cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MRI in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects approximately 1.4 million people in North America and, because of its typical early age of onset and episodic disease course, IBD patients often undergo numerous imaging studies over the course of their lifetimes. CT has become the standard imaging modality for assessment of IBD patients because of its widespread availability, rapid image acquisition, and ability to evaluate intraluminal and extraluminal disease. However, repetitive CT imaging has been associated with a significant ionizing radiation risk to patients, making MRI an appealing alternative IBD imaging modality. Pelvic MRI is currently the imaging gold standard for detecting perianal disease, while recent studies indicate that MRI bowel-directed techniques (enteroclysis, enterography, colonography) can accurately evaluate bowel inflammation in IBD. With recent technical innovations leading to faster and higher resolution body MRI, the role of MRI in IBD evaluation is likely to continue to expand. Future applications include surveillance imaging, detection of mural fibrosis, and early assessment of therapy response.
A patient with multiple episodes of rhabdomyolysis induced by different neuroleptics.

Rhabdomyolysis is a common but potentially lethal clinical syndrome consisting of acute, diffuse muscle breakdown and muscle fiber necrosis with leakage of potentially toxic muscle constituents into blood. This process has the potential to produce myoglobinuria and acute renal failure, causing death in about 10% of cases. Etiologies of rhabdomyolysis include alcohol abuse, muscle compression, muscle overexertion, and inherited disorders ofmusclemetabolism. There are also published case reports of rhabdomyolysis with neuroleptic use. We report a unique case of a patient with schizoaffective disorder who, over the course of 2 years, developed rhabdomyolysis on multiple occasions associated with 4 different neuroleptics. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of rhabdomyolysis induced by multiple different neuroleptics in the same patient.
Approach to Patients With Pancreatic Cancer Without Detectable Metastases

The poors outcomes associated with pancreatic cancer clearly reflect the advanced stage of disease at diagnosis for most patients. Through this lens, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that roughly 50% of patients with pancreatic cancer have no clinically detectable metastases at presentation. Herein, we discuss how patients with localized pancreatic cancer are currently managed. The primary goal of care for patients with resectable and borderline-resectable tumors is cure, facilitated by achieving margin-negative resection of the primary disease and delivering effective adjuvant and/or neoadjuvant therapy. For patients with locally advanced disease, the focus is on limiting local progression and outgrowth of metastatic disease and maintaining quality of life. Although it was once a centerpiece of therapy for localized pancreatic cancer, the value and place of radiation therapy in the treatment algorithm is now under increased scrutiny. In contrast, given its value as demonstrated in multiple prospective trials, chemotherapy is an established part of the treatment paradigm for all patients. With the demonstration that cytotoxic combinations such as fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin as well as gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel are active in the metastatic setting, these agents are now being studied in patients with localized disease. The neoadjuvant setting provides a particularly favorable setting for evaluating new systemic strategies. Given the array of new targets, including immunomodulatory approaches, there is reason for optimism that we can markedly improve survival for all patients with pancreatic cancer and enter an era in which surgery with curative intent actually fulfills this goal on a much more regular basis.
Molecular analysis of OmpR binding sequences involved in the regulation of ompF in Escherichia coli

OmpR, the transcriptional regulatory protein of ompF, had not been previously shown to specifically bind to the -70 to -60-bp region of ompF. We show that the -102 to -76-bp sequence of ompF has a high affinity binding site for OmpR and produced a single OmpR/ompF complex (complex b). Extension of this DNA fragment to include an inverted repeat sequence located between the -71 and -64-bp region resulted in the formation of a second, slower migrating complex (complex a). A -102 to -58-bp fragment containing a substitution of the -70 CG bp was able to form complex b, but not complex a. A mutant OmpR protein derived from a strain that can not repress ompF was unable to form complex a, while complex b was formed normally. Deletion of the -70 CG bp resulted in incomplete repression of OmpF. These results suggest that OmpR binds to the -71 to -64-bp region and that this sequence plays a role in the regulation of ompF in Escherichia coli.
Acoustic phenotypes for speech-genetics studies: toward an acoustic marker for residual /s/ distortions.

A companion paper addresses the need for phenotype markers for speech-genetics studies and provides reference data for US English rhotics that can be used for phenotype research. The present paper uses these reference data to derive and test an acoustic marker to discriminate the residual /з/ distortions of adolescents with two speech disorder histories. One speech disorder history includes significant speech delay; the other history is a speech disorder limited to only speech sound distortions of /r/, /з/ and/or /e/. The first subtype of speech delay is posited to be genetically transmitted, whereas the origins of the second subtype are posited to be associated with shared and non-shared environmental variance. Speech samples from 84 9 to 17-year-old speakers were divided into four groups based on speech history and speech errors at assessment. Group 1 children had prior speech delay and residual rhotic distortions, Group 2 children had only prior and residual rhotic distortions, and children in the two ...
Development of an Experimental Test Facility for Investigating Mist/Air Film Cooling Application in Gas Turbine Airfoils

