cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Single-User and Multicast OFDM Power Loading With Nonregenerative Relaying

In this paper, we derive power-loading strategies for single-user and multicast orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless links in the presence of a nonregenerative relay node. Our approach is based on the minimization of the vector error rate at the destination subject to individual power constraints at the source and the relay. For the single-user case, we propose a joint max-min power-loading strategy that is optimal at large signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), and in doing so, we show how the original problem may be recast into an effective (no-relay) OFDM power-loading problem with a previously known solution. Using bounds on effective SNRs, we propose disjoint power-loading strategies that require channel state information either at the source or at the relay but not at both. For the multicast scenario, we propose a max-min equalizing solution that yields a minimum effective SNR at each user terminal. We also formulate several linear solutions based on prioritizing the users in the network. Our single-user simulations show considerable error-rate performance gains for the proposed joint max-min solution and gives hints as to where disjoint power loading is the most effective. Our multicast simulations show that the max-min equalizing solution is best suited for networks with random user locations, whereas the linear prioritizing solutions work best for networks with fixed user locations.
Noise figure of parametric wavelength conversion with quasi-phase-matched LiNbO/sub 3/ waveguide

An analytical model of the noise accumulation in a chain of parametric wavelength converters is proposed. Signal-to-noise electrical power ratio is analytically given as a function of node number k in a chained transparent node system that consists of optical amplifiers, parametric wavelength converters, and several loss elements including optical transmission fiber with parameters of pump light excess noise betap, and average photon numbers per unit time of pump light and input signal langnprang, and langn0rang, respectively, and spontaneous emission factor of optical amplifier nsp. The signal-to-noise degrades inversely proportional to node number k with the coefficient defined by NF(1)=2nsp+betaplangn0 rang/langnprang when k is lower than langn0rang/Bo, where Bo represents optical bandwidth. The noise figure dependence on pump light quality betap/langnprang and average photon number of input light langn0rang in a single stage configuration are experimentally evaluated using Er-doped fiber amplifiers and quasi-phase-matched lithium niobate waveguide parametric wavelength conversion
A Fine Line to Walk: Case Managers' Perspectives on Sharing Information With Families

In the United States, sharing information with families in health care involves competing demands between clients' rights to confidentiality and families' wishes to know. In this article, I explore how community mental health providers share information with families of clients with severe mental illness. I interviewed 24 case managers in assertive community treatment programs. Results show that case managers share information with families to attain treatment goals rather than to support families in providing care. Case managers respect clients' confidentiality and do not release information without client consent. However, the absence of client consent posts an ethical dilemma when families provide helpful information for clients' treatment. Case managers find themselves walking a fine line between adhering to confidentiality guidelines and working for the clients' best interests. The findings suggest the need to expand confidentiality laws to the exchange of information and to develop guidelines for working with families in community settings.
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor therapy for rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by inflammation involving large and small joints. Systemic manifestations as well as involvement of paraoral tissues contribute to morbidity. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) plays a central role in RA by amplifying inflammation in multiple pathways that lead to joint destruction. Tumor necrosis factor inhibitors were first licensed for clinical use in 1998; 3 have been approved for the treatment of RA: Iinfliximab, etanercept, and adalimumab. The purpose of this paper is to review the pathogenesis of RA, the state of the art of therapy, and the most current information on the safety and efficacy of TNF inhibitors for treatment of RA.
Aesthetic Choice and Innovation in Western India: Views from the Street

L'A. s'interesse a deux types de phenomene. En premier lieu il etudie les processus de deliberation en matiere esthetique dans le cadre d'une petite communaute rurale de l'Ouest de l'Inde. En seconde lieu il s'efforce de comprendre comment l'anthropologie analyse les phenomenes d'innovation. Il examine comment s'operent les jugements esthetiques des individus et des groupes, non formes d'experts ou d'artistes, dans le cadre de la vie quotidienne. Il s'interroge sur la formation des systemes esthetiques. Il preconise l'etude des innovations plutot que celles des traditions. Il passe en revue un certain nombre d'innovations culturelles, esthetiques observees en Inde
Time-domain transillumination of biological tissues with terahertz pulses

We present time-domain transmission imaging of an opaque structure in pork-fat tissue obtained with a terahertz (THz) field sampling technique. Compared with imaging with near-infrared pulses, the terahertz sampling technique shows significantly enhanced contrast, as a result of low scattering. For enhanced spatial resolution, we show mid-infrared THz imaging of onion cells. Water absorption of THz pulse in muscle tissues is discussed.
Intrinsic stresses in compositionally modulated Au-Ni thin films and the supermodulus effect

