cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding on branched-chain amino acid metabolism.

It has been hypothesized that a greater decline in circulating branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) after weight loss induced by roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery than after calorie restriction alone has independent effects on glucose homeostasis, possibly by decreased signaling through the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). We evaluated plasma BCAA and their C3 and C5 acylcarnitine metabolites, muscle mTOR phosphorylation, and insulin sensitivity (insulin-stimulated glucose rate of disappearance [Rd]) in obese subjects before and after ∼20% weight loss induced by RYGB (n=10, BMI 45.6±6.7 kg/m 2 ) or laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB; n=10, BMI 46.5±8.8 kg/m 2 ). Weight loss increased insulin-stimulated glucose Rd by ∼55%, decreased total plasma BCAA and C3 and C5 acylcarnitine concentrations by 20-35%, and did not alter mTOR phosphorylation; no differences were detected between surgical groups (all P -values for interaction >0.05). Insulin-stimulated glucose Rd correlated negatively with plasma BCAAs and with C3 and C5 acylcarnitine concentrations (r-values: -0.56 to -0.75, P
Brief Health Literacy Screening Items Predict Newest Vital Sign Scores

Background: Numeracy is an important but understudied component of health literacy (HL). The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive ability of established general HL and numeracy screening items in estimating Newest Vital Sign (NVS) scores. Methods: We studied 241 adults attending primary care clinics in the midwestern United States. Demographic items, HL screening questions, and the NVS were administered to patients. To determine the accuracy of HL and numeracy screening items, area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves were determined for each screening item, using NVS scores as the reference standard. Results: Patients9 mean age was 46.1 ± 16.3 years; 71.0% were female, 53.4% were African American, 7.5% had less than a high school education, and 44.4% were insured by Medicaid/Medicare. The mean NVS score was 3.7 ± 2.0, with 17.8% classified as having inadequate HL/numeracy (NVS score of 0 or 1). The HL screening item, “How confident are you filling out medical forms by yourself?” was the best predictor of both limited (AUROC, 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76–0.89) and limited/marginal (AUROC, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.73–0.85) NVS scores. The numeracy screening item, “In general, how easy or hard do you find it to understand medical statistics?” was the best predictor of both limited (AUROC, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.76–0.89) and limited/marginal (AUROC = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.72–0.84) NVS scores. Conclusion: Brief HL and numeracy screening items are useful for quickly estimating NVS scores among English-speaking primary care clinic populations.
Estimation of Trap Density in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs from Subthreshold Slope Study

In this paper, we first demonstrate effects of thermal annealing on subthreshold slope in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. Then, based on the temperature dependence of subthreshold slope, we introduce a new method to estimate interface trap density in these devices.The understanding of this interface trap is critical to optimize the gate modulation efficiency of these transistors and maximize their high frequency performance.
A comparison of speaker identification results using features based on cepstrum and Fourier-Bessel expansion

A compact representation of speech is possible using Bessel functions because of the similarity between voiced speech and the Bessel functions. Both voiced speech and the Bessel functions exhibit quasiperiodicity and decaying amplitude with time. This paper presents the results of speaker identification experiments using features obtained from (1) the Fourier-Bessel expansion and (2) the cepstral representation of speech frames. Identification scores of 65% and 76% were achieved using features based on J/sub 1/(t) expansion of air-to-ground speech transmission databases of 143 and 1054 test utterances, respectively. The corresponding scores for the two databases using cepstral coefficients of a comparable size were 80% and 88%. A comparison of the two sets of features indicates that J/sub 1/(t) can be used to model the hearing perception much like the mel cepstral coefficients.
African American Men in the American West, 1528-1990

The first black men to enter the West were Spanish- speaking settlers from central Mexico. They were followed by free English-speaking fur traders and by slaves primarily in Texas. Some males arrived in California during the 1850s, initiating a voluntary migration of farmers, miners, soldiers, and cowboys through the nineteenth century. In the early twentieth century, black men settled mainly in the cities and worked in unskilled nonunion occupations. By World War II, far more migrants had arrived in response to wartime work opportunities. War work allowed both newcomers and old residents access to skilled unionized employment for the first time. Discrimination continued, however, prompting a civil rights movement in the West in the 1960s that paralleled activities in the South. That movement opened new opportunities for the skilled and educated. However, postwar deindustrialization moved many unskilled African American men to the margins of the Western urban economy.
Islam and the English Enlightenment, 1670–1840

