cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Single Protein Kinase A or Calmodulin Kinase II Site Does Not Control the Cardiac Pacemaker Ca2+ Clock

Background— Fight or flight heart rate (HR) increases depend on protein kinase A (PKA)– and calmodulin kinase II (CaMKII)–mediated enhancement of Ca2+ uptake and release from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in sinoatrial nodal cells (SANC). However, the impact of specific PKA and CaMKII phosphorylation sites on HR is unknown. Methods and Results— We systematically evaluated validated PKA and CaMKII target sites on phospholamban and the ryanodine receptor using genetically modified mice. We found that knockin alanine replacement of ryanodine receptor PKA (S2808) or CaMKII (S2814) target sites failed to affect HR responses to isoproterenol or spontaneous activity in vivo or in SANC. Similarly, selective mutation of phospholamban amino acids critical for enhancing SR Ca2+ uptake by PKA (S16) or CaMKII (T17) to alanines did not affect HR in vivo or in SANC. In contrast, CaMKII inhibition by expression of AC3-I has been shown to slow SANC rate responses to isoproterenol and decrease SR Ca2+ content. Phospholamban deficiency rescued SR Ca2+ content and SANC rate responses to isoproterenol in mice with AC3-I expression, suggesting that CaMKII affects HR by modulation of SR Ca2+ content. Consistent with this, mice expressing a superinhibitory phospholamban mutant had low SR Ca2+ content and slow HR in vivo and in SANC. Conclusions— SR Ca2+ depletion reduces HR and SR Ca2+ repletion restores physiological SANC rate responses, despite CaMKII inhibition. PKA and CaMKII do not affect HR by a unique target site governing SR Ca2+ uptake or release. HR acceleration may require an SR Ca2+ content threshold.
A comparative study of mixed mode simulation methods: approaches in research and practice

This project explores how both researchers and practitioners use simulation methods for naturally-ventilated and mixed mode buildings. A focused literature review was conducted to outline the modeling tools and methods used by researchers, including appropriate tools and the importance of site-specific wind data and accurate wind pressure coefficients. The literature review also summarized research on window opening behavior, noting that there is little practical guidance for practitioners interested in related stochastic modeling techniques. The second phase of the project involved conducting interviews with practitioners who model naturally-ventilated and mixed mode buildings. Practitioners reported that they would like to see more integrated tools, tools with improved result visualizations, and early-phase design tools.
Effect of age on pyridinoline and pentosidine matrix cross-links in the desert sand rat intervertebral disc

Spondylosis in the desert sand rat (Psammomys obesus) has been studied as a model for intervertebral disc degeneration. Reducing sugars, which react with protein amino groups to form a diverse group of moieties with fluorescence and cross-linking properties, have been implicated in the structural and functional alterations of proteins that occur during aging and long-term diabetes. This study was undertaken to determine the changes in two matrix cross-links of the intervertebral disc and to study their association with aging. Two types of cross-links were studied: the physiological cross-link, pyridinoline, which is initiated by lysyl oxidase; and the non-enzymatically initiated cross-link, pentosidine. A significant increase in pentosidine, but not pyridinoline, was observed in the intervertebral disc with aging. Radiological, histological and biochemical findings support a hypothesis that subchondral bone responses, marked by increased bone density, contribute to alterations in the intervertebral disc. Cross-link changes in the structural proteins of the disc may contribute to the progressive fibrocartilage degradation typical of intervertebral disc disease as an effect of age.
A computational approach to determine damage in infrastructure networks from outage reports

We consider the problem of determining the set of damaged components in an infrastructure system solely from outage reports from customers. This problem is especially important in the context of cyber attacks on the information/control systems of the infrastructures since these attacks can present incorrect information about the status of components within the infrastructure. We develop an interdiction-based approach that iteratively determines a set of components to inspect whose damage would best replicate the outage report and thus provides decision-makers with an inspection priority list. Our approach is flexible in the sense that it can produce an updated set of damaged components even if a previous inspection reveals that a component is operational. We apply our approach to damage scenarios on realistic infrastructure systems.
Differences in polysomnography predictors for hypertension and impaired glucose tolerance.

