cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multi-atlas Based Segmentation Editing with Interaction-Guided Constraints

We propose a novel multi-atlas based segmentation method to address the editing scenario, when given an incomplete segmentation along with a set of training label images. Unlike previous multi-atlas based methods, which depend solely on appearance features, we incorporate interaction-guided constraints to find appropriate training labels and derive their voting weights. Specifically, we divide user interactions, provided on erroneous parts, into multiple local interaction combinations, and then locally search for the training label patches well-matched with each interaction combination and also the previous segmentation. Then, we estimate the new segmentation through the label fusion of selected label patches that have their weights defined with respect to their respective distances to the interactions. Since the label patches are found to be from different combinations in our method, various shape changes can be considered even with limited training labels and few user interactions. Since our method does not need image information or expensive learning steps, it can be conveniently used for most editing problems. To demonstrate the positive performance, we apply our method to editing the segmentation of three challenging data sets: prostate CT, brainstem CT, and hippocampus MR. The results show that our method outperforms the existing editing methods in all three data sets.
FAMILY SUPPORT IS ASSOCIATED WITH SUCCESS IN ACHIEVING WEIGHT LOSS IN A GROUP LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION FOR DIABETES PREVENTION IN ARAB AMERICANS

OBJECTIVE We have recently shown the feasibility of a community-based, culturally-specific, Diabetes Prevention Program-adapted, goal-oriented group lifestyle intervention targeting weight loss in Arab Americans. The objective of this study was to examine factors associated with weight-loss goal attainment at 24-weeks of the lifestyle intervention. METHODS We assessed the relationship among demographic, psychosocial, and behavioral measures and the attainment of > or =7% decrease of initial body weight among 71 lifestyle intervention participants. RESULTS Weight loss goal of > or = 7% of body weight was achieved by 44% of study participants. Demographic and psychosocial factors were not associated with weight loss. Individuals attaining the weight loss goal were more likely to have family support during the core curriculum sessions (70% vs 30%; P=.0023). Decrease in body weight was positively correlated with attendance at sessions (r=.46; P=.0016) and physical activity minutes (r=.66; P<.0001) and negatively correlated with reported caloric intake (r=-.49; P=.0023), fat intake (r=-.52; P=.0010), and saturated fat intake (r=-.39; P=.0175) in women; these trends were similar but not significant in men. CONCLUSIONS Family support was an important predictor of attainment of the weight loss goal. Family-centered lifestyle interventions are likely to succeed in curtailing the rising epidemic of diabetes in the Arab-American Community.
The effects of sodium-hydrogen exchanger isoform-1 inhibitor cariporide on cardiopulmonary resuscitation on rats with prolonged ventricular fibrillation

Objective:To test the effects of sodium hydrogen exchanger isoform 1(NHE 1) inhibitor on cardiopulmonary resuscitation(CPR) in rats with prolonged ventricular fibrillation (VF) Methods:20 rats were subjected to 10 minutes untreated VF.2 groups of 10 rats each were then randomized to receive cariporide(3 mg/kg) or the same volume of 0 9% NaCl as control group at the end of VF and then start to chest compression.Both groups received up to 3 experimental electrical shocks(2 ,2 ,and 4 J) at 6 minutes after start of chest compression.The rats,which can't be defibrillated successfully,continuously received chest compression up to 8 minutes followed by rescues electrical shocks and compression series.All rats,which can be defibrillated successfully will be monitored 120 minutes after resuscitation Results:Cariporide given immediately before starting chest compression allowed generation of a coronary perfusion pressure and end tidal PCO 2 comparable to control rats but with significantly less depth of compression.Besides,compared with control group,cariporide group need less experimental shocks,total energy to get higher resuscitation rate(P0 05).After resuscitation,rats treated with cariporide had significantly less ventricular ectopic activity(P0 01),better hemodynamic function(P0 05),and higher survival rates Conclusion:We conclude that NHE 1 inhibition may represent a novel and highly effective form of treatment for resuscitation from VF
Activity-dependent plasticity of electrical synapses: Increasing evidence for its presence and functional roles in the mammalian brain

Gap junctions mediate electrical synaptic transmission between neurons. While the actions of neurotransmitter modulators on the conductance of gap junctions have been extensively documented, increasing evidence indicates they can also be influenced by the ongoing activity of neural networks, in most cases via local interactions with nearby glutamatergic synapses. We review here early evidence for the existence of activity-dependent regulatory mechanisms as well recent examples reported in mammalian brain. The ubiquitous distribution of both neuronal connexins and the molecules involved suggest this phenomenon is widespread and represents a property of electrical transmission in general.
Surgical treatment of massive obesity.

