cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Challenges and strategies for conducting sensitive research with an Arab American population

Recruiting minority groups such as Arab Americans (Ar-Am) for research studies has been challenging. To date no studies were found that explicitly addressed challenges to recruit Ar-Am for sensitive research. The purpose of this article is to present the challenges across three pilot studies that involved Ar-Am samples and the strategies that were implemented to overcome these challenges. The challenges faced with conducting studies with Ar-Am included difficulty for participants to express emotions, influence of male/female authority to consent for the study, lack of trust to disclose sensitive information, language barrier, and slow recruitment. Having bilingual female recruiters of Arabic descent, engaging the women's family members in the consent process, and addressing the sensitive topics in culturally appropriate language were effective strategies to overcome these challenges. These strategies might be helpful for other researchers who recruit Ar-Am for sensitive research.
Therapeutic indications and other use-case-driven updates in the drug ontology: anti-malarials, anti-hypertensives, opioid analgesics, and a large term request

The Drug Ontology (DrOn) is an OWL2-based representation of drug products and their ingredients, mechanisms of action, strengths, and dose forms. We originally created DrOn for use cases in comparative effectiveness research, primarily to identify historically complete sets of United States National Drug Codes (NDCs) that represent packaged drug products, by the ingredient(s), mechanism(s) of action, and so on contained in those products. Although we had designed DrOn from the outset to carefully distinguish those entities that have a therapeutic indication from those entities that have a molecular mechanism of action, we had not previously represented in DrOn any particular therapeutic indication. In this work, we add therapeutic indications for three research use cases: resistant hypertension, malaria, and opioid abuse research. We also added mechanisms of action for opioid analgesics and added 108 classes representing drug products in response to a large term request from the Program for Resistance, Immunology, Surveillance and Modeling of Malaria in Uganda (PRISM) project. The net result is a new version of DrOn, current to May 2016, that represents three major therapeutic classes of drugs and six new mechanisms of action. A therapeutic indication of a drug product is represented as a therapeutic function in DrOn. Adverse effects of drug products, as well as other therapeutic uses for which the drug product was not designed are dispositions. Our work provides a framework for representing additional therapeutic indications, adverse effects, and uses of drug products beyond their design. Our work also validated our past modeling decisions for specific types of mechanisms of action, namely effects mediated via receptor and/or enzyme binding. DrOn is available at: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/dron.owl . A smaller version without NDCs is available at: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/dron/dron-lite.owl
Abstract TP98: Moderate Physical Exercise Promotes Cognitive Recovery Following Focal Cerebral Ischemia in Rats

The majority of stroke patients suffer long-term disabilities impacting both motor and cognitive function. Physical exercise has been shown to improve functional recovery following focal cerebral ischemia by facilitating brain plasticity. However, the exercise intensity that promotes optimal cognitive recovery needs closer examination. This study seeks to analyze the effects of forced treadmill exercise at various speeds on spatial memory tests after focal ischemia in rats. We hypothesized that, a moderate intensity treadmill regiment will better ameliorate cognitive deficits and improve functional recovery after focal ischemia compared to the high or mild intensity groups. Three-month-old male Sprague Dawley rats were acclimated to the investigator and treadmill for three days. On day four, rats underwent focal cerebral ischemia using the middle cerebral artery occlusion model for 90 minutes or sham surgery and were randomly assigned to an exercise intensity group. Rats had three days of recovery post-surgery followed by forced treadmill exercise for six days. The rats were exposed to a two-minute warm-up period at 5 m/min and then exercised for a period of 30 minutes at 6 m/min for mild, 10 m/min for moderate, and 18 m/min for heavy. Finally, the rats were subjected to contextual fear conditioning where rats were placed in a fear conditioning chamber for 8 minutes with a 2 second 1.5 mA shock delivered at minute 7.5 then returned to chamber 24 hours later. Fear conditioning data showed that, following a stroke rats froze 16.48 +/- 2.75%, compared to the moderate intensity group where rats froze 63.57 +/- 10.72 % (S.E.M, n = 10, p
Psychosis secondary to an incidental teratoma: a “heads-up” for psychiatrists and gynecologists

Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis is a potentially fatal form of autoimmune encephalitis that originates secondary to a host immune response to neural tissue within a teratoma. We describe the case of a 17-year old girl who presented with acute onset psychosis, catatonic movements, urinary incontinence, fever, tachycardia, and fluctuating periods of hypotension and hypertension. A CT scan demonstrated an incidental 6 cm ovarian teratoma. The patient fully recovered after ovarian cystectomy, followed by medical management with intravenous immunoglobins and plasmapheresis. Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis is an important differential diagnosis to consider for young patients presenting with acute onset psychiatric symptoms, who develop seizures, movement disorders, or autonomic instability. It is important for psychiatrist and gynecologist to be aware of this diagnosis as delay in recognition can have serious consequences including patient death.
Multi-institutional report on toxicities of concurrent nivolumab and radiation therapy.