RATIONALE It is unclear which indexes of physiologic stress obtained from polysomnography best predict sleep apnea-related outcomes. We assessed the relationships between various indexes of sleep-associated physiologic stress with 2 outcomes: hypertension and impaired glucose tolerance. METHODS Three hundred ninety-four participants in the Cleveland Family Study underwent overnight polysomnography, blood pressure measurements, and an oral glucose tolerance test. Graphical techniques and generalized estimating equations for logistic models were used to quantify the relationship between polysomnography indexes and to estimate the odds of each outcome, adjusting for age, sex, race, and body habitus. RESULTS Of the sample, 31% had hypertension, and 32% had impaired glucose tolerance. The odds of hypertension increased approximately 20% per 5-unit increase in arousal index (odds ratio 1.22; 95% confidence interval 1.06, 1.41). Weaker associations of hypertension with the apnea-hypopnea index and oxygen-saturation variables were seen. In contrast, the strongest index associated with impaired glucose tolerance was time spent at an oxygen saturation of < 90%; individuals with at least 2% of time spent at a saturation level less than 90% had 2.33 times (95% CI 1.38, 3.94) the odds of impaired glucose tolerance. CONCLUSIONS These data are consistent with disparate pathways mediating hypertension and impaired glucose tolerance. Vascular responses may be more directly related to sympathetic surges and arousals, whereas metabolic sequelae may be mediated more by hypoxic stress. One single index from polysomnography may not be adequate to fully predict the myriad health outcomes associated with sleep apnea.
Bandwidth enhancement of a monopole exciter by using a chip-inductor-loaded shorted strip

ABSTRACTThis paper presents an internal uniplanar monopole exciter fabricated on a 0.8-mm thick FR4 substrate. It can be arranged in the hinge slot of a laptop computer for a long-term evolution/wireless wide area network operation in the 698–960 and 1710–2690 MHz bands. The monopole exciter, which comprises feeding and chip-inductor-loaded shorted strips, occupies a compact area of 25 × 8 mm with a volume of only 0.2 cm3. The exciter antenna not only integrates with the metal covers, but also excites several resonant modes of the hinge slot. The chip-inductor-loaded shorted strip is employed for exciting the hinge slot to enhance lower band bandwidths. The proposed monopole exciter antenna not only serves as an exciter, but also serves as a radiator for generating several of its resonant modes. It can be installed in the hinge slot and has wide operating bands with high radiation efficiency. Over the lower and upper bands, the antenna efficiencies are higher than 56%, which is favorable for practical app...
Identification of essential histidine residues in UDP-N-acetyl-D-galactosamine:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-T1

UDP-N-acetyl-d-galactosamine:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases (ppGaNTases) catalyse the initial step of mucin-type O-glycosylation. The activity of bovine ppGaNTase-T1 isoenzyme was inhibited by diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC) modification. Activity was partially restored by hydroxylamine treatment, indicating that one of the reactive residues was a histidine. The transferase was protected against DEPC inactivation when UDP-GalNAc and EPO-G, a peptide pseudo-substrate PPDAAGAAPLR, were simultaneously present, while presence of EPO-G alone did not alter DEPC inactivation. However, inclusion of UDP-GalNAc alone potentiated DEPC-inhibition of the enzyme, suggesting that UDP-GalNAc binding changes the accessibility or reactivity of an essential histidine residue. Deletion of the first 56 amino acids (including one hisitidine residue) yielded a fully active secreted form of the bovine ppGaNTase-T1 enzyme. Each of the 14 remaining histidines in the enzyme were mutated to alanine, and the recombinant mutants were recovered from COS7 cells. The mutation of histidine residues His211-->Ala and His344-->Ala resulted in recombinant proteins with no detectable enzymic activity. A significant decrease in the initial rate of GalNAc transfer to the substrate was observed with mutants His125-->Ala and His341-->Ala (1% and 6% of wild-type activity respectively). Mutation of the remaining ten histidine residues yielded mutants that were indistinguishable from the wild-type enzyme. Mutagenesis and SDS/PAGE analysis of all N-glycosylation sequons revealed that positions N-95 and N-552 are occupied by N-linked sugars in COS7 cells. Ablation of either site did not perturb enzyme biosynthesis or enzyme activity.
Motion in General Elliptic Orbit with Respect to a Dragging and Precessing Coordinate Frame

The full set of second-order nonlinear differential equations describing the exact motion of a spacecraft subject to drag and oblateness perturbations in general elliptic orbit, relative to a rotating reference frame which drags and precesses exactly as a given spacecraft attached to its center is derived. This attached spacecraft is itself flying a general elliptic orbit and can be considered as the passive or nonmaneuvering vehicle. The unaveraged form of the J2 acceleration is used for both vehicles leaving this oblateness perturbation position dependent for more exacting calculations. These equations can be effectively put to use in calculating by an iterative scheme, the impulsive rendezvous maneuvers in elliptic orbit around the Earth or those planets that are either atmosphere bearing or have a dominant second zonal harmonic, or both.
Trajectory of cognitive impairment during breast cancer treatment: A prospective analysis

8500 Background: Several studies havedocumented cognitive impairment in cancer patients; however these reports are primarily based on cross-sectional comparisons. Prospective evaluation would bette...
Egr-1 Functions as a Tumor Suppressor for Leukemias Caused by Different Oncogenes.

