cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A low temperature flotation method to rapidly isolate lipoproteins from plasma.

To minimize oxidative modification, a low tem- perature, sequential flotation method was developed to isolate plasma lipoproteins in 18 h using a benchtop ultra- centrifuge. The protein distributions were characterized using agarose and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophore- sis, and an SDS-Lowr y protein assay. The lipid distribu- tions were assessed using a gas chromatography-mass spec- trometric assay for cholesterol and an enzymatic assay for triglycerides. To validate the rapid flotation method, lipoproteins were also isolated from the same plasma samples using a modified Havel et al. flotation method ( J. Clin. Invest. 34: 1345-1353, 1955). The same lipoproteins and apolipoproteins were present in fractions of compa- rable density, and the summed recoveries of protein, cho- lesterol, and triglyceride were also identical for the Havel et al. and rapid fl otation procedures. Likewise, the amount of cholesterol and triglyceride in corresponding very low, intermediate, and low density lipopr otein (VLDL/IDL and LDL) fractions was the same for the two flotation procedures. The triglyceride and cholesterol lev- els in high density lipoprotein (HDL) isolated by rapid flo- tations, however, were 9-12% higher than in the HDL as isolated by Havel et al. Because a 9 -12% increase in the HDL fraction reflects only 1- 4% of the total triglyceride and cholesterol in plasma, we conclude that, while main- tained at 4 8 C, lipoproteins were quantitatively isolated from human plasma in 1 day.— Tong, H., H. R. Knapp, and M. VanRollins. A low temperature flotation method to rapidly isolate lipoproteins from plasma. J. Lipid. Res. 1998. 39: 1696-1704.
Flow field character of arson fire in a bus

Numerically simulated the flow field character of bus after sudden heat release of 0.6 MW,and the distribution of instantaneous velocity field and temperature field were presented.It was proved that when the heat release rate is 0.6 MW,and in a bus with a certain size opening nowadays,the flow characteristics change fastest around 40 s after ignition,and gently around 80 s,then only a little around 140 s as the internal and external air flow are in the balanced state.When the heat release rate is in accordance with t2 rule,the change of flow characteristics before 80 s ago is much smaller.
The Varieties of Moral Improvement, or why Metaethical Constructivism must Explain Moral Progress

Among the available metaethical views, it would seem that moral realism—in particular moral naturalism—must explain the possibility of moral progress. We see this in the oft-used argument from disagreement against various moral realist views. My suggestion in this paper is that, surprisingly, metaethical constructivism has at least as pressing a need to explain moral progress. I take moral progress to be, minimally, the opportunity to access and to act in light of moral facts of the matter, whether they are mind-independent or -dependent. For the metaethical constructivist, however, I add that moral progress ought also mean that agents come to be or could come to be motivated to act in light of the right kind of moral judgments. Together I take this to mean that, for all forms of constructivism, moral progress must be explained as a form of moral improvement, or agents aspiring to be better sorts of moral agents. In what moral improvement consists differs for various forms of constructivism. Here I distinguish between three different versions of metaethical constructivism: Humean constructivists as represented by Street (2008, 2010, 2012), Kantian constitutivist constructivists as represented by Korsgaard, and constructivists about practical reason as represented by Carla Bagnoli (2002, 2013). I conclude by showing that only constructivism as a view about practical reason can fully account for moral progress qua the opportunity for moral improvement.
Direct anterior total hip arthroplasty: Literature review of variations in surgical technique

The direct anterior approach to the hip has been suggested to have several advantages compared to previously popular approaches through its use of an intra-muscular and intra-nervous interval between the tensor fasciae latae and sartorius muscles. Recent increased interest in tissue-sparing and minimally-invasive arthroplasty has given rise to a sharp increase in the utilization of direct anterior total hip arthroplasty. A number of variations of the procedure have been described and several authors have published their experiences and feedback to successfully accomplishing this procedure. Additionally, improved understanding of relevant soft tissue constraints and anatomic variants has provided improved margin of safety for patients. The procedure may be performed using specially-designed instruments and a fracture table, however many authors have also described equally efficacious performance using a regular table and standard arthroplasty tools. The capacity to utilize fluoroscopy intra-operatively for component positioning is a valuable asset to the approach and can be of particular benefit for surgeons gaining familiarity. Proper management of patient and limb positioning are vital to reducing risk of intra-operative complications. An understanding of its limitations and challenges are also critical to safe employment. This review summarizes the key features of the direct anterior approach for total hip arthroplasty as an aid to improving the understanding of this important and effective method for modern hip replacement surgeons.
DITHER CAVITY LENGTH CONTROLLER WITH IODINE LOCKING

A cavity length controller for a seeded Q-switched frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser is constructed. The cavity length controller uses a piezo-mirror dither voltage to find the optimum length for the seeded cavity. The piezo-mirror dither also dithers the optical frequency of the output pulse. [1]. This dither in optical frequency is then used to lock to an Iodine absorption line.
Informality and Urban Medical Practices