Film cooling is a cooling technique widely used in highperformance gas turbines to protect the turbine airfoils from being damaged by hot flue gases. Motivated by the need to further improve the turbine hot section cooling performance, a new cooling scheme, mist/air film cooling is investigated. A small amount of tiny water droplets with an average diameter about 7 µm (mist) is injected into the cooling air to enhance the cooling performance. One key feature in understanding mist cooling is the ability to capture droplet information. This paper presents the experimental facility and instrumentation of a mist/air film cooling study with both heat transfer and droplet measurements. A wind tunnel system and test facilities are built. A Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA) system is employed to measure the two-phase flow characteristics, including droplet size, droplet dynamics, velocity, and turbulence. Infrared camera and thermocouples are both used for temperature measurements. An extensive uncertainty analysis is performed to assist in identifying large uncertainty sources and planning for experimental procedure. It was found during the experiment design process that resolving the mist agglomeration problem is the key in successfully generating a well-controlled mist/air mixture and reducing experimental uncertainties. The test apparatus has proven to serve the purpose well to investigate mist/air film cooling with both heat transfer and droplet measurements. Selected experimental data is presented.
Survey of studies examining mammalian cardiomyocyte DNA synthesis

Increases in cardiac mass during fetal life arise predominantly as a consequence of cardiomyocyte proliferation. During neonatal life, there is a transition from hyperplastic to hypertrophic growth such that further increases in myocardial mass are typically not accompanied by cardiomyocyte proliferation. In the adult myocardium, it is generally believed that the vast majority of cardiomyocytes do not proliferate. This view is supported in part by clinical observations: functionally significant myocardial regeneration has not been documented in diseases and/or injuries that result in cardiomyocyte loss. Furthermore, primary myocardial tumors are rarely observed in adults. Although these findings suggest that the proliferative capacity of adult cardiomyocytes is quite low, they do not exclude the existence of a limited degree of hyperplastic growth in either the normal or diseased myocardium. Toward this end, a number of studies examining the proliferative capacity of cardiomyocytes in experimental animals have been reported. Because genome reduplication is a prerequisite for cell proliferation, the majority of these studies have used various methodologies to monitor cardiomyocyte DNA synthesis as a first approximation of cell division. In the present survey, issues that we consider pertinent for accurate assessment of cardiomyocyte DNA synthesis are discussed. The literature examining cardiomyocyte DNA synthesis during normal and pathological myocardial growth is then summarized. Accurate assessment of cardiomyocyte DNA synthesis in vivo is dependent on the selection of an appropriate marker for genome reduplication as well as the criteria used for cardiomyocyte identification. These issues are considered separately below. ### Markers for DNA Synthesis Genome reduplication is accompanied by a variety of cytological, biochemical, and molecular events, many of which can be used as either direct or indirect evidence for DNA synthesis and, by inference, proliferation. These include the presence of cytological landmarks indicative of karyokinesis, the presence of active DNA synthesis, and the expression of genes and/or protein activities …
A novel generic graph model for traffic grooming in heterogeneous WDM mesh networks

As the operation of our fiber-optic backbone networks migrates from interconnected SONET rings to arbitrary mesh topology, traffic grooming on wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) mesh networks becomes an extremely important research problem. To address this problem, we propose a new generic graph model for traffic grooming in heterogeneous WDM mesh networks. The novelty of our model is that, by only manipulating the edges of the auxiliary graph created by our model and the weights of these edges, our model can achieve various objectives using different grooming policies, while taking into account various constraints such as transceivers, wavelengths, wavelength-conversion capabilities, and grooming capabilities. Based on the auxiliary graph, we develop an integrated traffic-grooming algorithm (IGABAG) and an integrated grooming procedure (INGPROC) which jointly solve several traffic-grooming subproblems by simply applying the shortest-path computation method. Different grooming policies can be represented by different weight-assignment functions, and the performance of these grooming policies are compared under both nonblocking scenario and blocking scenario. The IGABAG can be applied to both static and dynamic traffic grooming. In static grooming, the traffic-selection scheme is key to achieving good network performance. We propose several traffic-selection schemes based on this model and we evaluate their performance for different network topologies.
Modeling Surface Discharge Effects of Atmospheric RF on Gas Flow Control

Abstract : The advantages of plasma actuators for flow control are being increasingly recognized in the literature in all speed regimes encountered in aerospace applications. Recent experiments with suitably configured atmospheric RF discharges have demonstrated particularly striking effects by reducing or eliminating separation in low-speed flows. In this paper, a finite-element multi-fluid formulation is developed and utilized to model the RF induced plasma dynamics of an asymmetric electrode configuration. Partially ionized helium gas flow is considered over two electrodes, one exposed and one embedded in a thin dielectric material. The exposed electrode is powered with an RF potential and the embedded electrode is considered grounded. In a previous work, the derived electric field for a discharge between two insulated electrodes was coupled to a simple phenomenological model for the transverse velocity in a one-dimensional situation that predicted the anticipated hump in the near wall profile. Here the model is modified for the surface barrier discharge, extended to two-dimensions and applied to a realistic configuration comprised of a flush-mounted surface electrode and a corresponding streamwise displaced electrode embedded in the dielectric. The results extract features of the plasma-wall interaction on the neutral flow field with a self-consistent approach. The computed solutions for the evolution of electric field, space charge distribution and neutral gas densities are presented. The effect of the electric force due to surface discharge on the working gas flow is also demonstrated.
Abrogating endocrine resistance by targeting ERα and PI3K in breast cancer

