cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Liver Transplantation in Patients With Cardiac Disease

Liver transplantation (LT) is a unique surgical procedure that has major hemodynamic and cardiovascular implications. Recently, there has been significant interest focused on cardiovascular issues that affect LT patients in all phases of the perioperative period. The preoperative cardiac evaluation is a major step in the selection of LT candidates. LT candidates are aging in concordance with the general population; cardiovascular disease and their risk factors are highly associated with older age. Underlying cardiovascular disease has the potential to affect outcomes in LT patients and has a major impact on candidate selection. The prolonged hemodynamic and metabolic instability during LT may contribute to adverse outcomes, especially in patients with underlying cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular events are not unusual during LT; transplant anesthesiologists must be prepared for these events. Advanced cardiovascular monitoring techniques and treatment modalities are now routinely used during LT. Postoperative cardiovascular complications are common in both the early and late posttransplant periods. The impact of cardiac complications on posttransplant mortality is well recognized. Emerging knowledge regarding cardiovascular disease in LT patients and its impact on posttransplant outcomes will have an important role in guiding the future perioperative management of LT patients.
Minimally Invasive Approaches to Clostridium Difficile Colitis

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has been increasing in incidence over the past three decades. It is now recognized as a major healthcare-associated complication and is the leading nosocomial pathogen. Disease severity ranges from mild diarrhea to severe sepsis with multiple organ dysfunction. Early recognition, diagnosis, and treatment are necessary to prevent disease progression. Despite best effort, some cases progress in severity, and the development of severe, complicated disease (sometimes known as fulminant colitis or the development of toxic megacolon) is associated with a high rate of mortality. Surgical treatment for severe, complicated disease was defined in the 1990s to be subtotal abdominal colectomy and end ileostomy. Although mortality is improved by colectomy in patients that are critically ill compared to those treated with medical therapy alone, outcomes are still poor. There may be opportunity to improve outcomes by more aggressive nonsurgical interventions, earlier surgical intervention, and alternative surgical techniques when managing severe CDI. This chapter highlights some of the minimally invasive surgical and nonsurgical approaches to treat patients with severe, complicated CDI.
“I Have to Write a Statement of Moral Conviction. Can Anyone Help?”: Parents’ Strategies for Managing Compulsory Vaccination Laws:

Laws requiring evidence of vaccination before children can enter schools or child care have been key to public health. However, as parents increasingly reject vaccines for their children, they rely...
Mid-Infrared Photonic Chip for Label-free Glucose Sensing

A chip-scale glucose sensor was developed using nitride optical waveguides. The label free detection was conducted at λ = 2.70 - 2.81 μm and 3.50 - 3.70 μm because these spectral regions overlap with the characteristic O-H and C-H stretch absorptions while being transparent to nitride. For a glucose covered mid-IR waveguide strong intensity attenuation was found at λ > 2.73 μm and a detection limit better than 0.5 ng is experimentally demonstrated.
An Application Perspective on DBMS Security Policies

Any multilevel-secure (MLS) database management system (DBMS) requires a security policy that is sufficiently flexible to support the security requirements of a range of database applications. In general, the currently proposed DBMS security policies do not provide the types of features that are required by typical database applications. This paper discusses four major problems with current DBMS security policies: 1. Automatic polyinstantiation 2. Simplistic Bell-LaPadula interpretation 3. View-based controls and constraints 4. Lack of transaction authorization controls.
Immunotherapy of warts with masoprocol cream.

Immunotherapy of warts can be accomplished with 10 percent masoprocol cream, a commercially available topical agent.
The conquest of "schizophrenia:" Sisyphus revisited.

Despite the fact that the diagnosis of schizophrenia, or dementia praecox, has been in use for over 80 years, there remains a great lack of clarity about the nature of this “disease.” An impressive array of clinical and experimental data has been accumulated which pertains to the characteristics of “schizophrenics” but there are virtually no data which are schizophrenia specific. Quite to the contrary, the emerging picture is one of a complex and interacting field of several continuous dimensions or factors. Three underlying factors are suggested in anad hoc fashion; the internal environment, the physical environment, and the human environment. It is suggested that these basic dimensions and their interactions over time should be the object of further investigation and definition, hopefully developing more adequate and productive description of clinical syndromes, rather than continuing the preoccupation with “schizophrenia” as a diagnostic label.
P2M-based security model: security enhancement using combined PUF and PRNG models for authenticating consumer electronic devices

Continued growth and development in the consumer electronic market have greatly increased in the realm of home automation. With this swelling in smart, Internet-connected consumer electronics, there is a need to ensure the safe and secure use of these products. So how does one authenticate each product in a large connected environment? How can the authors minimise counterfeiting, cloning, and the presence of Trojans in customer electronics? In this study, they explore their method of using various physically unclonable functions (PUFs) as a potential seed for a pseudorandom number generators (PRNGs) element. These can then be used to authenticate consumer electronic devices or protect communication over a large interconnected network. The advantage of this work is that their method increases the difficulty of attackers to learn patterns of the seed of each PRNG while optimising PUF-based constraints in different consumer electronic domains. Through this work they enhance the function of PRNGs, increasing the difficulty of attackers’ ability to model security systems, as well as present a lightweight and efficient solution to the growing security concerns. By making the PRNG more difficult to model, malicious actors are less able to overcome their proposed security enhancement leading to a safe and secure environment.
Association of Pharmaceutical Industry Marketing of Opioid Products With Mortality From Opioid-Related Overdoses.

