cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Penicillin in the treatment of peritonitis due to liver autolysis in dogs.

Conclusions1. Treatment with penicillin in oil reduces the fatality of peritonitis due to canine liver autolysis in dogs. 2. Autolysis of devitalized human liver in dogs is less fatal than autolysis of canine liver in dogs.
Functional Reorganization Following Preganglionectomy

SummaryFunctional reorganization in the sympathetic nervous system following preganglionectomy has been demonstrated, using the cat as the experimental animal. Skin resistance change in the forepad, in response to stimulation of the ventral roots, was used as an indicator of preganglionic activity. Following interruption of preganglionic pathways to the forepad it was found that preganglionic pathways develop from roots which normally contribute nothing to the forepad.This may offer additional explanation for early relapse following preganglionic section for Raynaud's disease in the hands, and for the fact that operations for this disease are generally more successful in the feet than in the hands.
Bane marrow cytomorphology examination has significant clinical value for the etiological diagnosis of children anemia

Objective:To investigate the importance of bone marrow cytomorphology examination in children anemic patients for the etiological diagnosis of anemia.Methods: The results of bone marrow cytomorphology examination and clinical data of 215 children anemic patients were analyzed retrospectively.Results: Among the 215 children patients with anemia the causes of anemia were identified by the bone marrow cytomorpohology examination combined with the clinical data in 79.5% of patients.Conclusion: Bone marrow cytomorphology examination has significant clinical value in the etiological diagnosis of children anemia.
Immunogenetic basis of tissue and organ transplantation and rejection.

The number and variety of tissue and organ transplants are increasing at a rapid rate. The nurse caring for transplant recipients needs to understand the concepts of inflammation, immunity, and the genetics and pathophysiology of rejection. This article discusses each of these topics.
Systematic Analysis and Critical Appraisal of the Quality of the Scientific Evidence and Conflicts of Interest in Practice Guidelines (2005–2013) for Barrett’s Esophagus

Barrett’s esophagus (BE) is a condition that has a small but important risk of progressing to esophageal cancer. To date, no study has assessed the strength of evidence supporting the recommendations for BE. We sought to assess the overall quality of the recommendations and strength of the BE using the AGREE II instrument. A PubMed search was performed to identify guidelines published pertaining to BE. Every guideline was reviewed using the AGREE II format to assess the methodological rigor and validity of the guideline. Additionally, guidelines were reviewed for the level of evidence used to support recommendations, conflicts of interest (COI), and differences in recommendations. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata (version 12). In total, 234 manuscripts were identified of which 8 guidelines published between 2005 and 2013 pertained to BE. Seventy-five percentage (6/8) graded the evidence used to formulate recommendations. Of the 126 recommendations with supporting evidence, 6 % were supported by level A evidence, 49 % level B evidence, and 45 % level C evidence. Using the AGREE II format, the highest overall assessment grade was the BSG BE guideline (6.5 ± 0.6) followed by the AGA (5.5 ± 0.6). The highest rated domains were scope and purpose (mean 77 range 24–96) and clarity of presentation (mean 75), while the lowest rated domains were editorial independence (mean 32 range 0–92) and applicability of the guideline (mean 35 range 7–90). There was significant variability in recommendations regarding who to screen for BE and surveillance intervals. Finally, only 50 % of the guidelines disclosed if COI were present and 75 % (3/4) reported potentially relevant COI. Majority of the BE guideline fail to meet the AGREE II domains, and most of the recommendations are level B or C quality evidence. Further interventions are necessary to improve the overall quality of the guidelines.
Valproate Hepatotoxicity in Children with Epilepsy

Authors from the University Children’s Hospital in Heidelberg estimate the incidence of fatal valproate (VPA) hepatotoxicity in West Germany at around 1 in 5000 and find it hard to justify the use of VPA as a drug of first choice for children with generalised epilepsies.
Journal Club: Exacerbation of headache during dihydroergotamine for chronic migraine does not alter outcome

Transient headache exacerbation during IV dihydroergotamine (DHE) therapy of migraine may prompt clinicians to prematurely discontinue DHE therapy, potentially depriving patients of the full benefit of DHE infusion. In a recent Neurology® article, Eller et al. evaluated whether or not worsening headache during DHE infusion was associated with suboptimal medium-term headache outcomes.
Projecting Future Demand for Assisted Living: A Case Study

Nantucket is one of only a few Massachusetts communities that offers its elderly residents local assisted living and skilled nursing care partially subsidized by local taxpayers. When contemporary standards of care required modernizing Our Island Home to meet those standards, the question arose: Would a 45-bed facility meet the future needs of this isolated island community? A demographic analysis predicted a widening gap between availability and need within 15 years, disrupting local families’ capacity to supplement local institutional care with frequent personal visits to loved ones and obliging Nantucket residents to seek other distant arrangements. The analysis recommended sizing the future facility to accommodate a projected 63 % increase in the future needs of Nantucket families with elderly residents. This case study illustrates two distinct contributions of applied demographic analysis: identifying immediate necessary decisions and clarifying distant long-term tradeoffs for public choice.
Empirical Study and Enhancements of Industrial Wireless Sensor–Actuator Network Protocols

