cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A computationally efficient node-selection scheme for cooperative beamforming in Cognitive Radio enabled 5G systems

Cooperative transmit beamforming (CTB) is a practical approach for addressing the challenging problem of spectrum scarcity in broadband 5G wireless communication systems. It is a technique that allows a group of secondary users (SUs), each equipped with a single omni-directional antenna, to collaborate and steer the signal towards the intended receiver. CTB allows SUs to co-exist with primary users in the same spectrum, which helps to significantly improve the efficiency of spectrum utilization. One of the key factors that affect the performance of CTB is the selection of participatory nodes. In this paper, we first formulate the CTB as an optimization problem, and then investigate the impact of different node-selection schemes on the performance of CTB. Our findings illustrate that exhaustive search based optimal node-selection scheme is computationally infeasible for real-time systems, while simple random-selection and highest-channel-state based selection often result in poor performance. Motivated by these findings, we propose a computationally efficient node-selection scheme for CTB that achieves a near-optimal performance. The proposed scheme is based on iterative node-replacement and is computationally scalable to large system size. Results from extensive simulations show that the proposed scheme asymptotically approaches the exhaustive search based optimal system performance. In our example, the performance of the proposed scheme is approximately 98.5% of the optimal system performance while limiting the required computations to only 1.67%.
Designing a Lab for Mobile User Experience Through NFC-tagged Documentation

This experience report details a student project to redesign a computer lab for mobile devices through the addition of near-field communication (NFC) tags. The tags were used to link contextual data such as instruction manuals and video tutorials to physical devices in the lab and that data could be accessed by users' mobile devices. As mobile devices become more ubiquitous, further research must be done in finding ways to incorporate the mobile tools and everyday practices students bring to the classroom and make these spaces respond to the needs of students. As such, this report will be of interest to technical writers as a case study in designing a space for mobile user experience through digitizing and linking documentation to their contexts of use throughout a lab.
Chiari 1 Malformation and Holocord Syringomyelia in Hunter Syndrome

Hunter syndrome, mucopolysaccharidosis type II, MPS-II, or iduronate-2-sulphatase deficiency is cause by deficiency of enzyme L-iduronate-2-sulphate. Hunter syndrome has two clinical subtypes. It shows X-linked recessive inheritance and is the only one of mucopolysacchariodosis in which the mother alone can pass the defective gene to the son.
The Combination of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors and Hypomethylating Agents Exhibits Marked Synergy In Preclinical Models of T-Cell Lymphoma

Abstract 3937 CHOP and CHOP-like chemotherapy programs remain the most commonly used regimens for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) despite often sub-optimal results. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) are epigenetic agents known to be active in T-cell lymphoma. Recently romidepsin (R) was approved for patients with relapsed or refractory CTCL. Both R and belinostat (B) are being investigated in patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL. We have previously shown that hypomethylating agents as decitabine (D) produce synergistic interactions with HDACIs in B-cell lymphomas. We investigated the in vitro and in vivo activity of D, R and B alone or in combination in different T-cell lymphoma and leukemia cell lines including CTCL (H9, HH), and T- acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) lines resistant to gamma-secretase inhibitors (GSI) (P12, PF-382). For all cytotoxicity assays, luminescent cell viability was performed using CellTiter-Glo™ followed by acquisition on a Biotek Synergy HT. The IC50s for D, B and R were calculated using the Calcusyn software (Biosoft). Drug: drug interactions were analyzed using the calculation of the relative risk ratios (RRR) based on the GraphPad software (RRR 20 uM. In the cytotoxicity assays, the combination of D and B or R at 72 hours showed synergism in all the cell lines studied. The most representative RRRs are showed in table 1. When H9, HH, P12 and PF382 cell lines were treated with D and B or R for 72 hours, all the combination groups showed significantly more apoptosis than the single drug exposures and controls. Table 2 displays the range of apoptosis induction for B, R and D or for them used in combination and the RRR value after the analysis for the most significant data. Increased acetylation of H3 was observed when H9 cells were treated with R alone and synergistically increased after exposing cells to the combination of D + B and D + R. The expression of phosphorylated Stat3 was decreased after exposure of H9 cells to the combination of D and R. Additional interrogation of the effects of this epigenetic therapy on the JAK-STAT signaling pathway are now underway. An in vivo xenograft study in six to eight weeks old female SCID beige mice injected subcutaneously with 2 × 107 HH cells has also begun and will be reported. Mice were separated into different cohorts and treated with intraperitoneal injections of D or B or their combination according to the following schedules: D alone at 1.5 mg/kg on days 1, 5; B alone at 35 mg/Kg/day for 7 days. Collectively, the data suggest that the combination of a hypomethylating agent like D and a HDACI (B and R) are synergistic in in vitro models of human T-cell lymphoma, and may lead to a new platform for the treatment of these diseases. Disclosures: O9Connor:Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding.
Early mortality and complications in hospitalized adult Californians with acute myeloid leukaemia.

