cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Propagation phenomena affecting satellite communication systems operating in the centimeter and millimeter wavelength bands

The theories describing the effects of the troposphere on satellite communication systems operating in the microwave region are reviewed. The results of computations based upon the theories and atmospheric models are presented and compared with available experimental data. From the model computations it is seen that rain causes the major propagation problems for the frequency bands allocated to or proposed for allocation to the satellite communications service. Two effects are dominant: attenuation due to rainfall along the line-of-sight and interference between two systems operating at the same frequency and beyond each other's radio horizon due to rain scatter. The methods for calculating the magnitude of the effects of rain given the spatial distribution of rainfall intensity are available. The statistical data required for the prediction of the spatial distribution of rainfall intensity are not available.
Reliable Control of Multi-Agent Formations

In this paper we address the problem of reliably teleoperating a group of remotely located robotic agents. The human operator provides a desired position that the formation should converge to and gets feedback on the location of the center-of-mass of the formation through a locally installed master system. We prove that this architecture is input-to-state stable and exploit this property to guarantee stability of the overall formation under communication unreliability such as time-varying delays and quantization. We provide a numerical simulation that illustrates our theoretical analysis.
Constraint Stabilization for Time-Stepping Approaches for Rigid Multibody Dynamics With Joints, Contact, and Friction

We present a method for achieving geometrical constraint stabilization for a linear-complementarity-based time-stepping scheme for rigid multibody dynamics with joints, contact, and friction. The method requires the solution of only one linear complementarity problem per step. The method depends on an adjustable parameter γ, but the constraint stabilization effect is shown to hold for any γ ∊ (0,1]. Several examples are used to demonstrate the constraint stabilization effect.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Price and Quality in the California Wine Industry: An Empirical Investigation*

This paper examines price and quality in the California wine industry using medals won in nine tasting events in 1995 as indexes of quality. For each tasting event, there were four possible medals: double gold, gold, silver, and bronze. Using stepwise least squares regression analysis, we estimate hedonic price functions for the 1884 wines in our sample treating quality as exogenous to price. We also look at results for some wine types, including chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. The results are largely as expected. The San Francisco Wine Competition appears to be the best predictor of quality with the Orange County and Sacramento (California State Fair) competitions the second best predictors of quality. (JEL Classifi cation: D4, L6)
Effect of Obesity and Exercise on the Expression of the Novel Myokines, Myonectin and Fibronectin Type III Domain Containing 5

Metabolic dysfunction in skeletal muscle is a major contributor to the development of type 2 diabetes. Endurance exercise training has long been established as an effective means to directly restore skeletal muscle glucose and lipid uptake and metabolism. However, in addition to the direct effects of skeletal muscle on glucose and lipids, there is renewed interest in the ability of skeletal muscle to coordinate metabolic activity of other tissues, such as adipose tissue and liver. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of endurance exercise on the expression level of two novel muscle-derived secreted factors, or myokines, Myonectin and Fibronectin type III domain containing 5 (FNDC5), the precursor for Irisin. Methods. We performed immunoblot analysis and quantitative real-time PCR analysis of Myonectin and FNDC5 in the diaphragm muscles of obese Zucker rat (OZR) and lean Zucker rat (LZR) with 9 weeks of aerobic training on a motorized treadmill. Results. We show that myonectin gene expression is increased in the OZR model of obesity and decreases with exercise in both lean and obese Zucker rats. Conversely, myonectin protein concentration was elevated with exercise. Similarly, FNDC5 mRNA levels are significantly higher in the OZR, however exercise training had no effect on the expression level of FNDC5 in either the LZR or OZR. We did not observe any difference in muscle protein content of Irisin with obesity or exercise. Conclusion. Our data shows that exercise training does not increase either FNDC5 or myonectin gene expression, indicating that increased transcriptional regulation of these myokines is not induced by exercise. However, our data also indicates a yet to be explored disconnect between myonectin gene expression and protein content. Further, this report highlights the importance of verifying reference genes when completing gene expression analysis. We found that many commonly used reference genes varied significantly by obesity and/or exercise and would have skewed the results of this study if used to normalize gene expression data. The unstable reference genes include: beta-Actin, beta-2-microglobulin, Non-POU domain containing, octamer-binding, Peptidylprolyl isomerase H, 18S ribosomal RNA, TATA box binding protein and Transferrin receptor.
A combinatorial approach for analyzing intra-tumor heterogeneity from high-throughput sequencing data