The stresses which arise in compositionally-modulated Au--Ni thin films as a result of the constraint of the substrate were determined from the curvatures of micrometer-scale bilayer cantilever beams consisting of a silicon dioxide layer upon which the metal film had been deposited. These substrate interaction stresses were found to vary strongly with the wavelength of the composition modulation. Simulations of the bulge test show that such stresses can account for the major features of the supermodulus effect'' as artifacts of the analysis method.
Be conservative: enhancing failure diagnosis with proactive logging

When systems fail in the field, logged error or warning messages are frequently the only evidence available for assessing and diagnosing the underlying cause. Consequently, the efficacy of such logging--how often and how well error causes can be determined via postmortem log messages--is a matter of significant practical importance. However, there is little empirical data about how well existing logging practices work and how they can yet be improved. We describe a comprehensive study characterizing the efficacy of logging practices across five large and widely used software systems. Across 250 randomly sampled reported failures, we first identify that more than half of the failures could not be diagnosed well using existing log data. Surprisingly, we find that majority of these unreported failures are manifested via a common set of generic error patterns (e.g., system call return errors) that, if logged, can significantly ease the diagnosis of these unreported failure cases. We further mechanize this knowledge in a tool called Errlog, that proactively adds appropriate logging statements into source code while adding only 1.4% performance overhead. A controlled user study suggests that Errlog can reduce diagnosis time by 60.7%.
Psychotropic agents in opiate addiction: a brief review.

Psychotropic agents are frequently utilized in the detoxification and maintenance of opiate addicts as well as in the treatment of their underlying psychopathology. Review of reports of studies conducted to date indicates that schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety in opiate addicts appear to respond to appropriate treatment with psychotropic drugs. Although nonaddictive psychoactive compounds cannot be completely substituted for methadone in detoxification, their effects on the rate of methadone withdrawal warrant further study. To evaluate the results of treatment of addicts with psychoactive compounds, parameters that should be studied include the effects of these compounds on illicit drug use, methadone requirements, relapse and dropout rates, and social behavior.
A uniform approach to accelerated PageRank computation

In this note we consider a simple reformulation of the traditional power iteration algorithm for computing the stationary distribution of a Markov chain. Rather than communicate their current probability values to their neighbors at each step, nodes instead communicate only changes in probability value. This reformulation enables a large degree of flexibility in the manner in which nodes update their values, leading to an array of optimizations and features, including faster convergence, efficient incremental updating, and a robust distributed implementation.While the spirit of many of these optimizations appear in previous literature, we observe several cases where this unification simplifies previous work, removing technical complications and extending their range of applicability. We implement and measure the performance of several optimizations on a sizable (34M node) web subgraph, seeing significant composite performance gains, especially for the case of incremental recomputation after changes to the web graph.
Basal shear stress of the Ross ice streams from control method inversions

[1] We used control method inversions to determine the basal shear stress beneath the Ross ice streams where new high-resolution velocity data sets have recently become available. The inversion algorithm was adapted from an earlier viscous bed algorithm to allow solution for the basal shear stress corresponding to a weak plastic bed. We performed several experiments using synthetic data to determine the quality of the inversions. These experiments indicate that with high-quality surface elevation data (e.g., errors <5 m), the inversions are relatively robust with respect to errors in ice flow velocity and bed topography. The inversions are consistent with seismic and borehole observations and indicate that the Ross ice streams lie atop a bed that is nearly everywhere weak. In contrast, the tributaries feeding these ice streams overlie alternating patches of strong and weak bed.
Analytical effective coefficient and a first-order approximation for linear flow through block permeability inclusions

We present a closed form solution for the upscaled diffusion coefficient and derive a first-order homogenized approximation to linear flow equations with periodic and rapidly oscillating coefficients. The coefficients are defined as step functions describing inclusions of various shapes in a main matrix. This constitutes the n-dimensional upscaled version of Darcy's law for linear flow in such systems. We consider the two-scale asymptotic expansion of the solution of the flow equation, and develop a corrector to an analytical approximation for the solution of the periodic cell-problem. We demonstrate that the proposed analytical form for the effective coefficient satisfies the generalized Voigt-Reiss' inequality and is in agreement with other known theoretical results, including the geometric average for the checkerboard geometry, and with some published numerical results. The zeroth-order approximation in H^1(@W) is readily obtained and the first-order approximation in L^2(@W) is derived from the proposed analytical approximation to the basis functions. The analytical basis functions are also used to define a correction function that incorporates the heterogeneous features into the zeroth-order approximation to the gradient and flux, which considerably improves the convergence results. We illustrate the procedure with coefficients describing square inclusions with contrast ratios between the inclusion and the matrix as 10:1, 100:1, 1000:1 and 1:10, respectively. We demonstrate numerically that the convergence properties of the proposed approximations agree with the classical theoretical results in homogenization theory.
Development, testing and demonstration of a portable submersible miniature particle imaging velocimetry device