In the San Francisco-Oakland Metropolitan Area, informal medical practices exist side by side with the formal medical system. In fact, it is possible to misunderstand the relations of the residents to the formal system of medical care if one does not take into consideration the reality of informal health and medical practices. Informal medical practices show up at the level of understanding of the causes of illness (lay logic), diagnostics (the folk medical realm to which the illness belongs), the search for an appropriate form of healing (self-care, spiritual or folk healing, the hospital or private clinic), and the implementation of the regimen (the extent to which the patient follows the recommendation of the medical doctor to the letter, accepts the spirit of the recommendation, or else rejects it altogether). There is another arena where informal medical practices could be studied here — that of the hospital as a bureaucracy in terms of informal networking among staff, the spread of gossip, the reality of informal communication and the clique system. Since some of these issues were discussed in the context of the modern firm, we will not pursue them vigorously here. Let us concentrate rather on other aspects of the formal—informal relations in medicine so as to show how informal health and medical practices serve as a support to the formal system.
Risk Biotypes and the Female Athlete Triad

The number of women participating in sports has increased dramatically in the past few decades. This rise in sports participation promotes numerous mental and physical benefits to the female athlete. However, clinical experience and research reports provide evidence of a health sequela, the “Female Athlete Triad,” developing as a result of inadequate dietary intake relative to exercise expenditure among a subset of athletes. The Female Athlete Triad (Triad) is an interrelated disorder of low energy availability, menstrual dysfunction, and reduced bone mineral density, and has been studied in various populations of athletic girls and women. In addition, current evidence suggests that athletes with Triad can experience other detrimental effects, including musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, renal, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Female athletes participating in sports emphasizing leanness are at increased risk of developing the Triad. Factors that may account for this increased risk include an increased pressure to meet specific weight or body shape requirements of sport, the perceived benefit of a low body weight or thin frame in optimizing performance, and an increased susceptibility to sociocultural demands. These factors can lead to harmful dieting and subsequent energy deficit with likely health repercussions. Alternatively, some leanness sport athletes, such as those in endurance sports, may also develop an energy deficit inadvertently as a result of a high training volume and lack of awareness of their energy and nutritional needs. The specific risk biotypes considered in this chapter include endurance sports (e.g., runners, triathletes, cyclists, and swimmers), aesthetic sports (e.g., figure skating and gymnastics), weight-class sports (e.g., lightweight rowing and wrestling), and others. The involvement of a multidisciplinary team including sport medicine physicians, athletic trainers, dietitians, sports psychologists, among others, is required for the treatment of the Triad. The management comprises non-pharmacological and pharmacological approaches in some cases. However, the most effective way to avoid long-term consequences is early detection and prevention of this condition, especially in higher risk populations.
Flow of Control

It was pointed out in Section 3.2 that, except for one or two exceptions, the keywords of C are broadly divided into three categories: those that identify data types—namely, int, char, float, double, long, short, unsigned, and struct (all of which we have studied) plus union (which we cover in the next chapter); those that identify storage classes—namely, auto, extern, static, and register (all of which we have studied) plus typedef (which we cover in the next chapter); and those that deal with control flow, which we cover here.
Vision: Light and Dark Adaptation

The visual system must encode light effectively over an enormous range of intensities, from starlight to bright sunlight. It employs two systems to do so, the rod or scotopic system in starlight and twilight, and the cone or photopic system in daylight. The two systems are not fixed but adaptive, in that their operating levels are adjusted to match the ambient illumination. Light adaptation refers to an adjustment to higher levels and dark adaptation to an adjustment to lower levels or to darkness. This article discusses receptoral and neural contributions to both processes, as inferred from behavioral psychophysics and electrophysiology.
Mineralogy of Orthophosphates

This chapter discusses minerology of orthophosphates. Though phosphates exist in three structural forms, orthophosphates, pyrophosphates, and metaphosphates, they are found in nature mainly as orthophosphates. The acid phosphates used in the synthesis of CBPCs, as well as the resulting products that constitute CBPCs are also orthophosphates, and therefore, this chapter is focused on orthophosphate minerals. The chapter discusses interatomoc bonds that produce the crystalline structures of minerals. This is followed by general rules used in constructing models of crystal structures of phosphate minerals, then the crystal structures of orthophosphate mineral forms. The chapter helps in understanding the various mineral forms that constitute the orthophosphate ceramics and cements. Furthermore, the CBPC structure is a mixture of both crystalline and noncrystalline material. The crystalline phases are detectable by X-ray diffraction, but noncrystalline phases are difficult to identify, even though their presence is indicated by a broad hump in the X-ray diffraction pattern. Hazardous contaminants or radioactive contaminants that are found in waste streams in small quantities can be trapped within a crystalline matrix. Finally, this capability makes CBPCs a highly versatile matrix for immobilizing radioactive and hazardous contaminants.
Taussig on the Psychology of Economic Policy

