cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Asymptotic analysis of the natural system modes of coupled bodies in the large-separation low-frequency regime

We examine the natural system modes (characteristic frequencies and currents) of two coupled bodies in the limit of large separation. It is known that when objects are oriented such that they may interact electromagnetically, natural modes of the coupled system occur. These modes differ from, but may be related to, the natural modes of the isolated bodies. For example, the first antisymmetric and symmetric system frequencies of two identical bodies separated by some intermediate distance spiral around the dominant natural frequency of the isolated body as separation is varied. As separation further increases, these system resonances tend toward the origin in the complex frequency plane, rather than approaching the isolated body-dominant natural frequency. Here we treat an N-body scattering problem in the limit of large separation by replacing the bodies with equivalent dipole moments. The natural frequencies are obtained as singular points in the scattering solution. For the special case of two coupled objects, a simple equation for the natural system frequencies is obtained that shows that the real radian-system frequency approaches the origin as 1/r, independent of the relative orientation and type of the two bodies. The damping coefficient approaches the origin approximately logarithmically as a function of the body orientation and type. Using this formulation, the natural system modes of two coupled wires are investigated for large separation between the wires and compared to an integral equation solution.
Multi-Country analysis of palm oil consumption and cardiovascular disease mortality for countries at different stages of economic development: 1980-1997

Background: Cardiovascular diseases represent an increasing share of the global disease burden. There is concern that increased consumption of palm oil could exacerbate mortality from ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke, particularly in developing countries where it represents a major nutritional source of saturated fat. Methods: The study analyzed country-level data from 1980-1997 derived from the World Health Organization’s Mortality Database, U.S. Department of Agriculture international estimates, and the World Bank (234 annual observations; 23 countries). Outcomes included mortality from IHD and stroke for adults aged 50 and older. Predictors included per-capita consumption of palm oil and cigarettes and per-capita Gross Domestic Product as well as time trends and an interaction between palm oil consumption and country economic development level. Analyses examined changes in country-level outcomes over time employing linear panel regressions with countrylevel fixed effects, population weighting, and robust standard errors clustered by country. Sensitivity analyses included further adjustment for other major dietary sources of saturated fat. Results: In developing countries, for every additional kilogram of palm oil consumed per-capita annually, IHD mortality rates increased by 68 deaths per 100,000 (95% CI [21-115]), whereas, in similar settings, stroke mortality rates increased by 19 deaths per 100,000 (95% CI [-12-49]) but were not significant. For historically high-income countries, changes in IHD and stroke mortality rates from palm oil consumption were smaller (IHD: 17 deaths per 100,000 (95% CI [5.3-29]); stroke: 5.1 deaths per 100,000 (95% CI [-1.2-11.0])). Inclusion of other major saturated fat sources including beef, pork, chicken, coconut oil, milk cheese, and butter did not substantially change the differentially higher relationship between palm oil and IHD mortality in developing countries. Conclusions: Increased palm oil consumption is related to higher IHD mortality rates in developing countries. Palm oil consumption represents a saturated fat source relevant for policies aimed at reducing cardiovascular disease burdens.
Microscopic Model for the Epitaxy of CaF2 ON Si(111)

The epitaxy of CaF2 on Si(111) is characterized on an atomic scale using various photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. We find both F and Ca bonding to Si with Ca forming most of the interface bonds. The bonding orbital is found at 1.5 eV below the valence band maximum of Si. It consists of the Si3p-like dangling bond orbital and the 4s electron of Ca1+. Ca has changed its oxidation state at the interface from Ca2+ to Ca1+, which is demonstrated by the multiplet structure of the Ca 2p absorption edge. The electronic properties of the CaF2 interface layer are altered dramatically relative to bulk material, with the band gap shrinking from 12 eV to about 2 eV. Such strong effects raise prospects for creating new materials in the vicinity of an interface.
Additive Attenuation of Virulence of Streptococcus pneumoniae by Mutation of the Genes Encoding Pneumolysin and Other Putative Pneumococcal Virulence Proteins

Although the polysaccharide capsule of Streptococcus pneumoniae has been recognized as a sine qua non of virulence, much recent attention has focused on the role of pneumococcal proteins in pathogenesis, particularly in view of their potential as vaccine antigens. The individual contributions of pneumolysin (Ply), the major neuraminidase (NanA), autolysin (LytA), hyaluronidase (Hyl), pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA), and choline-binding protein A (CbpA) have been examined by specifically mutagenizing the respective genes in the pneumococcal chromosome and comparing the impact on virulence in a mouse intraperitoneal challenge model. Mutagenesis of either the ply, lytA, or pspA gene in S. pneumoniae D39 significantly reduced virulence, relative to that of the wild-type strain, indicating that the respective gene products contribute to pathogenesis. On the other hand, mutations in nanA, hyl, or cbpA had no significant impact. The virulence of D39 derivatives carrying a ply deletion mutation as well as an insertion-duplication mutation in one of the other genes was also examined. Mutagenesis of either nanA or lytA did not result in an additional attenuation of virulence in the ply deletion background. However, significant additive attenuation in virulence was observed for the strains with ply-hyl, ply-pspA, and ply-cbpA double mutations.
Functional Disconnection of Frontal Cortex and Visual Cortex in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

