cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Current Issues in Frequency Domain Experimentation

This paper presents an examination of certain issues in Frequency Domain Experimentation FDE for discrete event simulation. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate that i conclusions drawn from FDE are dependent on the oscillation frequency and unless frequencies are chosen carefully, misleading results can be obtained; ii interpretation of results from frequency domain experiments are fundamentally different from the interpretation of results from regression analysis-specifically, a term found significant by FDE is not to be interpreted as a term able to explain a significant portion of the variation in the response over the experimental region; and iii basic assumptions required for FDE, in particular the assumption that input and output processes constitute a time-invariant linear system, do not hold for M/M/1 queues. Other issues discussed are indexing, run length determination, computational effort, and why FDE is not applicable for terminating simulations. It is concluded that further developments are needed before FDE can be used by practitioners.
Lesion Load of the Corticospinal Tract Predicts Motor Impairment in Chronic Stroke

Background and Purpose— Previous studies have shown motor impairment after a stroke relates to lesion size and location, but unexplained variability in recovery still exists. In this study, we used lesion-mapping techniques in combination with diffusion tensor imaging to quantitatively test the hypothesis that motor recovery in patients with chronic stroke is inversely related to the proportion of the corticospinal tract (CST) affected by the lesion. Methods— We studied 50 patients with chronic stroke, all of whom presented with moderate to severe motor impairments in the acute stage, using high-resolution anatomic MRI. We evaluated the degree of motor impairment with the Upper Extremity module of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment. To analyze the relationship between CST damage and impairment scores, we calculated a CST-lesion load for each patient by overlaying the patient’s lesion map with a probabilistic tract derived from diffusion tensor images of age-matched healthy subjects. Results— CST-lesion load was a ...
Precessional Forcing of Nutricline Dynamics in the Equatorial Atlantic

Climate control of nutricline depth in the equatorial Atlantic can be monitored by variations in the abundance of the phytoplankton species Florisphaera profunda . A conceptual model, based on in situ evidence, associates high abundances of F. profunda with a deep nutricline and low abundances with a shallow nutricline. A 200,000-year record of F. profunda relative abundances, obtained from a deep-sea core sited beneath the region of maximum equatorial divergence at 10°W, has 52 percent of its variance centered on the 23,000-year precessional band. Cross-spectral analysis between the signals of F. profunda and sea-surface temperature, independently derived from zooplankton species, shows their 23,000-year cycles to be coherent and nearly in phase. Abundance minima of F. profunda coincide with times of December perihelion, whereas abundance maxima coincide with June perihelion. These relations indicate that nutricline dynamics in the divergence region of the equatorial Atlantic are controlled by variations in the tropical easterlies, forced by the precessional component of orbital insolation, on time scales greater than 10,000 years.
Changes in mission, governance, and funding of proprietary postsecondary institutions

The author describes the forces operating on proprietary schools and their transition into career colleges. The ways in which these institutions are becoming more like community colleges are also discussed.
Recurring Bullies, Trembling and Learning

In a recurring game, a stage game is played consecutively by different groups of players, with each group receiving information about the play of earlier groups. Starting with uncertainty about the distribution of types in the population, late groups may learn to play a correct Bayesian equilibrium, as if they know the type distribution.
Psychosocial interventions for maltreated and violence-exposed children

Child sexual, physical, and emotional abuse as well as child neglect and domestic violence, community violence, and Childhood Traumatic Grief may result in significant and long-lasting emotional and behavioral difficulties. This article reviews randomized controlled studies that have assessed child mental health outcomes for maltreated and violence-exposed children. Key points of this review include the following: (1) maltreated and violence-exposed children typically experience more than one of these types of traumas; (2) effective psychosocial treatments are available to address Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems in these children; (3) it is likely that treatments which effectively reduce mental health symptoms in children exposed to one type of child maltreatment or violence exposure will also be effective for other or multiple types; and (4) mental health outcomes are not the only important outcomes to address in future treatment or intervention efforts. These future directions for treatment intervention research are addressed.
Mechanical stratigraphy in the western equatorial region of Mars based on thrust fault-related fold topography and implications for near-surface volatile reservoirs

Variations in lithology and pore-volatile pressure influence the distribution of layer and interface strength (mechanical stratigraphy) within the crust. In this paper, we show how mechanical stratigraphy can be inferred from the topography of thrust fault‐related folds. A thrust fault propagating upward through mechanically wellstratified crust induces the nucleation of secondary backthrust faults. Because such backthrusts are not predicted (and do not occur) in mechanically homogeneous crust, the presence of backthrusts can be used to map variations in the mechanical strength of the crust (e.g., bedding planes, volatilesaturated reservoirs). Dip directions of faults indicate the presence of strength discontinuities within thrust-related folds. We show that the slopes of fault-related fold limbs are reliable indicators of fault-dip direction. We then apply this slopeasymmetry approach to thrust-related folds on Mars. We find that thrust-related folds that have secondary backthrusts are spatially correlated with a general lithologic sequence of lava flows overlying older impact ejecta and young lobate ejecta craters on the lava-flow surface—evidence of nearsurface volatiles such as water ice. We demonstrate that secondary backthrusts within fault-related folds in the western equatorial region of Mars formed because of volatileenhanced mechanical stratification of lavaflow and ejecta lithologic sequences.
A Long-Term Age-Specific Survival Analysis of Female White-Tailed Deer

