cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Outcomes of sequential tube shunts in complicated glaucoma.

Abstract Objective To evaluate intraocular pressure (IOP) control, change in visual acuity, and complications in eyes that have undergone a second glaucoma tube shunt procedure. Design Retrospective, noncomparative case series. Participants Twenty-two eyes of 22 patients that have undergone sequential tube implants for management of glaucoma. Methods Parameters analyzed included IOP, visual acuity, and number of hypotensive agent before each shunt procedure and at last follow-up visit. The overall IOP lowering effect attributable to each tube shunt was calculated. Any ocular complications after the second tube shunt were recorded. Success was defined as an IOP between 6 and 21 mmHg and a 20% reduction in IOP from the second tube shunt procedure. Qualified successes met one of these two requirements at the last follow-up visit. Total failures did not meet any of the above criteria, required additional surgical intervention to lower IOP, or both. Main outcome measures Intraocular pressure control, visual acuity preservation, and complications. Results At the last follow-up visit, the average percent reduction in IOP from both tube shunt procedures was 42 ± 21%. The average percent IOP reduction from the second tube shunt was 33 ± 17%. Eleven (50%) patients met the criteria for success, 8 (36.4%) patients were qualified successes, and 3 (13.6%) were failures. The median number of hypotensive agents decreased from two to one. Ten patients experienced new or worse pseudophakic bullous keratopathy after the second tube shunt, six of whom underwent penetrating keratoplasty. Thirteen (59%) patients maintained visual acuity within one line of their second tube shunt pre-operative Snellen visual acuity. Seven (32%) patients lost more than 2 lines, and one patient lost light perception. Conclusions Although corneal morbidity is a common complication, a second tube shunt does not cause higher-than-expected rates of other complications associated with tube shunt surgery. Eyes that undergo a second tube shunt procedure can achieve pressure control, require fewer hypotensive agents, and may maintain stable visual acuity.
Measurements of Water Surface Profile and Velocity Field at a Circular Pier

Flow around a 60-mm-diameter pier on a smooth bed was measured in an open-channel flume. By varying the approach flow velocity and water depth, a wide range of subcritical flow conditions was produced. Water surface elevation was measured at 0, 90, and 180° to the approach flow direction near the surface of the pier; and three-dimensional velocity vector field around the pier was measured in two horizontal planes, one close to the bed and the other near the free surface. The velocity field measurements were obtained using a stereoscopic particle image velocimetry system. It was found that the change in water surface elevation around the pier was related to the Froude number and relative water depth. However, no direct relationship between the Froude number and the measured velocity fields was found. The approach flow conditions affected the pier flow field mainly behind the pier; the flow pattern was related to the pier Reynolds number. It was also found that the direction and magnitude of the ensemble-averaged velocity field was more dependent on the pier Reynolds number near the bed.
Malarial parasitism and male competition for mates in the western fence lizard, Sceloporus occidentalis

The effect of malarial parasitism on the ability of male western fence lizards, Sceloporus occidentalis, to compete for access to females was assessed experimentally. Pairs of male lizards, one infected with the malarial parasite, Plasmodium mexicanum, and the other not infected, were matched by size and color and placed in large seminatural outdoor enclosures along with an adult female lizard. Infected males displayed to females and to other males less often than did noninfected male lizards. Noninfected lizards were dominant in social interactions more often than malarious animals, based on duration and intensity of agonistic encounters toward the other male, and time spent with the female. Thus, malarial infection hinders the ability of male fence lizards to compete for mates.
Estimating Equation for Mixed Populations of Floods in Massachusetts

A single equation for estimating the peak flows of annual floods at ungauged sites in Massachusetts was developed by combining the conditional probabilities of floods caused by tropical cyclones and ice-jam releases with the conditional probability of ''ordinary'' floods. Regression equations for these three flood pop- ulations demonstrated that two basin characteristics, drainage-basin area and basin head, and frequency of flooding determined the corresponding peak-flow rates.
Compliance with pregnancy prevention measures during isotretinoin therapy

Background Approximately 150 women annually become pregnant while taking isotretinoin despite participation in the iPLEDGE program. Noncompliance with the requirement to be abstinent or use 2 contraceptive methods may be a contributing factor. Objective We sought to determine the degree of adherence to contraception or abstinence among women taking isotretinoin. Methods We conducted an anonymous survey of women of childbearing potential taking isotretinoin for at least 2 months. Results Among 75 participants, 21 (28%) chose abstinence as their primary means of pregnancy prevention, of whom 4 (19%) were sexually active during treatment. The most commonly chosen contraceptive methods among the 39 women who were sexually active were condoms (35, 90%) and oral contraceptive pills (18, 46%). Twelve women (31%) admitted to having intercourse at least once using 1 or fewer forms of contraception; 10 failed to use condoms, and 1 reported completely unprotected intercourse. Among sexually active oral contraceptive pill users, 7 (39%) reported missing 1 or more pills in the previous month. Limitations Data were self-reported, thus participants may have inaccurately reported contraception use. Conclusions Encouraging the use of highly effective, patient-independent contraception and limiting abstinence to women who have never been sexually active may further reduce the rate of isotretinoin-exposed pregnancies.
Identification of crosstalk switch failures in domino CMOS circuits