Wireless sensor–actuator networks (WSANs) offer an appealing communication technology for process automation applications to incorporate the Internet of Things (IoT). In contrast to other IoT applications, process automation poses unique challenges for industrial WSAN due to its critical demands on reliable and real-time communication. While industrial WSANs have received increasing attention in the research community recently, most published results to date have focused on the theoretical aspects and were evaluated based on simulations. There is a critical need for experimental research on this important class of WSANs. We developed an experimental testbed by implementing several key network protocols of WirelessHART, an open standard for WSANs that has been widely adopted in the process industries based on the HART. We then performed a series of empirical studies showing that graph routing leads to significant improvement over source routing in terms of worst-case reliability, but at the cost of longer latency and higher energy consumption. It is therefore important to employ graph routing algorithms specifically designed to optimize latency and energy efficiency. Our studies also suggest that channel hopping can mitigate the burstiness of transmission failures; a larger channel distance can reduce consecutive transmission failures over links sharing a common receiver. Based on these insights, we developed a novel channel hopping algorithm that utilizes far away channels for transmissions. Furthermore, it prevents links sharing the same destination from using channels with strong correlations. Our experimental results demonstrate that our algorithm can significantly improve network reliability and energy efficiency.
Pulmonary Embolism Begets Pulmonary Embolism?: A Meta-Analysis Depicting the Type of Recurrence Following an Index Pulmonary Embolism

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Conflicting evidence suggests a person who suffers an index pulmonary embolism (PE) is more likely to develop a recurrent PE than a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine the proportion of recurrent events that will be PE in such people. METHODS: A literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL (through 7/2014) was performed to identify RCTs of acute treatment and prevention of recurrent VTE in persons suffering an index PE, enrolling ≥50 subjects, requiring anticoagulation for ≥3 months and reporting the proportion of recurrent events that were DVT or PE (±DVT). RCTs not in English, enrolling only cancer, surgical or thrombophilia patients, primary prevention and extended treatment trials were excluded. We extracted recurrent VTE event data; and used a random-effects approach to pool the proportion [along with 95% confidence intervals (CIs)] of recurrent events that were PE and fatal PE, as well as, the proportion of recurrent PEs that were fatal. RESULTS: Nine RCTs (n=13,606 subjects; 413 recurrent events) were included. In persons presenting with an index PE, 67%; 95%CI, 62-71% of their recurrent events were PE and 27%; 95%CI, 22-33%) were fatal PE. Of all recurrent PEs observed, 41%; 95%CI, 33-48% resulted in death. No statistical heterogeneity was observed in any analysis (I2 CONCLUSION: Our meta-analysis suggests a majority of recurrent events in those experiencing an index PE will be PEs. Moreover, recurrent PEs are associated with a high mortality rate. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Lateral Ge Diffusion During Oxidation of Si/SiGe Fins.

This Letter reports on the unusual diffusion behavior of Ge during oxidation of a multilayer Si/SiGe fin. It is observed that oxidation surprisingly results in the formation of vertically stacked Si nanowires encapsulated in defect free epitaxial strained SixGe1–x. High angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) shows that extremely enhanced diffusion of Ge occurs along the vertical Si/SiO2 oxidizing interface and is responsible for the encapsulation process. Further oxidation fully encapsulates the Si layers in defect free single crystal SixGe1–x (x up to 0.53), which results in Si nanowires with up to −2% strain. Atom probe tomography reconstructions demonstrate that the resultant nanowires run the length of the fin. We found that the oxidation temperature plays a significant role in the formation of the Si nanowires. In the process range of 800–900 °C, pure strained and rounded Si nanowires down to 2 nm in diameter can be fabricated. At lower temperatures, the Ge di...
Solid-Solid Bonding Characterization by Ultrasonic Reflectivity

The most common approach to model a weakened bond at a solid-solid interface has been to allow for a partial slip of the displacement at the interface. This concept is transformed into a specific set of boundary conditions which are then solved to obtain the plane-wave reflection and transmission coefficients or to determine the dispersion relation of the associated interface wave, if they exist. A key question in this approach is whether one allows for a partial slip in both displacement components or just the tangential. Initially, Murty [1–2] considered only the tangential slip to model the slip interface with the following boundary conditions: Normal stress is continuous, Shear stress is continuous, Normal displacement is continuous, and Shear stress is proportional to a tangential displacement slip.
Medications in Neonatal Resuscitation: Epinephrine and the Search for Better Alternative Strategies