Abstract We conducted a 13-year survival (i.e., time survived since birth) and cause-specific mortality study, divided into 2 phases (Phase I = years 1–6; Phase II = years 7–13), of 302 female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) ≥0.6 years old at capture. The study spanned a period of extreme variability in winter severity (maximum winter severity indexes [WSI] of 45–195) and hunting pressure. Most studies of survival and cause-specific mortality of northern deer have assumed constant survival rates for adults of each sex (≥1.0 yr old pooled) and examined fawns (0.6 ≤ x ≤ 1.0 yr old) separately. We observed U-shaped hazard (i.e., instantaneous risk of death) curves for both phases of the study, indicating that risk of death is highest for younger and older individuals. The estimated hazard for Phase II was generally lower and relatively constant for adults 2–10 years old compared to Phase I, where the instantaneous risk of death began to increase at age 6 years. This difference likely reflected dif...
Can Conditional Cash Transfers Reduce Poverty and Crime? Evidence from Brazil

Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT) programmes are deemed to be effective measures at reducing poverty and income inequality in many developing countries. Another possible important consequence is its effect on criminal behaviour. This paper analyses a panel data set on crime rates and the Brazilian Bolsa Familia, the largest CCT programme in the world, in order to investigate these relationships and estimate the effect of these policies on crime rates. The related existing economic literature analysing general welfare programmes generally ignores the crucial endogeneity involved in the relationship between crime rates and social welfare policies, through poverty. Temporal heterogeneity in the implementation of the programme across the states is used to identify the causal impact of CCT programmes on poverty and criminality. States that reached the level of cash transfers expenditures proposed by the guidelines of the programme more promptly had a more significant reduction in poverty rates. Similar, but less robust results are found for crime rates as robbery, theft and kidnapping, while no significant effects were found for homicide and murder, indicating that property crime would be more sensitive to CCT programmes.
Epididymal micropuncture with in vitro fertilization and oocyte micromanipulation for the treatment of unreconstructable obstructive azoospermia.

Objective To provide fertility to couples in whom the man has surgically unreconstructable obstructive azoospermia. Design Prospective. Setting Hospital-based IVF unit, including associated division of urologic microsurgery. Patients Couples referred to our fertility unit for treatment of men with surgically unreconstructable reproductive tract obstruction, including congenital absence of the vas deferens. Main Outcome Measures Fertilization, pregnancies, and live births. Results Of 51 cycles in which sperm and eggs were retrieved, 67% (34/51) resulted in fertilization and 27.5% (14/51) developed clinical pregnancy. Clinical pregnancy rate per couple was 33% (14/43). A total of 15 live births have been obtained in 11 couples with one ongoing pregnancy. Epididymal length was the best predictor of sperm quality and pregnancy results. For couples with at least the corpus epididymis present, 41% (9/22) of cycles resulted in clinical pregnancies. Conclusions Pregnancy rates are optimized using sperm retrieved from the epididymis by micropuncture and when micromanipulation is available for use during IVF.
A posterior open bite.

A case of bilateral posterior open bite, treated using the ‘straight wire’ appliance, is reported. The diagnostic problems, associated with this type of malocclusion, are discussed.
Baseline survey of implementation integrated intervention program for controlling endemic fluorosis in Guizhou

Objective To survey the fluorosis baseline for implementing prevention and control endemic fluorosis program in a large area of Guizhou using Central Government Funds.Methods Stove used was screened in every household,menawhile the methods of food desiccation and washing before cooking were selectively investigated.Questionnaire on health knowledge in some of the adults and schoolchildren was completed by trained health workers.Results In 132 761 households in 362 villages of 5 target countries,the table stoves accounted for 72.83% with 1.67% of chimney going out of room.Stoves for warming accounted for 36.38%,70.01% of whom with chimney going out of room.46.25% of the kichens were separated from the living room.The average rate of dental fluorosis was 76.95% in children aged 8～12,flucuating in the range of 30% to 90%.Corn and chilli were bakedby the smoke of the open stoves in a rate of 77.41% and 78.92% and washed before cooking in a rate of 84.60% and 76.55%,respectively.The awareness of endemic fluorosis prevention in schoolchildren and adults were 44.20% and 22.81%,respectively.Conclusions The investigated counties meet the criteria of the program implementation.The goal of prevention and control endemic fluorosis will be achieved by promoting fluorosis awareness and modification of stoves.
Social Relationships and Social Support