BACKGROUND: Current pathophysiologic models of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) suggest that impaired functional connectivity within brain attention networks may contribute to the disorder. In this electroencephalographic (EEG) study, we analyzed cross-frequency amplitude correlations to investigate differences in cue-induced functional connectivity in typically developing children and children with ADHD. METHODS: Electroencephalographic activity was recorded in 25 children aged 8 to 12 years (14 with ADHD) while they performed a cross-modal attention task in which cues signaled the most likely (.75 probability) modality of an upcoming target. The power spectra of the EEG in the theta (3-5 Hz) and alpha (8-12 Hz) bands were calculated for the 1-sec interval after the cue and before the target while subjects prepared to discriminate the expected target. RESULTS: Both groups showed behavioral benefits of the predictive attentional cues, being faster and more accurate for validly cued targets (e.g., visual target preceded by a cue predicting a visual target) than to invalidly cued targets (e.g., visual target preceded by a cue predicting an auditory target); in addition, independent of cue-target validity, typical children were faster to respond overall. In the typically developing children, the alpha activity was differentially modulated by the two cues and anticorrelated with midfrontal theta activity; these EEG correlates of attentional control were not observed in the children with ADHD. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide neurophysiological evidence for a specific deficit in top-down attentional control in children with ADHD that is manifested as a functional disconnection between frontal and occipital cortex.
2004 HES Presidential Address: Autobiographical Memory and the Historiography of Economics

In his autobiographical piece, “A Jevonian Seditionist,” Sidney Weintraub ([1983]1989, p. 50) recalled that in 1957 he sent an offprint of his paper on the micro-foundations of aggregate supply to D. H. Robertson. He remembered that “Robertson generously wrote me that it was ‘lucid and definitive,’ and that thenceforth he would not return to the subject again. I confess that I have lost or misplaced his letter, along with the one by [Alan] Sproul, in my move to Canada, though they were prized possessions.” And I have my own memory of a conversation with Sidney in which he told me that Robertson had written in that letter “If this is not what Keynes meant, it is what he should have meant.”
Contribution of intermediate filaments to cell stiffness

The contribution of intermediate filaments to the steady state mechanical response of adherent cells was assessed by measuring stiffness in wild-type and vimentin deficient fibroblasts using magnetic twisting cytometry. It was found that in the given range of applied stress, the wild-type cells exhibited greater stiffening than the vimentin-deficient cells. This shows that intermediate filaments contribute to strain-induced stiffening response of adherent cells.
Medical Research and Intangible Harm

Although conventional wisdom assumes that human subjects participating in medical research face significant risk of pain, disability, and death, evidence suggests that, in the aggregate, research subjects fare as well therapeutically as patients with similar conditions not participating in clinical trials. Research subjects do, however, face unappreciated risk of intangible harm, even if not physically injured, such as affronts to dignitary interests. This Article considers whether the intangible hazards faced by subjects should be cognizable under the law to a greater degree. A more flexible approach has considerable advantages, including helping to police opportunistic conduct in the investigator-subject relationship, but also raises difficult drawbacks, such as pragmatic problems in defining boundaries for intangible harm claims and possible over-deterrence. This Article balances the competing considerations and suggests a limited, incremental approach to recognizing intangible harm claims in medical research. In particular, this Article contends that intangible harm remedies are best used to address abandonment hazards, such as when investigators and sponsors readily frustrate and potentially exploit subjects' assumptions regarding study terminations and continued access to experimental technology. Similarly, subjects may be wrongfully abandoned, even if not physically injured, when the study fails to contribute to general medical knowledge through the public dissemination of research results. Because such abandonment conduct disgregards subjects' reasonable expectations and considerable personal investments in clinical trials, and raises serious concerns for the research enterprise generally, it warrants sanction as legally cognizable harm.
DbHAaaS: Database High Availability as a Service

Database (DB) system applies "Undo" and/or "Redo" operations to recover the DB from a failure. The system uses "Checkpoint" operation to reduce the overall recovery time. The architecture of the cloud makes it possible to eliminate the effect of system failure by always taking the DB to the next consistent state. We present a novel scheme of eliminating the effect of such failure. Thus, in our system a transaction always commits irrespective of system failure. We refer to our system as AAP (Always Ahead Processing). We have made transaction execution persistent by combining together transaction execution and transaction failure and its subsequent recovery as one seamless operation eliminating system downtime during recovery. The end result is a DB system with high availability and fault-tolerance. Our work enables cloud providers to offer transactional HA-DBMS as an option that too with multiple data sources not necessarily relational.
Caste determination inNeotermes jouteli (Banks)

Studies of the mechanism of caste determination in termites were carried out on the southern Florida Kalotermitid,Neotermes jouteli (Banks). It was found that pseudergates of this species can respond to isolation by rapid and extensive production of supplementary reproductives (SRs). Similarly, soldier production was found in groups from which this caste was removed.
The Sieved Slake Durability Test

