cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhanced Diazinon Susceptibility in Pyrethroid-Resistant Horn Flies (Diptera: Muscidae): Potential for Insecticide Resistance Management

Dose-mortality data from 40 horn fly, Haematobia irritans (L.), populations revealed that susceptibility to permethrin and diazinon was negatively correlated (i.e., as susceptibility to permethrin decreased, toxicity of diazinon increased). Permethrin resistant horn fly populations exposed for 18 wk to cattle tagged with ear tags impregnated with 20% (AI) diazinon resulted in a 2- to 6-fold reduction in this resistance. These populations also had LC50s for diazinon that were two to five times lower than those of populations susceptible to permethrin. Frequency of homozygous permethrin-resistant individuals decreased as much as 57% after exposure to diazinon during this period.
Economic considerations in treating patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Economic considerations in treating patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are reviewed. Glycemic control, lipid profiles, and adherence to standards of care are less than optimal in many patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes has an enormous economic impact, and its related costs in the United States are expected to increase as the frequency of the disease increases. A substantial portion of diabetes-related health care expenditures is allotted to the treatment of cardiovascular disease, a major complication of diabetes. Significant health care resources are spent in a reactive manner (i.e., after complications have developed), with little emphasis on preventive care. One large study conducted in the United Kingdom demonstrated that providing intensive blood glucose control significantly reduced the risk of microvascular complications, such as retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy, in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Factors to consider in selecting pharmacotherapy for these patients include the magnitude of change in measures of glycemic control provided by the medication, other desired metabolic changes and outcomes (e.g., blood pressure and lipid changes), mechanism of action, adverse effects, contraindications, patient adherence, and cost. Early interventions, such as annual urinalysis and screening for microalbuminemia, annual comprehensive eye examination by an ophthalmologist or optometrist, and screening for neuropathy and foot problems are cost-effective ways of reducing diabetes-related complications. Interventions recommended for reducing the risk for cardiovascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus include lipid control, blood pressure control, aspirin therapy, smoking cessation, and weight loss. Achieving and maintaining glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus improves quality of life and is cost-effective, especially among patients with comorbid heart disease, hypertension, or both.
Analysis of Surveillance of Human Infection with Avian Flu H7N9 in Yangjiang City

Objective To understand epidemic trend of human infection with avian flu H7N9 and provide scientific basis for prevention and control. Methods sureveillances were conducted including flu-like case, severe acute respiratory infection case, population with occupational exposure and pollution of live avian market environment. RT-PCR was used to detect influenza and avian influenza virus nucleic acid. Results Up to April 30, 2014, four were confirmed and two were dead with H7N9 avian influenza infection in Yangjiang. From December 16, 2013 to April 30, 2014, of flu-like cases,those who went to visit doctors account for 4.30 %. Avian influenza virus nucleic acid was detected in 3 out of 128 specimens from 128 reported cases with severe acute respiratory infection. out of 186 occupational people under medical observation,nobody was identified as H7N9 avian influenza infection. Of 1188 environmental samples collected,78 were positive avian influenza virus nucleic acid,with the positive rate of 6.57 %.Of 194 market-monitoring frequencies, 42 were detected with positive results(positive rate:21.65 %). Conclusion Wide severe environmental contamination of live poultry markets in Yangjiang contributed to occurrence of human H7N9 avian influenza infection.Strengthening the management of live poultry markets, carrying out strict disinfection measures is an effective way to control the epidemic
Surveillance of Leptospirosis in Qingyuan City in 2004

Objective To study the surveillance of leptospirosis in Qingyuan in 2004, and to provide the scientific bases for the prevention and control measures. Methods Leptospira were cultured from the serum samples of patients, and the kidney samples of mice, birds and frogs. Anti-leptospira antibodies were detected by the MAT method from the serum samples of health people, patients, mice and birds. Results There were 10 reported cases of leptospirosis in Qingyuan in 2004, with an incidence rate of 0.25/105, mortality rate of 0.03/105 and fatality rate of 10.00%. 5 Javanica serogroups leptospira were cultured from mice's kidney, with a positive rate of 5.00%. The positive rates of anti-leptospira antibody in health people before and after epidemic period were 13.27% and 4.00%, respectively. The positive rates in patients, mice and birds were 13.27%, 4.00%, 15.79%, 22.00% and 4.00%, respectively. Conclusions The positive rates of anti-leptospira antibody test in people and mice were high. People with leptospirosis were shifted to older age group. The rodent species which carried leptospira was change from vole to mouse. It was the first time that the anti-leptospira antibodies were detected in birds (duck). So surveillance of leptospirosis should be enhanced and a more comprehensive control measures should be taken to prevent and control of leptospirosis.
Impact of quadriceps strengthening on response to fatiguing exercise following ACL reconstruction