Two generations ago, Frank W. Taussig was a main pillar of the profession. Urbane, conservative, open-minded, a great teacher, Taussig was, in the words of Schumpeter, ‘an eminent theorist’ to whom nonetheless ‘economics always remained political economy’ and who was, appropriately, ‘the American Marshall’.1 Although then-contemporary institutionalists could not have agreed2 — he was, after all, with T. N. Carver, the leader of orthodoxy — Schumpeter also felt that Taussig was more of a leader than an opponent of institutionalism: this because of Taussig’s interest and productivity in what Schumpeter called ‘economic sociology’, which included the study of institutions and the study of individual and group behaviour within the institutional setting.3
The Druze in the New State, July–October 1948

This chapter focuses on the incorporation of certain sections of the Druze communities of Tsfiya and Daliyat al-Karmal into the State of Israel during the final phase of the war. In particular, I shall examine the establishment of a Druze unit in the IDF (whose volunteers were mainly drawn from Tsfiya and Daliya) as well as the benefits that the existence of this unit brought to the two villages. Also covered in this chapter is the battle of Yanuh, in which the Druze unit found themselves fighting against fellow Druze, and its aftermath.
Identification of Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus) and White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Postcranial Remains as a Means of Determining Human Subsistence Strategies

Mule deer (O. hemionus) and white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) were widely utilized resources in the Plains during prehistoric times. The two species overlap in geographic space over a large portio...
QFN Miniaturization: Challenges and Solutions

The quad flat no-lead (QFN) package has gained great semiconductors market due to its advantages in thermal and electrical performance. In the further package miniaturization, challenges happened in assembly die attach and wire bonding processes, affected by extremely small and slim package size. The miniature QFN package success relied on epoxy dispensing performance and wire bonding robustness, much stringent in comparing to normal QFN. With cost as boundary condition, the new optimization methodology has helped obtaining permanent solutions in manufacturing. Leading industry in producing highly reliable, robust and cost effective miniature taped QFN, called micro ultra-thin QFN.
Should implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and permanent pacemakers in patients with terminal illness be deactivated? An Ethical Distinction

The recently published 2008 Guidelines for Device-Based Therapy of Cardiac Rhythm Abnormalities1 include a discussion of ethical issues surrounding the deactivation of pacemakers, implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICDs), and CRT devices in patients who are terminally ill. The authors rightly note that most clinicians make an ethical distinction between deactivating an ICD and deactivating a permanent pacemaker. Programming an ICD so that it will not provide antitachycardia therapy in the event of ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation in a terminally ill patient who requests this action seems to be widely accepted as morally permissible.2–8 Many patients and physicians find the deactivation of an ICD in this situation as morally equivalent to a “do not resuscitate” order. Deactivation of an ICD in a patient who is dying of a terminal illness, whether cardiac or another condition, prevents the delivery of painful ICD shocks and allows the patient to die of the natural progression of their underlying disease. As such, this action seems a humane withdrawal of a futile medical treatment. Response by Zellner et al on p 336 In contrast to deactivating an ICD in a dying patient, there is more controversy regarding whether a pacemaker can be deactivated at the request of a terminally ill patient, especially if the patient is pacemaker dependent. Although some authors have suggested that it may be morally permissible to discontinue pacing therapy in patients who are hopelessly ill and request this action,5 we believe that there can be a fundamental difference between discontinuation of antitachycardia and antibradycardia therapies in some patients, depending on their degree of pacemaker dependency. For example, consider a patient with complete heart block who has long had a permanent pacemaker implanted. Pacing by itself does not prevent the patient from following the natural course of their disease and does …
Rates and Characteristics of Paid Malpractice Claims Among US Physicians by Specialty, 1992-2014