Abstract Purpose Radiation therapy (RT) and nivolumab are standard therapies for a wide range of advanced and metastatic cancers, yet little is known about the toxicity profile of their combined treatment. The rate of grade ≥3 toxicities from nivolumab monotherapy and radiation-only palliative treatments has been reported at 10% to 18% and 0% to 26%, respectively. We reviewed our experience to assess the acute toxicity profile of concurrent RT-nivolumab. Methods and materials A retrospective review of all consecutive patients from January 2015 to May 2017 who received concurrent RT-nivolumab was conducted at 4 separate centers. Concurrent RT-nivolumab was defined as RT completed between 3 days prior to initial nivolumab infusion and 28 days after the last nivolumab infusion. Results Of the 261 patients who received nivolumab, 46 (17.6%) had concurrent RT to 67 treatment sites. The median follow-up was 3.3 months (interquartile range, 1.7-6.1 months) and the 1-year overall survival rate was 22%. For the 11 of 46 patients (24%) who were alive at last analysis, the median follow-up was 12.8 months (interquartile range, 8.3-14.9 months). The most common histology, RT prescription, and treatment site were non-small cell lung cancer (23 of 46 patients; 50%), 30 Gy in 10 fractions (24 of 67 patients; 35.8%), and abdomen/pelvis (16 of 67 patients; 24%), respectively. Four patients with melanoma had concurrent ipilimumab and were removed from the final toxicity analysis of RT-nivolumab. Within 3 months of treatment with RT-nivolumab, 4 of 42 patients (9.5%) experienced grade 3 toxicity and 2 of these patients' toxicities were attributed specifically to the addition of RT: grade 3 hearing loss after whole brain RT and grade 3 pancreatitis after stereotactic body RT to the left adrenal gland. One death from transaminitis was attributed to nivolumab alone because the RT field did not encompass the liver. Conclusions Concurrent RT-nivolumab did not appear to increase the toxicity profile from the previously reported toxicity rates from nivolumab or radiation alone.
Keeping your cool – A multi-stakeholder look at AC sizing

Abstract Selecting the capacity of a central air conditioning (AC) system is based on a long list of structural factors within a home, but is normally chosen without considering effects on stakeholders outside of the home. Energy use by residential air conditioners is relevant to consumers as an expense, but also to utilities as a contributor to peak demand and to society by the resultant emissions. In this article, we investigate how size and operational patterns of central residential air conditioners interact with stakeholder benefits and costs. The case study analyzes energy use for systems sized from 3.0 to 5.5 tons in single family homes in Phoenix, Arizona and quantifies the costs and benefits to homeowners, electric utilities, and society. For homeowners, larger systems are preferred due to lower energy consumption, leading to lower net costs, and the ability to cool the house quickly. However, under the same conditions, a smaller AC system provides double the potential profit to the utility from reduced generation and peak load costs. Because of lower energy consumption, larger systems have lower environmental externality costs from carbon and criteria pollutant emissions. However, a social perspective that considers homeowner, utility and externality costs together results in an overall preference for smaller systems with setback schedules, driven by the value of peak demand reduction.
Targeted Therapy and Immunotherapy Response Assessment with F-18 Fluorothymidine Positron-Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Melanoma Brain Metastasis: A Pilot Study.

Introduction: This pilot study aimed at exploring the utility of the proliferation tracer F-18 FLT (FLT) and PET/MRI (FLT-PET/MRI) for early treatment monitoring in patients with melanoma brain metastasis (MBM) who undergo targeted therapy or immunotherapy. Material and Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed MBM underwent baseline and follow-up FLT-PET/MRI scans at 3-4 weeks of targeted therapy or immunotherapy. Up to 6 measurable brain lesions ≥ 1.0 cm per subject, as identified on T1-weighted post-Gd images, were included for quantitative analyses. The maximum SUV of each lesion was divided by the mean SUV of the pons to obtain the SUV ratio (SUVR). Results: Five enrolled subjects underwent the baseline FLT-PET/MRI study in which the MBM showed a median size of 1.7 cm (range 1.0-2.9) and increased metabolic activity with SUVR of 9.9 (range 3.2-18.4). However, only two subjects (cases #1 and #2) returned for a follow-up scan. At baseline, a total of 22 lesions were analyzed in all five subjects, which showed a median size of 1.7 cm (range 1.0-2.9) and median SUVR of 9.9 (range 3.2-18.4). At follow-up, case #1 was a 55-year-old man who received targeted BRAF inhibitor and MEK inhibitor therapy with dabrafenib and trametinib. Fused PET/MRI data of 6 measured lesions demonstrated a significant reduction in MBM proliferative activity (median -68%; range -38% to -77%) and size (median -23%; range -4% to -55%) at three weeks of therapy. Nevertheless, the subject eventually progressed and died 13 months after therapy initiation. Case #2 was a 36-year-old man who received immunotherapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab. The five measured MBM lesions showed a mixed response at both proliferative and morphologic imaging at one-month follow-up. Some lesions demonstrated interval decrease while others interval increase in proliferative activity with a median -44% (range -77% to +68%). On MRI, the size change was +7% (range -64% to +50%). The therapy was switched to dabrafenib and trametinib, which led to a partial response. The patient is still alive 16 months following therapy initiation. Conclusion: The five cases presented show the potential benefit of hybrid FLT-PET/MRI for the diagnosis of MBM and treatment monitoring of
Minding the Gaps in Absenteeism: Disparities in Absenteeism by Race/Ethnicity, Poverty and Disability