Motivation: High-throughput sequencing of tumor samples has shown that most tumors exhibit extensive intra-tumor heterogeneity, with multiple subpopulations of tumor cells containing different somatic mutations. Recent studies have quantified this intra-tumor heterogeneity by clustering mutations into subpopulations according to the observed counts of DNA sequencing reads containing the variant allele. However, these clustering approaches do not consider that the population frequencies of different tumor subpopulations are correlated by their shared ancestry in the same population of cells. Results: We introduce the binary tree partition (BTP), a novel combinatorial formulation of the problem of constructing the subpopulations of tumor cells from the variant allele frequencies of somatic mutations. We show that finding a BTP is an NP-complete problem; derive an approximation algorithm for an optimization version of the problem; and present a recursive algorithm to find a BTP with errors in the input. We show that the resulting algorithm outperforms existing clustering approaches on simulated and real sequencing data. Availability and implementation: Python and MATLAB implementations of our method are available at http://compbio.cs.brown.edu/
Smoking Paradox in Patients Hospitalized With Coronary Artery Disease or Acute Ischemic Stroke Findings From Get With The Guidelines

Background— Smoking is a potent risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) and acute ischemic stroke (AIS), but there are numerous reports of lower in-hospital mortality among smokers versus nonsmokers hospitalized for these events. Methods and Results— We analyzed all consecutive patients hospitalized with a first index CAD (n=158 054) or AIS (n=899 295) event in Get With The Guidelines from 2002 to 2012; 20.4% of AIS and 30.4% of patients with CAD were past-year smokers. Multivariable models and age-stratified analyses were used to estimate the adjusted odds ratio of in-hospital mortality in smokers versus nonsmokers. Smokers were younger, more often male, with fewer vascular risk factors, and were more likely to be admitted to hospitals that were large, academic, or in the South. In-hospital mortality was significantly lower among smokers in both CAD (2.7% versus 5.2%; P <0.0001) and AIS (3.5% versus 5.8%; P <0.0001). The difference between unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios for smoking (0.57 versus 0.86 in CAD; 0.56 versus 0.86 in AIS) indicates the presence of substantial confounding by age and other covariates, but a significant association of past-year smoking remained. Conclusions— Among patients hospitalized with CAD and AIS, smoking is a risk factor for early age of onset, even among those with few vascular risk factors. The persistent association with lower in-hospital mortality after adjusted and stratified analyses probably represents residual unmeasured confounding, although a biological effect of smoking cannot be excluded. Further clinical and prospective population-based studies are needed to explore variables that contribute to outcomes in these patients.
A logical view of types

People working in the areas of data abstraction, databases, and conceptual modeling have argued at considerable length over the meanings of such terms as “abstraction” and “type.”* Rather than add to this debate by offering yet another set of definitions, in the paragraphs below we shall attempt to show how ordinary predicate calculus can be used to talk about most (perhaps all) the notions for which the terms “abstraction” and “type” are currently being used in various quarters of computer science. We do not intend to argue that predicate calculus is a suitable tool for implementing types, but rather that it provides a well-understood, uniform conceptual framework and notation for describing and precisely comparing various ideas on typing—and that special notations developed for this purpose are therefore unnecessary.
Paleoecology of Miocene crocodylians in Florida: Insights from stable isotope analysis

Abstract Fossils from late Miocene localities in north Florida offer new information about the paleoecological relationships between sympatric alligatorine and tomistomine crocodylians. Large, robust tomistomines (traditionally referred to Gavialosuchus americanus ) outnumber Alligator fossils at localities representing coastal/estuarine depositional environments. Stable isotope analysis of carbon (δ 13 C) and oxygen (δ 18 O) values in fossil crocodylian tooth enamel carbonate (CO 3 ) provides evidence for niche partitioning between these two taxa, which may have co-inhabited estuarine paleoenvironments. Our isotopic results imply that alligators procured prey from primarily freshwater or terrestrial sources, whereas tomistomines fed mainly on marine-based prey items. As indicators of saltwater paleoenvironments, the fossil tomistomines may therefore be informative for tracking Miocene sea level change.
Listening with/to Nature’s Voice: An Ethical Polyphony

I propose a holistic practice of interlistening (Lipari, 2014) with/to nature’s voice as an ethical eco-feminist intervention in the Western humanities that privilege speech acts (Corradi Fiumara, 1990, Location No. 15). As I discuss, this unfortunate cultural disengagement with listening as an object of desire is in fact a call of Western communicative praxis’ deep rooted disenfranchised grief, an inadequate and unrecognized pain of separation from the infant’s first point of connection, the mother’s voice. To address this loss, I offer that one attunes with/to nature’s fluid and nourishing voice much like Mladen Dolar’s (2006) idea of the acousmatic voice, the untraceable, material yet incorporeal sonic excess to re-enfranchise the mother’s lost voice in listening and imagine ethical communicative practices that welcome the Other.
Effects of Fuzheng Jianpi method on 5-year psychological and social behavior in children with malignant tumor

Objective To explore the effects of Fuzheng Jianpi method on 5-year psychological and social behavior in children with malignant tumor. Methods A total of 167 children with malignant tumor who received 5-year follow-up visit from Beijing children's hospital affiliated to the Capital Medical University between January 2005 and December 2009 were collected. According to research and treatment methods,they were divided into a treatment group( 83 cases) and a control group( 84 cases). Based on PedsQ L4. 0 and EORTC QOC-C30,a scale of life quality was developed to compare the effects of psychological and social behavior between two groups. Results During the follow-up visit,16 cases were lost and 24 cases were dead in the treatment group; 20 cases were lost and41 cases were dead in the control group. The differences of psychological and social behavior between two groups were statistically different( P 0. 05). Conclusion The Fuzheng Jianpi method combined with western medicine treatment could improve psychological function and social relationship in children with malignant tumor.
Correlates of unmet dental care need among HIV-positive people since being diagnosed with HIV.

