cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Resistance Exercise Training on the Mental Health of Older Puerto Rican Adults With Type 2 Diabetes

Objective. To determine the impact of a 16 week high-intensity progressive resistance exercise training (PRT) program on the mental health of older Puerto Rican adults with type 2 diabetes. Methods. Fifty-eight Puerto Rican adults were randomly assigned to supervised PRT (n = 29) or a control group (n = 29). A secondary analyses were conducted, and 2 mental health outcomes, the Geriatric Depression Scale and the SF-36 mental component summary score, were used to assess the impact of PRT on mental health status. At baseline, no differences were found on measures of self-reported mental health status. Results. PRT participants had significantly improved mental health status at follow-up (16 weeks). Discussion. The incorporation of exercise into treatment planning for older adults may have important benefits on their mental health status. More work is needed to understand the mechanisms by which this occurred as well as the applicability of these findings to sustainable community programs.
Prognostic Value of Viremia in Patients with Long-Standing Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) viremia was evaluated in 73 patients with long-standing infection to investigate its relationship with clinical or biologic parameters and to assess its use as a predictor of clinical progression and death. After adjustment for other parameters, baseline HIV RNA level was significantly associated with baseline clinical stage and CD4 cell count. During follow-up (mean, 14.6 months), 16 patients died; 34 others had clinical progression of disease. In multivariate analysis, mortality was better predicted by baseline CD4 cell count (relative hazard [RH] for 100-cell decrease, 3.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5-8.2; P =.003) than by HIV RNA (P =.28) or clinical stage. HIV RNA level was the best predictor of clinical progression (RH for 1 log increase, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.6-4.9; P <.001). Monitoring of HIV RNA level may help to identify patients who might benefit from antiretroviral or prophylactic therapy.
Reducing the energy of speculative instruction schedulers

Energy dissipation from the issue queue and register file constitutes a large portion of the overall energy budget of an aggressive dynamically scheduled microprocessor. We propose techniques to save energy in these structures by reducing issue queue occupancy and by reducing unnecessary register file accesses that can result from speculative scheduling. Our results show a 44% reduction in issue queue occupancies and an 87% reduction in register file accesses for scheduling replays. Our data show that these savings can translate into a 52% saving in issue queue energy, a 13% savings in register file energy, and a 22% overall energy savings.
Performance evaluation of multi-service UMTS core networks with clustering and neural modelling

In this paper, we present the modelling of the dynamic behaviour of an ATM-based, multi-service UMTS core network with calls that belong to one of four service classes and arrive randomly. Arriving calls are granted service based on specific service class, required maximum and minimum bandwidth, and available network resources. Performance of priority-based dynamic capacity allocation, suitable for the wireless system supporting ATM-like traffic is analysed. Scheduling of the ATM cell transmission in each uplink TDMA frame is based on a priority scheme. GoS (blocking probability) and QoS (throughput) parameters for bandwidth sharing policy (BSP) are considered, and partial overlapped transmission link (POL) is implemented. In the modelling, the clustering procedure is developed based on Markov reward models (MRMs), enhanced by the self-organising vector quantification (VQ) and neural modelling. The optimal link occupancy probability distribution is calculated using the neural network, trained with Kohonen rules. Simulation and numerical results are shown.
High-temperature reactivity in the ZrW2O8-Cu system

Zirconium tungstate (ZrW{sub 2}O{sub 8}) exhibits the unusual property of a negative coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) over a wide range of temperature, from 0.3 to 1,050 K. As a reinforcement in a composite, zirconium tungstate can reduce the overall thermal expansion of the composite much more effectively than a ceramic with positive CTE. If a metallic matrix is used, the resulting composite will also exhibit high thermal conductivity, with applications such as heat sink for microelectronics devices (CTE matching that of silicon or alumina) or high precision optical elements subjected to thermal fluctuation (zero CTE). As a matrix, copper is prime candidate, because it has the second highest thermal conductivity of all metals after silver, and because it can be easily processed within the temperature window imposed by the metastability of ZrW{sub 2}O{sub 8}. Moreover, copper is already widely used in electronics industry and can be easily soldered. In the present work, the authors investigate the stability of ZrW{sub 2}O{sub 8} when hot-isostatically pressed with copper, in order to explore the processing feasibility of a low thermal expansion, high conductivity ZrW{sub 2}O{sub 8}-Cu composite.
Aromatic amino acid hydroxylase genes and schizophrenia.

Phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH), which catalyzes the conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine, shares physical, structural and catalytic properties with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) that catalyze the rate-limiting steps in the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitters dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin. Because these neurotransmitter systems have all been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, the aromatic amino acid hydroxylases are among the likely candidates for genes associated with schizophrenia. A mutation in the functionally critical tetrahydrobiopterin cofactor binding domain of the PAH gene had been identified in African-American patients with the diagnosis of schizophrenia, and biochemical analyses suggested that this mutation has physiological consequences related to amine neurotransmitter function. DNA sequencing of the highly conserved cofactor binding domain of the PAH, TH, and TPH genes in African-American subjects with schizophrenia and unrelated, never mentally ill subjects from the NIMH Schizophrenia Genetics Initiative, was undertaken to assess the concordance of mutant genotype with psychiatric phenotype. The K274E mutation was observed in the PAH gene cofactor binding domain, and several polymorphisms were identified in adjacent intronic regions of the PAH, TH, and TPH genes. All of the genetic variants observed were represented in the schizophrenia group and in the never mentally ill group. Genetic evaluation of the family members of subjects with the PAH K274E mutation showed that all individuals with the K274E mutation also exhibited the PAH L321L polymorphism in the catalytic domain of the PAH enzyme.
Exact imagination and distributed creativity: a lesson from the history of animation

This paper discusses the introduction of software as a creative medium for animation production at the National Film Board of Canada during the 1960s and 70s. In a creative environment shaped by a strong auteur tradition, in which individual film-makers fashioned new technical set-ups as part and parcel of each new expressive work, the first system for figure based computer animation was introduced and proved out with a highly convincing demonstration film, La Faim/Hunger (1973). The techno-aesthetic frame of auteur animation conditioned the collaboration with programmer-engineers so as to sustain an already strongly embedded tradition of individual authorship. The collaborating team seamlessly distributed creative contributions between the roles of director/artist, software programmer, technical animator, and producer. The last two roles were central because they both entailed the ability of a single individual to understand both sides of the technical and artistic creative process, thereby serving as a bridge to the other two more specialized roles (artist and programmer). The collaboration in this emblematic case was a strong instance of "exact imagination", a concept here introduced to designate a close interdependency between the technical and artistic components of a creative work. A particularly valuable result of exact imagination when distributed amongst collaborators is the production of diverse outcomes -- original contributions accepted within multiple disciplinary domains. Collaborative research today will benefit from the emergent formulation of such an exact imagination, distributed across networks of differentiated creative individuals, and buttressed by enlightened institutional policies.
A differential display strategy identifies Cryptic, a novel EGF-related gene expressed in the axial and lateral mesoderm during mouse gastrulation.

We have developed a differential display screening approach to identify mesoderm-specific genes, relying upon the differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells in vitro. Using this strategy, we have isolated a novel murine gene that encodes a secreted molecule containing a variant epidermal growth factor-like (EGF) motif. We named this gene Cryptic, based on its predicted protein sequence similarity with Cripto, which encodes an EGF-related growth factor. Based on their strong sequence similarities, we propose that Cryptic, Cripto, and the Xenopus FRL-1 gene define a new family of growth factor-like molecules, which we name the ‘CFC’ (Cripto, Frl-1, and Cryptic) family. Analysis of Cryptic expression by in situ hybridization shows that it is expressed during gastrulation in two spatial domains that correspond to the axial and lateral mesoderm. In the first domain of expression, Cryptic expression is progressively localized to the anterior primitive streak, the head process, and the node and notochordal plate. In the second domain, Cryptic expression is initially concentrated in the lateral region of the egg cylinder, and is later found circumferentially in the intermediate and lateral plate mesoderm. Furthermore, Cryptic expression can also be detected at the early head-fold stage in the midline neuroectoderm, and consequently is an early marker for the prospective floor plate of the neural tube. Expression of Cryptic ceases at the end of gastrulation, and has not been observed in later embryonic stages or in adult tissues. Thus, Cryptic encodes a putative signaling molecule whose expression suggests potential roles in mesoderm and/or neural patterning during gastrulation.
High glucose induces the activity and expression of Na(+)/H(+) exchange in glomerular mesangial cells.

Changes in activity or expression of transporters may account for alterations in cell behavior in diabetes. We sought to ascertain if mesangial cells (MC) grown in different glucose concentrations exhibit changes in activity and expression of acid-extruding transporters, the Na(+)/H(+) and Na(+)-dependent Cl(-)/HCO(-)(3) exchanger. pH(i) was determined by the use of the fluorescent pH-sensitive dye BCECF. In MCs grown in 5 mM glucose (control), the Na(+)/H(+) exchanger was responsible for 31.8 +/- 5.1% of steady-state pH(i), whereas Na(+)-dependent Cl(-)/HCO(-)(3) contributed 62.9 +/- 4.0% (n = 11). In MCs grown in high glucose for 2 wk, Na(+)/H(+) exchange contribution to acid-extrusion increased as follows: 42.3 +/- 4.6% [n = 8, 10 mM, not significant (NS)], 51.1 +/- 5.1% (n = 8, 20 mM, P 7)]. We sought to ascertain if the magnitude of the acute stimulated response to ANG II by the Na(+)/H(+) and Na(+)-dependent Cl(-)/HCO(-)(3) exchanger is changed. Na(+)/H(+) exchanger (1.89-fold increase in 30 vs. 5 mM, P < 0.002), but not Na(+)-dependent Cl(-)/HCO(-)(3) exchange (0. 17-fold, NS), exhibited an enhanced response to ANG II (1 microM). Na(+)/H(+) exchange (NHE1) expression was significantly different (1. 72-fold) after prolonged exposure to high glucose. These results suggest that the Na(+)/H(+) exchanger, but not Na(+)-dependent Cl(-)/HCO(-)(3) exchanger, may play an early role in the response to hyperglycemia in the diabetic state.
Polarity Correspondence as a General Compatibility Principle