Children from certain racial and ethnic minority backgrounds, in poverty, and/or with a disability, often face distinct challenges in attending school, leading them to miss more school relative to ...
Guerrilla Marketing: A Theoretical Review

Guerrilla marketing, in spite of its modest beginnings in the early 1960s, is today extensively used not just by small and medium enterprises, but also by big corporations. Guerrilla marketing, with its unique characteristic of surprise, diffusion and low cost has come to stay because of these advantages over traditional marketing. Over the years, numerous methods of guerrilla marketing have emerged. The most popular of them are Ambient marketing, Sensation marketing, Viral marketing, Buzz marketing and Ambush marketing. Despite its numerous advantages, guerrilla marketing suffers from some negatives, which have to be accounted before any guerrilla marketing campaign is conducted. The present paper discusses the aforementioned aspects of Guerrilla Marketing.
Racial Bias and LSI-R Assessments in Probation Sentencing and Outcomes:

Risk assessments are now implemented in correctional settings across the United States as an evidence-based strategy to inform sentencing and supervision decisions. Despite growing research examini...
Painful Complications After Cosmetic Surgery: Management of Peripheral Nerve Injury.

BACKGROUND Aesthetic procedures are among the most common surgeries performed by plastic surgeons. The prevalence of persistent pain remains unknown and underappreciated in the plastic surgery literature. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this article was to increase awareness of this problem while describing the diagnostic and management strategies for patients with postoperative pain after aesthetic plastic surgery. METHODS A literature review was performed utilizing the PubMed database to identify painful complications of brachioplasty, blepharoplasty, rhytidectomy, abdominoplasty, breast augmentation, mastopexy, and breast reduction. A treatment algorithm was described to guide plastic surgeons presented with patients reporting pain after aesthetic surgery. RESULTS Title and abstract review followed by application of inclusion and exclusion criteria resulted in 20 clinical studies for this review, including lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, iliohypogastric nerve, and intercostal nerves after abdominoplasty; median antebrachial cutaneous nerve after brachioplasty; supraorbital, supratrochlear, and infratrochlear nerves after blepharoplasty; greater auricular nerve, auriculotemporal nerve, and zygomaticofacial nerve after rhytidectomy; and intercostobrachial nerve after breast surgery. CONCLUSIONS Neuromas can be the source of pain following aesthetic surgery. The same clinical and diagnostic approach used for upper and lower extremity neuroma pain can be employed in patients with persistent pain after aesthetic surgery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4
Structure of a Signaling Cannabinoid Receptor 1-G Protein Complex

Cannabis elicits its mood-enhancing and analgesic effects through the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1), a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that signals primarily through the adenylyl cyclase-inhibiting heterotrimeric G protein Gi. Activation of CB1-Gi signaling pathways holds potential for treating a number of neurological disorders and is thus crucial to understand the mechanism of Gi activation by CB1. Here, we present the structure of the CB1-Gi signaling complex bound to the highly potent agonist MDMB-Fubinaca (FUB), a recently emerged illicit synthetic cannabinoid infused in street drugs that have been associated with numerous overdoses and fatalities. The structure illustrates how FUB stabilizes the receptor in an active state to facilitate nucleotide exchange in Gi. The results compose the structural framework to explain CB1 activation by different classes of ligands and provide insights into the G protein coupling and selectivity mechanisms adopted by the receptor.
Vascular Inflammation, Calf Muscle Oxygen Saturation, and Blood Glucose are Associated With Exercise Pressor Response in Symptomatic Peripheral Artery Disease:

We determined whether calf muscle oxygen saturation (StO2) and vascular biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress were associated with an exercise pressor response during treadmill walking in 179 patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD). The exercise pressor response was measured as the change in blood pressure from rest to the end of the first 2-minute treadmill stage (2 mph, 0% grade). There was a wide range in the change in systolic blood pressure (-46 to 50 mm Hg) and in diastolic blood pressure (-23 to 38 mm Hg), with mean increases of 4.3 and 1.4 mm Hg, respectively. In multiple regression analyses, significant predictors of systolic pressure included glucose (P < .001) and insulin (P = .039). Significant predictors of diastolic pressure included cultured endothelial cell apoptosis (P = .019), the percentage drop in exercise calf muscle (StO2; P = .023), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (P = .032), and glucose (P = .033). Higher levels in pro-inflammatory vascular biomarkers, impaired calf muscle StO2 during exercise, and elevated blood glucose were independently associated with greater exercise pressor response in patients with symptomatic PAD. The clinical implication is that exercise and nutritional interventions designed to improve inflammation, microcirculation, and glucose metabolism may also lower blood pressure during exercise in patients with symptomatic PAD.
E-protein–regulated expression of CXCR4 adheres preselection thymocytes to the thymic cortex

