewed retrospectively for all patients undergoing hiatal hernia repair. FLIP measurements were collected prior to hernia dissection, after hernia reduction, after cruroplasty, and after fundoplication. Additionally, subjective assessment of the tightness of crural closure was rated by the primary surgeon on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the loosest and 5 being the tightest. Between August 2018 and February 2020, 97 hiatal hernia repairs were performed by a single surgeon. FLIP measurements collected using a 40-mL volume fill without pneumoperitoneum demonstrated a significant decrease in LES Dmin (13.84 ± 2.59 to 10.27 ± 2.09) and DI (6.81 ± 3.03 to 2.85 ± 1.23 mm2/mmHg) after crural closure (both p < 0.0001). Following fundoplication, there was a small, but also statistically significant, increase in both Dmin and DI (both p < 0.0001). Additionally, subjective assessment of crural tightness after cruroplasty correlated well with DI (r = − 0.466, p < 0.001) and all patients with a crural tightness rating ≥ 4.5 (N = 13) had a DI < 2.0 mm2/mmHg. Cruroplasty results in a significant decrease in LES distensibility and may be more important than fundoplication in restoring EGJ competency. Additionally, subjective estimation of crural tightness correlates well with objective FLIP evaluation, suggesting surgeon assessment of cruroplasty is reliable.
Constructing Many Faces in Arrangements of Lines and Segments.

We present new algorithms for computing many faces in arrangements of lines and segments. Given a set $S$ of $n$ lines (resp., segments) and a set $P$ of $m$ points in the plane, the problem is to compute the faces of the arrangements of $S$ that contain at least one point of $P$. For the line case, we give a deterministic algorithm of $O(m^{2/3}n^{2/3}\log^{2/3} (n/\sqrt{m})+(m+n)\log n)$ time. This improves the previously best deterministic algorithm [Agarwal, 1990] by a factor of $\log^{2.22}n$ and improves the previously best randomized algorithm [Agarwal, Matou\v{s}ek, and Schwarzkopf, 1998] by a factor of $\log^{1/3}n$ in certain cases (e.g., when $m=\Theta(n)$). For the segment case, we present a deterministic algorithm of $O(n^{2/3}m^{2/3}\log n+\tau(n\alpha^2(n)+n\log m+m)\log n)$ time, where $\tau=\min\{\log m,\log (n/\sqrt{m})\}$ and $\alpha(n)$ is the inverse Ackermann function. This improves the previously best deterministic algorithm [Agarwal, 1990] by a factor of $\log^{2.11}n$ and improves the previously best randomized algorithm [Agarwal, Matou\v{s}ek, and Schwarzkopf, 1998] by a factor of $\log n$ in certain cases (e.g., when $m=\Theta(n)$). We also give a randomized algorithm of $O(m^{2/3}K^{1/3}\log n+\tau(n\alpha(n)+n\log m+m)\log n\log K)$ expected time, where $K$ is the number of intersections of all segments of $S$. In addition, we consider the query version of the problem, that is, preprocess $S$ to compute the face of the arrangement of $S$ that contains any query point. We present new results that improve the previous work for both the line and the segment cases.
Comparing a Multimedia Digital Informed Consent Tool With Traditional Paper-Based Methods: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The traditional informed consent (IC) process rarely emphasizes research participants’ comprehension of medical information, leaving them vulnerable to unknown risks and consequences associated with procedures or studies. Objective: This paper explores how we evaluated the feasibility of a digital health tool called Virtual Multimedia Interactive Informed Consent (VIC) for advancing the IC process and compared the results with traditional paper-based methods of IC. Methods: Using digital health and web-based coaching, we developed the VIC tool that uses multimedia and other digital features to improve the current IC process. The tool was developed on the basis of the user-centered design process and Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning. This study is a randomized controlled trial that compares the feasibility of VIC with standard paper consent to understand the impact of interactive digital consent. Participants were recruited from the Winchester Chest Clinic at Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, and healthy individuals were recruited from the community using fliers. In this coordinator-assisted trial, participants were randomized to complete the IC process using VIC on the iPad or with traditional paper consent. The study was conducted at the Winchester Chest Clinic, and the outcomes were self-assessed through coordinator-administered questionnaires. Results: A total of 50 participants were recruited in the study (VIC, n=25; paper, n=25). The participants in both groups had high comprehension. VIC participants reported higher satisfaction, higher perceived ease of use, higher ability to complete the consent independently, and shorter perceived time to complete the consent process. Conclusions: The use of dynamic, interactive audiovisual elements in VIC may improve participants’ satisfaction and facilitate the IC process. We believe that using VIC in an ongoing, real-world study rather than a hypothetical study improved the reliability of our findings, which demonstrates VIC’s potential to improve research participants’ comprehension and the overall process of IC. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02537886; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02537886
A General Method of Empirical Q-matrix Validation