Capacitative coupling will become a dominant problem due to increased parasitic capacitance between adjacent wires and faster signal switching rates. The coupling problem is more acute for domino logic circuits since an irreversible gate output transition can result. We present a method to analyze domino circuits for susceptibility to crosstalk failures from a layout-extracted netlist. Specifically, sites in the circuit that may fail due to crosstalk are identified. In addition, failure sites are partitioned into two categories (faults or design errors) based on their likelihood of occurrence in the context of manufacturing variations. The method has been implemented and applied to a dual-rail domino Wallace tree circuit with little loss in accuracy, resulting in a 37X speedup over a full analysis using Hspice.
In Vitro Oxidation of Mercury by the Blood

A method is described for studying the in vitro oxidation of mercury vapour by red blood cells at short times and with diminishing mercury vapour concentrations. It is found that for 40% red blood cell suspensions and 37 degrees at concentrations greater than about 6 ng mercury vapour/ml, the oxidation rate is zero order, and that at lower concentrations the rate changes to first order. The effect of temperature and of added hydrogen peroxide are studied. Results are considered in terms of the generally accepted belief that the catalase-compound I system is the main path of oxidation. If the results obtained in vitro in these experiments apply in vivo to man, it follows that inhaled mercury is carried in the blood to the brain and other organs primarily as dissolved vapour rather than as inorganic mercury ions.
Corporate culture and the employment of persons with disabilities.

This article addresses key questions arising from the economic and social disparities that individuals with disabilities experience in the United States. For instance, ‘‘What role does corporate culture play in the employment of people with disabilities?’’ ‘‘How does it facilitate or hinder their employment and promotional opportunities, and how can corporations develop supportive cultures that benefit people with disabilities, non-disabled employees, and the organization as a whole?’’ Corporate culture can create attitudinal, behavioral, and physical barriers for workers and job applicants with disabilities. This research concludes that if the employment prospects of people with disabilities are to be improved significantly, attention must be paid to the ways in which corporate culture creates or reinforces obstacles to employees with disabilities, and how these obstacles can be removed or overcome. Ultimately, we will make the case that corporate culture and
Categorical data analysis of the effect on bull fertility of butylated hydroxytoluene addition to semen extenders prior to freezing.

Abstract Butylated hydroxytoluene is an anti-oxidant that has antiviral properties and sustains sperm viability during freezing and thawing. A field trial involving 11 bulls and 19,000 AI was conducted to determine whether addition of .5m M butylated hydroxytoluene to whole milk extender during seminal processing affected bull fertility as estimated by non-return rates generated by cows bred to the bulls. Effects of bull, batch of semen nested within bull, treatment, and month of AI were studied. Nonreturn rates were recorded for each month for every bull, batch of semen (ejaculates pooled on a given day), and treatment combination. Because some bulls had M butylated hydroxytoluene to whole milk extender during semen processing did not affect bull nonreturn rates.
Sodium hydroxide anodization of Ti-Al-4V adherends

The use of sodium hydroxide anodization (SHA) for Ti-6Al-4V adherends is examined. The SHA surface is evaluated using SEM, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Auger electron spectroscopy. The SHA procedures of Kennedy et al. (1983) were employed in this experiment. The photomicrographs of the SHA (sandblasted) and PSHA (sandblasted and pickled) oxide surface reveal that the two surfaces differ. The PSHA is patchy and similar to a chromic acid anodization surface and the porosity of the PSHA is more uniform than the SHA surface. The compositions of the surfaces are studied. It is noted that SHA is an effective pretreatment for Ti-6Al-4V adherends.
Reflex and Non-Reflex Stiffness of Soleus Muscle in the Cat

The apparent mechanical properties of the soleus muscle in the cat are significantly modified when autogenetic reflex connections around the muscle are intact. The apparent steady-state stiffness of the muscle is increased when a fraction of its motor units are activated. In the transient response to muscle stretch, autogenetic reflexes not only increase the apparent stiffness of the muscle, but also mask sudden reductions in force which occur in the absence of reflexes. The reflexes are fast enough to mask these reductions up to stretch velocities of at least 85 mm/sec.
Risk Factors for Stricture Formation After Esophageal Atresia Repair

Abstract Purpose: Esophageal stricture remains a common morbidity of esophageal atresia (EA) repair. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of multiple pre- and postoperative variables with stricture formation after EA repair. Methods: A retrospective review of all patients who underwent EA repair was performed from June 1999 to January 2014, excluding patients who died prior to discharge. Data were collected on patient demographics, disease specifics, treatment, and outcomes. A clinically significant esophageal stricture was defined as those requiring more than three esophageal dilations. Univariate analysis and multivariate analysis was performed to determine associations with stricture formation. Results: The study included 121 infants. On univariate analysis, tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) Gross classification (P = .046), method of repair (P = .0099), surgery staging (P = .0211), and development of leak (P = .0479) had a statistically significant association with stricture formation...
Risk Factors for Perioperative Femoral Fractures: Cementless Femoral Implants and the Direct Anterior Approach Using a Fracture Table

