cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Efficient Pose Clustering Using a Randomized Algorithm

Pose clustering is a method to perform object recognition by determining hypothetical object poses and finding clusters of the poses in the space of legal object positions. An object that appears in an image will yield a large cluster of such poses close to the correct position of the object. If there are m model features and n image features, then there are O(m^3n^3) hypothetical poses that can be determined from minimal information for the case of recognition of three-dimensional objects from feature points in two-dimensional images. Rather than clustering all of these poses, we show that pose clustering can have equivalent performance for this case when examining only O(mn) poses, due to correlation between the poses, if we are given two correct matches between model features and image features. Since we do not usually know two correct matches in advance, this property is used with randomization to decompose the pose clustering problem into O(n^2) problems, each of which clusters O(mn) poses, for a total complexity of O(mn^3) . Further speedup can be achieved through the use of grouping techniques. This method also requires little memory and makes the use of accurate clustering algorithms less costly. We use recursive histograming techniques to perform clustering in time and space that is guaranteed to be linear in the number of poses. Finally, we present results demonstrating the recognition of objects in the presence of noise, clutter, and occlusion.
BLAM: an energy-aware MAC layer enhancement for wireless adhoc networks

In wireless adhoc networks, channel and energy capacities are scarce resources. However, the design of the IEEE 802.11 DCF protocol leads to an inefficient utilization of these resources. We introduce BLAM, a new battery level aware MAC protocol, which is developed from an energy-efficiency point of view to extend the useful lifetime of an adhoc network. We modify the IEEE 802.11 DCF protocol to enable BLAM to tune the random deferring time for fresh and collided data packets dynamically, based on the node's energy. We show that BLAM can achieve an increase of 15% in network lifetime and an increase of about 35% in the total number of received packets.
Principles of Effective Course Design: What I Wish I Had Known About Learning-Centered Teaching 30 Years Ago

Ten years ago, after 20 years as a university professor, I was asked to direct the teaching and learning support center at my university. I quickly realized I had almost no knowledge of the published scholarship on this subject. From my reading of this literature, I found the research on the predictors of student learning particularly informative. In particular, I gained an appreciation for the impact of course design. In this article, I summarize a framework for designing “significant learning experiences.” In discussing the three key components of course design (learning outcomes, learning activities, and learning assessments), I offer tips and give examples relevant for the field of management. My intent is to share the most important information I have learned from a decade of conversations with experts on student learning—the things I wish someone had taught me 30 years ago.
Laparoscopic management of an intramural pregnancy

Intramural pregnancy is one of the rarest forms of ectopic pregnancy, with only 16 cases reported thus far. The diagnosis is almost invariably retrospective after hysterectomy. I believe this is the first documented case of an intramural pregnancy diagnosed and managed by surgical laparoscopy.
Anti-TNF-alpha therapies do not increase early postoperative complications in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. An Italian single-center experience

Purpose The impact of preoperative use of TNF-alpha inhibitors on postoperative complications in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) undergoing abdominal surgery is controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the 30-day postoperative outcomes for IBD patients treated with these drugs prior to surgery.
The Tyranny of Diagnosis: Specific Entities and Individual Experience

The articulation and acceptance of specific disease entities constitute one of the most important intellectual and cultural events of the past two centuries. This notion is central to how we organize health care delivery, think about ourselves, debate and formulate social policy, and define and manage deviance. Diagnosis is indispensable to linking specific disease concepts with doctor and patient and the social and economic institutions shaping such clinical interactions. Disease is a social entity, not an array of ideal types. The history of medicine is partly the story of how disease entities have become social entities, accumulating the flesh of diagnostic and therapeutic practice, social expectation, and bureaucratic reification. Despite criticism of reductionist medicine in the West and less focus on disease entities and mechanisms, our social response still depends on this concept of sickness. But this concept can no longer remain invisible if we are to understand contemporary medicine as both a social and a technological system.
Estimated net transcapillary water and protein flux in the liver and intestine of patients with portal hypertension from hepatic cirrhosis.

Abstract Net transcapillary (lymphatic) water, total protein, and albumin fluxes (expressed as plasma clearances into lymph) from the liver and intestine were estimated in 25 patients with hepatic cirrhosis and portal hypertension undergoing abdominal operation from a "mixture formula" (see text) based on direct measurement of thoracic duct lymph flow and protein content of plasma, liver, intestinal, and thoracic duct lymph. In the digestive tract, increased water flux (4.20 ± 0.88 ml/min, mean ± SE) was unaccompanied by increased protein leakage (0.42 ± 0.10 ml/ min) (r = 0.22), whereas in the cirrhotic liver, protein flux (1.82 ± 0.44 ml/min) closely paralleled water movement (2.8 ± 0.59 ml/min) (r = 0.95) but with persistence of permselectivity. These findings point to a predominant dissipative process of protein transport (diffusion or vesicular turnover) in the splanchnic capillary network and a primarily convective process (solvent drag) in the hepatic sinusoidal microcirculation. Further, splanchnic capillaries and hepatic sinusoids apparently resist "stretching" even under the rigor of long-standing portal hypertension, and heightened capillary permeability is not a significant factor in the pathogenesis of cirrhotic ascites.
Tricuspid Valve Surgery in Right Heart Failure