Objectives.We analyzed the characteristics of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) who reported unmet oral health needs since testing positive and compared those characteristics with people reporting no unmet health needs. We also identified barriers to accessing oral health care for PLWHA.Methods.We collected data from 2,469 HIV-positive patients who had not received oral health care in the previous 12 months and who had accessed care at Health Resources and Service Administration-funded Special Projects of National Significance Innovations in Oral Health Care Initiative demonstration sites. The outcome of interest was prior unmet oral health needs. We explore barriers to receiving oral health care, including cost, access, logistics, and personal factors. Bivariate tests of significance and generalized estimating equations were used in analyses.Results.Nearly half of the study participants reported unmet dental care needs since their HIV diagnosis. People reporting unmet needs were more likely to be non-H...
The effect of pelvic radiotherapy on vaginal brachytherapy cylinder diameter: Implications for optimal treatment order

Abstract Purpose To determine the factors that correlate with cylinder size in vaginal brachytherapy (VB) after hysterectomy for endometrial carcinoma. Methods and Materials Patients treated for endometrial cancer from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2013 were reviewed from a single institution. Patients included underwent total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy followed by high-dose-rate VB with or without external beam pelvic radiotherapy (EBRT). According to institutional guidelines, the vaginal cylinder size selected was the largest diameter cylinder the patient could comfortably accommodate. Patient, tumor, and treatment factors were recorded and compared with cylinder size. Results Three hundred eighty-one eligible patients were identified, including 121 patients treated with pelvic radiotherapy (RT) before VB and 260 treated with VB alone. On univariate analysis, weight ( p = 0.0004), body mass index (BMI) ( p = 0.001), and receipt of pelvic RT ( p ≤ 0.0001) were the only statistically significant factors correlated with vaginal cylinder size. On multivariate analysis, receipt of EBRT retained significance after adjusting for weight or BMI. In patients receiving VB alone, median cylinder size was 3 cm; after pelvic RT, it was 2.5 cm. Conclusions Higher weight and BMI correlated with accommodation of larger cylinder size. Accounting for this, the receipt of EBRT before VB was associated with smaller cylinder size. Dosimetric data show that larger cylinder size provides superior dose distribution. Although historically the VB boost follows EBRT, reversal of this order may be preferred.
The Philosophy of Law of Thomas Aquinas

The great thirteenth-century philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1226–1274) played a pivotal role in the history and development of Western jurisprudence. During his productive but short life, Aquinas wrote extensively on moral matters, and as a corollary, on topics in political and legal philosophy. His exposition in Summa Theologiae on matters of law is often referred to as the classical canon of natural law theory.
Hydrothermal reactions of soda lime silica glass – Revealing subsurface damage and alteration of mechanical properties and chemical structure of glass surfaces

Abstract Hydrothermal treatment provides a unique way to reveal subsurface damage of soda lime silica (SLS) float glass. During the hydrothermal treatment, the penetration of water, ion-exchange, and hydrolysis reaction can take place. These reactions are accelerated at locations where subsurface damage exists. Interestingly, the hydrothermally-treated glass surface exhibits higher fracture toughness, lower hardness, and less resistance to mechanochemical wear at high humidity compared to the pristine SLS float glass. These property changes can be explained by the leaching and polymerization of the silicate network and the chemical environment of hydrous species in the surface region of SLS glass.
A Study to Determine the Incidence of Urinary Tract Infections in Infants and Children Ages 4 Months to 6 Years With Febrile Diarrhea.

Objective: To determine the incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in infants and children (4 months to 6 years of age) with febrile diarrhea, as outpatients. Methods: This was a prospective institutional review board–approved study. patients (between 4 months and 6 years of age) were enrolled in the study who presented to the pediatric emergency room with a complaint of fever (rectal temperature 101°F or more) and diarrhea (watery stools >3 in number). The patients were evaluated for state of hydration, and also urine samples were collected. For those children not toilet trained, urine specimens were collected by bladder catheterization, and for those children toilet trained, urine specimens were obtained by midstream collection method. The urine samples obtained were sent for analysis and culture. Results: Eighty patients were enrolled in the study. The number of specimens obtained by clean catch midstream was 20, and by bladder catheterization was 60. None of the urine specimens obtained by both ...
Benthic Oxygen Fluxes Measured by Eddy Covariance in Permeable Gulf of Mexico Shallow-Water Sands