Epinephrine remains the primary vasopressor for neonatal resuscitation complicated by asystole or prolonged bradycardia not responsive to adequate ventilation and chest compressions. Epinephrine increases coronary perfusion pressure primarily through peripheral vasoconstriction. Current guidelines recommend intravenous epinephrine administration (0.01-0.03 mg/kg). Endotracheal epinephrine administration results in unpredictable absorption. High-dose intravenous epinephrine poses additional risks and does not result in better long-term survival. Vasopressin has been considered an alternative to epinephrine in adults, but there is insufficient evidence to recommend its use in newborn infants. Future research will focus on the best sequence for epinephrine administration and chest compressions.
The Robustness of Brownie Tag Return Models to Complex Spatiotemporal Dynamics Evaluated through Simulation Analysis

The development of a reliable tagging program requires simulation testing the experimental design. However, the potential for model misspecification, particularly in the underlying spatiotemporal dynamics, is often ignored. A continuous time, spatially explicit, age-structured, capture–recapture operating model was developed to better emulate real-world population dynamics typically overlooked in spatially aggregated or discrete time tagging models. Various spatiotemporal model parametrizations, including case studies with Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), were explored to evaluate the bias associated with Brownie tag return estimation models. Simulations demonstrated that accounting for connectivity was essential for obtaining unbiased parameter estimates and that migration rates could be reliably estimated without the correlation associated with other parameters (e.g., between tag reporting and mortality). Mortality parameter estimates were particularly sens...
Attitudes to sexual health in the United States: results from a national survey of youth aged 15–25 years

Background Several common global definitions of sexual health refer to physical, emotional and social well-being, with respect to sexuality, and also to the need for this well-being to be reflected for all individuals in relationships. How well sexual health definitions fit US youths’ attitudes to sexual health, and associations between these attitudes, sexual behaviours and sexual health care were assessed. Methods: In total, 4017 youth aged between 15 and 25 years via an online survey panel, weighted to be representative of the US population, were surveyed. Respondents reported their attitudes towards seven dimensions of sexual health that we abstracted from existing global definitions (emotional fulfillment, social connectedness, spirituality, overall pleasure, physical intimacy, mental fulfillment, reciprocal benefits). Respondents also reported on sexual health-related discussions with partners, sexual behaviours, and their use of sexual health care. Outcomes through weighted frequency estimates and ordinal regression models were reported. Results: Youth generally construed all seven dimensions as important to sexual health, with the emotional dimension rated most favourably. Attitudes to the dimensions of overall pleasure, physical intimacy and spirituality were most consistently related to sexual health discussions and behaviours. The behaviours most consistently related to sexual health attitudes were going for a sexual health check-up, discussing birth control/pregnancy and discussing risk before sex without a condom. Conclusions: Youth construal of sexual health fits well with global sexual health definitions. Attitudes to dimensions of sexual health were related to some sexual health-related behaviours, especially healthcare use and complex discussions.
Interactions among pelvic organ protrusion, levator ani descent, and hiatal enlargement in women with and without prolapse.

Background Pelvic organ prolapse has 2 components: (1) protrusion of the pelvic organs beyond the hymen; and (2) descent of the levator ani. The Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification system measures the first component, however, there remains no standard measurement protocol for the second mechanism. Objective We sought to test the hypotheses that: (1) difference in the protrusion area is greater than the area created by levator descent in prolapse patients compared with controls; and (2) prolapse is more strongly associated with levator hiatus compared to urogenital hiatus. Study Design Midsagittal magnetic resonance imaging scans from 30 controls, 30 anterior predominant, and 30 posterior predominant prolapse patients were assessed. Levator area was defined as the area above the levator ani and below the sacrococcygeal inferior pubic point line. Protrusion area was defined as the protruding vaginal walls below the levator area. The levator hiatus and urogenital hiatus were measured. Bivariate analysis and multiple comparisons were performed. Bivariate logistic regression was performed to assess prolapse as a function of levator hiatus, urogenital hiatus, levator area, and protrusion. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated. Results The levator area for the anterior (34.0 ± 6.5 cm 2 ) and posterior (35.7 ± 8.0 cm 2 ) prolapse groups were larger during Valsalva compared to controls (20.9 ± 7.8 cm 2 , P 2 ) and posterior (14.4 ± 5.7 cm 2 ) prolapse groups were both larger compared to controls (5.0 ± 1.8 cm 2 , P P P 2 vs 9.4 ± 5.9 cm 2 , P P ≤ .001, for all comparisons). Conclusion In prolapse, the levator area increases more than the protrusion area and both the urogenital hiatus and levator hiatus are larger. The odds of prolapse for an increase in the urogenital hiatus are 3 times larger than for the levator hiatus, which leads us to reject both the original hypotheses.
Free choice reasons