Few studies have evaluated the impact of complications, sociodemographic and clinical factors on early mortality (death ≤60 days from diagnosis) in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients. Using data from the California Cancer Registry linked to hospital discharge records from 1999 to 2012, we identified patients aged ≥15 years with AML who received inpatient treatment (N = 6359). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association of complications with early mortality, adjusting for sociodemographic factors, comorbidities and hospital type. Early mortality decreased over time (25·3%, 1999-2000; 16·8%, 2011-2012) across all age groups, but was higher in older patients (6·9%, 15-39, 11·4%, 40-54, 18·6% 55-65, and 35·8%, >65 years). Major bleeding [Odds ratio (OR) 1·5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·3-1·9], liver failure (OR 1·9, 95% CI 1·1-3·1), renal failure (OR 2·4, 95% CI 2·0-2·9), respiratory failure (OR 7·6, 95% CI 6·2-9·3) and cardiac arrest (OR 15·8, 95% CI 8·7-28·6) were associated with early mortality. Higher early mortality was also associated with single marital status, low neighbourhood socioeconomic status, lack of health insurance and comorbidities. Treatment at National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centres was associated with lower early mortality (OR 0·5, 95% CI 0·4-0·6). In conclusion, organ dysfunction, hospital type and sociodemographic factors impact early mortality. Further studies should investigate how differences in healthcare delivery affect early mortality.
The force of custom: law and the ordering of everyday life in Kyrgyzstan

In The Force of Custom: Law and the Ordering of Everyday Life in Kyrgyzstan, Judith Beyer establishes a compelling anthropological framework for analysing daily life in present-day Kyrgyzstan. Draw...
Vocal mimicry in the song of Icterine warblers (Hippolais icterina): possible functions and sources of variability

Vocal mimicry in birds is a well-known phenomenon, but in the majority of bird mimic species, its function, variability and accuracy still remain undiscovered. We analysed the song of 23 Icterine w...
Feasibility study of range‐based registration using daily cone beam CT for intensity‐modulated proton therapy

Purpose Proton dose coverage is sensitive to proton beam range. The current practice of CT number-based registration for patient positioning focuses on matching the target and is not sufficient for proton therapy because the proton range depends on the medium traversed by the beam. Patient body deformations and anatomical changes result in range deviation in the target. We propose proton range-based registration to minimize the range deviation. Methods The range was calculated from cone beam-computed tomography (CBCT) of the patient on couch, and the range deviation was the difference of the calculated range from that on the initial (day 1) CBCT. In the investigated prostate cases in which the main cause of range deviation was the rotation of femur bones, and in the investigated abdomen cases in which the main cause of range deviation was body growth and anatomic change, our range-based registration was used to obtain the optimal beam angle by minimizing the range deviation. The new angle was limited to be ±5° from that planned to prevent potentially increased dose to the organs at risk. To demonstrate the benefit of range-based registration, we investigated the range at the voxels on the surface of the target volume. The calculation error of range deviation due to CBCT scatter was investigated by using solid water phantoms with different thicknesses. Range-based registration using both CBCTs and CTs was performed in cases of two patients with pelvic rhabdomyosarcoma and one patient with upper abdominal tumor. The range was represented by the water-equivalent thickness to shorten the computation for online application purposes. Results In the phantom study, the calculation error of range deviation due to CBCT scatter was within 2 mm for a 1-cm thickness change (the mean range deviation was 0.8 mm). In the CT study of the prostate cases, the range deviation (mean ± root-mean-square deviation) on the contour in each slice was efficiently reduced from 3.6 ± 2.8 mm to 2.1 ± 1.4 mm, with most slices being within 3 mm; in the CT study of the abdomen cases, the range deviation of the whole set was reduced from 4.4 ± 1.9 mm to 3.5 ± 2.1 mm. Both the mean and root-mean-square deviation of the range deviation on each treatment day were decreased. The dose coverage on the target was improved and the dose on the OARs was only slightly changed. Conclusion Range-based registration can efficiently mitigate range deviation due to patient positioning and anatomical changes. It can shorten patient positioning time and reduce the patient's dose from CBCT.
Classroom Age Composition and Preschoolers’ School Readiness: The Implications of Classroom Quality and Teacher Qualifications:

Recent research has shown that the age composition of preschool classrooms influences children’s early learning. Building on prior research, this study examines whether the association between clas...
Guanine Limitation Results in CodY-Dependent and -Independent Alteration of Staphylococcus aureus Physiology and Gene Expression.