Abstract Background With the increased popularity of the direct anterior approach, the issue of periprosthetic femur fractures has come into focus. The purpose of this article is to identify patient- and procedure-related characteristics that are associated with periprosthetic femur fractures in cementless total hip arthroplasties performed through a direct anterior approach using a fracture table. Methods Five hundred primary total hip arthroplasties performed using cementless femoral implants through a direct anterior approach using a fracture table were evaluated for characteristics associated with perioperative prosthetic femur fracture within the first 3 months of surgery. Results Twenty-three hips (4.6%) incurred fractures, 13 (2.6%) intraoperative and 10 (2.0%) postoperative. Bivariate analyses demonstrated females and a body mass index (BMI) >40 with a higher risk of fractures overall and postoperative fractures. A significant difference in DORR ratios was seen in patients with intraoperative fractures and a significant difference seen with implant sizes in patients with postoperative fractures. Multivariable regression analyses demonstrated an increased risk of postoperative fracture with a BMI >40. As the DORR ratio and implant size increased, there was a reduced odds of intraoperative fracture. Conclusion Concern for periprosthetic femur fractures using the direct anterior approach for total hip arthroplasty is high in female patients and in patients with morbid obesity (BMI >40), small DORR ratio, or small implant size.
The frequency of grammatical classes in the production of verbal strings under two response sets

Six groups, each consisting of 10 Ss, produced strings of 11, 22, or 33 words, under one of two sets of instructions: “structured” instructions which asked S to produce a grammatically acceptable string; “unstructured instructions” which solicited a random, unconstrained string. Each word in S’s production was classified into one of six grammatical classes. For the structured instructions the rank ordering of frequency of the six classes was functors (40%), nouns (25%), verbs (13%), adjectives (12%), pronouns (6%), adverbs (3%). For the unstructured instructions the rank ordering of frequency was nouns (68%), adjectives (12%), verbs (11%), functors (4%), adverbs (1%), pronouns (0.55%). The findings were discussed in relation to three questions.
Epigenetic Gene Regulation By JAK1 In Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Abstract Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) grows rapidly and represents 30% to 40% of newly diagnosed lymphomas. The most aggressive subtype, termed activated B-cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (ABC DLBCL), is dependent on the autocrine cytokines IL-6 or IL-10 for survival. Our recent work has demonstrated that secretion of the cytokines in these lymphoma cells is mediated by aberrant NF-κB activation, including gain-of-function mutations in the MYD88 gene. In this study, we will dissect the molecular mechanisms of the cytokine signaling in lymphomagenesis. We have evidence that the Janus kinase downstream of the cytokine signaling is JAK1. I obtained a surprising result demonstrating that JAK1 localization is largely nuclear, and that JAK1 can modify the nuclear histone protein H3 through phosphorylating tyrosine 41 (H3Y41). We and others have discovered that this chromatin modification can be initiated by the homologue JAK2 in leukemia cells as well as in primary mediastinal and Hodgkin lymphoma cells. H3Y41 phosphorylation displaces the inhibitory protein HP1 from chromatin and activates gene transcription. Genome-wide mapping by Chip-Seq using antibodies specific for H3Y41 phosphorylation identified 2,582 candidate genes modified by activated JAK1 in ABC DLBCL cells. These include important oncogenes such as MYC, key NF-kB pathway genes, and AP1 genes whose function is not appreciated in this lymphoma. Given that inhibition of some of these genes by RNA interference or by pharmaceutical inhibitors is lethal to cultured ABC DLBCL cells, they will be considered potential molecular targets for therapeutic development. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
P-033 ethanol sclerotherapy of feeding artery and nidal aneurysms in ruptured cerebral arteriovenous malformations