Surgical methods of treating obesity have developed because permanent nonoperative control of massive obesity is difficult and frustrating for patients and physicians alike. Surgical treatment is nearly 90% effective, but the immediate risks and long-term consequences are sufficiently awesome to limit its use to a carefully selected group of patients and to obligate both the patient and his physicians to close medical supervision for a long period.
Frege’s Ingredients of Meaning

Although Frege spent his entire working life at the University of Jena teaching mathematics, he once remarked, “Every good mathematician is at least half a philosopher.”1 If he had done nothing else besides inventing modern predicate logic with the introduction of quantifiers and variables into his function-and-argument approach to analyzing sentences, Frege’s elevated place in the history of both logic and the philosophy of logic would be assured and his genius stamped and sealed for all time. His contributions, however, are not confined to philosophical logic and mathematical logic; on the contrary, they are of immense importance to the philosophy of language. Frege wrote his first published paper, ‘Funktion und Begriff, 122 years ago, and his last, ‘Nebengedanke’, 90 years ago.2 Despite the passage of time and the many developments that have shaped the course of semantics since, Frege’s ideas loom large today. Dummett not long ago observed, “There is scarcely a live question in contemporary philosophy of language for whose examination Frege’s views do not form at least the best starting point.” So it is with the topic of tone and the issues that it involves.
Postoperative Outcomes in Vedolizumab-Treated Patients Undergoing Abdominal Operations for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Introduction: Vedolizumab was recently FDA approved for treatment of moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). No study to date has examined the rate of postoperative infectious complications among patients who received vedolizumab in the perioperative period. We sought to determine the 30-day postoperative infectious complication rate among IBD patients who received vedolizumab within 12 weeks of an abdominal operation as compared to patients who received TNFα inhibitors or no biologic therapy. Methods: A retrospective chart review between 5/1/2014 and 12/31/2015 of adult IBD patients who underwent an abdominal operation was performed. The study cohort was comprised of patients who received vedolizumab within 12 weeks of their abdominal operation and the control cohorts were patients who received TNFα inhibitors or no biologic therapy. Results: 94 patients received vedolizumab within 12 weeks of an abdominal operation. Fifty experienced postoperative complications (53%), 35 of which were surgical site infections (SSIs) (36%). The vedolizumab group experienced significantly higher rates of any postoperative infection (53% vs 33% anti-TNF and 28% non-biologic; P<0.001) and SSI (37% vs 10% and 13%; P< 0.001). On univariate and multivariate analysis, exposure to vedolizumab remained a significant predictor of postoperative SSI (P<0.001). Conclusions: Thirty seven percent of IBD patients who received vedolizumab within 30 days of a major abdominal operation experienced a 30-day postoperative SSI, significantly higher than patients receiving TNFα inhibitors or no biologic therapy. Vedolizumab within 12 weeks of surgery remained the only predictor of 30-day postoperative SSI on multivariate analysis.
Germany and East-West Coexistence 1955–1962

Approaching the contemporary period, the aims of the Great Powers as they are reflected in Germany appear in sharp perspective. The United States continued to hold fast in Germany in an effort to contain Soviet expansion. To the Soviets the partition of Germany represented a single stage in the struggle to extend their control in Central Europe. Here, as in other areas of the world, “coexistence” meant the adoption of an aggressive role by the Soviet Union as opposed to an often passive one of the West.
High resolution experiments of velocity and concentration fluctuations in a jet flow

Abstract In this paper we present a novel experimental technique aimed at the simultaneous measurement of velocity and scalar fluctuations with high spatial and time resolution. Measurements have been performed using wire-mesh sensors in combination with Stereo Particle Image Velocimetry (SPIV) to achieve synchronized measurements of both velocity and scalar fluctuations, and therefore of the turbulent fluxes u j ′ φ ′ ‾ . The proof-of-concept of this measurement technique was obtained on a jet flow experimental facility HiRJet (High Resolution Jet) developed and built in the Experimental and Computational Multiphase Flow (ECMF) laboratory at the University of Michigan. Acquired experimental data indicates a high temporal resolution of proposed technique and capabilities of achieving a high level of synchronization which is confirmed by cross-correlation between wire-mesh and SPIV signals.
Assessing Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Spirituality and Spiritual Care in APRN Students

Research has revealed patients’ spiritual care needs are rarely addressed by both Registered Nurses and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses. The purpose of this project was to assess the attitudes and knowledge of APRN students toward spirituality and the provision of spiritual care. Graduate students (N=51) at a suburban institution in Rhode Island were surveyed using the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS). The results revealed that although these participants had encountered patients with spiritual needs, 40 of the 51 surveyed (78%) believed they had received inadequate training in the spiritual dimension of nursing care. Recommendations were made to improve the integration of content and training regarding spirituality and spiritual care into APRN programs.
Photochemical release of sediment bound brevetoxin (PbTx-2) from resuspended sediments

Abstract Marine sediments from coastal Florida, USA impacted by Karenia brevis blooms were resuspended in seawater and irradiated in a solar simulator to determine if sedimentary bound PbTx-2 is photolytically released into the aqueous phase. All bulk and size-fractionated (
Pediatric Irritability: A Systems Neuroscience Approach