A portable underwater particle image velocimetry (PIV) device has been developed, tested and demonstrated. The underwater PIV uses a 532 nm battery-powered 90 mW continuous laser. The laser beam is pulsed via a camera-synchronized chopper wheel. Images were recorded using a 1 megapixel black and white 10-bit CCD battery-powered camera controlled via a PCMCIA frame grabber card connected to a laptop computer. The system was validated against a standard laboratory PIV for average velocities up to 15 cm s −1 downstream from a 1.6 cm circular cylinder. The average vorticities calculated between the two systems were similar with a maximum difference of 3.6%. The average velocities were also similar with the largest difference occurring at the slowest flow recorded (difference of 0.5 cm s −1 ), resulting in a 9.4% difference. The maximum eddy size was comparable between the two systems with an average error of 4%. The system was field tested in the Huron River, Michigan downstream from a 1.2 cm diameter submerged limb. Mean velocities and standard deviations were comparable to acoustic Doppler velocimeter data. This paper presents the first published subsurface PIV data from a fluvial environment, demonstrating potential applications for a number of ecological and geomorphological studies.
Pleiotropic Effects of Calcium Channel Blockers

Clinical trials have reported reduced cardiovascular events with certain antihypertensive agents at a rate that could not be predicted by changes in brachial arterial pressure alone. These findings may be explained, in part, by pleiotropic effects of these agents and modulation of central blood pressures. This review focuses on the mechanisms by which calcium channel blockers exert pleiotropic effects, both alone and in combination with statins and inhibitors of the renin-angiotensin system. The essential role of nitric oxide (NO) in maintaining endothelial function and the relationship between NO and reactive oxygen species are discussed in the context of the etiology of hypertension. The importance of managing global cardiovascular risk is emphasized, as hypertension commonly clusters with dyslipidemia and loss of glucose control. From a mechanistic viewpoint, these risk factors contribute to endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and inflammation in a synergistic fashion. A greater understanding of the mechanisms of actions of these cardiovascular agents may lead to more effective drug combinations, to the benefit of individual patients. Furthermore, by elucidating the biological mechanisms by which cardiovascular risk factors lead to vascular injury, we may highlight common pathways and identify novel therapeutic targets.
Probabilistic and Pluralistic Learners with Mind Changes

We consider the learning capabilities of FIN- type learners when they are allowed to change their hypothesis at most once. We consider probabilistic learners of this sort as well as pluralistic learners (i.e., teams of deterministic learners). We show for probabilities in the interval (5/6, 1] that the capabilities of the probabilistic learners are precisely divided into intervals of the form (5n+6/6n+7, 5n+1/6n+1] for all n≥0. We show that teams of such learners with plurality r/s (i.e., a team of s learners such that at least τ always successfully learn) are equivalent to probabilistic learners with probability of success τ/s. We also show that at the ratio 5/6 redundancy pays for team learners (i.e., a team with plurality 10/12 is more powerful than a team with plurality 5/6). Moreover, for any r and s with r/s=5/6 we show that any team of learners with plurality r/s is equivalent to a team with plurality 5/6 if r is odd, and to a team with plurality 10/12 if r is even.
Children’s Exposure to Violence

Beginning with the current issue, Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review is devoting two special issues (Volume 12, Issues 1 & 2, 2009) to research themes and developments in the area of children’s exposure to violence. These issues come 6 years after the journal’s special issues in 2003 reviewing and setting the agenda for research on children’s exposure to domestic violence, community violence, war, and terrorism. The articles featured in the 2003 issues represented a distillation of a federally sponsored 3-day conference held in 2002 on children exposed to violence where prevalence, consequences, services, and interventions were discussed (Feerick and Prinz 2003a; Prinz and Feerick 2003a). The papers presented at the 2002 conference underscored the need for systematic study of child violence exposure. The conference planners put forward recommendations for an agenda for research, policy, and practice to find effective ways to prevent violence and ultimately eliminate children’s exposure to violence. Some of the recommendations, outlined in the 2003 special issues (Feerick and Prinz 2003b; Prinz and Feerick 2003b), included:
Modularity, reuse, and hierarchy: Measuring complexity by measuring structure and organization: Research Articles

To develop better complexity measures, a reasonable approach is to base them on those principles of design that designers use. Modularity, reuse, and hierarchy (MR&H) have been identified by engineers as useful principles for designing complex systems, and these characteristics can be seen in Nature. Here, we develop metrics for each of MR&H, and then use them to develop several metrics of structure and organization. Further, we propose to evaluate complexity measures both empirically and on a set of abstract object-construction examples. After applying these tests to a handful of previously defined complexity measures, as well as ones we define here, we find that only two of our measures pass both sets of tests. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 2007
The Development of On-glides in American English

