cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Web-based trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tolterodine ER 4 mg in participants with overactive bladder: REMOTE trial

Abstract Introduction Participatory patient-centered, web-based methods could streamline and improve the convenience of clinical trial participation. We used an entirely web-based approach to conduct a randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase 4 (REMOTE) trial under an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to evaluate tolterodine extended release (ER) 4 mg for overactive bladder. Methods The trial was designed to replicate previous clinic-based trials of tolterodine ER but was conducted via the web from one clinical site overseen by physicians. Participants were recruited via the web, screened for eligibility using web-based questionnaires, had laboratory testing in their community, and entered a run-in phase requiring bladder e-diaries. Informed consent was obtained using an interactive web-based method with physician countersignature. Study medication was shipped directly to participants. Results With a goal of 283 randomized participants, 5157 registered on the trial website. Of 456 who passed initial screening, identification verification, and signed consent, 237 passed additional medical screening and were countersigned by the investigator. After laboratory testing, 118 entered the placebo run-in; only 18 passed e-diary assessments and were randomized to treatment. At week 12, the mean change from the baseline in micturitions/24 hours (primary endpoint) was − 2.4 for tolterodine ER versus − 0.8 for placebo [treatment difference (95% CI): − 1.6 (− 3.9, 0.6)]. Conclusion The REMOTE trial is the first entirely web-based trial conducted under an IND application. The efficacy observed was consistent with results from conventional trials. With simplification of multi-step screening and testing, web-based trials or their component parts should provide a participant-friendly approach to many clinical trials.
Antenna Selection Diversity Based MAC Protocol for MIMO Ad Hoc Wireless Networks

In this paper, we propose a novel asynchronous media access control (MAC) protocol, opportunistic MAC (OMAC), for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) ad-hoc networks. The proposed solution is based on closed loop minimal feedback antenna selection diversity scheme and optimum receive combining. The use of antenna selection diversity contributes to a reduction in the feedback information and the effective interference produced. To utilize the spatial degrees of freedom offered by MIMO, we propose the use of a novel rank based metric to obtain interference information as well as to enable multiple simultaneous transmissions and to make MAC decisions. The rank of the interference matrix, (R I) is used as a metric. We present the performance of the proposed solution from the throughput perspective for a single hop ad-hoc wireless network. Through analysis and simulation, we found that the proposed protocol significantly outperforms 802.11 MIMO and it obtained as high spatial degree of freedom utilization as 85%.
Review of progress in shape-memory polymers

Shape-memory polymers (SMPs) have attracted significant attention from both industrial and academic researchers due to their useful and fascinating functionality. This review thoroughly examines progress in shape-memory polymers, including the very recent past, achieved by numerous groups around the world and our own research group. Considering all of the shape-memory polymers reviewed, we identify a classification scheme wherein nearly all SMPs may be associated with one of four classes in accordance with their shape fixing and recovering mechanisms and as dictated by macromolecular details. We discuss how the described shape-memory polymers show great potential for diverse applications, including in the medical arena, sensors, and actuators.
Identifying and Evaluating the Therapeutic Strategies Used During a Manualized Self-Advocacy Intervention for Transition-Age Youth

Prior to undertaking randomized control trials, pilot research should ensure that an intervention's active ingredients are operationalized in manuals or protocols. This study identified the strategies facilitators reported to use during the implementation of a problem-solving self-advocacy intervention, Project "Teens making Environment and Activity Modifications" (TEAM), with transition-age youth with developmental disabilities, and evaluated the alignment of strategies with the intervention's hypothesized mechanisms of change. An iterative process was used to conduct a content analysis of 106 field notes completed by six facilitators. Facilitators used 19 strategies. Findings suggest that facilitators used strategies simultaneously to ensure universal design for learning, maximize relevance for individual trainees, and maintain a safe and encouraging environment. Facilitators can individualize Project TEAM in a way that operationalizes the mechanisms of change underlying Project TEAM. The quality of the intervention may improve by explicitly incorporating these strategies into the intervention protocol. The strategies may also be applicable to therapists implementing interventions informed, by similar theoretical propositions.
Isothermal Crack Healing and Strength Recovery in UO2 Subjected to Varying Degrees of Thermal Shock

Isothermal crack healing and strength recovery were investgated in UO/sub 2/ pellets subjected to varying degrees of thermal shock by water quenching. It is shown, as was speculated in an earlier paper, that crack density and/or crack width in the specimen strongly influence the subsequent healing behavior. Experimental data were used to demonstrate that, under the present thermal shock conditions, the time required for complete healing increased exponentially with the number of cracks/unit length of the specimen.
A phase III randomized trial comparing concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy with radiotherapy alone in resectable stage III and IV squamous cell head and neck cancer: preliminary results.