Abstract Objectives Patients commonly experience altered response to fatiguing exercise after ACL reconstruction (ACLR). The objective of this study was to assess the impact of quadriceps strengthening on response to exercise after ACLR. Design Clinical trial. Methods Ten participants with a history of primary, unilateral ACLR (sex = 9F/1M, age = 21.0 ± 2.8 years, BMI = 23.7 ± 2.7 kg/m 2 ) and 10 healthy participants (sex = 9F/1M, age = 22.2 ± 3.2 years, BMI = 23.8 ± 3.9 kg/m 2 ) participated. ACLR participants completed a 2-week quadriceps strengthening intervention including 14 progressive strengthening exercise sessions. Normalized knee extension maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) torque (Nm/kg) and quadriceps central activation ratio (%, CAR) were measured before and after a 30-minute fatiguing exercise protocol. ACLR participants completed testing before and after the 2-week intervention while control participants completed a single testing session. Results The intervention significantly improved normalized knee extension MVIC torque (pre-intervention = 1.85 ± 0.67Nm/kg, post-intervention = 2.09 ± 0.81Nm/kg, p = 0.04) and quadriceps CAR in the ACLR involved limb (pre-intervention = 86.51 ± 5.03%, post-intervention = 92.94 ± 5.99%, p = 0.02). Quadriceps CAR (pre-intervention = 1.13 ± 9.04%, post-intervention = −3.97 ± 4.59%, p = 0.16) and normalized knee extension MVIC torque (pre-intervention = 0.26 ± 20.90%, post-intervention = −8.02 ± 12.82%, p = 0.30) response to exercise did not significantly change from pre-intervention to post-intervention conditions. Conclusions Two weeks of quadriceps strengthening reduced this between group difference in the involved limb which may indicate restoration of more optimal quadriceps neuromuscular function and increased demand on the quadriceps during physical activity.
Increased Odds of Melanoma: Essential Tremor, Dystonia, Parkinson's Disease vs. Controls (P1.019)

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that essential tremor (ET) would be associated with an increased odds of cancer, and particularly, melanoma and other integumentary cancers (i.e., skin and appendages). We also examined whether dystonia, another movement disorder, might be associated with these cancers. Background: Patients with Parkinson9s disease (PD) have an increased risk of melanoma, although the mechanisms are unclear. We are unaware of studies that have assessed the association between other movement disorders, such as ET and dystonia, and melanoma. These movement disorders may share biological mechanisms. Methods: 108 PD cases, 139 ET cases, and 54 dystonia cases, all diagnosed by movement disorders neurologists, and 124 controls were enrolled in a research study of the epidemiology of movement disorders (total n = 425). The groups were frequency-matched on age and gender. Cancer diagnoses were by self-report. To validate melanoma diagnoses, medical records and pathological reports were reviewed with treating dermatologists. Results: The prevalence of melanoma was higher in PD cases than controls (13.9[percnt] vs. 1.6[percnt], p<0.001), and was marginally higher in ET cases (5.8[percnt], p = 0.08) and dystonia cases (7.4[percnt], p = 0.06) than controls. In adjusted logistic regression models, the odds of melanoma was 7.09 - 9.84 times higher in PD cases than controls (p values = 0.01 - 0.003), 3.73 - 4.10 times higher in ET cases than controls (p values = 0.08 - 0.10), and 4.88 - 5.27 times higher in dystonia cases than controls (p values = 0.06 - 0.07). Conclusions: These data suggest that the links between neurological disorders and melanoma, long-known, may not be specific to PD and may extend to other movement disorders. Confirmatory studies are needed as well as studies that attempt to establish the temporal relationship between these conditions and mechanisms for these putative associations. Disclosure: Dr. Louis has nothing to disclose. Dr. Shalaby has nothing to disclose.
Abdominal Imaging Dual-Energy CT Applications

Dual energy CT (DECT) technology offers enhanced capabilities that can benefit both oncologic and nononcologic imaging in the abdomen. By virtue of scanning with two different energies, material decomposition is now possible on the basis of their energy dependent attenuation profile. Improvements in the iodine conspicuity on processed low energy virtual monochromatic (VMC) images and the iodine maps can benefit lesion detection and characterization. VMC images generated with desired energies (40–140 keV) can improve lesion to background contrast and improve the quality of vascular imaging for pre-surgical planning. The iodine specific images can enable separation of hypo attenuating tumors from low attenuation or hyperdense cysts as well as facilitate detection of isoattenuating tumors such as pancreatic mass, peritoneal disease or for defining tumor target for image-guided therapies. Moreover, quantitative iodine mapping can serve as a surrogate biomarker for monitoring post-treatment effects. DECT also shows promise in nononcologic imaging in the abdomen including discrimination of genitourinary stone composition, which impacts clinical management, and renal lesions characterization. Additional DECT applications include multimaterial decomposition, potentially allowing quantification of fat and fibrotic content of the liver. Furthermore, DECT improves patient safety with CT exams, allowing decreased iodinated contrast administration while achieving similar imaging characteristics and decreasing radiation exposure in multiphase examinations through incorporation of VUE (virtual unenhanced) images.
Phosphorus balances of adults fed rice, milk, and wheat flour mixtures.