The status of the C/y/ sequence as a consonant cluster has motivated an investigation into the representation of such sequences in comparison to C/w/ and consonant-liquid sequences in data from developing systems. Evidence from production and substitution patterns indicated that children showed different patternings for the consonant-glide sequences, such that for some children the palatal glide patterned as part of the onset of a syllable, whereas for other children it patterned as part of the nucleus. Results support the claim that the palatal glide of the C/y/ sequence patterns as part of both the onset and the nucleus of a syllable. The seemingly ambivalent behavior of glides would then follow from a complex structure and different constraint rankings.
Compressional cooling of He3 to millidegree temperatures

A study of adiabatic compressional cooling of a two-phase mixture of solid and liquid He3 has been made. Details of the experimental arrangement are given. Using a flexible elastic low temperature He3 cell that is compressed by liquid He4 and precooled by a continuously operating dilution refrigerator, cooling to below 2 m°K was obtained from starting temperatures near 20 m°K. Frictional heating is remarkably low. Calculations are presented which investigate the fraction of solid formed and which suggest rather long thermal equilibrium times in the solid He3 nuclear spin system. Application of the method to the production of bulk polarized He3 nuclei is discussed.
Smart Cities – 50 mia. ”ting” på internettet – og det skal styres!

Smart Cities er det nye sorte i storre byer, og er sat pa dagsordenen i et stort antal kommuner pa tvaers af Danmark. Visionerne og malene er mange og projekterne er mangfoldige. Som med alle andre hypede tiltag forer det en masse ny teknologi med sig, nye platforme, nye gadgets, dingenoter, sensorer, nye applikationer og et naermest uendeligt behov for kapacitet. Vi skubber data generering og dataopsamlingen ud i omgivelserne og i det yderste af vores organisation. Men er vi klar til at handtere denne udvikling i de eksisterende organisationer med de nuvaerende roller.
Adult Cancer Risk Behaviors Associated with Adverse Childhood Experiences in a Low Income Population in the Southeastern United States

Objectives . Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) can affect health in adulthood. We investigate the relationship between childhood experiences and adult cancer risk and screening behaviors in a racially diverse, low income population. Methods . Nearly 22,000 adults 40 years and older in the Southern Community Cohort Study were administered the ACE questionnaire. We estimated odds ratios (OR) for the prevalence of smoking, alcohol consumption, BMI and five cancer screening methods in relation to the ACE score. Results . Over half reported at least one ACE, with percentages higher for women (61%) than men (53%). Higher ACE scores were related to increased prevalence of smoking (ORs 1.25 (1.05–1.50) to 2.33 (1.96–2.77). Little association was seen between rising ACE score and alcohol consumption or BMI, except for a modest trend in morbid obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 ). Mammography and cervical cancer screening decreased with rising ACE scores, but no trends were seen with prostate or colorectal cancer screening. Conclusions . Adverse childhood experiences are strong predictors of adult cancer risk behaviors, particularly increased likelihood of smoking, and among women, lower mammography and Pap screening rates.
Amino acid analyses of rheumatoid factors and normal gammaglobulins.

SummaryFour rheumatoid factors obtained from the sera of 3 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, a sample of 19.5 S gamma-globulin and a sample of 7 S gammaglobulin from healthy donors were analyzed for their qualitative and quantitative amino acid content.
Distribution of Biotin and Avidin in Hen's Egg

Conclusions1. Whole egg contains an excess of avidin, as the amount of biotin in the whole yolk is unable to neutralize the amount of avidin in the white of the same egg. 2. Biotin in egg yolk is present in a high molecular, undialyzable form which is physiologically active in yeast growth tests or in tests made on rats with egg-white injury.
Comparison of post-mortem urinary and vitreous humour organic acids

We have analysed organic acid profiles in 74 samples of post-mortem vitreous humour from the sudden infant death syndrome and compared the profiles to those obtained from the corresponding urine or bladder wall swab. There was a high degree of correlation indicating that vitreous humour analysis in high-risk infants is an appropriate analytical strategy when urine is not available. In our patient sample two infants had evidence of abnormal methylmalonic acid metabolism, one had glyceric aciduria (and elevated levels of vitreous humour glyceric acid), one had evidence of pre-existing liver damage as judged by the presence of 4-hydroxyphenyllactic acid, one had a non-ketotic dicarboxylic aciduria indicating inhibited fatty acid oxidation and two patients had significant long-chain 3-hydroxydicarboxylic acids and evidence of paracetamol ingestion.
Physiologic and clinical monitoring of spastic hypertonia

Spasticity is a common problem in patients with upper motor neuron lesions. Common causes of spasticity include stroke, traumatic brain injury, anoxic encephalopathy, cerebral palsy, multiple stroke, and spinal cord injury. Spasticity is a motor disorder characterized by a velocity-dependent increase in tonic stretch reflexes with exaggerated tendon jerk response, resulting from the upper motor neuron syndrome. Other manifestations of the upper motor neuron syndrome include released flexor reflexes, tendon hyperreflexia, loss of precise autonomic control, decreased dexterity, and limb weakness. Although the physiologic mechanism of spasticity varies depending on location of the lesion, the final common pathway is increased excitability of the alpha motor neuron.
Pericardial fat necrosis. Case report and review.

