cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Almaden OptimalGrid project

In this paper, we present a description of the Almaden OptimalGrid Project, which is self-configuring, and optimizing grid middleware that makes it easy to harness the computational resources available on a computing grid. OptimalGrid incorporates the core tenants of autonomic computing $self-configuring, self-healing, and self-optimizing - to create an environment in which it is possible for application developers to exploit these features, without the need to either build them, or to code to external APIs. OptimalGrid implements autonomic functionality in a middleware layer allowing development of self-optimizing applications for a grid, without the need to be conscious of the underlying grid technology.
ORAL IMMUNIZATION WITH ACANTHAMOEBA CASTELLANII MANNOSE-BINDING PROTEIN AMELIORATES AMOEBIC KERATITIS

Acanthamoeba castellanii mannose-binding protein (MBP) mediates adhesion of the amoebae to corneal epithelial cells, a key first step in the pathogenesis of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), a devastating corneal infection. In the present study, we demonstrate that oral immunization with recombinant MBP ameliorates AK in a hamster animal model and that this protection is associated with the presence of elevated levels of anti-MBP immunoglobulin A in the tear fluid of the immunized animals.
High-dimensional Full-information Item Factor Analysis

Item factor analysis is unexcelled as a technique of exploration and discovery in the study of behavior. From binary-scored responses to a multiple-item test or scale, it determines the dimensionality of individual variation among the respondents and reveals attributes of the items defining each dimension. In practical test construction and scoring, it is the best guide to item selection and revision, as well as an essential preliminary step in justifying unidimensional IRT item analysis. Because hundreds of items may be analyzed jointly, the detail and generality that may be achieved exceeds that of any other procedure for exploring relationships among responses.
A Regional and Transdisciplinary Approach to Educating Secondary and College Students in Cyber-Physical Systems

Enormous challenges face our nation regarding the security, safety and efficient operation of cyber-physical infrastructure. At many levels, cyber-physical infrastructure presents systemic challenges. The same challenge represents an opportunity for education and economic development. Starting from the assertion that education and economic development initiatives are best aligned with regional goals, this paper proposes a regional, transdisciplinary approach for educating students in cyber-physical systems. The established disciplines relevant to the approach are identified, their principles extracted, and a transdisciplinary methodology is derived using Programs of Study as a framework for regional organization. The pilot application of this methodology in San Antonio, Texas, USA is described. The transdiscipline proposed creates a holistic, integrated culture, and the pragmatic foundation of Programs of Study provides a basis and context for immediate action and further research.
Neutralizing their involvement sex traffickers' discourse techniques

This article seeks to extend the sex trafficking literature by addressing the knowledge gap surrounding sex traffickers. In addition, this analysis broadens Antonopoulos and Winterdyk’s (2005) analysis by contending that sex traffickers in various sociohistorical contexts use neutralizations based on the intersectional vulnerabilities of their victims. An examination of the sociocultural influences on traffickers’ use of techniques of neutralization contributes to a deeper understanding of sex trafficking and its cultural and social bases. This is essential to combating the practice as effective countermeasures must address the motivations, cultural constructions, and exploitation of intersectional identities that support sex trafficking.
Nickel enzyme maturation in Helicobacter hepaticus: roles of accessory proteins in hydrogenase and urease activities

Helicobacter hepaticus, a causative agent of chronic hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma in mice, possesses a hydrogenase and a urease, both of which are nickel-containing enzymes. Analysis of the genome sequence of H. hepaticus revealed a full set of accessory genes which are required for the nickel maturation of each enzyme in other micro-organisms. Erythromycin-resistant mutants were constructed in four of these genes, hypA, hypB, ureE and ureG. Controls for polar effect were provided for hypA or hypB mutants by disrupting each gene located immediately downstream, i.e. hp0809 or hypC, respectively. Urease and hydrogenase activities were determined for each strain with or without supplemented nickel in the medium. As expected, the ureE and the ureG mutants had negligible urease activity, but they retained normal levels of hydrogenase activity. Urease levels could not be increased by the addition of nickel to the medium. The H. hepaticus hypA and hypB strains were deficient in both urease and hydrogenase activities, suggesting that both gene products act in a similar fashion as their counterparts in H. pylori. However, in contrast with the analogous mutants of H. pylori, the addition of nickel into the growth medium failed to restore either urease or hydrogenase enzyme levels in the H. hepaticus hypA or hypB mutants, indicating a probably unique role for these genes in the mouse liver pathogen.
The Empirical Evidence Conclusively Supports Global Investing