Proctor and Cho (2006) proposed that, when making binary decisions, people code the stimulus and response alternatives asymmetrically (positive and negative polarities), with performance being best when the codes of the corresponding polarities are paired. They presented evidence that polarity correspondence could explain many results associated with orthogonal compatibility, the Implicit Association Test, and numerical judgments. We review and evaluate literature on these topics and on polarity coding in the context of metaphorical relations published during the ensuing 10 years. Our conclusion is that the results have supported polarity correspondence as a contributor to binary decisions. We consider issues concerning the principle and topics in need of research.
Abstract 2833: Transfers to Tertiary Care Hospitals Improve Outcome in Patients with Subarachnoid Hemorrhage but not Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Background: Patients with ischemic stroke are being increasingly transferred after initial evaluation at an outside hospital under the drip-and ship paradigm. However, the value of such practices for hemorrhagic strokes cannot be assessed due to limited data on proportion and outcomes of patients who are transferred from an outside hospital to a tertiary care center. Objective: We sought to determine the proportion and outcomes of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) who are transferred from outside hospital to a tertiary care center in United States Methods: We analyzed patient data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, the largest all-payer inpatient care database in the United States, for the 2005-2008 years. All patients with primary diagnoses of SAH or ICH were identified using ICD-9 CM codes. For each diagnosis, baseline characteristics, hospital complications, and outcomes were compared between the patients admitted locally and patients transferred to tertiary hospitals using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results: The absolute numbers and proportions of patients transferred to tertiary hospitals were 11806 (25.7%) and 14282 (10.5%) for SAH and ICH, respectively. In univariate analysis, transferred SAH patients were significantly more likely to be discharged home compared to those who were admitted locally (p Conclusion: Transfers to tertiary hospitals appears to be associated with better clinical outcomes in patients with SAH but not with ICH. Our results warrant a critical evaluation of transfer between hospitals in patients with ICH.
Effect of Boundary Conditions on Geometric Control for an Inflatable Pathfinder System

The incorporation of inflatable structures into aerospace systems can produce significant advantages in stowed volume to mechanical effectiveness and overall weight. Many applications of these ultra-lightweight systems are designed to precisely control internal or external surfaces, or both, to achieve desired performance. The modeling of these structures becomes complex due to the material nonlinearities inherent to the majority of construction materials used in inflatable structures. Furthermore, accurately modeling the response and behavior of the interfacing boundaries that are common to many inflatable systems will lead to better understanding of the entire class of structures. This paper presents nonlinear finite element (FE) simulations performed to evaluate the effect of various boundary conditions on the geometric precision of a coated woven fabric panel representing typical internal/external surfaces commonly incorporated into inflatable structures. Altering geometry, loading level, and material direction of the fabric panel resulted in increased geometric control. The work presented in this paper is part of the development of an inflatable phased pathfinder system to improve efficiency of design and analysis techniques of future inflatable structures.
Cyclosporin A-induced embryopathy in embryo culture is mediated through inhibition of the arachidonic acid pathway.

AbstractEmbryos from Swiss Webster mice were grown in culture for 24 hr starting at Day 8.5 of gestation to study the effects of cyclosporin A (CsA) on the developing embryo. The embryos exposed to concentrations of CsA from 0.1 μ9/ml to 10.0 μg/ml developed a significant increase in the incidence of malformations from 28.6% to 78.6%, as compared with the 6.8% incidence of malformations in the control embryos. These malformations included defects in the neural tubes, head folds, and facial arches. In addition, inhibition of embryonic growth in CsA-exposed embryos was shown by a lower somite number, crown-rump length, and protein content than those of the control embryos. Supplementation of the culture medium with arachidonic acid or prostaglandin E2 decreased the incidence of CsA-induced malformations by 50% to 70% and prevented the CsA-induced inhibition of growth. We conclude that CsA causes abnormal embryonic development in mouse embryo culture and that the mechanism of CsA-induced embryopathy involves...
Extreme response in the attitudes of schizophrenics.