Deregulated expression of the proto-oncogenes c-myc, E2F-1 and c-myb in M1 myeloid leukemic cells rendered these cells incapable of undergoing myeloid terminal differentiation and its associated growth arrest, and prevented the loss in leukemogenicity normally observed when M1 cells are induced to differentiate. We recently showed that expressing Egr-1 in M1myc cells abrogated the c-myc-mediated block in terminal myeloid differentiation, with the cells undergoing macrophage maturation in the absence of growth arrest. Importantly, Egr-1 also abrogated c-myc-driven leukemogenicity. In this study, we asked if Egr-1 functions as a tumor suppressor by abrogating the block in differentiation caused by other oncogenes. It was shown that expressing Egr-1 in M1E2F-1 cells completely overrode the block in terminal myeloid cell differentiation, with the cells undergoing macrophage maturation, and unlike in myc/Egr-1 expressing cells, also becoming growth arrested. In contrast, expression of Egr-1 in M1myb cells promoted progression of the differentiation program to an intermediate stage of differentiation, but the cells became neither fully matured nor growth arrested, continuing to proliferate indefinitely. As seen for expression of Egr-1 in M1myc cells, Egr-1 expression in M1E2F-1 cells also abrogated E2F-1 driven leukemogenicity. In contrast, Egr-1 co-expression with c-myb in M1myb cells did not abrogate myb driven leukemia. Taken together, it can be concluded that Egr-1 is dominant to both E2F-1 and c-myc with regard to terminal morphological differentiation and the ability to suppress leukemias, whereas the proto-oncogene c-myb is dominant to Egr-1. These findings indicate that the tumor suppressor Egr-1 provides important tools for differentiation therapy of multiple leukemic phenotypes, dependent on the molecular nature of the activated oncogene.
Beyond roll-off: individual-level abstention on ballot measure voting

Why do individuals who have turned out to vote abstain from voting on certain ballot measures? Previous work examines abstention at the aggregate level by observing ballot roll-off, and focuses on ...
Things and the Slow Neolithic: the Middle Eastern Transformation

This paper argues that the search for an overarching explanation for the adoption of farming and settled life in the Middle East can be enhanced by a consideration of the dependencies between humans and human-made things from the Late Glacial Maximum onwards. Often not considered in discussions of the origins of agriculture is the long process of human tooth size reduction that started in the Upper Palaeolithic and can reasonably be related to the increased use of grinding stones that created softer and more nutrient-rich plant foods. A consideration of the use of groundstone tools through the Epipalaeolithic and into the Neolithic shows that they were entangled with hearths, ovens, houses and settlements, exchange relations and notions of ownership. The practicalities of processing plants drew humans into pathways that led to intensification, population increase, sedentism and domestication. Much the same can be said for other human-made things such as sickles, storage bins, domestic animal dung and refuse. The dialectical tensions between human-thing dependence and dependency generated the movement towards Neolithicization. Human-thing dependence (involving human dependence on things, thing dependence on humans and thing dependence on other things) afforded opportunities towards which humans (always already in a given state of entanglement) were drawn in order to solve problems. But this dependence also involved dependency, limitation and constraint, leading for example to increases in labour. In order to provide that labour or in other ways to deal with the demands of things and their entanglements with other humans and things, humans made further use of the affordances of things. There was thus a generative spiral leading to sedentism and domestication.
A Simple Model of Negative Capacitance FET With Electrostatic Short Channel Effects

A simple model of negative capacitance (NC) MOSFETs is presented. The model treats 2-D electrostatic effects, and the ballistic to diffusive transport regimes. It shows quantitative agreement with numerical device simulations based on a self-consistent solution of the Poisson equation and quantum transport equation based on nonequilibrium Green’s function formalism, for an NC MOSFET structure without an internal floating gate. The model can accurately describe the reverse drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) and negative output differential conductance (NDC) effects as the NC FETs scale down. With approximations valid at low power supply voltages, it is shown that the improvement of the subthreshold swing (SS) due to electrostatic short channel effects results in a linear increase of the reverse DIBL and NDC. For a modified NC MOSFET structure with an ultrathin quantum metallic layer contacted to the source, the SS, however, can be improved considerably with the reverse DIBL and NDC approximately unchanged.
An Instrumental Variable Analysis Comparing Medicare Expenditures for Laparoscopic vs Open Colectomy

Importance Numerous study findings suggest that the use of laparoscopy is associated with lower health care costs for many operations, including colectomy. The extent to which these differences are due to the laparoscopic approach itself or selection bias from healthier patients undergoing the less invasive procedure is unclear. Objective To evaluate the differences in Medicare expenditures for laparoscopic and open colectomy. Design, Setting, and Participants A population-based study was conducted of Medicare beneficiaries undergoing laparoscopic or open colectomy between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2012. The dates of the analysis were November 13 to December 10, 2016. Using instrumental variable methods to account for selection bias, actual Medicare payments after each procedure were evaluated. To identify the mechanisms of potential cost savings, the frequency and amount of physician, readmission, and postacute care payments were evaluated. Several sensitivity analyses were performed restricting the study population by patient demographic or surgeon specialty. Main Outcomes and Measures Actual Medicare expenditures up to 1 year after the index operation. Results The study population included 428 799 patients (mean [SD] age, 74 [10] years; 57.0% female). When using standard methods, patients undergoing laparoscopic colectomy (vs open) had lower total Medicare expenditures (mean, −$5547; 95% CI, −$5408 to −$5684; P P P Conclusions and Relevance This population-based study demonstrates the influence of selection bias on cost estimates in comparative effectiveness research. While the use of laparoscopy reduced total episode payments, the source of savings is in the postacute care period, not the index hospitalization.
Racial Disproportionality in U.S. State Prisons: Accounting for the Effects of Racial and Ethnic Differences in Criminal Involvement, Arrests, Sentencing, and Time Served