Although there still exits a sense of uneasiness in the stock market about global investing, the above average rate of returns and steady growth of international companies for the past ten years compels prudent investor to invest abroad. The main goal of this work is to examine the performance of foreign companies and compare their risk-adjusted returns to the returns of the US companies. In this process we selected the foreign companies that have been accepted by our financial market and traded in the US as ADR (American Depository Receipts) in NYSE or NASDAQ. Additionally, we have considered only those ADRs that had high volume and outperformed the industry index. Specifically, this study is going to address whether the performance of a global portfolio meets or surpasses the performance of a diversified domestic portfolio. More importantly the emphasis of this work is to determine whether the global portfolios consistently and significantly outperformed the US equity portfolios. The asset selection and the optimization process applied to domestic and international portfolios are identical to maintain consistency and comparability of the results. For each portfolio we used the 2003-2004 daily observations to optimize allocations and we used the 2005-2006 data to evaluate the performance of each portfolio.
The Effects of Restoration Age and Prescribed Burns on Grassland Ant Community Structure

North American grassland environments are endangered as a result of degradation and conversion for agriculture and housing. Efforts to manage and restore grasslands have traditionally focused on monitoring plant communities to determine restoration success, but the incorporation of animal communities may provide important benchmarks of ecosystem function and restoration. Ants play many roles in maintaining ecosystem health in temperate grasslands, but relatively little is known about how ant communities respond to restoration. We studied the role that restoration age and prescribed burns have on ant communities in two types of Illinois grasslands, prairies and savannas, and identify indicator species of restoration success. Grassland environments included remnants and restorations that varied in age from newly restored sites, to sites that have been under restoration for >15 yr. We demonstrate that prairie and savanna ant communities are distinct, but respond to restoration in a similar manner. Three distinct prairie ant assemblages were identified based on the age of restoration of a site-sites 5 yr, and remnant prairies. Four distinct savanna ant assemblages were identified based on the age of restoration of a site-sites 15 yr old, and remnant savanna environments. After accounting for restoration age, time since last burn in both prairie and savannas does not explain community composition or species richness. Several ant species in both prairies and savannas have predictable changes in incidence that indicate their suitability for use as indicator species.
Are BRCA1- and BRCA2-associated breast cancers different? Prognosis of BRCA1-associated breast cancer.

Purpose: To review the available literature regarding the outcome of breast cancer arising in the setting of a germline BRCA 1 mutation. Methods: Reports of relevant studies obtained from a search of MEDLINE and studies referenced in those reports were reviewed. In addition, data from a previously published study of breast conservation therapy among women of Ashkenazi descent were reanalyzed to discern the effect of germline BRCA 1 status. Results: Although BRCA1-associated breast cancers have been associated repeatedly with poor prognostic features, studies that examine the impact of germline BRCA status on outcome have not consistently shown an adverse effect of BRCA 1 mutations. In part, this may result from methodologic limitations of earlier trials. Recent studies that examine relatively unselected groups of Ashkenazi women have indicated a negative prognostic effect of specific BRCA1 mutations. It remains to be determined, however, whether BRCA 1 status is an independent prognostic factor and whether the findings can be generalized to other mutations. Conclusion: BRCA 1-associated breast cancers present with histopathologic features that seem to confer an adverse prognosis, at least in certain subgroups. However, it is not clear whether BRCA 1 status has an independent effect on outcome. Until further data become available, treatment for BRCA1-associated breast cancer should be determined by the same factors that influence therapy of nonhereditary disease.
Remix without Romance

A dominant argument in intellectual property scholarship asserts that technologies such as digital copying empower individuals to participate in the making of culture. Such participation involves individuals appropriating cultural material, “remixing” it with other elements, and “recoding” it by assigning it alternative meanings. By enabling more people to participate in culture, remixing and recoding supposedly enhance “semiotic democracy” and mitigate the dominance of the media industry. The same theorists who make this argument also tend to assert that copyright law is in need of significant reform because it inhibits recoding and thus stifles semiotic democracy. This Article challenges the empirical assertion that law inhibits remixing and recoding — but it also questions the normative assumption that recoding is presumptively good for semiotic democracy. These two positions reflect an overly romantic view of recoding as the oppressed embodiment of participatory culture. This Article focuses on a specific type of recoding: musical sampling (that is, the remixing of music through digital copying and other means). Sampling, particularly in hip-hop music, is frequently cited as a paradigmatic example of recoding that has been inhibited by intellectual property law. The legal history of sampling, however, suggests otherwise. Commentators have misread important judicial opinions about sampling and misunderstood the business practices of the music industry. At least in the sampling context, law has not prevented the reallocation of recoding rights by contract. While markets have been able to reallocate sampling rights, however, such transactions do not necessarily advance semiotic democracy, because market failures afflict the marketplace of ideas. In the cultural context, as in the political and economic contexts, formally equal opportunity to participate does not result in equality of influence, and can in fact exacerbate power imbalances. For example, legal and technological innovations (such as digital copying and the Internet) can enable cultural underdogs to recode the messages of media conglomerates and other dominant cultural institutions. But those same innovations also allow dominant institutions to appropriate from the underdog — and dominant institutions can then use their influence to “drown out” those independent voices with recoded meanings. Moreover, recoding by its nature involves the incorporation and repetition of dominant cultural messages. Such repetition can propagate and reinforce dominant messages, resulting in the cooptation of recoding, regardless of the recoder’s intent. In short, recoding is not clearly conducive to semiotic democracy. Rather, it is full of internal contradictions that make its relationship to semiotic democracy an ambivalent one.
INBREEDING: ITS EFFECT ON RESPONSE TO SELECTION FOR PUPAL WEIGHT AND THE HERITABLE VARIANCE IN FITNESS IN THE FLOUR BEETLE, TRIBOLIUM CASTANEUM.