Social support is a construct that has been widely studied by members of the Mental Health Section of the American Sociological Association. The term social support, in contrast to social relationships, is used to refer to the salutatory content of human relationships. This chapter considers social support, as variously conceptualized, and summarizes the evidence of its relevance for health in general and mental health in particular. The generality of these linkages across multiple disease/disorder outcomes and the influence of social connectedness on established and changing risk factors arguably justify the designation of social support as tantamount to a “fundamental cause”. Social support clearly matters for mental health both directly and as a mediator and/or moderator of the stress-mental health relationship. However, there are a number of contingencies in these relationships. Social support varies reliably with location in the social system suggesting that its origin lies in social experience. However, this view is challenged by evidence suggesting that variations in reported social support may partially, if not largely, reflect personality differences. It is also clear that social relationships are not always or in all respects positive in effects. Collectively, however, evidence confirms that social support is a crucial contingency for health and well-being.
The PCAOB Part II Inspection Report Disclosure of Income Tax Deficiencies and Auditor-Provided Tax Services

We examine whether quality control deficiencies in auditing income tax accounts publicly released in Deloitte’s 2007 PCAOB Part II report impose costs on the accounting firm’s auditor-provided tax services (ATS). We document that audit clients reduce reliance on ATS upon the public disclosure of Deloitte’s income tax-related audit deficiencies. This suggests that publicly disclosed audit deficiencies in the Part II report have a spillover effect on the inspected firm’s non-audit services. We also find that the decision of terminating ATS is predominantly evident in clients who rely more on Deloitte’s non-audit, non-tax services, and in those who excessively increase deferred tax valuation allowance and reserve for uncertain tax benefits. This is consistent with our expectation that reduced demand for Deloitte’s ATS is driven by stakeholders’ concern about independence impairment and by clients’ concern about ATS quality. In additional analyses, we find that Deloitte’s audit clients are less likely to retain ATS when the auditors lack sufficient tax expertise. We also find that PCAOB-identified income tax-related audit deficiencies are associated with reduced tax fees for clients that choose to retain ATS. Additionally, we document that reported earnings and income tax expenses are more value relevant for Deloitte’s audit clients that drop ATS in response to PCAOB-disclosed deficiencies in auditing income tax accounts. Collectively, our results are consistent with audit clients responding to the PCAOB Part II reports after they are publicly disclosed, suggesting that the PCAOB inspection on overall audit quality control has informational value. Specifically, this inspection report incentivizes audit clients to reconsider the benefits/costs of auditor-provided non-audit services and influences investor perception of financial reporting quality.
Building a Path to College Success: Advocacy, Discovery and OER Adoption in Emerging Educational Models

ABSTRACTIn this case study we will examine the role of the library in Open Educational Resources through the lens of library value described in Megan Oakleaf's 2010 ACRL report. While librarians in our organization have traditionally not played a role in textbook adoptions, the campus academic goal to increase online, blended and competency-based models is a strategic direction that intersects with the library's strategic vision to increase its contribution to online learning. Further, we will describe the process of building a partnership around OER with the campus Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and articulate the impact of our combined services on faculty adoption of OER and student success.
In vitro model of leukemia cell migration across the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common pediatric cancer and a leading cause of cancer death in children.[1] The central nervous system (CNS) is a frequent site of leukemia involvemen...
Calculation of Positron Binding Energies and Electron-Positron Annihilation Rates for Atomic Systems with the Reduced Explicitly Correlated Hartree-Fock Method in the Nuclear-Electronic Orbital Framework.

Although the binding of a positron to a neutral atom has not been directly observed experimentally, high-level theoretical methods have predicted that a positron will bind to a neutral atom. In the present study, the binding energies of a positron to lithium, sodium, beryllium, and magnesium, as well as the electron–positron annihilation rates for these systems, are calculated using the reduced explicitly correlated Hartree–Fock (RXCHF) method within the nuclear–electronic orbital (NEO) framework. Due to the lack of explicit electron–positron correlation, NEO Hartree–Fock and full configuration interaction calculations with reasonable electronic and positronic basis sets do not predict positron binding to any of these atoms. In contrast, the RXCHF calculations predict positron binding energies and electron-positron annihilation rates in qualitative agreement with previous highly accurate but computationally expensive stochastic variational method calculations. These results illustrate that the RXCHF metho...
High Assurance Code Generation for Cyber-Physical Systems

High Assurance SPIRAL (HA-SPIRAL) is a tool that synthesizes a faithful and high performance implementation from the mathematical specification of a given controller or monitor. At the heart of HA-SPIRAL is a mathematical identity rewrite engine based on a computer algebra system. The rewrite engine refines the mathematical expression provided by a control engineer, through mathematical identities, into an equivalent mathematical expression that can be implemented in code. In this paper, we discuss the use of HA-SPIRAL in generating provably-correct and high-performance implementations for different controllers and monitors for autonomous land and air vehicles.
The herpevac trial for women: Sequence analysis of glycoproteins from viruses obtained from infected subjects