The sudden onset of severe pleuritic pain in the left or right low anterior chest, associated with a low-grade fever, leukocytosis, a normal electrocardiogram, and the sudden appearance of a juxtacardiac mass on chest roentgenogram, should strongly suggest the diagnosis of pericardial fat necrosis. Surgical excision has been symptomatically curative and probably continues to be the treatment of choice because of the need to exclude neoplasm in the differential diagnosis. The present report documents an additional case of pericardial fat necrosis and reviews those previously reported.
Iatrogenic Disease in the Perinatal Period

The complications of care represent a significant component of disease among infants just before, during, and just after birth. The number of complications is legion and their nature changing constantly as medical, surgical, and obstetric management protocols evolve. Because these lesions are critical, it is incumbent on the clinician to recognize them.
Associated systemic and ocular disorders in patients with congenital unilateral cataracts: the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study experience

PurposeFive-year prospective data on children enrolled in the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study (IATS) provided an opportunity to explore ocular and systemic associations in patients with a unilateral congenital cataract.MethodsInfants <7 months of age with a unilateral cataract were eligible for IATS screening. We reviewed data pertaining to the exclusion of patients as well as data collected on standardized study forms used at any time for documentation of ocular or systemic disorders.ResultsOverall, 227 infants were referred for possible enrollment. Of these, 10 had insignificant cataracts and 32 refused to participate. Of those excluded, 3 were premature, 27 had significant ocular disease (usually persistent fetal vasculature (PFV) or corneal diameter <9 mm), and 4 had systemic disorders. An additional 26 were excluded at the time of the first EUA, most often because of PFV or variants thereof. On follow-up, in the 114 enrolled patients, the following disorders were diagnosed: Stickler syndrome (1), mitochondrial disease (1), autism (1), and presumed congenital rubella syndrome (1). No patient developed a cataract in the fellow eye.DiscussionSome conditions that can feature unilateral cataracts are diagnosed at birth or very early in life, but others may be diagnosed at varying periods thereafter. PFV and its variants are the most common associated ocular findings in about a quarter of cases of unilateral congenital cataracts.ConclusionAlthough patients with a unilateral cataract may have significant associated abnormalities in the affected eye, most commonly PFV and its variants, the prevalence of associated significant systemic disease is quite low.
Markov-modulated marked Poisson processes for check-in data

We develop continuous-time probabilistic models to study trajectory data consisting of times and locations of user 'check-ins'. We model the data as realizations of a marked point process, with intensity and mark-distribution modulated by a latent Markov jump process (MJP). We also include user-heterogeneity in our model by assigning each user a vector of 'preferred locations'. Our model extends latent Dirichlet allocation by dropping the bag-of-words assumption and operating in continuous time. We show how an appropriate choice of priors allows efficient posterior inference. Our experiments demonstrate the usefulness of our approach by comparing with various baselines on a variety of tasks.
High-throughput solvent assisted ionization inlet for use in mass spectrometry

In this work we developed a multiplexed analysis platform providing a simple high-throughput means to characterize solutions. Automated analyses, requiring less than 5 s per sample without carryover and 1 s per sample, accepting minor cross contamination, was achieved using multiplexed solvent assisted ionization inlet (SAII) mass spectrometry (MS). The method involves sequentially moving rows of pipet tips containing sample solutions in close proximity to the inlet aperture of a heated mass spectrometer inlet tube. The solution is pulled from the container into the mass spectrometer inlet by the pressure differential at the mass spectrometer inlet aperture. This sample introduction method for direct injection of solutions is fast, easily implemented, and widely applicable, as is shown by applications ranging from small molecules to proteins as large as carbonic anhydrase (molecular weight ca. 29 000). MS/MS fragmentation is applicable for sample characterization. An x,y-stage and common imaging software ...
Evidence ladder and the Journal of the Medical Library Association

The evidence ladder or pyramid is hierarchical (Table 1). Results from studies in the highest tiers have more strength of evidence and should be counted on more when making decisions.
Pseudomeningocele Aspiration and Blood Patch Effectively Treats Positional Headache Associated With Postoperative Lumbosacral Pseudomeningocele.