ABSTRACT In Staphylococcus aureus, the global transcriptional regulator CodY modulates the expression of hundreds of genes in response to the availability of GTP and the branched-chain amino acids isoleucine, leucine, and valine (ILV). CodY DNA-binding activity is high when GTP and ILV are abundant. When GTP and ILV are limited, CodY9s affinity for DNA drops, altering expression of CodY-regulated targets. In this work, we investigated the impact of guanine nucleotides (GNs) on S. aureus physiology and CodY activity by constructing a guaA null mutant (ΔguaA strain). De novo biosynthesis of guanine monophosphate is abolished due to the guaA mutation; thus, the mutant cells require exogenous guanosine for growth. We also found that CodY activity was reduced when we knocked out guaA, activating the Agr two-component system and increasing secreted protease activity. Notably, in a rich, complex medium, we detected an increase in alternative sigma factor B activity in the ΔguaA mutant, which results in a 5-fold increase in production of the antioxidant pigment staphyloxanthin. Under biologically relevant flow conditions, ΔguaA cells failed to form robust biofilms when limited for guanine or guanosine. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis of the S. aureus transcriptome during growth in guanosine-limited chemostats revealed substantial CodY-dependent and -independent alterations of gene expression profiles. Importantly, these changes increase production of proteases and δ-toxin, suggesting that S. aureus exhibits a more invasive lifestyle when limited for guanosine. Further, gene products upregulated under GN limitation, including those necessary for lipoic acid biosynthesis and sugar transport, may prove to be useful drug targets for treating Gram-positive infections. IMPORTANCEStaphylococcus aureus infections impose a serious economic burden on health care facilities and patients because of the emergence of strains resistant to last-line antibiotics. Understanding the physiological processes governing fitness and virulence of S. aureus in response to environmental cues is critical for developing efficient diagnostics and treatments. De novo purine biosynthesis is essential for both fitness and virulence in S. aureus since inhibiting production cripples S. aureus9s ability to cause infection. Here, we corroborate these findings and show that blocking guanine nucleotide synthesis severely affects S. aureus fitness by altering metabolic and virulence gene expression. Characterizing pathways and gene products upregulated in response to guanine limitation can aid in the development of novel adjuvant strategies to combat S. aureus infections.
Middle Fossa Craniotomy

The middle fossa approach for malignant tumors involving the petrous apex is discussed. A comprehension of the middle fossa anatomy is essential to navigate this approach. Careful, meticulous dissection is used to identify anatomic landmarks in order to prevent unnecessary injury and morbidity. The patient evaluation and diagnostic imaging are discussed. The operative procedure is illustrated and described in detail. Postoperative management and complications are explained. Postoperative radiotherapy is indicated for subtotal resection and grade II and higher chondrosarcomas.
Implications of Cellular Heterogeneity on Plant Cell Culture Performance

Plant cell culture is an attractive platform technology for production and supply of several important plant-derived medicinal products. A unique characteristic of these dedifferentiated cells is the ability to grow as multicellular aggregates in suspension culture. The presence of these nonuniform aggregates results in creation of distinct microenvironments, which induce variations in cellular metabolism that are dependent on spatial position. This heterogeneity can lead to unpredictable and suboptimal performance in large-scale bioreactors. This review focuses on the role of cellular aggregation on the observed heterogeneity associated with plant cell cultures. Techniques used to study aggregation at the culture level as well as flow cytometric-based techniques to investigate and characterize heterogeneity at the single cell level are discussed. We focus on the commercially relevant production of the anticancer agent paclitaxel in Taxus suspension culture. An understanding of culture heterogeneity can lead to the development of targeted strategies to optimize culture performance for supply of medicinal products.
Findings from Chronic Optic Nerve and Cortical Stimulation

This chapter reviews the experiments that have produced visual sensations in humans through electrical stimulation of the central nervous system. Initially, surface stimulation of the visual cortex, provided insight into how electrical stimulation of V1 could possibly provide a visual prosthesis for the blind. Intracortical microstimulation was then investigated that would allow lower power stimulation and increased density of microelectrodes. The stimulation of the optic nerve has also been investigated as a possible site for a visual prosthesis.
Impedance-Derived Cardiac Signals: Preejection Interval, Stroke Volume and Ventricular Peak Ejection Rate for Rate — Adaptive Pacing and Antitachyarrhythmia Devices

Relative right ventricular volume changes can be detected by means of impedance techniques using conventional pacing electrodes. Therefore it is natural to think of it as a source of hemodynamic parameters applicable to sensor-driven rhythm control devices. The technique for obtaining a volume-related signal has been presented in depth by numerous authors [1–4] with significant differences on the number of electrodes employed and the hardware and software used for processing the signal.
An Impact Mapping Method to Generate Robust Qualitative Evaluation of Community-Based Research Programs for Youth and Adults