Importance Although physician concerns about medical malpractice are substantial, national data are lacking on the rate of claims paid on behalf of US physicians by specialty. Objective To characterize paid malpractice claims by specialty. Design, Setting, and Participants A comprehensive analysis was conducted of all paid malpractice claims, with linkage to physician specialty, from the National Practitioner Data Bank from January 1, 1992, to December 31, 2014, a period including an estimated 19.9 million physician-years. All dollar amounts were inflation adjusted to 2014 dollars using the Consumer Price Index. The dates on which this analysis was performed were from May 1, 2015, to February 20, 2016, and from October 25 to December 16, 2016. Main Outcomes and Measures For malpractice claims (n = 280 368) paid on behalf of physicians (in aggregate and by specialty): rates per physician-year, mean compensation amounts, the concentration of paid claims among a limited number of physicians, the proportion of paid claims that were greater than $1 million, severity of injury, and type of malpractice alleged. Results From 1992-1996 to 2009-2014, the rate of paid claims decreased by 55.7% (from 20.1 to 8.9 per 1000 physician-years; P P = .15) to a 75.8% decrease in pediatrics (from 9.9 to 2.4 per 1000 physician-years; P P P = .36) to $114 410 in gastroenterology (from $276 128 in 1992-1996 to $390 538 in 2009-2014; P P = .005). Of 280 368 paid claims, 21 271 (7.6%) exceeded $1 million (4304 of 69 617 [6.2%] in 1992-1996 and 4322 of 54 081 [8.0%] in 2009-2014), and 32.1% (35 293 of 109 865) involved a patient death. Diagnostic error was the most common type of allegation, present in 31.8% (35 349 of 111 066) of paid claims, ranging from 3.5% in anesthesiology (153 of 4317) to 87.0% in pathology (915 of 1052). Conclusions and Relevance Between 1992 and 2014, the rate of malpractice claims paid on behalf of physicians in the United States declined substantially. Mean compensation amounts and the percentage of paid claims exceeding $1 million increased, with wide differences in rates and characteristics across specialties. A better understanding of the causes of variation among specialties in paid malpractice claims may help reduce both patient injury and physicians’ risk of liability.
Astrophysical neutrinos: IceCube highlights

Abstract The IceCube Neutrino Observatory features approximately a cubic-kilometer volume of instrumented ice at the geographic South Pole. A high energy astrophysical neutrino flux has been observed, initially in 2013, as an excess of neutrinos above 10 TeV compared to the expectation from an atmospheric neutrino background. This signal, nowadays significant at >6 σ, has been observed both in neutrino interactions starting in the detector volume and in throughgoing muons generated in charged-current muon neutrino interactions outside the detector. No astrophysical objects have yet been identified as the flux source, which is currently consistent with an isotropic expectation. This paper reviews the evidence for the astrophysical flux and the status of the search for its sources. It also presents a discussion of proposed detector extensions being designed to solve the mystery of the astrophysical neutrino origin.
Some Demi-Classics in the Operating Systems Literature for Data Processing Students

(1976). Some Demi-Classics in the Operating Systems Literature for Data Processing Students. The Journal of Data Education: Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 18-19.
Single center validation of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in localized and metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

696Background: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been evaluated as a serum marker of inflammation and oncologic prognosis. In renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a higher preoperative NLR is associated with aggressive clinicopathologic features and is an independent predictor of poor survival. This study builds upon our institution’s prior work with the NLR in metastatic RCC and examines a larger validation cohort that includes localized disease. It also compares the predictive power of the NLR to established kidney cancer prognostic scores. Methods: Our kidney cancer database provided patients with clear cell RCC who underwent nephrectomy from January 2001 to June 2017 and had a documented preoperative NLR within 15 days prior to surgery. The optimal threshold of NLR was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and sensitivity-specificity trade-off analysis. Kaplan-Meier curves and logistic regression analysis were performed to assess the significance and independence of preopera...
GPCRs Moonlighting as Scramblases: Mechanism Revealed.

Phospholipids can undergo transverse diffusion, changing leaflets in the bilayer via translocase or scramblase activity. In this issue of Structure, Morra et al. (2018) provide insight into the mechanism used by one scramblase, opsin, based on large-scale ensemble atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Results support a proposed "credit card reader" model.
The Individual and the Society: A Needed Reexamination of Social Legislation and Policy

The pervasive and often destructive effect of Ill-planned social policy (or the lack of effective social policy) is evident In terms of Increasing societal dysfunctionality and lowered quality of life for most people. Almost all social Interventions involve a variety of rights In conflict. Actions by the government to support or protect any one group must necessarily be at the expense of others. In the defense of the rights of individuals and groups the social objectives and social effects of such interventions have been generally Ignored. The problems of design of social policy derive from one-sided or parochial views of multi-dimensional Issues, based upon divergent value and social system orientations. The war of "all against each" is evident in the strains of social dilemma. The critical question of whether a society can deprive a person of life or liberty in the name of treatment, whether it can legitimately withdraw the liberty it has conferred for reasons of protecting Itself against social immaturity underlie much of the Ineffectiveness of social policy. The problem of how to deal with all equally despite the divergent levels of social maturity has, as yet, not been resolved by social planners. The true assignment of social policy, which is to balance the rights of the Individual with the rights of others has yet to be successfully undertaken. Yet any society regardless of the degree of Its operative components will eventually have to deal with the problems of limited resources, waste disposal, crowding and distribution of products and rewards in a manner which will not negate its own productivity. To do this with maximal effectiveness, such a policy must utilize the motivation of Individuals to carry out the desired policy without the concurrent provision of a huge governmental mechanism. It must not restrict massive portions of the population from generally benign or useful activity in order to restrict a relative few from undesired activity. It must not Interfere with the development of productive, contributing future citizenry in attempts to save the current groups of weak, needy or powerless. It must utilize a minimum of government Intervention at a crucial point of entry in the social structure to secure maximal social effect. It must utilize the cultural patterns of the population to reinforce the effect of Its policy rather than to oppose It. Finally It must make it easier rather than more difficult for the socially productive individual to live and serve himself in a manner which supports policy. If the society Is to survive without having to undergo transformation Into a police state or anarchy greater efforts, Ingenuity, thought and resources will have to be devoted to the design of more effective social
Deformation hardening of type 304 stainless steel at elevated temperature