Oxygen fluxes across the sediment–water interface reflect primary production and organic matter degradation in coastal sediments and thus provide data that can be used for assessing ecosystem function, carbon cycling and the response to coastal eutrophication. In this study, the aquatic eddy covariance technique was used to measure seafloor–water column oxygen fluxes at shallow coastal sites with highly permeable sandy sediment in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico for which oxygen flux data currently are lacking. Oxygen fluxes at wave-exposed Gulf sites were compared to those at protected Bay sites over a period of 4 years and covering the four seasons. A total of 17 daytime and 14 nighttime deployments, producing 408 flux measurements (14.5 min each), were conducted. Average annual oxygen release and uptake (mean ± standard error) were 191 ± 66 and −191 ± 45 mmol m−2 day−1 for the Gulf sites and 130 ± 57 and −152 ± 64 mmol m−2 day−1 for the Bay sites. Seasonal variation in oxygen flux was observed, with high rates typically occurring during spring and lower rates during summer. The ratio of average oxygen release to uptake at both sites was close to 1 (Bay: 0.9, Gulf: 1.0). Close responses of the flux to changes in light, temperature, bottom current velocity, and wave action (significant wave height) documented tight physical–biological, benthic–pelagic coupling. The increase of the sedimentary oxygen uptake with increasing temperature corresponded to a Q10 temperature coefficient of 1.4 ± 0.3. An increase in flow velocity resulted in increased oxygen uptake (by a factor of 1–6 for a doubling in flow), which is explained by the enhanced transport of organic matter and electron acceptors into the permeable sediment. Benthic photosynthetic production and oxygen release from the sediment was modulated by light intensity at the temporal scale (minutes) of the flux measurements. The fluxes measured in this study contribute to baseline data in a region with rapid coastal development and can be used in large-scale assessments and estimates of carbon transformations.
Surviving in the plastics recycling industry

Rising resin prices and decreasing landfill availability accelerated the expansion of the consumer plastics recycling industry in the 1980's. Unfortunately, many of the recycling companies that were started during this optimistic time quickly learned that economic recycling of post-consumer waste was extremely difficult and they went out of business. Those recycling companies that survived managed to develop stable technologies and markets for their products. These businesses are models for their industry as well as for the emerging automotive and electronic plastics recycling industry. In this study, the annual sales, experience, markets, growth strategies, technology and leadership of 36 recycling firms were evaluated to determine the characteristics that helped these companies survive in this difficult industry. These recycling firms were located in the United States and in Europe. Four elements were found to be present in most of the surviving companies: a) a willingness to adapt to changes in the marketplace b) extensive knowledge of recycling technology c) financial and technical support and d) strong internal leadership.
QFN assembly dilemma - solutions

In the competition of market share of quad flat no-lead (QFN) package, there were several improvement methods being utilized, such as leadframe design for higher density, cheaper tape, and more functionalities per chip (with smaller package size, larger die, and smaller pad size). Most of these improvement methods created extremely weak die attach and wire bonding structures, causing significant amount of issues in production of QFN packages. Some of the new die attach requirements had caused the ratio of die size to flag size reaching almost one for epoxy dispensing process. This allowed larger die to go inside the QFN package, but epoxy quality control became very stringent. Meanwhile, half etched flag and lead structures caused further amplification of resonance effect, generating more stress inside bonded wires. Eventually, wire weak points, neck or heel started showing stress effects, until failing at actual applications. By utilizing special statistical analysis, each significant factor was screened out, and then combined into optimum interaction. With acid testing method, optimum interaction was proven to be robust and stable in production.
Ultrasound-guided transcatheter ethanol injection and sclerotherapy of an arteriovenous malformation of the foot

IntroductionArteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are abnormal, direct connections between the arteries and veins. AVMs are most commonly associated with the brain and spinal cord; however, they can o...
Technisches Informationssystem für computergestützten Fahrzeugservice

In diesem Beitrag wird ein Systemkonzept vorgestellt, welches die Flut von technischen Informationen, die heute und insbesondere in der Zukunft in Fahrzeugservicehetrieben handzuhaben ist, computergestutzt bewaltigt. Es wird zunachst gezeigt, wie ein durchgehender Informationsflus von der Fahrzeugannahme uber die Serviceausfuhrung bzw. Fahrzeuginstandsetzung bis zur Rechnungsstellung realisiert werden kann. Die auf hybriden Medien gespeicherten Informationen werden dabei fur den Anwender transparent verwaltet. Hypertextfunktionen realisieren die Verknupfungen von Informationen wie Ersatzteile und Einbauplane und sind eine Grundlage fur das integrierte technische Informationssystem. Das vorgestellte Konzept wurde in wesentlichen Teilen bereits realisiert und zeichnet sich durch eine signifikante Effizienzsteigerung in Fahrzeugservicebetrieben aus.
Physician Dispensing of Oxycodone and Other Commonly Used Opioids, 2000-2015, United States.