Ripple Effect Mapping (REM) is an evaluation approach that has traditionally been used in community settings to visually map the impact of programming and community interventions. This manuscript utilizes the Community Capitals Framework (CCF) to inform REM and to better highlight the changes and impact between various levels of a community, following a childhood obesity prevention intervention. The addition of in-depth qualitative analyses makes this approach particularly useful for the evaluation of interventions with a research–community partnership focus. The objective of this study was to describe a CCF-informed REM approach with detailed protocol, training, and application to the community-based, childhood obesity prevention intervention, iCook 4-H, which targeted youth and adult pairs. This protocol includes the steps required to prepare for REM sessions of, ideally, six youth and adult pairs, one facilitator, and one or two evaluators/note takers. REM sessions typically begin with an icebreaker and appreciative inquiry activities that inform the REM mapping process that follows. In-depth qualitative analysis of the notes and map images captured during REM sessions ensure the rigor required for research-related interventions. Researchers, community members, and participants can use CCF-informed REM collectively as a robust evaluation tool to demonstrate, through visual mapping, the positive effects of community-partnered research programs.
ASSESSMENT OF MICROVASCULAR DYSFUNCTION USING QUANTITATIVE FLOW RATIO IN PATIENTS WITH TAKOTSUBO SYNDROME

Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is an acute cardiac status without epicardial coronary obstruction, but with reversible ventricular motion abnormalities. Quantitative flow ratio (QFR) is a novel approach to evaluate not only the coronary stenosis significance but also the resistance in coronary artery
Computational Analysis Concerning the Impact of DNA Accessibility on CRISPR-Cas9 Cleavage Efficiency.

Defining the variables that impact the specificity of CRISPR/Cas9 has been a major research focus. Whereas sequence complementarity between guide RNA and target DNA substantially dictates cleavage efficiency, DNA accessibility of the targeted loci has also been hypothesized to be an important factor. In this study, functional data from two genome-wide assays, genome-wide, unbiased identification of DSBs enabled by sequencing (GUIDE-seq) and circularization for in vitro reporting of cleavage effects by sequencing (CIRCLE-seq), have been computationally analyzed in conjunction with DNA accessibility determined via DNase I-hypersensitive sequencing from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Database and transcriptome from the Sequence Read Archive to determine whether cellular factors influence CRISPR-induced cleavage efficiency. CIRCLE-seq and GUIDE-seq datasets were selected to represent the absence and presence of cellular factors, respectively. Data analysis revealed that correlations between sequence similarity and CRISPR-induced cleavage frequency were altered by the presence of cellular factors that modulated the level of DNA accessibility. The above-mentioned correlation was abolished when cleavage sites were located in less accessible regions. Furthermore, CRISPR-mediated edits were permissive even at regions that were insufficient for most endogenous genes to be expressed. These results provide a strong basis to dissect the contribution of local chromatin modulation markers on CRISPR-induced cleavage efficiency.
The Man with 2 Hearts: 25 Years from Heterotopic to Orthotopic Heart Transplantation

Substantial technological advances in mechanical circulatory support have caused a shift in the management of end-stage heart failure. From the 1970s through the 1990s, heterotopic heart transplant...
A Micropatterning Strategy to Study Nuclear Mechanotransduction in Cells

Micropatterning techniques have been widely used in biology, particularly in studies involving cell adhesion and proliferation on different substrates. Cell micropatterning approaches are also increasingly employed as in vitro tools to investigate intracellular mechanotransduction processes. In this report, we examined how modulating cellular shapes on two-dimensional rectangular fibronectin micropatterns of different widths influences nuclear mechanotransduction mediated by emerin, a nuclear envelope protein implicated in Emery–Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD). Fibronectin microcontact printing was tested onto glass coverslips functionalized with three different silane reagents (hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS), (3-Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and (3-Glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GPTMS)) using a vapor-phase deposition method. We observed that HMDS provides the most reliable printing surface for cell micropatterning, notably because it forms a hydrophobic organosilane monolayer that favors the retainment of surface antifouling agents on the coverslips. We showed that, under specific mechanical cues, emerin-null human skin fibroblasts display a significantly more deformed nucleus than skin fibroblasts expressing wild type emerin, indicating that emerin plays a crucial role in nuclear adaptability to mechanical stresses. We further showed that proper nuclear responses to forces involve a significant relocation of emerin from the inner nuclear envelope towards the outer nuclear envelope and the endoplasmic reticulum membrane network. Cell micropatterning by fibronectin microcontact printing directly on HMDS-treated glass represents a simple approach to apply steady-state biophysical cues to cells and study their specific mechanobiology responses in vitro.
Influence of Clay size on corrosion protection by Clay nanocomposite thin films

Abstract The influence of clay platelet size on the corrosion barrier performance of highly-aligned polymer clay nanocomposite (PCN) thin films was examined. Layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition of alternating branched polyethylenimine (PEI) and either laponite (LAP), montromorillonite (MMT) or vermiculite (VMT) clay platelets were assembled on mild steel plates to obtain 20 bilayer (BL) films and cross-linked using glutaraldehyde after deposition. The clay platelets were chosen based on their aspect ratio, approximately 30:1, 400:1, and 2000:1, respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of the coated steel plates during immersion showed corrosion rates and coating permeability followed LAP > MMT > VMT for up to 7 days of exposure in 0.6 M NaCl. The PEI/VMT films, ∼250 nm thick, slowed corrosion by a factor of >1000 compared to bare steel. The results support the premise that high aspect ratio clay platelets can improve the corrosion barrier efficacy of LbL PCN films by decreasing film permeability and provide exceptional protection to steel in saline environments compared to other thin multilayer coatings and pretreatments.
Pathologic chemotherapy response score in epithelial ovarian cancer: Surgical, genetic, and survival considerations.