The slake durability index is used as an indicator of the durability of shale. Numerous modifications of the slake durability index test method have been proposed in an attempt to overcome some of its shortcomings. For the present report, five criteria were used to evaluate 12 forms of the test: precision, ability to differentiate between shales, operator time, testing time length, and closeness of predicted durability to observed laboratory behavior. Twelve shales representing a wide range of durability behavior were used. It was concluded that initially oven-dried specimens should be cycled twice for 10 minutes each at 20 rpm in a rotating mesh drum and passed through graduated sieves at the end of the second cycle. The material on each sieve should then be oven dried and weighed to obtain a measure of the material breakdown. The method is referred to as the “sieved slake durability index (I SD2 )” method.
The Delta Connectome: A network-based framework for studying connectivity in river deltas

Abstract Many deltas, including the Mississippi River Delta, have been losing land at fast rates compromising the safety and sustainability of their ecosystems. Knowledge of delta vulnerability has raised global concern and stimulated active interdisciplinary research as deltas are densely populated landscapes, rich in agriculture, fisheries, oil and gas, and important means for navigation. There are many ways of looking at this problem which all contribute to a deeper understanding of the functioning of coastal systems. One aspect that has been overlooked thus far, yet fundamental for advancing delta science is connectivity, both physical (how different portions of the system interact with each other) as well as conceptual (pathways of process coupling). In this paper, I propose a framework called Delta Connectome for studying connectivity in river deltas based on different representations of a delta as a network. After analyzing the classic network representation as a set of nodes (e.g., bifurcations and junctions or regions with distinct physical or statistical behavior) and links (e.g., channels), I show that from connectivity considerations the delta emerges as a leaky network that continuously exchanges fluxes of matter, energy, and information with its surroundings and evolves over time. I explore each network representation and show through several examples how quantifying connectivity can bring to light aspects of deltaic systems so far unexplored and yet fundamental to understanding system functioning and informing coastal management and restoration. This paper serves both as an introduction to the Delta Connectome framework as well as a review of recent applications of the concepts of network and connectivity to deltaic systems within the Connectome framework.
Value of Homlium∶YAG laser lithotripsy on treating ureteral complicated calculi (Report of 56 cases)

Objective:To evaluate the therapeutic effect and safety of Homlium∶YAG laser on endoscopic treatment of ureteral complicated calculi.Methods:From December 2003 to December 2005,56 cases with complicated ureteral calculi were viewed which were treated with Homlium∶YAG laser endoscopy.All 56 cases have hydronephrosis.Among them,12 cases with ureteral stricture,27 cases with polypus,9 cases with polypus-surrounding caculi,8 cases with caculi setting into ureter,24 cases fail of ESWL,5 cases with history of ureterolithotomy and 6 cases with bilateral ureteral caculi and renal hypofunction.Results:94.6%(53/56)stones were fragmented in one treatment session.Complicatons were observed in 5.4%(3/56),perforation,caculi shift and failure of fragmentation.Conclusions:Treatment of complicated urinary stones with Homlium∶YAG laser has been safe,effective and invasive,and should be chosen as the primary method.
Dental repair material: a resin-modified glass-ionomer bioactive ionic resin-based composite

This report documents treatment and repair of three carious teeth that were restored with a new dental repair material that features the characteristics of both resin-modified glass-ionomer restorative cement (RMGI) and resin-based composite (RBC). The restorative products presented are reported by the manufacturer to be the first bioactive dental materials with an ionic resin matrix, a shock-absorbing resin component, and bioactive fillers that mimic the physical and chemical properties of natural teeth. The restorative material and base/liner, which feature three hardening mechanisms, could prove to be a notable advancement in the adhesive dentistry restorative materials continuum.
Autophagy and radiosensitization in cancer

Autophagy is a natural self-degradative process by which cells eliminate misfolded proteins and damaged organelles. Autophagy has been shown to have multiple functions in tumor cells that may be dependent on the tumor type and the treatment conditions. Autophagy can have a cytoprotective role and be thought of as a survival mechanism or be cytotoxic in nature and mediate cell death. Radiation, one of the primary treatments for many different types of cancer, almost uniformly promotes autophagy in tumor cells. While autophagy produced in response to radiation is often considered to be cytoprotective, radiation-induced autophagy has also been shown to mediate susceptibility to radiation. This review addresses the complexity of autophagy in response to radiation treatment in three different cancer models, specifically lung cancer, breast cancer and glioblastoma. A deeper understanding of the different roles played by autophagy in response to radiation should facilitate the development of approaches for enhancing the therapeutic utility of radiation by providing strategies for combination treatment with unique radiosensitizers as well as preventing the initiation of strategies which are likely to attenuate the effectiveness of radiation therapy.
TU‐D‐201‐08: Experience Complying with The Joint Commission Element of Performance On Radiation Dose Index Monitoring