Preselection thymocytes are normally retained in the thymic cortex, but the mechanisms responsible remain incompletely understood. We now report that deletion of genes encoding the E-protein transcription factors E2A and HEB disorders chemokine receptor expression on developing thymocytes to allow escape of preselection TCR-CD8+ thymocytes into the periphery. We document that CXCR4 expression normally anchors preselection thymocytes to the thymic cortex via interaction with its ligand CXCL12 on cortical thymic epithelial cells, and that disruption of CXCR4-CXCL12 engagements release preselection thymocytes from the thymic cortex. We further document that CXCR4 expression must be extinguished by TCR-mediated positive selection signals to allow migration of TCR-signaled thymocytes out of the thymic cortex into the medulla. Thus, E-protein transcription factors regulate the ordered expression pattern of chemokine receptors on developing thymocytes, and the interaction of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 with its ligand adheres TCR-unsignaled preselection thymocytes to the thymic cortex.
Holocene sea-level variability from Chesapeake Bay Tidal Marshes, USA:

We reconstructed the last 10,000 years of Holocene relative sea-level rise (RSLR) from sediment core records near Chesapeake Bay, eastern United States, including new marsh records from the Potomac...
The Indirect Relationships between Psychopathic Traits and Proactive and Reactive Aggression through Empathy and Emotion Dysregulation

This study examined the extent to which empathy and emotion dysregulation facilitate the relationships between psychopathic personality traits and aggression, using a sample of 368 university students. Psychopathic traits were assessed with the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R; Lilienfeld and Widows 2005), empathy via the Affective and Cognitive Measure of Empathy (ACME; Vachon and Lynam Assessment, 23, 135-149, 2016), and emotion dysregulation using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz and Roemer Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26, 41-54, 2004). A series of structural equation models (SEM) compared indirect effects of psychopathic traits on proactive and reactive aggression (Reactive Proactive Aggression Questionnaire; Raine et al. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 16, 512-524, 2006) through empathy and emotion dysregulation. Findings indicated a significant and positive indirect effect of Self-Centered Impulsivity traits on proactive aggression through low empathy, whereas the positive indirect effect of Self-Centered Impulsivity on reactive aggression was through high emotion dysregulation. Both Fearless Dominance and Coldheartedness had significant negative indirect effects on reactive aggression through (low) levels of emotion dysregulation; Fearless Dominance also exhibited a negative indirect effect on proactive aggression via ACME total score. Moreover, Coldheartedness had a significant, positive indirect effect on proactive aggression through (low) empathy. In a final model that accounted for shared variance between empathy and emotion dysregulation, all indirect relationships were maintained, suggesting that each path is not better accounted for by variance in the other. In all, this study builds upon prior research on emotion-related correlates of psychopathy, suggesting differential pathways from psychopathic traits to proactive and reactive aggression.
Climatic and management determinants of large herbivore production in semiarid grassland