Irritability, defined as an increased propensity to exhibit increased anger relative to one's peers, is a common clinical problem in youth. Irritability can be conceptualized as aberrant responses to frustration (where frustration is the emotional response to blocked goal attainment) and/or aberrant 'approach' responses to threat. Irritable youth show hyper-reactivity to threat mediated by dysfunction in amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), insula, striatum, and association cortex. Irritable youth also show abnormalities in reward learning, cognitive control, and responses to frustration. These abnormalities are mediated by circuitry that includes the inferior frontal gyrus (iFG), striatum, ACC, and parietal cortex. Effective treatments for irritability are lacking, but pathophysiological research could lead to more precisely targeted interventions.
The impact of EMU on bond yield convergence: Evidence from a time-varying dynamic factor model

Abstract This paper examines the dynamics of long term sovereign bond yields for 21 OECD countries. Following Del Negro and Otrok (2008), we estimate a dynamic factor model, with time varying parameters and stochastic volatility, that decomposes the observed variation in bond yields for each country into a common factor, a regional factor (EMU/non-EMU), and an idiosyncratic country specific factor. We find that prior to the financial crisis of 2008, the common factor played a dominant role for most countries in our sample. In the post financial crisis period there is substantial heterogeneity in the relative importance of the EMU and the idiosyncratic factors across different countries. For instance, our results suggest that there was a decoupling between the EMU and bond markets of the periphery economies of Greece, Ireland and Portugal in the post-2008 period. We find that after the onset of sovereign debt crises in these economies, the idiosyncratic factor assumed an important role in driving the bond yield variation. Thereafter, the EMU’s share in bond yield changes in Ireland and Portugal increased considerably since 2012, whereas for Greece the idiosyncratic factor continued to play a significant role in driving bond yields. In contrast, the EMU factor consistently played a dominant role in explaining bond yield changes in Italy and Spain, the other two economies that also experienced severe debt crisis during this period. We argue such differences in the importance of the EMU factor between core and periphery economies can be attributed to the systemic importance of core members for the EMU. This is indicated by our finding that bond yields and credit default swap (CDS) are less sensitive to changes in debt-GDP ratios in countries where the EMU factor played a larger role in the post-2008 period.
Social Theory and Environmental Degradation

I have chosen, for several reasons, to begin my remarks on environmental degradation in semi-arid West Africa with the dramatic words of Mustapha Tolba of the United Nations Environment Program. First, throughout Sudano-Sahelian West Africa, desertification — taken here to mean ‘the impoverishment of arid and semi- arid and subhumid ecosystems by the combined impact of man’s activities and drought’ (Dregne, 1977, p. 324) - occupies a central place in the consciousness of all those directly concerned with the possibilities of material and social improvement in that part of the world. Prior to the United Nations Conference on Desertification in Nairobi in 1977, there was nothing like a consensus on the definition, let alone the aetiology, of desertification (nor, indeed, has there been since). But nevertheless, there has been an explosion of popular and academic writing addressing the gravity of environmental deterioration in the Sahel. And second, there is good reason, as I shall endeavour to show, to question the empirical veracity of Tolba’s views on the extent and rapidity of, in some cases ‘economically irreversible’, desertification. Though this seems to be a simple empirical problem, I believe that, in addition, important theoretical, political and perhaps even epistemological issues are at stake. Above all else, the 1970’s revealed our appalling ignorance of the human ecology of semi-arid ecosystems, most particularly the Sahel; this has been demonstrated in the progressive deconstruction of many of the fundamental assumptions held by development authorities by a new wave of research on pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in the Sudano-Sahel. This research has eroded a good deal of what Horowitz (1979) calls ’the anti-nomad bias’. But this revisionist writing and research has succeeded in raising new questions as much as laying to rest the shibboleths of the recent past.
Symptomatic, non-infectious, non-hemorrhagic edema after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation surgery for Parkinson's disease.

