cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stroke in-patients' transfer to the ICU using ensemble based model

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission is a major factor that affects the healthcare budget. ICU cost is extremely high because its resources are consumed through highly advanced equipment providing quality healthcare service for patients. Thus, the need for a predictive model for the decision to transfer stroke in-patients to the ICU is very important. Also, this predictive model will help to lower morbidity and mortality rates through earlier detection and intervention. A new model using an ensemble approach is proposed to improve the accuracy and the performance. A Generalized Boosted Model (GBM) was trained and tested on the balanced dataset. The original dataset was having data imbalance and hence the result was misleading. In order to overcome this situation a sampling approach was used by applying the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) on the dataset. A research using a Decision Tree (DT), an Artificial Neural Network (ANN), a Support Vector Machine (SVM), and a Logistic Regression (LR) to predict the ICU transfer decision on stroke in-patients dataset is available in literature. These models are evaluated again on this balanced dataset for prediction. The highest accuracy obtained was with the DT model among these four models. The GBM model in ensemble approach achieved better accuracy compared to the DT model. Therefore, this model could be used for helping healthcare professionals in decision-making.
Outcomes after second allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: A single-center experience.

7018 Background: Relapse and graft failure continue to be major challenges after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT). There is no standard treatment for either condition a...
The hypercoagulability paradox of chronic kidney disease: The role of fibrinogen.

Abstract Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients have increased rates of bleeding as well as thrombosis. Fibrinogen and platelets combine to generate a mature clot, but in CKD platelets are dysfunctional. Therefore, we hypothesize that CKD patients have increased clot strength due to elevated fibrinogen levels. Methods Retrospective review of CKD patients (n = 84) who had rTEG and fibrinogen levels measured. They were compared to healthy controls (n = 134). Results CKD patients had statistically significant increases in ACT, angle, MA and decreases in LY30 compared to controls. Fibrinogen levels were increased in CKD patients compared to reference range. Fibrinogen levels had a positive correlation with MA (rho = 0.709, p Conclusions Patients with CKD manifest a coagulopathy consisting of delayed clot formation, but increased final clot strength and decreased clot breakdown. Furthermore, the elevated clot strength is mediated by increased fibrinogen levels in CKD patients.
Electrochemical, Spectroscopic, and 1O2 Sensitization Characteristics of Synthetically Accessible Linear Tetrapyrrole Complexes of Palladium and Platinum.

The synthesis, electrochemistry, and photophysical characterization of a 10,10-dimethyl-5,15-bis(pentafluorophenyl)biladiene (DMBil1) linear tetrapyrrole supporting PdII or PtII centers is presented. Both of these nonmacrocyclic tetrapyrrole platforms are robust and easily prepared via modular routes. X-ray diffraction experiments reveal that the Pd[DMBil1] and Pt[DMBil1] complexes adopt similar structures and incorporate a single PdII and PtII center, respectively. Additionally, electrochemical experiments revealed that both Pd[DMBil1] and Pt[DMBil1] can undergo two discrete oxidation and reduction processes. Spectroscopic experiments carried out for Pd[DMBil1] and Pt[DMBil1] provide further understanding of the electronic structure of these systems. Both complexes strongly absorb light in the UV–visible region, especially in the 350–600 nm range. Both Pd[DMBil1] and Pt[DMBil1] are luminescent under a nitrogen atmosphere. Upon photoexcitation of Pd[DMBil1], two emission bands are observed; fluorescence i...
High-Yield Production of Fatty Nitriles by One-Step Vapor-Phase Thermocatalysis of Triglycerides.

Fatty nitriles are widely used as intermediate molecules in the pharmaceutical and polymer industries. In addition, hydrogenation of fatty nitriles produces fatty amines that are common surfactants. In the conventional fatty nitrile process, triglycerides are first hydrolyzed and the resulting fatty acids are catalytically reacted with NH3 in a liquid-phase reaction. In this study, we report a simpler one-step fatty nitrile production method that involves a direct vapor-phase reaction of triglycerides with NH3 in the presence of heterogeneous solid acid catalysts. The reactions were performed in a tubular reactor maintained at 400 °C into which triglycerides were injected through an atomizer to allow rapid volatilization and reaction; NH3 was fed as a gas. Several metal oxide catalysts were tested, and reactions in the presence of V2O5 resulted in near-theoretical fatty nitrile yields (84 wt % relative to the feed mass). In general, catalysts with higher acidity such as V2O5, Fe2O3, and ZnO showed higher ...
Adding to the Dialogue with Latina/o Plays for Young Audiences

Change begins with concerted efforts, as Gloria Anzaldua (1991) declares, “to interact, to repeat back, or reflect or mirror, but also do more than just reflect back or mirror—to add to the dialogue” (256).
Engineering Statistics — The Industrial Experience