Antiestrogen therapies targeting estrogen receptor α (ER) signaling are a mainstay for patients with ER+ breast cancer. While many cancers exhibit resistance to antiestrogen therapies, a large body of clinical and experimental evidence indicates that hyperactivation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway promotes antiestrogen resistance. In addition, continued ligand-independent ER signaling in the setting of estrogen deprivation may contribute to resistance to endocrine therapy. PI3K activates several proteins which promote cell cycle progression and survival. In ER+ breast cancer cells, PI3K promotes ligand-dependent and -independent ER transcriptional activity. Models of antiestrogen-resistant breast cancer often remain sensitive to estrogen stimulation and PI3K inhibition, suggesting that clinical trials with combinations of drugs targeting both the PI3K and ER pathways are warranted. Herein, we review recent findings on the roles of PI3K and ER in antiestrogen resistance, and clinical trials testing drug combinations which target both pathways. We also discuss the need for clinical investigation of ER downregulators in combination with PI3K inhibitors.
Tropospheric Rossby wave breaking and the SAM

An objective analysis of tropospheric anticyclonic- and cyclonic-breaking Rossby waves is performed for the Southern Hemisphere in austral summer (December‐February) of 1979‐2009. The climatology of both anticyclonicandcyclonic Rossbywavebreaking(RWB)frequencyispresented.Thefrequencyofanticyclonic RWB is highest in an extended region of theEastern Hemisphere on the anticyclonic side of the jet, whilethat of cyclonic RWB is highest on the cyclonic side of the jet. A composite analysis of anticyclonic and cyclonic RWB shows howtheycontributetoapositiveandnegativesouthernannualmode(SAM)index,respectively.Thetimeseries of austral summer anticyclonic RWB occurrence has a trend that closely matches the trend in the SAM index. Regions of RWB that are significantly correlated with the SAM index are objectively determined. Even thoughseveralsuchregionsareidentified,onlytworegions(anticyclonicandcyclonic)covering17%ofthearea of the hemisphere are required in a linear regression model of the SAM index. The anticyclonic RWB region is zonally extended at 458S and explains 78% of the variability of the summer-mean SAM index. The cyclonic region is located at high latitudes somewhat decoupled from the jet, in the longitudinal sector of the Indian Ocean. On synoptic time scales, transitions of the SAM index respond to RWB without time lag. ENSOcyclespresentaninterestingzonalasymmetrytothedistributionofSouthernHemisphericRWBinthe
Hierarchical location models with probabilistic allocation

O'Kelly M. E. and Storbeck J. E. (1984) Hierarchical location models with probabilistic allocation, Reg. Studies 18, 121–129. This paper suggests a new class of data which might be passed between levels of a hierarchy. A probabilistic location-allocation model is proposed which allows for different distance impedance terms across hierarchical levels of service. In this model, large (small) distance impedance terms imply decentralized (clustered) locational configurations. Appropriate choices of distance impedance terms for two service levels can produce nested location patterns without imposing additional siting constraints. We construct a numerical example to illustrate a variety of different behaviourly-linked location hierarchies derived from probabilistic allocation mechanisms.
Sums of Independent Random Variables

In Example 3 of Chapter 1 we calculated the probability that exactly k heads appear in n flips of a fair coin. In view of the construction of that example and the definition of independence given in the preceding chapter, we see that what we calculated is the distribution of the sum of n independent random variables, each of which has the Bernoulli distribution with parameter p = 1/2. Sums of independent random variables constitute a major theme in probability theory.
Cardiovascular outcomes in randomized trials: should time to first event for "hard" end points remain the standard approach?