Abstract Object We review our experience with Parkinson's disease (PD) patients who underwent subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) and then developed noninfectious, non-hemorrhagic, delayed, symptomatic brain edema associated with a DBS lead. Methods All PD patients who underwent STN DBS lead implantation from 2007 to 2015 were included. The same neurosurgeon performed all surgeries, typically in staged fashion, utilizing single pass microelectrode recordings (MER) within a stereotactic frame. A brain CT was obtained in recovery and subsequently if indicated. Results There were 189 patients who underwent 363 STN lead implantations among which 35 (9.6%) represent re-implantations of removed leads in 28 (14.8%) patients. Among the 363 STN leads implanted, there were 12 (3.3%) cases of delayed symptomatic edema associated with a DBS lead involving 10 (5.3%) of the patients studied. Of the 328 leads representing first-time operations, there were 9 (2.1%) cases of delayed symptomatic edema in 7 (3.7%) patients, one of whom (14.3%) presented with seizures. For lead re-implantations, there were 3 (8.6%) cases of the brain edema in 3 (10.7%) patients; all presenting with seizures. For the 35 re-implantations, the trajectory to target was the same or very similar via the same burr hole as prior surgery in 17 (48.6%); 3 (17.6%) of whom developed edema. There was no case of brain edema in the 18 re-operated cases using a different burr opening. Edema patients were treated with a course of anticonvulsant medication and dexamethasone. Lead-associated edema resolved over generally a 4 to 6-week course. Conclusions Noninfectious, non-hemorrhagic, delayed, symptomatic brain edema occurs in approximately 3% of implanted leads and is more common in re-implantations (9%) compared to new implantations (2%). In re-implantations, the edema is more common when the same trajectory is used (18%) compared to a new trajectory (0%). The edema generally occurs 3 to 8 days after implantation, although immediate post-op CT is normal and seizures are a common presenting feature.
Fine particulate matter and incident coronary heart disease in the REGARDS cohort.

Background Chronic exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is accepted as a causal risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, most of the evidence for this hypothesis is based upon cohort studies in whites, comprised of either only males or females who live in urban areas. It is possible that many estimates of the effect of chronic exposure to PM2.5 on risk for CHD do not generalize to more diverse samples. Methods Therefore, we estimated the relationship between chronic exposure to PM2.5 and risk for CHD in among participants in the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort who were free from CHD at baseline (n = 17,126). REGARDS is a sample of whites and blacks of both genders living across the continental United States. We fit Cox proportional hazards models for time to CHD to estimate the hazard ratio for baseline 1-year mean PM2.5 exposure, adjusting for environmental variables, demographics, and other risk factors for CHD including the Framingham Risk Score. Results The hazard ratio (95% CI) for a 2.7-μg/m3 increase (interquartile range) 1-year mean concentration of PM2.5 was 0.94 (0.83-1.06) for combined CHD death and nonfatal MI, 1.13 (0.92-1.40) for CHD death, and 0.85 (0.73-0.99) for nonfatal MI. We also did not find evidence that these associations depended upon overall CHD risk factor burden. Conclusions Our results do not provide strong evidence for an association between PM2.5 and incident CHD in a heterogeneous cohort, and we conclude that the effects of chronic exposure to fine particulate matter on CHD require further evaluation.
Bmal1 knockdown suppresses wake and increases immobility without altering orexin A, corticotrophin-releasing hormone, or glutamate decarboxylase.

Objective To determine the effect of Bmal1 knockdown (KD) on sleep, activity, immobility, hypothalamic levels of orexin, corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), and GABAergic glutamate decarboxylase (GAD). Methods We used Bmal1 siRNA, or control siRNA intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection to knock down Bmal1 in C57BL/6 mice. Sleep polysomnography, wheel-running activity, and tail suspension test were performed. Polysomnographic (PSG) recordings in both groups were preceded by ICV injection made during both the light phase and the dark phase. We also measured brain orexin A and CRH using an ELISA and measured GAD using immunoblotting. Results Compared with control group, Bmal1 KD group had reduced wheel activity and increased immobility. Compared with control, the Bmal1 KD group had reduced wheel activity and increased immobility. During the first 24 hours after treatment, we observed that control siRNA induced a much greater increase in sleep during the dark phase, which was associated with lower orexin levels. However, beginning 24 hours after treatment, we observed an increase in sleep and a decrease in time spent awake during the dark phase in the Bmal1 KD group. These changes were not associated with changes in brain levels of orexin A, CRH, or GAD. Conclusion Bmal1 KD led to reduced activity, increased immobility, and dramatic reduction in time spent awake as well as an increase in sleep during the dark phase. Early after injection, there was a slight change in sleep but brain levels of orexin, CRH, and GAD remain unchanged. Control siRNA also affected sleep associated with changes in orexin levels.
Phylogenetic Studies of Glutathione-Metabolizing Enzymes in Primate Lenses

Morphological characteristics of the nose are aids which have been used to differentiate between the strepsirhines and haplorhines and also between the catarrhines and platyrrhines. However, application of characteristics of a second sense organ, the eye, to primate classification does not seem to have occurred. In part, this may be due to the minute fund of comparative data that presently exists. The lens is the simplest ocular organ. It varies greatly between species regarding gross characteristics such as color, shape and size. The variation in size is in both actual values and relative values as a proportion of the body mass. Of the many tissues and organs which make up the primate eye, the clear ocular lens has perhaps been the most charismatic, its fibrillar structure even serving as a subject for Leeuwen-hoek’s microscopic studies.
Graphs, Matrices, and Machines