Tricuspid valve disease is often found in combination with other valvular pathology. Tricuspid regurgitation (TR), the most common tricuspid valvular condition, is commonly asymptomatic, although progressive, in nature. With time, it may lead to right ventricular (RV) enlargement, annular dilatation, and systolic dysfunction. Clinical symptoms and the degree of RV impairment usually determine whether medical or surgical therapy is most appropriate. However, operative intervention should be carefully considered; there is an unusually high mortality rate associated with tricuspid valve surgery, ranging from 19 to 25% (1, 2, 3). In this chapter, we review the pathophysiology and surgical therapy of the tricuspid valve for the management of RV failure.
Low-cost compute clusters in virtualized lab environments

In this paper we demonstrate and evaluate a method of creating a small compute cluster within a virtualized lab environment. Our goal is to create an easily managed, highly adaptable lab environment that simultaneously supports an undergraduate computer lab and a low-cost research compute cluster. The overall result is a demonstrated compute cluster benchmarked at 60 Gflops with a classroom lab of near-native performance Windows XP workstations.
More Credit, More Problems? Federal Student Loan Limits and Education Outcomes

The Federal Stafford loan program is the largest source of financial aid to students who attend college in the United States. Here we utilize the increase in Stafford loan limits that occurred between 2006 and 2008 to identify how a pooled cross-section of first-time freshmen at the University of North Dakota (UND) responded to an increase in the availability of credit. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we examine how borrowing, the composition of credit, and student outcomes were impacted by the policy changes. The student body at UND provides a unique opportunity to examine the treatment effects of these policies, as we are able to isolate the impact of macroeconomic fluctuations on borrowing due to the strength and stability of North Dakota’s economy during the period. Freshmen are shown here to substitute an increase in their borrowing through Stafford loans with a partial reduction in borrowing via private loans. Substitution is particularly strong among more credit constrained students. Interestingly, despite having access to more credit, student academic outcomes did not improve as a result of the changes, and in some cases worsened.
Analysis of Hantavirus carried by Rattus norvegicus in residential areas of Huludao

Objective To determine the prevalence of hantavirus in rodents based on surveillance data in residential areas of Huludao for the formulation of preventive and control strategies in humans. Methods Rodent cages were used to capture small mammals. Lung samples of the subjects were then taken for detection of Hantavirus antigens using indirect immunofluorescence assay(IFA) . Genotyping was conducted using RT-PCR. Results In 2005 and 2006,254 Rattus norvegicus,17 Mus musculus and 5 Apodemus agrarius were captured in nine residential areas and two wild fields in Huludao. The virus-carrying rates were 4.72% in R. norvegicus and 5.88% in M. musculus,respectively. Nine strains of Hantavirus were amplified using the RNA derived from the positive lung tissues of R. norvegicus. According to genotyping results,all were identified as Seoul virus(SEOV) . A strain of SEOV was also isolated. Hantavirus was not detected from M. musculus and A. agrarius. Conclusion R. norvegicus was the primary host of Hantavirus in residential areas of Huludao and all rodent-carrying Hantavirus strains were identified as SEOV.
Characterization of Hydride-Based Silica and Diamond Hydride Stationary Phases

Aqueous normal phase chromatography possesses characteristics of both normal phase (NP) and also reverse phase (RP) chromatography. It can retain polar as well as non-polar compounds by carefully selecting the concentration ratio of organic solvent to water in the mobile phase. Silica hydride columns contain only a small percentage of silanol groups which are polar in nature and have an effect on the separation process. Diamond hydride columns consist of a small amount (~2%) of carbon chemically bonded to a silica hydride surface. This research work characterized both hydride-based silica and diamond hydride stationary phases under isocratic and gradient conditions. Both columns were compared using the same conditions, and their efficiencies and symmetries were calculated. Diamond hydride showed different selectivity than the silica hydride column because of the 2% carbon on the silica hydride surface. This research work shows that both the silica hydride and diamond hydride columns can be used in aqueous normal phase conditions.
A Cavity-Backed Slot Radiator for Microwave Biologial Effect Research*

A compact, light weight cavity-backed slot radiator operating at 2450 MHz is described. The near field patterns and the axial energy density are presented as a function of distance from the slot.
Les cent derniers mètres : le Juste-à-Temps appliqué aux Grandes Surfaces