We report our studies of the effect of inbreeding on the response to selection for increased pupal weight in the flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. We also report the effects of inbreeding and selection for pupal weight on the heritable variation in fitness and fitness components. We created replicate and independent inbred lines with F- values of 0.00, 0.375, and 0.672, by 0, 2, and 5 generations, respectively, of brother-sister mating of adult beetles from an outbred stock population. Subsequently, we imposed artificial within-family selection for increased pupal weight in each of 15 inbred lines for eight generations; each line had its own paired, unselected control. We compared the response to selection across the three levels of inbreeding with theoretical expectation, and investigated the effects of inbreeding and selection on fitness variation among families within all 30 selected and control lines. Among-line variation in pupal weight increased with increased inbreeding prior to selection but diminished with directional selection. Inbreeding reduced the realized heritability of pupal weight concordant with quantitative predictions of additive theory. Mean fitness, measured in several ways, declined with inbreeding and declined further with selection. In contrast, the genetic variation for fitness in the inbred and selected lines lines equalled or exceeded that of the outbred controls. Our results suggest that inbreeding and selection may affect traits in different ways depending on the relative amounts of additive and nonadditive genetic variation.
Removing anisotropic overburden effect for reliable reservoir fracture characterization

Summary Estimation of reservoir fracture parameters such as fracture orientation and density from seismic data is often difficult because of one important question: is the anisotropy caused by the reservoir interval alone or by the effect of the entire section above the reservoir? Usually hydrocarbon reservoirs represent a small portion of the seismic section, and inversion of reservoir anisotropic parameters can be easily obscured by the presence of anisotropic overburden. In this paper, we first show examples where we can clearly observe imprints of anisotropic overburden layers on the seismic response of the target zone. Next we present a simple method to remove the effect of the anisotropic overburden in order to recover true reservoir fracture parameters. It involves analyzing amplitude variation with offset and azimuth (AVOA) for top of reservoir reflection amplitude and for a layer below the reservoir. Seismic gathers are transformed to delay-time slowness (tau-p) domain. We calculate the ratio of the amplitude picked at the reservoir top and from the layer beneath the reservoir. This ratio is then used to remove the transmission effect from the overburden. The method is applied to two sets of models - one containing fractured reservoir with isotropic overburden and the other with anisotropic overburden. Conventional analysis in the x-t domain shows that the anisotropic overburden has completely obscured the anisotropic signature of the reservoir zone of interest. When the new method is applied, the overburden effect is significantly reduced and more reliable anisotropic fracture parameter estimates can be obtained.
Genetic and Biological Influences in the Evolution of Insecticide Resistance

Evolution of insecticide resistance, measured by the frequency of a resistant allele and by population size, was simulated on a computer. The effects of dominance, initial gene frequency, refugia, immigration, and reproductive potential were studied singly with a deterministic model. In all cases, resistance evolved eventually, although the rate at which this occurred varied. The slowest response to selection occurred when (1) the population was diluted by immigrants, (2) population density was drastically suppressed by severe selection, and (3) susceptible individuals had a reproductive advantage over their resistant counterparts.
Evaluation of fluorescent treponemal antibody (RFTA and FTA II) and other tests (RPCF and TPI) for syphilis.

SummaryFluorescent treponemal antibody tests (RFTA and FTA II) using hypochlorite-treated Reiter and Nichols strain treponemes, respectively, were compared with each other and with a Reiter protein complement-fixation (RPCF) test in a study of sera previously subjected to the Treponema pallidum immobilization (TPI) test. The fluorescent antibody (FA) tests were closely comparable in sensitivity and specificity for syphilis. The RPCF test was slightly more sensitive than either FA test, but yielded somewhat more “non-specific” reactions. It appeared that either FA test might serve as well as the RPCF test as a screening procedure in differentiating persons with latent syphilis from those whose sera react “non-specifically” with cardiolipin antigens. Considerations favoring selection of an FA test are simplicity of performance and the need for fewer reagents. Moreover, the RFTA test substitutes an organism that can be cultivated simply in vitro for one requiring maintenance in infected rabbits.
Studies on the Synthesis of Multifunctional Groups and Multibranched Compounds IV . Synthesis of Three-directional Ether-amide Bond Branched Macromolecules