Objective An average of 91 people in the United States die every day from an opioid-related overdose (including prescription opioids and heroin). The direct dispensing of opioids from health care practitioner offices has been linked to opioid-related harms. The objective of this study is to describe the changing nature of the volume of this type of prescribing at the state level. Methods This descriptive study examines the distribution of opioids by practitioners using 1999-2015 Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System data. Analyses were restricted to opioids distributed to practitioners. Amount distributed (morphine milligram equivalents [MMEs]) and number of practitioners are presented. Results Patterns of distribution to practitioners and the number of practitioners varied markedly by state and changed dramatically over time. Comparing 1999 with 2015, the MME distributed to dispensing practitioners decreased in 16 states and increased in 35. Most notable was the change in Florida, which saw a peak of 8.94 MMEs per 100,000 persons in 2010 (the highest distribution in all states in all years) and a low of 0.08 in 2013. Discussion This study presents the first state estimates of office-based dispensing of opioids. Increases in direct dispensing in recent years may indicate a need to monitor this practice and consider whether changes are needed. Using controlled substances data to identify high prescribers and dispensers of opioids, as well as examining overall state trends, is a foundational activity to informing the response to potentially high-risk clinical practices.
Latino-Americans: Skin Color and Mixed-Race People

Discrimination in some form is as old as Western civilization itself [1]. However, in a historical context, discrimination by victim-group populations on the basis of skin color is a relatively recent phenomenon. Among Latino-Americans, similar to other victim-group populations, such discrimination is the direct result of Euro-American domination, including the traditions of immigration and the assimilation experience. Following their various forms of domination, Western colonials who associated more often with Spanish and Catholic, as opposed to British and Protestant, evolved a no less potent skin color hierarchy, as dramatically displayed today in the behavioral interactions between and among Latino-Americans and victim populations.
Affective Aversion, Ethics, and Fiction

Our ethical systems, while variable, are by no means arbitrary, for our conceptions of morality remain always tethered by and to specific ways that human bodies interact with historical, cultural, and material reality. Even so, the bulk of Western philosophy mistrusts sensory perception, remains suspicious of emotional experience, and separates moral development from our embodied reality. Current research in neuroscience and evolutionary psychology, however, stresses that affective states and the neurobiology underlying them play an essential role in ethical development and moral action. As a “moral emotion,” disgust protects against (perceived) threats to community cohesion thus compels us to privilege familiarity, reject otherness, and pursue categorical certainty. This suggests we are burdened by an embodied “affective aversion” to difference that profoundly influences our moral reasoning. At the same time, however, studies reveal we also possess a physiological resistance to observing others in physical or emotional pain, and this “affective aversion” to human suffering makes empathy possible and serves as the counterforce to disgust-based ethics. Evidence is growing that our cognitive flexibility ensures that a faculty like empathy is plastic, so affective attunement and “fellow feeling” can be developed throughout life. Furthermore, fiction, as a means of understanding other people’s intentions, goals, and desires to flourish, can help provide us with “a common point of view” that promotes collective well-being without demanding moral absolutism.
Update in Pediatric Oncology: Section A-New Developments in the Treatment of Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common pediatric cancer, affecting approximately 2900 children and adolescents in the United States each year (Ries et al., SEER Program, 1999). Although survival has improved from less than 10% a half century ago to almost 90% today, ALL remains the leading cause of pediatric cancer deaths (Hunger et al., J Clin Oncol 30(14):1663–9, 2012; Smith et al., J Clin Oncol 28(15):2625–34, 2010). From the first introduction of single-agent chemotherapy in the 1940s, combination chemotherapy and intensification of post-induction therapy have largely been responsible for advances in the treatment of ALL, as has therapy directed at the central nervous system (CNS). Over time, the stratification of patients by their risk of relapse, such that therapy intensity is tailored to this risk, has been a major contributor to both improvements in survival rates and reductions in toxicity from therapy. Clinical features, leukemia biology, and early response to therapy have emerged as important components of risk stratification. The biology of ALL, key prognostic factors, and treatment approaches will be discussed, with an emphasis on new developments in the treatment of pediatric ALL.
Legal Accelerators and Brakes for Deployment of Automated Vehicles

This chapter will review three questions that prompted significant discussion at the 2014 Symposium on Vehicle Automation sponsored by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) as potential accelerators or brakes for deployment of automated vehicles: (1) Where are uniform laws needed? (2) What deployment will come first and will it be evolutionary or revolutionary? (3) How should tests be devised for ratings or certification? Participants in the “Legal Accelerators and Brakes” session noted that the legal environment does not appear to be the obstacle, or “brake” to autonomous vehicle deployment that many fear it will be. Greater uniformity in operational laws, such as tailgating and distracted driving, as well as in safety testing standards, could potentially accelerate deployment. Participants in the session concluded that key privacy and security questions will be informed by legal developments that are not unique to driving.
Evaluation and conservative management of women with stress urinary incontinence

Urinary incontinence can be a social and practical problem. A complete evaluation correlating the history, physical examination, and screening studies confirms the syndrome and its significance, leading to the therapeutic management most appropriate for the individual patient. Although long-term cure can be effected by surgery, conservative measures are available and effective depending on the degree of dysfunction and the motivation of the individual patient.
Eye tracking in surgical education: gaze-based dynamic area of interest can discriminate adverse events and expertise.