Purpose: A new Joint Commission element of performance effective July 2015 requires incidents where the radiation dose index exceeds a defined level be reviewed, analyzed and compared to external benchmarks. This work offers a comprehensive review of the CT exams in which the notification level was exceeded and the reason at one academic medical center. This review may help other institutions set reference levels at clinically relevant values. Methods: Radiation Dose Structured Reports from each of the 5 diagnostic CT scanners at our institution are automatically sent to our radiation dose index monitoring software platform, Radimetrics from Bayer Healthcare. Global notification levels for CTDIvol and DLP were configured in Radimetrics for head, chest and abdomen studies for 0–2 year old, 2–13 year old and adult age categories. Global CTDIvol notification levels were set lower than the AAPM recommended values. Additional notification levels were configured for specific protocols that do not use AEC or have better or limited image quality requirements. Notifications of exams exceeding the global or protocol specific notification levels were reviewed on an ongoing basis by a Qualified Medical Physicist and the reason(s) for the acquisition or exam exceeding the level recorded. Results: Out of 80 notifications for acquisitions or exams exceeding notification levels over an 8 month period, 72 occurred due to large patients or due to implants or external hardware in the scan range. Four instances of the incorrect protocol being selected were recorded and 4 instances of incorrect manual technique application were observed. Conclusion: Properly configured notification levels, even below those recommended by AAPM, produce few dose notifications on modern scanners using AEC and/or iterative reconstruction. Using SSDE instead of CTDI for notifications may provide more clinically relevant data on exams well above or below the clinical norm for dose and image quality. Mark P. Supanich: Global Informatics Advisory Board Member: Bayer HealthCare
Adjustment of husbands and wives to breast cancer.

PURPOSE The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore selected elements within the spousal relationship on fear of recurrence and emotional distress among women treated for breast cancer within the past 3 years and their husbands. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY Fifty-eight married couples completed questionnaires designed to investigate the association between three relationship elements and adjustment (fear of recurrence and emotional distress) among husbands and wives. The relationship elements investigated were 1) adaptability and cohesion of the couple; 2) perceptions of support from the spouse; and 3) communication about the illness. The influence of the wife's age, treatment, and time since treatment also were considered. RESULTS Both husbands and wives reported similar perceptions of dyadic functioning, level of support received from the spouse, and extent of communication about the illness. Interdependent elements within the couple relationship were associated with both fear of recurrence and emotional distress. Overall, the amount of communication about the illness explained the most variance in adjustment for both spouses, with communication increasing as fear of recurrence increased. There was some suggestion that current or past membership in a support group was related both to more communication by wives and to husbands' greater satisfaction with communication. For wives, age was the demographic variable most highly correlated with adjustment; the younger the wife, the greater was her fear of recurrence. Significant emotional distress was observed in a small subset of husbands. In addition, when either the husband or wife scored in the top 25% of the sample on fear of recurrence, the fear of recurrence score for the corresponding spouse was elevated in only two cases. This same pattern was true for emotional distress. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS This study adds to a growing body of information supporting the need to view women who have had breast cancer and their spouses as a unit. Four areas for heightened clinical assessment were noted; 1) greater fear of recurrence in younger women; 2) significant emotional distress in a small number of husbands; 3) the demonstration of compensation mechanisms by one spouse when the other is experiencing elevated fear of recurrence or emotional distress; and 4) an increased fear of recurrence in association with increased communication about the illness. Further investigation is necessary to determine whether communication between spouses is directed at problem solving or is an expression of emotional distress.
Cobalt Kβ valence-to-core X-ray emission spectroscopy: a study of low-spin octahedral cobalt(III) complexes

Kβ valence-to-core (V2C) X-emission spectroscopy (XES) has gained prominence as a tool for molecular inorganic chemists to probe the occupied valence orbitals of coordination complexes, as illustrated by recent evaluation of Kβ V2C XES ranging from titanium to iron. However, cobalt Kβ V2C XES has not been studied in detail, limiting the application of this technique to probe cobalt coordination in molecular catalysts and bioinorganic systems. In addition, the community still lacks a complete understanding of all factors that dictate the V2C peak area. In this manuscript, we report experimental cobalt Kβ V2C XES spectra of low-spin octahedral Co(III) complexes with different ligand donors, in conjunction with DFT calculations. Cobalt Kβ V2C XES was demonstrated to be sensitive to cobalt-ligand coordination environments. Notably, we recognize here for the first time that there is a linear correlation between the V2C area and the spectrochemical series for low-spin octahedral cobalt(III) complexes, with strong field π acceptor ligands giving rise to the largest V2C area. This unprecedented correlation is explained by invoking different levels of π-interaction between cobalt p orbitals and ligand orbitals that modulate the percentage of cobalt p orbital character in donor MOs, in combination with changes in the average cobalt–ligand distance.
Epidemiology of Skeletal Health in Type 1 Diabetes

The skeleton is adversely affected by type 1 diabetes (T1D). Patients with T1D of both sexes have an increased risk of fracture that begins in childhood and extends across the entire lifespan. T1D is characterized by mild to modest deficits in bone density, structure, and microarchitecture. Current evidence suggests that the observed bone deficits in T1D are the result of impaired bone formation rather than increased bone resorption. There is emerging data that bone quality is impaired in T1D, which may explain the findings that fracture risk is elevated out of proportion to the degree of bone mineral deficit. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the epidemiology of skeletal health in T1D. Given the high individual and societal burden of osteoporotic fracture, there is an urgent need to better understand the etiology of T1D-related bone disease so that clinical strategies to prevent fracture can be developed.
Protocol Biopsies: Utility and Limitations.