Phosphorus balances of adults on diets high in rice or rice combined with milk and/or wheat flour are reported. A need for further investigation of phosphorus requirements is suggested.
In Vitro and In Vivo Blood–Brain Barrier Models to Study West Nile Virus Pathogenesis

The blood-brain barrier (BBB), a specialized interface between the peripheral blood circulation and the central nervous system, specifically regulates molecular and cellular flux between the two. It plays a critical role in the maintenance of brain hemostasis. The BBB restricts the entry of pathogens into the brain, and thus its permeability is a critical factor that determines their central effects. Once the permeability of BBB is compromised, it has serious implications in the etiology of many brain pathologies including West Nile virus (WNV) disease. In this chapter, we describe protocols for preparation, maintenance, infection and permeability measurement of monolayer and bilayer in vitro BBB models to study WNV pathogenesis. We also describe Evans blue dye assay, a well-established method to test vascular permeability in vivo after WNV infection.
Entity Resolution Using Convolutional Neural Network

Abstract Entity resolution is an important application in field of data cleaning. Standard approaches like deterministic methods and probabilistic methods are generally used for this purpose. Many new approaches using single layer perceptron, crowdsourcing etc. are developed to improve the efficiency and also to reduce the time of entity resolution. The approaches used for this purpose also depend on the type of dataset, labeled or unlabeled. This paper presents a new method for labeled data which uses single layered convolutional neural network to perform entity resolution. It also describes how crowdsourcing can be used with the output of the convolutional neural network to further improve the accuracy of the approach while minimizing the cost of crowdsourcing. The paper also discusses the data pre-processing steps used for training the convolutional neural network. Finally it describes the airplane sensor dataset which is used for demonstration of this approach and then shows the experimental results achieved using convolutional neural network.
Nonlinear Control of Body Side-Slip Angle for 4WS Vehicles

Abstract Using a simple nonlinear 2D vehicle model, the paper compares a previously developed zero vehicle side-slip rear-steer control with corresponding nonlinear extensions. The comparison is done in terms of lateral velocities and yaw rates for small and large steering maneuvers.
Does Survival Vary for Breast Cancer Patients in the United States? A Study from Six Randomly Selected States.

Background. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Disparities in some characteristics of breast cancer patients and their survival data for six randomly selected states in the US were examined. Materials and Methods. A probability random sampling method was used to select the records of 2,000 patients from each of six randomly selected states. Demographic and disease characteristics were extracted from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. To evaluate relationships between variables, we employed a Cox Proportional Regression to compare survival times in the different states. Results. Iowa had the highest mean age of diagnosis at 64.14 years ( ) and Georgia had the lowest at 57.97 years ( ). New Mexico had the longest mean survival time of 189.09 months ( ) and Hawaii the shortest at 119.01 ( ) months, a 70.08-month difference (5.84 years). Analysis of stage of diagnosis showed that the highest survival times for Whites and American Indians/Alaska Natives were for stage I cancers. The highest survival times for Blacks varied. Stage IV cancer consistently showed the lowest survival times. Conclusions. Differences in breast cancer characteristics across states highlight the need to understand differences between the states that result in variances in breast cancer survival.
Dissolution and surface roughening of Columbia River flood basalt at geologic carbon sequestration conditions

Abstract Carbon storage in basalt reservoirs can mitigate CO 2 emissions to the atmosphere that contribute to climate change. For basalt reservoirs, CO 2 injection leads to Ca 2 + , Fe 2 + , and Mg 2 + -rich solutions that may result in carbonate precipitation for long-term stable carbon sequestration. Examination of basalt surfaces as dissolution progresses can offer important information about which minerals are dissolving, the timing and sequence of dissolution, and the effects these processes have on surface roughness and morphology. We carried out two series of experiments using two polished Columbia River flood basalt samples in CO 2 -rich water at 150 °C and 100 bar to observe the physical and geochemical changes during dissolution. One series reacted a sample over short time increments, while the other series examined a separate sample over longer time increments. Scanning electron microscopy, 2D profilometer analysis, and 3D laser confocal microscopy were combined with ICP-MS to characterize dissolution. Dissolution resulted in pitting, dissolution along fractures and grain boundaries, and an increase in species concentrations in the bulk solution over incremented reaction times. Based on these observations, early dissolution of olivine grains contribute Mg 2 + and Fe 2 + to aqueous solution in initial stages ( 2 + , Fe 2 + , and Ca 2 + to the bulk solution over a longer period of time. The complete dissolution of olivine grains resulted in pits up to 200 μm deep. Dissolution of plagioclase and matrix was slower and resulted in the formation of micro-sized textures (
Moving Toward an Integrated Framework of Offshore Information Technology Outsourcing Success