Abstract Objective A pathologic chemotherapy response score (CRS) is used to grade ovarian cancer response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). We evaluated the prognostic significance of the CRS in a single institution cohort. Methods A retrospective review of all consecutive epithelial ovarian cancer patients undergoing interval debulking surgery (IDS) after NACT from 2016 to 2017 were included. Clinical, pathologic, surgical, outcomes, and genetic data were abstracted from medical records. CRS was assigned by pathology based on a section of omentum as follows: 1 = minimal response, 2 = moderate response, and 3 = near complete response. Results Among the 50 subjects, 14 (28%) were classified as CRS1, 29 (58%) as CRS2, and 7 (14%) as CRS3. The majority of patients were diagnosed with high grade serous histology (94%). Most women in this cohort underwent either an optimal or complete cytoreduction to no gross residual disease (96%). Women in the CRS2 group were most likely to have a pathogenic variant (51.7%) while those in the CRS1 were least likely (7.1%). Most women recurred regardless of CRS. CRS was not associated with progression-free survival (log-rank p = 0.82) or overall survival (log-rank p = 0.30). Conclusions Though previous data support the use of CRS as a prognostic indicator, we failed to show a correlation between CRS and survival in our continuous single institution cohort. The high rate of optimal debulking across all CRS groups in this study may mitigate the prognostic significance of the scoring system. Nevertheless, tumors that respond poorly to traditional chemotherapy should remain of avid interest for potential novel therapies.
Unmet Needs in Patients with Schizophrenia

There have been huge advances in knowledge of the core biology and treatment of the schizophrenia syndrome in the 70 years since the serendipitous discovery of chlorpromazine, the first effective treatment for a major component of the disorder, and the ensuing elucidation of role of neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, neurodevelopmental abnormalities, genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors, especially stress and stress hormones, in producing the major phenotypic features of the illness. The latter are cognitive impairment (CI), positive, negative, and mood symptoms. Current thinking emphasizes these components of the disorder as targets for improving outcome because they may vary in severity and temporal nature within and between patients. These four components of the illness are not unique to schizophrenia nor are many of the therapies and schizophrenia risk genes. Because of its early onset, devastating effect on normal activities, high rate of suicide, high prevalence (~1% of adult population), and the limited ability of current treatments to fully control these component of the syndrome in the majority of patients, there is an urgent need to apply current treatments more effectively, to develop novel treatments when current treatments are ineffective. We emphasize here the need to target the cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia, the high suicide rate, and to develop biomarkers which inform choice of and duration of antipsychotic drug treatment.
A Dynamic Model of Rational Addiction with Stockpiling and Learning: An Empirical Examination of E-cigarettes

Current regulations on e-cigarettes are minimal compared with cigarette regulations, despite their growing popularity globally. Advocates of e-cigarettes claim that they aid in ceasing smoking habi...
Generative View-Correlation Adaptation for Semi-supervised Multi-view Learning.

Multi-view learning (MVL) explores the data extracted from multiple resources. It assumes that the complementary information between different views could be revealed to further improve the learning performance. There are two challenges. First, it is difficult to effectively combine the different view data while still fully preserve the view-specific information. Second, multi-view datasets are usually small, which means the model can be easily overfitted. To address the challenges, we propose a novel View-Correlation Adaptation (VCA) framework in semi-supervised fashion. A semi-supervised data augmentation me-thod is designed to generate extra features and labels based on both labeled and unlabeled samples. In addition, a cross-view adversarial training strategy is proposed to explore the structural information from one view and help the representation learning of the other view. Moreover, an effective and simple fusion network is proposed for the late fusion stage. In our model, all networks are jointly trained in an end-to-end fashion. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our approach is effective and stable compared with other state-of-the-art methods (Code is available on: https://github.com/wenwen0319/GVCA).
Perceived Social Support and Interpersonal Functioning as Predictors of Treatment Response Among Depressed Older Adults.