As both T cell and antibody–mediated rejection can have a subclinical phase, protocol biopsies provide an early opportunity to intervene before the onset of clinical allograft dysfunction. Protocol biopsies are usually done after reperfusion to establish baseline, between 3 and 6 months to identify subclinical rejection, and at 6-12 months to assess chronicity and persistent inflammation that have prognostic implication. Treatment of both subclinical T cell and antibody–mediated rejection prevents progression of rejection and development of interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy or transplant glomerulopathy. Although subclinical rejection has become less frequent in low-risk patients on triple immunosuppression containing tacrolimus, protocol biopsies may still be useful in selected population. Protocol biopsies are more likely to benefit patients at higher risk for rejection, including those who are highly sensitized, transplanted across donor-specific antibody barriers, or on calcineurin inhibitor/corticosteroids sparing regimens. Interstitial fibrosis on protocol biopsies, especially in conjunction with persistent inflammation, predicts lower allograft survival.
Central Schemes: A Powerful Black-Box Solver for Nonlinear Hyperbolic PDEs

Abstract We review a class of Godunov-type finite-volume methods for hyperbolic systems of conservation and balance laws—nonoscillatory central schemes. These schemes date back to 1950s, when the first-order Lax–Friedrichs scheme was introduced. The central Lax–Friedrichs scheme can be viewed as a simple alternative to the upwind Godunov scheme, which was also introduced in the 1950s. The main idea in the construction of both central and upwind first-order schemes is the same: use a global piecewise constant approximation of the solution at a certain time level and evolve it in time to the next time level exactly. The exact evolution is performed using the integral form of the studied system of PDEs. The difference is in one small detail—which is in fact not small at all—how to select the space–time control volume for the time evolution. The key idea in the construction of central schemes is to choose these control volume in such a way that no (localized) Riemann problems need to be solved at the evolution step. This makes central schemes particularly simple and universal numerical tool for general hyperbolic systems. On the other hand, central schemes are based on averaging the nonlinear waves rather than resolving them and thus they have larger numerical dissipation than their upwind counterparts. In order to increase the resolution achieved by central schemes, one has to increase their order. We describe how to design high-order nonoscillatory central schemes and also discuss how to further decrease their numerical dissipation without risking oscillations. The latter is achieved by utilizing some upwinding information (local speeds of propagation) within the framework of the Riemann-problem-solver-free central schemes and modifying the set of control volumes used for the time evolution. This leads to another type of central schemes—central-upwind schemes, whose derivation is reviewed in this work.
Caring for critically injured children: An analysis of 56 pediatric damage control laparotomies.

Background Injury is the leading cause of death in children under 18 years. Damage control principles have been extensively studied in adults but remain relatively unstudied in children. Our primary study objective was to evaluate the use of damage control laparotomy (DCL) in critically injured children. Methods An American College of Surgeons-verified Level 1 trauma center review (1996-2013) of pediatric trauma laparotomies was undertaken. Exclusion criteria included: age older than 18 years, laparotomy for abdominal compartment syndrome or delayed longer than 2 hours after admission. Demographics, mechanism, resuscitation variables, injuries, need for DCL, and outcomes were evaluated. Independent t test, Mann-Whitney U test, Fisher's exact test, and single-factor analysis of variance assessed statistical significance. Study endpoints were hospital survival and DCL complications. Results Of 371 children who underwent trauma laparotomy, the median age (IQR; LQ-UQ) age was 16 (5; 11-17) years. Most (73%) were male injured by blunt mechanism (65%). Fifty-six (15%) children (Injury Severity Score [ISS], 33 (25; 17-42), pediatric trauma score 5 (6; 2-8), penetrating abdominal trauma index score [PATI] 29 (32; 12-44)) underwent DCL after major solid organ (63%), vascular (36%), thoracic (38%) and pelvic (36%) injury. DCL patients were older (16.5 (4; 14-18) vs. 16 (7; 10-17)) and were more severely injured (ISS, 33 [25; 17-42] vs. 16 [16; 9-25]), requiring greater intraoperative packed red blood cell transfusion (8 [13; 3.5-16.5] vs. 1 (0; [0-1] units) than definitive laparotomy counterparts. Nonsurvivors arrived in severe physiologic compromise (base deficit, 17 [17; 8-25] vs. 7 [4; 4-8]), requiring more frequent preoperative blood product transfusion (67% vs. 10%) after comparable injury (ISS survivors, 36 [23; 18-41] vs. nonsurvivors 26 (7; 25-32), p = 0.8880). Fifty-five percent of DCL patients survived (length of stay, 26 [21; 18-39] days) requiring 3 (2; 2-4) laparotomies during 4 (6; 2-8) days until closure (fascial, 90%; vicryl/split thickness skin grafting, 10%). DCL complications (surgical site infection, 18%; dehiscence, 2%; enterocutaneous fistula, 2%) were analyzed. When stratified by age ( 0.05). After controlling for DCL, age, and gender, multivariate analysis indicated only ISS (odds ratio, 1.10 [95% confidence interval, 1.01 - 1.19], p = 0.0218) and arrival systolic blood pressure (odds ratio, 0.96 [95% confidence interval, 0.93-0.99], p = 0.0254) predicted mortality after severe injury. Conclusion DCL is a proven, lifesaving surgical technique in adults. This report is the first to analyze the use of DCL in children with critical abdominal injuries. With similar survival and morbidity rates as critically injured adults, DCL merits careful consideration in children with critical abdominal injuries. Level of evidence Therapeutic study, level IV.
A novel educational outreach approach to teach Hands-Only Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation to the public