Background Embolic agents for embolization of cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) currently include n-BCA, Onyx, particles, and detachable coils. Ethanol sclerotherapy is seldom used in the treatment of cerebral AVMs due to safety concerns. 1,2 In some circumstances, however, such as when limited reflux of an embolic agent is permissible, the use of ethanol may be preferable. In this retrospective case series, we report on patients with brain AVMs presenting with acute hemorrhage at our institution in whom ethanol was used to successfully treat a feeding artery aneurysms or intranidal aneurysms. Methods A keyword search of our neurointerventional database identified 10 patients with cerebral AVM feeding artery aneurysms or intranidal aneurysms treated using ethanol sclerotherapy between 2005 and 2014. Neuroimaging, angiograms, operative reports and electronic medical records were reviewed. Results 13 feeding artery or intranidal aneurysms were identified in 10 patients, of which 12 were treated with intraarterial ethanol sclerotherapy (Table 1). One of the 13 aneurysms was not treated due to risk of non-target embolization of calcarine artery branches. All patients presented with acute intracranial hemorrhage. Dehydrated ethanol 60–80% (70% ethanol was used in 7 of the 10 patients) was delivered slowly under roadmap-mask guidance directly into the artery supplying the aneurysm. Post-therapy angiography to assess for aneurysm occlusion was performed 10–20 min after ethanol injection. Volume of ethanol injected ranged from 2–22 cc (median 3.75 cc) (Table 1). Complete occlusion of the aneurysm was seen in 11/12 treated aneurysms (92%) (Figure 1). Follow-up was available in 9/10 patients (mean follow-up was 1.3 years). None required more than one treatment session and there were no recurrences. A complication was encountered in one patient, who developed hemiparesis and aphasia due to non-target embolization of posterolateral choroidal artery branches to normal brain. No deaths were attributed to ethanol sclerotherapy. Conclusion In a subset of ruptured cerebral AVMs in which other embolic agents cannot be safely used, ethanol sclerotherapy of feeding artery or nidal aneurysms can be performed with a high degree of technical success and a low rate of permanent neurologic complication. References Yakes WF, Krauth L, Ecklund J, et al . Ethanol endovascular management of brain arteriovenous malformations: initial results. Neurosurgery 1997; 40 (6):1145–52; discussion 52–4 Wong GA, Armstrong DC, Robertson JM. Cardiovascular collapse during ethanol sclerotherapy in a pediatric patient. Paediatric Anaesthesia 2006;16(3):343–6 Disclosures F. Settecase: None. M. Amans: None. A. Nicholson: None. S. Hetts: None. D. Cooke: None. C. Dowd: None. R. Higashida: None. V. Halbach: None.
Use of an enriched shell finite element to simulate delamination-migration in a composite laminate

Abstract A formulation is presented for an enriched shell finite element capable of progressive damage simulation in composite laminates. The element enrichment uses the Floating Node Method to discretely represent delamination, and the Virtual Crack Closure Technique to predict damage growth. The damage path is not predefined by the user and it can consist of delaminations and transverse matrix cracking. The element is computationally efficient and is intended to demand less time and expertise from the user than existing laminate damage simulation tools. In this study, the enriched element is used to simulate delamination-migration in a composite laminate. Good correlation was found between the enriched shell element model results and the experimental data set.
Comparative Biology and Species Effects on Expression of Epilepsy

Seizure activity is an emergent property of nervous systems. Epilepsy—spontaneous, recurrent seizures—has been observed in many types of animals, especially mammals. Despite tremendous variation in the size and shape of vertebrate brains, they are well conserved evolutionarily overall. Each species evolves variations superimposed on the well-conserved basic vertebrate brain structure. As brains change size evolutionarily, their internal organization changes, as well. Brains enlarge primarily by increasing the number (not the size) of neurons. The concerted evolution hypothesis, combined with the axon displacement hypothesis, predicts that late-developing brain regions (such as the neocortex) become disproportionally influential and important, because they enlarge more and gain more connections with other brain regions. It is helpful for epilepsy researchers to understand how brains of animal models are similar and different to human brains. Knowledge of the rich variability of vertebrate brains offers investigators opportunities to match experimental questions with specific biological traits optimally.
Korean Intercountry Adoption History: Culture, Practice, and Implications:

Large-scale intercountry adoption emerged in a humanitarian crisis following the Korean War. With the growing demand in the United States for, and a steady supply of, adoptable South Korean children, as well as the limited government regulations, it has become permanent practice. Over the years, concerns were raised about unethical adoption practices. To address this issue, limited attempts have been made to promote in-country adoption and include birth mothers' perspectives in reformed adoption policies. However, these efforts have failed to bring about significant changes. The purpose of this article is to examine factors that influence intercountry adoption between the United States and South Korea and to discuss the challenges faced by South Korean birth mothers. Practice implications are also elucidated.
Where and How Does Fitting in Matter? Examining New Students’ Perceived Fit With Their University, Instructors, and Classmates:

Researchers routinely find that individuals and organizations are better off when the personal characteristics of members fit with contextual organizational characteristics. Typically, this kind of...
RNA 3-dimensional structural motifs as a critical constraint of viroid RNA evolution.