(1997). Engineering Statistics — The Industrial Experience. Journal of Quality Technology: Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 488-490.
Biological Factors in the Development of Human Sexual Identity

There are insufficient data to regard any aspect of sexual identity in humans as solely biological in origin, or to permit knowledgeable assessment of the precise extent to which biology contributes to any component of sexual identity. Data support the position that postnatal psychosocial influences probably play a greater role in the development of most or all components of human sexual identity, and in the enormous variability observed, than do biological factors.
A comparison of the effects of using interactive WWW simulations versus hands-on activities on the conceptual understanding and attitudes of introductory statistics students

v CHAPTER L INTRODUCTION I CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 8 CHAPTER 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS 34 CHAPTER 4. ANALYSIS OF DATA 56 CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 72 APPENDIX A. ADDITIONAL FIGURES 78 APPENDDC B. INSTRUMENTS 95 APPENDIX C. STATS SURVEY ANALYSIS 123 REFERENCES 142
Computer Assisted Pascal to Ada Program Translation

This paper discusses the program PasTran, developed and distributed by RR Software, which performs a Pascal to Ada program translation. This tool is extremely useful as it decreases the translation time by a factor of about ten. PasTran, which runs on IBM PC’s and compatibles, does both syntactic and semantic checking and translates all standard Pascal constructs, including those for which no direct Ada analogue exists. PasTran flags nonstandard Pascal constructs as errors, reports them, and continues with the translation. PasTran performs the translation at an approximate rate of 250 lines per minute on an IBM AT, a rate which is somewhat dependent on the number of errors which PasTran reports.
Justice in International Research

Justice in international research concerns the fairness of the funding, regulation, design, and conduct of human subjects research when it involves the collaboration of researchers, sponsors, and participants from different nations. Issues of fairness can arise at a variety of levels and are most acute when research is funded and initiated by entities from high-income countries (HICs) and carried out in populations of low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Limiting median lines frequently determine the yolk

In two-dimensional Euclidean spatial voting models the yolk is the smallest circle which intersects all median lines. It has been assumed that limiting median lines, which intersect two voter ideal points, are sufficient to determine the yolk but recently counter examples have been reported. This note describes the impact of those findings on the results of computation of the location and size of yolk.
Effect of initial damage variability on hot-spot nucleation in energetic materials

Mechanical insult may be able to produce chemical transformations in solids when the energy is released in highly localized regions. This phenomenon is responsible for the nucleation of hot-spots that are responsible for ignition of energetic materials. The concentration of energy at microstructural defects leads to the probabilistic nature of ignition. The effect of the microstructure of the energetic particles, specifically the influence of the initial crack distribution on the sensitivity to ignition, is studied for a particle embedded in a polymeric matrix at impact velocities 100 m/s and 400 m/s with finite element simulations that couple fracture dynamics and heat transport. A phase field damage model that includes heat sources due to frictional heating at the crack surfaces and heat dissipation during crack propagation is developed and verified. These heat sources are compared and, in the range of impact velocities studied, heat generation due to friction is more important than dissipation due to crack propagation. Hot-spots nucleated at 100 m/s do not reach the critical temperature while conditions consistent with the Lee-Tarver criterion for ignition are observed at 400 m/s impact velocity. The variability observed due to the stochasticity of the initial crack distribution is studied and it increases with a higher impact velocity. In particular, regions of high temperature develop close to cracks intersecting the particle polymer interface. Therefore, controlling the surface quality of the energetic particles may lead to a reduction on the sensitivity uncertainty in polymer-bonded explosives.
Snake fungal disease alters skin bacterial and fungal diversity in an endangered rattlesnake.

Snake Fungal Disease (SFD), caused by Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, is the most recently described fungal disease afflicting wildlife populations across North America and Europe. It has been proposed as a significant conservation threat yielding high mortality and yet much its ecology is unknown. We collected 144 skin swabs from Eastern Massasaugas (Sistrurus catenatus) in 2015 and 2016 to determine document ongoing prevalence and assess differences in microbial assemblages between positive and negative individuals. Alpha diversity of fungi was reduced in SFD positive animals, while beta diversity identified distinct assemblages of microbes between SFD–positive and –negative samples. Ophidiomyces was present on the skin of affected animals, even on body sites distant to lesions indicating that the microbiome on entire surface of the skin is altered. Ophidiomyces was not detected in any non-SFD snake. There were smaller, but significant, influences of year sampled. Bacterial genera Janthinobacterium and Serratia were significantly increased in SFD snakes, while Xylanimicrobium, Cellulosimicrobium, and Rhodococcus were the only bacterial taxa significantly reduced. The relative abundance of fungi within the orders Pleosporales and Canopdiales was reduced in SFD-positive samples, though Pyrenochaetopsis pratorum was the only species found to differ significantly. This is the first study to determine the impact that this fungal pathogen has on the skin microbiome.
Downscaling of SMAP Soil Moisture Using Land Surface Temperature and Vegetation Data