I extend theories of nonmonotonic reasoning to account for reasons allowing free choice. My approach works with a wide variety of approaches to nonmonotonic reasoning and explains the connection between reasons for kinds of action and reasons for actions or subkinds falling under them. I use an Anderson–Kanger reduction of reason statements, identifying key principles in the logic of reasons.
16th IEEE International Conference on Mathematical Methods in Electromagnetic Theory Held in Lviv, Ukraine [Meeting Reports]

Presents information on the 16th IEEE International Conference on Mathematical Methods in Electromagnetic Theory.
Genomics-Guided Antithrombotic Therapy for Acute Coronary Syndromes

Abstract A substantial burden of cardiovascular disease results from thrombosis that manifests clinically as acute coronary syndrome, stroke, and venous thromboembolism. Although antithrombotic drugs that inhibit platelets and coagulation factors have been shown to reduce thrombotic events, there exists considerable variability in response to many of these drugs that affect the relative efficacy and safety in individual patients. Pharmacogenomics offers the opportunity for personalized medicine through the identification of medically actionable variants, such as predicting the efficacy of a specific drug (CYP2C19 genotyping for selecting antiplatelet therapy) or determining optimal dosing regimens and minimizing adverse events (CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genotyping for warfarin).
Performance evaluation of enhanced geothermal system (EGS): Surrogate models, sensitivity study and ranking key parameters

Abstract Designing an efficient system to extract heat from an enhanced geothermal system (EGS) requires proper understanding of the behavior of the reservoir over a long period. Five key parameters namely well spacing, fracture spacing, well inclination angle, injection temperature and injection rate are considered in this study for a doublet well system. To study and evaluate the performance of an EGS, second order surrogate models for ‘produced water temperature’, at certain time intervals are developed as a function of these five factors. The in-situ properties of a candidate reservoir for designing the simulations are taken from the FORGE site, Utah. Simulations are designed using ‘Box-Behnken’ design of experiments techniques to minimize the number of simulations. The models are trained and tested with the simulated results. Fitness of the models is calculated by estimating the errors using the coefficient of determination (R2) and the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE). These surrogate models are used to study the sensitivity of the aforementioned factors on the temperature of the produced water and the heat recovery over a time period of 30 years. Finally, the hierarchy of factors, as they impact the total heat recovery are represented as a tornado plot.
Economic Justification: Research Concerns

Economic justification of automated material handling and manufacturing systems is a frequently encountered barrier to the implementation of these systems. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the economic justification problem and to outline where current practices are inadequate. A discussion of some of the efforts being made to develop improved justification practices is presented. Individual efforts are described in terms of the issues they address and the progress they are making.
Unitary representations of SL(n,ℝ) and the cohomology of congruence subgroups

Let G=SL±(n,ℝ) with G=g and K=O(n), and let Γ(qm), m e N\O, q an odd prime, be a congruence subgroup of SL(n,ℝ). We prove that for m large enough all unitary representations Π with H*(g,K,Π) ≠ 0 are automorphic representations of G/Γ(qm). For a unitary representation Π, denote by nΠ the smallest integer with H*(g,K,Π) ≠ 0 if such an integer exists. Representing cohomology classes by Eisenstein series we prove $$H^{n_\Pi } (\Gamma (q^m ),\mathbb{C}) \ne 0$$ for m large.
Pragmatic Bayesian Kriging for Non-Stationary and Moderately Non-Gaussian Data

We discuss two flexible and fast empirical Bayesian kriging models: (1) intrinsic random function of order zero and one and (2) kriging with local data transformation to a Gaussian distribution. In the case of large datasets, all calculations are made in the data subsets, and predictions are made using weighted sums of predictions from different subsets, possibly overlapping. The methodology is illustrated using 1.35 billion samples collected using LiDAR technology.
Statistics: The Field

Statistics is a term used to refer to both a field of scientific inquiry and a body of quantitative methods. The field of statistics has a 350-year intellectual history rooted in the origins of probability and the rudimentary tools of political arithmetic of the seventeenth century. Statistics came of age as a separate discipline with the development of formal inferential theories in the twentieth century. This article briefly traces some of this historical development and discusses current methodological and inferential approaches as well as some cross-cutting themes in the development of new statistical methods.
Possible Enzymatic Downregulation of the Natriuretic Peptide System in Patients with Reduced Systolic Function and Heart Failure: A Pilot Study