Viroids are circular noncoding RNAs infecting plants [1, 2]. During infection, viroids, like RNA viruses, generate swarms of sequence variants called quasispecies [3, 4]. Viroids in Avsunviroidae family replicate in chloroplasts and display the highest mutation rates among all living entities [5]. Viroids in Pospiviroidae family replicate in the nucleus with a relatively lower mutation rate resembling some RNA viruses [6]. Those sequence variants generated during replication are described by the concept of sequence space, which harnesses a geometric representation to illustrate genetic similarities via physical distances. Given the high mutation rate and fast propagation, viroid RNAs have a potentially large sequence space for the evolution of new variants. However, in reality, they use only a small fraction of this space. Constraints of viral sequence space may include genome size, replication fidelity, error thresholds, host or tissue tropism, etc. These factors have been nicely reviewed elsewhere [3, 7, 8] and are not the focus of this Pearl. In addition, RNA secondary structures have been considered, though not adequately, as a constraint factor [8]. Viroids, in contrast to viruses, entirely rely on their RNA structural motifs for function due to their noncoding nature, which offers insights into their capacity to explore regions of sequence space influenced by RNA structures. Here, we describe that 3-dimensional (3D) structural motifs formed by non–Watson-Crick (non-WC) base pairs in viroid RNAs act as a critical constraint for the sequence space of viroid genome evolution. This constraint operates because RNA 3D motifs can play crucial roles by mediating (1) RNA–RNA interactions for the folding of a part or a whole of RNA into a distinct tertiary conformation and (2) RNA–protein interactions. Therefore, mutations in a 3D motif that do not disrupt the structure and function will be retained in the population, whereas mutations that disrupt the 3D structures of motifs, and consequently the function, will be lost.
A fractional-N digital PLL with background-dither-noise-cancellation loop achieving <-62.5dBc worst-case near-carrier fractional spurs in 65nm CMOS

Fractional-N digital phase-locked loops (DPLLs) are highly reconfigurable, scalable, and useful for synthesizing clocks with fine frequency resolution for modem RF, mixed-signal and digital VLSI systems. One critical design challenge is the associated fractional-N spurs, which result from the quantization error of the time-to-digital converter (TDC) or delta-sigma modulator when using multi-modulus fractional dividers. Those unwanted spurs can cause degraded deterministic jitter, reciprocal mixing, and undesired spectrum emissions, depending on the actual PLL application. Various techniques have been used to mitigate fractional spurs. One is to apply dithering [1-3] in the input reference path to randomize the periodic phase error pattern, hence reducing spur magnitude. However, the dithering signal also increases the phase noise floor. A two-level dithering scheme [3] has been adopted to limit noise degradation (but with less spur reduction), or a foreground noise-cancellation technique [2] can be applied at the cost of higher complexity without real-time voltage/temperature tracking ability. Alternatively, the technique in [4] directly cancels spurs and avoids elevating the noise floor, but it increases the logic complexity for near-carrier fractional spurs. To resolve those bottlenecks, we dither the input reference clock and leverage an adaptive dither-noise-cancellation loop operating continuously in the background. Thus, it allows for a larger dithering signal with minimal impact on the noise floor, leading to a more randomized phase error pattern and hence lower spur magnitude. The background operation compensates for PVT variation in real time (response time 40dB spur improvement and achieves a worst-case fractional spur of −62.5dBc at 1.83kHz frequency offset, lower than state-of-the-art PLLs applying dither approaches. The jitter and spur fluctuation after dither noise cancellation is within 2% and 2.5dB, respectively, when measured over 6 chips, supply voltage (+/-10%) and temperature (27°-60°C) variations, showing the technique's robustness.
t-Butylcalix[4]arene compounds with long chain guests

Abstract This crystal structure study examines systematically the effect of guest size and guest substituents on the guest–host interactions in a number of simple p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene host–guest compounds. With increasing chain length, the guest conformation becomes increasingly complex, going from a simple all-trans (C6) to s-shaped (C8) and helical (C12) conformations. For Cl-substituted alkanes, the Cl atom is excluded from the deep cavity, again by the chain taking on complex conformations. However, the Cl atom can be forced into the deep cavity with rigid guests such as 1,4-dichlorobenzene. The results suggest that it is space filling rather than specific interactions that give these compounds stability, and that they should be properly described as clathrates rather than as stoichiometric host–guest materials.
Community Integration and Employment of Youth with Special Needs

In our rapidly changing, multicultural, highly technological society, there is a vital need for transitional services. Youth – including those with disabilities – must be provided with educational services that prepare them to function within their immediate community and/or the community at-large. At present, an unacceptable number of these youth remain at risk for poor postsecondary outcomes, including those from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds (CLD). The recent emphasis on educational accountability – including postschool performance – demands that the barriers that both define and limit the successful transitioning of youth with disabilities – from high school into contributing citizens – be addressed. The transition-planning process serves as the educational technique to help ensure that young adolescents with disabilities – upon completing high school – are prepared to integrate into their respective communities or engage in postsecondary activities that promote productive lives. This article emphasizes the provision of meaningful, community-based experiences as a best practice during the transition-planning process. Schools networking with and utilizing informal systems of support through significant multicultural resources are offered as a best-viable practice strategy when working with all students, including CLD youth and their families.
Transportation and Potential Enhanced Oil Recovery Mechanisms of Nanogels in Sandstone