Remotely sensed soil moisture retrieved by the Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) sensor is currently provided at a 9 km grid resolution. Although valuable, some applications in weather, agriculture, ecology and watershed hydrology require soil moisture at a higher spatial resolution. In this study, a passive microwave soil moisture downscaling algorithm based on thermal inertia theory was improved for use with SMAP and applied to a data set collected at a field experiment. This algorithm utilizes a NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) modulated relationship between daytime soil moisture and daily temperature change modeled using output variables from 8 the Land Surface Model (LSM) of the NLDAS (North America Land Data Assimilation System), and remote sensing data from MODIS (Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer). The reference component of the 11 algorithm was developed at the NLDAS grid size (12.5 km) to downscale the SMAP Level 3 radiometer-based 9 km soil moisture to 1 km. The downscaled results were validated using data acquired in SMAPVEX15 (Soil Moisture Active Passive Validation Experiment 2015) that included in situ soil moisture and PALS (Passive Active L-band System) airborne instrument observations. The resulting downscaled SMAP estimates better characterize soil moisture spatial and temporal variability and have better overall validation metrics than the original SMAP soil moisture estimates. Additionally, the overall accuracy of the downscaled SMAP soil moisture is comparable to the PALS high spatial resolution soil moisture retrievals. The method demonstrated in this manuscript downscales satellite soil moisture to produce a 1 km product, which is not site specific and could be applied to other regions of the world using the publicly available NLDAS/GLDAS (Global Land Data Assimilation System) data.
An Average Inductor Current Sensor with Enhanced Accuracy in DCM for Buck Converters

This paper presents an average inductor current sensor with enhanced accuracy in DCM operation for buck converters. The proposed sensor employs sample-and-hold (S/H) techniques instead of continuous-time techniques to sense the peak and valley of the current profile in the high-side and low-side power switches, respectively. Using these values, the average inductor current is estimated with high accuracy, since the S/H operation eliminates sensing errors due to the finite bandwidth of the sense amplifiers. To enhance sensing accuracy in DCM, the proposed sensor measures the conduction time and the switching period of the converter, and uses an analog nonlinear function generator to scale the sensed peak current of the high-side power switch. This DCM-scaling produces a more accurate estimation of the average inductor current compared to other S/H techniques. The proposed sensor is implemented within a 2-MHz buck converter in $0.5-{\mu } \mathrm {m}$ CMOS, where simulation results show the error in the sensed average inductor current is only 2% in both CCM and DCM. In DCM, a corresponding continuous-time sensor has over 42% error, while a S/H sensor without DCM-scaling has over 110% error.
Examining linguistic interactions of dual language learners using the Language Interaction Snapshot (LISn)

Abstract The Language Interaction Snapshot (LISn) is an observational measure developed to document the quantity and quality of language use in early childhood classrooms with dual language learners (DLLs). This study detailed the ways in which LISn data describes the linguistic interactions of Spanish–English DLLs with their teachers and peers. Participants were 104 teachers and assistant teachers from 52 classrooms in preschool programs in California, Florida and North Carolina and 341 DLLs. During the fall and spring classrooms were observed with the LISn and children were assessed in English and Spanish using receptive and expressive vocabulary measures. The association between linguistic interactions, as measured by the LISn, and DLLs’ language outcomes was examined in about half the sample (in 26 classrooms). Results revealed that children had fewer language interactions with adults in Spanish than in English, even though there was at least one adult who spoke Spanish in every classroom, and they had few language interactions with any adult in either language. The language interactions children did have with teachers were generally of basic quality (i.e., giving directions and providing information) rather than complex quality (i.e., requesting language, using decontextualized talk, and reading aloud). Although children had somewhat more verbal interactions with peers, very few were sustained more than two turns. Associations were found between complex language interactions in English and children’s bilingual receptive vocabulary outcomes. This demonstrates that the LISn holds promise as a measure of language interactions in early childhood classrooms with DLLs.
Growth performance and plasma insulin-like growth factor I concentrations in sheep selected for high weaning weight.