Humberto Garcia, Islam and the English Enlightenment, 1670–1840 (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012), 346pp. $70.00 (hb) ISBN 9781421403533. The title of this ambitious book is som...
Ozone in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere

A detailed photochemical model of the upper stratosphere and mesosphere is compared with three extensive sets of ozone observations: Atmospheric Explorer-E backscattered ultraviolet experiment (BUV), Nimbus-4 BUV, and rocket flights from Wallops Flight Center (ROCOZ). The Nimbus-4 and rocket observations are most sensitive to ozone between 30 and 50 km, whereas observations from AE-E measure the abundance of ozone up to 70 km. The photochemical model accurately reproduces the observed relationship between BUV intensity and local solar zenith angle, although the absolute calibration on AE-E appears to be in error. The AE-E observations and the model both exhibit a morning-afternoon asymmetry, with more ozone in the morning owing to the build up of HOx species in the afternoon. Seasonal changes in atmospheric temperature produce an annual maximum in tropical mesospheric ozone during June-July-August. The amplitude of the observed effect is somewhat larger than calculated by the model. Some problems appear to remain with the presently accepted kinetic rates for HOx species in the atmosphere.
A simple formula for the concentration of charge on a three-dimensional corner of a conductor

A major problem in the computation of capacitance coefficients for microwave transmission and VLSI interconnection systems is caused by the singularities in the electric field at the corners and edges of conductors. For edges, a solution is given by the Duncan correction, which is based on a two-dimensional (2-D) polar expansion of the field. No such exact expansion exists for corners. Recent research by Beagles and Whiteman (1989) has yielded an asymptotic expansion for the electric field in the vicinity of a rectangular three-dimensional conductive corner, and this is used to derive a simple formula for the charge Q (in coulombs) concentrated at any such corner. The formula is Q=1.307 /spl epsi/d(V/sub c/-V/sub s/), where /spl epsi/ is the dielectric permittivity (in farads per meter) of the medium surrounding the conductive corner, d is the length (in meters) of one side of a cubic region situated on the conductor adjacent to the corner, V/sub c/ is the electric potential (in volts) of the conductor, and V/sub s/ is the electric potential at a point in the medium displaced from the corner's apex along a line through the cube's diagonal and at a distance equal to that diagonal. Q is the charge on the cube's three surfaces lying along the conductor's surfaces. Such a configuration is convenient for a finite-difference computation of capacitance.
Pattern of alcohol consumption and its effect on gastrointestinal symptoms in inflammatory bowel disease

Alcohol consumption is a potential trigger for flare in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) flare because of alcohol's pro-oxidant effects and its deleterious effects on gut barrier function. The association with alcohol consumption and IBD flare is unclear. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the pattern of alcohol consumption and its self-reported effect on gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in patients with IBD. We recruited 129 consecutive patients: 52 patients with Crohn's disease, 38 patients with ulcerative colitis, and 39 patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). All the participants completed a validated questionnaire on disease activity (the Crohn's disease activity index or ulcerative colitis clinical activity index, respectively) validated questionnaires to quantify alcohol consumption by National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism criteria, and two structured questionnaires we designed to access patients' perception of the effect of alcohol on their GI symptoms and on overall GI symptom severity. The pattern of current, light, moderate, and heavy alcohol consumption in inactive IBD was similar to the general U.S. population. Specifically, of the 90 inactive IBD patients, 56 (62%) were current drinkers, compared with 61% in the general U.S. population. Of current drinkers, 75% of IBD (N=42) and 43% of IBS (N=9) reported a worsening of GI symptoms with alcohol consumption (P=.01); however, overall GI symptom severity did not differ when compared with quantity of alcohol consumed. Patients with inactive IBD drink alcohol in quantities similar to the general population. Current drinkers with inactive IBD are more likely to report worsening of GI symptoms with alcohol than current drinkers with IBS.
Integrating Technological Assistance in the Standard Curriculum in Order to Improve the Success Rate on the Math Portion of the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST)