La performance du processus d’approvisionnement entre industriels des biens de consommations et la Grande Distribution s’est bien amelioree ces dernieres annees, notamment en entrepot. Mais elle trebuche toujours sur la question d’une haute disponibilite (>99%) des produits sur les etageres des magasins. Les 100 derniers metres, ceux qui separent le quai de reception du magasin du lineaire sont les plus difficiles a parcourir ! Cet article presente les defis auxquels les distributeurs doivent s’attaquer et propose une approche originale, plus basee sur l’amelioration de la reactivite du recompletement des sorties caisses, que sur celle de la prevision fine des ventes. Les resultats obtenus ont toujours ete tres superieurs aux situations preexistantes. Et ce modele n’est pas limite aux magasins « reels » : la capacite a offrir au consommateur un tres haut taux de service est devenue cruciale pour toutes les entreprises du monde Internet.
Proton resonances in /sup 28/Si from E/sub x/ = 13. 4 to 14. 5 MeV

The $^{27}\mathrm{Al}$(p,${\mathrm{p}}_{0}$), (p,${\mathrm{p}}_{1}$), (p,${\mathrm{p}}_{2}$), (p,${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{0}$), and (p,${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{1}$) excitation functions were measured at 90\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 105\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 135\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, and 160\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} in the range ${E}_{\mathrm{p}}=1.85\ensuremath{-}3.05$ MeV with an overall resolution of 350-400 eV full width at half maximum. Resonance parameters were extracted for 73 resonances with a multilevel, multichannel $R$-matrix analysis code; these parameters include resonance energy, total angular momentum, partial widths, and channel spin and orbital angular momentum mixing ratios. Eight analog states were identified, and the Coulomb displacement energies and spectroscopic factors were calculated. The values of the $s$-wave strength functions for $J=2 \mathrm{and} 3$ are ${S}_{J=2}=0.042$ and ${S}_{J=3}=0.012$. The spectroscopic strengths of the ${J}^{\ensuremath{\pi}}={4}^{\ensuremath{-}}, {5}^{\ensuremath{-}}, \mathrm{and} {6}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ particle-hole states are presented and compared with other results.
Identifying and 3D Displaying Poles and Zeros in Analog Circuit Transfer Functions: Bode Surfaces

A new technique is developed that extends the normal Bode plots from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, including the$$\sigma $$źaxis into the plots. By utilizing MATLAB, it is shown how the Bode plots of a transfer function in an analog circuit can turn into a 3D Bode surface. In general, a tool is developed that integrates WinSpice and MATLAB so that in a comprehensive AC analysis Bode surfaces are directly generated for any given circuit transfer function. The technique is shown to be ideal to identify, and hence subsequently to extract, the poles and zeros of a transfer function. The applications can be extended into exploring feedback theory, analog filter design and stability analysis of control systems in high-performance circuits. Examples particularly for analog CMOS circuits are worked out that demonstrate some of the capabilities of the tool.
Research on grid-connected performance test method for power converter of electrochemical energy storage

Based on the grid codes and normal operations requirements for power station of electrochemical energy storage, the grid-connected performance index and its laboratory testing method for power converter of electrochemical energy storage is given in this paper, which include active/reactive power control ability, power quality, grid-connected/islanded switch ability, low voltage ride through and charge/discharge control. By using the bidirectional DC source and typical electrochemical energy storage I-V curve, the test platform of power converter is built. The test and analysis of a 50kW power converter is carried out according to the mentioned indexes and methods. This test method is universal to all types of electrochemical energy storage converter. It provides the basis to establish unified and standardized grid-connected method for Power Converter of Electrochemical Energy Storage.
Monte Carlo Methods for Sensor Management in Target Tracking

Surveillance for multi-target detection, identification and tracking is one of the natural problem domains in which particle filtering approaches have been gainfully applied. Sequential importance sampling is used to generate and update estimates of the joint multi-target probability density for the number of targets, their dynamical model, and their state vector. In many cases there are a large number of degrees of freedom in sensor deployment, e.g., choice of waveform or modality. This gives rise to a resource allocation problem that can be formulated as determining an optimal policy for a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP). In this paper we summarize approaches to solving this problem which involve using particle filtering to estimate both posterior state probabilities and the expected reward for both myopic and multistage policies.
Quantitative analysis of (o, m, p) xylene in gasoline by THz-spectroscopy

The far-infrared spectra for selected compounds in gasoline have been investigated in the spectral range of 1.5-20 THz. Specific absorption bands of xylene isomers allowed the quantitative determination of individual xylene in gasoline. Total concentration of xylene isomers measured by THz spectroscopy is in good agreement with the literature.
An Interactive Retrieval Framework for Online Health Information