A study was undertaken to determine the effect of selection for high weaning weight on concentrations of plasma insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) in sheep and to evaluate the usefulness of measuring IGF-I as an aid in identification of genotypes with a higher growth potential. Lambs from two lines selected for high 120-d weight (HW and DH) and an unselected control (C) were weighed and blood samples collected monthly from birth to weaning (4 mo. of age). A clear differentiation in size occurred after 1 mo of age between lines, between sexes, and between singles and twins. At weaning, selected lines were 3.8 and 5.0 kg heavier than controls. Plasma IGF-I concentrations were 1.5 to 2 times higher (P less than .001) in males than in females after 1 mo of age. There were no significant differences in IGF-I concentration between lines or types of birth. However, line DH and single lambs on average had higher concentrations of IGF-I. Within sex and type of birth correlations between IGF-I concentrations at 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 mo and 4-mo BW ranged from -.16 to .49 in the three lines, and most were not significant. Coefficients of variation for IGF-I concentrations (36 to 50%) were two to three times higher than those for BW (11 to 15%). Due to the high variability of IGF-I measurements, the low correlations between IGF-I concentration and BW, and the small differences in IGF-I between control and selected lines, measurement of plasma IGF-I is unlikely to be an effective aid to selection for growth rate in sheep.
Antibodies to Streptococci pneumoniae in sera and secretions of mothers and their infants.

Human milk normally contains antibodies against a variety of common pathogens, and there is epidemiologic evidence that breast-fed infants are less susceptible to certain gastrointestinal infections.1 The role of breastfeeding in protection against respiratory bacteria is less clear and is undoubtedly complicated by the practical and social factors that determine the exposure of infants to organisms such as the pneumococcus.2 The immunological mechanism of protection is assumed to be the presence of type-specific antibodies; however, there are no quantitative data on antibodies to pneumococci in human milk. In this paper we describe a prospective study of antibody levels to four common pneumococcal serotypes in mothers’ milk and in the sera and saliva of their infants during the first year of life. The pneumococcal types selected were types 6, 14, 19, and 23, which are the most common types associated with carriage and infection in early childhood.3 Because some of these capsular antigens bear structural similarities to oligosaccharides found in normal human secretions, we also studied the inhibitory effect of milk and saliva on the binding of type-specific antibodies to the pneumococcal polysaccharides.
Neuronal Uptake of Neurotransmitters and their Precursors: Studies with “Transmitter” Amino Acids and Choline

Most neurotransmitters, except for acetylcholine, possess high affinity neuronal uptakes. With reasonably well established transmitter candidates such as catecholamines, serotonin and GABA, these uptake systems are studied with a view to characterizing the synaptic behavior of the transmitter in question. With more questionable transmitter candidates, such as the amino acids, before characterizing subtleties of their synaptic activities, it is crucial first to determine whether they are in fact neurotransmitters. In our laboratory, uptake studies have been employed to adduce evidence in support of certain amino acids as transmitters. Specifically, we have compared the synaptosomal accumulation of numerous amino acids and found that unlike most amino acids, glutamic and aspartic acids and glycine (in the spinal cord and brain stem) are transported by unique high affinity systems into distinct populations of synaptosomes. In this way neuronal uptake has provided powerful biochemical support for the proposition that these compounds are neurotransmitters in the mammalian central nervous system.
Assessing variability of antineoplastic drugs handling practices in clinical settings

The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Chapter guidelines will be adopted in the U.S. and Canada in 2019, requiring regular surface sampling for antineoplastic drug (AD) surface contamination a...
DUSP4 Stabilizes FOXP3 Expression In Human Regulatory T Cells

Background Naturally occurring regulatory T cells (Treg) are a subset of CD4+T lymphocytes derived from the thymus. Treg suppress immune responses through multiple mechanisms and are involved in inhibiting the development of autoimmunity. Treg constitutively express the master regulatory gene FOXP3, which is necessary to maintain their phenotype and functions. Human blood circulating FOXP3+ Treg are composed of naive and activated subsets. CD45RA+CD45RO- naive Treg enter the blood from the thymus and become CD45RA-CD45RO+ activated Treg after activation. Activated Treg show higher suppressive capacity than naive Treg. We have previously compared the gene expression profiles of the four human blood CD4+T cell subsets: naive T helper (Th) cells, memory Th cells, naive Treg, and activated Treg. We found that some memory Th cell signature genes (those that are highly expressed in memory Th cells compared to naive Th cells) were also strongly expressed in activated Treg. DUSP4 (dual specificity phosphatase 4) was one such gene. The DUSP family molecules are known to act as inhibitors of T cell activation signaling, primarily by dephosphorylating the activated MAP kinases. In this study, we hypothesized that DUSP4 might be associated with the phenotype and the functions of human activated Treg. Experimental Procedures and Results Human Treg cells were sorted from the peripheral blood of healthy donors and infected with shRNA virus targeting DUSP4 upon stimulation with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies. The phenotype and the functions of DUSP4 shRNA-transfected Treg cells were analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR, flow cytometry, and in vitro suppression assay. Strikingly, shRNA knockdown of DUSP4 in Treg resulted in more than 90% reduction in the FOXP3 mRNA level. FOXP3 protein down-regulation was observed as well by intracellular FOXP3 staining. Furthermore, the in vitro suppression capacity of DUSP4 shRNA-transfected Treg decreased in proportion to the FOXP3 level. The decreased FOXP3 expression by DUSP4 knockdown was considered to be due to increased activity of ERK1/2 MAP kinase, which has significant roles in T cell activation. We are currently testing whether MAP kinase inhibitors and MAP kinase genes knockdown modify FOXP3 expression by Treg. Conclusion Our study suggests that DUSP4 plays a fundamental role in maintaining the phenotype and the suppressive functions of human activated Treg. DUSP4 and MAP kinases may become novel targets to control Treg function in autoimmunity, allergy, allo-immunity, and cancer immunotherapy. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
On activities and affordances for mobile learning