Background A phase III randomized comparison of radiotherapy alone versus combination chemotherapy and concurrent continuous-course radiotherapy was performed at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Methods Between March 1990 and June 1995, 100 patients with resectable stage III and IV squamous cell head and neck cancer were randomized to either Arm A: radiotherapy alone, 68–72 Gy at 1.8–2.0 Gy per day; or to Arm B: the identical radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy. Chemotherapy consisted of 5-fluorouracil, 1000 mg/m2/day, and cisplatin 20 mg/m2/day, both given as continuous intravenous infusions over 4 days beginning on day 1 and day 22 of the radiotherapy. At 50–55 Gy, patients were clinically reassessed. If a response was evident, radiotherapy was completed. In non-responding patients, however, radiotherapy was terminated and surgery recommended. After completion of all treatment, salvage surgery was performed, if possible, for any residual primary or nodal disease or for any subsequent locoregional recurrence. Results Except for an overrepresentation of T1 patients on Arm A, the treatment arms were equivalent. Toxicity was greater in the patients on Arm B with a higher incidence of grade III and IV neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, cutaneous reaction, and mucositis. Feeding tubes were also required more often, and weight loss was greater on the chemotherapy arm. No toxic deaths occurred. With a median follow-up of 36 months, the Kaplan-Meier 3-year projections of relapse-free survival are 52% for Arm A and 67% for Arm B (p = .03), and the likelihood of developing hematogenous metastases is 21% for Arm A and 10% for Arm B (p = .04). Although overall survival is not significantly different, overall survival with successful primary site preservation was 35% for Arm A and 57% for Arm B (p = .02). This difference remains statistically significant in the subsets of patients with laryngeal and hypopharyngeal primaries but not in patients with oropharyngeal primaries. Conclusions Continuous-course radiotherapy and concurrent combination chemotherapy is an intensive, toxic but tolerable treatment regimen, which, when compared with radiotherapy alone, can produce an improvement in relapse-free survival, a decrease in distant metastases, and an improvement in overall survival with successful primary site preservation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck19: 567–575, 1997.
The Giardia genome project database

The Giardia genome project database provides an online resource for Giardia lamblia (WB strain, clone C6) genome sequence information. The database includes edited single-pass reads, the results of BLASTX searches, and details of progress towards sequencing the entire 12 million-bp Giardia genome. Pre-sorted BLASTX results can be retrieved based on keyword searches and BLAST searches of the high throughput Giardia data can be initiated from the web site or through NCBI. Descriptions of the genomic DNA libraries, project protocols and summary statistics are also available. Although the Giardia genome project is ongoing, new sequences are made available on a bi-monthly basis to ensure that researchers have access to information that may assist them in the search for genes and their biological function. The current URL of the Giardia genome project database is www.mbl.edu/Giardia.
Transmissible Congenital Demyelinating Encephalopathy of Lambs

Twenty-two fetal lambs were inoculated in utero with tissue suspension prepared from lambs born with weakness, incoordination and clonic tremor. Clinically, affected newborn lambs had clonic tremor, were generally weak and had abnormally pigmented hairy fleece. The inoculation resulted in a disseminated encephalomyelitis with secondary teratologic changes in a significant number of fetuses. The mononuclear inflammatory changes were most obvious 14 days after inoculation, after which there was rapid resolution. Changes seen at birth were chronic astrocytosis with neuron loss in the spinal cord and cerebellar dysplasia. Single radioimmunodiffusion studies showed consistently low IgG in infected fetuses and high IgG in lambs at birth.
Panel-human performance in virtual environments

The panel embraces a number of pertinent design issues in this rapidly advancing technologic area. The issues to be discussed include: telepresence I/O device design issues to include haptic design issues for telesurgery; cybersickness issues and perceptual inputs; general HF design issues and lessons learned in VR; perceptual motor requirements and behavioral goals/ID of optimal display media and system object manipulation paradigms; VR issues in medical systems; VR tool development and perceptual considerations; and immersive object manipulation methods.
Diffusion of Salt, Fatty Acids, and Esterases in Mozzarella Cheese

Abstract Diffusion rates of sodium chloride, butanoic acid, octanoic acid, and pregastric esterase in Mozzarella cheese were estimated. Solutions of sodium chloride, butanoic acid, octanoic acid, and carbon-14 labeled pregastric esterase were absorbed into chromatography paper, these “paper wicks” were placed between two slabs of cheese, and rates of migration of the solutes in cheese were measured. The approximate equilibration times of sodium chloride, butanoic acid, and octanoic acid over a 1.5 cm-thick section of Mozzarella cheese were 7, 28, 160 days. Pregastric calf esterase did not migrate during 11 wk of diffusion, probably because of its high molecular weight. Diffusion of sodium chloride, the smallest molecule evaluated, was equivalent across or parallel to the fibrous structure of Mozzarella cheese. Butanoic acid applied to the paper wick as a water or octanol solution migrated at equal rates, suggesting that butanoic acid should migrate freely through either water or fat phases of cheese.
Management implications of spatiotemporal non-stationarity in municipal water consumption patterns and drivers