This study investigated the attitude structure of schizophrenic patients with particular reference to rigidity. Zax, Gardiner and Lowy (1964) have shown that schizophrenics give more extreme responses to unstructured materials and other evidence has suggested that such patients display rigid and stereoryped responses, expressed, for example, by inabiliry to shift set or adopt flexible strategies (Shakow, 1963). Such a response style is often heightened in the presence of personally relevant and anxiety arousing material. This study examined this phenomenon in relation to attitudes about relevant and irrelevant topics in a group of schizophrenics attending a day treatment center in an outpatient clinic. (1) Schizophrenics were expected to give more extreme answers than normals in filling out attitude questionnaires; (2) all Ss to give more extreme answers in atticudinal areas that are personally relevant than those which are less so; (3) diagnosis and relevance would interact, such that schizophrenics would give more extreme responses in personally relevant areas than normals. Schizophrenics (n = 40) and 40 normal veterans who attended a medical service in the same clinic and were without known history of emotional disorder filled out a 60-item attitude questionnaire. There were two personally relevant topics, mental illness and work, and two personally irrelevant topics, teenage music and men's clothing styles. Individual items were answered by checking off a six-category Likert scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagvee. Topic relevance was established beforehand by asking 20 schizophrenic and 20 normals similar to chose in the study to choose from 30 topics 3 most and 3 least personally relevanr. Their choices were tallied and topics were selected from the
Barriers to Security Clearances for Gay Men and Lesbians: Fear of Blackmail or Fear of Homosexuals?

Federal policies denied security clearances to lesbians and gay men until the 1980s and subjected gay applicants to intrusive questioning about their sex lives until the 1990s. Administrators argued that homosexuals made poor risks because of their susceptibility to blackmail, but the government has never made a strong public case for that claim. The courts rejected a charge of immorality as a legitimate basis for firing gay federal employees by the mid-1970s, but they deferred to administrative expertise on the issue of security risks even though arguments about blackmail and immorality have always been intertwined. Public opinion data from the 1990s shows that those who disapprove of homosexuality and would limit the civil liberties of gay people are much more reluctant to issue security clearances to them, providing further evidence that morality concerns work their way into at least some federal personnel decisions. Though Executive Order 13087 prohibits discriminating against federal employees on the basis of sexual orientation, the continuing high levels of disapproval of homosexuality suggest that eliminating such discrimination will be difficult.
Books & Resource Reviews

The article reviews the book “Leadership Can Be Taught: A Bold Approach for a Complex World,” by Sharon Daloz Parks.
Analysis of degassing efficiency for multicup isoflux gas anchor

Based on the method of dimensional analysis,the criterion equation of flow of gas/liquid two-phase flow through multicup isoflux gas anchor is established.With the corresponding flow parameters measured through field experiments and the criterion equation mentioned above,the correlation formula of degassing efficiency of flow of gas/liquid two-phase flow through multicup isoflux gas anchor is obtained through the regression analysis using the least square method and the Gaussian elimination.The effects of residence time and water cut and production gas/oil ratio on degassing efficiency are analyzed.The results show that the degassing efficiency increases with the increase of residence time;the degassing efficiency decreases with the increase of the production gas/oil ratio under the condition that the residence time and water cut are certain;the degassing efficiency increases with water cut increasing under the condition that the residence time and production gas/oil ratio are certain;the gradient of degassing efficiency curve decreases obviously when the residence time increases to a definite value,and the flex point occurs.
Do emergency medicine journals promote trial registration and adherence to reporting guidelines? A survey of “Instructions for Authors”