People and patients are increasingly using the internet to search for health information, but finding the right terms to search requires iterative search and query reformulation [1], which may be difficult for lay persons who do not have much medical knowledge. To solve the problem, we propose an interactive searching mechanism where resources are annotated using existing healthcare database and search result could be automatically updated based on users' feedback.
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of 38 Types of Ganglioside in Homoegneous Membrane Bilayers

Ganglioside is a membrane lipid in which the hydrophilic head group is a complex oligosaccharide containing one or more sialic acids. The oligosaccharides of the ganglioside extend out from the cell surface, interacting with various signaling molecules. Some of their functions include regulation of protein activities, recognition of specific molecules, and communication between cells. Gangliosides are especially abundant in the brain, with three times as much in grey as in white matter. It is believed that gangliosides are involved in pathological states such as cancer, Tay-Sachs disease, Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, et certera. To explore and understand the orientation, structure, and dynamics of gangliosides, molecular dynamics simulations on 38 different types of gangliosides in homogenous membrane bilayer (POPC) were performed. CHARMM-GUI was utilized to build the membrane bilayers, and a ganglioside was inserted in both the upper leaflet and the bottom leaflet, with three simulations for each ganglioside. Each system was ran for up to 50 ns and multiple analyses were ran. Through comparative analysis, the difference in properties and dynamics due to different glycan sequence will be studied. Future work includes running the simulation longer up to 200∼300 ns and assembling the information gathered through multiple analyses for greater understanding of gangliosides, which will aid in glycome studies.
Inequality and the health-care system in the USA

Summary Widening economic inequality in the USA has been accompanied by increasing disparities in health outcomes. The life expectancy of the wealthiest Americans now exceeds that of the poorest by 10–15 years. This report, part of a Series on health and inequality in the USA, focuses on how the health-care system, which could reduce income-based disparities in health, instead often exacerbates them. Other articles in this Series address population health inequalities, and the health effects of racism, mass incarceration, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Poor Americans have worse access to care than do wealthy Americans, partly because many remain uninsured despite coverage expansions since 2010 due to the ACA. For individuals with private insurance, rising premiums and cost sharing have undermined wage gains and driven many households into debt and even bankruptcy. Meanwhile, the share of health-care resources devoted to care of the wealthy has risen. Additional reforms that move forward, rather than backward, from the ACA are sorely needed to mitigate health and health-care inequalities and reduce the financial burdens of medical care borne by non-wealthy Americans.
Sensorimotor activity measured via oscillations of EEG mu rhythms in speech and non-speech discrimination tasks with and without segmentation demands.

Abstract Better understanding of the role of sensorimotor processing in speech and non-speech segmentation can be achieved with more temporally precise measures. Twenty adults made same/different discriminations of speech and non-speech stimuli pairs, with and without segmentation demands. Independent component analysis of 64-channel EEG data revealed clear sensorimotor mu components, with characteristic alpha and beta peaks, localized to premotor regions in 70% of participants. Time-frequency analyses of mu components from accurate trials showed that (1) segmentation tasks elicited greater event-related synchronization immediately following offset of the first stimulus, suggestive of inhibitory activity; (2) strong late event-related desynchronization in all conditions, suggesting that working memory/covert replay contributed substantially to sensorimotor activity in all conditions; (3) stronger beta desynchronization in speech versus non-speech stimuli during stimulus presentation, suggesting stronger auditory-motor transforms for speech versus non-speech stimuli. Findings support the continued use of oscillatory approaches for helping understand segmentation and other cognitive tasks.
Psychiatric symptom recognition without labeled data using distributional representations of phrases and on-line knowledge.

Abstract Objective Mental health is becoming an increasingly important topic in healthcare. Psychiatric symptoms, which consist of subjective descriptions of the patient’s experience, as well as the nature and severity of mental disorders, are critical to support the phenotypic classification for personalized prevention, diagnosis, and intervention of mental disorders. However, few automated approaches have been proposed to extract psychiatric symptoms from clinical text, mainly due to (a) the lack of annotated corpora, which are time-consuming and costly to build, and (b) the inherent linguistic difficulties that symptoms present as they are not well-defined clinical concepts like diseases. The goal of this study is to investigate techniques for recognizing psychiatric symptoms in clinical text without labeled data. Instead, external knowledge in the form of publicly available “seed” lists of symptoms is leveraged using unsupervised distributional representations. Materials and Methods First, psychiatric symptoms are collected from three online repositories of healthcare knowledge for consumers—MedlinePlus, Mayo Clinic, and the American Psychiatric Association—for use as seed terms. Candidate symptoms in psychiatric notes are automatically extracted using phrasal syntax patterns. In particular, the 2016 CEGS N-GRID challenge data serves as the psychiatric note corpus. Second, three corpora—psychiatric notes, psychiatric forum data, and MIMIC II—are adopted to generate distributional representations with paragraph 2 vec . Finally, semantic similarity between the distributional representations of the seed symptoms and candidate symptoms is calculated to assess the relevance of a phrase. Experiments were performed on a set of psychiatric notes from the CEGS N-GRID 2016 Challenge. Results & conclusion Our method demonstrates good performance at extracting symptoms from an unseen corpus, including symptoms with no word overlap with the provided seed terms. Semantic similarity based on the distributional representation outperformed baseline methods. Our experiment yielded two interesting results. First, distributional representations built from social media data outperformed those built from clinical data. And second, the distributional representation model built from sentences resulted in better representations of phrases than the model built from phrase alone.
Hospital Discharge Disposition of Stroke Patients in Tennessee