An important indicator of discrimination in the criminal justice system is the degree to which race differences in arrest account for racial disproportionality in prisons (“accountability”). A recent National Academy of Sciences (NAS) study raised concerns by reporting low and declining estimates of accountability. Our improved measure accounts for unreported Hispanic arrestees. We measure accountability at intermediate stages, including commitments to prison and time served. We also use victim reports to extend accountability from arrest to differential involvement in violent crimes. Our methods utilize information on self-reported racial identity of Hispanic prisoners to provide more accurate comparison with the race of arrestees. We also assess accountability for 42 individual states and 4 regions. Our national estimate of accountability is close to previous estimates and much higher than those in the NAS report. Accountability is high for the serious violent crimes of murder and rape, and low for drug trafficking, drug possession, weapons, and aggravated assault, which involve more discretion in arrest, labeling and charging. Our more accurate accountability results contradict the NAS report of low and declining accountability. Regional accountability estimates show no consistently stronger or weaker region. We also show a corrected national estimate of the ratio of black-to-white incarceration-rates has dropped from 6.8 in 1990 to 4.7 in 2011, an important correction to concerns of increasing discrimination. Reports of offenders’ race by victims and arrestees’ race are found to be close, supporting use of arrest as an indicator of involvement in violent crimes.
Inhibition of Notch Signaling in T Cells Prevents Immune-Mediated Bone Marrow Failure.

Abstract 180 Aplastic anemia is a severe bone marrow disorder characterized by the loss of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). HSC destruction is thought to be T cell-mediated in a majority of patients with aplastic anemia. Global immunosuppression and HSC transplantation can induce disease remission, but these treatments are not effective in all patients and can promote life-threatening complications. Thus, novel immunomodulatory approaches are needed in this disorder. Notch is a conserved cell-cell communication pathway that can regulate T cell differentiation and function with context-dependent effects. To study the role of Notch signaling in pathogenic T cells causing immune-mediated bone marrow failure, we inhibited canonical Notch signaling in mature T cells through conditional expression of the pan-Notch inhibitor DNMAML (ROSA-DNMAMLf × Cd4-Cre mice). We used two complementary mouse models of immune-mediated bone marrow failure that mimic features of aplastic anemia: administration of C57BL/6 (B6) T cells into sublethally irradiated (500 rads) minor histocompatibility antigen mismatched BALB/b recipients (Chen et al., J Immunol 2007; 178:4159), or infusion of B6 lymphocytes into unirradiated MHC-mismatched B6×DBA F1 recipients. In contrast to control B6 T cells which led to lethal bone marrow failure in virtually all recipients, DNMAML-expressing Notch-deprived T cells were profoundly deficient at inducing HSC loss in both disease models, leading to markedly improved long-term survival (>90%). Notch-deficient T cells showed a modest decrease in overall expansion within secondary lymphoid organs, but their accumulation in the target bone marrow was preserved. Upon restimulation with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies, DNMAML T cells had decreased production of IL-2 and interferon gamma. Activated CD4+ and CD8+ DNMAML T cells had reduced interferon gamma, granzyme B, and perforin transcripts despite preserved induction of the master transcription factors Tb×21 (encoding T-bet) and Eomes. In vivo infusion of CFSE-labeled host-type target cells revealed a decreased cytotoxicity in DNMAML as compared to control B6 T cell recipients. These observations point to a novel spectrum and mechanism of Notch action in mature T cells. Since we have shown recently that canonical Notch signaling is dispensable for the maintenance of adult HSCs (Maillard et al., Cell Stem Cell 2008, 2:356), our findings suggest that Notch inhibition could represent a novel therapeutic modality to target the T cell response and reverse immune-mediated HSC destruction in aplastic anemia. Disclosures: Shan: American Society of Hematology: Research Funding. Zhang: University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center: Research Funding; Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation: Research Funding. Maillard: Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation: Research Funding; American Society of Hematology: Research Funding; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center: Research Funding.
Abstract 390: Identification and characterization of survival-associated genomic features across tumor types