ABSTRACTOffshore information technology outsourcing is a popular strategic choice for businesses today. Firms are increasingly outsourcing their complex information technology-based projects, business processes, and services to offshore locations to achieve competitive advantage. Traditionally, offshore information technology outsourcing was a means to reduce costs and/or increase efficiencies by focusing on core activities. Recently, the emphasis has shifted to pursuing it as a strategy for cooperative advantage through resource sharing and building long-term relationships with the offshore partners. However, many such offshore outsourcing relationships fail due to a lack of understanding and proper operationalization of the critical success factors that influence global client–vendor partnerships. In the current study, the authors draw upon existing literature to identify popular theoretical perspectives and key operational, environmental, and relational factors influencing the success of offshore infor...
Risk Adjustments Based on Socioeconomic Status in Pediatrics: Adjusting Our Expectations.

* Abbreviations: ABSM — : area-based socioeconomic measure BCBSMA — : Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts In their article in this issue of Pediatrics , Chien et al1 appear to raise an interesting policy dilemma. By using data from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) during the period from 2008 to 2012, the authors linked annual plan payment claims to geocoded socioeconomic background information on the plan’s pediatric participants aged 0 to 20 years. They found that children living in census tracks with higher socioeconomic characteristics used more services at higher unit prices than children living in census tracts with lower socioeconomic characteristics. If payments to plans are risk-adjusted on the basis of the socioeconomic status of enrollees, then these findings suggest that resources will be directed to plans that enroll children from better-off families relative to plans that enroll poorer children, which is an impact at odds with the expectations of those who advocate for adding socioeconomic status to risk stratification algorithms. The study’s principal finding should not be all that surprising. Health care services are “normal” goods, meaning that as income rises, … Address correspondence to Andrew D. Racine, MD, PhD, Executive Offices, Montefiore Health System, 111 East 210th St, Bronx, NY 10467. E-mail: aracine{at}montefiore.org
High-Throughput Fitness Profiling of Zika Virus E Protein Reveals Different Roles for Glycosylation during Infection of Mammalian and Mosquito Cells

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection causes Guillain-Barre syndrome and severe birth defects. ZIKV envelope (E) protein is the major viral protein involved in cell receptor binding and entry and is therefore considered one of the major determinants in ZIKV pathogenesis. Here we report a gene-wide mapping of functional residues of ZIKV E protein using a mutant library, with changes covering every nucleotide position. By comparing the replication fitness of every viral mutant between mosquito and human cells, we identified that mutations affecting glycosylation display the most divergence. By characterizing individual mutants, we show that ablation of glycosylation selectively benefits ZIKV infection of mosquito cells by enhancing cell entry, whereas it either has little impact on ZIKV infection on certain human cells or leads to decreased infection through the entry factor DC-SIGN. In conclusion, we define the roles of individual residues of ZIKV envelope protein, which contribute to ZIKV replication fitness in human and mosquito cells.
Acquisition of Letter Naming Knowledge, Phonological Awareness, and Spelling Knowledge of Kindergarten Children at Risk for Learning to Read

This study measures letter naming, phonological awareness, and spelling knowledge in 2,100 kindergarten students attending 63 schools within a large, urban school district. Students were assessed across December, February, and May of the kindergarten year. Results found that, by May, 71.8% of students had attained full letter naming knowledge. Phonological awareness emerged more slowly with 48% of students able to reliably segment and blend phonemes in words. Spelling development, a measure of phonics knowledge, found that, by May, 71.8% of students were in the partial-alphabetic phase. A series of regression analyses revealed that by the end of kindergarten both letter naming and phonological awareness were significant predictors of spelling knowledge (b = .332 and .518 for LK and PA, resp.), explaining 52.7% of the variance.
Giardia and virus monitoring of sewage effluent in the state of Arizona

Arizona, located in the arid Southwestern United States, is heavily dependent on groundwater. In order to protect this limited resource, wastewater reuse has been implemented. Virus and Giardia monitoring of wastewater used for irrigation has also been initiated as a means for controlling the public9s exposure to these pathogens. Treatment facilities must produce wastewater with no detectable Giardia cysts and one virus plaque forming unit (pfu) per 40 liters (L) for unrestricted reuse. For restricted reuse, 125 pfu/40 L is allowed. Methods based on filtration were used to monitor facilities at monthly, quarterly or biannual frequencies. Results after two years of monitoring are presented. All 11 treatment facilities produced water meeting the virus standard of 125 pfu/40 L. Only plants which used sand filtration and disinfection achieved consistent levels of virus below 1 pfu/40 L. Out of 70 samples, 74% contained no detectable viruses. Giardia was detected in 29 to 50% of the samples. Most plants would need to upgrade their treatment in order to meet standards for unrestricted irrigation.
Indentation Fracture of Pure and MeV Energy Ion Implanted Sapphire