The transportation and potential enhanced oil recovery mechanisms of nanosized cross-linked polymeric particles (nanogels) with different charges are described herein. Three nanogels with different types of charges have been synthesized by suspension polymerization using acrylamide, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid, and [2-(acryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethylammonium chloride (AETAC) monomers. The charged nanogels showed spherical morphology, porous structures, and narrow size distribution. The charged nanogels were able to adsorb onto the rock surface and modify the wettability, a critical parameter of the nanogel to recover residual oil. In addition, the static and dynamic adsorption of charged nanogels in sandstone has been demonstrated. Furthermore, the charged nanogels could reduce the permeability of water much more than the permeability of oil and emulsify residual oil as demonstrated by core flooding experiments. The nanogels with appropriate charges could offer the candidate through disproporti...
Efficient spatiotemporal interpolation with spark machine learning

To better assess the relationships between environmental exposures and health outcomes, an appropriate spatiotemporal interpolation is critical. Traditional spatiotemporal interpolation methods either consider the spatial and temporal dimensions separately or incorporate both dimensions simultaneously by simply treating time as another dimension in space. Such interpolation results suffer from relatively low accuracy as the true space-time domain is skewed inappropriately and the distance calculation in such domain is not accurate. We employ the efficient k-d tree structure to store spatiotemporal data and adopt several machine learning methods to learn optimal parameters. To overcome the computational difficulty with large data sets, we implement our method on an efficient cluster computing framework – Apache Spark. Real world PM2.5 data sets are utilized to test our implementation and the experimental results demonstrate the computational power of our method, which significantly outperforms the previous work in terms of both speed and accuracy.
Early History, Mealtime Environment, and Parental Views on Mealtime and Eating Behaviors among Children with ASD in Florida.

This study was a cross-sectional study to examine problematic mealtime behaviors among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Florida. Forty-one parents completed a 48-item survey. The mean age of their children was 8.1 years and 73% were male. The data were divided and compared by age group: Ages 2–6, 7–11, and 12–17. Data from the 3- to 6-year-old children were extracted and compared with the references from Provost et al. (2010). There were age differences in eating difficulties at home (p = 0.013), fast food restaurants (p = 0.005), and at regular restaurants (p = 0.016). The total mealtime behavior score was significantly higher in early childhood (p < 0.001) and mid-childhood (p = 0.005) than adolescents. More parents of ages 3–6 with ASD reported difficulties with breastfeeding (p < 0.01); concerns about eating (p < 0.001); difficulties related to mealtime locations (p < 0.05), craving certain food (p < 0.05), and being picky eaters (p < 0.01) compared to typically developing children. The total mealtime behavior score was significantly higher in children with ASD than typically developing children (p < 0.001). The results indicate that early childhood interventions are warranted and further research in adolescents is needed.
A new method of bottleneck analysis for manufacturing systems

Abstract One of the measurements of manufacturing systems is Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). This paper reviews OEE, discusses the throughput losses from the three factors of OEE, and explores the hidden information in OEE. This paper proposes a new method based on OEE to identify the bottlenecks of complex manufacturing systems. The new method considers not only the output of a manufacturing system but also the influences from its upstream and downstream systems. Therefore, the new method can reveal the true fulfillment and competence of a manufacturing system, which can guide improvement efforts.
High-Intensity Interval Training Induces Reverse Left Ventricular Remodeling in Patients with LVAD

Purpose High-Intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to induce reverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling in patients with heart failure. We tested whether this effect could be reproduced in patients supported with long-term LVAD. Methods Chronic LVAD pts prospectively completed 15 cycle ergometer based, supervised HIIT sessions. Cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPX) with full LVAD support and resting turn-down echocardiogram (HM II speed reduced to 6000 rpm) were performed before and after training. Training intensity was based on peak power output (PPO) attained during baseline CPX. Each session lasted 30 min: 3 min warm-up (50% PPO), six 30 sec challenges (100% PPO) and six interspersed 4 min recovery periods (40% of PPO). One reader, unaware of the study intervention, interpreted the turn-down echocardiograms. Two blinded independent readers identified oxygen uptake (VO2) at ventilatory threshold (VT) and peak exercise (pVO2) in all CPXs. Results Nine subjects were enrolled (6 male, 7 NICM, 7 BTT) mean ± SD age 47±16yrs. Time from heart failure diagnosis to LVAD 60±34 mos., time on LVAD 28±16 mos. Adherence to HIIT was high; one pt withdrew due to drive line malfunction and one voluntarily withdrew. No serious adverse events occurred during exercise. All patients had ICD in place. Four were on ACE-I/ARB, 9 on Beta-blocker and 5 on loop diuretics. Two had DM2, 4 had AF, 2 had prior CVA and 3 had prior pump exchange. Seven pts completed the protocol. HIIT significantly reduced LV end-diastolic (193±90 to 183 ±89 ml; p=0.0041) and end-systolic (133±63 to 128±63; p=0.04) volumes. LV size decreased in all pts. Submaximal aerobic capacity, VO2 at VT (7.0±1.5 to 9.0±1.6 ml.kg.min-1; p=0.02) and pVO2 (11.3±2.3 to 12.2±2.4 ml.kg.min-1 p=0.02) also improved after HIIT. Conclusion A short HIIT program guided by CPX induced reverse LV remodeling and improved aerobic capacity in pts with long-term LVAD support. Addition of HIIT to established recovery protocols warrants further investigation.
Worth many sins: Al-Shabaab’s shifting relationship with Kenyan women