Abstract Knowledge of climatic and management influences on large herbivore production (LHP, kg ha−1) is needed for low productivity, semiarid grasslands to address potential consequences of both increasing climate variability and the need to increase animal protein for human consumption. Here, we evaluate the influence of climatic variability and herbivore density on LHP in semiarid grassland using a unique long-term (80 years: 1939–2018) grazing study with three grazing intensities based on forage utilization (light, moderate and heavy). Seasonal variation in precipitation, but not temperature, was the primary influence on LHP. Winter (October-March) and spring (April-June), but not summer (July-September), precipitation during the current year positively influenced LHP across the 3 grazing intensities, whereas prior growing season (prior April-September) precipitation was consistently a negative influence. Although spring precipitation was the most influential seasonal weather variable for LHP, the effect of winter precipitation closely followed under all three grazing intensities, suggesting that non-growing season precipitation is essential for soil water storage to initiate production of sufficient high-quality forage in the subsequent grazing season, resulting in a positive feedback on LHP. A key finding from our analysis was that the effect of summer precipitation is smaller than the combined effects of winter and spring precipitation. As such, much of the variation in LHP can be predicted by seasonal weather parameters that are known early in the growing season. The magnitude of seasonal precipitation effects on LHP was greatest for heavy grazing; consequently LHP with heavy grazing is more reliant on primary production produced in the current year to increase LHP as forage quantity is more limiting than forage quality. Moreover, stability of LHP across years (range: 7.5 to 34.6 kg ha−1) was less with heavy grazing, which results in “boom-bust” economics that threaten sustainability of operations. Management adaptations to mitigate climatic variability, therefore, will be most necessary and advantageous when land managers employ heavy grazing intensities. Despite the substantial interannual variability in precipitation that characterizes semiarid grasslands, our results show that proactive flexibility by land managers in adjusting grazing management decisions to seasonal precipitation amounts forecasted for the winter and spring seasons would reduce enterprise risk and improve confidence in decision-making, profitability, production efficiency and environmental sustainability from semiarid grasslands.
Blood Flow Restriction Training Applied With High-Intensity Exercise Does Not Improve Quadriceps Muscle Function After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background:A major goal of rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is restoring quadriceps muscle strength. Unfortunately, current rehabilitation paradigms fall short ...
Clinicopathologic implications of Myb and Beta-catenin expression in adenoid cystic carcinoma.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is the second most common malignancy of the salivary glands, accounting for ~ 1% of malignant tumors of the head and neck region and 10% of salivary gland neoplasms. Predicting the long-term outcomes of patients with ACC is still challenging, as reliable prognostic biomarkers are not available. Among salivary gland tumors, Myb overexpression is highly specific for ACC. In addition, the MYB-NF1B fusion translocation is a hallmark of ACC, and although the detection of this translocation does not appear to impact prognosis, the MYB-NF1B fusion is also implicated in MYB upregulation. Myb has recently been identified as an activator of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, and aberrant cytoplasmic expression of β-catenin has been observed in many salivary gland malignancies. In this study, we aim to analyze the impact of Myb and β-catenin expression on prognosis in ACC. A tissue microarray constructed from archival tissue from 64 patients with ACC was stained for Myb and β-catenin; both localization and intensity were evaluated. In parallel, we abstracted demographic data, tumor characteristics, survival data, and outcomes, including local recurrence, regional recurrence, and distant metastasis from the medical record. Statistical analysis was performed. Our analysis supports that ACC patients negative for Myb by immunohistochemical methods have a higher risk of developing metastasis than patients with Myb staining (HR: 4.06, 95% CI: 1.02–14.96, p-value: 0.03). Although not statistically significant, cytoplasmic localization of β-catenin is may suggest a diminished rate of relapse-free survival (HR 2.45, 95%CI: 0.9–6.7, p = 0.08). Furthermore, Myb expression correlated with β-catenin expression, increasing 1.69 in staining intensity units with each increase in β-catenin staining intensity (p-value: 0.04). Our study suggests that Myb expression is protective; Myb positive patients have diminished risk of distant metastasis. In contrast, there is a trend towards increased hazard of death in ACC patients with cytoplasmic β-catenin expression. Additional analyses will be necessary to establish Myb and β-catenin as independent protective and adverse biomarkers, respectively.
Transgenic inhibition of astroglial NF-κB restrains the neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative outcomes of experimental mouse glaucoma

Glia-driven neuroinflammation promotes neuron injury in glaucoma that is a chronic neurodegenerative disease of the optic nerve and a leading cause of irreversible blindness. Although therapeutic modulation of neuroinflammation is increasingly viewed as a logical strategy to avoid inflammatory neurotoxicity in glaucoma, current understanding of the molecular regulation of neuroinflammation is incomplete, and the molecular targets for immunomodulation remains unknown. Growing datasets pointed to nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB), a key transcriptional activator of inflammation, which was identified to be most affected in glaucomatous astroglia. Using a cell type-specific experimental approach, this study aimed to determine the value of astroglial NF-κB as a potential treatment target for immunomodulation in experimental mouse glaucoma. Neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative outcomes of experimental glaucoma were comparatively analyzed in mice with or without cre/lox-based conditional deletion of astroglial IκKβ, which is the main activating kinase involved in IκB degradation through the canonical pathway of NF-κB activation. Glial responses and the inflammatory status of the retina and optic nerve were analyzed by cell morphology and cytokine profiling, and neuron structure and function were analyzed by counting retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons and somas and recording pattern electroretinography (PERG) responses. Analysis of glial inflammatory responses showed immunomodulatory outcomes of the conditional transgenic deletion of IκKβ in astroglia. Various pro-inflammatory cytokines known to be transcriptional targets for NF-κB exhibited decreased production in IκKβ-deleted astroglia, which included TNF-α that can induce RGC apoptosis and axon degeneration during glaucomatous neurodegeneration. Indeed, transgenic modulation of inflammatory responses by astroglial IκKβ deletion reduced neurodegeneration at different neuronal compartments, including both RGC axons and somas, and protected PERG responses. The findings of this study support a key role for astroglial NF-κB in neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative outcomes of experimental glaucoma and the potential of this transcriptional regulator pathway as a glial treatment target to provide neuroprotection through immunomodulation. By pointing to a potential treatment strategy targeting the astroglia, these experimental findings are promising for future clinical translation through transgenic applications to improve the treatment of this blinding disease.
A Benchmark for automatic noise measurement in clinical computed tomography