This issue of the Journal contains 2 papers that provide interesting insights from 2 large randomized lipid-lowering trials that addressed relatively similar scientific questions. In the PROVE IT–TIMI 22 (Pravastatin or Atorvastatin Evaluation and Infection Therapy–Thrombolysis In Myocardial
Microcapillary Fluorometry and Standardization for Microscope Fluorometry

Standardization in fluorometry is still connected with difficulties. The theoretical and practical reasons for this have recently been discussed during the National Bureau of Standards conference in Washington (Conference on Accuracy). In the field of microscope fluorometry standardization is even more difficult because of the tiny volumes and amounts of substances involved and their correlation to microscopic objects to be measured. Previous attempts at the calibration of instruments and standardization of fluorescence intensities were mainly based on, (a) fluorescent glass plates or crystals for calibration of instruments, (b) biological standards such as spermatozoa (Ruch 1961), and (c) microdroplets (Rotman 1966, Rigler 1966, Jongsma et al. 1971) or microspheres. All these attempts claim to produce reproducible fluorescence signals and permit the measured intensities to be correlated with the amounts of fluorescent substances in biological objects.
The Average Period of Production: History of an Idea

Austrian capital theory tried to capture the intuitive and basically undeniable importance that time plays in economic life, but arguably was diverted down a blind alley with Bohm-Bawerk’s average period of production, a purely physical measure of 'roundaboutness' -- the length of the production process. Such a measure is a chimera. But the intuition is strong and the idea survived and reappeared at various points in the history of capital theory. Almost unknown to economists an alternative value measure of roundaboutness existed at least since Hick’s formulation of his average period (AP) in 1939, which, coincidentally was exactly the same measure discovered by the financial actuary Frederick Macaulay in 1938, called by him duration (D). Macaulay’s D, more richly interpreted as Hicks’s AP, is a measure that more appropriately captures what it was that the Austrians struggled to express over many years in their capital theory and in their analysis of the business cycle.
Review of Donald Dripps, About Guilt and Innocence: The Origins, Development, and Future of Constitutional Criminal Procedure

In ABOUT GUILT AND INNOCENCE, Donald Dripps rejects selective incorporation of the procedural protections of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments, and proposes an instrumental theory of due process according to which searches and seizures must reliably result in crime prevention or criminal prosecution, trial procedures must reliably result in accurate verdicts (with a preference for acquittal of the guilty over conviction of the innocent), and arrest and detention must be narrowly tailored to serve compelling state interests. Dripps argues that the procedural provisions cannot be "fundamental," because the requirements of instrumental due process give the autonomy, privacy, and dignity of criminal defendants all the respect they deserve. The degree of suspicion adequate to justify a search may depend on the privacy and dignity interests implicated by the type of search, but not, according to Dripps, by the object of the search. Dripps' proposed cleavage of criminal procedure from substantive criminal law is surprising considering his earlier suggestion that the requirements of the former derive from the structure and function of the latter. Yet criminal procedure should not, on his view, respond to the substance of the law enforced. This short Review suggests that at least two procedural provisions - relating to unreasonable searches and seizures as well as to compelled self-incrimination - provide independent constraints on the content as well as the enforcement of criminal prohibitions, reflecting values not adequately protected by the substantive provisions alone. Fourth Amendment reasonableness should be understood as a moral rather than an epistemic concept, one which invites balancing of liberty and security interests rather than inquiry into probable cause, an evidentiary standard Dripps borrows from the warrant requirement he goes on to reject. Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination favor the manifest over the subjective pattern of criminal legislation, indirectly encouraging the criminal law to regulate our motivations sparingly rather than as pervasively as morality.
Dynamic Balancing and Flexible Task Execution for Dynamic Bipedal Walking Machines

Effective use of robots in unstructured environments requires that they have sufficient autonomy and agility to execute task-level commands with temporal constraints successfully. A challenging example of such a robot is a bipedal walking machine, particularly one of humanoid form. Key features of the human morphology include a variable base of support and a high center of mass. The high center of mass supports the ability to support a high “sensor package”; when standing erect, the head can see over obstacles. The variable base of support allows both for operation in tight spaces, by keeping the feet close together, and stability against disturbances, by keeping the feet further apart to widen the support base. The feet can also be placed in specific locations when there are constraints due to challenging terrain. Thus, the human morphology supports a range of capabilities, and is important for operating in unstructured environments as humans do. A bipedal robot with human morphology should be able to walk to a particular location within a particular time, while observing foot placement constraints, and avoiding a fall, if this is physically possible. This is a challenging problem because a biped is highly nonlinear and has limited actuation due to its limited base of support. This chapter describes a novel approach to solving this problem that incorporates three key components: (1) a robust controller that is able to use angular momentum to enhance controllability beyond the limits imposed by the support base; (2) a plan specification where task requirements are expressed in a qualitative form that provides for spatial and temporal execution flexibility; and (3) a task executive that compiles the plan into a form that makes the dynamic limitations explicit, and then executes the compiled form using the robust controller.
EFFECTS OF FIBERS ON THE STRENGTH OF TEFLON FUEL

If the solid fuel used in station keeping and decommissioning of a spacecraft can be used as load bearing material, the weight of the spacecraft will decrease. The Pulsed Plasma Thruster (PPT) uses solid Teflon propellant. Teflon cannot be used alone as the loa d bearing material since the material is too soft. Reinforced the fuel with fibers is one of the options to enhance the structural performance of the fuel. In turns, we may be able to use this fiber -enhanced fuel for structural purpose. An experimental study was conducted to investigate the fiber reinforced Teflon. Three different forms of Kevlar fiber were selected and they are Kevlar pulp, whiskers, and woven tapes. Tensile tests were done with these reinforced materials. The whisker reinforcement i s the best from the present study based on the elastic modulus of the reinforced material.
Hypothalamic Temperatures and Blood Flow.