What happens when the world’s ‘oldest profession’ interacts with history’s oldest form of war? In the Horn of Africa, a symbiotic relationship between prostitutes and terrorists has emerged, illumi...
The role of mid-gap phonon modes in thermal transport of transition metal dichalcogenides*

We present a comprehensive theoretical study on thermal transport in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides MX2 (M: Mo, W; X: S, Se) with various sample sizes. An unusually high anharmonic scattering strength is found in MoSe2 compared to the other three family members, which arises from its unique phonon band dispersion, specifically the mid-frequency phonon branches associated with the vibrations of Se atoms of MoSe2. The mid-frequency modes almost completely span the gap that exists between the high-frequency phonon branches and the acoustic ones, allowing the former to readily decay into the latter. The resultant high anharmonic scattering gives rise to a short mean free path which makes the room temperature in-plane thermal conductivity in MoSe2 even lower than WSe2 when the sample length is larger than 51.5 nm. With varying sample sizes, the ordering of thermal conductivity among the four materials changes as phonon transport transits from the ballistic to diffusive regime, driven by the competition between the phonon frequency spectrum range and the scattering strength. Our work provides a microscopic picture of phonon transport in TMDs and guidance to tailor their thermal conductivities for electronic and thermoelectric applications.
Economics of Information Storage: The Value in Storing the Long Tail

We have witnessed a 50 million-fold increase in hard disk drive density without a similar increase in performance. How can this unbalanced growth be possible? Can it continue? Can similar unbalanced growth happen in other media? To answer these questions we contrast the value of information storage services with the value of physical storage services. We describe a methodology that separates the costs of capturing, storing and accessing information, and we will show that these aspects of storage systems are independent of each other. We provide arguments for what can happen if the cost of storage continues to decrease. The conclusions are three-fold. First, as capacity of any storage media grows, there is no inherent requirement that performance increase at the same rate. Second, the value of increased capacity devices can be quantified. Third, as the cost of storing information approaches zero, the quantity of information stored will grow without limit.
Comparative Study of Electrospun Scaffolds Containing Native GAGs and a GAG Mimetic for Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Chondrogenesis

Articular cartilage has limited healing and self-repair capability. Damage to articular cartilage becomes irreversible leading to osteoarthritis, which can impact a person’s quality of life. Approximately, 5–10% of cartilage tissue is made up of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), which sequester growth factors as well as provide structural integrity to the native cartilage tissue. This study evaluated the chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on gelatin-based scaffolds containing partially sulfated cellulose (pSC), a GAG mimetic derived from cellulose, in comparison to native GAGs, chondroitin sulfate-A (CS-A) and chondroitin sulfate-C (CS-C), where pSC has similarity to CS-C in terms of degree and pattern of sulfation. Scaffolds were prepared by electrospinning gelatin with pSC or the native GAGs. All scaffolds consist of fibers having average diameters of approximately 3 μm and inter-fiber spacing of approximately 30 μm and were hydrolytically stable throughout the culture. MSCs cultured on pSC containing scaffolds showed early production of sulfated GAGs and higher collagen type II to type I ratio than native GAGs. Among the native GAGs, chondrogenesis was promoted to a greater extent for CS-C in comparison to CS-A containing scaffolds, which suggests the pattern of sulfation impacts chondrogenesis. Partially sulfated cellulose could be used as a potential GAG mimic for cartilage tissue engineering applications.
Predicting properties of ferroelectric relaxors based on stochastic models

The stochastic models of temperature diffusing of the phase transition are presented, taking into account the structural disorder of the material by introducing a random function, i.e., the tempera...
Numérique, virtuel, réseaux sociaux, objets connectés : leviers ou freins à la confiance dans la relation de soins ?

Le numerique doit faciliter la vie des usagers ainsi que des professionnels. Il peut etre un levier de promotion de la sante, de reduction des inegalites et de renforcement de la confiance dans la relation de soins. Mais c’est a condition que certains prealables soient assures :- le numerique ne se substitue pas aux professionnels de sante ;- derriere l’outil, il y aura toujours une intervention humaine ;- en cas de difficultes, des interventions en presentiel seront toujours prevues ;- le numerique s’attache a respecter les droits des usagers tels qu’enonces par la loi (confidentialite, securite des donnees, etc.) ;- le numerique doit viser la reponse aux besoins de l’ensemble des usagers (principe d’egalite).
Effect of Household Income on Short-Term Outcomes Following Cerebellopontine Angle Tumor Resection