Importance Prescription opioids are involved in 40% of all deaths from opioid overdose in the United States and are commonly the first opioids encountered by individuals with opioid use disorder. It is unclear whether the pharmaceutical industry marketing of opioids to physicians is associated with mortality from overdoses. Objective To identify the association between direct-to-physician marketing of opioid products by pharmaceutical companies and mortality from prescription opioid overdoses across US counties. Design, Setting, and Participants This population-based, county-level analysis of industry marketing information used data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Open Payments database linked with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on opioid prescribing and mortality from overdoses. All US counties were included, with data on overdoses from August 1, 2014, to December 31, 2016, linked to marketing data from August 1, 2013, to December 31, 2015, using a 1-year lag. Statistical analyses were conducted between February 1 and June 1, 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures County-level mortality from prescription opioid overdoses, total cost of marketing of opioid products to physicians, number of marketing interactions, opioid prescribing rates, and sociodemographic factors. Results Between August 1, 2013, and December 31, 2015, there were 434 754 payments totaling $39.7 million in nonresearch-based opioid marketing distributed to 67 507 physicians across 2208 US counties. After adjustment for county-level sociodemographic factors, mortality from opioid overdoses increased with each 1-SD increase in marketing value in dollars per capita (adjusted relative risk, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.05-1.12), number of payments to physicians per capita (adjusted relative risk, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.14-1.21, and number of physicians receiving marketing per capita (adjusted relative risk, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.08-1.16). Opioid prescribing rates also increased with marketing and partially mediated the association between marketing and mortality. Conclusions and Relevance In this study, across US counties, marketing of opioid products to physicians was associated with increased opioid prescribing and, subsequently, with elevated mortality from overdoses. Amid a national opioid overdose crisis, reexamining the influence of the pharmaceutical industry may be warranted.
Abstract ES11-2: Current status of diagnosis, monitoring, and non-surgical management of lymphedema

Lymphedema (LE) is a common but underreported complication of breast cancer treatment since most studies lack baseline and follow-up measurements or follow-up that is long enough to adequately record true incidence. Contemporary prospective randomized trials continue to document the occurrence of lymphedema after any axillary treatment and note that combination therapy with axillary surgery and radiation nearly doubles LE risk. Over the last 5 years clinicians have witnessed a paradigm shift in the diagnostic practices of LE with concerted efforts focusing on early detection as opposed to reactionary interventions. Controversy however has existed over how to define and diagnose LE and as such the literature surrounding diagnosis is heterogeneous with respect to incidence and recommendations. Existing guidelines emphasize the need for routine monitoring for LE and the critical importance of baseline, bilateral, and longitudinal limb assessments but do not embrace one measurement technique. A growing body of prospective observational data is systematically challenging the value of precautionary behaviors. Further, prospective randomized data demonstrates exercise does not promote the development of LE. Complex decongestive therapy remains the cornerstone of non-surgical LE treatment. With the NCI predicting over 4 million breast cancer survivors in the US by 2024, lymphedema is potentially a significant public health burden. Citation Format: McLaughlin S. Current status of diagnosis, monitoring, and non-surgical management of lymphedema [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr ES11-2.
Differenzialdiagnosen der Osteonekrose großer Gelenke

Sowohl die subchondrale Insuffizienzfraktur (SIF) als auch das idiopathische Knochenmarkodemsyndrom sind stets zu beachtende Differenzierungen gegenuber der Osteonekrose, da sie neben einer abweichenden – in der Regel besseren – Prognose auch eine andere Therapiewahl nach sich ziehen. Die Osteochondrosis dissecans stellt eine in mehrfacher Hinsicht abzugrenzende, eigene Entitat dar, die nicht mit der Osteonekrose verwechselt bzw. vereinheitlicht werden darf. Hinter einer rasch progredient verlaufenden, destruktiven Osteoarthrose kann sich nach neuerer Erkenntnis ursachlich eine intraktable SIF verbergen. Septische Gelenk- und Knochenaffektionen konnen eo ipso zur schweren Gelenkdestruktion, aber auch infolge septischer Gefasverschlusse sekundar zu Osteonekrosen fuhren. Wahrend knochenmarkinfiltrierende Systemerkrankungen – v. a. therapiebedingt – zu Osteonekrosen fuhren konnen, stellen Tumorerkrankungen selten ein differenzialdiagnostisches Problem hinsichtlich einer Differenzierung gegenuber der Osteonekrose dar.
The fragility of findings of randomized controlled trials in shoulder and elbow surgery.