SummarySimultaneous temperature measurements in the hypothalamus and arterial blood reveal that the thermosensitive elements in the hypothalamus are normally cooled by the blood perfusing it. Posterior hypothalamic temperatures are consistently higher than those in the anterior hypothalamus. Occlusion of the common carotid arteries elicited a marked elevation in hypothalamic temperatures. Small i.v. doses (2.5 to 10 mg/kg) of sodium pentobarbital resulted in a prompt and sustained decline. The fall in temperature after pentobarbital appears to be due to a significant increase in hypothalamic blood flow.
The Design and Implementation of Medicine Sale Management Platform Based on Delphi

This paper designs and develops a medicine sale management platform using delphi,the operator can modify and increase the variety of drug information and sale information through the platform,maintain manufacturers and customers information,the whole platform is simple and fully functional.
Effects of manganese superoxide dismutase on lung fluid balance after smoke inhalation

There is evidence of increased oxygen free radical activity after smoke inhalation with and without concomitant burn injury. We determined the effects of manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn SOD) on lung fluid balance as measured by lung microvascular permeability coefficient (sigma), filtration coefficient (Kf), and lymph flow. Merino breed ewes (n = 6/group) were surgically prepared. The SOD group (SOD) received Mn SOD (9,000 U/kg) as an intravenous bolus and was insufflated with smoke. The control group (CON) received saline and smoke. sigma and Kf were determined 24 h before and 24 h after smoke injury. Lymph flow, arterial O2-to-inspired O2 fraction ratio, systemic hemodynamics, and pulmonary arterial and capillary pressures were measured. The sigma was significantly (P < 0.05) higher after smoke insufflation in SOD compared with CON (0.71 +/- 0.03 vs. 0.53 +/- 0.05). Kf was significantly lower after smoke insufflation in SOD compared with CON (0.038 +/- 0.010 vs. 0.061 +/- 0.010). Lymph flows were sig...
Interventions related to neurologic care

Patient outcomes in the neuroscience patient population can be optimized by appropriate and timely selection of nursing actions and interventions. This study is contributing to the advancement of neuroscience nursing by identifying 13 intervention labels with more than 300 activities to be used in the planning and delivery of care of these patients. Implications for further research are multiple, including a need for clinical research regarding the appropriateness and effectiveness of the items as well as establishing the frequency with which these items occur in clinical practice.
Regulation of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate content in human astrocytoma cells by isoproterenol and carbachol.

Carbachol, a typical cholinomimetic, inhibited isoproterenol stimulation of intracellular adenosine 39,59-monophosphate (cAMP) levels in a dose-dependent fashion, causing a maximal 60-70% decrease at 0.1 mM. The blocking action of carbachol was evident by 30 sec, and reached a maximum between 5 and 7 min. Neither lidocaine, a local anesthetic, nor ascorbic acid and thiourea, reducing agents, had any effect on the action of carbachol. Carbachol inhibited the accumulation of cAMP caused by isoproterenol, adenosine, and prostaglandin E1. Neither hexamethonium bromide, tetraethylammonium chloride, nor phentolamine affected the regulation of cAMP levels by carbachol; in contrast, 1.0 µM atropine completely blocked its effects. Ca2+-free incubation medium eliminated the inhibitory effect of carbachol on isoproterenol-stimulated accumulation of cAMP, but did not affect isoproterenol stimulation alone. These observations suggest that the astrocytoma cell line has a muscarinic, Ca2+-dependent cholinergic receptor, the stimulation of which results in inhibition of cAMP accumulation with isoproterenol stimulation.
Nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer: a primer on immunotherapy.

Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) has long been the gold standard treatment of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. Recently, there has been an emergence of novel immunotherapeutic agents, which have shown promise in the treatment of urothelial cell carcinoma. These agents aim to augment, modify, or enhance the immune response. Such strategies include recombinant BCG, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, gene therapy, and adoptive T-cell therapy. Here, we review the emerging immunotherapeutics in the treatment of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer.
Enforcing Modularity with Clients and Services

This chapter introduces a stronger form of modularity, called enforced modularity, that helps limit the propagation of errors from one module to another. It focuses on software modules. A standard way to create modularity in a large program is to divide it up into named procedures that call one another. Although the resulting structure can be called modular, implementation errors can propagate from caller to callee and vice versa, and not just through their specified interfaces. To enforce modularity, one needs hard boundaries between modules so that errors cannot easily propagate from one module to another. Just as buildings have firewalls to contain fires within one section of the building and keep them from propagating to other sections, one needs an organization that limits the interaction between modules to their defined interfaces. This chapter shows how the client/service model can enforce modularity between modules. It presents two styles of sending and receiving messages: remote procedure call and publish/subscribe. It also summarizes the major issues identified but not addressed and presents a road map for addressing them. Further it provides detailed case studies of two widely used client/service applications, the Internet domain name system and the network file system.
OR42 Imputation of dpb1 for donor selection in the major us race groups