Objectives Early determination of hospital discharge disposition status at an acute admission is extremely important for stroke management and the eventual outcomes of patients with stroke. We investigated the hospital discharge disposition of patients with stroke residing in Tennessee and developed a predictive tool for clinical adoption. Our investigational aims were to evaluate the association of selected patient characteristics with hospital discharge disposition status and predict such status at the time of an acute stroke admission. Methods We analyzed 127,581 records of patients with stroke hospitalized between 2010 and 2014. Logistic regression was used to generate odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals to examine the factor outcome association. An easy-to-use clinical predictive tool was built by using integer-based risk scores derived from coefficients of multivariable logistic regression. Results Among the 127,581 records of patients with stroke, 86,114 (67.5%) indicated home discharge and 41,467 (32.5%) corresponded to facility discharge. All considered patient characteristics had significant correlations with hospital discharge disposition status. Patients were at greater odds of being discharged to another facility if they were women; older; black; patients with a subarachnoid or intracerebral hemorrhage; those with the comorbidities of diabetes mellitus, heart disease, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, arrhythmia, or depression; those transferred from another hospital; or patients with Medicare as the primary payer. A predictive tool had a discriminatory capability with area under the curve estimates of 0.737 and 0.724 for derivation and validation cohorts, respectively. Conclusions Our investigation revealed that the hospital discharge disposition pattern of patients with stroke in Tennessee was associated with the key patient characteristics of selected demographics, clinical indicators, and insurance status. These analyses resulted in the development of an easy-to-use predictive tool for early determination of hospital discharge disposition status.
Identifying Grey Sheep Users By The Distribution of User Similarities In Collaborative Filtering

Recommender Systems have been successfully applied to alleviate the information overload problem and assist the process of decision making. Collaborative filtering, as one of the most popular recommendation algorithms, has been fully explored and developed in the past two decades. However, one of the challenges in collaborative filtering, the problem of "Grey Sheep" user, is still under investigation. "Grey Sheep" users is a group of the users who have special tastes and they may neither agree nor disagree with the majority of the users. The identification of them becomes a challenge in collaborative filtering, since they may introduce difficulties to produce accurate collaborative recommendations. In this paper, we propose a novel approach which can identify the Grey Sheep users by reusing the outlier detection techniques based on the distribution of user-user similarities. Our experimental results based on the MovieLens 10M rating data demonstrate the ease and effectiveness of our proposed approach.
Importance of interlayer H bonding structure to the stability of layered minerals

Layered (oxy) hydroxide minerals often possess out-of-plane hydrogen atoms that form hydrogen bonding networks which stabilize the layered structure. However, less is known about how the ordering of these bonds affects the structural stability and solubility of these minerals. Here, we report a new strategy that uses the focused electron beam to probe the effect of differences in hydrogen bonding networks on mineral solubility. In this regard, the dissolution behavior of boehmite (γ-AlOOH) and gibbsite (γ-Al(OH)3) were compared and contrasted in real time via liquid cell electron microscopy. Under identical such conditions, 2D-nanosheets of boehmite (γ-AlOOH) exfoliated from the bulk and then rapidly dissolved, whereas gibbsite was stable. Further, substitution of only 1% Fe(III) for Al(III) in the structure of boehmite inhibited delamination and dissolution. Factors such as pH, radiolytic species, and knock on damage were systematically studied and eliminated as proximal causes for boehmite dissolution. Instead, the creation of electron/hole pairs was considered to be the mechanism that drove dissolution. The widely disparate behaviors of boehmite, gibbsite, and Fe-doped boehmite are discussed in the context of differences in the OH bond strengths, hydrogen bonding networks, and the presence or absence of electron/hole recombination centers.
Analysis of the superconducting transmission line

We calculate the conductor loss of a high Tc superconducting conductor backed coplanar waveguide. The inductance is calculated by the modified Spectral Domain Method(SDM). Then, the geometric factor is obtained by a numerical derivative of the inductance. This factor is used to calculate a conductor loss by the Phenomenological Equivalence Method(PEM).
A moment coboundary theorem for C[0,1]-valued random fields

Abstract K. Schmidt (1977) proved that if a strictly stationary sequence of real-valued random variables has the property that the family of distributions of its partial sums is tight, then the sequence is a coboundary, meaning that it is equal to the successive differences of another strictly stationary sequence. The result here is a coboundary-type theorem for C [ 0 , 1 ] -valued random fields (not necessarily stationary) that includes moment conditions.
Colorectal cancer and hypercholesterolemia: review of current research.