Background Considered the gold standard of study designs, randomized controlled trials' (RCTs) results shape clinical practice, effect policy, and influence reimbursement. The fragility index (FI) can be used to quantitate the relative robustness of RCT results, with higher scores indicating more stout results. Unfortunately, most RCTs in surgery have fragile results. The aim of this study was to report on the FI in addition to a qualitative assessment of recent RCTs within the field of shoulder and elbow surgery. Methods A systematic review was performed identifying recently published shoulder/elbow RCTs that included 1:1 allocated parallel study arms, dichotomous primary outcome variables, and statistical significance. The FI was calculated by sequentially modifying outcome groups by exchanging a nonevent in one group to an event until the P value for the outcome comparison, as calculated by the Fisher exact test, was increased above the .05 threshold. Results Thirty RCTs were included. The median FI was 4. Sixty percent trials had a FI of 2 or less. Fifty-three percent studies reported that participants were lost to follow-up. In 87.5% of these studies, the losses to follow-up exceeded their respective FIs. Only 53% of studies defined a primary outcome variable and 60% studies performed a prestudy power analysis. Conclusions The median FI reported in the recent shoulder/elbow literature is 4; however, a high proportion of included RCTs display significant methodological concerns. The FI is a useful adjunct to analyze RCT results, but careful analysis of trial methods should be employed in each circumstance before drawing conclusions.
Using Self-Organizing Maps to Identify Coherent CONUS Precipitation Regions

AbstractExtreme precipitation events have major societal impacts. These events are rare and can have small spatial scale, making statistical analysis difficult; both factors are mitigated by combin...
The impact of skilled birth attendants trained on newborn resuscitation in Tanzania: A literature review

Abstract Millions of newborns die every year worldwide. Prevention of newborn deaths is a huge challenge in developing countries. Objective: This literature review reports the impacts of training skilled birth attendants in newborn resuscitation in Tanzania by answering the review question. Design: Systematic searches were conducted in the period of January to June 2016 from following databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Cinahl and Maternity and Infant Care. Participants and settings: 113,807 newborns are included from rural to urban settings in Tanzania. “Skilled birth attendants” include midwives, doctors and nurses, who have been trained to manage childbirths and perform immediate newborn care. Findings: The seven included studies indicate reduction in early neonatal deaths and fresh stillbirths after training skilled birth attendants in newborn resuscitation. Overall increased knowledge, skills and performance is reported, and action within “the golden minute” is needed. Additionally, a highly cost-effective training program is documented. Implications for practice: Training in newborn resuscitation of skilled birth attendants is reported to be beneficial, but not strongly enough in itself to make a difference for newborn resuscitation in Tanzania. Key conclusions: No training is stronger than it’s weakest factor, and extensive challenges in Tanzania are reported at several levels. The reported challenges are lack of human resources, knowledge, supplies, humanization and dignity in maternity wards. Additionally, hospitals often have neither water nor soap. Further training, action and research are needed to improve skilled birth attendant’s possibilities to save millions of newborn lives.
The effect of childhood socioeconomic status on patience

Abstract In this research, we examine the effect of childhood socioeconomic status on patience, which is operationalized as willingness to wait for a chosen alternative. Because decision makers socialized in low (high) socioeconomic status environments learn a model of agency that emphasizes exerting self-control (vs. exerting environmental control), we predict that they will exhibit greater (less) willingness to wait for a chosen alternative. In three studies in which participants of various ages chose an alternative and then learned that it was not immediately available, lower childhood socioeconomic status consistently predicted greater willingness to wait and less negative emotional reactions to waiting. We discuss implications of this effect in organizational settings.
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for T1b Melanoma: Balancing Prognostic Value and Cost

The purpose of this study is to report the additional prognostic information and cost associated with sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for patients with T1b melanoma. An institutional database was queried for patients with T1b melanoma (0.8–1.0 mm or < 0.8 mm with ulceration) with at least 5 years of follow-up. Results of SLNB, completion lymphadenectomy (CLND), recurrence, and melanoma-specific survival (MSS) were assessed. Institutional costs of melanoma care were converted to Medicare proportional dollars. A Markov model was created to estimate long-term costs. Among the total 392 patients, 238 underwent SLNB. Median follow-up was 10.5 years. SLNB was positive in 19 patients (8.0%). Patients who underwent SLNB had higher 10-year nodal recurrence-free survival (98.6% vs. 91.2%, p < 0.001) but not MSS (94.4% vs. 93.2%, p = 0.55). Ulceration (HR 4.7, p = 0.022) and positive sentinel node (HR 11.5, p < 0.001) were associated with worse MSS. Estimates for 5-year costs reflect a fourfold increase in total costs of care associated with SLNB. However, a treatment plan that forgoes adjuvant therapy for resected stage IIIA melanoma but offers systemic therapy for a node-basin recurrence would nullify the additional cost of SLNB. SLNB is prognostic for T1b melanoma. Its impact on the overall cost of melanoma care is intimately tied to systemic therapy in the adjuvant and recurrent settings.
Florida fruit and vegetable growers' adaptation and response to COVID-19