ABSTRACT The dislocation hardening produced in Type 304 stainless steel by various combinations of cyclic and monotonic straining at elevated temperatures has been studied by mechanical testing and microscopic examination. Cycling between symmetric stress limits such that no net strain accumulation occurs, produces a well defined cellular dislocation structure. However, tensile tests on cyclically hardened samples show that their stress-strain behavior is negligibly different from that of samples subjected to simple monotonic prestrain and which contain only a loosely tangled dislocation structure. Cycling between asymmetric stress limits such that there is a small tensile mean stress, causes the sample to elongate slightly on each cycle. The net strain accumulated on each cycle of such a test is of the order of 0.1 to 1% of the plastic strain amplitude, and net tensile strains as large as 40% can be achieved after several thousand cycles. Tensile tests on such cyclically crept samples show that the strain accumulated during the cyclic stressing, has produced very little work hardening as measured by the initial flow stress, but that the work-hardening rate throughout a subsequent tensile test at a given flow stress is greater than would be expected in a sample deformed only monotonically.
Insinhts on the DC Characterization of Ferroelectric Field-Effect-Transistors

In this work, we report on the fabrication, characterization, and modeling of ferroelectric field-effect- transistors (FeFET). We demonstrate that polarization switching within ordinary 1T ferroelectric memory devices under specific conditions results in the measurement of subthreshold slopes $ , near-zero hysteresis, negative drain induced barrier lowering (N-DIBL), and negative differential resistance (NDR) (Fig. 1). The polarization switching origin is identified by a strong dependence on the magnitude of the gate voltage, where below the critical gate voltage required to switch polarization, $\mathrm{SS} , near-zero hysteresis, and negative DIBL cannot be observed. Further, we identify the source of NDR in the output characteristics to result from polarization switching near the drain of the FeFET at 10w $\mathrm{V}_{\mathrm{GS}}$ and high $\mathrm{V}_{\mathrm{DS}}$ . The NDR can be reproduced by a simple analytical model where two VT are present within the FeFET channel due to a non-uniform distribution of the polarization charge along the channel length. The intent of this work is to disambiguate and draw distinction between the effects of polarization switching in FeFET memory devices from that of negative capacitance as shown in Kwon et. al. [1], where a physically thicker oxide shows all the electric nronerties of a nhvsicallv thinner dielectric.
Externalizing and self-medicating: Heterogeneity among repeat DUI offenders.

Abstract Aim Despite significant reductions in Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in the United States during recent decades, DUI continues to be a major public health threat. The current study investigated the intersection of two domains known to influence DUI: criminal history and psychiatric comorbidity. Methods DUI recidivists (N = 743) attending a court-mandated two-week inpatient DUI program completed a computerized mental health assessment as part of their intake to that program. Participants’ criminal records were obtained 4–5 years after program attendance. Findings This study identified three primary repeat DUI offender subtypes with distinct patterns of criminal behavior and psychiatric comorbidity: (Type I) those whose DUI emerges from a pattern of drinking to cope with mood and anxiety problems, (Type II) those whose DUI emerges as part of a larger pattern of externalizing and criminal behavior, and (Type III) those whose DUI offenses reflect more acute triggers and isolated episodes of excessive drinking. Conclusion These findings suggest that current treatment models used in DUI programs are inadequate to address the heterogeneity in the population of DUI recidivists and that earlier and more comprehensive screening would allow for better targeting of resources to DUI offender subtypes.
Connecting Familismo and Higher Education: Influence of Spanish Language PFMO Programs on Latinx Family Involvement and Sense of Belonging

Considering the collectivist culture and strong family connections in Latinx families, engaging parents and family members of new Latinx students in higher education is important to promote student...
Vanités : une invitation à jouir et à se réjouir ?