Computer programming exercises were used to enhance the curriculum of second semester mathematics classes for prospective elementary teachers. The exercises emphasized the math concepts and skills tested by the Pre-professional Skills Test (PPST), a standardized examination required for teacher certification in 12 states. The effects of the exercises were measured by testing PPST math score differences between the experimental group and a control group, which received only the standard curriculum. The pre-test consisted of a series of questions modeled closely on PPST math questions, while the post-test consisted of the PPST itself. The results, statistically evaluated by the McNemar Test, show that the experimental group demonstrated a significantly higher success rate for the mathematics portion of the PPST than the control group (p<.01). Consequently, computer programming exercises are shown to be an effective tool for improving math skills and performance on the math portion of the PPST.
In vivo expression of MHC class I genes depends on the presence of a downstream barrier element

Regulation of MHC class I gene expression is critical to achieve proper immune surveillance. In this work, we identify elements downstream of the MHC class I promoter that are necessary for appropriate in vivo regulation: a novel barrier element that protects the MHC class I gene from silencing and elements within the first two introns that contribute to tissue specific transcription. The barrier element is located in intergenic sequences 3′ to the polyA addition site. It is necessary for stable expression in vivo, but has no effect in transient transfection assays. Accordingly, in both transgenic mice and stably transfected cell lines, truncation of the barrier resulted in transcriptional gene silencing, increased nucleosomal density and decreased histone H3K9/K14 acetylation and H3K4 di-methylation across the gene. Significantly, distinct sequences within the barrier element govern anti-silencing and chromatin modifications. Thus, this novel barrier element functions to maintain transcriptionally permissive chromatin organization and prevent transcriptional silencing of the MHC class I gene, ensuring it is poised to respond to immune signaling.
Simulation-based sequential analysis of Markov switching stochastic volatility models

We propose a simulation-based algorithm for inference in stochastic volatility models with possible regime switching in which the regime state is governed by a first-order Markov process. Using auxiliary particle filters we developed a strategy to sequentially learn about states and parameters of the model. The methodology is tested against a synthetic time series and validated with a real financial time series: the IBOVESPA stock index (Sao Paulo Stock Exchange).
Transport of fine sediment over a coarse, immobile riverbed

Sediment transport in cobble-boulder rivers consists mostly of fine sediment moving over a coarse, immobile bed. Transport rate depends on several interrelated factors: boundary shear stress, the grain size and volume of fine sediment, and the configuration of fine sediment into interstitial deposits and bed forms. Existing models do not incorporate all of these factors. Approaches that partition stress face a daunting challenge because most of the boundary shear is exerted on immobile grains. We present an alternative approach that divides the bed into sand patches and interstitial deposits and is well constrained by two clear end-member cases: full sand cover and absence of sand. Entrainment from sand patches is a function of their aerial coverage. Entrainment from interstices among immobile grains is a function of sand elevation relative to the size of the immobile grains. The bed-sand coverage function is used to predict the ratio of the rate of entrainment from a partially covered bed to the rate of entrainment from a completely sand-covered bed, which is determined using a standard sand transport model. We implement the bed-sand coverage function in a morphodynamic routing model and test it against observations of sand bed elevation and suspended sand concentration for conditions of nonuniform fine sediment transport in a large flume with steady uniform flow over immobile hemispheres. The results suggest that this approach may provide a simple and robust method for predicting the transport and migration of fine sediment through rivers with coarse, immobile beds.
Safety In Service Operations: A Frontline Perspective

This paper identifies service safety as separate dimension of quality and considers the need to view safety from the frontline workers perspective. Stewarts (2003) 3 T framework is used to categorize safety training elements by task, treatment and tangibles. Results from a survey of public transit bus drivers are presented. Results show that the questions categorized as treatment and tangibles were significant predictors of perceived safety.
Attention training to pleasant stimuli in anxiety