While Florida is known for theme parks and beaches, its agricultural sector is the second largest industry in the state and accounts for a substantial proportion of the United States’ annual production of many fruit and vegetable crops. Florida’s farmers have capitalized on the fact that Florida is a top tourism destination, with 70-80% of large producers’ sales targeting the theme-park, hotel, restaurant, and cruise line industries that were decimated by stay-at-home orders. With the exception of citrus, peak harvest for these crops is from March to May, which coincided exactly with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020. Florida producers were left with hundreds of millions of pounds of produce with no available market. Florida farmers utilized innovative sales and market opportunities to sell as much of their highly perishable produce as they could. In addition, despite substantial personal hardship and financial losses, producers paid to harvest and transport produce to food banks and other hunger-relief organizations that were overwhelmed with demand from people who recently lost their jobs or were furloughed due to the closures of restaurants, hotels, theme parks, and cruise lines due to the pandemic. However, with the sheer volume of perishable produce left without buyers, some crops simply had to be tilled under or terminated. The COVID-19 pandemic increased awareness of and demand for Florida agricultural products among Florida residents, leading some grocery stores around the state to commit to buying more produce from Florida growers. A variety of programs and resources to help connect Florida growers to buyers were developed by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences; industry groups; and state and regional organizations. This provides a valuable foundation to support food system resilience for future public health emergencies and natural disasters.
Logic and Schema Modalities

Are we simplistically analogizing SV’s ‘target knowledge complex’ between human and computer cognitive production and representation? Does this reduce cognitive to linguistic production? The analogy is to ‘logic gates’ that block entry by negating concepts and meanings—and by the same operations, block those very blocks. The thinker’s cognitive operation excluding thought is via the ‘logic gate.’ The products are logic and schema modality factors of a ‘knowledge complex.’ Focus on logic gates and Boolean logic specifically connects our analogy with SV—both derived from logic governing computer simulation. SV not only governs the knowledge complex enriching understanding of the individual’s thinking. It also deploys and governs combinations of categories and operations in dynamic socio-political contexts. Central nexuses are a specific mix of logical and schematic forms-in-variation. This can be diagrammed—if the mind’s eye can spot vantage points for modal contingencies optimizing logical and schematic forms to thinking tasks.
Entering the age of accelerated change: In search of equilibrium

It is not difficult to observe that our world is rapidly getting out of kilter, slipping into disequilibrium, upheavals, uncertainty, human suffering and increasingly chaotic responses -- thus weakening our grasp or even a vision of human, societal and individual future Not everything can be attributed to COVID-19 -- which is rapidly changing from a cause to one of the symptoms of the increasingly unhinged world Yet, the people with the most power and skills of persuasion, ambition and emotion usually have no such training, experience or intelligence -- especially the party politicians (not to mention those who vote for them) Here, Zeleny discusses the institution of the strategic revival They search for the new roads towards reliable entrepreneurship and management, allowing new generations to resist and defend against the choking grip of the divisive party politics
Making sense of space: mapping and materializing panoptic features in research with youth and teachers

This article describes a study wherein teachers talked about school architecture by using their bodies as well as their voices while analysing maps youth drew of their schools. The youths’ maps and...
Feasibility of a virtual nutrition intervention for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder are at increased risk of unhealthy eating behaviors and obesity. This study examined feasibility of a virtual implementation of Bringing Adolescent Learner...
Implementation of MR-Based Synthetic CT for Stereotactic Radiosurgery Dose Calculation.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) Most Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery (GKRS) procedures have been performed using water-based dose calculation algorithms with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) only. We present a dose calculation method that can take into account the inhomogeneity effect in routine GKRS treatment planning without CT imaging for every patient. MATERIALS/METHODS Twenty-five patients who underwent GKRS at our institution with T1- and T2-weighted whole head MRI as well as brain CT images were selected for this study. Two set of synthetic computed tomographies (sCT) were generated from T1 and T2 MRI using cycle consistent generative adversial networks architecture (cGAN). Images from 20 patients were used to train the algorithm. The other 5 sets of data were used for testing and validation. The sCT images generated were evaluated in terms of the preservation of anatomical structures, the Hounsfield unit accuracy and the overall image quality. All sCT images from the 5 test patients were imported into GammaPlan version 11.1 for dosimetric analyses. We performed dose calculations for each test patient using the water-based TMR algorithm and the convolution algorithm with electron densities from the original CT, the T1-based sCT and the T2-based sCT. RESULTS The main features of the original CT images (skull shape, bone & air inhomogeneity etc.) for the 5 test patients were successfully reproduced in the sCT images. sCT images from the T1-weighted MRI are in general closer to the original CT images compared to the T2-weighted MR images. For the same dose prescription and same shot arrangement, the maximum difference between the treatment shot times from the CT-based convolution calculation and the TMR calculation is 10.2%. The maximum differences between the treatment shot times from the CT-based convolution calculation and the convolution calculations from the sCTs from the T1 and T2 MR images are 2.3% and 3.8%, respectively. CONCLUSION sCT images from brain MRI can be used for the inhomogeneity correction in GKRS dose calculation. T1-weighted MRI may work better than T2-weighted MRI for this purpose. AUTHOR DISCLOSURE F. Li: None. Y. Xu: None. O.D. Lemus: None. T.J. Wang: Research Grant; AbbVie, Merck, RTOG Foundation, Genentech. Honoraria; Elekta, Wolters Kluwer, Cancer Panels, Rutgers, University of Iowa. Consultant; Doximity, Elekta. Advisory Board; Novocure, AstraZeneca. Travel Expenses; AbbVie, Elekta, Novocure. Stock Options; Doximity. M.B. Sisti: None. C. Wuu: None.
Effect of Breast Milk Ingestion Upon the Thyroxinemia of Suckling Rat Pups