The Herpevac Trial for Women revealed that three dose HSV-2 gD vaccine was 58% protective against culture-positive HSV-1 genital disease, but it was not protective against HSV-2 infection or disease. To determine whether vaccine-induced immune responses had selected for a particular gD sequence in strains infecting vaccine recipients compared with viruses infecting control subjects, genetic sequencing studies were carried out on viruses isolated from subjects infected with HSV-1 or HSV-2. We identified naturally occurring variants among the gD sequences obtained from 83 infected subjects. Unique or low frequency amino acid substitutions in the ectodomain of gD were found in 6 of 39 HSV-1-infected subjects and in 7 of 44 HSV-2-infected subjects. However, no consistent amino acid change was identified in isolates from gD-2 vaccine recipients compared with infected placebo recipients. gC and gE surround and partially shield gD from neutralizing antibody, and gB also participates closely in the viral entry process. Therefore, these genes were sequenced from a number of isolates to assess whether sequence variation may alter protein conformation and influence the virus strain's capacity to be neutralized by vaccine-induced antibody. gC and gE genes sequenced from HSV-1-infected subjects showed more variability than their HSV-2 counterparts. The gB sequences of HSV-1 oral isolates resembled each other more than they did gB sequences rom genital isolates. Overall, however, comparison of glycoprotein sequences of viral isolates obtained from infected subjects did not reveal any singular selective pressure on the viral cell attachment protein or surrounding glycoproteins due to administration of gD-2 vaccine.
Association Between Sedentary Time and Quality of Life From the Osteoarthritis Initiative: Who Might Benefit Most From Treatment?

Abstract Objective To investigate the relationship between sedentary behavior and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) among participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative. Design Longitudinal, observational design. Setting Osteoarthritis Initiative cohort. Participants Individuals (N=1794) from a prospective, multicenter longitudinal cohort were classified into quantile groups based on average daily sedentary time (most sedentary, quartile 1 [Q1] ≥11.6h; 10.7h≤ Q2 Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Individual QALYs were estimated over 2 years from the area under the curve of health-related utility scores derived from the Medical Outcomes Study 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey versus time. The relationship between baseline sedentary behavior and median 2-year QALYs was estimated using quantile regression adjusted for socioeconomic factors and body mass index. Results Lower QALYs over 2 years were more frequently found among the most sedentary (Q1, median 1.59), and QALYs increased as time spent in baseline sedentary behavior decreased (median QALYs for Q2, 1.64; Q3, 1.65; Q4, 1.65). The relationship of sedentary time and median QALY change was only significant for the most sedentary Q1 group, where an additional hour of sedentary behavior significantly reduced QALYs by −.072 (95% confidence interval, −.121 to −.020). Conclusions Our findings suggest that individuals with the most extreme sedentary profiles may be vulnerable to additional losses of quality of life if they become more sedentary. Targeting these individuals to decrease sedentary behavior has the potential to be cost-effective.
Regional features of prevalence of cannabinoid dependence in children in Siberia

Aim To distinguish socio-cultural predictors of cannabinoid dependence of child population in Siberia. Methods Clinical verification of dependence, due to cannabinoid use in the age group “0–14 years” across 22 administrative territories of Siberia and the far east. Review, of statistical materials of regional narcological institutions. Results Cannabinoid dependency in children has been revealed in 8 of 22 territories–intensive indices per 10,000 of the population of the matched age were in two territories–0.2, one territory–0.4, in two–0.7, and in three–2.1, 3.2, 14.0, respectively. In the related territories, the specific weight of cannabinoid dependence in total structure of substance dependence for population as a whole (children, adolescents, and adults) was as follows: 0.7%, 0.8%, 2.7%, 3.5%, 27.2%, 67.6% and 76.9%. Therefore, for those territories where ill children are under observation their number per 10,000 of the population is closely associated with structural size of addictions: high level of cannabinoid dependence, formed in the territory, is interrelated with greater number of children, dependent on cannabinoids in this territory. With account for made corrections it should be recognized that “saturation level” of the territories, in particular, with cannabinoids results in higher indices of substance dependence among child population. Conclusions It should be considered that calculation of intensive indices is conducted for the age group “0–14 years” while diagnosed age range includes children aged 9–14 years, therefore, real indices of dependence, with account for this hypothetical correction, are three times higher as a minimum.
Asymptomatic Hypotension in a Patient with Catheter-related Right Atrial Thrombus