The aim of this study was to evaluate the current state of two publication practices, reporting guidelines requirements and clinical trial registration requirements, by analyzing the “Instructions for Authors” of emergency medicine journals. We performed a web-based data abstraction from the “Instructions for Authors” of the 27 Emergency Medicine journals catalogued in the Expanded Science Citation Index of the 2014 Journal Citation Reports and Google Scholar Metrics h5-index to identify whether each journal required, recommended, or made no mention of the following reporting guidelines: EQUATOR Network, ICMJE, ARRIVE, CARE, CONSORT, STARD, TRIPOD, CHEERS, MOOSE, STROBE, COREQ, SRQR, SQUIRE, PRISMA-P, SPIRIT, PRISMA, and QUOROM. We also extracted whether journals required or recommended trial registration. Authors were blinded to one another’s ratings until completion of the data validation. Cross-tabulations and descriptive statistics were calculated using IBM SPSS 22. Of the 27 emergency medicine journals, 11 (11/27, 40.7%) did not mention a single guideline within their “Instructions for Authors,” while the remaining 16 (16/27, 59.3%) mentioned one or more guidelines. The QUOROM statement and SRQR were not mentioned by any journals whereas the ICMJE guidelines (18/27, 66.7%) and CONSORT statement (15/27, 55.6%) were mentioned most often. Of the 27 emergency medicine journals, 15 (15/27, 55.6%) did not mention trial or review registration, while the remaining 12 (12/27, 44.4%) at least mentioned one of the two. Trial registration through ClinicalTrials.gov was mentioned by seven (7/27, 25.9%) journals while the WHO registry was mentioned by four (4/27, 14.8%). Twelve (12/27, 44.4%) journals mentioned trial registration through any registry platform. The aim of this study was to evaluate the current state of two publication practices, reporting guidelines requirements and clinical trial registration requirements, by analyzing the “Instructions for Authors” of emergency medicine journals. In this study, there was not a single reporting guideline mentioned in more than half of the journals. This undermines efforts of other journals to improve the completeness and transparency of research reporting. Reporting guidelines are infrequently required or recommended by emergency medicine journals. Furthermore, few require clinical trial registration. These two mechanisms may limit bias and should be considered for adoption by journal editors in emergency medicine. UMIN000022486
Materials discovery: Understanding polycrystals from large-scale electron patterns

This paper explores the idea of modeling a large image data collection of polycrystal electron patterns, in order to detect insights in understanding materials discovery. There is an emerging interest in applying big data processing, management and modeling methods to scientific images, which often come in a form and with patterns only interpretable to domain experts. While large-scale machine learning approaches have demonstrated certain superiority in analyzing, summarizing, and providing an understandable route to data types like natural images, speeches and texts, scientific images is still a relatively unexplored area. Deep convolutional neural networks, despite their recent triumph in natural image understanding, are still rarely seen adapted to experimental microscopic images, especially in a large scale. To the best of our knowledge, we present the first deep learning solution towards a scientific image indexing problem using a collection of over 300K microscopic images. The result obtained is 54% better than a dictionary lookup method which is state-of-the-art in the materials science society.
In vivo and in vitro diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis infection.

The intradermal delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin test, using purified protein derivative from culture of M. bovis or M. avium, is the most frequently used test for diagnosis of tuberculosis or detection of M. bovis infection in cattle. Many improvements have been made to the original tuberculin test, and molecular approaches to identify and clone antigens may lead to improved specificity and sensitivity of DTH skin tests. Recent advances in technology have allowed the development of new in vitro techniques, such as antibody-based, cell-mediated immunity-based and nucleic acid-based diagnostics, which allow more rapid diagnosis than bacteriological culture. The choice of diagnostic technique should consider both the population being investigated (e.g. apparently healthy animals or a herd with a high prevalence of clinical infection) and the aim of the testing (e.g. the screening of healthy animals or confirmation of infection in animals strongly suspected to be infected). Moreover, any evaluation of a diagnostic test must use a carefully selected control population which is representative of the population to be tested in terms of relative proportions of infected and non-infected animals.
Agent-based computational model of retinal angiogenesis simulates microvascular network morphology as a function of pericyte coverage.

Objective Define a role for perivascular cells during developmental retinal angiogenesis in the context of EC Notch1-DLL4 signaling at the multicellular network level. Methods The retinal vasculature is highly sensitive to growth factor-mediated intercellular signaling. Although EC signaling has been explored in detail, it remains unclear how PC function to modulate these signals that lead to a diverse set of vascular network patterns in health and disease. We have developed an ABM of retinal angiogenesis that incorporates both ECs and PCs to investigate the formation of vascular network patterns as a function of pericyte coverage. We use our model to test the hypothesis that PC modulate Notch1-DLL4 signaling in endothelial cell-endothelial cell interactions. Results Agent-based model (ABM) simulations that include PCs more accurately predict experimentally observed vascular network morphologies than simulations that lack PCs, suggesting that PCs may influence sprouting behaviors through physical blockade of endothelial intercellular connections. Conclusions This study supports a role for PCs as a physical buffer to signal propagation during vascular network formation-a barrier that may be important for generating healthy microvascular network patterns.
Impact of Electronic Health Records on Long-Term Care Facilities: Systematic Review.