The purpose of our studies was to develop a method for separation of milk iodothyronines in order to define the thyroid hormone metabolites present both in expressed milk from lactating dams and the stomach contents of their sucklings. Breast milk from in vivo radioiodine-labelled and -unlabelled lactating dams was subjected to chloroform: methanol extraction followed by CaCl2 precipitation; the lyophilized extract was then further purified using a Bio-Rad ion-exchange resin column sequentially eluted with increasing concentrations of acetic acid. The iodothyronine eluate was then evaporated under nitrogen and a reconstituted aliquot injected onto a DuPont C-8 column and absorbance measured at 300 nm. Extracts of dams’ milk contained only 8–10% of a Na 125I cpm initially present in the whole milk. Recovery was dramatically increased by enzymatic digestion using either pepsin, trypsin, or pancreatin. Of these enzymes, we chose to investigate further the activity of pepsin, which most effectively liberated the iodothyronines of interest. Five litters of 12- and 14-day old suckling rats were separated from their dams for 6 hrs, after which time one animal per litter was sacrificed (“pre-suckling” animals). The remaining pups were permitted to suckle for 90 min; at 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 hrs post-suckling, one animal per litter was sacrificed, trunk blood collected, and the stomachs removed. The latter were homogenized and then extracted as described above.
News from the Dance Section

(1942). News from the Dance Section. The Journal of Health and Physical Education: Vol. 13, No. 5, pp. 320-321.
Theoretical studies of CH4(H2O)20, (H2O)21, (H2O)20, and fused dodecahedral and tetrakaidecahedral structures: How do natural gas hydrates form?

Ab initio geometry optimizations (HF/6-31G*) followed by single point energy calculations (MP2/6-31G*) suggest that the CH4(H2O)20 cluster with a CH4 molecule within the (H2O)20 dodecahedral cavity has a stabilization energy (SE) of around 7 kcal/mol relative to separated CH4 and (H2O)20 molecules. The cavity of a 20 mer fused cubic or edge-shared prismic structure is too small to enclose a methane molecule. Even though the (H2O)21 cluster with a water molecule within the dodecahedral cavity is significantly more stable (by around 28 kcal/mol) than CH4(H2O)20, the dodecahedral cage is too distorted in (H2O)21 to form a fused hydrate structure. In CH4(H2O)20, on the other hand, the dodecahedral cage remains almost undistorted and hence, can form a fused hydrate structure. The present study also suggests that during a fused structure formation, each pentagonal ring sharing between two dodecahedral structures or a dodecahedral and a tetrakaidecahedral structures results in stabilization by around 20–23 kcal/mol.
Does the American Accounting Association Exist? An Example of Public Document Research

This article looks at the American Accounting Association (AAA) from a forensic accountant’s viewpoint. One of the primary functions of a forensic accountant is to investigate, gather evidence, and reach conclusions. While forensic accounting is much more than auditing, like an auditor, forensic accountants must maintain professional skepticism and verify everything. This research uses the AAA as an object lesson to demonstrate how some simple tools can be used in a forensic accounting investigation – how and where to gather evidence, and how to draw conclusions based on the evidence gathered.
Money and prices in the Early Roman Empire

We examine monetization in the early Roman Empire by considering money as a unit of account. Widespread use of prices indicates widespread monetization. A consistent set of prices for wheat indicates that this monetization encouraged trade to grow across the Mediterranean. This argument is documented with a statistical test, preceded by a non-technical introduction and followed by consideration of a range of possible objections.
87 GHz static frequency divider in an InP-based mesa DHBT technology