Atrial thrombi can be a complication in patients with indwelling central-line catheters, and failure to diagnose can potentially be lethal. This condition is generally associated with profound hypo-perfused states. Here we present a case of a 77-year-old female who arrived to our emergency department for evaluation of a leg laceration and was incidentally found to have a catheter-related right atrial thrombus using point-of-care ultrasound.
Optimal real-time congestion management in power markets based on particle swarm optimization

Power system real-time congestion management (RTCM) is one of the major problem, which should be solved by the system operator (SO) through a fast, reliable and cost-effective algorithm. In this paper, an optimal RTCM algorithm is proposed based on cost-free and non-cost-free techniques considering the maximum capacity of transmission systems in a specific time interval. This time interval is named as congestion clearing time and is determined by short thermal rates of transmission lines. The linear structure of the proposed formulation makes it possible to be solved very fast in real-time congestion conditions. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm has been developed to find the best solution for the RTCM problem during the maximum allowed solution time. To demonstrate the advantages and effectiveness of this method, numerical results have been reported and compared with the security constraint optimal power flow (SCOPF) solution for the RTCM problem analyzing the modified 39-bus New England system.
Non-Thermal Plasma Induced Immunogenic Cell Death In Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal diagnosis, with a 5-year survival rate of approximately 7%. PDAC often presents late, when the only curative option, surgery, in no longer viable. Even after curative surgery in patients with resectable disease, early recurrence and disease progression often occur. Non-thermal plasma therapy represents a novel, non-invasive, immunotherapeutic approach for management of PDAC. We have previously reported plasma induced immunogenic cell death (ICD) of CT-26 colorectal cancer cells in vitro. Moreover, we have shown, that a whole-cell vaccine produced by in vitro treatment of cancer cells with plasma has resulted in protective immunity in a mouse model of colorectal cancer. Here we tested the ability of plasma to induce ICD in a radiation and multi-drug resistant human epithelial pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line, Panc-02, with a nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (nspDBD). We report (Figure 1) decreased cell viability in a dose-dependent fashion in vitro. Additionally, ICD, as evidenced by increased expression of Calreticulin (CRT), a damage associated molecular pattern (DAMP) protein, is shown in Table 1. Mitoxantrone (MTX) is a candidate positive control for ICD in the Panc-02 cell line with a 45-fold increase in CRT expression associated with an approximate 20-25% decrease in cell viability. Cisplatin resulted in a 2-fold increase in CRT expression and an approximate 20-25% decrease in cell viability. The cell viability results were dose-independent for both MTX and Cisplatin. Vaccination results of C57B/6 mice with plasma treated Panc-02 cells will be presented. Download : Download high-res image (212KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure 1: Plasma Induced Panc-02 cell viability via PI assay.
Advocating For Pediatric Rapid Response Worldwide

General pediatricians have been involved for decades in bringing health to the world’s children with preventive and public health interventions. Building on this, this article seeks to explore the necessary concepts and components that would facilitate a rapid response for critically ill or injured pediatric patients to become a life-saving reality for all children. It has been shown that emergency care can be done practically, cost-effectively, and is necessary to save the lives of children who will, just like children in the USA, suffer from critical illness and injury as a matter of living. There is a challenge to the pediatric emergency medicine community to facilitate the training and delivery of rapid pediatric response worldwide, with the recognition that emergency care is a specialty of rapid team formation to identify critically ill children, and rapid action to resuscitate them.
A language-modeling approach to inverse text normalization and data cleanup for multimodal voice search applications.

In this paper we address two related challenges in multimodal local search applications on mobile devices: first, correctly displaying the business names, and second, harvesting language model training data from an inconsistently labeled corpus. We investigate the impact of common text normalization and the quality of language model training corpus on the accuracy of displayed results. We propose a new language model framework that eliminates the need for explicit inverse text normalization. The same framework can be applied to sift through corrupted language model training data. Our new language model is 25% more accurate while 25% smaller in size.
Synalgos-DC® (Ives)

Dihydrocodeine is a semisynthetic narcotic analgesic related to codeine with multiple actions qualitatively similar to those of codeine. The most prominent of these involve the central nervous system and organs with smooth muscle components. The principal actions of therapeutic value are analgesia and sedation. Promethazine is a phenothiazine with sedative actions. Synalgos also contains the non-narcotic antipyretic analgesic combination aspirin-caffeine.
Robotic totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting (TECAB) of the left anterior descending and right coronary artery system using an arterial Y-graft technique