The syntheses of the three - directional ether - amide bond branched macromolecules utilizing glycerol and nitromethane as three - directional initiator cores were described. Three branched monomers 1 ~ 3, possessing 3 - fold symmetry and branches emanating from a tetrahedral carbon branch point, were utilized as the key building block in the dendrimer syntheses. An extended group via ether bond was utilized for the circumvention of the steric crowding in the cores. The title compounds were respectively synthesized with three branched building blocks via amido linkage procedure. In just one and two generations, the number of the functional groups in the exterior layer of the multibranched compounds is thrice and nine - fold as that of initiator cores. The synthesis of the model compounds provides a route to the synthesis of other cascade molecules.
Optimal Hydrophobicity in Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization-Based Protein Mimics Required for siRNA Internalization

Exploring the role of polymer structure for the internalization of biologically relevant cargo, specifically siRNA, is of critical importance to the development of improved delivery reagents. Herein, we report guanidinium-rich protein transduction domain mimics (PTDMs) based on a ring-opening metathesis polymerization scaffold containing tunable hydrophobic moieties that promote siRNA internalization. Structure–activity relationships using Jurkat T cells and HeLa cells were explored to determine how the length of the hydrophobic block and the hydrophobic side chain compositions of these PTDMs impacted siRNA internalization. To explore the hydrophobic block length, two different series of diblock copolymers were synthesized: one series with symmetric block lengths and one with asymmetric block lengths. At similar cationic block lengths, asymmetric and symmetric PTDMs promoted siRNA internalization in the same percentages of the cell population regardless of the hydrophobic block length; however, with 20 re...
Maxillofacial Prosthetic Rehabilitation of the Patient with Head and Neck Cancer

An overview of the field of maxillofacial prosthetics has been presented. Current advances in the field have been discussed in brief. Soliciting the expertise of the prosthodontist preoperatively can greatly augment the total therapy of the head and neck cancer patient.
Influence of endothelin on piglet cerebral microcirculation

The purpose of this study was to determine responses of the newborn pig cerebral microcirculation to endothelin. Pial arterioles were observed directly using a closed cranial window in chloralose-anesthetized piglets. Topical application of endothelin derived from porcine endothelial cells produced increases in pial arteriolar diameter at the lowest concentration (0.1 ng/ml) (159 +/- 6 to 180 +/- 8 microns) and concentration-dependent decreases in pial arteriolar diameter at higher concentrations (141 +/- 6, 127 +/- 5, and 110 +/- 4 microns at 1, 10, and 100 ng/ml, respectively). Indomethacin (5 mg/kg iv) and aspirin (50 mg/kg iv) blocked dilator responses to endothelin and attenuated constrictor responses. Endothelin produced concentration-dependent increases in cortical periarachnoid cerebrospinal fluid levels of 6-ketoprostaglandin (6-keto-PG) F1 alpha, PGE2, PGF2 alpha, and thromboxane B2. Thus endothelin can produce either dilation or constriction of cerebral arterioles in newborn pigs, depending on concentration. Furthermore, prostanoids appear to mediate vasodilation induced by the lowest concentration of endothelin and contribute to constriction induced by higher concentrations of endothelin.
Polymer-clad silica fibers for tailoring modal area and dispersion

We demonstrate higher-order-mode (Aeff up to ∼2000 μm2) propagation in a 100 μm outer diameter pure-silica fiber with a low-index polymer jacket commonly used for fiber laser pump guidance. This simple structure obviates the need for complex designs deemed necessary for realizing large-mode-area fibers. Modes ranging from HE1,12 to HE1,22 were found to propagate stably over 15 m in this fiber. The index step is approximately 4 times larger than that obtained with fluorine down doping; thus the fiber supports even higher-order modes, which may have implications for building rare-earth-doped fiber lasers or achieving enhanced dispersion tunability for high-energy fiber nonlinear phenomena.
Anasazi Square Toe-Square Heel Twined Sandals: Construction and Cultural Attributes

ABSTRACTAnasazi square toe-square heel twined sandals have been attributed to the Basketmaker 11 period (about 200 B.C. to A.D. 450), but little has been published about their construction. This research presents detailed construction data for 20 of these sandals derived from unpublished laboratory notes left by Earl Morris and his research team. Sandal cultural attributes, including functional reasons for selection of construction features and comparative manual dexterity and skill requirements, are discussed. Raised techniques are illustrated and described to aid in their identification. These sandals have square fringe and/or bolster toes, square heels, and raised cross-tread on their soles. Among these 20 sandals are differing production techniques for starting, fringing, and bolstering the toe. Non-raised areas are constructed in plain weave or simple weft-faced twining. Raised techniques vary in complexity and include wrapping and/or twining. Red or black and red geometric motifs are produced by wra...
Synchronization of Transportation Strategies with Demand: A Prescriptive Model

Transportation managers are increasingly being asked to participate in various marketing-related tasks as well as to assume a more active role in formulating marketing and transportation strategies. As a means for assisting transportation managers to more effectively synchronize transportation strategies in relation to demand, the authors suggest that the product life cycle (PLC) theory be used as the organizing framework.
Increased expression of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 in the population with obesity and insulin resistance.