Abstract This study analyzed the individual and joint influences of social, urban, and physical drivers on patterns of county-scale municipal water consumption (MWC) the for the state of Texas using a cross-sectional research design on three distinct temporal slices (1990, 2000, and 2010). Global multiple linear regression models and measures of global and local spatial association were combined to determine which drivers significantly influenced county-scale per capita MWC, whether or not the statistically significant drivers varied over time, and to assess the degree to which the patterns and drivers of MWC exhibited spatial stationarity. Overall results suggested the social, urbanized, and physical environments contributed significantly to the patterns of per capita MWC to varying degrees in each year. The social and urbanized environments consistently exerted the strongest influences on per capita MWC, while the physical environment was generally less important. The social environment had the greatest cumulative influence in all three years, and the urbanized environment singly accounted for the majority of the variation in per capita MWC when the joint influences of the other significant drivers were considered. Spatial analysis of MWC patterns and drivers suggested that they both exhibited weak to moderate degrees of spatial non-stationarity in each year, as well as that MWC patterns and drivers may be sensitive to regional and climatic boundaries. Identification of temporally consistent MWC drivers merged with longitudinal and cross-sectional research designs can improve water management strategies by offering managers greater insight into the relationships between landscape change and water consumption patterns.
Altered photoemission satellites at CaF 2 - and SrF 2 -on-Si(111) interfaces

Bulk and interface photoemission satellite excitations, measured with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron diffraction, are compared for thick, thin, and monolayer films of ${\mathrm{CaF}}_{2}$ and ${\mathrm{SrF}}_{2}$ on Si(111). Intrinsic satellites are observed for excitation of atoms in the first monolayer, both uncovered and at the buried interface, that differ from those associated with bulk atoms. For F 1s excitation, the bulk and interface satellites differ only in width and amplitude; for the cation core excitations (Ca 2p, Sr 3p, and Sr 3d), the observed excitation energies and intensities differ both from the equivalent bulk satellites and among the various core hole states. The results yield new information on the nature of the interface bonding, as well as on the origin of both bulk and interface satellites. Several models are considered, including differential screening, dielectric losses, crystal-field and multiplet effects, and interface excitation. The most likely explanation for the new cation satellites at the ${\mathrm{CaF}}_{2}$/Si(111) [${\mathrm{SrF}}_{2}$/Si(111)] interface is localized excitation of the interface bond, where the interface band gap is controlled by the collapse of the Ca 3d (Sr 4d) level in the presence of the Ca (Sr) core hole. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Subjectivity, complexity and the social world Erikson's identity concept and contemporary relational theories

Erik. Erikson's concept of identity, reworked from the perspective of contemporary relational theory, is used to propose an integrative, dialectical view of subjectivity. This view captures dimensions of personal experience and personality organization that have stayed peripheral to most psychoanalytic discourse, from whatever point of view: Personal experience is created and re‐created at the threshold of the intrapsychic and the social, such that they are inextricable, and this ubiquitous transaction is itself experienced as the ground and location of how it feels to be a person. Simultaneously, the vitality of personal experience rests on the dynamic synthesis of unity and complexity; this transactional perspective emerges amid the integration of diverse elements of personal experience, such as identity and intimacy, the past and the present, and the world of internal object representations and external relationships. Subjectivity is essentially constructed in the context of relationships; that is, it ...
Spanish Mutual Funds: Short-Term Performance and Market Timing

This paper examines the short-term performance and market timing ability of equity mutual funds in Spain between 1990 and 2015. Using a sample of daily returns, we document strong evidence of performance persistence and market timing ability across deciles in the post-ranking quarter. We document that not only the best and worst managers show persistence in the ability to select stocks. Our evidence is robust across several performance models and on the state of the business cycle. We also document that successful fund managers adjust the market exposure of fund portfolios in reaction to macroeconomic predictions. Our results suggest that a sample of Spanish mutual funds exploit the predictability of market returns documented in the finance literature and investors could obtain higher returns by following a simple buy-and-hold strategy.
License to Steal: How the Creative Identity Entitles Dishonesty

Organizations operate in an increasingly uncertain and changing world. Competition on the domestic and international fronts is intense, and organizations must create new products, strategies, services, and methods for maneuvering in the changing environment. As a result, organizations are recognizing the value of employees’ creativity as a way to innovate and maintain a competitive advantage (Thompson, 2003). Researchers and organizations are now beginning to explore how having a creative identity can increase creativity (Farmer, Tierney, & Kung-Mclntyre, 2003; Jaussi, Randel, & Dionne, 2007). Given the power of identities for shaping performance outcomes (Ashforth & Mael, 1989; Beyer & Hannah, 2002; Wrzesniewski, Dutton, & Debebe, 2003), it is not surprising that recent research has begun to explore how the creative identity can also motivate creative behavior.
The Grounding and Shielding Technical Analysis on the Measurement System of Delicacy Signal