The basic biology that differentiates a primary cell from a transformed cell has been elucidated over the past several decades. Mutations in a limited number of oncogenes and tumor suppressors free the cell from growth-inhibitory checkpoints and allow proliferation in the absence of external stimuli, leading to tumor formation. Yet, primary tumors themselves are rarely deadly: greater than 90% of cancer mortality results from metastasis. What drives metastasis, and, more broadly, what distinguishes a lethal cancer from one with a favorable prognosis, is poorly understood. To address this question, we have performed a comprehensive meta-analysis on genomic data from primary tumors that are linked to patients’ clinical outcomes. Utiliizing data from >20,000 patients, we have identified protein-coding genes, lncRNAs, miRNAs, methylation sites, and CNVs in primary tumors that are significantly associated with patient prognosis across cancer types. Multivariate analysis reveals a hierarchy of survival determinants: the strongest mortality-associated factors are enriched for components of the mitotic cell cycle, while secondary clusters of genes are involved in extracellular matrix remodeling, cell motility, and angiogenesis. Survival-associated genomic features are indicative of immune infiltration into primary tumors and oxidative phosphorylation activity. In vitro and in vivo analyses reveal that mortality-associated genes rarely promote the direct transformation of primary cells. Instead, CRISPR mutagenesis reveals that these genes largely represent tumor dependencies, and in their absence cancer cells fail to proliferate. Through this analysis, we have identified new genetic dependencies common across cancer cells, including C16ORF59 and C5ORF46. In total, our results represent the largest assessment of genomic features linked to cancer prognosis completed to date, and offer several lines of insight into the biological differences between fatal and benign cancers. Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Joan Smith, Ann Lin, Chris Giuliano, Jason M. Sheltzer. Identification and characterization of survival-associated genomic features across tumor types [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 390. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-390
Psychotherapy clients’ recalled treatment experiences: A survey of perceived evidence‐based practice elements

Evidence-based practice (EBPs) elements can be observed across treatment approaches for commonly occurring problems. Little is known about the prevalence or pervasiveness of EBP elements from the routine client's perspective. We assessed psychotherapy clients' self-reported retrospective treatment experiences with regard to common EBP elements. Participants (N = 592) were consenting university undergraduate students who accessed a web survey that included (a) demographic items; (b) an item assessing the problem domain(s) of focus during their therapy; and (c) the presence/absence of 8 EBP elements and the extent to which they were a focus of their psychotherapy. Overall, routine psychotherapy clients recalled receiving a variety of EBP elements, the most common being a focus on positive emotions. Future work should continue to focus on clients' experience of psychotherapy elements, including what was/is most and least helpful to assist in the refinement and implementation of EBPs.
Developing and validating an instrument measuring school leadership

In this study, we developed and validated an instrument that researchers can use to measure the collective effort of principals and teachers who excise their own unique leadership to generate (inte...
An update in international trends in incidence rates of thyroid cancer, 1973-2007.

Over the past several decades, there has been a reported increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer in many countries. We previously reported an increase in thyroid cancer incidence across continents between 1973 and 2002. Here, we provide an update on the international trends in thyroid cancer between 2003 and 2007. We examined thyroid cancer incidence data from the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents (CI5) database for the period between 1973 and 2007 from 24 populations in the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania, and report on the time trends as well as the distribution by histologic type and gender worldwide. The incidence of thyroid cancer increased during the period from 1998–2002 to 2003–2007 in the majority of populations examined, with the highest rates observed among women, most notably in Israel and the United States SEER registry, at over 14 per 100,000 people. This update suggests that incidence is rising in a similar fashion across all regions of the world. The histologic and gender distributions in the updated CI5 are consistent with the previous report. Our analysis of the published CI5 data illustrates that the incidence of thyroid cancer increased between 1998–2002 and 2003–2007 in most populations worldwide, and rising rates continue in all regions of the world.
Use of Highly Effective Reversible Contraception in Title X Clinics: Variation by Selected State Characteristics.

Abstract Background The use of long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods, such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants has demonstrated high effectiveness in preventing pregnancy. While LARC use in Title X programs has increased over the past decade, little is know about the extent to which gains are occurring uniformly across states. Methods We examined state-level changes in LARC use among Title X clients between 2012 and 2016 using a repeated cross-sectional study design. States were characterized by the proportion of reproductive age women in need of publicly funded contraception. Variation in LARC use by level of need was examined using GEE models. Results Across all states, LARC use in Title X clinics increased from 9.1% to 16.2% during the study period. In 2012, LARC use in the states with the highest and lowest level of need differed by 2.3 percentage points (7.8% compared to 10.1%). By 2015 the gap in LARC use between high and low need states widened to reach 5.3 percentage points, more than double what was observed in 2012. However, by 2016 the margin of the gap narrowed. Conclusions Observed increases in LARC use among states with the highest level of need for publically funded services are much lower than what is observed among states with the lowest level of need. However, we did find this gap is narrowing. This finding is important given states with greater need are those with higher proportions of low-income and younger women who are at greater risk for experiencing unintended pregnancies.
Abstract 002: Patient Provider Communication and Patient-centered Outcomes Among Patients With Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in United States: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 2010-2013

Background: With recent enactment of Accountable Care Act, consumer reported patient-provider communication (PPC) assessed by Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey (CAHPS) in ambulatory settin...
Post-diagnosis aspirin use and survival in veterans with head and neck cancer.