Background. In patients with reduced systolic function, the natriuretic peptide system affects heart failure (HF) progression, but the expression of key activating (corin) and degrading enzymes (neprilysin) is not well understood. Methods and Results. This pilot study (n=48) compared plasma levels of corin, neprilysin, ANP, BNP, and cGMP in control patients with normal ejection fractions (mean EF %) versus patients with systolic dysfunction, with (EF %) and without (EF %) decompensated HF (dHF), as defined by Framingham and BNP criteria. Mean ages, use of beta blockers, and ACE-inhibitors-angiotensin receptor blockers were similar between the groups. Corin levels were depressed in systolic dysfunction patients ( pg/ml) versus controls ( , p<0.02), but levels were not affected by dHF (p=0.77). In contrast, levels of neprilysin (p<0.01), cGMP (p<0.001), and ANP (p<0.001) were higher in systolic dysfunction patients than controls and were the highest in patients with dHF. Conclusions. Levels of neprilysin, ANP, BNP, and cGMP increased in patients with reduced systolic function and were the highest in dHF patients. Conversely, corin levels were low in patients with reduced EF with or without dHF. This pattern suggests possible enzymatic downregulation of natriuretic peptide activity in patients with reduced EF, which may have diagnostic and prognostic implications.
Long-term patient reported outcomes following radiation therapy for oropharyngeal cancer: A symptom assessment study in patients >65 years old.

e21611Background: Given the potential for older patients (pts) to experience exaggerated toxicity and symptoms, this study was performed to characterize pt reported outcomes (PROs) in older pts fol...
Wavelength-selective thermal extraction for higher efficiency and power density thermophotovoltaics

Thermophotovoltaics have long been of interest as an energy conversion technology but suffer from low power density and low efficiency. Structured emitters designed to alter the emission spectrum and increase the efficiency are not stable at the necessary high emitter temperatures and also reduce the power density. Here, we propose a wavelength-selective thermal extraction device that mitigates these challenges and demonstrate a transfer-printing process needed to fabricate the device. The device consists of a ZnS solid hemisphere with a patterned thin film optical filter that passively increases the far-field radiated flux from an emitter within a wavelength band near the bandgap of a photovoltaic cell. Crucially, the device does not need to be in physical contact with the emitter and thus can be maintained at a lower temperature, circumventing the thermal stability challenge. Our work helps one to address long-standing issues with applications of thermophotovoltaics.
A Case for Disrupting the System of Legal Education

This essay is focused on the role which law schools might play in “reinventing” the law student for a more robust role in an increasingly complex global economy. The case is presented for law schools to embrace and promote a collaborative orientation toward legal conflict and the role which lawyers have to play as problem solvers. Principles from systems thinking as well as a real-world example are utilized to illustrate why this change is imperative.
The Impact of Sleep and Circadian Disorders on Physician Burnout.

Nearly 50% of physicians report symptoms of clinical burnout. Occupational factors and personal health play substantial roles in physician burnout. The role of sleep in physician burnout is not well understood. Burnout is at epidemic levels in health care, with research suggesting nearly one in two physicians experience clinical burnout as defined according to the Maslach Burnout Index. Sleep deprivation, burnout, and clinician health are intricately intertwined. The relation between sleep deprivation and burnout is not only suggested in hypothetical models but also confirmed in observational studies of workers of all types. Models describing the relation between burnout and sleep suggest as potential causative mechanisms of sleep disturbances the following: (1) a chronic depletion of energy stores; or (2) activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and increasing levels of bodily stress. Sleep deprivation and burnout are widespread in health-care workers, affecting not only nurses but also medical students, physicians-in-training, and practicing physicians. Although sleep deprivation is associated with clinical burnout, direct studies showing that sleep extension can improve burnout recovery are lacking. Early detection and early intervention to improve both sleep deprivation and burnout are warranted in health-care professionals. Interventions should be directed not only at individuals but also at the entire health system. This review highlights the latest developments and emerging concepts concerning the role of sleep and circadian disorders in physician burnout.
Allometric Relationships for Aboveground Woody Biomass Differ Among Hybrid Poplar Genomic Groups and Clones in the North-Central USA

Allometric biomass equations were developed based on harvests of 198 trees from 15 field sites in the north-central USA, with the trees representing 4 hybrid poplar genomic groups and a total of 11 clones within these groups. Specifically, equations were developed to describe woody (branch + stem) total dry weight (TDW) as a function of diameter at breast height (DBH), along with hypothesis tests of differences among genomic groups and clones for equation intercepts and slopes. Inclusion of groups or clones improved model fit (r2 = 0.90 or 0.91, respectively) compared to the generic model consisting of only DBH (r2 = 0.85). Differences in equation parameters translated into significant differences among groups and clones for estimated TDW when compared at mean DBH (20 cm). Equations were also developed to describe branch-to-stem weight ratio (BSR) as a function of TDW and tree height (H), also with hypothesis tests of differences in intercepts and slopes among genomic groups and clones. Inclusion of genomic groups somewhat improved model fit (r2 = 0.57) compared to the generic model consisting of only TDW and H (r2 = 0.53), whereas model fit improved more markedly with the inclusion of clones (r2 = 0.75). Our results indicate that group- and clone-specific equations (rather than generic ones) are warranted for hybrid poplars, and that group-specific equations are adequate for estimating TDW whereas clone-specific equations are more appropriate for estimating BSR.
RUMOR AND HISTORY REVISITED: ‘MUMIANI’ IN COASTAL KENYA, 1945