Several grounding methods usually used in measurement system are discussed and a few conclusions on grounding in the design of delicacy signal measurement system same are gotten. The shielding technology related to the grounding is introduced also, and the principles should be followed in design are pointed out.
Discussion on research progress of piston compressor

Introduce the history and classification of piston compressors,illustrates the novel structure of the piston compressor and the optimization of the configuration of the valve. With the development of electronic technology,describes the control system and fault diagnosis system of piston compressor,such as the compressor displacement control system,compressor system fault diagnosis system,compressor rod fatigue failure and fault diagnosis system. Describes the compressor' s CAD system development and research work,which has great significance for the optimal design of the compressor. Finally,the CO2 compressor,which provides a reference for piston compressor applications in specific areas.
[Evaluation and treatment of hyponatremia (author's transl)].

Bei jedem Patienten mit Hyponatriamie mus man die Ursache der Elektrolytstorung bestimmen. Dazu kann man eine differentialdiagnostische Zuordnung benutzen, die vom extrazellularen Flussigkeitsvolumen des Patienten ausgeht. Daneben ist die Natriumkonzentration im Urin nutzlich in der Differentialdiagnose. Fur die Behandlung hyponatriamischer Zustande ist Ausschaltung der Ursachen und Flussigkeitsrestriktion wesentlich. In bestimmten Fallen ist jedoch Mangel an extrazellularem Flussigkeitsvolumen die Ursache der Hyponatriamie und mus als erster Schritt der Behandlung korrigiert werden. Fur kritische, symptomatische Falle wird eine Methode zur beschleunigten Korrektur der Hyponatriamie beschrieben. Sie kombiniert den Effekt bestimmter Diuretika, wie z.B. Furosemid, mit intravenosem, hypertonischem Ersatz der Elektrolytverluste im Urin. Die Anwendbarkeit einer neuen Droge auf dem Gebiet der Hyponatriamie — Demeclocyclin Hydrochlorid — wird diskutiert.
Changing International Division of Labour in the Electronics Industry

This chapter is concerned with the implications for labour forces of the emergence and transformation of a number of related international divisions of labour in the electronics industry. It describes the locational and technical features of these divisions of labour and outlines their causal dynamics. Throughout, however, the report emphasizes that issues of employment, wages, working conditions, etc. should be seen as only part of our concern. Equally as important as these are the questions of whether investment by multinational enterprises or domestic companies, in addition to the generation of jobs, leads over time to more technology-intensive production processes and products, a proliferation of human capabilities through linkages to domestic suppliers, and thus to the creation of higher value added in the economy. Only in this way can demands for higher skill, higher wage forms of employment be realized and general prosperity, together with low levels of income inequality, begin to be delivered.
Wood Extractives Promote Cellulase Activity on Cellulosic Substrates

Deposition of hydrophobic wood extractives and representative model compounds, on the surface of cellulose prior to enzymatic hydrolysis was found to either enhance or inhibit the action of cellulase enzymes. The effect of these compounds was correlated with their chemical structure, which may in part explain the differential effects observed between softwood and hardwood extractives. Specifically, the addition of sterol, enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose by 54%, whereas the addition of a triglyceride could inhibit the hydrolysis by 49%. The effects of the different extractives’ could be explained by considering their Hansen solubility parameters. The amphiphilic and/or hydrophobic character of model extractives was found to be the variable that affected the deposition of extractives on cellulose surfaces and the eventual adsorption of cellulolytic enzymes on it. The observed beneficial effects of extractives are likely related to a reduction in the irreversible binding of the en...
In Vivo Bioluminescent Imaging of ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter-Mediated Efflux at the Blood–Brain Barrier

We provide a detailed protocol for imaging ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2) function at the blood-brain barrier (BBB) of transgenic mice. D-Luciferin is specifically transported by ABCG2 found on the apical side of endothelial cells at the BBB. The luciferase-luciferin enzymatic reaction produces bioluminescence, which allows a direct measurement of ABCG2 function at the BBB. Therefore bioluminescence imaging (BLI) correlates with ABCG2 function at the BBB and this can be measured by administering luciferin in a mouse model that expresses luciferase in the brain parenchyma. BLI allows for a relatively low-cost alternative for studying transporter function in vivo compared to other strategies such as positron emission tomography. This method for imaging ABCG2 function at the BBB can be used to investigate pharmacokinetic inhibition of the transporter.
Design and integration of a problem-based biofabrication course into an undergraduate biomedical engineering curriculum