Eye-gaze metrics derived from areas of interest (AOIs) have been suggested to be effective for surgical skill assessment. However, prior research is mostly based on static images and simulated tasks that may not translate to complex and dynamic surgical scenes. Therefore, eye-gaze metrics must advance to account for changes in the location of important information during a surgical procedure. We developed a dynamic AOI generation technique based on eye gaze collected from an expert viewing surgery videos. This AOI updated as the gaze of the expert moved with changes in the surgical scene. This technique was evaluated through an experiment recruiting a total of 20 attendings and residents to view 10 videos associated with and another 10 without adverse events. Dwell time percentage (i.e., gaze duration) inside the AOI differentiated video type (U = 13508.5, p < 0.001) between videos with the presence (Mdn = 16.75) versus absence (Mdn = 19.95) of adverse events. This metric also differentiated participant group (U = 14029.5, p < 0.001) between attendings (Mdn = 15.45) and residents (Mdn = 19.80). This indicates that our dynamic AOIs reflecting the expert eye gaze was able to differentiate expertise, and the presence of unexpected adverse events. This dynamic AOI generation technique produced dynamic AOIs for deriving eye-gaze metrics that were sensitive to expertise level and event characteristics.
ISU FLUture: a veterinary diagnostic laboratory web-based platform to monitor the temporal genetic patterns of Influenza A virus in swine.

Influenza A Virus (IAV) causes respiratory disease in swine and is a zoonotic pathogen. Uncontrolled IAV in swine herds not only affects animal health, it also impacts production through increased costs associated with treatment and prevention efforts. The Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (ISU VDL) diagnoses influenza respiratory disease in swine and provides epidemiological analyses on samples submitted by veterinarians. To assess the incidence of IAV in swine and inform stakeholders, the ISU FLUture website was developed as an interactive visualization tool that allows the exploration of the ISU VDL swine IAV aggregate data in the clinical diagnostic database. The information associated with diagnostic cases has varying levels of completeness and is anonymous, but minimally contains: sample collection date, specimen type, and IAV subtype. Many IAV positive samples are sequenced, and in these cases, the hemagglutinin (HA) sequence and genetic classification are completed. These data are collected and presented on ISU FLUture in near real-time, and more than 6,000 IAV positive diagnostic cases and their epidemiological and evolutionary information since 2003 are presented to date. The database and web interface provides rapid and unique insight into the trends of IAV derived from both large- and small-scale swine farms across the United States of America. ISU FLUture provides a suite of web-based tools to allow stakeholders to search for trends and correlations in IAV case metadata in swine from the ISU VDL. Since the database infrastructure is updated in near real-time and is integrated within a high-volume veterinary diagnostic laboratory, earlier detection is now possible for emerging IAV in swine that subsequently cause vaccination and control challenges. The access to real-time swine IAV data provides a link with the national USDA swine IAV surveillance system and allows veterinarians to make objective decisions regarding the management and control of IAV in swine. The website is publicly accessible at http://influenza.cvm.iastate.edu .
Recommendations for Reviewers of Biomedical Imaging Grant Applications

This commentary provides recommendations about how to interpret procedures and scoring criteria when reviewing grant applications and how to efficiently perform reviews. This guidance is especially designed for new grant reviewers and especially for reviewers of biomedical imaging grant applications. Recommendations are included about how to start the review process; how to review the Specific Aims page; how to consider Significance, Investigators, Innovation, Research Approach, and Environment; how to improve interactions at the review meeting; and other aspects of the review process. These recommendations are intended to improve the quality of the review process, which ultimately depends on the quality of the reviewers.
Technology of manufacturing reduced-fat cheddar cheese.

For many consumers the thought of a reduced-fat cheese conjures up notions of a bland cheese with either a firm, rubbery body or a soft, pasty one. But more often than not reduced-fat cheeses are described as having a very undesirable taste as well as the body defects. A quality reduced-fat cheese deteriorates in quality after only a few months of storage. Unfortunately, reduced-fat cheese with such a short shelf-life may be purchased well after body and flavor defects have developed. Although sales of reducedfat cheese have not approached the level that many cheese makers had hoped, interest remains high. Our research project was initiated to determine the manufacturing practices that could lead to desirable body and flavor. We did not start from “ground zero” in as much as there is a considerable base of knowledge about defects in cheese body and flavor. Also, the principles of cheese manufacturing, chemistry and flavor development are constant regardless of the variety or name that is attached to the cheese.
Addressing Couple Violence in Therapy Training Clinics: A Human-Centered Approach to Systems Intervention Design

AbstractThis report describes the development and implementation of a multitiered intake-to-treatment pipeline system at a clinical training facility to bridge a gap in the service needs of clients...
The Association of Impulsivity and Family History of Alcohol Use Disorder on Alcohol Use and Consequences.