Although a distinction between a Still life and a Vanitas painting could rest upon their respective mode of reception: iconographic for the former, iconological for the latter, the interpretation of Vanitas remains highly problematic. In direct opposition to its intended message of repudiation of earthly goods, the Vanitas runs always the risk to be perceived as an incitement to enjoy and rejoice. Tempus fugit? Therefore, carpe diem instead of memento mori.
A simple approach to electronic charge induction in atomistic simulations

A scheme is presented for periodically updating atom-centered partial charges due to changing local electric fields that arise during the course of a molecular simulation. The effects of electrostatic induction, due to polarization of the local electron density of bonded atom pairs, are realized through the approximation of the bond polarizability tensor as being cylindrically symmetric and directed along the bond axis, with negligible lateral polarizability. This simplification allows the reduction of polarization effects to a scalar bond ‘polarization parameter’, and subsequent partitioning of the local electron density into charge modifiers located at atom centers. The induced charges assigned to each atom are determined self-consistently. This simplification permits a reasonable approximation of both the magnitude and direction of molecular dipole moments and of molecular polarizabilities in the case of small-molecule fluorocarbons. The model is extended to the calculation of atom-centered partial atomic charges for two conformations of poly(vinylidenefluoride). The proposed method fits well into the framework of established atomistic simulation techniques based on Coulombic nonbonded atomic interactions.
Quality Improvement, Data, and Partnership

Using data to improve quality is part of the definition of patient-centered care. The commitment to being patient-centered requires that healthcare teams be constantly trying to improve care for the particular patients they are serving. This entails keeping data about their patients’ health and the patterns of service they are given and using the data as feedback for improving quality. In other areas of patient-centered care, the challenge has been to move from taking the wishes and preferences of patients into account when designing care, to achieving partnership with patients in designing their courses of treatment. In the effort to use data to improve care, there have been relatively few examples of partnering with patients in deciding what data they would like to have collected, what information that data could supply, and what actions or improvements could be possible because of having that data. In order to achieve partnership, health professionals need to be comfortable with the fact that the process of having patients help design the information to be collected is also a powerful clinical tool in itself for improving partnership and thereby impacting outcomes of care.
The role of mutations associated with familial neurodegenerative disorders on blood-brain barrier function in an iPSC model.

Blood–brain barrier dysfunction is associated with many late-stage neurodegenerative diseases. An emerging question is whether the mutations associated with neurodegenerative diseases can independently lead to blood–brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction. Studies from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells suggest that mutations associated with neurodegenerative disease are non-cell autonomous, resulting in gain of toxic function in derived neurons and astrocytes. Here we assess whether selected mutations associated with neurodegenerative diseases can contribute to impairment of the blood–brain barrier. We assessed barrier function of confluent monolayers of human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMECs) derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from three healthy individuals and eight individuals with neurodegenerative disease. We systematically assessed protein and gene expression of BBB biomarkers, transendothelial resistance (TEER), permeability of Lucifer yellow, permeability of d-glucose, permeability of rhodamine 123, the efflux ratio of rhodamine 123, and P-gp inhibition using Tariquidar for confluent monolayers of human brain microvascular endothelial cell (hBMECs). We provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that mutations associated with neurodegenerative disease can independently cause BBB dysfunction. These functional changes are not catastrophic since barrier breakdown would result in BBB impairment during development. Synergistic interactions between non-cell autonomous cerebrovascular dysfunction and the effects of gain-of-toxic function in neurons (e.g. toxic oligomers) are likely to increase disease burden through a positive feedback mechanism. These results suggest that the accumulation of defects in brain microvascular endothelial cells may ultimately lead to impairment of the BBB. Small changes in barrier function over time could lead to accumulated defects that result in positive feedback to unrelated central nervous system diseases.
Observing Dirac neutrinos in the cosmic microwave background

Planned CMB Stage IV experiments have the potential to measure the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom in the early Universe, ${N}_{\mathrm{eff}}$, with percent-level accuracy. This probes new thermalized light particles and also constrains possible new-physics interactions of Dirac neutrinos. Many Dirac-neutrino models that aim to address the Dirac stability, the smallness of neutrino masses or the matter--antimatter asymmetry of our Universe endow the right-handed chirality partners ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{R}$ with additional interactions that can thermalize them. Unless the reheating temperature of our Universe was low, this leads to testable deviations in ${N}_{\mathrm{eff}}$. We discuss well-motivated models for ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{R}$ interactions such as gauged $U(1{)}_{B\ensuremath{-}L}$ and the neutrinophilic two-Higgs-doublet model, and compare the sensitivity of SPT-3G, Simons Observatory, and CMB-S4 to other experiments, in particular the LHC.
Development and Deployment of an Intraoperative Clinical Summary Document: A Veterans Health Care Affairs Perspective