Background: Long-term care (LTC) facilities are an important part of the health care industry, providing care to the fastest-growing group of the population. However, the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) in LTC facilities lags behind other areas of the health care industry. One of the reasons for the lack of widespread adoption in the United States is that LTC facilities are not eligible for incentives under the Meaningful Use program. Implementation of an EHR system in an LTC facility can potentially enhance the quality of care, provided it is appropriately implemented, used, and maintained. Unfortunately, the lag in adoption of the EHR in LTC creates a paucity of literature on the benefits of EHR implementation in LTC facilities. Objective: The objective of this systematic review was to identify the potential benefits of implementing an EHR system in LTC facilities. The study also aims to identify the common conditions and EHR features that received favorable remarks from providers and the discrepancies that needed improvement to build up momentum across LTC settings in adopting this technology. Methods: The authors conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), and MEDLINE databases. Papers were analyzed by multiple referees to filter out studies not germane to our research objective. A final sample of 28 papers was selected to be included in the systematic review. Results: Results of this systematic review conclude that EHRs show significant improvement in the management of documentation in LTC facilities and enhanced quality outcomes. Approximately 43% (12/28) of the papers reported a mixed impact of EHRs on the management of documentation, and 33% (9/28) of papers reported positive quality outcomes using EHRs. Surprisingly, very few papers demonstrated an impact on patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction, the length of stay, and productivity using EHRs. Conclusions: Overall, implementation of EHRs has been found to be effective in the few LTC facilities that have implemented them. Implementation of EHRs in LTC facilities caused improved management of clinical documentation that enabled better decision making. [JMIR Med Inform 2017;5(3):e35]
Building a Clinical Quality Improvement Program

Purpose of review This analysis describes the development of a robust quality improvement infrastructure at a large academic children’s hospital and explores the foundational components of the program, as well as the implementation of a combined top-down and bottom-up approach to quality improvement. Recent findings Quality improvement efforts have been proven to enhance quality and patient safety in the pediatric hospital setting. Successful improvement efforts require a commitment to quality improvement, a strong combination of clinical leadership and expertise, trained improvement staff, a developed and flexible data infrastructure, and an institutional improvement framework. A robust data infrastructure and the role of the QI team composed of clinical leads, data analysts, and improvement advisors are also explored. Summary Combining a pragmatic framework with the appropriate staff and data infrastructure can result in a powerful clinical quality improvement program.
Comprehensive PHEV Powertrain Co-design Performance Studies Using MDSDO

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) powertrain design is a complex process that requires an approach which enables the simultaneous integration of component design and powertrain control strategy decisions. Combined optimal design and control (co-design) methods are generally used to support this design paradigm. Although several PHEV powertrain co-design problems have been explored in the past, there have been no studies that have simultaneously addressed the impact of performance criteria such as acceleration performance and all-electric range (AER) along with predefined duty cycles on component design and hybrid mode (non-AER) supervisory control strategies. This is problematic as these performance criteria tend to strongly affect component sizing, which in turn can affect the supervisory control strategy in such a way that a non-performance-based co-design solution may become suboptimal. Therefore, this research addresses these issues by solving a comprehensive PHEV powertrain co-design performance study using a co-design method known as multidisciplinary dynamic system design optimization (MDSDO). In particular, MDSDO is implemented to simultaneously identify the optimal component designs, powertrain supervisory control strategies, and AER performance of a mid-size PHEV during a predefined vehicle duty cycle and a 0–60 mph acceleration maneuver such that the vehicle operating cost is minimized. A family of optimal solutions is generated by performing a parametric study for three distinct values of AER. The results from this study indicate that the formal inclusion of the performance criteria in a co-design problem has a significant impact on both component design and hybrid-mode supervisory control strategies.
Oxidation behavior of stainless steels 304 and 316 under the Venus atmospheric surface conditions

Abstract In general support of planetary exploration missions, the chemical, structural and microstructural behavior of stainless steels 304 and 316 was probed after exposure to a gas mixture with temperature, pressure, and composition mimicking the Venus lower atmosphere. Exposures were carried out in the Glenn Extreme Environments Rig (GEER) chamber with the Venusian gas mixture (96.5% CO2, 3.5% N2, 30 ppm H2O, 150 ppm SO2, 28 ppm CO, 15 ppm OCS, 3 ppm H2S, 0.5 ppm HCl and 5 ppb HF) at 9.2 × 106 Pa and 740 K for a duration of 10, 21, and 42 days. Stainless steel 304 and 316 samples were characterized before and after the experiment by gravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and cross-section electron microscopy analysis. All samples exposed to the Venusian atmosphere formed double-layered scales in which the outer layer is mainly magnetite (Fe3O4) and the inner layer is mainly spinel (Fe3-xCrxO4). Nickel sulfide and oxide formed at the interface of stainless steel 304. Nickel sulfide also formed in the inner and outer layer of the stainless steel 316 scale. Chromium carbide was only detected by Auger analysis at the interface of the unpolished side of the stainless steel 304 coupon sample. Stainless steel 304 with its smoother surface (780.62 nm total roughness on the polished side and 3.57 μm on the unpolished side) and slightly higher chromium and slightly lower nickel content, exhibited slower kinetics of oxidation (3.1 ± 0.5 × 10−3 mg cm−2 day−1) than stainless steel 316 (0.05 ± 0.07 mg cm−2 day−1) with its rougher surface (4.78 μm total roughness on both sides). The slightly higher molybdenum content in stainless steel 316 was also responsible for increasing its kinetics of oxidation because of the formation of molybdenum sulfide. Our thermodynamic calculations of the phase assemblage containing the Venus gas mixture and the stainless steel samples predicted hematite Cr2O3(s), Fe2O3(s), CrS(l), Cr2S3(l), NiS(l), FeS(l), CrO(l), H2(g), HCl(g), HF(g), NH3(g) and H2S(g) as the thermodynamically stable phases formed at the Venus atmospheric conditions.
Bacterial Attachment to Plant Cell Walls