Background Extensive research indicates that having a positive family history of alcohol use disorder (FHP) and impulsivity are 2 risk factors for problem drinking. To our knowledge, no study has investigated which facets of impulsivity interact with family history to increase risk for problem drinking. The goal of this study was to: (i) examine whether FHP individuals with higher levels of impulsivity are more likely to engage in problematic drinking, and (ii) identify which facets of impulsivity interact with FHP to increase risk for problems. Methods The data consisted of a combined sample of 757 participants (50% female, 73% White, mean age = 32.85, SD = 11.31) drawn from the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center and the Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcohol. Analyses of covariance and cumulative logistic regression models investigated the association of family history and impulsivity-related traits with drinking quantity, frequency, and alcohol-related problems. Models were adjusted for age, sex, race, ethnic group, education level, and data source. Results Significant interactions between impulsivity and family history were found for measures of alcohol-related problems. Specifically, there was a stronger positive association of Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) poor self-regulation with interpersonal, F(1, 504) = 6.27, p = 0.01, and impulse control alcohol-related problems, F(1, 504) = 6.00, p = 0.01, among FHP compared to FHN individuals. Main effects of family history and impulsivity on alcohol quantity and frequency of use and problems were also found. Conclusions These findings suggest that having both a family history of AUD and high BIS poor self-regulation is more strongly associated with alcohol-related consequences in the interpersonal and impulse control domains. Given the heterogeneity of impulsivity, these findings highlight the need for additional research to examine which facets of impulsivity are associated with which alcohol outcomes to narrow phenotypic risk for alcohol misuse.
The Fifth Dimension play and learning environment: prototype to practice

The Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition (LCHC) developed the Fifth Dimension (5D) prototype play/learning environment in 1982 in order to study the role of context in human cognition. The pro...
Recurrence Is Rare Following Complete Eradication of Intestinal Metaplasia in Patients With Barrett’s Esophagus and Peaks at 18 Months

Background & Aims There have been few studies describing the long-term durability of complete eradication of intestinal metaplasia (CE-IM) in patients with Barrett’s esophagus (BE)-related neoplasia who received endoscopic eradication therapy (EET). Data are needed to guide surveillance interval protocols and identify patients at risk for recurrence. We assessed the rate of recurrence of intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia, histologic features, and outcomes after recurrence of CE-IM, and identified factors associated with recurrence. Methods We performed a prospective study of 807 patients with BE who underwent EET, which produced CE-IM, at 4 tertiary-care referral centers, from January 2013 to October 2018. Kaplan-Meier estimates of cumulative incidence rates (IR) of recurrence were calculated for up to 5 years following CE-IM and were stratified by baseline level of histology. Density estimates of recurrence were used to determine the change in the rate of recurrence over time. We conducted logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with recurrence. Results Intestinal metaplasia recurred in 121 patients (15%; IR, 5.2/100 person-years), and dysplasia recurred in 41 patients (5.1%; IR, 1.8/100 person-years), after a median follow-up time of 2317 person-years. The rate of recurrence was not constant and the time to any recurrence converged to a normal distribution; recurrences peaked at 1.6 y after patients had CE-IM. Baseline high-grade dysplasia or intramucosal cancer (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 4.19), presence of reflux symptoms (aOR, 12.1) or hiatal hernia (aOR, 13.8), and number of sessions required to achieve CE-IM (aOR, 1.8) were associated with recurrence. Conclusions In a prospective study of a large cohort of patients with BE undergoing EET, we found a low rate of recurrence after CE-IM. The rate of recurrence peaked at 1–2 y after CE-IM. These findings indicate that aggressive surveillance might not be necessary more than 1 y after CE-IM and should be considered in surveillance guidelines. Clinicaltrials.gov no: NCT02634645.
Exploration of chiral diastereomeric spiroketal (SPIROL)-based phosphinite ligands in asymmetric hydrogenation of heterocycles

New and readily available chiral SPIROL-based diphosphinite ligands (SPIRAPO) have been prepared and employed for iridium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenations of quinolines, quinoxalines and 2H-1,4-bezoxazin-2-ones. While the structurally similar (R,R,R)-SPIRAPO and (R)-SPINOL-based phosphinites were not the best ligands for these transformations, the (S,R,R)-diastereomer of SPIRAPO was found to be highly effective ligand for the reduction of 20 different heterocyclic systems with loadings as low as S/C = 10 000. This dearomatizative hydrogenation provided direct access to optically active tetrahydroquinolines in high enantioselectivities (up to 94% ee) and excellent yields (up to 99%), and was used to generate 1.75 g of natural alkaloid (−)-(R)-angustureine. This protocol was subsequently extended to achieve asymmetric hydrogenation of quinoxalines and 2H-1,4-benzoxazin-2-ones in good to excellent enantioselectivities.
Patellofemoral joint kinetics in females when using different depths and loads during the barbell back squat.