Graph theory started in 1735 with Euler’s proof that no path could lead a person over all seven bridges of the Prussian town of Konigsberg without at least one bridge being crossed twice. Our study of Euler’s theorem in Section 6.1 allows us to introduce such concepts as paths, Euler paths and connectedness for graphs. Section 6.2 uses matrices over semirings to characterize the connectivity of graphs. Finally, Section 6.3 applies these connectivity matrices to analyze the reachability problem for automata, and then returns to a theme initiated in Section 2.3, showing that a language is accepted by a finite-state acceptor iff it can be built up from finite sets by a finite number of applications of the operations of union, dot, and star.
Independent inventionism and recent genetic evidence on plant domestication

The recent accumulation of cytogenetic evidence on the ancestry of the earliest domesticated plants provides an empirical test of the relative importance of independent invention and diffusion in the origin and spread of agriculture. The most parsimonious interpretation of the data is that plant species were domesticated no more than a few times, and perhaps only once, in the Near East and Mexico. Multiple domestications of species may have taken place in the central Andes, but it is impossible to say whether any such cases were truly independent, because of the scantiness of the archaeological as well as botanical record. Evidence from other agricultural centers is limited, and does not negate the conclusion that multiple independent domestications within regions were rare, while domestications of the same species or genus in different regions did not occur as frequently as some authorities have claimed. The prevailing tendency to interpret archaeological sequences as almost entirely the result of local in situ development is not entirely in accord with theory, nor with the genetic evidence summarized here.
An Updated Experience with Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy in Children

The indications, techniques, and complications of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in children are analyzed, based on a 12-year experience with 288 procedures. Significant differences from the adult population in patient selection, technique, and follow-up are highlighted. Although a trend toward younger, smaller, and sicker patients was observed during the study period, PEG-related complications have steadily decreased.
Mitigating High-Skill Brain Drain in Low-Growth Economies: An Examination of Existing Brain-Drain Threats in New Mexico and Strategy and Policy Alternative to Address Them

This study analyzes the challenges faced by struggling or low-growth economies when they lose highly skilled human capital via the process of "brain drain" or "ability drain." Such losses pose severe potential hazards to technology-based economic development. Factors related to these phenomena are characterized and examined via literature review and mixed methodology analysis to compare and contrast potential ways to manage brain drain and even achieve positive "brain gain" through individual and business-oriented strategies and policy alternatives.
Multifocus imaging via polarization wavefront shaping

Conventional three-dimensional (3D) images of biological samples are typically assembled from a stack of twodimensional images acquired sequentially at different focal planes. This time-consuming manner hinders the application of 3D imaging techniques to the investigation of fast biochemical dynamics and light-sensitive biological events. The concept of multifocus imaging, which enables simultaneous acquisition of images from multiple focal planes, was introduced to achieve rapid 3D imaging. In the present study, we achieved multifocus imaging through polarization wavefront shaping via a micro-retarder array which splits the incident linearly polarized light into three beamlets that are focused to three axially-offset focal planes with ~100 μm separation. Append to an existing beam-scanning microscope, this multifocus system enables rapid 3D imaging compatible with a variety of optical microscopic approaches including laser transmittance, two-photon excited fluorescence, and second harmonic generation microscopy.
Inter-layer-calated Thin Li Metal Electrode with Improved Battery Capacity Retention and Dendrite Suppression.

An inter-layer-calated thin Li metal (ILC-Li) electrode using nondelaminated 2D Ti3C2Tx MXene stacks (15 μm) coated on a thin Li host (30 μm) was developed. The excellent electrical conductivity an...
Identifiability and numerical algebraic geometry

A common problem when analyzing models, such as mathematical modeling of a biological process, is to determine if the unknown parameters of the model can be determined from given input-output data. Identifiable models are models such that the unknown parameters can be determined to have a finite number of values given input-output data. The total number of such values over the complex numbers is called the identifiability degree of the model. Unidentifiable models are models such that the unknown parameters can have an infinite number of values given input-output data. For unidentifiable models, a set of identifiable functions of the parameters are sought so that the model can be reparametrized in terms of these functions yielding an identifiable model. In this work, we use numerical algebraic geometry to determine if a model given by polynomial or rational ordinary differential equations is identifiable or unidentifiable. For identifiable models, we present a novel approach to compute the identifiability degree. For unidentifiable models, we present a novel numerical differential algebra technique aimed at computing a set of algebraically independent identifiable functions. Several examples are used to demonstrate the new techniques.
Application of end-of-shift respirable crystalline silica monitoring to construction.