The rapidly evolving discipline of biological and biomedical engineering requires adaptive instructional approaches that teach students to target and solve multi-pronged and ill-structured problems at the cutting edge of scientific research. Here we present a modular approach to designing a lab-based course in the emerging field of biofabrication and biological design, leading to a final capstone design project that requires students to formulate and test a hypothesis using the scientific method. Students were assessed on a range of metrics designed to evaluate the format of the course, the efficacy of the format for teaching new topics and concepts, and the depth of the contribution this course made to students training for biological engineering careers. The evaluation showed that the problem-based format of the course was well suited to teaching students how to use the scientific method to investigate and uncover the fundamental biological design rules that govern the field of biofabrication. We show that this approach is an efficient and effective method of translating emergent scientific principles from the lab bench to the classroom and training the next generation of biological and biomedical engineers for careers as researchers and industry practicians.
Comparison of Diabetic Foot Amputation in Egypt with the United States

The prevalence of diabetic foot amputation is decreasing in both in Egypt and the United States but with greater prevalence in the United States. Egypt's diabetes-related healthcare expenditure is a fraction of the United States' and lacks primary health care monitoring but yet has a lower prevalence of diabetic foot amputation. Environmental factors may play a pivotal role in the prevalence of diabetic foot amputation and further studies are required to identify the cause of this phenomenon.
Molecular diagnostics in the management of rhabdomyosarcoma

Introduction: A classification of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) with prognostic relevance has primarily relied on clinical features and histologic classification as either embryonal or alveolar RMS. The P...
A FALSE-POSITIVE STRESS ECHOCARDIOGRAM IS NOT THE SAME AS A NEGATIVE RESULT

Background: Stress echocardiography (SE) is commonly used in ED patients with symptoms concerning for acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Prior studies have found the false positive (FP) rate of SE, as well as other stress testing modalities, in this setting, is greater than 50%. We sought to determine
Averaging approach to feedback control of bifurcation phenomena

Abstract In many cases unstable behavior of nonlinear systems can be better described as bifurcations occurring due to variation of actual or artificial systems parameters which attracts significant attention to a problem of robust and efficient control of bifurcation phenomena. This paper describes a method for robust control of local bifurcations and correspondent stability conditions. Control design is proposed as a three-step procedure which includes transformation of uncontrolled system to its averaged form, design of a control as function of systems unstable slow (averaged) variables and recovering of the control as function of initial measurable variables. This procedure directly controls the rate of decay of unstable systems modes and leaves uncontrolled their stable and oscillatory components, which decreases delay and better matches robustness and efficiency criteria.
State Aid: Arm's-Length on Appeal

In this sixth and final installment in a series of reports on state aid, Mason evaluates the European Commission’s decisions in the recent state aid cases involving income allocation. She focuses on whether the sui generis arm’s-length standard that the Commission applied in those cases will be upheld on appeal.
Structural Anomalies of the Bladder and External Genitalia

Genitourinary tract anomalies are some of the most common forms of congenital anomalies. A thorough appreciation of embryology as well as sexual differentiation is imperative to understanding these disease processes and their related assessment and management techniques. The scope of these anomalies and the manner in which they present is vast; therefore, we have attempted to present these disease processes in a concise yet comprehensive manner. The underlying common theme is the goal of the practitioner to provide refunctionalization of the urinary tract and/or genitalia in these patients.
Manufacturing Strategy in a Very Low Volume Production Setting: The Reemergence of the U. S. Space Transportation Industry

This article explores the reemerging field of America’s space industry. In particular, the unusual business environment is discussed as it relates to the specific areas of manufacturing strategy. Predominantly, the article explores the case of General Dynamics Space Systems Division and its initial efforts in the commercial launch service market ╌ a subject that the authors are very familiar with.
The variety of emotional reactions to miscarriage

The theme that emotions following miscarriage are more varied and less uniformly negative than accounts imply is examined through a review of popular and professional literature and evidence from sixty-five women who had had spontaneous abortions who were interviewed about their experiences and emotions. Emotions remembered from immediately following the miscarriage were sadness, frustration, disappointment, and anger towards themselves. At the interview time, about four months after the miscarriage, the most common emotions were hopefulness, sadness, and happiness. Implications for health care and research are discussed.
The Institute of Medicine resident work hours recommendations: a resident's viewpoint.