Back squats are a common strengthening exercise for knee and hip musculature. However, repetitive loaded movements like backs squats result in high patellofemoral joint loading and therefore may co...
An inexpensive apparatus for up to 97% continuous-flow parahydrogen enrichment using liquid helium

Abstract Nuclear spin hyperpolarization derived from parahydrogen can enable nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging with sensitivity enhancements exceeding four orders of magnitude. The NMR signal enhancement is proportional to 4 x p - 1 , where x p is the parahydrogen mole fraction. For convenience, many labs elect to carry out the ortho–para conversion at 77 K where 50% enrichment is obtained. In theory, enrichment to 100% yields an automatic three-fold increase in the NMR signal enhancement. Herein, construction and testing of a simple and inexpensive continuous-flow converter for high para-enrichment is described. During operation, the converter is immersed in liquid helium contained in a transport dewar of the type commonly found in NMR labs for filling superconducting magnets. A maximum enrichment of 97.3 ± 1.9% at 30 K was observed at 4.5 bar and 300 mL/min flow rate. The theoretically predicted 2.9-fold increase in the signal enhancement factor was confirmed in the heterogeneous hydrogenation of propene to propane over a PdIn/SBA-15 catalyst. The relatively low-cost to construct and operate this system could make high parahydrogen enrichment, and the associated increase in the parahydrogen-derived NMR signals, more widely accessible.
Noise Prediction for Geocoding Queries using Word Geospatial Embedding and Bidirectional LSTM

User geocoding queries in map applications often contain noisy tokens such as typos in street, city name, wrong postal code, redundant words due to copy-paste action, etc. This issue becomes worse with the rapid growth of mobile devices, where errors from user input are inevitable. Such noisy tokens may fail the searching process if they are passed as-is to the downstream query processing components. In particular, there might be nothing or irrelevant results returned to the user. Therefore, noisy tokens in geocoding queries should be recognized and handled properly prior to the searching process. In this paper, a deep learning based noise prediction model for geocoding queries is proposed. It combines a novel Word Geospatial Embedding (WGE) and a Bidirectional LSTM based sequence tagging model. The proposed WGE is the first language model that allows geospatial semantics to be encoded into the vector representations. It allows geo-related machine learning/deep learning models making spatial-aware prediction.
LBP27: DECIPHERING STRONG AUTO AND ALLO HLA ANTIBODY REACTIVITIES POST ANGIOPLASTY FOR RENAL TRANSPLANT CANDIDATES

Auto HLA antibody is a relatively common observation among renal transplant candidates, especially among patients with autoimmune disease as the cause of ESRD. Post transplant de novo auto reactivities were linked to chronic rejection and hypothesized to result from crosstalk between allo and autoimmune responses. The importance of auto antibody identified among transplant candidates remains ambiguous. Angioplasty is a common treatment option for atherosclerosis which is not rare for older renal transplant candidates. Strong auto and allo HLA antibodies post angioplasty were observed, presenting added challenge to assigning clinically relevant unacceptable antigens for virtual crossmatch. The patient’s monthly sera were analyzed by single antigen beads (SAB) with multiple attempts to reduce background including DTT treatment and post auto absorption. Auto reactivity was assessed by Auto-Flow crossmatch. Allo specificities were compared to CDC and Flow crossmatch data with surrogate donors. Ten surrogate donor crossmatches were performed utilizing cells from routine patient work-ups. This way crossmatch compatibility could be used to aid determination of unacceptable specificities. The auto reactivity by single antigen bead assay post angioplasty can be very strong and accompany other allo reactivities. We developed a process to help distinguish unacceptable antigens for patients in this circumstance. The patient serum should be analyzed with and without treatment. Auto crossmatch with the ambiguous sera should be done to validate auto reactivity. New allo antibody specificities identified at the same time as auto antibodies should be confirmed by crossmatch using surrogate cells if possible. Incorporating the patient sera into routine cell workups can allow for this insight with no extra cost. Positive surrogate crossmatch can validate the allo specificity for unacceptable listing. There are limitations to antibody identification using SAB; nonspecific binding can contribute to auto reactivity. However, simply disregarding the auto-reactivity and blindly selecting or rejecting allo specificities of similar strength is discouraged. This feasible approach to comprehensive evaluation can increase patient safety when virtual crossmatch is so widely used in the current clinical setting.