Non-permissive HLA-DPB1 mismatches in hematopoietic stem cell transplantations (HSCT) have been defined in terms of T-Cell epitope (TCE) reactivity groups (Zino et al.) and DPB1 expression variants (Petersdorf et al). The non-permissive HLA-DPB1 mismatches identified in both models are associated with a statistically significant increase in the risk of graft versus host disease in HSCT. We aimed to measure the ability to predict TCE and expression permissibility for all major race groups by imputing donor DPB1 genotypes using high-resolution A∼C∼B∼DRB1∼DQB1∼DPB1 haplotype frequencies. We used 512,201 donors typed at high resolution (HR) at A∼C∼B∼DRB1∼DQB1∼DPB1 for evaluating the imputation of DPB1 permissibility. We analyzed 18 populations that had at least 4000 donors typed at HR for all six loci. The most HR donors were observed in the European population (301,401) and the least HR in the Vietnamese population (4326). We used the algorithm outlined in Zino et al. for determining the DPB1 TCE permissibility and Petersdorf et al. for determining the DPB1 expression risk. From each population we randomly selected 2500 HR subjects and then simulated 6250,000 donor-recipient pairs. We removed the donor’s DPB1 genotype for each pair and imputed it back using A∼C∼B∼DRB1∼DQB1∼DPB1 haplotype frequencies. The randomly selected HR subjects were removed from the calculation of the haplotype frequencies. Based on the DPB1 allele likelihoods, we calculated probabilities for each pair being TCE permissive or non-permissive and DPB1 expression permissive or non-permissive. We compared the predicted TCE and expression permissibility for each pair to their true TCE and expression permissibility using the receiver operator characteristic (ROC). The ROC area under the curve (AUC) was greater than 0.90 for every population except Vietnamese (0.87). The three highest AUC were observed in the Filipino (0.96), Middle Eastern (0.95) and the Caribbean (0.95) populations. The average AUC observed was 0.92 with a standard deviation of 0.02 between populations. Imputation of DPB1 permissibility can be performed with strong predictive power for every major population when using A∼C∼B∼DRB1∼DQB1∼DPB1 haplotype frequencies. Donor search results for HSCT could be enhanced with the addition of DPB1 permissibility predictions.
The Impact of Neighborhood Status on Imprisonment for Firearm Offenses

Burgeoning research on criminal case processing has revealed persistent effects of the race and ethnicity of defendants on case outcomes up to and including imprisonment. But prior studies have dev...
Step Sequence is a Critical Gait Parameter of Unilateral 6-OHDA Parkinson's Rat Models:

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder, marked by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway that leads to abnormal gait, rigidity, slowness of movement, and ...
Measuring Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Cybersecurity for Renewable Energy Systems

Renewable energy systems need to be able to make frequent and rapid adjustments to address shifting solar and wind production. This requires increasingly sophisticated industrial control systems (ICS). But, that also increases the potential risks from cyber-attacks. Despite increasing attention to technical aspects (i.e., software and hardware) of cybersecurity, many professionals and scholars pay little or no attention to its organizational aspects, particularly to stakeholders’ perceptions of the status of cybersecurity within organizations. Given that cybersecurity decisions and policies are mainly made based on stakeholders’ perceived needs and security views, it is critical to measure such perceptions. In this paper, we introduce a methodology for analyzing differences in perceptions of cybersecurity among organizational stakeholders. To measure these perceptions, we first designed House of Security (HoS) as a framework that includes eight constructs of security: confidentiality, integrity, availability, technology resources, financial resources, business strategy, policy and procedures, and culture. We then developed a survey instrument to analyze stakeholders’ perceptions based on these eight constructs. In a pilot study, we used the survey with people in various functional areas and levels of management in two energy and ICS organizations, and conducted a gap analysis to uncover differences in cybersecurity perceptions. This paper introduces the HoS and describes the survey instrument, as well as some of the preliminary findings.
Taxation, Competitiveness, and Inversions: A Response to Kleinbard

In this report, I argue that the inversion situation is more nuanced, complex, and ambiguous than Edward D. Kleinbard acknowledges, and I challenge Kleinbard’s claim that U.S. multinationals are on a tax par with their foreign competitors.
Corrections to “Fast Multilevel Computation of Low-Rank Representation of $\mathcal {H}$ -Matrix Blocks”