This article analyzes an instance of collective panic about gangs of killers called Watu wa Mumiani (‘Mumiani People’) in Digo District, Kenya in 1945. Popularly believed to work for the colonial government, Watu wa Mumiani were said to abduct Africans from roads and kill them for their blood. I offer an interpretation of this episode in terms of the history of a medicine called Mumia, a nineteenth-century ritual called Mung'aro, regional strategies for surviving famine (including ‘pawning’ kin), and a wartime labor conscription campaign. Rather than emphasize the alterity of ‘vampires’ like Watu wa Mumiani, I show how the 1945 panic articulates concerns about powerful intermediaries, arguing that the stories told about them encode a history of concerns about predatory patrons, especially under conditions of ecological distress.
Ultrasound-Enhanced Drug Delivery for Treatment of Acanthamoeba Keratitis

Reaching sufficient amounts of therapeutic agents in ocular tissues is a major challenge in ophthalmology. In this study, we examined the effects of ultrasound application for delivery of polyhexamethylene biguanide for treatment of Acanthamoeba keratitis. Ultrasound intensities of 0.5 – 0.8 W/cm2 and frequencies of 400 – 600 kHz were tested with exposure durations of 1 - 5 minutes. Light microscopy was used to determine the ultrasound-induced structural changes in the cornea. All groups showed increases in drug concentration, up to 2.36 times, passing through the cornea, with the 600 kHz treatment groups reaching statistical significance. Structural changes were observed in the epithelial layer of the cornea, but the stroma and endothelium remained mostly unaffected.
Spatio-Temporal Drought Risk Analysis Using GIS-Based Input Output Modeling

Recent studies in the area of disaster risk management emphasize the increasing likelihood and adverse consequences of droughts. Droughts can have widespread severe impacts; for example, in 2016, the northeastern region of the United States experienced record levels of rainfall shortage, forcing regional government agencies to issue warnings and emergency advisories to the public. During drought events, the economic losses due to water shortage and government-mandated restriction measures create costly cascading effects due to the interconnected and interdependent nature of the economic sectors. Such sectors have different degrees of dependence on water, and often there is a lack of coordination in implementing sector-specific resilience measures, which makes the drought recovery management a complex and daunting task. Indeed, water is a critical resource and it is essential in producing a myriad number of goods and services in the economy. In the current chapter, the authors develop a new modeling framework for drought risk management by integrating spatial analysis and dynamic input-output modeling to better understand the direct and indirect effects of drought scenarios on interdependent sectors of a regional economy. A decision support tool that utilizes the geographic information systems (GIS) platform was also developed to perform the following functions: (1) model the time-varying impacts of drought scenarios on a regional economy, (2) simulate the responses of individual sectors throughout various stages of the drought recovery timeline, and (3) estimate the regional economic losses and potential benefits of implementing different categories of drought management policies. The utility of the integrated IO-GIS framework and decision support tool is demonstrated in a case study of the historic and widespread drought that occurred in the State of Massachusetts in 2016.
Clinical correlation of circulating tumor cell (CTC) PD-L1 and HLA I expression in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) using exclusion-based sample preparation technology.

721Background: Despite therapeutic advancement in Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGF-R) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for mRCC treatment, ...
Mechanical Characterization of Normal and High-Strength Steel Bars in Reinforced Concrete Members under Fire

AbstractThis study investigates the high-temperature mechanical response of deformed steel bars used in the United States (ASTM A615 and A706, all grades) for the construction of reinforced concret...
Consistencies and Discrepancies Between the Expectations of Urology Trainees and the Experience of Practicing Urologists.

Abstract Objective To compare the expectations of urology trainees with the experience of practicing urologists. Methods Residents, fellows, and practicing urologists were surveyed in 2018 regarding weekly work hours, number of hospitals covered, call nights per week, administrative workload relative to residency, annual net income, and time to pursue personal interests and hobbies. Urology trainees, defined as residents and fellows, were also surveyed regarding their expectations for clinical practice. The expectations of trainees were compared with the reported experience of practicing urologists using 1-tailed t test and chi-square analysis. Trainee expectations were also stratified by age, gender, training level, relationship status, and whether trainees had dependent children. Results The expectations of 99 trainees were compared with the reported experience of 377 practicing urologists. Trainees expect to work more hours but less call nights per week than reported by practicing urologists while annual net income was either consistent or underestimated. Compared to practicing urologists, however, trainees appear to underestimate the administrative workload relative to residency and overestimate time to pursue personal interests and hobbies. Junior residents were more likely to underestimate administrative workload than senior residents and fellows. Conclusion While the expectations of urology trainees for work hours and annual net income were fairly consistent with those reported by practicing urologists, trainees may underestimate administrative workload and overestimate time to pursue personal interests and hobbies.
Nonquantitative Research in Law and Public Administration: Approaches in the United States

This article presents an overview of nonquantitative research in the field of law and public administration in the United States. We first consider the extent to which law is relevant to public adm...
Safety and Complications of Catheter Ablation for Atrial fibrillation: Predictors of complications from an updated analysis the National Inpatient Database.