Aim In spite of ample research about a high level of cholesterol in the blood of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), the relationship between factors causing hypercholesterolemia and factors leading to CRC development is not fully investigated. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the current research about the risk factors leading to the development of hypercholesterolemia and CRC, and to show the relationship between these factors, hypercholesterolemia and CRC with the implication for CRC preventive and treatment practices. Methods A systematic search of MEDLINE and PUBMED databases between 1990 and 2005 was conducted to locate the studies that investigated the risk factors causing CRC and hypercholesterolemia. From among 255 studies found, 66 were selected that matched the following criteria for selection: (1) reported original research; (2) discussed at least one of the listed eight factors; (3) discussed hypercholesterolemia; and/or (4) discussed colon or rectum cancer. Results The studies were grouped according to four areas of research: (1) studies that explored the relationship between different factors and CRC incidences; (2) studies that investigated the relationship between different factors and CRC incidences and the role of mutations in causing CRC; (3) studies that looked at the factors causing hypercholesterolemia; and (4) studies that explored the relationship among the factors, hypercholesterolemia, and CRC development. A discussion of the studies is presented and the details related to the studies major aspects are summarized in 4 tables. Conclusion The review has revealed a relationship between factors that can lead to the development of CRC and those that lead to hypercholesterolemia. Although the role of many individual risk factors is still controversial the analysis of their significance in combination might be important for diagnostic and development of the models for prediction of cancer occurrence.
Manager Incentives in Collateralized Debt Obligations

This paper quantifies under-investment and asset substitution problems in the collateralized debt obligation or "CDO" market. CDOs are closed-end, actively-managed, highly leveraged bond funds. Using observed and historical default rates, I differentiate the costs of financial and agency-induced stress and weigh against effort benefits. For most parameterizations ex-ante effort benefits greatly outweigh risk-shifting costs. I also analyze various payout policies and covenants for their ability to curtail manager risk-shifting while not overly restricting effort. Excess interest diversions, contingent trading limits, and coverage test "haircuts" of lower-priced assets are effective measures and increase allowable leverage and equity returns.
THE INVESTIGATION OF OSCILLATORY PROCESSES BY PERTURBATION EXPERIMENTS I. THE DYNAMICAL INTERPRETATION OF PHASE SHIFTS

Publisher Summary The analysis of phase shifts resulting from discrete perturbation of biological rhythms has been developed. By these methods, important insights have been achieved into the entrainment behavior of neural and circadian rhythms, respectively. If not directly observable, the hypothetical oscillator projects a reliably periodic rhythm into some observable quantity. There is experimental access to a quantity affecting the oscillator. By manipulation of this quantity, the oscillator can be perturbed. Following perturbation, the observable rhythm is generally deranged, but eventually returns to its normal period. There remains an asymptotically constant residual phase shift with respect to a control not so perturbed. For example, limit-cycle oscillators, relaxation oscillators, and linear oscillators would behave in this fashion. Phase information is reliably transmitted after transients subside, at least as regards certain qualitative features of its dependence on parameters of perturbation.
Pyuria: Its Predictive Value of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Ambulatory Elderly Men

A total of 664 urine samples collected from 254 asymptomatic, ambulatory, elderly men was examined for pyuria with a standardized glass slide microscopy method. The presence or absence of more than 10 polymorphonuclear leukocytes per high power field was highly predictive of the presence or absence of significant bacteriuria, respectively. The determination of pyuria in this select population may be a useful and inexpensive test to screen for bacteriuria.
Monitoring of Cell Growth, Oxygen and pH in Microfermentors

We present a batch microfermentor with a working volume of 5 μl, with integrated sensors for the measurement of dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH. Growth of Escherichia coli cells is demonstrated in the batch microfermentors. The biomass is determined using measurements of optical density (OD). Growth behavior as well as the curves of DO and pH are comparable to results obtained from conventional 500 ml batch fermentors.
It's Time: The Case for a Veterans Studies Association

This is a commentary and call to action in which the author makes a case for establishing a scholarly association of veterans studies. After making his case, which includes a tentative infrastructure for governance, the author invites readers to respond by participating in a survey.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia: Definitions, Similarities and Differences