Abstract Review The American Heart Association set goals in 2010 to train 20 million people annually in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and to double bystander response by 2020. These ambitious goals are difficult to achieve without new approaches. Methods The main objective is to evaluate a new approach to cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction using a self-instructional kiosk to teach Hands-Only CPR to people at a busy international airport. This is a prospective, observational study evaluating a new approach to teach Hands-Only CPR to the public from July 2013 to February 2016. The American Heart Association developed a Hands-Only CPR Kiosk for this project. We assessed the number of participants who viewed the instructional video and practiced chest compressions as well as the quality metrics of the chest compressions. Results In a 32-month period, there were 23 478 visits to the Hands-Only CPR Kiosk and 9006 test sessions; of those practice sessions, 26.2% achieved correct chest compression rate, 60.2% achieved correct chest compression depth, and 63.5% had the correct hand position. Conclusions There is noticeable public interest in learning Hands-Only CPR by using an airport kiosk and an airport is an opportune place to engage a layperson in learning Hands-Only CPR. The average quality of Hands-Only CPR by the public needs improvement and adding kiosks to other locations in the airport could reach more people and could be replicated in other major airports in the United States.
StoreRush: An Application-Level Approach to Harvesting Idle Storage in a Best Effort Environment

Abstract For a production HPC system where storage devices are shared between multiple applications and managed in a best effort manner, contention is often a major problem leading to some storage devices being more loaded than others and causing a significant reduction in I/O throughput. In this paper, we describe our latest efforts StoreRush to resolve this practical issue at the application level without requiring modification to the file and storage system. The proposed scheme uses a two-level messaging system to harvest idle storage via re-routing I/O requests to a less congested storage location so that write performance is improved while limiting the impact on read by throttling re-routing if deemed too much. An analytical model is derived to guide the setup of optimal throttling factor. The proposed scheme is verified against production applications Pixie3D, XGC1 and QMCPack during production windows, which very well demonstrated the effectiveness (e.g., up to 1.8x improvement in write) and scalability of our approach (up to 131,072 cores).
Physical activity, black carbon exposure, and DNA methylation in the FOXP3 promoter.

Physical activity is associated with improvement in lung function; however, pollution exposure during physical activity can lead to a transient reduction in lung function. This paradoxical relationship may be linked to altered T regulatory (Treg) cell activity, which increases with exercise and suppresses airway inflammation, but decreases in association with exposure to air pollution. To clarify these relationships, we investigated buccal cell DNA methylation of the forkhead box p3 (FOXP3) gene promoter, a proposed biomarker of Treg activity. We hypothesized that active urban children would have lower FOXP3 promoter methylation, associated with better lung function compared to non-active children. We also hypothesized that this relationship would be attenuated by high exposure to the air pollutant black carbon (BC). We performed a cross-sectional study of 135 children ages 9–14 who live in New York City. Activity was measured across 6 days. BC exposure was assessed by personal monitors worn for two 24-h periods, followed by lung function assessment. Buccal swabs were collected for DNA methylation analysis of three regions (six CpG sites) in the FOXP3 promoter. In multivariable regression models, overall, there was no significant relationship between physical activity and FOXP3 promoter methylation (p > 0.05). However, in stratified analyses, among children with higher BC exposure (≥1200 ng/m3), physical activity was associated with 2.37% lower methylation in promoter 2 (CpGs −77, −65, and −58) (β estimate = −2.37%, p < 0.01) but not among those with lower BC exposure (β estimate = 0.54%, p > 0.05). Differences across strata were statistically significant (p interaction = 0.04). Among all children, after controlling for BC concentration, promoter 2 methylation was associated with reduced FEV1/FVC (β estimate = −0.40%, p < 0.01) and reduced FEF25–75% (β estimate = −1.46%, p < 0.01). Physical activity in urban children appeared associated with lower FOXP3 promoter methylation, a possible indicator of greater Treg function, under conditions of high BC exposure. Reduced FOXP3 promoter methylation was associated with higher lung function. These findings suggest that physical activity may induce immunologic benefits, particularly for urban children with greater risk of impaired lung function due to exposure to higher air pollution. FOXP3 promoter buccal cell methylation may function as a useful biomarker of that benefit.
Fatty acid changes in liver and plasma lipid fractions after safflower oil was fed to rats deficient in essential fatty acids.