Background Our objective was to determine the effect of post-diagnosis aspirin use on survival in veterans with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Methods Retrospective cohort study of 584 veterans with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated at the Washington DC VA Medical Center between 1995 and 2015. Charts were queried for clinical-pathologic data, aspirin prescriptions, and outcome. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to determine overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) among aspirin users and nonusers. Results A total of 329 patients met inclusion criteria. Primary subsites included oropharynx (n = 143), larynx (n = 105), oral cavity (n = 62), and hypopharynx (n = 19). Eighty-four patients were aspirin users (25.5%). Aspirin users demonstrated significantly better 3-year OS and DSS (78.6% and 88.1%) compared to nonaspirin users (OS: 55.9% and DSS: 70.2%; P = .0003 and P = .0019, respectively). On multivariate analysis, aspirin use remained independently associated with improved survival. Conclusion Aspirin use following diagnosis and curative treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is associated with improved OS and DSS.
80. DOES MY TEAM REALLY NEED OUR ATTENDING? PERCEIVED AUTONOMY OF ATTENDING-LESS ROUNDS

Background According to accreditation guidelines, residents must demonstrate progressive autonomy over the course of training. Although desired, there is little data showing the impact on the perceived sense of autonomy of housestaff when rounding without an attending on an inpatient service. Objective Determine residents’ and interns’ perception of autonomy with and without the attending present on family centered rounds on a hospitalist general pediatric service in a tertiary children's hospital. Methods Residents and interns who participated in standard family centered rounds and attending-less family centered rounds were given anonymous surveys asking about their ability to complete tasks autonomously on a Likert-type scale. Attendings completed a similar survey assessing their upper level resident. We averaged the standard rounds responses (pre-forms) and compared them to the attending-less rounds responses (post-forms). Comments were allowed for qualitative data. Results We obtained surveys from 15 interns, 10 upper levels and 7 attendings who participated. Compared to the pre-surveys, residents felt more autonomous in 7/11 areas queried (p Conclusions Attending-less rounds appear to improve residents’ and interns’ self-perception of autonomy compared to standard family centered rounds with the attending present. This suggests attending-less rounds offer educational benefits that warrant consideration into future service structure.
Pharmacokinetics of 99mTc-HMPAO in isolated perfused rat lungs

We developed an approach for studying the pharmacokinetics of technetium-labeled hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO) in isolated perfused lungs. A distributed-in-space-and-time computation...
Training Student Pharmacists to Perform Point-of-Care Testing

Objective. To implement training in point-of-care testing (POCT) for student pharmacists and to assess students' comfort with performing and recommending POCT for Group A streptococcus (GAS), influenza, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) after completion of training. Methods. The POCT training was provided to students via a 3.5-hour module imbedded in an intensive, week-long course. The module included a lecture with active-learning exercises and time dedicated to practicing performing nasal and throat swabs. Student performance of swab procedures was evaluated via a rubric-based skills assessment graded by a faculty member. Student pharmacists completed a pre- and post-training Likert scale survey regarding their comfort with performing and recommending POCT, and initiating appropriate treatment. Student knowledge of POCT material was evaluated via a multiple-choice examination. Results. Most students performed proficiently on the POCT skills assessment on the first attempt (86% achieved proficiency in performing throat swabs and 88% in performing nasal swabs), and all students were proficient by the third attempt. Student comfort and interest in performing POCT and willingness to implement POCT in their future practice significantly increased from the pre- to the post-training survey. All students achieved competency as demonstrated by achieving a score of 80% or higher on the knowledge examination on the first or second attempt. Conclusion. Following a POCT training module, student pharmacists displayed increased willingness to perform and recommend POCT for GAS, influenza, and HIV. Expanding this training to other pharmacy schools and colleges could increase patient access to POCT.
Exposure to a second language in infancy alters speech production.

We evaluated the impact of exposure to a second language on infants’ emerging speech production skills. We compared speech produced by three groups of 12-month-old infants while they interacted with interlocutors who spoke to them in Spanish and English: monolingual English-learning infants who had previously received 5 hours of exposure to a second language (Spanish), English- and Spanish-learning simultaneous bilinguals, and monolingual English-learning infants without any exposure to Spanish. Our results showed that the monolingual English-learning infants with short-term exposure to Spanish and the bilingual infants, but not the monolingual English-learning infants without exposure to Spanish, flexibly matched the prosody of their babbling to that of a Spanish- or English-speaking interlocutor. Our findings demonstrate the nature and extent of benefits for language learning from early exposure to two languages. We discuss the implications of these findings for language organization in infants learning two languages.
Optimized CNN-based Diagnosis System to Detect the Pneumonia from Chest Radiographs