A pilot project was conducted to determine the effect of common construction dusts as interferences in a new portable end-of-shift (EoS), direct-on-filter (DoF) sampling and analysis method for res...
What Happens with the New Guy? Tackling the Problem of Tacit Knowledge through Social Networks

Tacit knowledge is the key to business continuity and retaining core knowledge during organizational change. Corporations have recognized its importance and implemented knowledge management strategies to ensure valuable knowledge is preserved. While much of the academic research has looked into the nature of tacit knowledge, the role of social networks in maintaining tacit knowledge has been largely unexplored. The following paper seeks to link existing tacit knowledge theory with social network theory through theoretical analysis and literature review. First, social networks are more important when tacit knowledge cannot be codified and when the nature of that knowledge is process-based. Second, while the strength of relationships tends to increase the effectiveness of tacit knowledge transfer, weaker relationships tend to dominate the actual transfer of knowledge. Third, asymmetry in relationships tends to decrease effectiveness of tacit knowledge transfer. The purpose of the paper is to explore when social networks matter more for tacit knowledge communications and what types of social networks are most effective at transmitting tacit knowledge.
Random Matrix Theory by the Supersymmetry Method Beyond the Sigma-Model

The leading correction to the smoothed connected energy density-density correlation function is obtained for the large energy difference, within the context of the Gaussian Random Matrix Theory. In order to achieve this result, the supersymmetry method is extended beyond the sigma-model, to include small quadratic fluctuations around the saddle point. Special care is taken to avoid the potential divergence arising from the unbounded nature of the saddle point. Also, in the small energy difference regime, the leading correction to a two point correlation function is obtained.
Control Strategy and Energy Density Enhancement Methodology for Merged Energy Buffer-based AC-DC Converters

This paper presents an improved control strategy and a systematic optimization methodology to enhance the operation and energy density of merged energy buffer-based two-stage ac-dc converters. The merged energy buffer comprises series-stacked switchable capacitors for twice-line-frequency energy buffering and also helps reduce the voltage step-down requirement from the second stage dc-dc converter. A simple and robust control strategy that relies on the voltage of only one of the buffer capacitors is proposed to ensure stable operation of the energy buffer. The proposed optimization methodology to reduce the size of the energy buffer searches across the design space to determine the optimal capacitance values of the buffer capacitors and leverages a standard circuit simulator to expedite this optimization process. The control strategy and optimization methodology are validated using a 50 W/in3 150-W offline LED driver prototype. The optimized electrolytic-free LED driver achieves 17% buffer volume reduction compared to the previous design.
The Effects of Atmospheric Stability with Low Wind Speed and of Environment Pollution on the Accelerated Transmission Dynamics of COVID-19

A new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of a disease, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is rapidly spreading all over the world, generating a high number of deaths. The contemporary debate in environmental studies is facing new or relatively unexplored problems. One of the current questions is how the interaction between atmospheric stability / turbulence and particulate compounds emissions in environment affects the diffusion of COVID-19 over time and space. This study endeavors to explain the relation between particulate compounds emissions, atmospheric stability/turbulence (based on wind speed) and the spread of COVID-19 to provide insights of environmental risk factors of specific regions to cope with future epidemics. The statistical analysis here focuses on case study of Italy, one of the countries to experience a rapid increase in confirmed cases and deaths of COVID-19. Results reveal that cities with high atmospheric stability, based on a low wind speed, and frequently high levels of air pollution — exceeding safe levels of ozone or particulate matter — had higher numbers of COVID-19 related infected individuals and deaths. This finding suggests that atmospheric stability, based on low wind speed, reduces the dispersion of gaseous and particulate matters (air pollution), which can act as carrier of the SARS-CoV-2 in the air to sustain the diffusion of COVID-19 in environment and society, mainly in fall-winter season. Overall, then, this study has to conclude that an appropriate strategy to help cope with and constrain future epidemics similar to the COVID-19 must also consider environmental factors of atmosphere, climate, soil, sea, etc. to reduce the spread of this novel coronavirus and other viral agents in society.
Quantifying Utilitarian Outcomes to Inform Triage Ethics: Simulated Performance of a Ventilator Triage Protocol Under SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Surge Conditions

Background: Equitable protocols to triage scarce life-saving resources must be specified prior to disasters in order to promote transparency, trust and consistency. The degree to which proposed utilitarian protocols may maximize lives saved is unknown. Methods: We constructed a simulation model based on New York State 2015 guidelines for ventilator triage (NYS) compared to a first-come-first-served (FCFS) method for ventilator allocation under various hypothetical ventilator shortages. We included patients with laboratory confirmed SARs-CoV-2 infection admitted with respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation to three acute care hospitals in New York from 3/01/2020 and 5/27/2020. We estimated (1) survival rates, (2) number of excess deaths, (3) number of patients extubated early due to capacity constraints, (4) survival rates among patients not allocated a ventilator at triage or extubated early due to capacity constraints. Findings: 807 patients were included in the study. Survival rates were similar between the NYS and FCFS policies at all the survival probabilities estimated for those triaged to removal of the ventilator. At the lowest ventilator capacity, the NYS policy has an estimated survival of 28.5% (CI: 28.4-28.6), compared to 28.1% (CI: 27.7-28.5) for the FCFS policy. The two policies had similar estimated excess deaths above historical observed deaths. Interpretation: This simulation of a SOFA-based triage protocol for distributing ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed limitations in achieving the utilitarian goals these protocols are designed to fulfill. Quantifying these outcomes can inform a better balance competing moral aims. Funding: None to declare. Declaration of Interest: None to declare. Ethical Approval: This study was approved by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center IRB (IRB # 2020-12128) and the Columbia University IRB (IRB # AAAT4062).
Unruptured cerebral aneurysms in elderly patients: key challenges and management.