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective chart review with limited prospective follow-up survey. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of blood patch injection for the treatment of positional headaches caused by postoperative lumbosacral pseudomeningoceles. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Pseudomeningocele is one of the most common complications after posterior lumbosacral spinal surgery. Common treatments include bedrest, abdominal binder use, subarachnoid lumbar drainage, and surgical re-exploration for durotomy closure. To date, only small case reports support the use of epidural blood patch injection for symptomatic pseudomeningocele treatment. METHODS A retrospective chart review analyzed the outcomes and complications of 19 consecutive patients who underwent blood patch injection, with and without pseudomeningocele aspiration, for symptomatic postoperative lumbosacral pseudomeningoceles between 2009 and 2015. An attempt was made to survey patients by phone regarding satisfaction. RESULTS As of last follow-up (average time = 22.3 months), 16 patients (84%) experienced headache resolution after blood patch injection and did not require further treatment of their pseudomeningocele. In addition to symptomatic improvement, 12 of the 16 successful patients had imaging, which demonstrated pseudomeningocele resolution. Persistent pseudomeningoceles were demonstrated on imaging among all three unsuccessful patients. CONCLUSION Pseudomeningocele aspiration followed by blood patch is an effective treatment for symptomatic postoperative lumbosacral pseudomenigocele. This is a minimally invasive alternative to surgical re-exploration with durotomy closure. Injections are most effective when performed early after pseudomeningocele development. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4.
Discharge Handoff Communication and Pediatric Readmissions

BACKGROUND Improvement in hospital transitional care has become a major national priority, although the impact on children's postdischarge outcomes is unclear. OBJECTIVE To characterize common handoff practices between hospital and primary care providers (PCPs), and test the hypothesis that common handoff practices would be associated with fewer unplanned readmissions. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS This prospective cohort study enrolled randomly selected pediatric patients during an acute hospitalization at a tertiary children's hospital in 2012-2014. MEASUREMENTS Primary care and patient data were abstracted from administrative, caregiver, and PCP questionnaires on admission through 30 days postdischarge. The primary outcome was 30-day unplanned readmission to any hospital. Logistic regression assessed relationships between readmissions and 11 handoff communication practices. RESULTS We enrolled 701 children, from which 685 identified PCPs. Complete data were collected from 84% of PCPs. Communication practices varied widely--verbal handoffs occurred rarely (10.7%); PCP notification of admission occurred for 50.8%. Caregiver experience scores, using an adapted Care Transitions Measure-3, were high but were unrelated to readmissions. Thirty-day unplanned readmissions to any hospital were unrelated to most handoff practices. Having PCP follow-up appointments scheduled prior to discharge was associated with more readmissions (adjusted odds ratio, 2.20; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-4.46). CONCLUSION Despite their presumed value, common handoff practices between hospital providers and PCPs may not lead to reductions in postdischarge utilization for children. Addressing broader constructs like caregiver self-efficacy or social determinants is likely necessary. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2017;12:29-35.
Intraoperative Radiation for Breast Cancer with Intrabeam™: Factors Associated with Decreased Operative Times in Patients Having IORT for Breast Cancer.

Introduction Intraoperative radiation with Intrabeam™ (IORT) for breast cancer is a newer technology recently implemented into the operating room (OR). This procedure requires time and coordination between the surgeon and radiation oncologist, who both perform their treatments in a single operative setting. We evaluated the surgeons at our center who perform IORT and their OR times to examine changes in OR times following implementation of this new surgical procedure. We hypothesized that IORT is a technique for which timing could be improved with the increasing number of cases performed. Methods A prospectively maintained IRB approved database was queried for OR times (incision and close) in patients who underwent breast conserving surgery (BCS), sentinel lymph node biopsy with and without IORT using the Intrabeam™ system at our institution from 2011 to 2015. The total OR times were compared for each surgeon individually and over-time. Next, the OR times of each surgeon were compared to each other. Continuous variables were summarized and then a prediction model was created using IORT time, OR time, surgeon, and number of cases performed. Results There were 5 surgeons performing IORT at our institution during this time period with a total of 96 cases performed. There was a significant difference observed in baseline surgeon specific OR time for BSC (p=0.03) as well as for BCS with IORT (p<0.05), attributable to surgeon experience. The average BCS times were faster than the BCS plus IORT procedure times for all surgeons. The overall mean OR time for the entire combined surgical and radiation procedure was 135.5 minutes. The most common applicator sizes used were the 3.5cm and 4cm, yielding an average 21minute IORT time. Applicator choice did not differ over time (p=0.189). After adjusting for IORT time and surgeon, the prediction model estimated that surgeons decreased the total BCS plus IORT OR time at a rate of -4.5 minutes per each additional 10 cases performed. Conclusion Surgeon experience and applicator size are related to operating room times for performing IORT for breast cancer. OR time for IORT in breast cancer treatment can be improved over time, even among experienced surgeons.
The value of demand response in Florida