A totally endoscopic version of coronary bypass surgery can on a routine basis only be carried out using robotic technology. Since its introduction in 1998, the procedure has evolved from single to multivessel totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting (TECAB) (1). In most instances of multivessel TECAB, the left and right internal mammary artery (RIMA) are used as in situ bypasses and the left anterior descending artery (LAD) and higher obtuse marginal branches are grafted (2). These targets are readily accessed robotically and can be tackled even on the fully beating heart. For more distant targets, namely the distal circumflex (Cx) coronary artery and the right coronary artery (RCA) system, no specific techniques have been described yet. These coronary branches lie on the diaphragmatic and posterior surface of the heart and require movement of the heart into extreme positions which may compromise hemodynamics significantly if carried out without unloading. In addition, an in situ internal mammary artery bypass may not reach these targets without tension. Y-grafting is an option to achieve better reach. Cardioplegia may facilitate exposure of the RCA and the Cx in the completely endoscopic setting. We describe our technique of completely endoscopic bypass grafting of the posterior descending artery (PDA), a branch of the RCA, using the Y-graft technique. Cardioplegia is achieved by remote access heart lung machine perfusion and endoaortic balloon occlusion. The PDA is exposed on the arrested heart with a special insertion site of the robotic endostabilizer on the left lateral chest wall and lifting up the acute margin of the flaccid, arrested heart.
Becoming Religious Disbelievers: Retrospective Viewpoints

Religious disbelief has been increasing in the United States. Many studies have examined this phenomenon. This study examined the factors surrounding the transition to disbelief within a sample of 25 adults in the United States based on a conversion model proposed by Lewis Rambo. Using Q-sorting methodology, it was found that the experiences of these individuals, as viewed by the individuals themselves, fell into five groups. These groups reflected subjective beliefs about their experiences with the following different emphases on the processes and results of their deconversions: a new identity, a change in lifestyle and social groups, being in despair and wanting life to mean more, media questing, and mentored change. These results suggest that the experience of becoming a disbeliever is viewed by those having experienced it in various ways, though each of the five viewpoints reflect aspects of Rambo’s model.
A distraction index for quantification of driver eye glance behavior: A study using SHRP2 NEST database

Abstract Distracted driving behavior and driving inattention are two leading causes of roadway crashes. The state-of-the-art safety research made several attempts to understand and quantify distracted driving and driver inattention. While each attempt had its limitation, there was a consensus on the relevance of eye glance behavior as a promising parameter in understanding distracted driving. In this study, a renewal cycle approach is implemented to provide deeper insights into how drivers allocate their attention while driving. This approach is then applied to the Naturalistic Engagement in Secondary Tasks (NEST) dataset to analyze drivers’ eye glance patterns and determine the relationship between their visual behavior and engagement in different types of secondary tasks (activities performed while driving). The analysis revealed that distracted driving behavior could be well characterized by two new measures: the number of renewal cycles per event (NRC) and a distraction level index (DI). Consequently, mixed-effects modeling is implemented to test the effectiveness of the two measures to differentiate crash/near-crash events from non-crash events. The analysis showed that the two measures increase significantly for crash/near-crash events compared to non-crash driving events with p-values less than 0.0001. The findings of this paper are promising to the quantification of the risk associated with distraction related visual behavior. The finding can also help build reliable algorithms for in-vehicle driving assistance systems to alert drivers before crash/near-crash events.
A prototype of knowledge-based patient safety event reporting and learning system

Patient falls, the most common safety events resulting in adverse patient outcomes, impose significant costs and have become a great burden to the healthcare community. Current patient fall reporting systems remain in the early stage that is far away from reaching the ultimate goal toward a safer healthcare. According to the Kirkpatrick model, the key challenge in reaction, learning, behavior and results is the realization of learning stage due to the lack of knowledge management, sharing and growing mechanism. Based on the key contributing factors defined by AHRQ Common Formats 2.0, a hierarchical list of contributing factors for patient falls was established by expert review and discussion. Using the list as an infrastructure, we designed and developed a novel reporting system, where a strategy to identify contributing factors is intended to provide reporters knowledge support, in the form of similar cases and potential solutions. A survey containing two scenarios was conducted to evaluate the learning effect of our system. In both scenarios, potential solutions recommended by the system were annotated with correct contributing factors, and presented only when the corresponding factors were identified from the query report or selected by the user. The five experts show substantial consistency (Fleiss’ kappa > 0.6) and high agreement (ranging between fully agree and mostly agree) in the assessment of the three perspectives of the system, which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed knowledge support toward sharing and learning through the novel reporting system. This study proposed a profile of contributing factors that could measure the similarity of patient safety events. Based on the profile, a knowledge-based reporting and learning system was developed to bridge the gap between surveillance, reporting, and retrospective analysis in the fall management circle. The system holds promise in improving event reporting toward better and safer healthcare.
Hypersonic boundary-layer separation detection with pressure-sensitive paint for a cone at high angle of attack