Several asymptotic complexity expressions in [1] were overestimated and require correction. All the errors resulted from the same incorrect assumption: at the end of Section II, the computational complexity of calculating the singular value decomposition (SVD) of an $m \times n$ matrix ${\mathbf{A}}$ was presented as $\mathcal {O}(m^{{{{2}}}}n+n^{{{{3}}}})$ —the cost of computing the full SVD ${\mathbf{A}}={\mathbf{U}}\Sigma {\mathbf{V}}^{\dagger }$ using the R-SVD algorithm [2] , assuming $m\ge n$ (otherwise $m$ and $n$ are interchanged). The algorithm in [1] , however, uses the SVD for computing $\Sigma $ , ${\mathbf{V}}^{\dagger }$ , and only the first $n$ columns of ${\mathbf{U}}$ , at an $\mathcal {O}(mn^{{{{2}}}}+n^{{{{3}}}})$ cost only [2] . Indeed, the standard SVD implementations ensure that this computation costs $\mathcal {O}(mn\min [m,n])$ [3] . Accordingly, [1] should have used SVD costs of $\{\mathcal {O}(m^{{{{2}}}}n), \mathcal {O}(mn^{{{{2}}}})\}$ rather than $\{\mathcal {O}(n^{{{{3}}}}),\mathcal {O}(m^{{{{2}}}}n)\}$ , when $\{m . Using these impacts several complexity expressions in [1] and its conclusion as detailed next.
Prospective, double blind, randomized, controlled trial comparing vapocoolant spray versus placebo spray in adults undergoing intravenous cannulation

Abstract Objectives Painful diagnostic and therapeutic procedures are common in the health care setting. Eliminating, or at least, minimizing the pain associated with various procedures should be a priority. Although there are many benefits of providing local/topical anesthesia prior to performing painful procedures, ranging from greater patient/family satisfaction to increased procedural success rates; local/topical anesthetics are frequently not used. Reasons include the need for a needlestick to administer local anesthetics such as lidocaine and the long onset for topical anesthetics. Vapocoolants eliminate the risks associated with needlesticks, avoids the tissue distortion with intradermal local anesthetics, eliminates needlestick pain, have a quick almost instantaneous onset, are easy to apply, require no skills or devices to apply, are convenient, and inexpensive. The aims of this study were to ascertain if peripheral intravenous (PIV) cannulation pain would be significantly decreased by using a vapocoolant (V) versus sterile water placebo (S) spray, as determined by a reduction of at least ≥1.8 points on numerical rating scale (NRS) after vapocoolant versus placebo spray, the side effects and incidence of side effects from a vapocoolant spray; and whether there were any long term visible skin abnormalities associated with the use of a vapocoolant spray. Materials and methods Prospective, randomized, double-blind controlled trial of 300 adults (ages 18–80) requiring PIV placement in a hospital ED, randomized to S (N = 150) or V (N = 150) prior to PIV. Efficacy outcome was the difference in PIV pain: NRS from 0 (none) to worst (10). Safety outcomes included a skin checklist for local adverse effects (i.e., redness, blanching, edema, ecchymosis, itching, changes in skin pigmentation), vital sign (VS) changes, and before/after photographs of the PIV site. Results Patient demographics (age, gender, race), comorbidity, medications, and vital signs; and PIV procedure variables (e.g., IV needle size, location, number of IV attempts, type and experience of healthcare provider performing the IV) were not significantly different for the two groups. Median (interquartile range) PIV pain was 4 (2, 7) (S) and 2 (0, 4) (V) (P Conclusions and Implications Vapocoolant spray significantly decreased peripheral intravenous cannulation pain in adults versus placebo spray and was well tolerated with minor adverse effects that resolved quickly. There were no significant differences in vital signs and no visible skin changes documented by photographs taken within 5–10 min postspray/PIV.
Incorporating Comprehensive Management of Direct Oral Anticoagulants into Anticoagulation Clinics

Anticoagulation clinics emerged as a means to optimize warfarin effectiveness and minimize bleeding risks. Anticoagulation clinics have traditionally been warfarin-based models due to the need for frequent blood-level monitoring, drug interactions, dietary considerations, and periprocedural management with warfarin. These models have demonstrated improved anticoagulation control and reduced bleeding complications for patients taking warfarin. Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) emerged with the perception of improved convenience due to the lack of blood-level monitoring and lack of dietary considerations. Despite the advantages of DOAC therapy, new challenges exist with their management, warranting ongoing monitoring. Such challenges include prescribing and dosing issues, drug adherence, drug interactions, and high drug cost. Comprehensive anticoagulation centers are needed to manage and monitor all oral anticoagulants including DOACs. The objectives of this review are to describe the challenges and opportunities that exist in the management of DOACs and to describe a practice model that integrates a DOAC management service into the traditional anticoagulation clinic.
Solving the Readmissions Puzzle: How Do Variability and Preventability Fit?