Abstract Many electrical loads may be operated flexibly to provide grid services, including peaking capacity, reserves, and load shifting. The authors model 14 demand end uses in Florida and analyze their operational impacts and overall value for a wide range of solar penetrations and grid flexibility options. They find demand response is able to reduce production costs, reduce the number of low-load hours for traditional generators, reduce starting of gas generators, and reduce curtailment.
Estimating the Relationship between Corporal Punishment Use and School Suspensions: Longitudinal Evidence from the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Corporal punishment use in schools has decreased significantly over the past several decades; however, little research has explored the implications of such reductions in corporal punishment use. T...
Mental Models and Home Virtual Assistants (HVAs)

This study examines how users interact with Google Home, which is a type of home virtual assistant (HVA). Users are expected to speak to HVAs in a conversational manner; however, there has been little research looking at users' mental models for what kinds of interactions they think the devices are capable of. To investigate users' mental models, I conducted user study sessions in which I gave novice users several tasks to complete, and asked them to think aloud as they completed those tasks. I elicited two mental models (push, pull) from verbal strategies they use to complete the task. My findings help to better understand why users may be reluctant to use HVAs, and provide design guidance for future conversational interfaces.
Man's Impact on the Columbia River Stocks of Salmon*

ABSTRACT The impact of man on the salmon and steelhead of the Columbia River includes 35 years of effort to prevent declines in the stocks. Between 1866 and 1940, the commercial fishery harvested an annual average of 29 million pounds of salmon and steelhead, but in the next 35 years the annual average harvest dropped to 8 million pounds. During these 35 years the habitat for anadromous fishes dropped from 163,200 to 72,800 square miles. Various approaches to mitigation were tried, but the cumulative effects of the impacts were not compensated for and the runs declined. The productivity in terms of returning adults per spawner has become less than 1 for the upper river stocks. The management flexibility of allowing additional losses at any stage in the life history of these stocks has been lost. Thus, a policy of zero impact for all new developments has been adopted.
Constructing Bachmair-Ganzinger Models

We give some algorithms for constructing models from sets of clauses saturated by Ordered Resolution (with Selection rules). In the ground case, we give an efficient algorithm for constructing a minimal model. Then we generalize minimal models to preferred models, which may be useful for verification. For the ground case, we also show how to construct all models for a set of clauses saturated by Ordered Resolution, in time polynomial in the number of models. We also generalize our results to nonground models, where we add a restricted splitting rule to our inference rules, and show that for any set of clauses saturated by Ordered Resolution (with Selection), a query about the truth of a particular atom in the model can be decided.
Stereotypes of a Black Male Misunderstood

White America speaks of the growing equality for all the residents of this country. However, the truth of the matter is this: the more melanin in your skin, the further from parity you are. Nearly five centuries of slavery, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Civil Rights Movement have come and gone; Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X among other prominent Black freedom fighters battled against oppression for true liberation. Yet the road to such freedom is far from sight. The lynching, hate crimes, and beatings are still going strong. Racial injustice in the court system, social stereotypes, and racial profiling by police officers are a daily occurrence. Anyone who speaks of present-day equal opportunity, the end of racism and a sense of unity amongst culturally and racially diverse groups is living in a bubble, formed by denial and fabricated by the media.
Age and falls history effects on antagonist leg muscle coactivation during walking with balance perturbations.

Abstract Background Inspired by a reliance on visual feedback for movement control in older age, optical flow perturbations provide a unique opportunity to study the neuromuscular mechanisms involved in walking balance control, including aging and falls history effects on the response to environmental balance challenges. Specifically, antagonist leg muscle coactivation, which increases with age during walking, is considered a neuromuscular defense against age-associated deficits in balance control. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of age and falls history on antagonist leg muscle coactivation during walking with and without optical flow perturbations of different amplitudes. Methods Eleven young adults [mean (standard deviation) age: 24.8 (4.8) years], eleven older non-fallers [75.3 (5.4) years] and eleven older fallers [age: 78 (7.6) years] participated in this study. Participants completed 2-minute walking trials while watching a speed-matched virtual hallway that, in some conditions, included mediolateral optical flow perturbations designed to elicit the visual perception of imbalance. Findings We first found that lower leg antagonist muscle coactivation during normal walking increased with age, independent of falls history. We also found that older but not young adults increased antagonist leg muscle coactivation in the presence of optical flow perturbations, with more pervasive effects in older adults with a history of falls. Interpretation Our findings allude to a greater susceptibility to optical flow perturbations in older fallers during walking, which points to a higher potential for risk of instability in more complex and dynamic everyday environments. These findings may also have broader impacts related to the design of innovative training paradigms and neuromuscular targets for falls prevention.
Reasons to use e-cigarettes among adults and youth in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study.