Purpose Assessment of image quality directly in clinical image data is an important quality control objective as phantom-based testing does not fully represent image quality across patient variation. Computer algorithms for automatically measuring noise in clinical computed tomography (CT) images have been introduced, but the accuracy of these algorithms is unclear. This work benchmarks the accuracy of the global noise (GN) algorithm for automatic noise measurement in contrast-enhanced abdomen CT exams in comparison to precise reference noise measurements. The GN algorithm was further optimized compared to the previous report in the literature. Methods Reference values of noise were established in a public image dataset of 82 contrast-enhanced abdomen CT exams. The reference noise values were obtained by manual regions-of-interest measurements of pixel standard deviation in the liver parenchyma according to an instruction protocol. Noise measurements taken by six observers were averaged together to improve reference noise statistical precision. The GN algorithm was used to automatically measure noise in each image set. The accuracy of the GN algorithm was determined in terms of RMS error compared to reference noise. The GN algorithm was optimized by conducting 1000 trials with random algorithm parameter values. The trial with the lowest RMS error was used to select optimum algorithm parameters. Results The range of noise across CT image sets was 8.8-28.8 HU. Reference noise measurements were made with a precision of ±0.78 HU (95% confidence interval). The RMS error of automatic noise measurement was 0.93 HU (0.77-1.19 HU 95% confidence interval). The automatic noise measurements were equally accurate across image sets of varying noise magnitude. Optimum GN algorithm parameter values were: a kernel size of 7 pixels, and soft tissue lower and upper thresholds of 0 and 170 HU, respectively. Conclusions The performance of automatic noise measurement was benchmarked in a large clinical CT dataset. The study provides a framework for thorough validation of automatic clinical image quality measurement methods. The GN algorithm was optimized and validated for automatic measurement of soft-tissue noise in abdomen CT exams.
Dimensions of execution quality: Recent evidence for US equity markets

Abstract I analyze market-order execution quality using order-based data reported in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 11Ac1-5. These data facilitate a comprehensive investigation of multiple dimensions of execution quality, including measures of costs and speed, for large samples of common stocks on Nasdaq and the NYSE. The evidence is consistent with competitive equity markets. Overall execution costs on Nasdaq exceed those on the NYSE, but orders execute faster. This relationship reverses for larger orders exceeding 1,999 shares. The apparent trade-off between costs and speed suggests that inferring execution quality from costs alone could be problematical. It also illustrates the need for models of trader behavior that can accommodate multiple dimensions of execution quality.
Recasting the Immigrant Health Paradox Through Intersections of Legal Status and Race.

Immigrant health research has often noted an “immigrant health paradox”, the observation that immigrants are “healthier” compared to their native-born peers of similar demographic and socioeconomic profile. This paradox disappears as immigrants stay longer in the host country. Multiple arguments, including migrant selectivity and cultural and behavioral factors have been proposed as reasons for the apparent paradox. Recently, the field has focused on immigrant legal status, especially its racialization. We review the literature on the immigrant health paradox, legal status, and racialized legal status to examine how this debate has taken a more structural approach. We find that immigrant health research has taken a needed intersectional approach, a productive development that examines how different markers of disadvantage work concurrently to shape immigrants’ health. This approach, which factors in immigration enforcement practices, aligns with explanations for poor health outcomes among other racialized groups, and promises a fruitful avenue for future research.
Modelling COVID-19 transmission in Africa: countrywise projections of total and severe infections under different lockdown scenarios

Objectives As of 13 January 2021, there have been 3 113 963 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 and 74 619 deaths across the African continent. Despite relatively lower numbers of cases initially, many African countries are now experiencing an exponential increase in case numbers. Estimates of the progression of disease and potential impact of different interventions are needed to inform policymaking decisions. Herein, we model the possible trajectory of SARS-CoV-2 in 52 African countries under different intervention scenarios. Design We developed a compartmental model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to estimate the COVID-19 case burden for all African countries while considering four scenarios: no intervention, moderate lockdown, hard lockdown and hard lockdown with continued restrictions once lockdown is lifted. We further analysed the potential impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations affected by HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB). Results In the absence of an intervention, the most populous countries had the highest peaks in active projected number of infections with Nigeria having an estimated 645 081 severe infections. The scenario with a hard lockdown and continued post-lockdown interventions to reduce transmission was the most efficacious strategy for delaying the time to the peak and reducing the number of cases. In South Africa, projected peak severe infections increase from 162 977 to 2 03 261, when vulnerable populations with HIV/AIDS and TB are included in the analysis. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly spreading across the African continent. Estimates of the potential impact of interventions and burden of disease are essential for policymakers to make evidence-based decisions on the distribution of limited resources and to balance the economic costs of interventions with the potential for saving lives.
How Should AI Systems Talk to Users when Collecting their Personal Information? Effects of Role Framing and Self-Referencing on Human-AI Interaction