Attentional bias for threatening stimuli in anxiety is a common finding in the literature. The present study addressed whether attention training toward pleasant stimuli can reduce anxiety symptoms and induce a processing bias in favor of pleasant information in nonpatients who were selected to score similarly to individuals with generalized anxiety or panic disorder on a measure of worry or physiological arousal, respectively. Participants were randomly assigned to attention training to pleasant (ATP) stimuli or to a placebo control (PC) condition. All participants completed baseline and post-test dot-probe measures of attentional bias while event-related brain potentials were recorded. As expected, worry symptoms decreased in the ATP and not PC condition. ATP was also associated with early evidence (P100 amplitude) of greater attentional prioritization of probes replacing neutral stimuli within threat-neutral word pairs from pre-to-post intervention and later RT evidence of facilitated processing of probes replacing pleasant stimuli within pleasant-threat word pairs at post compared to PC. PC was associated with later evidence (P300 latency) of less efficient evaluation of probes following pleasant stimuli within pleasant-threat word pairs from pre-to-post and later RT evidence of facilitated processing of probes following threat stimuli within pleasant-threat word pairs at post compared to ATP. Results highlight early and later mechanisms of attention processing changes and underscore the potential of pleasant stimuli in optimizing attention-training interventions for anxiety.
Sex Differences in Implicit Theories of Leadership: An Initial Investigation

Individuals' implicit theories of leadership, or common-sense notions about leadership, were examined by asking subjects to indicate what traits and behaviors an effective leader should possess. Me...
U. S. Customs and Plant Quarantines in Relation to Shipments of Entomological Specimen's

Several instances have come to my attention in which entomologists had packages of museum specimens from abroad held at U. S. Customs offices. To help prevent other entomologists from experiencing delays and incurring the expenses usually required to obtain the release of such packages, I have investigated the Customs regulations and am presenting a brief review of them. Since questions which involve Plant Quarantine regulations that cover shipments of insects arise frequently, I am taking the opportunity to summarize those regulations at the same time.
Reproduction, Size, and Mortality in the Rocky Mountain Muskrat

Although the muskrat has received considerable investigative attention throughout the United States and Canada in recent years, few studies have dealt with the Rocky Mountain muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus osoyoosensis (Lord), the endemic subspecies of the Rocky Mountain and Puget Sound regions. Two independent but similar studies at Gray's Lake and Dingle Swamp in southeastern Idaho afforded opportunity to obtain data on reproduction, sex and age ratios, subadult mortality, and size of the Rocky Mountain muskrat. A comparison of aging validity by external examination of reproductive organs (Baumgartner and Bellrose, 1943) and pelt primeness pattern (Applegate and Predmore, 1947; Shanks, 1948) with the internal examination of reproductive organs (Errington, 1939) was also undertaken on each area. Field work at Gray's Lake was conducted by Williams from June, 1949, to May, 1950, while a graduate student at the University of Idaho and at Dingle Swamp by Reeves from April, 1952, to December, 1953, while employed by the Idaho Fish and Game Department as leader of Pittman-Robertson Project W 106-R. The study areas .—Gray's Lake and Dingle Swamp remain two of Idaho's major muskrat producing marshes despite adverse environmental conditions created by irrigation water storage developments. Harvests of up to 50,000 pelts annually were formerly reported from each area, but recent harvests have seldom exceeded 10,000. Gray's Lake, a 22,000 acre marsh, is located in a shallow, ancient lake basin at an altitude of 6,386 feet in Bonneville and Caribou Counties. Emergent aquatic vegetation covers an almost solid expanse of 19,800 acres and is chiefly hardstem bulrush ( Scirpus acutus ) with a minor interspersion of common cattail ( Typha latifolia ). Except for small scattered potholes and channels, the open water area is concentrated in the southeastern corner of the marsh. Prior to 1924, excess runoff flowed from the marsh through a natural outlet. However, …
Inhibition of Zinc-Dependent Histone Deacetylases with a Chemically Triggered Electrophile

Unbiased binding assays involving small-molecule microarrays were used to identify compounds that display unique patterns of selectivity among members of the zinc-dependent histone deacetylase family of enzymes. A novel, hydroxyquinoline-containing compound, BRD4354, was shown to preferentially inhibit activity of HDAC5 and HDAC9 in vitro. Inhibition of deacetylase activity appears to be time-dependent and reversible. Mechanistic studies suggest that the compound undergoes zinc-catalyzed decomposition to an ortho-quinone methide, which covalently modifies nucleophilic cysteines within the proteins. The covalent nature of the compound–enzyme interaction has been demonstrated in experiments with biotinylated probe compound and with electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry.
Energy need for weight maintenance in human beings: effect of body size and composition.