I just finished an internal medicine residency where we had night float on the weekday calls but still had 30-hour shifts for weekend calls. The beauty of night float is that you do get to go home and sleep in your own bed. However, as the primary team inheriting patients from the night float team the next day, there is often either duplicate work or overlooked details, even with a good hand-off. You never know the patient better than if you were the one doing the admitting. Thus, accomplishing tasks on patients after hand-off is much less efficient than if those tasks are done by the admitting team. During residency, I quickly learned that I do not like being sleep-deprived (who does?). I become cranky and mean and also become prone to illness (I caught influenza twice—A and B—during my inpatient months last spring). While the idea of decreasing the sleep deprivation of a 30-hour shift with either a 5-hour nap or a 16-hour shift is appealing, I think the logistics of accomplishing this without dangerously compromising various aspects of care will require a great deal of creativity. The obvious ways of bringing this requirement on-line have obvious flaws: Is there a team that only works for a 5-hour shift? Will interns and residents take turns napping? What if the intern needs the resident while he or she is taking a 5-hour nap? Will there be 2 more episodes of hand-offs during the 30 hours? How realistic is to expect people to sleep on command in the middle of a shift? What if your bunkmate's pager keeps beeping away? While discussion and recommendations for more duty hour restrictions may be good, what we really need is more money and support devoted to “scut.” As patients become more complicated, and there is pressure to discharge people faster and earlier, there is more work to do, but less time to do it. Decreasing non-educational, non-physician level scut by paying more than lip-service to acquiring additional ancillary services would go a long way towards successfully getting residents home sooner. There are a few problems that money can solve. More social workers for discharge planning, more phlebotomists for blood draws, more translators available quickly, and more people available to transport patients to tests on short notice would dramatically relieve residents of time-consuming burdens. The new-found time could be used to sleep, teach, be taught or go home a little more. Of course, knowing where to find the money to pay for these ancillary services is above my pay grade. There are going to be times when not violating the duty hour restrictions will be unsafe. In these settings, there should be no penalty for a violation. For instance, I would not want to be penalized if I am spending hour #31 helping transition a complicated, sick patient to the MICU, but I would be unhappy spending that hour waiting on the phone making a hospital follow-up appointment or trying arrange home oxygen delivery. As postgraduate education systems increasingly embrace duty hour restrictions, I believe that some flexibility must be built in.
An Analysis of RPM Validation Drift

Experiments that analyze dependencies in RedHat Linux and RpmFind.net show disturbing conflicts and overlaps between software packages that result in installing multiple differing versions of dynamic libraries. The final state of a system containing conflicting packages depends upon the order in which packages are installed, as well as user input during the installation process. This leads to system states that may or may not have been tested, lowering confidence that the resulting software configuration will function properly. We describe the details of the problem, potential effects, and potential solutions involving improving the practice of building RPM packages.
Associations of risk factors of e-cigarette and cigarette use and susceptibility to use among baseline PATH study youth participants (2013–2014)

Abstract Introduction Improved understanding of the distribution of traditional risk factors of cigarette smoking among youth who have ever used or are susceptible to e-cigarettes and cigarettes will inform future longitudinal studies examining transitions in use. Methods Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted using data from youth (ages 12–17 years) who had ever heard of e-cigarettes at baseline of the PATH Study (n = 12,460) to compare the distribution of risk factors for cigarette smoking among seven mutually exclusive groups based on ever cigarette/e-cigarette use and susceptibility status. Results Compared to committed never users, youth susceptible to e-cigarettes, cigarettes, or both had increasing odds of risk factors for cigarette smoking, with those susceptible to both products at highest risk, followed by cigarettes and e-cigarettes. Compared to e-cigarette only users, dual users had higher odds of nearly all risk factors (aOR range = 1.6–6.8) and cigarette only smokers had higher odds of other (non-e-cigarette) tobacco use (aOR range = 1.5–2.3), marijuana use (aOR = 1.9, 95%CI = 1.4–2.5), a high GAIN substance use score (aOR = 1.9, 95%CI = 1.1–3.4), low academic achievement (aOR range = 1.6–3.4), and exposure to smoking (aOR range = 1.8–2.1). No differences were observed for externalizing factors (depression, anxiety, etc.), sensation seeking, or household use of non-cigarette tobacco. Conclusions Among ever cigarette and e-cigarette users, dual users had higher odds of reporting traditional risk factors for smoking, followed by single product cigarette smokers and e-cigarette users. Understanding how e-cigarette and cigarette users differ may inform youth tobacco use prevention efforts and advise future studies assessing probability of progression of cigarette and e-cigarette use.
Analysis of Hardwood Lumber Grade Yields Using Monte Carlo Simulation

The goal of this study was to develop a lumber grade yield prediction model with a probability-based technique known as the Monte Carlo simulation. The data to develop the prediction model was taken from an existing lumber grade yield database developed from red oak logs sawn at the Appalachian region of the United States. Statistical input analysis techniques were used to fit the lumber grade yields to hypothesized probability distributions. Inverse cumulative probability function distributions were developed from the fitted probability distributions to simulate and predict lumber grade yields. The predicted gross revenue was compared with the actual gross revenue and against the gross revenue predicted by a multiple linear regression (MLR) model. The predicted gross revenue using the Monte Carlo simulation had a 0.88% absolute error compared with the actual gross revenue, while the predicted gross revenue from the MLR model had an absolute error of 3.31%. The higher prediction power of the Monte Carlo method was more effective when predicting lumber grade yields from individual log groups. The Monte Carlo model developed in this research can be easily implemented to quickly predict lumber grade yields or gross revenue to support procurement, log inventory management, production, planning, and marketing operations.
Humans vs. Robots: Rethinking Policy For A More Sustainable Future