Abstract Background While e-cigarette use is increasing, reasons to use e-cigarettes are poorly summarized in the literature. The objective of this study was to organize reasons to use e-cigarette items into factors and determine associations between these factors and e-cigarette user characteristics. Methods Data were drawn from youth (12–17) and adults (18+) in Wave 1 (2013–2014) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on 13 reasons to use survey items from experimental and established adult e-cigarette users and past 30 day youth e-cigarette users to determine two factors – “alternative to cigarettes” and “larger social environment”. Weighted linear regression models tested the associations between e-cigarette user group and sociodemographics and reasons to use factors among youth and adults. Results Adult current established e-cigarette users were associated with both alternative to cigarettes (β = 0.128, p Conclusions Reasons to use are associated with patterns of e-cigarette use among youth and adults. These factors could support a comprehensive approach to addressing rising e-cigarette use among youth and adults and target certain user populations.
Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation/Reoxygenation-Induced Barrier Disruption at the Human Blood–Brain Barrier is Partially Mediated Through the HIF-1 Pathway

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) plays an important role in brain homeostasis. Hypoxia/ischemia constitutes an important stress factor involved in several neurological disorders by inducing the disruption of the BBB, ultimately leading to cerebral edema formation. Yet, our current understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the BBB disruption following cerebral hypoxia/ischemia remains limited. Stem cell-based models of the human BBB present some potentials to address such issues. Yet, such models have not been validated in regard of its ability to respond to hypoxia/ischemia as existing models. In this study, we investigated the cellular response of two iPSC-derived brain microvascular endothelial cell (BMEC) monolayers to respond to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) stress, using two induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) lines. iPSC-derived BMECs responded to prolonged (24 h) and acute (6 h) OGD by showing a decrease in the barrier function and a decrease in tight junction complexes. Such iPSC-derived BMECs responded to OGD stress via a partial activation of the HIF-1 pathway, whereas treatment with anti-angiogenic pharmacological inhibitors (sorafenib, sunitinib) during reoxygenation worsened the barrier function. Taken together, our results suggest such models can respond to hypoxia/ischemia similarly to existing in vitro models and support the possible use of this model as a screening platform for identifying novel drug candidates capable to restore the barrier function following hypoxic/ischemic injury.
Investigating functional brain network integrity using a traditional and novel categorical scheme for neurodevelopmental disorders.

Abstract Background Current diagnostic systems for neurodevelopmental disorders do not have clear links to underlying neurobiology, limiting their utility in identifying targeted treatments for individuals. Here, we aimed to investigate differences in functional brain network integrity between traditional diagnostic categories (autism spectrum disorder [ASD], attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], typically developing [TD]) and carefully consider the impact of comorbid ASD and ADHD on functional brain network integrity in a sample adequately powered to detect large effects. We also assess the neurobiological separability of a novel, potential alternative categorical scheme based on behavioral measures of executive function. Method Five-minute resting-state fMRI data were obtained from 168 children (128 boys, 40 girls) with ASD, ADHD, comorbid ASD and ADHD, and TD children. Independent component analysis and dual regression were used to compute within- and between-network functional connectivity metrics at the individual level. Results No significant group differences in within- or between-network functional connectivity were observed between traditional diagnostic categories (ASD, ADHD, TD) even when stratified by comorbidity (ASD + ADHD, ASD, ADHD, TD). Similarly, subgroups classified by executive functioning levels showed no group differences. Conclusions Using clinical diagnosis and behavioral measures of executive function, no differences in functional connectivity were observed among the categories examined. Despite our limited ability to detect small- to medium-sized differences between groups, this work contributes to a growing literature suggesting that traditional diagnostic categories do not define neurobiologically separable groups. Future work is necessary to ascertain the validity of the executive function-based nosology, but current results suggest that nosologies reliant on behavioral data alone may not lead to discovery of neurobiologically distinct categories.
Integrated Simulation Framework for Additively Manufactured Ti-6Al-4V: Melt Pool Dynamics, Microstructure, Solid-State Phase Transformation, and Microelastic Response

To accelerate the establishment of fundamental understanding of the additive manufacturing (AM) process and its influence on microstructural evolution and related properties, we develop a multiphysics and multiscale modeling framework that integrates: (1) a high-fidelity powder-scale three-dimensional simulation of transient heat transfer and melt flow dynamics, (2) cellular automaton simulation of solidification grain structure and texture, (3) phase-field modeling of precipitation and dissolution of second-phase precipitate during repeated thermal cycles, and (4) microstructure-based micro- and mesoscopic elastic response calculation. Using Ti-6Al-4V as a model system, we demonstrate the application of the integrated framework to simulate complex microstructure evolution during a single-track laser powder bed fusion process and the associated mechanical response. Our modeling framework successfully captures the solidification β grain structure as a function of laser power and scanning speed, α precipitation upon subsequent cooling with different rates, and elastic response of the resulting (α + β) two-phase microstructure. The key features of solidification and second-phase precipitate microstructures, and their dependence on processing parameters, agree well with existing experimental observations. The established modeling framework is generally applicable to other metallic materials fabricated by AM.