The indentation test is considered to be one of the simplest and fastest techniques for gathering a variety of experimental data on the mechanical properties of solids. This method has been used for years to estimate the plastic properties of materials. However, when testing brittle materials (including most ceramics at room temperature) the fracture usually occurs around and beneath the indenter. The generation of cracks during the indentation cycle may influence the deformation process, and in consequence affect the hardness value [1]. This is frequently overlooked in most reports since the standard procedure is developed for metallic materials which do no consider the effect of cracks, a criticism pointed out by Clinton and Morrell [2].
Additional Adaptations Against Predation

As butterflies, monarchs (Danaus plexippus) (Fig. 7.1) do not fight predators or act passively if an attack by a predator is imminent; instead, the monarch uses warning coloration and chemical defenses against predation. As adults, monarchs are brightly colored in orange, black, and white; they, therefore, stand out in the environment to a predator, much like the pattern of a poisonous coral snake (Micrurus fulvius) (Zug et al. 2001). What does the coloration of a monarch signal to a potential predator? That is unpalatable, so stay away. Monarch becomes unpalatable because of toxins that larvae feed upon in milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). These toxins are cardio glycosides, which elicits vomiting in birds that may feed upon them. Only two bird species, the black-headed oriole (Icterus abeillei) and the black-headed grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) are known to feed on monarch with no ill effect. In fact, the viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) mimics the coloration of the monarch to offset predation on it, which is a form of mimicry known as Batesian.
Expression of FLOWERING LOCUS C and a frameshift mutation of this gene on chromosome 20 differentiate a summer and winter annual biotype of Camelina sativa

The nature of the vegetative to reproductive transition in the shoot apical meristem of Camelina sativa summer annual cultivar CO46 and winter annual cultivar Joelle was confirmed by treating seedlings with or without 8 weeks of vernalization. True to their life cycle classification, Joelle required a vernalization treatment to induce bolting and flowering, whereas CO46 did not. In this study, whole genome sequence, RNAseq, and resequencing of PCR-amplified transcripts for a key floral repressor were used to better understand factors involved in the flowering habit of summer and winter biotypes at the molecular level. Analysis of transcriptome data indicated that abundance for one of the three genes encoding the floral repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC; Csa20 g015400) was 16-fold greater in Joelle compared to CO46 prior to vernalization. Abundance of this transcript decreased only slightly in CO46 postvernalization, compared to a substantial decrease in Joelle. The results observed in the winter annual biotype Joelle are consistent with repression of FLC by vernalization. Further characterization of FLC at both the genome and transcriptome levels identified a one base deletion in the 5th exon coding for a keratin-binding domain in chromosome 20 of CO46 and Joelle. The one base deletion detected in chromosome 20 FLC is predicted to result in a frameshift that would produce a nonfunctional protein. Analysis of whole genome sequence indicated that the one base deletion in chromosome 20 FLC occurred at a greater ratio in the summer biotype CO46 (2:1) compared to the winter biotype Joelle (1:4); similar trends were also observed for RNAseq and cDNA transcripts mapping to chromosome 20 FLC of CO46 and Joelle.
Percutaneous Carotid Interventions with a Difficult Aortic Arch

Anatomic factors that increase the risk of carotid artery interventions include complex aortic arch, brachiocephalic arterial disease, severe carotid lesion calcification, and visible thrombus. A safe and smooth passage through the aortic arch is first required to get access to the carotid arteries in order to perform the appropriate intervention. An understanding of the arch anatomy is essential in planning such an intervention.
Transcriptional network analysis of human astrocytic endfoot genes reveals region-specific associations with dementia status and tau pathology.

The deposition of misfolded proteins, including amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles is the histopathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The glymphatic system, a brain-wide network of perivascular pathways that supports interstitial solute clearance, is dependent upon expression of the perivascular astroglial water channel aquaporin-4 (AQP4). Impairment of glymphatic function in the aging rodent brain is associated with reduced perivascular AQP4 localization, and in human subjects, reduced perivascular AQP4 localization is associated with AD diagnosis and pathology. Using human transcriptomic data, we demonstrate that expression of perivascular astroglial gene products dystroglycan (DAG1), dystrobrevin (DTNA) and alpha-syntrophin (SNTA1), are associated with dementia status and phosphorylated tau (P-tau) levels in temporal cortex. Gene correlation analysis reveals altered expression of a cluster of potential astrocytic endfoot components in human subjects with dementia, with increased expression associated with temporal cortical P-tau levels. The association between perivascular astroglial gene products, including DTNA and megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts 1 (MLC1) with AD status was confirmed in a second human transcriptomic dataset and in human autopsy tissue by Western blot. This suggests changes in the astroglial endfoot domain may underlie vulnerability to protein aggregation in AD.
Risk of ESRD and Mortality in Kidney and Bladder Stone Formers