A plant encounters a large number of potential pathogens in its environment, but, because of the highly specific nature of most host-pathogen interactions, rarely does successful infection occur. This specificity apparently is dependent on the initial recognition between the plant and pathogen, which may be mediated by the interaction of complementary macromolecules on the surfaces of both organisms. Recognition can facilitate growth of both organisms, as is the case of symbiotic relationships. Recognition also could function as a defense mechanism. A plant can recognize and immobilize a potential pathogen, thus preventing its multiplication. Though the hypothesis of recognition as a specific defense mechanism is an attractive explanation of various resistance phenomena, it has not been demonstrated unequivocally. Most of the work in this area involves symbiotic or plant pathogenic bacteria. This paper will examine the evidence for attachment of bacteria to plant cell walls and then proceed to a discussion of the nature of the bacterial and plant components that may be involved.
Effects of Estrogen in Gender-dependent Fetal Programming of Adult Cardiovascular Dysfunction.

Background Epidemiological studies and experimental studies have demonstrated that intrauterine adverse environment increases the risk of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) in adulthood. However, whether an individual develops a cardiovascular dysfunctional phenotype may depend on genetic background, age, and sex. Methods In this review, we summarize some of the recent experimental animal studies in the developmental programming of adult CVD with an emphasis on sex differences and the potential role of estrogen in mediating sexual dimorphism. Results Few epidemiological studies report the effect of sex on the developmental programming of CVD. However, numerous experimental animal studies have shown a sex difference in fetal programming of adult cardiovascular dysfunction. Most of the animal studies indicate that male offspring develop cardiovascular dysfunction and CVD in adulthood, whereas adult females appear to be protected. Estrogen is one of the key factors that contributes to the sex difference of adult CVD. Estrogen/its Receptor (ER) may interact with the RAS system by changes of DNA methylation patterns at the target gene promoter, serve as an antioxidant to counteract the prenatal insults-induced heightened ROS, and function as an eNOS activator to increase vasodilation, resulting in the protection of female offspring from the development of hypertension and other CVDs. Conclusion These studies suggest that estrogen/ER may contribute to sex differences in cardiovascular response to an adverse intrauterine environment and play a significant role in modulating the cardiovascular response in adulthood.
High-speed imaging of inhomogeneous ignition in a shock tube

Homogeneous and inhomogeneous ignition of real and surrogate fuels were imaged in two Stanford shock tubes, revealing the influence of small particle fragmentation. n-Heptane, iso-octane, and Jet A were studied, each mixed in an oxidizer containing 21% oxygen and ignited at low temperatures (900–1000 K), low pressures (1–2 atm), with an equivalence ratio of 0.5. Visible images (350–1050 nm) were captured through the shock tube endwall using a high-speed camera. Particles were found to arrive near the endwalls of the shock tubes approximately 5 ms after reflection of the incident shock wave. Reflected shock wave experiments using diaphragm materials of Lexan and steel were investigated. Particles collected from the shock tubes after each experiment were found to match the material of the diaphragm burst during the experiment. Following each experiment, the shock tubes were cleaned by scrubbing with cotton cloths soaked with acetone. Particles were observed to fragment after arrival near the endwall, often leading to inhomogeneous ignition of the fuel. Distinctly more particles were observed during experiments using steel diaphragms. In experiments exhibiting inhomogeneous ignition, flames were observed to grow radially until all the fuel within the cross section of the shock tube had been consumed. The influence of diluent gas (argon or helium) was also investigated. The use of He diluent gas was found to suppress the number of particles capable of causing inhomogeneous flames. The use of He thus allowed time history studies of ignition to extend past the test times that would have been limited by inhomogeneous ignition.
Transition-metal-free C-H amidation and chlorination: synthesis of N/N'-mono-substituted imidazopyridin-2-ones from N-pyridyl-N-hydroxylamine intermediates.