Objectives The objective of this study is to elucidate the impact of income on short-term outcomes in a cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumor resection population. Design This is a retrospective regression analysis. Setting This study was done at a single, multihospital, urban academic medical center. Participants Over 6 years (from June 7, 2013, to April 24, 2019), 277 consecutive CPA tumor cases were reviewed. Main Outcome Measures Outcomes studied included readmission, emergency department evaluation, unplanned return to surgery, return to surgery after index admission, and mortality. Univariate analysis was conducted among the entire population with significance set at a p-value Results Regression analysis of 273 patients demonstrated decreased rates of unplanned reoperation (p = 0.015) and reoperation after index admission (p = 0.035) at 30 days with higher standardized income. Logistic regression between the lowest (Q1) and highest (Q4) socioeconomic quartiles demonstrated decreased unplanned reoperation (p = 0.045) and decreasing but not significant reoperation after index admission (p = 0.15) for Q4 patients. No significant difference was observed for other metrics of morbidity and mortality. Conclusion Higher socioeconomic status is associated with decreased risk of unplanned reoperation following CPA tumor resection.
Evaluating the Reporting Quality of Researcher-Developed Alphabet Knowledge Measures: How Transparent and Replicable Is It?

The American Educational Research Association (2006) and American Psychological Association (2010) published standards for reporting on research. The transparency of reporting measures and data collection is paramount for interpretability and replicability of research. We analyzed 57 articles that assessed alphabet knowledge (AK) using researcher-developed measures. The quality of reporting on different elements of AK measures and data collection was not related to the journal type nor to the impact factor or rank of the journal but rather seemed to depend on the individual author, reviewers, and journal editor. We propose various topics related to effective reporting of measures and data collection methods that we encourage the early childhood and literacy communities to discuss.
Adenovirus-vectored vaccine containing multidimensionally conserved parts of the HIV proteome is immunogenic in rhesus macaques

An effective vaccine that can protect against HIV infection does not exist. A major reason why a vaccine is not available is the high mutability of the virus, which enables it to evolve mutations that can evade human immune responses. This challenge is exacerbated by the ability of the virus to evolve compensatory mutations that can partially restore the fitness cost of immune-evading mutations. Based on the fitness landscapes of HIV proteins that account for the effects of coupled mutations, we designed a single long peptide immunogen comprising parts of the HIV proteome wherein mutations are likely to be deleterious regardless of the sequence of the rest of the viral protein. This immunogen was then stably expressed in adenovirus vectors that are currently in clinical development. Macaques immunized with these vaccine constructs exhibited T-cell responses that were comparable in magnitude to animals immunized with adenovirus vectors with whole HIV protein inserts. Moreover, the T-cell responses in immunized macaques strongly targeted regions contained in our immunogen. These results suggest that further studies aimed toward using our vaccine construct for HIV prophylaxis and cure are warranted.
Neural Network Ensembles: Theory, Training, and the Importance of Explicit Diversity.

Ensemble learning is a process by which multiple base learners are strategically generated and combined into one composite learner. There are two features that are essential to an ensemble's performance, the individual accuracies of the component learners and the overall diversity in the ensemble. The right balance of learner accuracy and ensemble diversity can improve the performance of machine learning tasks on benchmark and real-world data sets, and recent theoretical and practical work has demonstrated the subtle trade-off between accuracy and diversity in an ensemble. In this paper, we extend the extant literature by providing a deeper theoretical understanding for assessing and improving the optimality of any given ensemble, including random forests and deep neural network ensembles. We also propose a training algorithm for neural network ensembles and demonstrate that our approach provides improved performance when compared to both state-of-the-art individual learners and ensembles of state-of-the-art learners trained using standard loss functions. Our key insight is that it is better to explicitly encourage diversity in an ensemble, rather than merely allowing diversity to occur by happenstance, and that rigorous theoretical bounds on the trade-off between diversity and learner accuracy allow one to know when an optimal arrangement has been achieved.
The role of ultrasound in necrotizing enterocolitis

Ultrasound has proved to be a useful modality for enhancing the diagnostic accuracy of necrotizing enterocolitis and associated complications. The standard imaging algorithm for evaluating necrotizing enterocolitis includes radiographs and clinical symptoms, the combination of which constitutes the Bell criteria. Major limitations of using the Bell criteria for diagnosing and clinically managing necrotizing enterocolitis include low diagnostic accuracy of radiographs and nonspecific symptomatology of preterm infants. In this regard, US can offer additional insights into bowel health by helping to characterize bowel motility, echogenicity, thickness, pneumatosis and perfusion. Extramural findings such as portal venous gas, nature and extent of ascites, and pneumoperitoneum can also be assessed. Recently, contrast-enhanced US was explored in a case series of preterm bowel disease and its diagnostic utility warrants further investigation. This article reviews the US features of necrotizing enterocolitis and highlights the role of US as a complement to radiographs, as well as the emerging use of contrast-enhanced US in necrotizing enterocolitis.