ABSTRACT Objective Social isolation is highly common in late life and is associated with devastating mental health and physical outcomes. This study investigated whether components of social isolation (marital status, perceived social support, and interpersonal problems) predict change in depression severity over the course of a brief adherence intervention delivered in a primary care setting. Method A sample of 189 older adults with major depressive disorder were randomized to either an adherence intervention, “Treatment Initiation Program,” or treatment as usual. Marital status, perceived social support and interpersonal problems were assessed at baseline. A mixed-effects regression was used to test whether these factors predicted the change trajectory in depression severity over 24 weeks. Results Being married (F(2,176) = 6.60; p = 0.001), reporting higher perceived social support (F(2,177) = 4.70; p = 0.01), and fewer interpersonal problems (F(2, 176) = 4.34; p = 0.01) predicted lower depression severity on average over the course of 24 weeks. Conclusion Social variables such as living in partnership, perceiving others as supportive, and reporting few interpersonal problems may reduce older adults’ vulnerability to depression and enhance their ability to benefit from treatment. These findings can guide development of interventions that will target these social factors early in treatment to increase efficacy.
Psycholinguistic features, design attributes, and respondent-reported cognition predict response time to patient-reported outcome measure items

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) vary in their psycholinguistic complexity. This study examined whether response time to PROM items is related to psycholinguistic attributes of the item and/or the self-reported cognitive ability of the respondent. Baseline data from Wave 2 of the Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders (Neuro-QoL) development study were reanalyzed. That sample contained 581 adults with neurological disorders and whose self-reported cognitive abilities were quantified by the Neuro-QoL v2.0 Cognitive Function Item Bank. 185 Neuro-QoL items were coded for several psycholinguistic variables and design attributes: number of words and syllables, mean imageability of words, mean word frequency, mean age of word acquisition, and response format (e.g., about symptom frequency or task difficulty). Data were analyzed with linear and generalized linear mixed models. Main effects models revealed that slower response times were associated with respondents with lower self-reported cognitive abilities and with PROM items that contained more syllables, less imageable (e.g., more abstract) words, and that asked about task difficulty rather than symptom frequency. Interaction effects were found between self-reported cognition and those same PROM attributes such that people with worse self-reported cognitive abilities were disproportionately slow when responding to items that were longer (more syllables), contained less imageable words, and asked about task difficulty. Completing a PROM requires multiple cognitive skills (e.g., memory, executive functioning) and appraisal processes. Response time is a means of operationalizing the amount or difficulty of cognitive processing, and this report indicates several aspects of PROM design that relate to a measure’s cognitive burden. However, future research with better experimental control is needed.
Differential Effects of Outpatient Portal User Status on Inpatient Portal Use: Observational Study

Background: The decision to use patient portals can be influenced by multiple factors, including individuals’ perceptions of the tool, which are based on both their personal skills and experiences. Prior experience with one type of portal may make individuals more comfortable with using newer portal technologies. Experienced outpatient portal users in particular may have confidence in their ability to use inpatient portals that have similar functionality. In practice, the use of both outpatient and inpatient portal technologies can provide patients with continuity of access to their health information across care settings, but the influence of one type of portal use on the use of other portals has not been studied. Objective: This study aims to understand how patients’ use of an inpatient portal is influenced by outpatient portal use. Methods: This study included patients from an academic medical center who were provided access to an inpatient portal during their hospital stays between 2016 and 2018 (N=1571). We analyzed inpatient portal log files to investigate how inpatient portal use varied by using 3 categories of outpatient portal users: prior users, new users, and nonusers. Results: Compared with prior users (695/1571, 44.24%) of an outpatient portal, new users (214/1571, 13.62%) had higher use of a select set of inpatient portal functions (messaging function: incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.33, 95% CI 1.06-1.67; function that provides access to the outpatient portal through the inpatient portal: IRR 1.34, 95% CI 1.13-1.58). Nonusers (662/1571, 42.14%), compared with prior users, had lower overall inpatient portal use (all active functions: IRR 0.68, 95% CI 0.60-0.78) and lower use of specific functions, which included the function to review vitals and laboratory results (IRR 0.51, 95% CI 0.36-0.73) and the function to access the outpatient portal (IRR 0.53, 95% CI 0.45-0.62). In comparison with prior users, nonusers also had lower odds of being comprehensive users (defined as using 8 or more unique portal functions; odds ratio [OR] 0.57, 95% CI 0.45-0.73) or composite users (defined as comprehensive users who initiated a 75th or greater percentile of portal sessions) of the inpatient portal (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.29-0.60). Conclusions: Patients’ use of an inpatient portal during their hospital stay appeared to be influenced by a combination of factors, including prior outpatient portal use. For new users, hospitalization itself, a major event that can motivate behavioral changes, may have influenced portal use. In contrast, nonusers might have lower self-efficacy in their ability to use technology to manage their health, contributing to their lower portal use. Understanding the relationship between the use of outpatient and inpatient portals can help direct targeted implementation strategies that encourage individuals to use these tools to better manage their health across care settings.
Hardware design and implementation of binocular vision system for a medical robot

In this paper,a hardware design method of binocular vision system is proposed for the pose tracker of surgery.The working principle of the system components and the needs of the surgical navigation are analyzed firstly.Then according to the situation of market supply,each component is ascertained,and the system' s structure is affirmed based on the binocular vision positioning principle.At last,a simulation experiment of surgical navigation is developed by prototype of binocular vision system.The experimental results show that with the aid of this system,the layout of the surgery can be carried out.At the same time,the positioning precision for the implant can reach 2 mm,which can satisfy the requirement of clinical application.
Systems Health Monitoring: Integrating FMEA into Bayesian Networks