Non-symmetric 1,3-substituted imidazopyridin-2-ones are a common structural scaffold found among many biologically active molecules. Herein we report an efficient, mild, and transition-metal free C–H amidation strategy to access such a pyrido-fused cyclic urea framework in good yields and with a broad functional group tolerance.
Relapse prevention: Using sound to reduce the probability of recidivism and suffering following detoxification

The truth of the adage, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", is exemplified by the opioid crisis now facing the world. While the best way to rid society of drug addiction is to prevent it from occurring in the first place, this is highly unlikely in the near future given the many ways that individuals can be first exposed to some potentially addicting substance. When an addiction is established, the first treatment for it is detoxification, but the insidious nature of addiction is its propensity to relapse. Too often, detoxified addicts resume drug use despite knowing that they are exposing themselves to serious, sometimes fatal, consequences. In an attempt to ward off relapse following detoxification, drug treatment centers, clinics, rehabilitation facilities, half-way houses, etc., offer different types of programs to help addicts stay clean. Examples of such treatments are 12-step programs, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), faith-based programs, and so forth. In addition, narcotics like methadone and suboxone, are sometimes prescribed to control the cravings that drive relapse, but this approach simply substitutes one drug for another. We now hypothesize that the auditory system can be used as a sensory conduit to modify the hijacked brain reward system of recently-detoxified addicts. As a rationale for this hypothesis, we present evidence from basic science studies showing the effect of music (the sensory input) on the brain, and from clinical trials employing music in a variety of neurological conditions. We then summarize an IRB-approved randomized control trial we performed to determine if our sound intervention could reduce the probability of relapse in recently-detoxified subjects. We end with suggestions for further study.
Toward a Nonzero-sum Approach to Resolving Global Intellectual Property Disputes: What We Can Learn from Mediators, Business Strategists, and International Relations Theorists

Countries differ in terms of their levels of wealth, economic structures, technological capabilities, political systems, and cultural tradition. No two countries have the same needs or goals. As a result, policymakers face different political pressures and make different value judgments as to what would best promote the creation and dissemination of intellectual works in their own countries. These uncoordinated judgments eventually result in a conflicting set of intellectual property laws around the world. As countries become increasingly interdependent in this globalized economy, these conflicting laws create tension and sometimes result in disputes. To minimize differences and prevent conflicts, countries use a variety of dispute resolution techniques, including self-help, coercion, mutual exchange of information, international agreements, and multilateral regimes. Commentators generally analyze these techniques by focusing on the number of parties involved in resolving an intellectual property dispute. Using a unilateral-bilateral-multilateral trichotomy, commentators suggest that one can infer some general characteristics of a dispute resolution arrangement by counting the number of parties involved in resolving a conflict. This Article argues that, although the unilateral-bilateral-multilateral trichotomy provides some helpful insights into the nature of a dispute resolution arrangement, it provides very limited information about the effectiveness and future prospects of that arrangement. Thus, the Article proposes a new, but companion, analytical framework, which focuses on the approach used to resolve the conflict, instead of the number of parties involved. Drawing on the experiences of mediators, business strategists, and international relations theorists, this Article argues that the nonzero-sum approach is the most preferable approach used to resolve global intellectual property disputes.
The Origin of Petroleum

and proposed that bitumen, like other minerals, condensed from sulfur. Andreas Libavius, another German physician, theorized in his 1597 text Alchemia that bitumen formed from the resins of ancient trees. These early discussions mark the beginnings of one of the longest running scientific debates: whether petroleum is formed by abiogenic processes that occur deep within the Earth, or from sedimentary organic matter that was once living organisms. As fossil evidence emerged during the 18 century that coals were derived from plant remains, many scientists proposed similar origins to
Computational aspects of mechanism design

In a preference aggregation setting, a group of agents must jointly make a decision, based on the individual agents’ privately known preferences. To do so, the agents need some protocol (or mechanism) that will elicit this information from them, and make the decision. Examples of such mechanisms include voting protocols, auctions, and exchanges. In most real-world settings, preference aggregation is confronted with the following three computational issues. First, there is the complexity of executing the mechanism. Second, when standard mechanisms do not apply to or are suboptimal for the setting at hand, there is the complexity of designing the mechanism. Third, the agents face the complexity of (strategically) participating in the mechanism. My thesis statement is that by studying these computational aspects of the mechanism design process, we can significantly improve the generated mechanisms in a hierarchy of ways, leading to increased economic welfare.
Forensic Research : Expanding the Concept of Applied Archaeology

Anthropology, along with chemistry, geology, physics, medicine, and mathematics, consists of scientific modes of inquiry and techniques that have application for the public good beyond the boundaries of the respective disciplines. Within the past few decades the application of these sciences has emerged as a major force in scientific police investigations. The methods and techniques of archaeology are increasingly being applied by physical anthropologists and police investigators to the excavation of bodies buried during the course of criminal activity. It is argued that the potential for substantive and methodological contributions to archaeology, as well as to the criminal justice system, warrants increased participation and support of forensic research by forensically trained professional archaeologists.