A measurement technique for identifying lee-side crossflow-induced boundary-layer separation on a blunt $$7^{\circ }$$ half-angle circular cone at high angle of attack has been developed and tested. Previous work has shown that local minima in root-mean-squared (rms) pressure fluctuations on the surface are good identifiers of separation. These surface pressure fluctuations are measured with a temperature-corrected, high-frequency-response anodized-aluminum pressure-sensitive paint (AA-PSP). This AA-PSP was made in-house to provide the high frequency response required for this work. The sensor’s frequency response of 3 kHz proved to be fast enough to detect lines of local minimum rms pressure fluctuations indicative of separation on the lee side of the cone for angles of attack from $$9.8^{\circ }$$ to $$15.8^{\circ }$$ . A shift in the separation location towards the windward side of the model was observed as angle of attack increased; however, the separation location converged to a constant azimuth for angles of attack greater than or equal to $$1.8\times$$ the cone’s half angle.
What “Red Flags” Should the Emergency Clinician Be Aware of When Evaluating the Patient with Chronic Abdominal Pain?

Chronic abdominal pain patients represent a diverse population of patients that require an open mind and judicious management strategy. It is incumbent on the emergency care provider to be aware of “red flags” which indicate the presence of an acute, undiagnosed, or alternative etiology for a chronic pain flare. In addition, the “red flags” which alert the emergency care provider to the possibility of malingering or opiate-seeking behavior will guide the clinician to an appropriate management and disposition.
Quantifying truth-based change in radiomics features between CT imaging conditions

The purpose of this study was to develop a method to ascertain the likelihood of actual change in radiomics features measured from pairs of sequentially acquired CT images under variable CT scan settings. Fifteen realistic computational lung nodule models were simulated with varying volumes and morphologies (231-1,245 mm3 volume range with no, medium, and high spiculation). The virtual nodule models were degraded by noise magnitude, noise texture, and resolution properties representing those of five commercial CT systems operating under a wide range of scan and reconstruction settings (297, including 33 reconstruction kernels, three dose levels– CTDIvol = 1.90, 3.75, and 7.5 mGy, and three slice thicknesses– 0.625, 1.25, and 2.5 mm). Images of each nodule were synthesized five repeated times under each imaging condition for a total of 22,275 imaged nodules. The simulated nodule images were segmented using an automatic active contour segmentation algorithm, from which morphology features were calculated and compared to the ground-truth morphology features (aka, truth-based) to estimate the minimum difference, Dmin, between two feature measurements that could be reliably measured between any pair of imaging conditions (scanner, kernel, dose, etc.). Dmin was defined as the minimum difference in a radiomics feature for which a measured difference corresponded to true differences 95% of the time for a single segmentation algorithm. The mean value for Dmin ranged from 1.8% to 70.0% depending on the specific radiomics feature. An analysis of the volume feature revealed that the lowest Dmin occurred for slice thickness of 0.625mm and CTDIvol of 7.5 mGy. This study presents a method to translate radiomics features from measured feature differences to true difference that accounts for statistics of noise between conditions.
Relating glaucomatous visual field loss to retinal oxygen delivery and metabolism.

PURPOSE To test the hypothesis that visual field (VF) loss is associated with decreased retinal blood flow, oxygen delivery and metabolism, and with increased retinal oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) in glaucomatous individuals. METHODS Glaucomatous subjects underwent automated perimetry, dual wavelength scanning laser ophthalmoscopy and Doppler optical coherence tomography imaging in order to measure mean deviation, central retinal arterial and venous diameter equivalents (CRAE and CRVE), oxygen saturation levels and total retinal blood flow (TRBF), respectively. Retinal oxygen delivery, metabolism and extraction fraction were derived from measurements of oxygen saturation and blood flow. RESULTS Twenty eyes of 14 subjects were included in the study. Mean deviation was on average -13.76 ± 8.70 dB. Mean CRAE and CRVE were 126 ± 28 and 191 ± 35 μm, respectively. Mean TRBF and oxygen delivery were 34.3 ± 11.7 μl/min and 6.5 ± 2.6 μl O2 /min, respectively. Mean oxygen metabolism and extraction fraction were 2.1 ± 0.94 μl O2 /min and 0.34 ± 0.15, respectively. Visual field (VF) loss was associated with reduced CRAE and CRVE, TRBF and oxygen delivery and associated with increased OEF. CONCLUSION Combined measurements of retinal blood flow and oxygen saturation in glaucomatous individuals suggest VF loss is associated with impaired oxygen delivery and augmented OEF.
Better Positioned to Teach the Rules than to Change Them: University Actors in Two Low-Income, First-Generation Student Support Programs

Low-income, first-generation (LIFG) students complete college at disproportionately low rates. This qualitative study examines this gap from the perspective of university actors who directly suppor...
Incorporating devops into undergraduate software engineering courses: a suggested framework

DevOps is a current trend for application development and delivery in the industry. Teaching about DevOps in an undergraduate software engineering course is difficult because the number of new concepts involved is high, and most students lack experience with them. This paper presents our initial experience integrating DevOps into undergraduate software engineering coursework. It discusses DevOps itself and introduces a basic framework for introducing DevOps into a software engineering sequence. Finally, we discuss how we currently approach DevOps instruction and where we need to go to fit within the suggested framework.
Simulation in medical education at Loma Linda University