In contrast to unidimensional item response models that postulate a single underlying proficiency, cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs) posit multiple, discrete skills or attributes, thus allowing CDMs to provide a finer-grained assessment of examinees’ test performance. A common component of CDMs for specifying the attributes required for each item is the Q-matrix. Although construction of Q-matrix is typically performed by domain experts, it nonetheless, to a large extent, remains a subjective process, and misspecifications in the Q-matrix, if left unchecked, can have important practical implications. To address this concern, this paper proposes a discrimination index that can be used with a wide class of CDM subsumed by the generalized deterministic input, noisy “and” gate model to empirically validate the Q-matrix specifications by identifying and replacing misspecified entries in the Q-matrix. The rationale for using the index as the basis for a proposed validation method is provided in the form of mathematical proofs to several relevant lemmas and a theorem. The feasibility of the proposed method was examined using simulated data generated under various conditions. The proposed method is illustrated using fraction subtraction data.
Adverse Event Evaluation

Although much of the focus in clinical trials is on the evaluation of the efficacy of an intervention or pharmaceutical product, the appropriate collection and assessment of safety data is a critical part of any clinical study. In early stage trials, the primary objective of the study may be the assessment of safety (or the identification of a maximum tolerated dose). For the assessment of safety data, several key factors must be collected for any adverse event. It is important to ensure that every adverse event—regardless of apparent association with the study or the intervention–is recorded. For each event, it is then important to collect the timing of the event, the relationship to the intervention, the severity, the expectedness, the intervention required, and the outcome. All of this information will initially be used to determine whether the event requires expedited reporting to regulatory agencies or safety monitoring committees, and later, it will be used to understand fully the safety profile of the intervention or investigational product. Keywords: adverse event; adverse drug reaction; pharmacovigilance
Protein Structure Prediction

Genomic projects have provided large number of sequence information. In order to obtain tangible benefit of this information, structural and functional annotation of the sequences is a must. Understanding the structural basis for protein function enables rational drug design and novel interventions for various diseases. This chapter describes protein-modeling packages and services that integrate various tools to facilitate rapid large-scale modeling of proteins.
THE PHARMACODYNAMICS OF THE DOMESTIC FOWL WITH RESPECT TO ERGONOVINE AND ERGOTAMINE