The foreseeable high traffic density suggests that a large number of electric propulsion systems will enter the airspace, and that they will also operate at high frequency, e.g., large number of take offs and landings per unit time. The reliability of such critical systems is therefore key to ensure high safety standards in the low-altitude airspace. Diagnostic systems, which aim at identifying incipient faults, can mitigate unexpected failures or lower-than-expected reliability by performing early fault detection by monitoring the systems. A key element of fault diagnosis is fault detection and isolation (FDI), which complexity increases with the complexity of the system itself, namely the number of subsystems and components,interactions among sub-systems, and the number of sensors available. The proposed approach leverages combination of failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) integrated with Bayesian networks, thus introducing dependability structures into a diagnostic framework to aid FDI. Faults and failure events from the FMEA are mapped within a Bayesian network, where network edges replicate the links embedded within FMEAs. The integrated framework enables the fault isolation process by identifying the probability of occurrence of specific faults or root causes given evidence observed through sensor signals. In this work, sub-systems of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) type vehicle like avionics, structures, power-train etc are taken into account to show the approach at the system level. This work integrates early design phase in the development of UAM type vehicles with diagnostic tools, which are often developed later in the product life-cycle, or retrofitted at a later time on systems. Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) derived for the system in the design phase is embedded within a Bayesian network (BN).
Evaluating the Usability of A Group Support System Using Co-Discovery

Group Support Systems (GSSs) have emerged as a new type of information system to aid group decision-making. With the proliferation of such systems in organizations, evaluation of GSSs is becoming i...
The role of long-term air pollution for COVID-19 infection and severity during pregnancy

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Ambient air pollution may increase risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but this remains unstudied in a cohort with universal Cor...
How Information Quality and Market Turbulence Impact Convention and Visitors Bureaus’ Use of Marketing Information: Insights for Destination and Event Marketing

Information is an essential component of convention and visitors bureaus for their marketing purposes in order to make their destinations and events more attractive to visitors. During the information gathering process, tourism and event marketing directors must select relevant and credible data for successful decision-making. Based on the lack of academic research in the area of online marketing information use by convention and visitors bureaus, this study investigates what factors influence convention and visitors bureaus’ online information use for their market research. In particular, this study examines the relationships among technology change, customer change, information quality, and marketing information use with convention and visitors bureaus in the United States. Utilizing an online survey to convention and visitors bureau managers, findings from this study identify the use of Internet-based information as positively associated with the quality of Internet-based information followed by custom...
Disparities in the receipt of medical doctors' advice to quit smoking in the U.S., 1992-2019.

There has been significant progress in reducing tobacco use in the last few decades. However, there is a considerable concern that the decrease in cigarette use has not been distributed equally across certain groups. The current study examines sociodemographic trends in the receipt of advice to quit from healthcare professionals. Data were drawn from the 1992-2019 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (n = 192,398). Cochran-Armitage tests were used to assess changes in the prevalence over time in the population and by demographic characteristics. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with the receipt of advice to quit smoking. The prevalence of receiving advice to quit increased significantly from 50.1% in 1992/1993 to 63.9% in 2018/2019. Results showed differences in the receipt of quit advice from medical doctors by demographic characteristics, with a significant increase in smoking quit advice for all races (p < 0.0001). Current Hispanic smokers consistently had lower rates of receiving advice to quit than non-Hispanics throughout the study period. Multivariable analysis showed that in 2018/19, male (aOR 0.89; 95% CI 0.81-0.98) and Hispanic (aOR 0.73; 95% CI 0.61-0.88) current smokers were less likely to receive advice to quit. Those older and living in metropolitan areas had higher odds of receiving advice to quit. Findings that Hispanics appear to be significantly less likely to receive advice to quit from health care professionals indicate that these populations might need additional targeted efforts.
Multiphoton Ionization of Sodium Halide Clusters

Multiphoton ionization (MPI) studies are reported which show sets of magic numbers for sodium halide clusters being different if the conditions for condensation are changed. “Warm” clusters show the magic numbers of neutral cuboids whereas “cold” clusters show those of charged cuboids. This is explained by electronic excitation of sodium halide admolecules desorbing from cubic cores, either before or after ionization, respectively.
Quality‐Related HR Practices, Organizational Ethics, and Positive Work Attitudes: Implications for HRD

Existing research suggests that human resource (HR) practices and corporate ethics, both of which are orchestrated through human resource development (HRD), enhance employees' work attitudes. Consequently, this study examined the degree to which employees' perception of organizational ethics mediates the relationship between their perceptions of quality-related HR practices and work attitudes. Results obtained from structural equation modeling of data acquired from 187 professionals in a financial services firm showed full mediation. Stronger perceptions of quality-related HR practices were associated with increased perceptions of organizational ethics, and stronger perceptions of organizational ethics were associated with more positive work attitudes. The results suggest that quality-based HR practices can be used in companies to advance an ethical context, ultimately yielding more favorable work attitudes.
Job Security Rights: The Effects of Specific Policies and Practices on the Evaluation of Employers