Reports on a static frequency divider with a maximum clock frequency of 87 GHz in a mesa InP/InGaAs/InP DHBT technology. The divider is operational at all tested frequencies between 4 and 87 GHz and dissipated 700 mW of power from a -4.5V supply.
The Multiconfigurational Spin-Tensor Electron Propagator Method (MCSTEP)

Abstract With electron propagator (also known as single particle Green's function) techniques vertical electron removal and attachment energies are calculated directly. This avoids the sometimes inaccurate process of separately determining the total electronic energies of the neutral and an ionic state and then subtracting one large number from another to obtain a relatively small value, i.e., the ionization potential (IP) or electron affinity (EA) of a molecule. Traditionally these electron propagator/Green's function (GF) methods used a single determinant wavefunction as the “zero order” initial state which was improved with Moller–Plesset perturbation theory often obtained via diagrammatic techniques. Although these usual perturbative electron propagator/GF methods have been very successful, they are limited in applicability. Usual perturbative approaches usually cannot handle reliably (or at all) systems with initial states that are open shell and/or highly correlated (non-dynamical correlation) for either IPs or EAs. We specifically designed the multiconfigurational spin tensor electron propagator method (MCSTEP) and its predecessor the multiconfigurational electron propagator method (MCEP) to provide accurate IPs and EAs for systems that cannot be accurately handled by usual perturbational approaches to electron propagator/single particle Green's function methods, namely, when the initial state is open shell and/or has non-dynamical correlation that must be accounted for. In addition, of course, the goal is to also be able to provide accurate IPs and EAs for systems with closed shell initial states without non-dynamical correlation, i.e., those systems that could be handled as well by usual perturbational electron propagator/GF methods. In this article I will first review the theory behind the multiconfigurational spin-tensor electron propagator method. Since the introduction of MCSTEP over fifteen years ago, several accurate MCSTEP atomic and molecular IPs and EAs have been determined. I will summarize some of the more significant calculations to date. An electron propagator method using a multiconfigurational second-order perturbation theory wavefunction as the initial state in the fermion operator block (block 1) in the MCSTEP matrix equations was initially developed by Heryadi and Yeager. In the other blocks an MCSCF wavefunction is the initial state. This new method is called EPCASPT2 and should be viewed as an extension of MCSTEP. In this article I will review the theory behind EPCASPT2 and some of the recent calculations done using a CASPT2 wavefunction as the initial state in the electron propagator. We compare our results with the results of the calculations using MCSTEP, full configuration interaction, and the multireference configuration interaction method with the same geometries and basis sets.
A Review of Self-Assessment of Current Knowledge in Forensic Pathology and Legal Medicine

This book follows the time-honored and useful technique of challenging the reader with pertinent multiple-choice questions in a variety of formats and styles such as might be expected in Board certification or other objective examinations. They are grouped according to whether they fall into such forensic subjects as ballistics, neuropathology, anthropology, serology, toxicology and toxicopathology, jurisprudence, and general forensic pathology. This facilitates the self-assessment process after review of a single subject, if desired. The multiple alternatives offered to each question are thoughtfully chosen to instruct the student in reviewing erroneous as well as correct answers, especially if time is available to consult the reference material, The references properly emphasize the more recent texts and monographs that are still in print and available. A few of the classical references are perhaps unavailable to some readers, but these are few in number and involve reasonable questions that are also answered in the other resources which quote the original texts. The list of references would constitute the nucleus of an excellent professional library in forensic pathology and related fields.
Applications of Multiparameter Weak Convergence for Adaptive Nonparametric Curve Estimation

We give an overview on applications of weak convergence of stochastic processes to obtain adaptive nonparametric curve estimators through efficient data-based local bandwidth choices. We point out new developments based on multivariate time stochastic processes. Examples are multivariate curve estimates, where several local bandwidths are to be chosen for different coordinates, and estimates of local functionals of curves which can be expressed as maxima or zeros of local deviation processes and also depend on a bandwidth. As an illustration, we show that adaptive mode estimation for a probability density function is a consequence of weak convergence of a two-dimensional process in a bandwidth and a deviation coordinate. Various adaptive mode estimators are discussed.
The economics of favors

Abstract This paper examines the favors people perform for each other using a stochastic version of the infinitely-Repeated Prisoner’s Dilemma (RPD). It is shown that the socially efficient outcome may not be consistent with an equilibrium because some favors are too expensive to perform. On the other hand, it is possible for some socially inefficient favors to be performed. Even so, favor-exchange relationships must be strictly Pareto-improving. The model is also able to address situations in which there are market alternatives to the services being exchanged, and when favors are exchanged among members of large groups or hierarchies.
Posttraumatic Growth in Non-Hispanic White and Hispanic Women with Cervical Cancer

This study examined posttraumatic growth (PTG) in Non-Hispanic White (NHW; n = 132) and Hispanic (HISP; n = 51) women who had been diagnosed with cervical cancer. Participants completed measures of PTG, spirituality, optimism, stage of cancer, and demographics variables. The results showed that women with cervical cancer reported PTG but at lower levels than in studies of women with breast cancer. Greater spirituality and more advanced cancer stage predicted more PTG, but optimism did not predict PTG. HISP women reported higher levels of PTG than NHW women, and greater spirituality in the HISP women partially accounted for the difference.
Stress echocardiography safely classified more patients as low risk of serious CAD than exercise electrocardiography.