Background Clinical summary documents that abstract details of episodes of care are essential to Advancing Care Information requirements for electronic health records. Few examples exist for intraoperative clinical summary documents (ICSD). Methods We describe the development and deployment of an ICSD at a tertiary hospital within the United States. Development included identification of needs of key stakeholders, evaluation of current clinical and data workflows, iterative development of prototypes with primary stakeholders, i.e., anesthesiologists and evaluation of prototypes with test patients. We deployed the ICSD over 6-months with tracking of (1) usage (number and types of end users and surgery types) and (2) written and oral feedback. Results Current workflows involved accessing a 10 to 40 page document presenting all surgery details with review described as burdensome. The ICSD prototype was a separate one-page summary optimized for viewing on a monitor or paper. The document had four sections: (1) administrative data, allergies, and precautions; (2) medications, infusions, and fluid intake and output; (3) airway assessments and a graphical presentation of hemodynamic trends (blood pressure), and (4) standardized text for events (hypotension) occurring intraoperatively. During the 6-month deployment, postanesthesia care unit and intensive care unit nurses were most prominent users followed by anesthesiologists. While overall well received, our pilot users reported challenges for readability, font size, and the lack of customization. Conclusion While the ICSD was designed for anesthesiologists, postanesthesia care unit and intensive care unit nurses were the most frequent users. Future development will involve customization for different stakeholders.
Eye Tracking as a Tool to Identify Mood in Aphasia: A Feasibility Study

Background. Persons with aphasia often present with low mood/depression, which can negatively affect their quality of life. The validity and reliability of existing depression measures for aphasia have been called into question. Eye tracking in nonstroke populations is reliable in identifying low mood/depression. Depressed persons are biased to negative emotions compared with nondepressed persons and have an absence of bias to positive emotions. However, nondepressed persons may be biased to positive emotions. Objective. To examine the feasibility of using eye tracking to measure mood in persons with aphasia. Methods. We recruited 22 persons with chronic aphasia and 12 healthy controls. Participants completed 2 self-report measures of mood. They also viewed faces that showed happy, sad, and neutral facial expressions during eye tracking. We analyzed 2 eye tracking indices: initial gaze orientation and gaze maintenance to happy, sad, and neutral faces. Results. For initial gaze orientation, participants with aphasia fixated faster on emotional faces compared with healthy controls but directed their gaze less often to happy faces compared with healthy controls. For gaze maintenance components, the duration of first fixation and total fixation duration were shorter on sad faces for participants with aphasia compared with healthy controls. Conclusion. Use of eye tracking with faces representing different mood states is feasible in persons with aphasia. Although there were some similarities, participants with aphasia had different gaze patterns to emotional faces compared with healthy controls. Further research is needed to establish whether this is a valid and reliable method of mood assessment.
A clinical study on blood oxygenation changes in SpO2 monitoring induced medical device related pressure injury tissues in children patients

Objective To evaluate the oxygenation changes in medical device related pressure injury (MDRPI) tissues in children patients induced in SpO2 monitoring, and to provide prevention, nursing and intervention measures for SpO2 induced MDRPI in early clinical stages. Methods Totally 118 critical children patients who were admitted in the Medical Extensive Care Unit of Zhengzhou Children's Hospital between January and December 2016 were randomly selected. The oxygen saturation (rSQ2) of SpO2 monitoring induced MDRPI tissues in these children patients were monitored with near-infrared spectrometer in combination with their critical illness scores and nursing interventions. Results The lower the critical illness score, the lower the rSQ2 was (F=24.65, 3.90, 79.45; P<0.05) . The rSQ2 in children patients with SpO2 induced MDRPI increased gradually alongside the nursing interventions, but was still lower than the level in children patients without SpO2 induced MDRPI (t=48.87, 30.03, 25.49, 14.36; P<0.05) . Conclusions The pressure of related medical devices on local tissues which leads to ischemia-hypoxia and oxygenation changes is an important cause of SpO2 induced MDRPI, and near-infrared spectroscopy may be used to monitor and evaluate the blood oxygen in SpO2 induced MDRPI tissues. Key words: Near-infrared spectroscopy; SpO2; Medical device related pressure injury; Tissue oxygenation
Clinical Outcomes after Weaning from Venoarterial-Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: A Single Center Review

Background Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is increasingly used to manage refractory cardiac failure. This study attempts to characterize the clinical outcomes and weaning success rates of patients placed on VA-ECMO. Methods An IRB-approved retrospective chart review of VA-ECMO cases at UCLA from 2015-2019 was conducted. Inclusion criteria included initiation of VA-ECMO for cardiac arrest, primary graft dysfunction, and cardiogenic shock. Diagnoses with primarily right ventricular failure were excluded. The primary outcome was survival at 30 days after ECMO decannulation without relapse to mechanical circulatory support. Patients were stratified into “weaned” verses “not weaned” groups. Weaned patients were further stratified into “successfully weaned” verses “unsuccessfully weaned” based on 30 day survival. Hemodynamic, laboratory, and echocardiogram parameters were compared. Echocardiograms prior to ECMO decannulation were reviewed for LV/RV systolic function and valvular function. T test was used to determine statistical significance among clinical parameters. Results Preliminary analysis showed that 117 patients met inclusion criteria. 43% were weaned from ECMO while 57% were unable to be weaned. Characteristics of both groups are described (Figure). The most common indications for ECMO were cardiac arrest and cardiogenic shock, the average duration was >100 hours, and bleeding was the leading complication. Among weaned patients, 84% survived to 30 days post-decannulation (Figure). 41 (82%) patients were successfully weaned compared to 9 (18%) who were unsuccessful (8 died, 1 relapsed to ECMO). Between the two groups, hemodynamic and laboratory parameters were similar (Figure). The average left ventricular ejection fraction on lowest ECMO flow rates was 43% in the successfully weaned group compared to 42% in the unsuccessfully weaned group. On average, both groups had mild right ventricular dysfunction. Conclusions While less than 50% of patients placed on VA-ECMO were weaned and decannulated, the majority of weaned patients survived to 30 days post-decannulation without relapse to mechanical circulatory support. These data suggest that clinical data, as described here, can be used when determining whether to wean patients off ECMO. Further studies are needed to evaluate clinical metrics that can be used to refine the ECMO weaning process and improve post-decannulation outcomes.
Beyond the p-value: Bayesian Statistics and Causation