This article described how simulation is used at Loma Linda University Medical Simulation Center.Detail description and examples were provided to help medical educators undemmnd the method of using the virtual simulator for teaching fast and efficient decision making skills at a high level of interactive medical education. Key words: Simulation; Medical education; Loms Linda University
Executive functions in agenesis of the corpus callosum: Working memory and sustained attention in the BTBR inbred mouse strain

Introduction Agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC) is characterized by the congenital partial or complete absence of the corpus callosum. Several strains of mice have been reported to carry AgCC, with the BTBR T+ Itpr3tf /J (BTBR) inbred mouse strain consistently showing a complete absence of the corpus callosum, as well as a variable reduction in the size of the hippocampal commissure. While much research has focused on the social deficits of the BTBR strain, little research on its cognitive behavior has been conducted. The goal of our study was to compare two facets of executive functioning, spatial working memory, and sustained attention between the BTBR and C57BL/6J (B6) strains. Methods Spatial working memory was measured utilizing a delayed matching-to-position (DMTP) task and sustained attention was measured utilizing an operant task in which mice were trained to distinguish signal and nonsignal events. Results Both the BTBR and B6 mice demonstrated a predictable decline in performance on the DMTP task as the delay interval increased and predictable increase in performance on the sustained attention task as the duration of the signal event increased. Although no significant differences were found between strains on the performance of these tasks, there was a significant difference in learning the association between lever pressing and food reward. Histological investigation confirmed the complete absence of commissural fibers from the corpus callosum, but also the hippocampal commissure, counter to a previous study. Conclusion The results suggest spatial working memory and sustained attention are unaffected by the absence of these commissural fibers alone.
West Nile Virus Chorioretinitis in the Presence of Negative Cerebrospinal Fluid Polymerase Chain Reaction Results

Purpose:This work aims to evaluate the utility of nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) and serology in confirming West Nile Virus (WNV) infection in patients with suspected WNV chorioretinitis...
Enabling Wideband, Mobile Spectrum Sensing through Onboard Heterogeneous Computing

We explore the design of a platform to support truly mobile and untethered, wideband spectrum sensing. First, the design of the platform needs to be physically small and lightweight. Next, we observe that wideband spectrum sensing (say >20 MHz at a time) can easily generate a large volume of PSD/IQ data, in uncompressed form (> 1 Gbps). Due to challenges of efficient offload of this large data volumes, we design a heterogeneous computing platform --- using a combination of FPGA and CPU --- built right on the spectrum sensor board, onto which various sophisticated compression algorithms, or wireless signal processing functions (even deep learning based ones) can be implemented. The FPGA is chosen to meet the real-time processing requirements of modern high-speeds wireless protocols, opening new opportunities. Finally, we provide easy connectivity to common mobile devices (currently Android phone) and a starting mobile app to enable easy programmability and control functions. Overall, our highly-integrated platform has the capability of sensing a wide frequency range of wireless signals with a high sampling rate and being controlled by a mobile phone via a USB OTG cable. We build a prototype of our system, and show through experiments that our device can support a bandwidth up to 56MHz and a wide frequency range from 70MHz to 6GHz for spectrum sensing, and run a deep learning model inference onboard for signal classification. We conclude by discussing the future challenges to realize large-scale spectrum sensing using our platform.
The COVID-19 Army: Experiences From the Deployment of Non-Hospitalist Physician Volunteers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: New York City was the epicenter of the outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States. As a large, quaternary care medical center, NYU Langone Medical Center was one of many New York medical centers that experienced an unprecedented influx of patients during this time. Clinical leadership effectively identified, oriented, and rapidly deployed a "COVID Army," consisting of non-hospitalist physicians, to meet the needs of the patient influx. We share feedback from our providers on our processes and offer specific recommendations for systems experiencing a similar influx in the current and future pandemics. METHODS: To assess the experiences and perceived readiness of these physicians (n = 183), we distributed a 32-item survey between March and June of 2020. Thematic analyses and response rates were examined to develop results. RESULTS: Responses highlighted varying experiences and attitudes of our frontline physicians during an emerging pandemic. Thematic analyses revealed a series of lessons learned, including the need to (1) provide orientations, (2) clarify roles/workflow, (3) balance team workload, (4) keep teams updated on evolving policies, (5) make team members feel valued, and (6) ensure they have necessary tools available. CONCLUSIONS: Lessons from our deployment and assessment are scalable at other institutions.
Summary of Changes Made By the 2021 Texas Legislature

This article reviews the highlights of the legislation enacted by the 2021 Texas Legislature relating to the Texas law of intestacy, wills, estate administration, trusts, guardianship, and other estate planning matters.