Robotic and software innovation threatens to displace one third of the global workforce by 2030. Widespread worker displacement would decimate U.S. social safety net funding. To address these issues, Bill Gates and others have proposed a robot tax. A robot tax, while elegant on its face, masks the underlying tension between innovation and employment tax policies. Only by examining the foundational principles of these two policies is it evident that their dissonance can only be harmonized by requiring these policies to remain faithful to their original objectives. Innovation policy has strayed from its twin economic and social welfare objectives. As economic progress has more recently eclipsed the importance of social goals, innovation policy no longer works in concert with employment tax policy. Indeed, insofar as innovation policy fosters workforce automation substitution to the detriment of the U.S. social safety net, it undermines employment tax policy. Employment tax policy never contemplated the extent and sudden arrival of automation substitution in the workforce. In its current form, the employment tax is insufficiently robust to adjust to automation substitution. Consequently, a new approach to tax policy analysis is needed. The intersection of innovation and tax is an undertheorized area. This article highlights the tension that automation creates amongst employment tax and innovation policies by identifying the fundamental objectives that motivate each policy. This paper is the first to harmonize the dissonance between innovation and employment tax policy, the first to use the lens of sustainability to address the dissonance, and the first to introduce sustainable taxation as a superior approach for crafting tax policy and for harmonizing employment tax and innovation policies, in particular.
On the global behaviour of May's host–parasitoid model

This article investigates the global behaviour of May's host–parasitoid model [R.M. May, Host–parasitoid systems in patchy environments: A phenomenological model, J. Anim. Ecol. 47 (1978), pp. 833–...
A Note on the Demographics of UK Referendums on "Staying or Leaving the European Union"

This article discusses the history of the United Kingdom as a member of the European Union. It looks at the demographics of the votes for 1975 and 2016 Referendums on the membership in the Union. I find that changing demographic trend – the aging of the UK population - is the reason for the “Leave the Union” majority vote in 2016 Referendum.
Mission Design and Performance Analysis of a Smallsat Aerocapture Flight Test

An Earth smallsat mission architecture is developed to demonstrate the feasibility of aerocapture. The mission concept proposes to transfer from a geosynchronous transfer orbit rideshare trajectory...
Barriers and perceived usefulness of an ECHO intervention for office-based buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder in North Carolina: A qualitative study.

AbstractBackground: Medication treatment for opioid use disorder (M-OUD) is underutilized, despite research demonstrating its effectiveness in treating opioid use disorder (OUD). The UNC Extension ...
Statistical analysis of the interaction between irradiation-induced defects and triple junctions

By using a generalized, spatially resolved rate theory, we systematically studied the irradiation-induced diffusion and segregation of point defects near triple junctions. Our model captured not only the formation, growth, and recombination of point defects but also the interaction of these defects with pre-existing defects. We coupled the stress field of the triple junction with defect diffusion via a modified chemical potential. The residual stress fields of grain boundaries and triple junctions are modeled via disclination mechanics theory. By assessing the behavior of 144 triple junctions with vacancy and interstitial defects, we correlated defect-sink efficiencies with key characteristics of triple junctions. For vacancies, the geometric configuration of triple junctions dominated sink efficiency, suggesting that equiaxed grains would resist the accumulation of vacancies more than elongated grains. For interstitials, the sink density of the grain boundaries composing the triple junctions dominated sink efficiency. Hence, the interstitial concentration may be managed by adjusting the structure of the grain boundaries. Overall, we illustrated the complex coupling between pre-existing defects and radiation-induced defects through interaction of their stress fields. This theoretical framework provides an efficient tool to rapidly assess defect management in microstructures.
The evolution of conspecific acceptance threshold models

How do organisms balance different types of recognition errors when cues associated with desirable and undesirable individuals or resources overlap? This is a fundamental question of signal detecti...
The influencing factors for wound healing of laparoscopic peritoneal vaginoplasty

Objective To investigate the influencing factors for wound healing in patients under going laparoscopic peritoneal vaginoplasty and to promote the healing in postoperative wounds. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data on 13 patients with congenital absence of vagina who had undergone laparoscopic peritoneal vaginoplasty. Time to wound healing, healing status of the wounds, and features of vaginal discharge during wound healing were noted. The efficacy of the procedure was assessed. Results The mean time to wound healing time was ( 26 ± 17.8 ) days. 8 patients developed slight vaginal bleeding during the epithelization of wound healing and one occurred vaginitis. 3 patients were followed up for only 2 months while the remaining 10 were satisfied with their sex life. Conclusions The influencing factors for wound healing in patients undergoing laparoscopic peritoneal vaginoplasty may include the degree of peritoneal separation, postoperative wound care, mold selection, and the timing of wearing a mold. Key words: Peritoneal vaginoplasty; Laparoscopy; Wound healing; Influencing factors
Environmental racism and the need for private well protections.