1. Fatty acid patterns of liver and plasma triglycerides, phospholipids and cholesteryl esters were determined at intervals during 24hr. after essential fatty acid-deficient rats were given one feeding of linoleate (as safflower oil). 2. Liver triglyceride, phospholipid and cholesteryl ester fatty acid compositions did not change up to 7hr. after feeding. Between 7 and 10hr., linoleic acid began to increase in all fractions, but arachidonic acid did not begin to rise in the phospholipid until 14–19hr. after feeding. 3. Oleic acid and eicosatrienoic acid in liver phospholipid began to decline at about the time that linoleic acid increased, i.e. about 9hr. before arachidonic acid began to increase. 4. Changes in linoleic acid, arachidonic acid and eicosatrienoic acid in phosphatidylcholine resembled those of the total phospholipid. Phosphatidylethanolamine had a higher percentage content of arachidonic acid before the linoleate was given than did phosphatidylcholine, and after the linoleate was given the fatty acid composition of this fraction was little changed. 5. The behaviour of the plasma lipid fatty acids was similar to that of the liver lipids, with changes in linoleic acid, eicosatrienoic acid and arachidonic acid appearing at the same times as they occurred in the liver. 6. The results indicated that linoleic acid was preferentially incorporated into the liver phospholipid at the expense of eicosatrienoic acid and oleic acid. The decline in these fatty acids apparently resulted from their competition with linoleic acid for available sites in the phospholipids rather than from any direct replacement by arachidonic acid.
Abstract P238: Snf1-Related Kinase Is a Novel Regulator of Cardiomyocyte Metabolism

Background: Snf1-related Kinase (SNRK) is a serine/threonine kinase with sequence homology to AMP-activated kinase (AMPK). We have found that SNRK is upregulated in hearts from patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, but the function of SNRK has not been studied in cardiomyocytes. Since previous gene array data show that SNRK alters expression of metabolic genes, we determined whether SNRK regulates cardiomyocyte metabolism. Results: SNRK downregulation reduced ATP levels by 23.34% in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes compared to nonsilencing siRNA, and SNRK overexpression increased ATP by 20.67% compared to GFP control. SNRK knockdown reduced baseline oxygen consumption rate (OCR) by 23.69%, and by 54.53% with the mitochondrial uncoupler carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP). SNRK overexpression increased OCR by 9.57% with CCCP. Mitochondrial content was unchanged as measured by mitochondrial DNA and cardiolipin staining. However, tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester (TMRE) staining was increased by SNRK, suggesting that SNRK maintains mitochondrial membrane potential. Furthermore, the extracellular acidification rate was reduced 19.47% with SNRK knockdown and increased 12.57% with overexpression, signifying enhanced glycolytic flux. SNRK also increased lactate levels and mRNA of the glycolytic proteins hexokinase I and II. Glucose uptake increased 29.61% with SNRK overexpression, and expression of glucose transporters GLUT1 and GLUT4 was also increased, demonstrating an increase in cellular glucose import. Glycogen was also decreased 40.69% with SNRK knockdown and increased 46.03% with overexpression, demonstrating that SNRK reduces storage of glucose into glycogen. Additionally, OCR with palmitate over baseline was reduced 43.56% with SNRK downregulation and increased 285.6% with overexpression, suggesting enhanced fatty acid oxidation. Phosphorylation of acetyl-coA carboxylase was also increased by SNRK. Fatty acid uptake, however, was unchanged. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that SNRK increases ATP and oxygen consumption through augmented mitochondrial membrane potential, glucose utilization, and fatty acid oxidation. These findings reveal SNRK as a major modulator of cardiomyocyte metabolism.
Designing Cooperation: Agency Design, Credible Commitment and Regulatory Compliance

To cultivate optimal compliance levels, regulatory officers can engage in "cooperative enforcement" to signal their willingness to tradeoff minor violations for firms' willingness to address major ones. The promise of cooperative enforcement, however, is risky for firms in the absence of a credible commitment device that lowers the likelihood of an agency reneging on its pledge. I argue that agency design choices on two dimensions, regional scale and decentralization of authority, can ease firms' concerns by signaling an agency's intention to credibly commit itself to cooperative enforcement. To test this expectation, I use data on individual-firm compliance in air pollution control in each of the fifty U.S. states along with data on two agency design features to characterize the regulatory environment in each state agency's regional office. Results suggest that these design features operate jointly as commitment devices, securing higher cooperation among firms compared to any other institutional combination.
Victimization and Violence: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Child Sexual Abuse, Violence, and Delinquency.