This commentary presents a simplified way of making the diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) using the 1994 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case definition. The format used can easily be modified for other case definitions. The commentary then discusses whether ME/CFS is the same or a different illness from fibromyalgia. Because overlap exists between the 2 syndromes, some investigators have posited that they are variants of the same illness. I have viewed this as an empirically testable hypothesis and have summoned considerable amounts of data that suggest that the 2 illnesses differ. Were differences to exist, that would suggest different pathophysiologic processes for each, leading to different treatments.
Bringing HIV Self-Testing to Scale in the United States: a Review of Challenges, Potential Solutions, and Future Opportunities

HIV self-testing (HIVST) provides an at-home option to counter the barriers that patients face with testing performed in health care settings. HIVST has gradually increased in popularity in a time when social media and technology-based solutions are preferred. In this paper, we consider the aspects of self-testing that merit its integration into HIV testing and prevention systems in the United States. Several elements favor self-testing for large-scale implementation, including ease of use, convenience, potential for integration with mobile health (mHealth), and availability for various modes of distribution. HIVST has a demonstrated ability to reach at-risk individuals who otherwise rarely test. The paradigm of self-testing, however, introduces new challenges, including lesser test performance relative to that in health care settings, nonstandard counseling following receipt of test results, and difficulty in providing linkage to care. After discussing the performance of oral fluid versus blood-based HIVST, we review data regarding acceptability of HIVST, offer insights into counseling and linkage to care for HIVST, and provide examples of novel applications of and future research directions for HIVST.
Peer Recognition of Disordered Eating Behaviors: Implications for Improving Awareness through Health Education

Background: Eating disorders (ED) are a concern on college campuses, yet comprehensive education and awareness is low. Few studies have investigated knowledge of disordered eating not fitting proto...
Early Predictors of Arteriovenous Fistula Maturation: A Novel Perspective on an Enduring Problem

Background Preoperative ultrasound mapping is routinely used to select vessels meeting minimal threshold diameters for surgical arteriovenous fistula (AVF) creation but fails to improve AVF maturation rates. This suggests a need to reassess the preoperative ultrasound criteria used to optimize AVF maturation. Methods We retrospectively identified 300 catheter-dependent patients on hemodialysis with a new AVF created between 2010 and 2016. We then evaluated the associations of preoperative vascular measurements and hemodynamic factors with unassisted AVF maturation (successful use for dialysis without prior intervention) and overall maturation (successful use with or without prior intervention). Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify preoperative factors associated with unassisted and overall AVF maturation. Results Unassisted AVF maturation associated with preoperative arterial diameter (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.50 per 1-mm increase; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.23 to 1.83), preoperative systolic BP (aOR, 1.16 per 10-mm Hg increase; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.28), and left ventricular ejection fraction (aOR, 1.07 per 5% increase; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.13). Overall AVF maturation associated with preoperative arterial diameter (aOR, 1.36 per 1-mm increase; 95% CI, 1.10 to 1.66) and preoperative systolic BP (aOR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.30). Using receiver operating curves, the combination of preoperative arterial diameter, systolic BP, and left ventricular ejection fraction was fairly predictive of unassisted maturation (area under the curve, 0.69). Patient age, sex, race, diabetes, vascular disease, obesity, and AVF location were not associated with maturation. Conclusions Preoperative arterial diameter may be an under-recognized predictor of AVF maturation. Further study evaluating the effect of preoperative arterial diameter and other hemodynamic factors on AVF maturation is needed.
Immunotherapy and chemotherapy combination for chest wall disease: TBCRC 044 trial.

TPS1114Background: Immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy is being studied in metastatic breast cancer, and may have durable outcomes. Chest wall recurrence represents a difficult to treat subtyp...
Interactions between nitrogen availability, bacterial communities, and nematode indicators of soil food web function in response to organic amendments

Abstract As an alternative to chemical fertilizers, growers routinely apply organic amendments to provide crop nutrition, but lack information on which combinations best increase nitrogen (N) availability rates and stimulate beneficial soil micro-organisms. The objectives of this study were to characterize how organic amendments and amendment combinations influenced 1) bacterial communities, 2) nematode communities and 3) N availability and plant growth. Dry amendments (pelleted poultry manure and compost) and liquid amendments (fish hydrolysate and food hydrolysate), were tested alone and combined in laboratory incubations and a greenhouse experiment. Pelleted poultry manure caused rapid increases of bacterial taxa associated with N cycling such as Nitrosospira, Pseudomonas, Pseudoxanthomonas and Flavobacterium as well as increases in opportunistic bacterial feeding nematodes such as Panagrolaimus. The abundance of many bacterial taxa, including some N cyclers, showed strong relationships with nematode genera and nematode indices of nutrient processing. Compost increased the prevalence of bacteria such as Chryseolinea, Sporocytophaga and Phenylobacterium, which are known to degrade complex C-compounds. Both liquid amendments caused slight changes in microbial communities. While pelleted poultry manure resulted in the highest net N availability and greatest plant growth compared to controls, compost reduced plant growth unless combined with liquid amendments. Results suggest that C:N ratio and C complexity influence nematode and bacterial community compositions as well as N availability, with implications for optimizing biologically based N cycling.
Association of Retinal Vascular Occlusion With Women Filling a Prescription for Female Hormone Therapy.