Abstract Across the articles in this special issue, there is a clear and important focus on how people learn through mobility, which allows them to move across contexts as they learn. This commentary considers ways mobile technologies can support learning with a focus on understanding the affordances to of the mobile technologies develop new learning practices that could not be accomplished without this technology. With this in mind, we return to the definition of mobile learning that suggests mobile learning is learning across multiple contexts, through social interaction, using personal electronic devices that can immediately capture information about, or provide information to the user. To explore how to implement this definition in truly powerful ways, we suggest explicitly unpacking this into its four component parts, so that we can explore and discuss the unique affordances of mobile learning: (1) multiple contexts, (2) social interactions, (3) content interactions, and (4), capturing information and providing information to users in real-time. We further suggest a 5th element, which is the synergies among these different dimensions. We conclude with the challenges in doing research in mobile learning environments and the need to understand both how and what people learn in such environments.
National Trends in hospitalizations for self-directed violence related to opioids and/or depression - United States, 2000-2015.

Abstract This study examined national trends in self-directed violence in the context of changes in opioid use and depression to better inform prevention measures. Using 2000–2015 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data, we identified 625,064 hospitalizations for self-directed violence among persons aged ≥10 years in the United States. Based on whether co-listing opioid related diagnosis and depression, we categorized hospitalizations for self-directed violence into four comorbid categories as 1) related to opioids alone; 2) related to depression alone; 3) related to both opioids and depression; and 4) related to neither opioids nor depression. Census population estimates served as the denominator for calculating hospitalization rates for self-directed violence. Hospitalization rates for self-directed violence related to opioids doubled from 5.1 per 100,000 persons in 2000 to 11.0 in 2015. The rate of increase was highest for self-directed violence related to both opioids and depression, which increased 9.4% annually during 2000–2011 and then decreased 4.3% annually during 2011–2015. Hospitalizations for self-directed violence related to depression alone remained the predominant category, accounting for approximately 60% of hospitalizations for self-directed violence; the rates among females aged 10–24 years were the highest among all subgroups, and rose 7.8% annually since 2011 reaching 93.2 per 100,000 persons in 2015. These findings highlight the importance of assessing the risk for self-directed violence among patients misusing opioids and the importance of treating opioid use disorder and depression, particularly when they co-occur. Prevention and treatment of depression is especially important for young females.
Child labor, sex and mental health outcomes amongst adolescent refugees

Abstract Introduction Refugee adolescents living in camps and settlements in low and middle-income countries are a vulnerable population who face protection and psychosocial risks. This study explores prevalence of child labor amongst adolescent refugees from South Sudan in two refugee settlements in Uganda, to understand impacts of child labor on mental health outcomes, and examines the influence of sex on these impacts. Methods Surveys were conducted in Adjumani and Kiryandongo refugee settlements, Uganda, with 470 adolescents between 13 and 17 interviewed between December 2014–February 2015. Univariate finite mixture modeling identified a two-cluster model of child labor. Logistic regression models assessed the association of child labor and mental health. Results A two-cluster solution for child labor activity was determined among the 332 adolescents who self-reported engaging in any child labor (Significant child labor: n = 174, 37%; moderate child labor cluster: n = 158, 34%; no child labor cluster: n = 138, 29%. Odds of depression amongst adolescents exposed to significant vs. no child labor was 4.15 (95% CI: 2.01–8.56), in a model examining interaction of sex and child labor and controlling for socio-demographic variables. For the anxiety outcome, girls exposed to significant vs. no child labor are less likely to report higher levels of anxiety (OR: 0.29, 95% CI: 0.09–0.90). Conclusions Adolescents living in refugee settlements in Uganda report high levels of participation in child labor. Protection of adolescents from the risks involved with child labor in refugee contexts is an important and often over-looked area of child protection in humanitarian settings.
On the Structure of Modeling Errors and the Inseparability of the Modeling and Control Problems

Abstract The standard statements of the “modeling” and “control” problems presume the separability of the modeling problem and the control problem. The reasons for the inseparability of these two problems are explored from physical and mathematical considerations.
Micro-grid Dispatch Decision-Making Method Based on Adjustable Robust Optimization Algorithm