Unruptured cerebral aneurysms are increasingly identified in elderly patients as the global life expectancy continues to rise and non-invasive vascular imaging becomes more prevalent. The optimal m...
Emotional Intelligence and Burnout Related to Resident-Assessed Faculty Teaching Scores

OBJECTIVE Emotional intelligence (EI) is associated with job success in multiple fields, in part, because EI may mitigate stress and burnout. Research suggests these relationships may include teaching. Our purpose is to further explore the relationships between EI, burnout, and teaching for faculty surgeons. DESIGN With IRB approval, surgical faculty were offered the opportunity to complete personal demographics, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the SETQ-SMART assessment of teaching ability, and the SEF:MED self-assessment of emotional intelligence. Surgical residents rated faculty teaching ability using the SETQ-SMART SETTING A medium-sized academic medical center in the Southeast approved to graduate 6 residents per year. PARTICIPANTS ACGME surgical faculty and general surgical residents PGY1 to PGY5 including preliminary residents , were given the opportunity to participate. RESULTS Faculty self-assessed teaching scores were significantly different from resident scores for nine (60%) faculty; three (33%) overrated their and 6 (67%) under rated their overall teaching ability, relative to resident ratings. The 3 SEF:MED scales correlated low-moderate to strongly with the SETQ-OTS: IS (r = 0.41, p = 0.13), EM (r = 0.67, p Overall self-rated faculty teaching scores correlated negatively with higher EE and DP and positively with PA (r = -0.08, -0.21, and 0.52, p = 0.047; respectively). EI negatively correlated with MBI-EE and DP and positively with PA (r = -0.31, -0.18, 0.45, respectively), though due to the small sample none reach statistical significance with alpha set to 0.05. CONCLUSIONS In this pilot study, EI is positively correlated to surgical faculty members’ teaching ability. Burnout was less strongly correlated with resident-assessed faculty teaching scores, but with similar trends. Finally, EI was correlated with MBI EE, DP, and PA as expected given the literature in other fields. Expanded study is warranted.
The Path of More Resistance: A Comparison of NHSN and CLSI Criteria in Developing Cumulative Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test Reports and Institutional Antibiograms.

Background In the absence of antimicrobial susceptibility data, the institutional antibiogram is a valuable tool to guide clinicians in the empiric treatment of infections. However, there is a misunderstanding on how best to prepare cumulative antimicrobial susceptibility testing reports (CASTRs) to guide empiric therapy (e.g., routine antibiogram) versus monitoring antimicrobial resistance, with the former following guidance from the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), and the latter from Center for Disease Control and Preventions National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). These criteria vary markedly in their exclusion or inclusion of isolates cultured repeatedly from the same patient. Methods We compared rates of non-susceptibility (NS)using annual data from a large teaching healthcare system subset to isolates eligible by either NHSN criteria or CLSI criteria. Results For a panel of the three most prevalent gram-negative pathogens in combination with clinically relevant antimicrobial agents (or priority pathogen-agent combinations, PPACs), we found that the inclusion of duplicate isolates by NHSN criteria yielded higher NS rates than when CLSI criteria (for which duplicate isolates are not included) were applied. Conclusions Patients with duplicate isolates may not be representative of antimicrobial resistance within a population. For this reason, users of CASTR data should carefully consider that the criteria used to generate these reports can impact resulting NS rates, and therefore maintain the distinction between CASTRs created for different purposes.
Botulinum Neurotoxins Can Enter Cultured Neurons Independent of Synaptic Vesicle Recycling

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are the causative agent of the severe and long-lasting disease botulism. At least seven different serotypes of BoNTs (denoted A-G) have been described. All BoNTs enter human or animal neuronal cells via receptor mediated endocytosis and cleave cytosolic SNARE proteins, resulting in a block of synaptic vesicle exocytosis, leading to the flaccid paralysis characteristic of botulism. Previous data have indicated that once a neuronal cell has been intoxicated by a BoNT, further entry of the same or other BoNTs is prevented due to disruption of synaptic vesicle recycling. However, it has also been shown that cultured neurons exposed to BoNT/A are still capable of taking up BoNT/E. In this report we show that in general BoNTs can enter cultured human or mouse neuronal cells that have previously been intoxicated with another BoNT serotype. Quantitative analysis of cell entry by assessing SNARE cleavage revealed none or only a minor difference in the efficiency of uptake of BoNTs into previously intoxicated neurons. Examination of the endocytic entry pathway by specific endocytosis inhibitors indicated that BoNTs are taken up by clathrin coated pits in both non pre-exposed and pre-exposed neurons. LDH release assays indicated that hiPSC derived neurons exposed consecutively to two different BoNT serotypes remained viable and healthy except in the case of BoNT/E or combinations of BoNT/E with BoNT/B, /D, or /F. Overall, our data indicate that previous intoxication of neuronal cells with BoNT does not inhibit further uptake of BoNTs.
Influence of Team Skills in Engineering Technology.