Pneumonia is a high mortality disease that kills 50, 000 people in the United States each year. Children under the age of 5 and older population over the age of 65 are susceptible to serious cases of pneumonia. The United States spend billions of dollars fighting pneumonia-related infections every year. Early detection and intervention are crucial in treating pneumonia related infections. Since chest x-ray is one of the simplest and cheapest methods to diagnose pneumonia, we propose a deep learning algorithm based on convolutional neural networks to identify and classify pneumonia cases from these images. For all three models implemented, we obtained varying classification results and accuracy. Based on the results, we obtained better prediction with average accuracy of (68%) and average specificity of (69%) in contrast to the current state-of-the-art accuracy that is (51%) using the Visual Geometry Group (VGG16 also called OxfordNet), which is a convolutional neural network architecture developed by the Visual Geometry Group of Oxford. By implementing more novel lung segmentation techniques, reducing over fitting, and adding more learning layers, the proposed model has the potential to predict at higher accuracy than human specialists and will help subsidies and reduce the cost of diagnosis across the globe.
From Charge to Spin and Spin to Charge: Stochastic Magnets for Probabilistic Switching

As the rapid pace of Moore’s Law has been slowing down, there has been intense activity to “reinvent the transistor.” An emerging paradigm is to complement the existing complementary metal-oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology with new functionalities, rather than finding a drop-in replacement for it. In this article, we discuss such a complementary approach that we call probabilistic spin logic (PSL) based on the concept of a probabilistic or p-bit. p-bits fluctuate between 0 and 1 and can be imagined in between deterministic bits that are either 0 or 1 and quantum bits that are a superposition of 0 and 1. Interconnected circuits built out of p-bits (p-circuits) can be broadly useful for machine learning and quantum computing in the solution of problems that conventional CMOS may not be particularly suited for. Although such p-bits can be implemented using standard CMOS technology, we will show that the inherent physics of nanomagnets can naturally provide an energy efficient and scalable p-bit implementation through the use of low-barrier magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). In this article, we provide a general description of p-bits and p-circuits and discuss their applications. We review experimental progress toward constructing p-bits and p-circuits exploiting the inherent stochasticity of nanomagnets, from a physics/device/circuits perspective. In particular, we identify building blocks for “write” and “read” operations that can be used in different combinations to construct functional p-bits and p-circuits. Finally, we discuss the prospects and challenges of PSL as an emerging, unconventional computing paradigm for a beyond CMOS era.
Impact of Animal Assisted Therapy on Anxiety Levels Among Mentally Ill Female Inmates

There are now more women with serious mental illness treated in correctional facilities than in county or state hospitals in the United States. These women have high rates of relational trauma, res...
Safety, Energy, and Emissions Impacts of Adaptive Cruise Control and Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control:

Connected and automated vehicle technologies have the potential to significantly improve transportation system performance. In particular, advanced driver-assistance systems, such as adaptive cruis...
Form and rhetorical function of phrase-frames in promotional writing: A corpus- and genre-based analysis

Abstract A recent trend in corpus-based text analysis emphasizes the recurring linguistic features which writers use in the construction of disciplinary genres in terms of the rhetorical aims realized through their use, with a particular emphasis on formulaic sequences and genres associated with the production and dissemination of academic knowledge. The present study extends this trend into research on an understudied promotional genre by examining the distribution of frequent phrase-frames (p-frames) across the rhetorical stages of 148 purpose statements in accepted Fulbright grant applications. P-frames were automatically identified according to a number of established thresholds and manually filtered for completeness. Each occurrence of the 69 identified p-frames was analyzed in context to assign one of four rhetorical move codes based on previous research. In addition, experienced ESL writing instructors (N = 10) and advanced ESL learners (N = 10) were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the pedagogical potential of each p-frame for the teaching of promotional genres. The distribution of these p-frames across the rhetorical stages of the analyzed texts, as well as the learner and instructor ratings, are analyzed and presented here. Overall findings highlight the potential pedagogical value of teaching discontinuous formulaic sequences due to their composition of both fixed and variable elements.
Development of piroxicam mini-tablets enabled by spherical cocrystallization.

Abstract We examined the potential of the spherical cocrystallization (SCC) technology in simultaneously enhancing tablet manufacturability and dissolution of poorly soluble drugs by developing a mini-tablet formulation of piroxicam. The manufacturing of mini-tablets using a direct compression (DC) process is more challenging than conventional tablets because of the much stricter requirement on the micromeritic properties of formulated powders. The SCC process in this work involved two steps: 1) preparing a new piroxicam-ferulic acid (PRX-FA) cocrystal, and 2) forming spherical agglomerates with the aid of a suitable bridging liquid. The PRX-FA cocrystal exhibited enhanced solubility as well as improved plasticity. The bridging liquid, a mixture of chloroform and ethyl acetate (EA) (1: 2, v/v), was chosen based on the high computed adsorption energy of chloroform and EA on morphologically dominating crystal faces of PRX-FA. The improved flowability, tabletability, and dissolution rate of spherical PRX-FA enabled the successful development of a DC mini-tablet formulation with a high PRX loading (41 wt%). This example shows that SCC is a powerful enabling technology for DC tablet formulation development of challenging drugs.
Mitigating Damage to Hybrid Perovskites Using Pulsed-Beam TEM.