Objective Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM)−1 has recently been recognized as one of the potent amplifiers of acute and chronic inflammation. However, the exact role of TREM-1 in regard to insulin insensitivity is unknown. Methods mRNA transcripts and protein expression of TREM-1, TREM-2, and TREM-1/TREM-2 ratio were examined in the tissue biopsies (liver, omentum, and subcutaneous fat) and blood samples (neutrophils and monocytes) of subjects with obesity and diabetes (SO+ D+; n = 15), subjects with obesity but not diabetes (SO+ D−; n = 7), and subjects without obesity (BMI < 30) and diabetes (SO−D−; n = 5). Results The immunofluorescence and RT-PCR revealed significant increase in TREM-1, decrease in TREM-2, and increase in the TREM1/TREM2 ratio in SO+ D+ group compared with other groups. Overall, increased liver TREM-1 expression and soluble-TREM-1 were found in SO+ D+ group compared with SO+ D− group (100% vs. 57.14%, r = 0.582; P = 0.023). TREM-1 was significantly increased in all subjects with obesity and those with HOMA-IR index of >2. Conclusions TREM-1 was found to be significantly higher in tissues biopsies and blood of subjects with obesity. Greater expression and activity of TREM-1 suggest a possible role in the underlying pathophysiology of obesity and associated comorbidities.
Decreased home cage movement and oromotor impairments in adult Fmr1 -KO mice

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a common inherited disorder that significantly impacts family and patient day-to-day living across the entire life span. The childhood and adolescent behavioral consequences of FXS are well appreciated. However, there are significantly fewer studies (except those examining psychiatric comorbidities) assessing behavioral phenotypes seen in adults with FXS. Mice engineered with a genetic lesion of fragile X mental retardation 1 (Fmr1) recapitulate important molecular and neuroanatomical characteristics of FXS, and provide a means to evaluate adult behavioral phenotypes associated with FXS. We give the first description of baseline behaviors including feeding, drinking, movement and their circadian rhythms; all observed over 16 consecutive days following extensive environmental habituation in adult Fmr1-KO mutant mice. We find no genotypic changes in mouse food ingestion, feeding patterns, metabolism or circadian patterns of movement, feeding and drinking. After habituation, Fmr1-KO mice show significantly less daily movement during their active phase (the dark cycle). However, Fmr1-KO mice have more bouts of activity during the light cycle compared with wild types. In addition, Fmr1-KO mice show significantly less daily water ingestion during the circadian dark cycle, and this reduction in water intake is accompanied by a decrease in the amount of water ingested per lick. The observed water ingestion and circadian phenotypes noted in Fmr1-KO mice recapitulate known clinical aspects previously described in FXS. The finding of decreased movement in Fmr1-KO mice is novel, and suggests a dissociation between baseline and novelty-evoked activity for Fmr1-KO mice.
Structural Effects of Oncogenic PI3Kα Mutations

Physiological activation of PI3Kα is brought about by the release of the inhibition by p85 when the nSH2 binds the phosphorylated tyrosine of activated receptors or their substrates. Oncogenic mutations of PI3Kα result in a constitutively activated enzyme that triggers downstream pathways that increase tumor aggressiveness and survival. Structural information suggests that some mutations also activate the enzyme by releasing p85 inhibition. Other mutations work by different mechanisms. For example, the most common mutation, His1047Arg, causes a conformational change that increases membrane association resulting in greater accessibility to the substrate, an integral membrane component. These effects are examples of the subtle structural changes that result in increased activity. The structures of these and other mutants are providing the basis for the design of isozyme-specific, mutation-specific inhibitors for individualized cancer therapies.
Assessing Need for Systemwide Ramp Metering Installation Warrants

Warrants for ramp metering installation have been developed by a number of U.S. states. These warrants are generally simple and are based on the traffic, geometry, and safety conditions in the immediate vicinity of each ramp (local conditions). However, advanced applications of ramp metering use system-based metering algorithms that involve metering a number of on-ramps to address system bottlenecks. These algorithms have been proved to perform better compared with local ramp metering algorithms. This situation creates a disconnect between existing agency metering warrants to install the meters and the subsequent management and operations of the ramp meters. This study focused on assessing the need for system warrants in addition to local warrants for ramp metering installation to prevent traffic breakdown at bottleneck locations. A linear programming formulation combined with consideration of the stochasticity of bottleneck capacity was used to select the ramps to be metered on the basis of the system bo...
Improved power side channel attack resistance of a 128-bit AES engine with random fast voltage dithering

The paper demonstrates improved power side channel attack (PSCA) resistance of a 128-bit AES engine in 130nm CMOS using random fast voltage dithering (RFVD) enabled by integrated inductive voltage regulator (IVR) and all-digital clock modulation (ADCM). The measured power signatures at AES and IVR supply nodes show 9× reduction in peak test vector leakage assessment (TVLA) metric while also protecting encryption keys from correlation power analysis (CPA) attacks even after 500,000 encryption traces.
Payment Reform to Enhance Collaboration of Primary Care and Cardiology: A Review.