Background Catheter ablation is increasingly employed in the management of atrial fibrillation (AF). Data regarding safety of ablation of AF is largely derived from controlled clinical trials. Objectives The aim of this study was to analyze safety and complications of AF ablation performed in a "real world" setting outside of clinical trials, and obtain insights on predictors of complications. Methods We utilized the National Inpatient Sample database, to identify all patients who underwent AF ablations between 2015 and 2017 using International Classification of Disease-Tenth revision codes. Complications were defined as per the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality Guidelines. Statistical tests including multivariate logistic regression were performed to determine predictors of complications. Results Among 14,875 cases of AF ablation between 2015 and 2017, a total of 1884 complications were identified among 1080 (7.2%) patients. Patients with complications were likely to be older and female with a higher burden of comorbidities. A 27% increase in complications was observed from 2015 to 2017, driven by an increase in pericardial complications. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that pulmonary hypertension (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.99, p = .041) and chronic kidney disease (CKD; aOR: 1.67, p = .024), were independent predictors of complications. Centers with higher procedural volumes were associated with lower complication rates. Conclusions Complication rates related to AF ablations remain substantially high. Presence of pulmonary hypertension and CKD are predictive of higher procedural complications. Furthermore, hospital procedure volume is an important factor that correlates with complication rates.
Revisiting stability analysis of Phase-Locked Loops with the Popov Stability Criterion

Abstract This paper revisits the problem of stability analysis of Phase-Locked Loops (PLLs), focusing specifically on stability conditions derived using the Popov Stability Criterion. A new form of the Popov based frequency domain criterion is derived in which the size of the stability region, the PLL locking range, appears independently of the loop transfer-function. This enables one to maximize the stability region graphically and directly on the Popov plot, rather than iteratively. Various numerical and analytic results available in the literature are shown to be particular cases of the proposed new stability test. It is also shown that for PLLs of type r , in which r denotes the number of integrators in the loop, it is not possible to achieve full locking range if r is larger or equal than three.
Does team-based variable pay work?

In May 2001, the Iowa legislature enacted the Teacher Quality Act (Senate File 476) to improve the quality of teaching and instruction in Iowa. The primary objective of this landmark piece of legislation was to improve student achievement (Iowa General Assembly, 2001). A key piece of Senate File 476 was Team-Based Variable Pay (TBVP), Iowa's version of a School-Based Performance Award (SBPA). This pilot project was intended to reward teams of teachers from individual schools for improved student achievement in their respective schools. A significant amount of research has been conducted regarding alternative teacher pay structures, including those focused on recognizing and rewarding teachers for increased student achievement. Most of those plans described in the literature have been mandatory programs. Conversely, in Iowa, TBVP has been a voluntary program. Iowa Testing Program data were compared for students from TBVP schools and NonTBVP schools (schools that applied to participate in TBVP without selection) to determine any differences in gains in reading and mathematics achievement. This study indicates that there were no significant differences between the gains in achievement between TBVP and Non-TBVP schools. Goal rigor (as determined by the TBVP application) was examined to determine its relationship to increases in reading and mathematics for TBVP and Non-TBVP schools. The results of this study indicate that goal rigor is positively and significantly related to increases in reading in both TBVP and Non-TBVP schools. Goal rigor was also found to be positively
Diagnosis of Invasive Aspergillosis: Use of the Galactomannan Assay