Across various disciplines, self-efficacy, team-working skills and problem solving skills are recognized as important characteristics of workforce readiness. The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of multiple antecedents of perceived team-working skills and self-efficacy on change in team scores and higher-order cognitive skills when all students are provided the same treatment. The study involves the use of a multimedia instructional environment and problem-based learning in teams. Data were collected at multiple points during the semester using a combination of self-reported instruments and grades provided by instructors. We found that students’ institution, gender, and perceived relevance of engineering technology contribute to perceived team skills. Surprisingly, and in contrast to extant self-efficacy literature, self-efficacy is not related to perceived higher order cognitive skills or actual performance. However, perceived team skills were an accurate predictor of perceived higher order cognitive skills and actual team scores.
Antibody-induced suppression and postsuppression stimulation of complement in vitro. 1. Effects of anti-c4 on cultured guinea pig peritoneal cells.

Abstract Suppression of the fourth component of complement in vitro was examined by exposing cultured guinea pig peritoneal cells to anti-C4 alloantisera or to control sera. We found that in contrast to similar experiments in vivo , C4 production could be suppressed by specific anti-C4 antisera over a wide range of doses with complete regularity. The suppression was not permanent, however, and postsuppression stimulation of C4 was frequently seen after recovery from suppression. Production of C2 and β-glucuronidase were also measured in these experiments. C2 was not suppressed by the anti-C4 treatment but stimulation of C2 was seen in those instances where C4 production was stimulated. β-Glucuronidase was neither suppressed nor stimulated. Purified IgG 1 IgG 2 and (Fab′) 2 fragments were as effective in causing suppression and postsuppression stimulation as whole antibody preparations. This suggests that complement activation, Fc receptors, and complement receptors do not play a significant role in these in vitro phenomena.
Spatial variations of crustal characteristics beneath the Hoggar swell, Algeria, revealed by systematic analyses of receiver functions from a single seismic station

The Hoggar swell in Algeria is one of the significant massifs of northwest Africa. The paucity of high-resolution geophysical studies of the crust and mantle beneath the massifs is mostly responsible for the heated debates about the depth of the source region of the Cenozoic volcanism and the closely related uncertainty about the mechanism that formed and maintains the high elevation of the swells. Here we report results from a systematic study of 1386 high-quality receiver functions (RFs) recorded by station TAM, the only permanent broadband seismic station on the Hoggar swell. The resulting crustal thickness is about 34 km and the Vp/Vs is 1.77 when all the RFs from the station are stacked. Our study reveals a sharp contrast in the amplitude of the P-to-S converted phases between the volcanic, highly-fractured Tefedest terrane and the non-volcanic, less fractured Laouni terrane. The former has a stacking amplitude that is comparable to typical cratonic areas, and the latter has an amplitude that is only about 25% as large. Spatially consistent crustal thickness and an intermediate-mafic crust are inferred on the Tefedest terrane, while spatially variable crustal thickness and a felsic crust is inferred beneath the Laouni terrane. The observations can be best explained by a mantle-derived underplated magmatic layer beneath the mechanically-stronger Laouni terrane, and magmatic diking and resultant volcanism associated with the mechanically weaker Tefedest crust. The study demonstrated the significance of a long-running station in the investigation of spatial variations of crustal characteristics.
Nutrient-regulated transcriptional responses in the brown tide-forming alga Aureococcus anophagefferens.

Summary Long-SAGE (serial analysis of gene expression) was used to profile the transcriptome of the brown tide-forming alga, Aureococcus anophagefferens, under nutrient replete (control), and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deficiency to understand how this organism responds at the transcriptional level to varying nutrient conditions. This approach has aided A. anophagefferens genome annotation efforts and identified a suite of genes upregulated by N and P deficiency, some of which have known roles in nutrient metabolism. Genes upregulated under N deficiency include an ammonium transporter, an acetamidase/formamidase and two peptidases. This suggests an ability to utilize reduced N compounds and dissolved organic nitrogen, supporting the hypothesized importance of these N sources in A. anophagefferens bloom formation. There are also a broad suite of P-regulated genes, including an alkaline phosphatase, and two 5′-nucleotidases, suggesting A. anophagefferens may use dissolved organic phosphorus under low phosphate conditions. These N- and P-regulated genes may be important targets for exploring nutrient controls on bloom formation in field populations.