1. The practicability of the chicken as a laboratory animal is reaffirmed. 2. The alkaloids ergonovine and ergotamine are about equally effective in their action upon the circulatory system of the chicken as judged by the magnitude of the blood-pressure response, but the effects of ergonovine are more transitory. 3. Much smaller doses of ergonovine are required to produce pressor responses in chickens than in cats or in other laboratory animals. 4. In doses of about 10–20 mg. ergonovine and ergotamine are effective in inhibiting but not reversing the blood-pressure response to epinephrine in the chicken. 5. After moderate doses of ergonovine and ergotamine electrocardiograms show only a slowing of the heart. With excessive doses minor changes in the T-wave are observed. 6. In experiments on the perfused hearts of the fowl, cat, and rabbit small amounts of ergonovine and ergotamine give a striking reduction in the coronary flow. Ergotamine is some ten times more potent than ergonovine in this respect and also more persistent. 7. The response of the oviduct to these alkaloids is irregular except in the case of the uterine portion, which is always stimulated by ergonovine. Epinephrine inhibits all segments. 8. Studies on the isolated chicken intestine show a reduction in tone from ergonovine and ergotamine, the former being more effective. The response to both substances decreases from duodenum to colon. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the helpful guidance of Professor E. M. K. Geiling throughout this investigation. A portion of the expenses of this work has been met by a grant from the Biological Research Fund of the University of Chicago.
Optimal blind equalization and symbol error analysis of fractionally-sampled channels

Blind fractionally-spaced equalizers employ the second-order cyclostationary statistics of the channel output in order to derive both zero-forcing and MMSE solutions. In this work, optimal minimum variance estimates for the zero-forcing and MMSE equalizers are developed. Performance analysis is carried out by deriving symbol error probabilities and closed form expressions for the variance of the equalizer tap estimates. In addition, simulations are presented in order to demonstrate the performance of these equalizers and to corroborate the theoretical symbol error expressions.
Hepatocyte growth factor and the kidney: it is not just for the liver

Mesenchymal-epithelial interactions are important for many biological processes in epithelial organs such as the kidney. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a mesenchymally derived polypeptide cytokine that acts through its tyrosine kinase c-met receptor and is an important mediator of these interactions. This article reviews data showing the in vitro actions of HGF on renal epithelial cells that result in such diverse responses as mitogenesis, motogenesis, and morphogenesis. It also examines the in vivo evidence linking HGF and the c-met receptor to kidney development, regeneration following injury, and renal disease. Elucidating cellular mechanisms underlying the coordinated control of diverse HGF-induced phenotypic changes in renal epithelia in vitro should contribute to a clearer understanding of complex biological processes such as organogenesis, regeneration, and carcinogenesis in epithelial organs such as the kidney.
Illness and Culture in the Postmodern Age

Illness and Culture in the Postmodern Age. David B. Morris. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. 345 pp.
Toxicological findings in 889 fatally injured obese pilots involved in aviation accidents.

Prevalence of drugs in fatally injured obese pilots involved in aviation accidents has not been evaluated. Therefore, toxicological findings in such pilots (body mass index ≥30 kg/m(2) ) were examined in a data set derived from the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute's (CAMI's) Scientific Information System for 1990-2005. Aeromedical histories of these aviators were retrieved from the CAMI medical certification and toxicology databases, and the cause/factors in the related accidents from the National Transportation Safety Board's database. In 311 of the 889 pilots, carbon monoxide, cyanide, ethanol, and drugs were found, and glucose and hemoglobin A(1c) were elevated. Of the 889 pilots, 107 had an obesity-related medical history. The health and/or medical condition(s) of, and/or the use of ethanol and/or drugs by, pilots were the cause/factors in 55 (18%) of the 311 accidents. Drugs found were primarily for treating obesity-related medical conditions such as depression, hypertension, and coronary heart disease. Language: en
Learning Nonlinear Dynamic Models from Non-sequenced Data

Virtually all methods of learning dynamic systems from data start from the same basic assumption: the learning algorithm will be given a sequence of data generated from the dynamic system. We consider the case where the training data comes from the system’s operation but with no temporal ordering. The data are simply drawn as individual disconnected points. While making this assumption may seem absurd at first glance, many scientific modeling tasks have exactly this property. Previous work proposed methods for learning linear, discrete time models under these assumptions by optimizing approximate likelihood functions. We extend those methods to nonlinear models using kernel methods. We go on to propose a new approach that focuses on achieving temporal smoothness in the learned dynamics. The result is a convex criterion that can be easily optimized and often outperforms the earlier methods. We test these methods on several synthetic data sets including one generated from the Lorenz attractor.
Literature & medicine: humanities at the heart of health care: a hospital-based reading and discussion program developed by the maine humanities council.