Invasive aspergillosis is the cause of severe morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. Given the challenges of fungal cultures, non-culture surrogates are crucial to the timely diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) to initiate expedited treatment. The Platelia™ Aspergillus EIA (Bio-Rad, Hercules, California) is a double-sandwich ELISA that detects the galactomannan (GM) of the fungal cell wall and was cleared by the FDA for use in serum and bronchoalveolar fluid (BAL) in 2003 and 2011, respectively. The population in which GM has been studied the most and has shown the greatest accuracy is that of hematologic malignancy. The optimal optical density index (ODI) cutoff to define test positivity in the serum is still a matter of debate because this value influences test performance. Using a lower ODI threshold (≥0.5 vs. ≥1 vs. ≥1.5) optimizes sensitivity at the expense of specificity and vice versa using a higher ODI threshold. One must be alert to the potential for false-positive results, particularly if a ODI cutoff of 0.5 is used in the serum. False positives can occur due to medications, i.e., piperacillin/tazobactam, though there is increasing evidence that newer formulations are less cross-reactive with GM, and false-positive results occur in the presence of other molds that cross-react with GM. As the use of mold-active antifungal prophylaxis increases, one must be aware that GM may not perform as well due to lower pre-test probability of IA and lower test sensitivity. Emerging evidence indicates that use of GM in combination with other tests, e.g., Aspergillus PCR or lateral flow device (LFD), may enhance diagnostic accuracy beyond GM alone; however, further validation of these diagnostics in combination are required before routine implementation can be recommended. BAL GM performs better than serum as it is significantly more sensitive, though the optimal ODI cutoff is also debated (≥0.5 vs. ≥1).False-positive results can be due to use of medications, as with serum GM. False negatives can occur with the use of certain agents which decrease the viscosity of the BAL fluid, and use of such agents need to be considered by the clinician when evaluating a test result. Again, BAL GM, in conjunction with other tests, e.g., PCR and LFD, are promising, but further studies are needed. GM in other fluids, i.e., CSF, urine, and tissue, may be useful, but the studies are very limited. In summary, when employed in the right clinical context and interpreted appropriately, serum and BAL GM can facilitate the diagnosis and early treatment of IA. While there are significant limitations and the landscape is evolving, the test has an important role in clinical practice today.
Characterization of karyopherins in androgen receptor intracellular trafficking in the yeast model.

Background: Mechanisms regulating androgen receptor (AR) subcellular localization represent an essential component of AR signaling. Karyopherins are a family of nucleocytoplasmic trafficking factors. In this paper, we used the yeast model to study the effects of karyopherins on the subcellular localization of the AR. Methods: Yeast mutants deficient in different nuclear transport factors were transformed with various AR based, GFP tagged constructs and their localization was monitored using microscopy. Results: We showed that yeast can mediate androgen-induced AR nuclear localization and that in addition to the import factor, Importinα/β, this process required the import karyopherin Sxm1. We also showed that a previously identified nuclear export sequence (NESAR) in the ligand binding domain of AR does not appear to rely on karyopherins for cytoplasmic localization. Conclusions: These results suggest that while AR nuclear import relies on karyopherin activity, AR nuclear export and/or cytoplasmic localization may require other undefined mechanisms.
The Serape Effect

(1970). The Serape Effect. Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation: Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 79-80.
Third Response to “The Teacher as a Service Professional,” by Donald A. Myers

(2008). Third Response to “The Teacher as a Service Professional,” by Donald A. Myers. Action in Teacher Education: Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 21-25.
Exploring the NATURE OF MATHEMATICAL activity: USING theory, research and `working hypotheses' to broaden conceptions of mathematics knowing

What proficiencies are brought tobear when students work on mathematicsproblems? And to what extent may these becaptured by knowledge categories? These arequestions that I consider in this article,as I explore notions of competency, that gobeyond knowledge to include themathematical `dispositions' that studentsbring to problems and the `practices' withwhich they engage. This exploration willdraw from two frameworks that have recentlybeen introduced in the US. In addition, Iconsider the ways in which researchknowledge is conceived and developed,reflecting upon the important role oftheory and the potential of `workinghypotheses' for connecting with practice innew ways.
Patterned Sensory Stimulation Induces Plasticity in Reciprocal Ia Inhibition in Humans

Training of spinal cord circuits using sensorimotor stimulation has been proposed as a strategy to improve movement after spinal injury. How sensory stimulation may lead to long-lasting changes is not well understood. We studied whether sensory stimulation might induce changes in the strength of a specific spinal interneuronal circuit: spinally mediated reciprocal Ia inhibition. In healthy humans, the strength of reciprocal inhibition between ankle flexor and extensor muscles was assessed before and after 30 min of peroneal nerve stimulation at motor threshold intensity. Three stimulation protocols were assessed: patterned nerve stimulation (10 pulses at 100 Hz every 1.5 sec), uniform nerve stimulation (one pulse every 150 msec), and combined stimulation of the peroneal nerve and the motor cortex with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Short-latency reciprocal inhibition from ankle flexor to extensor muscles was measured by conditioning the soleus H-reflex with stimulation of the common peroneal nerve. The strength of the reciprocal inhibition was measured at baseline and for 20 min after each stimulation session. Patterned stimulation, with or without motor cortex stimulation, enhanced reciprocal inhibition for at least 5 min afterward. The uniform pattern of stimulation was ineffective. These results demonstrate the presence of short-term plasticity within spinal inhibitory circuits. We conclude that the pattern of sensory input is a crucial factor for inducing changes in the spinal circuit for reciprocal inhibition in humans. These findings may have implications for the use of repetitive patterned sensory stimulation in rehabilitative efforts to improve walking ability in patients with spinal injury.
Wafer level packaging solution for high performance microwave inductors on Si substrates

We report an innovative wafer level packaging solution for high performance microwave inductors on Si substrates. We present design rules for high-Q microwave inductors. Inductors fabricated on Si substrates using this technology exhibit Q's up to 50 in the C-band.