AI systems collect our personal information in order to provide personalized services, raising privacy concerns and making users leery. As a result, systems have begun emphasizing overt over covert collection of information by directly asking users. This poses an important question for ethical interaction design, which is dedicated to improving user experience while promoting informed decision-making: Should the interface tout the benefits of information disclosure and frame itself as a help-provider? Or, should it appear as a help-seeker? We decided to find out by creating a mockup of a news recommendation system called Mindz and conducting an online user study (N=293) with the following four variations: AI system as help seeker vs. help provider vs. both vs. neither. Data showed that even though all participants received the same recommendations, power users tended to trust a help-seeking Mindz more whereas non-power users favored one that is both help-seeker and help-provider.
Effects of Pad Layout Variations on the Cut-off Frequency of Millimeter-Wave Transistors

The effects of pad layout variations on high-frequency characteristics of millimeter-wave transistors are studied in this work. Extrinsic parameters of the device are extracted using a conformal mapping technique merely based on the physical structure of the device. A wave-electron-transport model is utilized for the analysis. A device solver and an electromagnetic solver are included to solve the governing electron-transport and transmission line equations, respectively. Comparison results for two different pad configurations of the transistor are provided and measurement results for a GaN HEMT device is used for this purpose.
ADS-B SURVEILLANCE QUALITY INDICATORS : THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO SYSTEM OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY AND AIRCRAFT SEPARATION STANDARDS

As part of continuing investigations of how to best integrate Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) systems into air traffic control systems, one avenue of research is looking at augmenting or replacing ground-based radar with GPS-based aircraft separation systems using ADS-B to communicate between aircraft. This study examines how undetected failures in GPS-derived position estimates can affect safety and system performance when used with ADS-B. Results show that ADS-B is adequate when compared to radar- based separation. But this study is only looking at horizontal plane surveillance and is not meant to suggest separation levels appropriate for operational conditions. It does suggest that on a purely technical basis the potential separation limits for ADS-B are equivalent to those for radar. For an actual operational evaluation, failure modes and recovery must also be considered.
A Courtly Art: the history of ‘haute École’ in England

(2001). A Courtly Art: the history of ‘haute Ecole’ in England. The Court Historian: Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 29-47.
Localized-Access Protocols for Replicated Databases

In this paper, we present two protocols for efficient execution of transactions in replicated databases. Transactions are executed at a single site thus avoiding communication overhead and distributed commitment, which are required by most other replica control protocols. In the first protocol, data accessibility at a site can be dynamically reconfigured using special transactions, which are executed on demand. In the second protocol, data accessibility is reconfigured by migrating ownership of individual objects in the database. The two protocols present trade-offs with respect to atomicity, resiliency, and data availability. The approach of local execution of user transactions improves response time, eliminates the need for distributed commit protocols, and accommodates database heterogeneity.
Student Pioneers and Educational Innovations

Summary Recruitment of students into gerontological social work is an increasingly important issue as the population of older adults grows. This article describes one initiative designed to aid in the promotion of geriatric social work: the University of Michigan's Geriatric Fellowship Program. Using qualitative in-depth interviews with 13 MSW Fellows as well as survey data of 219 MSW students, the authors examine the moti-vating factors that led students to specialize in geriatric social work and to apply for a geriatric fellowship. Family exposure to aging issues, “accidental” exposure through volunteer work, enthusiastic role models, job opportunities, and recognition of a social problem frequently instigated student's interest in gerontological social work. Incentives for application to the Geriatric Fellowship Program include: the unique field placement rotation model, financial support, individualized attention, group learning opportunities, and assistance with job placement. Directions for future r...
Mems: What Lies Ahead?

As a result of its successes, MEMS is now entering a phase of "technology dispersion", as numerous, diverse industries adopt different MEMS processes and techniques and adapt them to their specific requirements. MEMS will become less of an industry unto itself, and more of a critical subdiscipline within many other industries. This trend will greatly influence how MEMS R&D will be conducted in the future.
Early Warning Systems for Currency Crises: A Regime-Switching Approach

Previous early warning systems (EWS) for currency crises have relied on models that require a priori dating of crises. This paper proposes an alternative EWS, based on a Markov-switching model, which identifies and characterizes crisis periods endogenously; this also allows the model to utilize information contained in exchange rate dynamics. The model is estimated on data from 1972–1999 for the Asian crisis countries, taking a country-by-country approach. The model outperforms standard EWSs, both in signaling crises and reducing false alarms. Two lessons emerge. First, accounting for the dynamics of exchange rates is important. Second, different indicators matter for different countries, suggesting that the assumption of parameter constancy underlying panel estimates of EWSs may contribute to poor performance.
Dimensions, Surfaces, and their Measurement