Source Citation Jeetley P, Burden L, Stoykova B, Senior R. Clinical and economic impact of stress echocardiography compared with exercise electrocardiography in patients with suspected acute corona...
Appearance-related side effects of HIV-1 treatment.

In the early years of the AIDS epidemic, HIV infection was associated with visible signs and symptoms, adding to the stigma associated with the disease. Physical manifestations associated with HIV infection included muscle wasting, lymphadenopathy, Kaposi's sarcoma, candidiasis, molluscum contagiosum, and hairy leukoplakia. With the advent of antiretroviral therapy, particularly the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy in 1996, many of these outward manifestations of the disease became rare. Ironically, however, the treatments used to control HIV infection (and its visible markers) have themselves been associated with appearance-related side effects. Patients may develop changes in fat distribution, rashes, skin hyperpigmentation, or paronychia. These effects not only have cosmetic and psychological consequences but also may decrease adherence to therapy, potentially causing regimen failure and drug resistance. Newer antiretroviral agents offer improved potency, more convenient dosing, and...
Review: A survey of schemes for Internet-based video delivery

This survey looks at how traditional networking techniques (e.g., caching, traffic shaping, path diversity, and load balancing) have been adapted to address the needs of Internet-based video delivery. The stringent timing and relatively high bandwidth requirements of video traffic are taxing on best-effort networks and many video specific protocols and delivery methods have emerged over time in an attempt to mitigate network limitations. Video quality is directly tied to the underlying networks' ability to deliver data in time for playout. This paper surveys three classes of techniques which have been proposed for improving the quality of Internet delivered video: network load reduction, network interruption mitigation, and network load distribution. We discuss how each of these paradigms is applied within the different segments of the end-to-end video delivery system: by the server, in the network, or at the client, with a focus on how the underlying network conditions affect video quality optimization.
Large Deflection 3DOF Piezoelectric Microrobotic Manipulator With Positional Sensing and Self-Calibration

In this paper, we propose a large deflection piezoelectric microrobotic manipulator with the ability to self-calibrate displacement and sense its position. Such a manipulator should be applicable to scanning probe microscopy, nanolithography, data storage, biological probing in murky aqueous environments, and the like. Previous devices for such applications are limited in dexterity, range of motion, frequency response, positional calibration, or require environmental cleanliness. Our device has a three novel attributes, which are: an ability to achieve large deflections with greater than one degree of freedom (DOF); an ability to self-calibrate it displacement; and an ability to sense its position after actuation or prescribed displacement. Through simulation we demonstrate independent 3 DOF motional control (validated experimentally), positional sensing and self-calibration, and dynamic response.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
U.S.-based recruitment of foreign-educated nurses: Implications of an emerging industry

OBJECTIVES Despite an increase in the number of foreign-educated nurses (FENs) working in U.S. hospitals and nursing homes, very little is known about the industry that brought them here. Our objectives were to learn more about the size and scope of the international nurse recruitment industry, its business models, and the range of countries where companies actively recruit. Based on reports from focus groups of FENs in New York City, we also sought to identify some of the problems that have occurred in the areas of contracting and clinical orientation. METHODS We used a combination of qualitative methods and secondary data sources, which included U.S.-based international nurse recruitment company Web sites, interviews with 20 executives from international nurse recruitment companies, two focus groups with FENs in New York City, and letters sent to the Philippine Nurses Association of America by FENs seeking legal advice. RESULTS Through a July 2007 Internet search, we found that at least 273 U.S. companies were actively recruiting FENs. While most such companies focused on the Philippines and India, about 20 companies were active in Africa. (A second search revealed that, as of January, at least 211 U.S. companies were actively recruiting FENs abroad.) Within the industry there is growing use of the staffing-agency model, which typically requires nurses to sign 18-to-36-month contracts and imposes high breach-of-contract fees. The focus group discussions with FENs in New York City revealed inadequate orientation programs and several types of labor abuses. CONCLUSIONS Concerns about recruitment practices, which were expressed by many industry executives and FENs, reveal the need for accountability within the industry.
Light Oil Recovery From Cyclic CO2 Injection: Influence of Low Pressures Impure CO2, and Reservoir Gas

Laboratory and field investigation of the CO 2 huff'n'puff process for the enhanced recovery of light crude oil. Cyclic CO 2 displacement results with live and dead oils in watered-out Berea cores are presented. Sixty-five single-well cyclic CO 2 field tests conducted in a pressure-depleted reservoir are evaluated.
Commensurate and modulated magnetic phases in orthorhombic AC60 (A=K,Rb).