* Abbreviation: LRI — : lower respiratory infection Since October 1, 2012, the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program, established by the Affordable Care Act, has imposed financial penalties on hospitals with high readmission rates for targeted conditions covered by Medicare. This program has led to reductions in readmissions even for conditions that were not initially targeted for such penalties.1 Although this program has almost exclusively targeted Medicare, and thus adult patients, some limited state programs have begun targeting pediatrics.2 Because financial penalties and incentives are likely here to stay, understanding pediatric readmissions is key for policymakers, hospital administrators, and clinicians. In this issue, Nakamura et al3 provide another piece in the pediatric readmissions puzzle. Their work focuses primarily on readmissions for children after hospitalization for lower respiratory infections (LRIs). LRIs were defined as either bronchiolitis, influenza, … Address correspondence to Sowdhamini S. Wallace, DO, Section of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, 1102 Bates St, FC 1860, Houston, TX 77030. E-mail: sswallac{at}texaschildrens.org
Thermodynamic and Kinematic Influences on Precipitation Symmetry in Sheared Tropical Cyclones: Bertha and Cristobal (2014)

AbstractPrior studies have shown an association between symmetrically distributed precipitation and tropical cyclone (TC) intensification. Although environmental vertical wind shear typically forces an asymmetric precipitation distribution in TCs, the magnitude of this asymmetry can exhibit considerable variability, even among TCs that experience similar shear magnitudes. This observational study examines the thermodynamic and kinematic influences on precipitation symmetry in two such cases: Bertha and Cristobal (2014). Consistent with the impact of the shear, both TCs exhibited a tilted vortex as well as a pronounced azimuthal asymmetry, with the maximum precipitation occurring in the downshear-left quadrant. However, Bertha was characterized by more symmetrically distributed precipitation and relatively modest vertical motions, while Cristobal was characterized by more azimuthally confined precipitation and much more vigorous vertical motions. Observations showed three potential hindrances to precipitat...
Toward Cross-Cultural Curriculum Development: An Analysis of Science Education in the Philippines, Ghana, and the United States

Among curriculum theorists and practitioners, the importance and role of the milieus (Schwab, School Rev 81:501–522, 1973) and the culture of a context’s educational system, and the values and beliefs embedded within both, cannot be overstated. It is the reason why a simple uproot-and-plant model of educational policies on a global level not only fails but also is a misguided and potentially harmful approach toward cross-cultural curriculum development. Thus, before curriculum development occurs between two contexts, an analysis of the existing curricula within both partners’ local educational systems is necessary in order to avoid localizing the “globalized”, Western practice. This book chapter will leverage a comparative curriculum analysis of science education between the Philippines, Ghana, and the United States to illuminate a potential model for engaging in anti-hegemonic, cross-cultural curriculum development. Curricula and standards that are required by the government were juxtaposed with the purposes of science education, as manifested within national policies on science education, in order to gain a deep understanding of how each context defines it, as well as the corresponding processes of implementation and evaluation. This comparison utilizes anthropological methods as well as curriculum theory to understand what each educational system values and how its respective educational system operates to reflect them.
Making Employment Civil Rights Real

The impact of laws protecting workers from employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation (collectively referred to as employment civil rights) is a function of how effectively they are enforced. Unfortunately, current enforcement efforts are ineffective in important respects. Correcting this problem should be a high priority, because there is evidence that the incidence of discrimination remains high and that the costs of discrimination - in terms of financial and emotional harm - are significant. The problem with the current enforcement environment results from the combined effects of insufficient legal assistance for victims of discrimination and dispute resolution options that are inefficient. This article examines these issues and ends with a brief discussion about possible solutions.
Projectile Motion for Quarterbacks: How to Throw the Perfect Pass.

In the sport of American football, the quarterback (QB) is the player almost always responsible for throwing the ball downfield to an open receiver. That important throw requires him to make a split second decision to launch the ball at the correct speed and angle to guarantee it lands directly into the hands of the receiver. In this paper we model the decision for two cases. The authors first consider the case of a receiver running at constant acceleration and find that, for a successful throw, the ball's launch angle depends only on the receiver's constant acceleration while the ball's initial speed is not a factor. Secondly, the article discusses the more realistic case of a receiver running at a variable acceleration showing that the QB can perform a successful throw for various angle/ball's initial speed combinations in which the angle and speed are approximately linearly related.
Tests of Chi-Squared Type

This chapter considers two classes of chi-squared procedures: one, called "classical" because it contains such familiar statistics as the log likelihood ratio, Neyman modified chi-squared, and Freeman-Tukey; and the second, consisting of nonnegative definite quadratic forms in the standardized cell frequencies. A different approach that may aid the choosing of a statistic is to examine the type of lack of fit measured by each statistic. The use of data-dependent cells increases the flexibility of chi-squared tests, fortunately without increasing their complexity in practice. Chi-squared tests are generally less powerful than empirical distribution function tests and special-purpose tests of fit. An objection to the use of chi-squared tests has been the arbitrariness introduced by the necessity to choose cells. Some of the most useful recent work on chi-squared tests involves the study of quadratic forms in the standardized cell frequencies other than the sum of squares used by Pearson.
Hijabi Cosplay: Performances of Culture, Religion, and Fandom

The practice of “cosplay” among fan cultures—that is, dressing up like fictional pop culture characters—has increased in visibility with the rising popularity of “geek” culture. A particularly inte...