The effects of specific policies and practices regarding employee job security rights on the evaluation of employers was investigated in two contexts. First, an experimental design was used to investigate the effect of explicit at-will and explicit good-cause policies on future job seekers' evaluation for a company's attractiveness and their willingness to sign up for an interview. The results support the argument that the kind of rights employers offer, or expressly deny, can significantly effect recruitment outcomes. Second, the potential role of formal employment at-will agreements as a source of inferences about the employer was investigated using open-ended questions that were responded to by currently employed managers and future job seekers. The results indicate that the use of formal at-will agreements may lead to a variety of negative inferences, giving employers reason to be concerned about the effect of such practices on employee relations.
Text-only alternatives: are they right for your site?

Providing a text-only version of a Web site is one way that Web developers can meet the accessibility guidelines suggested by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Text equivalents need to communicate the same information as non-text content. This flexible format allows content to be accessible to assistive technology, to new devices such as handheld computers, and to text-only Web browsers. Examples of all three are described in this chapter. One way the text-only challenge can be met is to use proper HTML coding to provide text equivalents to non-text items. This chapter reviews the applicable W3C guidelines and technical support documents and provides examples of their implementation. Another way to meet the challenge is to create a text-only version that reproduces the same content. The most efficient and accurate way is to use a parsing program that converts HTML pages into text-only equivalents on-the-fly. Two case studies are described in the chapter outlining examples of this process. By offering a text-only version, developers can ensure that their Web content is accessible to the widest range of users.
Applications of Ion Beam Analysis to Insulators

This paper reviews the use of ion analysis and ion analysis combined with ion implantation in insulators. New data are presented illustrating compositional analysis of multicomponent glass systems. Studies of diffusion in insulators is illustrated with data from Ag-implanted lithia-alumina-silica glass. Finally problems such as sample charging and effects due to energy deposited into electronic processes are discussed.
Electronic properties of Sr14Cu24O41

Crystals of orthorhombic ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{14}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{24}$${\mathrm{O}}_{41}$ are semiconducting, with an activation energy of 0.18(2) eV for conduction along c, the direction lying parallel to both the (${\mathrm{Cu}}_{2}$${\mathrm{O}}_{3}$) planes and the (${\mathrm{CuO}}_{2}$) chains. The magnetic susceptibility above 80 K follows a Curie-Weiss law with \ensuremath{\theta}=-95 K and ${p}_{\mathrm{eff}}$=0.65${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}$/Cu in the ac plane and \ensuremath{\theta}=-190 and ${p}_{\mathrm{eff}}$=0.94${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}$/Cu along b, the direction perpendicular to the (${\mathrm{Cu}}_{2}$${\mathrm{O}}_{3}$) planes and the (${\mathrm{CuO}}_{2}$) chains. There is an indication of antiferromagnetic order below ${T}_{N}$=60 K, and a Curie contribution at low temperature due to localized free spins [0.4(1) with S=(1/2 per formula]. The specific heat measured in the range 2--12 K is of the form ${\mathrm{AT}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}2}$+\ensuremath{\gamma}T+\ensuremath{\beta}${T}^{3}$, where A=1080 mJ K/mole, \ensuremath{\gamma}=100 mJ/mole ${\mathrm{K}}^{2}$, and \ensuremath{\beta}=5.93 mJ/mole ${\mathrm{K}}^{3}$. A 5-T magnetic field greatly enhances the low-temperature specific heat, an effect which is attributed to the localized states with S=(1/2. The linear term is attributed to a localized density of states with no net spin, possibly associated with peroxide ions. The relevance of these results to the low-temperature specific heat of copper-oxide superconductors is discussed.
Rhetoric and Dialectic in the Twenty-First Century

The paper presents a historical overview of some characteristic differences between rhetoric and dialectic in the pre-modern tradition. In the light of this historical analysis, some current approaches to dialectic are characterized, with special attention to Ralph Johnson's concept of dialectical tier.
INTRARENAL LOCALIZATION OF NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE ISOFORMS AND SOLUBLE GUANYLYL CYCLASE

SUMMARY 1. Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in the regulation of renal function. To date, five isoforms of NO synthase (NOS) and four subunits of soluble guanylyl cyclase have been cloned. The kidney contains four isoforms of NOS and all sub-units of soluble guanylyl cyclase. 2. This review focuses on the intrarenal location of the isoforms of NOS and the subunits of soluble guanylyl cyclase.
The Pacific Muse: Exotic Femininity and the Colonial Pacific

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Patty O'Brien Year: 2006 Pages: 338 Publisher: University of Washington Press ISBN: 0-295-98609-3 (hard cover). Prices: $50.00 USD(hard cover).