Dimensions are the linear or angular sizes of a component specified on the part drawing. Dimensions are important because they determine how well the components of a product fit together during assembly. The surfaces of a component are also important because they affect product performance, assembly fit, and aesthetic appeal that a potential customer might have for the product. This Chapter summarizes dimensions, tolerances, and surfaces-three attributes specified by the product designer and determined by the manufacturing processes used to make the parts and products. Surface roughness values produced by the various manufacturing processes have been represented. Various conventional measuring instruments and gages have been discussed comprehensively which are used to evaluate dimensions such as length and diameter, as well as features such as angles, straightness, and roundness. Keywords: accuracy; bilateral tolerance; calipers; measurement; steel rule
Traffic Engineering with AIMD in MPLS Networks

We consider the problem of allocating bandwidth to competing flows in an MPLS network, subject to constraints on fairness, efficiency, and administrative complexity. The aggregate traffic between a source and a destination, called a flow, is mapped to label switched paths (LSPs) across the network. Each flow is assigned a preferred ('primary') LSP, but traffic may be sent to other ('secondary') LSPs. Within this context, we define objectives for traffic engineering, such as fairness, efficiency, and preferred flow assignment to the primary LSP of a flow ('Primary Path First', PPF). We propose a distributed, feedback-based multipath routing algorithm that attempts to apply additive-increase and multiplicative-decrease (AIMD) to implement our traffic engineering objectives. The new algorithm is referred to as multipath-AIMD. We use ns-2 simulations to illustrate the fairness criteria and PPF property of our multipath-AIMD scheme in an MPLS network.
The Path for Japan?: An Examination of Product Liability Laws in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan

The United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan developed their product liability laws based on a common desire to protect consumers. Although these regimes are similar in many ways, due to cultural differences, it seems there will always be differences. U.S. and British strict product liability regimes date back to the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Japan's strict product liability regime, however, is still in its infancy. By examining the development of strict product liability in each of these countries, focusing on statutory and common law language, as well as the position of, structure of, and access to the judiciary, this Note concludes, due to the similarities between the United Kingdom and Japan-similarities generally not existing with respect to the United States-that Japan is more likely to develop its product liability regime in accordance with the United Kingdom, rather than the United States.
Power donut system laboratory test and data analysis

A laboratory study conducted to evaluate the ability of the power donut system to accurately measure and record line current, conductor temperature, and ambient air temperature and to evaluate the system as a data gathering and communication package is presented. Although the system measures line voltage, its accuracy was not evaluated during this phase because of the difficulty in obtaining a high-voltage source in a laboratory environment. The quantities measured and recorded by the power donut system were compared with those measured by standard instruments. The percentage error and probability distribution of the error were calculated. The accuracy and precision (stability) of the power donut system are discussed. >
First Electrooptical Detection of Charged Particles

We have made the first observation of a charged particle beam by means of its electro-optical effect on the polarization of laser light in a birefringent crystal. The modulation of the laser light during the passage of a pulsed electron beam was observed using a fast photodiode and a digital oscilloscope. The fastest rise time measured in a single shot, 120 ps, was limited by the bandwidth of the oscilloscope and the associated electronics. This technology holds promise for detectors of greatly improved spatial and temporal resolution for single relativistic charged particles as well as particle beams.
The trace-class (τ c)

Consider R n — the linear space of all linear transformations on an n-dimensional space. The trace t(A) defined for A ∈ R n is a complex valued linear functional whose characteristic properties are simple and well known. Moreover τ(A) = t([A]) defines a norm on R n . An extension of these facts is being presented in the discussion which follows.
Partisanship and Information Processing: Perceptions and Expectations

Democratic theory assumes that citizens can fairly evaluate political candidates and parties. Research into citizens’ judgments, however, has long since indicated a problem with this assumption: instead of seeing the world clearly, citizens’ party loyalties may distort their perceptions. The authors of The American Voter conclude, for example, that identifying with a party raises a perceptual screen that colors how people view the political world. Despite partisanship’s widely accepted importance in structuring political behavior, few studies have tested this claim. Does partisanship actually distort perceptions? In this paper, we test this long-standing claim against an alternative view of partisanship, which sees it as a "cognitive shortcut" or "cue" that allows citizens to situate new information within their larger understanding of the political world.Drawing on recent work in psychology, we use two experiments that manipulate the placement of a party labels, putting them either before or after politically relevant information that we later ask respondents to evaluate. If party is simply a "shortcut" that has no effect on perceptions, the order of the party labels should have no effect on subjects’ evaluations of the substantive information. On the other hand, if party functions as a powerful "screen" that alters the experience of reading the information, subjects who receive the cue at the start of the information should exhibit a higher party effect than those who receive it at the end. We find no support for the "perceptual screen" model across either experiment.