Importance Oral contraceptives have been associated with cardiovascular disease, ischemic stroke, venous thromboembolic disease, and breast cancer. Retinal vascular occlusions share the same risk factors as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Objective To determine whether filling a prescription of female hormone therapy (FHT) is associated with an increased risk of retinal artery occlusion (RAO) or retinal vein occlusions (RVO). Design, Setting, and Participants A multiple-cohort study was conducted using an administrative claims insurance database comparing women who filled a prescription for FHT with matched control individuals. Exclusion occurred for those enrolled for less than 2 years in the plan, with no prior ophthalmologic examination, with a history of a RAO/RVO, with systemic diseases/medications that affected estrogen levels, or a disease associated with an increased risk for thromboembolism. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was the incidence of a new diagnosis of RAO or RVO. Cox proportional hazard regression modeling with inverse probability of treatment weight was used to assess the hazard ratio (HR) for a new diagnosis of RAO or RVO relative to filling prescription for FHT. Subanalyses were conducted to stratify by age, race/ethnicity, diabetes, and hypertension. Results A total of 205 304 women who filled a prescription for FHT were matched to 755 462 control individuals. After inverse probability of treatment weight, the study cohort was a mean age of 47.2 years, 71% were White, 7% were Black, 6% were Hispanic, 3% were Asian, and 3% were unknown. There were 41 cases (0.01%) of RAO and 68 cases of RVO (0.02%) in the FHT cohort. In comparison, there were 373 cases of RAO (0.05%) and 617 cases of RVO (0.08%) in the control cohort. After inverse probability of treatment weight, Cox regression analysis showed no difference in hazard for RAO, RVO, or combined outcomes in the FHT cohort relative to the control cohort (RAO HR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.83-1.65;P = .36; RVO HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.82-1.39;P = .65; combined HR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.89-1.36;P = .37). Subanalyses that stratified by age, diabetes, and hypertension similarly showed no significant associations between the FHT prescription cohort and all outcomes. Conclusions and Relevance These findings suggest that filling a prescription for FHT, and presumably taking FHT, does not increase the risk of RAO or RVO. Such history may not be relevant in the evaluation of an individual with an RAO or RVO nor do our results support stopping FHT in an individual who develops an RAO or RVO.
Q’s the Boss: Gαq Regulates Gi-Mediated Calcium Release through PLCβ

Pfeil et al., (2020) examine the mechanism of Gi-stimulated Ca2+ release in cells and find an unexpected role for Gαq in Gβγ-dependent activation of phospholipase Cβ (PLCβ).
Materializations of Populism in Today’s Politics: Global Perspectives

Linking the first international scientific conference on populism in 1967 in London to state-of-the-art scholarly approaches, this historical-conceptual contribution traces the development of theories on populism and their varying departures, analyzing both common grounds and differences. The chapter examines the different strategies that populism pursues: the drawing of boundaries, the supposed orchestrating of the “authentic voice” of “the people” and anti-liberalism. These strategies are accompanied by anti-liberalism and a profound distrust in “traditional” media. The text discusses how, against this background, by developing counter-strategies the challenge of populism can be met and even countered.
Machine learning for occupant-behavior-sensitive cooling energy consumption prediction in office buildings

Abstract Building energy consumption prediction plays a key role in energy-efficiency decision making. With the advancement in data analytics, a number of machine learning-based building energy consumption prediction models have been developed in recent years. However, existing prediction models do not sufficiently take occupant behavior into account. Towards addressing this gap, this paper presents a machine-learning approach for predicting building energy consumption in an occupant-behavior-sensitive manner. In this approach, a model learns from a large set of energy-use cases that were modelled and simulated in EnergyPlus. The machine-learning prediction model was trained using a large dataset that includes 3-month hourly data for 5760 energy-use cases representing different combinations of building characteristics, outdoor weather conditions, and occupant behaviors. In developing the model, four machine-learning algorithms were tested and compared in terms of their prediction accuracy and computational efficiency: classification and regression trees (CART), ensemble bagging trees (EBT), artificial neural networks (ANN), and deep neural networks (DNN). The simulation results demonstrated the high impact of the variables considered in this study. For example, the highest energy-consuming case consumed over 3432 times more energy than the lowest-consuming case. Occupant behavior made a difference up to over 7 times in energy consumption. The DNN model with four hidden layers achieved 2.97% coefficient of variation (CV). Such high performance shows the potential of the proposed approach. The approach could help better understand the impact of occupant behavior on building energy consumption and identify opportunities for behavioral energy-saving measures.