Vehicle to Grid technology (V2G) can provide stable support for the grid connection of renewable energy, and the nearby consumption of renewable energy and electric vehicle (EV) in the form of microgrid can also effectively alleviate the impact on the grid shock and calm load fluctuation. In order to solve the uncertainties of electric vehicle charging and discharging power and renewable energy output power, this paper establishes an inner and outer double-layer model firstly. The inner layer model uses Monte Carlo method and interval prediction theory to perform uncertain variable modeling and analysis. The outer layer model obtains uncertain variables with volatility in the inner layer model for scheduling optimization; secondly, in order to prevent the overly conservative nature of traditional robust optimization (RO), an adjustable robust optimization algorithm is proposed to quantify the system's economy and robustness. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by using a residential grid-connected microgrid as a simulation scenario.
Clinical spectrum and presentation of patients with absent contractility

Background Primary absent contractility is an uncommon finding on high-resolution manometry (HRM). The goal of this study was to describe the clinical spectrum and presentation of patients with primary absent contractility. Methods We queried a prospectively maintained esophageal testing registry to identify patients with absent contractility who presented between August 2016 and September 2018. Patients with poor quality studies and patients with insufficient clinical records as well as those with a history of previous foregut surgery or esophagram consistent with achalasia were excluded. Results A total of 2068 patients underwent HRM during the study period. Of these, 66 patients (3.2%) met the inclusion criteria and formed the study cohort; 52 patients in the cohort had an upper gastrointestinal contrast study, 50 had endoscopy, and 51 completed a foregut symptom questionnaire. Thirty-eight patients (57.6%) were women. The mean age was 56.6±13.86 years, and the mean body mass index was 26.37±5.7 kg/m2. Almost half of the patients (29/66, 43.9%) were undergoing lung transplant evaluation, and 22 patients (37.3%) had a history of autoimmune immune-mediated or myopathic diseases. On the symptom questionnaire, 42 of 51 patients (82.3%) reported heartburn, 24 of 51 (47.1%) reported dysphagia, and 23 of 51 patients (45.1%) reported both. On ambulatory pH monitoring, 23 of 37 patients (62.2%) had pathological esophageal acid exposure (acid exposure time >6%). Conclusions Absent contractility on HRM is uncommon and is frequently associated with connective tissue, myopathic or autoimmune disorders. The usual clinical presentation is reflux, dysphagia or both.
Earnings Management in US Hospitals

This paper examines the hospital management practices of manipulating financial earnings within the bounds of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). We conduct regression analyses that relate earnings management to hospital characteristics to assess the economic determinants of hospital earnings management behavior. From the CMS Cost Reports we collected hospital financial data of all U.S. hospitals that request reimbursement from the federal government for treating Medicare patients, and regress discretionary accruals on hospital size, profitability, asset liquidity, operating efficiency, labor cost, and ownership. Hospitals with higher profit margin, current ratio, working capital, days of patient receivables outstanding and total wage are associated with more earnings management, whereas those with larger size and higher debt level, asset turnover, days cash on hand, fixed asset age are associated with lower level of earnings manipulation. Additionally, managers of non-profit hospitals are more likely to undertake some form of window-dressing by manipulating accounting accruals without changing business models or pricing strategies than their public hospital counterparts. We provide direct evidence of the use of discretionary accruals to manage financial earnings among U.S. hospitals and the finding has profound policy implications in terms of assessing the pervasiveness of accounting manipulation and the overall integrity of financial reporting in this very special public and quasi-public service sector.
Refining Elective Contralateral Neck Radiation Volumes for Oropharynx Cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) Judicious reduction in elective nodal volumes for patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) has the potential to reduce acute and long term toxicity while maintaining high rates of regional control. We postulated that the contralateral N0 neck region at highest risk for containing occult microscopic lymph node (LN) metastases in patients with OPSCC could be best defined by the location of the initial positive ipsilateral LN. We sought to identify and target this N0 elective neck region and assess impact on dose to organs at risk compared to using a consensus-defined contralateral elective nodal volume. MATERIALS/METHODS We performed a retrospective review to identify patients with OPSCC and N2c disease as defined by a single radiographically positive LN. LN centroids were used to define the anatomic boundaries of the novel contralateral elective clinical target volume (ceCTV). Factors associated with LN centroid locations were assessed by the Fisher exact test. We used an external testing cohort to evaluate the robustness of ceCTV. The dosimetric impact of ceCTV compared to consensus elective nodal clinical target volumes (conCTV) was assessed with the t-test. RESULTS We identified 25 patients that fit the selection criteria of which 84% had a single contralateral LN in level II and 16% in level III. We did not identify factors associated with LN centroid location. In the external data set, 97% (33/34) of the LN centroids were located within the novel elective contralateral target volume. Mean radiation dose to the contralateral parotid gland was 15.1 Gy (range 13.0-17.0 Gy) versus 21.0 Gy (range 18.0-24.0 Gy), P < 0.001 using the novel versus consensus elective contralateral nodal clinical target volumes, respectively. CONCLUSION We present a systematic approach for considering the contralateral nodal regions at highest risk of harboring subclinical disease in patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. These data support clinical study to evaluate this novel contralateral elective clinical target volume in patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma who warrant elective contralateral neck radiotherapy.
Pay Attention! Understanding the Neurobiology of Attention