Rationale & Objectives Kidney stones have been associated with increased risk for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, it is unclear whether there is also an increased risk for mortality and if these risks are uniform across clinically distinct categories of stone formers. Study Design Historical matched-cohort study. Setting & Participants Stone formers in Olmsted County, MN, between 1984 and 2012 identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes. Age- and sex-matched individuals who had no codes for stones were the comparison group. Predictor Stone formers were placed into 5 mutually exclusive categories after review of medical charts: incident symptomatic kidney, recurrent symptomatic kidney, asymptomatic kidney, bladder only, and miscoded (no stone). Outcomes ESRD, mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and cancer mortality. Analytical Approach Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for baseline comorbid conditions. Results Overall, 65 of 6,984 (0.93%) stone formers and 102 of 28,044 (0.36%) non–stone formers developed ESRD over a mean follow-up of 12.0 years. After adjusting for baseline hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, gout, obesity, and chronic kidney disease, risk for ESRD was higher in recurrent symptomatic kidney (HR, 2.34; 95% CI, 1.08-5.07), asymptomatic kidney (HR, 3.94; 95% CI, 1.65-9.43), and miscoded (HR, 6.18; 95% CI, 2.25-16.93) stone formers, but not in incident symptomatic kidney or bladder stone formers. The adjusted risk for all-cause mortality was higher in asymptomatic kidney (HR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.18-1.67) and bladder (HR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.12-1.69) stone formers. Chart review of asymptomatic and miscoded stone formers suggested increased risk for adverse outcomes related to diagnoses including urinary tract infection, cancer, and musculoskeletal or gastrointestinal pain. Conclusions The higher risk for ESRD in recurrent symptomatic compared with incident symptomatic kidney stone formers suggests that stone events are associated with kidney injury. The clinical indication for imaging in asymptomatic stone formers, the correct diagnosis in miscoded stone formers, and the cause of a bladder outlet obstruction in bladder stone formers may explain the higher risk for ESRD or death in these groups.
Sound Induced Enhancement of Heat Transfer from a Solid into Liquid Helium

We are reporting on a preliminary study of the enhancement of heat transfer from a germanium crystal heater-thermometer into liquid helium as a result of the application of an ultrasonic pulse. We found upon rapid heating of a germanium crystal in the helium that the total crystal superheat can be substantially lowered by the application of a sound pulse. Application of a short sound pulse, prior to reaching a certain threshold superheat, had little effect on the maximum crystal temperature. Application of the sound pulse after this threshold value was reached resulted in a rapid decrease in the crystal superheat. These results are quite similar to those experiments showing the enhancement of heat transfer due to a light pulse which have been published previously.
In vitro Differentiation of Thymic Treg Cell Progenitors to Mature Thymic Treg Cells

Thymic Treg cell differentiation occurs via a two-step process. Step one generates Treg cell progenitors (TregP) and is driven by strong TCR interactions with antigens presented in the thymus. Step two is initiated by activation of STAT5 via IL-2, or IL-15, leading to mature Treg cells capable of emigrating from the thymus and mediating immune tolerance and homeostasis in peripheral tissues. Herein we describe an in vitro TregP cell differentiation assay that models the second, cytokine dependent, step of thymic Treg cell development. It can be utilized with relative ease to determine if a population of thymocytes represents a potential progenitor population for Treg cells as well as test how different cytokines or chemical inhibitors modulate the differentiation of known TregP cell populations into mature Treg cells.
Factors Associated With Referring Close Contacts to an App With Individually-Tailored Vaccine Information

Background Infants too young to be fully vaccinated are vulnerable to potentially deadly influenza and pertussis infections. The cocooning strategy limits this risk by vaccinating those likely to interact with the infant and mother during this vulnerable time, such as close friends and family members. Distribution of accurate and accessible vaccine information through existing social networks could be an important tool in increasing vaccine confidence and coverage. Methods We surveyed 1095 pregnant women from diverse prenatal care practices in Georgia and Colorado. These women were surveyed through a mobile app to assess vaccine intentions, attitudes, beliefs, norms, and levels of trust, and then presented brief individually-tailored educational videos about maternal and infant vaccines and the cocooning strategy. They were then given the opportunity to refer up to six contacts to enroll in the app and receive similar vaccine education. Results Twenty-eight percent of these women referred at least one contact, with an average of 2.67 contacts per referring woman. Most referrals (93%) were partners, parents, siblings, relatives, or close friends. Attitudinal constructs significantly associated with increased likelihood of referring contacts included: intention to receive maternal influenza vaccine, perceived safety of maternal Tdap vaccine, perceived efficacy of maternal influenza vaccine, perceived susceptibility to and severity of influenza during pregnancy, and trust in vaccine information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and academic institutions. Uncertainty about infant vaccine intentions was associated with decreased likelihood of referring contacts. Conclusions Pregnant women who valued vaccination and trusted vaccine information from academic institutions were more likely to refer an educational app about vaccines than those who did not. Further research is needed to determine the potential impact of this strategy on vaccine coverage when implemented on a large scale. Trial registration The survey informing this article was part of a randomized controlled trial funded by the National Institutes of Health [clinicaltrials.gov registration number NCT02898688].
Brain pathways for cognitive-emotional decision making in the human animal