Competing magnetically ordered structures in polymerized orthorhombic A1C60 are studied. A mean-field theory for the equilibrium phases is developed using an Ising model and a classical Heisenberg model to describe the competition between inter- and intra-chain magnetic order in the solid. In the Ising model, the limiting commensurate one-dimensional and three-dimensional phases are separated by a commensurate three-sublattice state and by two sectors containing higher-order commensurate phases. For the Heisenberg model the quasi-1D phase is never the equilibrium state; instead the 3D commensurate phases exhibits a transition to a continuum of coplanar spiral magnetic phases.
Inhibition of aflatoxin B1 production by emetine in stationary cultures of Aspergillus flavus

Emetine (1 m m ), a known inhibitor of protein synthesis, was found to inhibit aflatoxin B 1 biosynthesis in Aspergillus flavus NRRL 6515 stationary broth cultures without appreciably affecting growth. Maximal levels of inhibition (60–80%) were observed when the inhibitor was added at inoculation or 3 d post-inoculation (p.i.), and a 40% reduction was observed when emetine was added as late as 6 d p.i. Inhibition was reversible, if exposure to emetine was limited to the first 3 d of growth, but irreversible if cultures were exposed to emetine subsequently. Total percent nitrogen was also inhibited by the addition of emetine, but the amount of soluble protein per gram of mycelium was unaffected. Thus, reduced levels of aflatoxin B 1 , due to the addition of emetine, possibly resulted from the inhibition of insoluble, perhaps membrane-bound, enzymes formed 3–6 d p.i. Since aflatoxin precursors did not accumulate in the presence of emetine, the inhibitor presumably affects enzymes involved in initial or acetate condensation stages of aflatoxin biosynthesis.
Design and adoption of social collaboration software within businesses

Social networking and collaboration sites are having a large impact on people's personal lives. These same applications, similar functions and related experiences are being adopted within businesses. This special interest group will address the issues around social collaboration software in the business setting. What is the value for the business and its users? How do you measure success? What strategic design and user experience issues are key for successful adoption? What roles do user experience professionals play in this type of social system?
Intensity extrema in optically injected Fabry-Perot cavities with saturable gain

An optically injected Fabry-Perot cavity containing uniform saturable gain is analyzed. Familiar cubic curves of laser intensity vs injected intensity are obtained for single-ended lasers. The curves for the intensity returning to the injected end of double-ended lasers can have loops, cusps, and undulations if the mirror reflectivities and small-signal gain are properly chosen. The undulations can also occur in double-ended regenerative amplifiers.
Decision Making under Time Pressure: An Investigation of Decision Speed and Decision Quality of Computer-Supported Groups

A quasi-experiment was conducted in which groups made business decisions under time pressure. Half of the groups were supported with a group support system (GSS) called the Electronic Discussion System; half had no computer support. The groups consisted of college students who had considerable experience with the GSS and the decision task and had worked together for the previous 10 weeks. Decision quality, decision speed, and leadership emergence were measured. All groups received significant financial rewards in direct proportion to their decision quality and decision speed. GSS groups used more time to arrive at their decisions but made decisions of higher quality than non-GSS-supported groups. In addition, there was some evidence that, under time pressure, GSS-supported groups used a more leader-directed decision process than did other typical users of GSS.
Fabuloso: A Cleaning Product That Tastes and Smells Good Enough to Drink

To the Editor .— Fabuloso (see Fig 1) is one of a group of consumer products that have been reportedly misused as a result of packaging that is claimed by consumer groups to be misleading. In past months, Colgate-Palmolive, the makers of Fabuloso, has been contacted in reference to altering the packaging to avoid such confusion. We were concerned about this issue and looked at the call volume related to Fabuloso at the Texas Poison Center Network to better characterize the impact of this product packaging choice on call volume. …
Meibomian gland function and giant papillary conjunctivitis.

We examined 42 contact lens-wearing patients for clinical evidence of giant papillary conjunctivitis and for meibomian gland dysfunction with gland dropout. Fifteen patients were free of clinical signs and symptoms of giant papillary conjunctivitis, whereas 27 had clinical symptoms and evidence of giant papillary conjunctivitis. Patients with giant papillary conjunctivitis had significantly more gland dropout with an average of 0.6 ± 1.2 gland absent in both lower eyelids compared with 0.2 ± 0.4 gland absent in patients without giant papillary conjunctivitis. Additionally, the viscosity of meibomian gland excreta was greater in the giant papillary conjunctivitis group. There was no difference in tear osmolarity or in the Schirmer test results between the two groups. These results indicated patients with giant papillary conjunctivitis were more likely to have meibomian gland dysfunction with gland dropout than patients without giant papillary conjunctivitis.