Importance The US health care system faces an unsustainable trajectory of high costs and inconsistent outcomes. The fee-for-service payment model has contributed to inefficiency, and new payment methods are a promising approach to improving value. Health reforms are needed to increase patient access, reduce costs, and improve health care quality, and the landmark Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act presents a roadmap for reform. The product of a collaboration between primary care and cardiology clinicians, this review describes a conceptual approach to delivery and payment reforms that aim to better support primary care-cardiology comanagement of chronic cardiovascular disease (CVD). Observations Few existing alternative payment models specifically address long-term management of CVD. Primary care medical homes and accountable care organizations come closest, but both emphasize primary care, and cardiologists have often not been well engaged. A collaborative care framework should articulate distinct roles and responsibilities for primary care and cardiology in CVD comanagement. Finally, a series of payment models aim to better support clinicians in providing accountable, seamless, and patient-centered cardiac care. Conclusions & relevance Clinical leadership is essential during this time of change in the health care system. Patients often struggle to navigate a fragmented and expensive system, whereas clinicians often practice with incomplete information about tests, treatments, and recommendations by their colleagues. The payment models described in this review offer an opportunity to create more satisfying approaches to patient care while improving value. These models have potential to support more effective coordination and to facilitate broader health care system transformation.
Effect of participation in a park-based afterschool program on cardiovascular disease risk among severely obese youth.

Abstract Objectives The prevalence of severe obesity in youth is rising, despite reports of obesity rates stabilizing overall. While reports on treatment outcomes for youth with severe obesity (bariatric surgery, behavioral and pharmacological treatments) exist, very few community-based programs have reported changes in health outcomes in this population. We assessed changes in cardiovascular health risk profiles among racial/ethnic minority youth with severe obesity who participated in Fit2Play™, a park-based afterschool health promotion program. Study design A longitudinal cohort study. Methods Children aged 6–14 years (N = 1546, 51% Hispanic, 44% non-Hispanic black) who participated in the Fit2Play™ in one of 34 urban park sites for one school year over five separate school years (2010–2015) had height, weight, four-site skinfold thicknesses, systolic blood pressure (SBP)/diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fitness tests, and a health/wellness knowledge test collected at the beginning and end of the school year. Two-level repeated measures mixed models examined changes in cardiovascular health outcomes (body mass index [BMI], skinfold thickness, systolic/diastolic blood pressure percentile [SBPP/DBPP], cardiorespiratory fitness [PACER]) in youth with severe obesity over 1- and 2-year follow-up. Results Compared with baseline, BMI decreased 13% (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.83–0.90), sumof skinfold thicknesses decreased 5% (IRR 95% CI: 0.91–0.99), SBPP decreased 5% (IRR 95% CI: 0.90–0.99), DBPP decreased 19% (IRR 95% CI: 0.77–0.86), and PACER scores increased 12% (IRR 95% CI: 1.0–1.27) after two years of participation in the Fit2Play™ program. Conclusions Findings here support community/park-based youth programs as effective and accessible treatment options for reducing cardiovascular disease risk among youth with severe obesity.
Parents’ mobile relational maintenance in resource-constrained contexts: Barriers and facilitating access conditions:

Mobile phones have become central to family members’ daily communication. This study investigates the material and skills access barriers that parents of adolescents in resource-constrained context...
Topical vancomycin for surgical prophylaxis in non-instrumented pediatric spinal surgeries.

Retrospective cohort study. To determine if topical vancomycin irrigation reduces the incidence of post-operative surgical site infections following pediatric spinal procedures. Surgical site infections (SSIs) following spinal procedures performed in pediatric patients represent a serious complication. Prophylactic use of topical vancomycin prior to closure has been shown to be effective in reducing incidence of SSIs in adult spinal procedures. Non-instrumented cases make up the majority of spinal procedures in pediatric patients, and the efficacy of prophylactic topical vancomycin in these procedures has not previously been reported. This retrospective study reviewed all non-instrumented spinal procedures performed over a period from 05/2014–12/2016 for topical vancomycin use, surgical site infections, and clinical variables associated with SSI. Topical vancomycin was utilized as infection prophylaxis, and applied as a liquid solution within the wound prior to closure. Ninety-five consecutive, non-instrumented, pediatric spinal surgeries were completed between 01/2015 and 12/2016, of which the last 68 utilized topical vancomycin. There was a 11.1% SSI rate in the non-topical vancomycin cohort versus 0% in the topical vancomycin cohort (P = 0.005). The number needed to treat was 9. There were no significant differences in risk factors for SSI between cohorts. There were no complications associated topical vancomycin use. Routine topical vancomycin administration during closure of non-instrumented spinal procedures can be a safe and effective tool for reducing SSIs in the pediatric neurosurgical population.
Software Performance and Reliability Prediction