As roles for different brain regions become clearer, a picture emerges of how primate prefrontal cortex executive circuitry influences subcortical decision making pathways inherited from other mammals. The human's basic needs or drives can be interpreted as residing in an on-center off-surround network in motivational regions of the hypothalamus and brain stem. Such a network has multiple attractors that, in this case, represent the amount of satisfaction of these needs, and we consider and interpret neurally a continuous-time simulated annealing algorithm for moving between attractors under the influence of noise that represents "discontent" combined with "initiative." For decision making on specific tasks, we employ a variety of rules whose neural circuitry appears to involve the amygdala and the orbital, cingulate, and dorsolateral regions of prefrontal cortex. These areas can be interpreted as connected in a three-layer adaptive resonance network. The vigilance of the network, which is influenced by the state of the hypothalamic needs network, determines the level of sophistication of the rule being utilized.
Mental Health Treatment for Front-Line Clinicians During and After the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: A Plea to the Medical Community.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed front-line health care professionals—who were already at higher risk for negative effects of chronic stress before the pandemic—at even greater risk for depression ...
Traditional and advanced therapeutic modalities for wounds in the paediatric population: an evidence-based review.

Objective: Children can have non-healing wounds due to a wide range of pathologies, including epidermolysis bullosa (EB), pilonidal disease and Stevens-Johnson syndrome, with some causes being iatr...
Internet of people enabled framework for evaluating performance loss and resilience of urban critical infrastructures

Abstract Critical infrastructures (CIs) such as road networks play a critical role in transporting affected people to hospitals and shelters during disasters. Timely evaluation of road networks’ performance loss and resilience enables emergency management agencies (EMAs) to make quick and optimized decisions on resource allocation to critical road segments and bridges. However, real-time monitoring of road network conditions has been recognized as a challenge during major natural disasters because the affected regions are often inaccessible. This research introduces the Internet of People (IoP) enabled framework to assess road network’s performance loss during disasters and proposes a performance loss rate to evaluate the road network resilience. The framework is illustrated by a case study of Hurricane Florence in Wilmington, North Caroline, USA. Through semantic analysis of road-related social media data, this study identifies the affected roads during the hurricane. To further evaluate the road network resilience, this research utilizes road network analysis to generate a service zone for each main hospital before and after the hurricane. The population-weighted travel time in each service zone are compared before and after the hurricane to indicate the degree of performance loss. The findings show that our IoP enabled framework can effectively support CI protection for building smart and resilient city environments.
The Hydrostatic Paradox Redux

A good paradox has the viewer confused, but the best paradoxes lead the viewer to try to understand what is happening. One of my favorites is the hydrostatic paradox, in which a short and slender column of water supports a relatively enormous weight. Figure 1 shows this paradox in action. In the picture a student weighing 60 pounds stands on a platform placed atop a flat water-filled rubber hot-water bottle. Connected to the bottle is a slender upright glass tube, also filled with water. A column of water only four or so feet high supports the student.
Ultrastrong pure aluminum structure with gradient nanocrystals via selective pulsed laser melting: Computation framework and experiments

Abstract Controlling the transient temperature field on the selective laser melting (SLM) process is important not only for quality assurance, by reducing the occurrence of voids, cracks, and excessive deformations, but also for controlling the microstructure within the heat-affected zone. Microstructures with grains sizes gradients are known to have a synergy between the high yield strength of its fine-grained volume and the high ductility of its coarse-grained volume. This synergy attributes to the geometrically necessary dislocations present at the interface between these volumes. This work presents a systematic philosophy that uses temperature field control via pulsed lasers to induce gradient heterostructures on a pure aluminum part fabricated by SLM. Pulsed lasers have the advantage of enabling rapid and localized heating and cooling, which makes the formation of ultrafine grains possible. Therefore, it is a valuable tool to locally melt and re-solidify a metal into a refined microstructure and generate the desired gradient nanostructure in additive manufacturing of metal parts. In this work, we developed a multiscale computational framework to simulate the laser processing, by determining a transient temperature field induced by each laser pulse, microstructure evolution through the thermal history of the pulse over the treated surface, and heterostructure's mechanical properties, for the first time. This framework consists of modules of pulsed laser interaction with Aluminum parts, including Finite Element Analysis (FEA), microstructure evolution modeling via Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, and mechanical property prediction via MD by simulating stress-strain tests and nanoindentation tests. These modules determine how the pulsed laser-induced transient temperature field affects the heterostructure formation and mechanical strength. This comprehensive simulation framework provides means to determine selective laser melting parameters to enhance material properties. EBSD revealed that ultrafine resulting surface microstructure was formed, as predicted by the modeling framework, and this microstructure is due to the high cooling rates after short pulse durations, at the nanosecond scale. The process employed in this work can produce nanograined structures with yield strengths as high as 250.8 MPa and indentation strengths as high as 725 MPa, which are comparable to some steel's mechanical properties. This work provides a valid computational framework to build gradient heterostructure in many 3D metallic parts with superior mechanical properties using pulsed laser-induced selective laser melting.
A Computational Model of Suspense for Non-Narrative Gameplay