> “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” > > – Mary Oliver > http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23988.Mary_Oliver As a crucial first step in learning and remembering, teachers urge students to “pay attention.” But just what is involved in paying attention? In the last issue, we examined long-term potentiation and memory. Working memory accepts, stores, and manipulates information about our internal and external world. With attention we focus on salient input while ignoring the competing, extraneous input. Relevant information in working memory becomes the basis for decisions and actions (Knudsen, 2007). Additionally, attention is important for regulating emotions and behavior. Genes and environment influence attention. Animal studies have identified two alleles of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene important in memory. One allele group of animals performed less well on learning and memory tests. Brain imaging revealed significant differences between the two groups’ hippocampi, an area critical to memory storage and retrieval (Posner et al., 2012). Training (an environmental influence) given …
Power and performance management for parallel computations in clouds and data centers

Abstract We address scheduling independent and precedence constrained parallel tasks on multiple homogeneous processors in a data center with dynamically variable voltage and speed as combinatorial optimization problems. We consider the problem of minimizing schedule length with energy consumption constraint and the problem of minimizing energy consumption with schedule length constraint on multiple processors. Our approach is to use level-by-level scheduling algorithms to deal with precedence constraints. We use a simple system partitioning and processor allocation scheme, which always schedules as many parallel tasks as possible for simultaneous execution. We use two heuristic algorithms for scheduling independent parallel tasks in the same level, i.e., SIMPLE and GREEDY. We adopt a two-level energy/time/power allocation scheme, namely, optimal energy/time allocation among levels of tasks and equal power supply to tasks in the same level. Our approach results in significant performance improvement compared with previous algorithms in scheduling independent and precedence constrained parallel tasks.
Low swing TSV signaling using novel level shifters with single supply voltage

Low swing TSV signaling is proposed for three-dimensional (3D) integrated circuits (ICs) to reduce dynamic power consumption. Novel level shifters are designed to lower the voltage swing before the TSV and to pull the voltage swing back to full rail at the far end of the TSV. Proposed level shifters operate with a single supply voltage, thereby reducing the overall cost. Critical TSV capacitance beyond which the proposed scheme saves dynamic power is determined. Up to 42% reduction in overall power is demonstrated with a voltage swing of 0.5 V, where the supply voltage is 1 V.
EFFECT OF HAPLOID OR DIPLOID CONSTITUTION OF ESCHERICHIA COLI ON FORMIC HYDROGENLYASE ACTIVITY

Olsen, Ronald H. (Colorado State University, Fort Collins) and James E. Ogg. Effect of haploid or diploid constitution of Escherichia coli on formic hydrogenlyase activity. J. Bacteriol. 86:494–498. 1963.—Phenotypic differences occurring between haploid and presumed diploid strains of Escherichia coli containing homologous genetic material have been observed. In a growth medium containing glucose and Casamino Acids, formic hydrogenlyase (FHL) activity was induced in haploid strains but not in diploid cells. Other differences were noted when haploid and diploid resting-cell suspensions were assayed for their ability to induce maximal FHL activity. For FHL activity, diploid induction lags were significantly longer, and maximal inducible rates were lower than those observed for haploid strains.
Metalation of Indole

Metalation reactions involving indoles (and indolines) is reviewed (through 2009). The most common mode of metalation is lithiation. Other metals that have been used, either through direct metalation of indole or through transmetalation, include magnesium, zinc, tin, and boron. This monograph is divided into three sections: metalation directed by a nitrogen functionality, directed ortho metalation by substituents not located at nitrogen, and halogen–metal exchange. All of the sections are organized by the location of the metalation event. The review will have a primary focus on the seminal papers that contributed to the development of metalation reactions and a secondary focus on applications of metalation reactions used in the synthesis of complex indoles including indole natural products.
Decision tree induction: how effective is the greedy heuristic?