Statistical paradigms limit the perspective and tools social work researchers use to study the world and answer questions impacting people and policy. Currently, quantitative social work researchers overwhelmingly rely on the frequentist paradigm of statistics. This paper discusses foundational differences between the frequentist and Bayesian statistical paradigms, describes basic concepts of Bayesian analysis, compares Bayesian and frequentist statistical analysis for a sample social work problem, and introduces two types of causal analyses built on Bayesian statistical thinking: counterfactual causality, and causality based on work by computer scientist Judea Pearl. Implications for social work research are discussed.
Poster: Data-Aware Edge Sampling for Aggregate Query Approximation

Data stream processing is an increasingly important topic due to the prevalence of smart devices and the demand for realtime analytics. One estimate suggests that we should expect nine smart-devices per person by the year 2025 [1]. These devices generate data which might include sensor readings from a smart home, event or system logs on a device, or video feeds from surveillance cameras. As the number of devices increases, the cost of streaming the device data to the cloud over the wide-area network (WAN) will also increase substantially. Transferring and querying this data efficiently has become the focus of much academic research [2]–[5]. Edge computation affords us the opportunity to address this problem by utilizing resources close to the devices. Edge resources have many different use cases, including minimizing end-to-end latency or maximizing throughput [6], [7]. We restrict our focus to minimizing the required WAN bandwidth, which is an effort to address the increase in data volume.
Process, Power, and Impact of the Institutional Review Board in Criminology and Criminal Justice Research.

While research on Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) has been conducted on issues ranging from quality, process, and effectiveness, gaps remain. Social science researchers have raised issues regard...
The Hologic Aptima SARS-CoV-2 assay enables high ratio pooling saving reagents and improving turnaround time.

Background The Hologic Aptima™ TMA SARS-CoV-2 assay was employed to test pooled nasopharyngeal (NP) samples to evaluate the performance of pooled sample testing and characterize variables influencing results. Methods Results on 1033 previously tested NP samples were retrieved to characterize the relative light units (RLU) of SARS-CoV-2-positive samples in the tested population. The pooling strategy of combining 10 SARS-CoV-2 samples into one pool (10/1) was used in this study. The results were compared with neat sample testing using the same Aptima™ TMA SARS-CoV-2 assay and also the CDC RT-PCR and the Cepheid SARS-CoV-2 assays. Results The Aptima assay compares favorably with both CDC RT-PCR and the Cepheid SARS-CoV-2 assays. Once samples are pooled 10 to 1 as in our experiments, the resulting signal strength of the assay suffers. A divide opens between pools assembled from strong-positive versus only weak-positive samples. Pools of the former can be reliably detected with positive percent agreement (PPA) of 95.2%, while pools of the latter are frequently misclassified as negative with PPA of 40%. When the weak-positive samples with kRLU value lower than 1012 constitute 3.4% of the total sample profile, the assay PPA approaches 93.4% suggesting that 10/1 pooled sample testing by the Aptima assay is an effective screening tool for SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion Performing pooled testing, one should monitor the weak positives with kRLU lower than 1012 or quantification cycle (Cq) value higher than 35 on an ongoing basis and adjust pooling approaches to avoid reporting false negatives.
Community Disaster Recovery: Moving from Vulnerability to Resilience

Disasters can serve as focusing events that increase agenda attention related to issues of disaster response, recovery, and preparedness. Increased agenda attention can lead to policy changes and organisational learning. The degree and type of learning that occurs within a government organization after a disaster may matter to policy outcomes related to individual, household, and community-level risks and resilience. Local governments are the first line of disaster response but also bear the burden of performing long-term disaster recovery and planning for future events. Crow and Albright present the first framework for understanding if, how, and to what effect communities and local governments learn after a disaster strikes. Drawing from analyses conducted over a five-year period following extreme flooding in Colorado, USA, Community Disaster Recovery: Moving from Vulnerability to Resilience presents a framework of community-level learning after disaster and the factors that catalyse policy change towards resilience.