In recent years, Various mechanisms have been proposed to optimize for players’ emotional experience. In this paper, we focus on suspense, one of the key emotions in gameplay. Most previous research on suspense management in games focused on narratives. Instead, we propose a new computational model of Suspense for Non-Narrative Gameplay (SNNG). SNNG is built around a Player Suspense Model (PSM) with three key factors: hope, fear, and uncertainty. These three factors are modeled as three sensors that can be triggered by particular game objects (e.g., NPCs) and game mechanics (e.g., health). A player’s feeling of suspense can be adjusted by altering the level of hope, fear, and uncertainty. Therefore, an SNNG-enhanced game engine could manage a player’s level of suspense by adding or removing game objects, diverting NPCs, adjusting game mechanics, and giving or withholding information. We tested our model by integrating SNNG into a Pacman game. Our preliminary experiment with nine subjects was encouraging.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Combinatorial Pharmacogenetics Testing in Adolescent Depression.

Objective Numerous commercial pharmacogenetics panels are now widely available for clinical use in psychiatric practice. However, there is a paucity of literature evaluating the use of combinatorial pharmacogenetics panels to enhance outcomes in the treatment of adolescents with depression. This study sought to prospectively evaluate the clinical impact of combinatorial pharmacogenetics testing in a double-blind, randomized, controlled effectiveness study for the pharmacologic treatment of adolescents with depression. Method Adolescents aged 13 to 18 years (N = 176) with moderate to severe major depressive disorder (MDD) were randomized to treatment arm guided by testing in which pharmacogenetic testing results were available at the baseline visit (GENE arm, n = 84) or a treatment-as-usual arm (TAU arm, n = 92) in which testing results were not available until an 8-week visit. Raters, participants, and families were blinded to group allocation. Symptom improvement, side effects, and satisfaction were assessed throughout the study at 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 6 months. Results There were no differences between the GENE and TAU arms at 8 weeks or 6 months for symptom improvement, side effect burden, or satisfaction. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were prescribed at higher rates in the TAU arm compared to the GENE arm (p = .024). Conclusion Combinatorial pharmacogenetics−guided treatment did not demonstrate improved outcomes compared to TAU in adolescents with MDD. Future research should examine how specific medication−gene pairs may affect clinical outcomes in the treatment of adolescents with depression and how best to integrate pharmacogenetics into clinical practice. Clinical trial registration information A PK/PD Genetic Variation Treatment Algorithm Versus Treatment As Usual for Adolescent Management Of Depression; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; NCT02286440.
Understanding distress and default in Jordanian companies using multiple discriminant analysis

A business may fail because of financial or non-financial reasons but if this failure can be predicted it can be avoided. Thus, it becomes imperative that reasons and variables involved in such failures be studied. This research is focused on default risk and failures in Jordanian companies based on internal factors. The study uses financial data of 49 companies for the time period 2015-2017. The methodology includes qualitative analysis and multi discriminant analysis to analyse and interpret distress and failures in companies. One significant finding from the analysis was that sales, equity capital, retained earnings and debt are good predictor of defaults in companies.
Wastewater Surveillance during Mass COVID-19 Vaccination on a College Campus

The suitability of wastewater monitoring following widespread vaccination against COVID-19 remains uncertain. SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels were monitored in wastewater solids during a university mass vaccination campaign in which >90% of the 12280 students were fully vaccinated (Pfizer-BioNTech, BNT162b2). SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in wastewater solids correlated with the 7-day average of COVID-19 cases when lagged by 1-3 days (ρ = 0.51-0.55;p = 0.023-0.039). During and after the second vaccine dose, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in wastewater solids on 19 of 21 days (12 consecutive days of nondetection at the end of the semester), a significant decrease (p = 0.027) in positivity rate. A large influx of outside visitors (move out and commencement) led to an immediate increase in wastewater SARS-CoV-2 RNA positivity (seven detections over seven days). Wastewater solids offer a sensitive matrix for environmental surveillance of COVID-19 at the subsewershed level (50% probability of RNA detection with two cases) both during and after mass vaccination. Mass vaccination was coincident with decreased shedding of SARS-CoV-2 RNA into wastewater. This suggests the absence of a large population of shedding infections, symptomatic or not, following mass vaccination among a university campus population. © 2021 American Chemical Society.
“Tele-Mentoring”: An Interventional Procedure Using a Wearable Computer: First-in-Man

![Figure][1] [![Graphic][3] ][3][![Graphic][4] ][4] We report remote “tele-mentoring” of an interventional procedure using a wearable computer. Four months post-pneumonectomy, a patient developed dyspnea from right-to-left shunting (arterial saturation 77%) from a patent