In the vision of SLA@SOI, providers of software services give guarantees as to the specific quality of service (QoS) properties for the services they offer. These properties may relate to performance, reliability, or to other quality characteristics of the offered services. Service level agreements (SLAs) capture the QoS guarantees and represent a contract between service providers and service customers.
RECENT ADVANCES IN THE CHEMISTRY OF PENTABORANE(9)

Abstract New investigations of pentaborane(9) in the areas of halogenation, isomerization, coupling reactions and metalloborane synthesis are discussed within the framework of previous knowledge and more recent revelations.
Methylene Blue Staining and Endoscopic Ultrasound Evaluation of Barrett's Esophagus with Low-Grade Dysplasia

This study was performed to determine if either methylene blue staining or endoscopic ultrasound helped direct biopsies in patients with a history of Barrett's esophagus with low-grade dysplasia. Patients underwent radial endoscopic ultrasound scanning to measure esophageal wall thickness, followed by endoscopy with methylene blue staining and biopsies. Mean esophageal wall thickness for squamous mucosa (2.3 ± 0.2 mm), nondysplastic Barrett's (2.6 ± 0.2 mm), and Barrett's with dysplasia (2.9 ± 0.3 mm) were similar. With staining, Barrett's mucosa stained blue more often than gastric epithelium (68% vs 15%, respectively; P < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity for strong staining detecting Barrett's were 68% and 85%, respectively. Barrett's with low-grade dysplasia stained blue less frequently (52%) than nondysplastic Barrett's (74%; P < 0.05), but the positive predictive value for poor staining indicating dysplasia was 41%. Endoscopic ultrasound was not helpful in directing biopsies in these patients. The utility of methylene blue for detecting dysplasia needs further investigation.
Adverse events with G-CSF for neutropenia in cancer.

e18762Background: Granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is used to treat chemotherapy-induced neutopenia. This study examined patient characteristics and adverse events (AE) for G-CSF, incl...
Phonologically determined nominal concord as post-syntactic: Evidence from Guébie

This paper brings novel data to bear on whether nominal concord relationships are formed in the narrow syntax or post-syntactically. In Guebie, a Kru language spoken in Cote d’Ivoire, nominal concord marking on non-human pronouns and adjectives is determined not by syntactic or semantic features of the concord-triggering noun, but by the phonological form of the noun. Specifically, concord marking on pronouns and adjectives surfaces as a vowel with the same backness features as the vowels of the head noun. Assuming that syntax is phonology-free (Pullum & Zwicky 1986, 1988), the fact that we see phonological features conditioning nominal concord in Guebie means that nominal concord must take place in the post-syntax. I expand on post-syntactic models of nominal concord in Distributed Morphology (Kramer 2010, Norris 2014, Baier 2015) showing that when combined with a constraint-based phonology, such an approach can account for both phonologically and syntactico-semantically determined concord systems. Additionally, the proposed analysis includes a formal account of ellipsis via constraints during the phonological component.
Plasma GH as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in HCC without cirrhosis.

227Background: The association between the GH/IGF-1 axis and HCC was reported in patients (pt) with underlying cirrhosis. However, there is limited information among HCC pt without (w/o) cirrhosis....
Accidental Spinal Anesthesia with Etidocaine

Etidocaine, 250 mg, intended for the epidural space was accidentally injected intrathecally. The CSF and blood levels of etidocaine are correlated with levels of sensory and motor anesthesia. The effectiveness of removing CSF and replacement with 20 mg aliquots of saline was assessed. Calculation of the volume of distribution is presented. The advisability of a 4 to 6 minute evaluation period after injection of a test dose is discussed. The patient had complete recovery of sensory and motor function.
Differenzialdiagnose und Therapie von Halluzinationen bei Parkinson-Syndromen

Bei der Parkinson-Krankheit kann es in allen Phasen zu verschiedenen psychischen Auffalligkeiten kommen. Die Erkrankung ist durch ein Spektrum von Illusionen, Halluzinationen und Wahnvorstellungen gekennzeichnet, die wahrend des Krankheitsverlaufs auftreten konnen. Die zugrundeliegende Pathologie scheint die Suszeptibilitat fur Halluzinationen und Psychosen zu bedingen, dopaminerge Medikation und andere Einflussfaktoren konnen die Expression von psychotischen Symptomen modulieren.
On Inference When Using State Corporate Laws for Identification