Most existing decision tree systems use a greedy approach to induce trees — locally optimal splits are induced at every node of the tree. Although the greedy approach is suboptimal, it is believed to produce reasonably good trees. In the current work, we attempt to verify this belief. We quantify the goodness of greedy tree induction empirically, using the popular decision tree algorithms, C4.5 and CART. We induce decision trees on thousands of synthetic data sets and compare them to the corresponding optimal trees, which in turn are found using a novel map coloring idea. We measure the effect on greedy induction of variables such as the underlying concept complexity, training set size, noise and dimensionality. Our experiments show, among other things, that the expected classification cost of a greedily induced tree is consistently very close to that of the optimal tree.
Finite horizon optimization

Abstract This paper studies sensitivity and continuity of finite horizon optimal plans in a general multi-sectoral model of intertemporal optimization which admits non-convexities and technological change. Unlike the aggregative model, investment choices are sensitive to the length of the decision horizon. A new concept of value insensitivity is proposed. It is shown that under this measure, values, unlike investment choices, are indeed insensitive to horizon length even in the multi-sectoral model. Finally, continuity of investment choices and values, in going from the finite to the infinite horizon problem, is established.
Linear Methods for Classification

In this chapter we revisit the classification problem and focus on linear methods for classification. Since our predictor G(x) takes values in a discrete set G, we can always divide the input space into a collection of regions labeled according to the classification. We saw in Chapter 2 that the boundaries of these regions can be rough or smooth, depending on the prediction function. For an important class of procedures, these decision boundaries are linear; this is what we will mean by linear methods for classification.
Selective thermal reduction of single-layer MoO3 nanostructures on Au(111)

Abstract MoO3 is an interesting oxide prototype because its catalytic activity is sensitive to the presence and nature of defects. In this work, we demonstrate that we can control the number of defects in single-layer MoO3 nanostructures grown on Au(1 1 1) by a thermal reduction treatment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrates the formation of Mo5+ species and oxygen vacancies during annealing at 650 K. The percentage of Mo5+ increases with the duration of annealing, until a stable composition containing 50% Mo6+ and 50% Mo5+ is obtained. Surprisingly, the formation of lower oxidation states such as Mo4+ was not observed. The reduced MoOx islands remain one layer high, based on scanning tunneling microscope (STM) images. The two-dimensional nature of the reduced oxide nanocrystals may be due to a large barrier for structural reorganization and, thus, may account for the absence of Mo oxidation states lower than +5. Based on scanning tunneling microscopy images and density functional calculations, we propose that the formation of Mo5+ ions during annealing is not associated with formation of oxygen point defects, but can be attributed to the formation of extended one-dimensional shear defects. These reduced structures are useful for studying the dependence of reactivity on defect type, and present exciting possibilities for chemical sensors and other applications.
Embryonic mortality caused by maternal heat stress during mouse oocyte maturation

Abstract The effects of maternal hyperthermia during meiotic maturation were studied in oocytes and foetal mice. Heat stress was induced by exposure to 35 ± 1°C and 65 ± 3% RH for 12.5 h. Embryos of uniform chronological age were produced by pairing with non-stressed males for a limited mating period. The morphology and cytogenetic constitution of oocytes were analysed and correlated. Meiotic maturation was disrupted in 39.8% of analysable ova of heat-stressed females. Heat-stressed ova stopped maturing at diakinesis-metaphase I in 4% and polar body chromosomes were retained in 2% of treated ova. Oocytes with atypical morphology were almost always (r=0.96) cytogenetically aberrant. At 19 days of gestation, pre-implantation losses were increased (16.2% for heat-stressed vs. 4.9% for control), but the greatest increase in embryo mortality occurred soon after implantation (34.4% for heat-stressed vs. 11.7% for control), indicating induction of dominant lethal mutations. Individual response to stress was highly variable, ranging from total pre-implantation loss (10 animals) to control levels. Heat-stressed dams with implantations produced only 67% as many foetuses as the control dams. This suggests that genetic aberrations are induced in maturing oocytes by maternal heat stress of short duration and that these alterations do not cause immediate loss of ova or embryos. Instead, a large proportion of the ova produced embryos capable of implantation but not capable of continued development. These large embryo losses result in increased numbers of pregnancies that would be uneconomical to maintain in agricultural species.
The SIRTF Mission

This paper describes the scientific and technical background and prospects for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). SIRTF is a cryogenically-cooled, one meter-class space telescope which will be operated by NASA as an observatory for infrared astronomy, in the mid-1990's. SIRTF will build on the scientific and technical success of IRAS, but will have greater capabilities in all important scientific areas - wavelength coverage, spectral and spatial resolution, and sensitivity. SIRTF will provide detailed studies of even the faintest IRAS sources, important new capabilities for the study of known astrophysical phenomena, and the potential to make new and unexpected discoveries about the nature of the Universe. SIRTF will be a long-life observatory and will support a vigorous general investigator program accessible to the international scientific community. The long-life SIRTF mission has undergone intensive review by the SIRTF Science Working Group, which was selected in mid-1984. In this paper, we present the outcome of that review process and describe the SIRTF program as it is now envisioned. Particular emphasis will be placed on the choice of orbit for SIRTF, the SIRTF scientific performance requirements and the baseline design concept for the SIRTF facility and mission.