Using a pulsed-beam transmission electron microscope, we discover a reduction in damage to methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) as compared to conventional beams delivered at the same dose rates. For rates as low as 0.001 e·A-2·s-1, we find up to a 17% reduction in damage at a total dose of 10 e·A-2. We systematically study the effects of number of electrons in each pulse and the duration between pulse arrival. Damage increases for both, though the number of electrons per pulse has a larger effect. A crossover is identified, where a pulsed beam causes more damage than a conventional one. Although qualitatively similar to previous findings, the degree to which damage is reduced in MAPbI3 is less than that observed for other materials (e.g., C36H74), supporting the hypothesis that the effects are material- and damage-mechanism-dependent. Despite this, the observation here of damage reduction for relatively large electron packets (up to 200 electrons per pulse) suggests that MAPbI3 is in fact less susceptible to irradiation than C36H74, which may be related to reported self-healing effects. This work provides insights into damage processes and durability in hybrid perovskites and also illustrates the viability of using pulsed-beam TEM to explore the associated molecular-level routes to degradation, analogous to laser-accelerated energetic pulsed electron beams and the study of damage to biomolecules, cells, and tissues in radiobiology.
A review of the deployment programs, impact, and barriers of renewable energy policies in Korea

Abstract Recently, renewable energy has dramatically grown in the power sector. In 2017, the global renewable energy capacity reached a total of 2,195 GW, and solar PV and wind power led to most global renewable energy growth. However, there are still numerous challenges to deploying renewable energy in power plants and buildings. Therefore, many countries are attempting to reform renewable energy policies to overcome drawbacks, using mandatory regulations, incentives and subsidies, and other support programs. In Korea, renewable energy policy started in the 1980s, but it has not been a high priority in national energy policies. However, in 2017, the government pledged a phase-out of nuclear plants and suggested renewable energy as alternative national energy sources for the future. Therefore, this study investigated the structure, drivers, and challenges of renewable energy policies in Korea. There have been many challenges in renewable energy policies to develop localized plans for Korea (i.e., rosy prospects of renewable energy projects, physical space restraints for renewable installations in buildings, and quantitative supply-oriented renewable policies). The outcome of this study would contribute to the development of improved policies to achieve the Renewable Energy 3020 Plan in Korea.
Passive acoustic detection and tracking of an unmanned underwater vehicle from motor noise

Using passive acoustics to distinguish unmanned underwater vehicles from other marine traffic in a complex environment and tracking a vehicle to understand its intent is critical for harbor security. Ships and boats can be classified by their unique acoustic signature due to machinery vibration and detection of envelope modulation on (cavitation) noise. However, cavitation noise of unmanned underwater vehicles is quieter than these vessels, and bearing-only measurements using a stationary array are insufficient for tracking. Tracking accuracy depends on the quality of acoustic measurements, such as high SNR, and observability, estimating vehicle state from the data available. In this work, we demonstrate that it is possible to passively track a vehicle from high-frequency motor noise using a stationary array in a shallow water experiment with passing boats. Motor noise provides high SNR measurements of bearing, bearing rate, propeller rotation, and range rate that are combined in an Unscented Kalman Filter to track the vehicle. First, receiver operating characteristic curves are generated to evaluate detection and false alarms. Conventional beamforming is applied to estimate bearing and bearing rate. Range rate is calculated from the Doppler effect of the motor noise. Propeller rotation is estimated from sideband spacings in the motor signature. [Work supported by Draper, ONR, and DARPA.]
Adapting our Flood Risk Policies to Changing Conditions

Flooding causes more damage and severely impacts more people worldwide than any other natural disaster. Flood risk in many parts of the United States is projected to increase due to both continued floodplain development and climate change. Many of our institutions and public policies are not designed to address these changing risk conditions. The practice of grandfathering insurance premiums in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)-allowing an insured to keep a lower rate even when risk has increased-is one such policy. We link a flood hazard model to a flood insurance premium calculator in order to provide illustrative calculations of the possible impact of grandfathering on program revenue and policyholder premiums due to sea level rise for a New York City neighborhood. We conclude by discussing how to preserve the financial soundness of the NFIP while addressing the affordability of insurance in the face of increasing flood risk.
PROFESSIONS AND BUSINESSES Athlete Agents: Expand Protection for Student Athletes from Athlete Agents

The Act changes the definition of the term athlete to protect student athletes while still enrolled in college even if they have completed their eligibility in a particular sport.