The health effects of racism are so well established that the American Public Health Association launched a National Campaign Against Racism in 2015 (1). Racial disparities in adverse environmental exposures reflect underlying structural and institutional racism ingrained in land use patterns, development policy, facility siting, and municipal zoning decisions, which influence community proximity to environmental hazards and prevent equitable access to essential public health services including regulated public water supplies (2, 3). Childhood lead poisoning is a prominent example of racial disparities in hazardous exposures: 5.6% of non-Hispanic Black children have blood lead levels exceeding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) action limit of 5 µg/L compared to 2.4% of non-Hispanic White children (4). In PNAS, MacDonald Gibson et al. evaluated blood lead monitoring records for 59,483 children in North Carolina from 2002 to 2015 and compared blood lead concentrations for children reliant on private wells versus those reliant on regulated public water systems (5). Their primary finding—that children using private wells had significantly elevated blood lead concentrations compared to children using regulated public water systems—highlights the inadequacy of current regulatory policy to protect the most highly exposed and susceptible communities and underscores the need for immediate public health interventions to reduce water contaminant exposures for households reliant on private wells. These findings also illuminate how long-standing structural racism results in environmental disparities affecting our most susceptible populations. Although the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulated lead in public drinking water systems since 1991 through the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), private well owners are not subject to any EPA regulations. Over 40 million US residents using private wells are solely responsible for testing their water for an assortment of contaminants, installing appropriate treatment systems, and maintaining … [↵][1]1Email: aen2136{at}cumc.columbia.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
p53 and Bcl-2 expression in breast and lung carcinoma cells exposed to arsenic trioxide

5352 Arsenic is a metalloid that is ubiquitous in the environment. The toxicity of arsenic depends upon its chemical form; the organic forms being usually less harmful the inorganic ones. The primary source of human exposure is through drinking water and food. p53 plays a key role in mediating cell response to various stresses, mainly by inducing or repressing a number of genes involved in cell cycle arrest, senescence, apoptosis, DNA repair, and angiogenesis. p53 exerts its anti-proliferative action by inducing reversible or irreversible (senescence) cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. It may also enhance DNA repair and inhibit angiogenesis. Bcl-2 can act as a pro or anti-apoptotic regulator that is involved in wide variety of cellular activities. The Bcl-2 gene has been implicated in several cancers such as melanoma, breast, prostate and lung. Arsenic has also shown to be cytotoxic and able to induce stress-related genes and proteins in a number of cell lines, mainly of the skin and liver. Although arsenic has been reported to cause DNA damage to liver and hematopoetic cells, its effects on breast and lung cells are not well elucidated. The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the effects of arsenic trioxide on p53 and Bcl-2 expression in breast and lung carcinoma cells. To achieve this goal, breast cancer (MCF-7) and lung cancer (A549) cells were cultured following standard protocols, and exposed to various doses (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 µg/ml) of arsenic trioxide for 48 h. Protein and western blot analyses were performed using standard protocols. The Western blot analysis revealed an up-regulation of p53 with the exposure of arsenic trioxide, showing a peak expression at 4µg/ml. Experiments on Bcl-2 expression are underway, and it is anticipated that arsenic exposure would induce a its down -regulation in arsenic-treated cells. Keywords: Arsenic, p53 activation, Bcl-2 repression, MCF-7 and A549 cells Acknowledgements: This research supported by a grant from NIH-RCMI grant # G12RR13459. We thank Dr. Abdul K. Mohamed, Dean Emeritus, College of Science Engineering and Technology and RCMI Program Director at Jackson State University (JSU) for his support of this research.
Pixel Detector Readout Electronics with Two-Level Discriminator Scheme

In preparation for a silicon pixel detector with more than 3000 readout channels per chip for operation at the future large hadron collider (LHC) at CERN the analog frontend of the re adout electronics has been designed and measured on several test-arrays with 16 by 4 cells. They are implemented in the HP 0.8pm process but compatible with the design rules of the radiation hard Honeywell 0.8pm bulk process. Each cell contains bump bonding pad, preamplifier, discriminator and control logic for masking and testing within a layout area of only 50pm by 140pm. A new two-level discriminator scheme has been implemented to cope with the problems of time-walk and interpixel cross-coupling. The measured gain of the preamplifier is 900mV for a minimum ionizing particle (MIP, about 24000 e- for a 300pm thick Si-detector) with a return to baseline within 75011s for a lMIP input signal. The full readout chain (without detector) shows an equivalent noise charge of 60e' r.m.s. The time-walk, a function of the separation between the two threshold levels, is measured to be 22ns at a separation of 1500e-, which is adequate for the 40MHz beam-crossing frequency at the LHC. The interpixel cross-coupling, measured with a 40fF coupling capacitance, is less than 3%. A single cell consumes 35~W at 3.5V supply voltage.