Created by the Maine Humanities Council in 1997, Literature & Medicine: Humanities at the Heart of Health Care is a hospital-based humanities reading and discussion program for practicing health care professionals. To date, a total of 25 (65%) of Maine’s hospitals have implemented the six-month prog
A Protocadherin-Cadherin-FLRT3 Complex Controls Cell Adhesion and Morphogenesis

Background Paraxial protocadherin (PAPC) and fibronectin leucine-rich domain transmembrane protein-3 (FLRT3) are induced by TGFβ signaling in Xenopus embryos and both regulate morphogenesis by inhibiting C-cadherin mediated cell adhesion.
TRYPANOSOMA CRUZI INFECTION INDUCED CHANGES IN THE INNERVATION, STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE MURINE BLADDER

ABSTRACT Purpose: The involvement of the lower urinary tract in chronic Chagas' disease has received little attention. Therefore, we investigated pathology and functional alterations in the bladder of Trypanosoma cruzi infected mice. Materials and Methods: CD1 mice were infected with 5 × 10 4 T. cruzi trypomastigotes of the Brazil strain of T. cruzi. At day 100 after infection bladder structure and function were examined by pathological evaluation, magnetic resonance imaging and cystometric studies. Results: The bladder in infected mice weighed more and were large, dilated, deformed, friable and thin walled compared with control mice. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed these observations. Inflammation, fibrosis and ganglionitis was observed. Cystometric studies revealed that baseline, threshold and micturition pressures were increased in infected mice. Bladder overactivity and decreased bladder compliance were also noted in infected mice. There were no detectable differences in bladder capacity, micturition volume or residual volume between infected and uninfected mice. Conclusions: Bladder abnormalities may be a more common clinical sequelae of T. cruzi infection than previously appreciated.
Running with the radius in RS1

We derive a renormalization group formalism for the Randall-Sundrum scenario, where the renormalization scale is set by a floating compactification radius. While inspired by the AdS/CFT conjecture, our results are derived concretely within higher-dimensional effective field theory. Matching theories with different radii leads to running hidden brane couplings. The hidden brane Lagrangian consists of four-dimensional local operators constructed from the induced value of the bulk fields on the brane. We find hidden Lagrangians which are non-trivial fixed points of the RG flow. Calculations in RS1 can be greatly simplified by ``running down'' the effective theory to a small radius. We demonstrate these simplifications by studying the Goldberger-Wise stabilization mechanism. In this paper, we focus on the classical and tree-level quantum field theory of bulk scalar fields, which demonstrates the essential features of the RG in the simplest context.
Effects of Changing Body Position on Dental Occlusion

Graded changes in body position produced no noticeable changes in wax registrations of dental contact patterns resulting from voluntary jaw closure. Occlusal contact patterns that resulted from electrically stimulated jaw closures indicated an increase in closing force and a mesial shift of prime occlusal contact points as the body was raised to an upright position.
Best practices and tools for personal information compliance management

Recent incidents involving the loss of personal information and identity theft have raised concerns worldwide over information privacy. In Japan, the Personal Information Protection Act went into effect in April 2005, requiring every enterprise to manage sensitive personal information on servers, workstations, and personal computers throughout the organization. This paper describes two tools we developed to assist in the management of personal information, a Designer and the Personal Information Detection (PID) tool. The a Designer tool scans an entire Web site to determine if each HTML page complies with the IBM privacy guidelines for external Web sites. PID is capable of automatically identifying "named entities," such as personal names, addresses, or telephone numbers in the textual parts of target files based on Japanese morphological analysis technology. This paper also summarizes the best practices used in IBM Japan for privacy management and presents statistical results concerning personal information gathered through deployment of these tools.