Child sexual abuse (CSA) continues to be a major public health issue with significant short- and long-term consequences. However, little contemporary research has examined the relationship between ...
Cycle lengths in polytopal graphs

If G is a hamiltonian 3-polytopal graph with n vertices, G will be called almost pancyclic of order m (m ≥ 3, m < n) if G has cycles of all lengths other than m. Some constructions are given for 3-valent 3-polytopal graphs which are almost pancyclic of order m, and some related results and problems are discussed.
Management strategies for patients with brain metastases: has radiosurgery made a difference?

Background Brain metastases develop in up to 50% of all patients with cancer. The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare the outcomes for brain metastases patients treated with adjuvant whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) or stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Methods Between 1990 and 1995, 86 patients with brain metastases received external beam WBRT with a megavoltage beam at our center. Between January 2000 and July 2001, 48 patients with 84 tumors diagnosed as cerebral metastases were treated with SRS using the Leksell Gamma Knife. A comparative analysis of the outcomes in the two different groups was made to determine a possible statistically significant difference in survival. Results In the WBRT group, the median follow-up was 11 months. Thirty-nine patients (45.3%) experienced an improvement in neurologic status. The median overall survival was 5 months (range, 1-40 months). In the SRS group, the median follow-up for this group was 9 months. Thirty-four patients experienced an improvement in their neurologic signs and symptoms. The median survival was 12 months (range, 1-16 months). Conclusion SRS appears to be a safe and effective treatment option for those patients with a limited number of brain metastases and in patients with controlled or limited systemic disease.
Timing Matters: Early Post Traumatic Seizures in a Pediatric Population (P01.024)

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of early post traumatic seizures (EPTS) on outcomes in a pediatric population. BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often associated with seizure activity. Seizures occurring within minutes of TBI (“impact seizures”) may carry a better prognosis but EPTS (onset DESIGN/METHODS: Consecutive TBI admissions were prospectively enrolled at two academic medical centers. 87 of 92 patients were placed on continuous EEG monitoring for at least 12 hours. Outcomes were measured by the King9s Outcome Scale for Childhood Head Injury (KOSCHI). Clinical characteristics of the injury were collected. Statistical analyses were performed with R, version 2.15.1. RESULTS: 31 of 92 (34%) patients had at least one type of seizure with a clear onset time post-injury. 17 patients had seizures within one hour of injury and 14 had their first seizure after one hour. Those with first EPTS 1 hour post-injury had worse KOSCHI scores compared to patients without EPTS (p=0.04). There was also a significant relationship between EPTS onset >1 hour and TBI severity (p=0.02) and with injury mechanism (p=0.04, less likely due to falls). CONCLUSIONS: EPTS that began >1 hour after injury were related to greater TBI severity, injury mechanism and worse outcomes. Seizures that occurred within the first hour after head trauma were not associated with TBI severity, injury mechanism or worse short-term outcomes. Very early post-TBI seizure events may include impact seizures as well as non-epileptic events (such as brief posturing, syncope, etc), which are distinct from medically observed EPTS and have different prognostic implications. Supported by: National Epifellows Foundation, Thrasher Research Foundation, Today9s and Tomorrow9s Children Fund, Child Neurology Foundation/Winokur Family Foundation, UCLA Brain Injury Research Center. Disclosure: Dr. Su has nothing to disclose. Dr. McArthur has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lerner has nothing to disclose. Dr. Arndt has nothing to disclose. Dr. Matsumoto has nothing to disclose. Dr. Valino has nothing to disclose. Dr. Yudovin has nothing to disclose. Dr. Leung has nothing to disclose. Dr. Giza has received personal compensation for activities with Medical Education Speakers Bureau and Medicolegal consultation.
The 100,000 Lives Campaign: A scientific and policy review.

Article-at-a-Glance Background On June 14, 2006, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) announced that its campaign to save 100,000 lives had far surpassed its goal—by saving 122,300 lives. The Interventions Although many of the campaign's six "evidence-based practices" are supported by relatively strong evidence, the use of rapid response teams (the only intervention not already required or promoted by a major federal or Joint Commission initiative) is not. The “Lives Saved” Secular trends could account for many of the "lives saved," which IHI acknowledges (and could have adjusted for, resulting in a markedly lower "lives saved" estimate). Moreover, IHI's estimates of lives saved are dependent on the case-mix adjustment—accounting for nearly three out of four "lives saved." The actual mortality data were supplied without audit by the more than 3,000 participating hospitals, and 14% of the hospitals submitted no data at all. Policy Implications IHI established and promoted a set of achievable goals for American hospitals and generated unprecedented amounts of social pressure for hospitals to participate. This remarkable achievement should be studied by other organizations seeking to generate widespread change in the health care field. Conclusions Although the 100,000 Lives Campaign succeeded in catalyzing efforts to improve safety and quality in American hospitals, the promotion of rapid response teams as a national standard is problematic, and methodologic concerns regarding the "lives saved" calculations make it difficult to interpret the campaign's true accomplishments.