A popular research design identifies the effects of corporate governance by (changes in) state laws, clustering standard errors by state of incorporation. Using Monte-Carlo simulations, this paper shows that conventional statistical tests based on these standard errors dramatically overreject: in a typical design, randomly generated “placebo laws” are “significant” at the 1/5/10% level 9/21/30% of the time. This poor coverage is due to the extremely unequal cluster sizes, especially Delaware's concentration of half of all incorporations. Fixes recommended in the literature fail, including degrees-of-freedom corrections and the cluster wild bootstrap. The paper proposes a permutation test for valid inference.
First Nations/Native Americans and Religion: Bibliographic Conversation and Recommendations

A quick search using the subject “Indians of North America – Religion” in Bridwell Library’s catalog retrieved 130 results out of a collection of about 490,000 volumes. This suggests (a) The Library of Congress may want to consider revising some of its subject headings (but that is a topic for another time), (b) religious and spiritual practices among native North Americans/First Nations are not widely studied by our students. While there are certainly exceptions, likely this situation is not unique among theological libraries. This session represents an effort to rectify this by sharing and inviting colleagues to share recommendations of resources on spirituality and religious beliefs and practices of various native North American/First Nations groups and their relation to the faith traditions that are more broadly represented in our collections.
Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind: Katrina 15 Years After

The historical and empirical evidence presented in this special section highlights the lessons learned that can be directly useful for public health policy, intervention, and practice to mitigate the dire consequences ofhurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters Previous AJPH editorials, "Public Health Disasters: Be Prepared," which outlines the dilemma public health emergency preparedness professionals and societies face in paying the price for preparedness,1 and "Medical Countermeasures: A Stitch in Time Saves Nine,"2 which notes the competing choices to be made among priorities, help our thinking with respect to preventing untoward things from occurring in the first place (primary prevention) and preventing things that do occur from becoming even more serious (secondary prevention) "SOWING THE WIND" Perhaps, in the broadest view-and especially cogent in the light of the current level of raised awareness of the systemic racism still highly prevalent in the United States-the sowing ofthe wind of systemic racism reaped the whirlwind of much of the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in terms ofloss oflife and property that disproportionally affected Blacks (even considering their large percentage of the population), who were living in poorer areas at high risk for flooding, had less opportunities for early evacuation to areas of safety, and had higher levels of preexisting medical conditions that made them more vulnerable to the trauma and stress of Katrina
Perceptions and recommendation behaviors of dermatologists for medical cannabis: A pilot survey.

Abstract Objectives Evidence suggests that cannabinoids may provide therapeutic benefit to patients with dermatologic conditions. The recommendation behaviors of dermatologists with regards to recommending medical cannabis are unknown. We administered a pilot survey to evaluate dermatologists’ recommendation behaviors including dermatologic indications and formulation preferences. Design A cross-sectional study was done to sample dermatologists using a 24-question survey. Setting Online survey through SurveyMonkey® that was distributed via Orlando Dermatology Aesthetic and Clinical Conference’s mailing list, including thousands of practicing dermatologists. Main outcome measures Descriptive data of dermatologists’ recommendation behaviors of medical cannabis are described. Fisher’s exact test and Chi-Square tests were used to compare recommendation behaviors by gender, age, years in practice, and residency legality. Results The survey was sent to 7176 individuals; of the 28.7 % who opened the email, 2.2 % completed the survey (N = 145). 91 % of dermatologists were in support of medical cannabis use and 13.8 % have recommended it for a dermatologic condition. Atopic dermatitis (45 %) and psoriasis (40 %) were the most common. The most common form of administration was topical (75 %). The main reasons for not recommending medical cannabis were limited knowledge (56 %) and lack of experience (48 %). Conclusions Cutaneous inflammatory and pruritic conditions such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis were the most common reasons dermatologists recommended medical cannabis in our survey. Respondents’ recommendation patterns may have been limited by limited by lack of knowledge or experience with medical cannabis. The small sample size of our survey limits generalizability to the dermatology field and warrants further investigation.
A Wavelet Exploration of the Q0957+561 A,B brightness Record

We analyze the Q0957+561 A,B brightness record with 3 types of wavelets to define properties that are independent of the nature of the analyzing wavelet. The wavelet analysis picks out features having arbitrary shape, and localizes them in time and fits amplitudes. We find that independently of the analyzing wavelet, the mean wavelet amplitude is zero, meaning that there are as many positive as negative brightness spikes. For all wavelet durations the fitted amplitudes are equal in the A and B images, except that image B may have larger amplitude brightness fluctuations for the longest duration 64-day features. Independently of the wavelet family fitted or of the kind of statistical measure of wavelet amplitude, the fitted amplitudes seem to increase as a linear function of the wavelet duration, with the mean absolute deviation about a factor of 10 greater for 64-day wavelets than for 2-day wavelets. The underlying physical process producing the brightness fluctuations is found to have more power in long duration wavelets than in short duration wavelets than a process dominated by white noise. Thus it is established that the rapid brightness fluctuations observed in the Q0957 images A and B are not the result of observational noise.