We estimated energy requirement by determining the amount of food needed to maintain body weight in a controlled environment. In a study of 28 adolescents and adults of widely varying weight and body fat content, we found that the energy required for weight maintenance was directly proportional to body weight (r = 0.92). The increased energy requirement of the obese is due in part to their larger lean weight and in part to their greater burden of body fat; together these account for 87% of the variance. For these subjects, who were engaged in light physical activity, the ratio of total energy to basal metabolic rate was 1.52 ±0.16 (SD). J Am Diet Assoc 89:499-502, 1989.
Recovery of left ventricular function after hypothermic global ischemia. Age-related differences in the isolated working rabbit heart.

The immature myocardium has a greater tolerance for ischemia than does the mature heart. The effect of ischemia when combined with hypothermia on the newborn heart is poorly understood but has important clinical applications. This study examined the metabolic and functional recovery after 90 minutes of global ischemia at 20° C in neonatal (1 week), immature (1 month), and mature (4 month) isolated working rabbit hearts. Following ischemia, aortic flow, cardiac output, heart rate, and stroke work remained at baseline values for neonatal hearts. Only coronary flow was significantly reduced from a control level of 4.5 ± 1.4 (standard error of the mean) to 3.3 ± 1.1 ml/min, p
“We All We Got”: Considering Peer Relationships as Multi-Purpose Sustainability Outlets Among Millennial Black Women Graduate Students Attending Majority White Urban Universities

This article explores the use of peer relationships among graduate millennial Black women (GMBW) in majority white urban universities as methods of mentorship and sustainability. Though informally constructed, the women in this study purposed their peer relationships to fill a void often satisfied through formal mentor relationships. Findings from this study also suggest that GMBW leverage their peer relationships as academic, professional, and emotional support entities that play a significant role in helping them to process instances of perceived negative race-related behaviors. Data revealed peer relationships as support mechanisms responsible for participants’ overall well-being as graduate students. A womanist epistemological perspective was applied to the research process in order to frame and interpret the participant’s experiences and existence within the aforementioned educational setting.
Automated scheduling of radar-cued camera system for optimizing visual inspection and detection of radar targets

A wide field-of-view and rapid response to threats are critical components of any surveillance system. Field of view is normally implemented by articulating a camera allowing it to swivel to pan and tilt, and actively zooming in on “interesting” locations. Since a single camera suffers from the “soda straw” problem, where only a small portion of the scene can be examined at any given time (leaving the rest of the scene unwatched), surveillance systems often employ a radar unit to direct the operator to likely targets. This provides direction to the search, but still poses a security risk, since potentially hazardous activities might be occurring in an unwatched portion of the field of view while the operator is investigating another incident (which can be either coincidentally or intentionally distracting). Today's systems all rely on a human operator to control the slewing of the camera to inspect the potential targets found by the radar. Automated schedulers have thus far been avoided by these systems, since it has always been assumed that the human would outperform the algorithm. This paper describes a method for automatic scheduling and control for a single or multi-camera radar-cued surveillance system that optimizes visual coverage and inspection of radar-detected-targets. The scheduling algorithm combines track life, track spatial density, and the camera slew angle and speed into a single metric to determine next slew and zoom of camera that maximizes the visual detection of all radar hits over a given period of time and can be run in real-time on a laptop or embedded hardware. The goal of this work is to enable the operator to visually inspect as many radar hits as possible over the course of the operator's shift.
Rating Personalization Improves Accuracy: A Proportion-Based Baseline Estimate Model for Collaborative Recommendation

Baseline estimate is an important latent factor for recommendations. The current baseline estimate model is widely used by characterizing both items and users. However, it doesn’t consider different users’ rating criterions and results in predictions may be out of recommendation’s rating range. In this paper, we propose a novel baseline estimate model to improve the current performance, named PBEModel (Proportion-based Baseline Estimate Model), which uses rating proportions to compute the rating personalization. The PBEModel is modeled as a piecewise function according to different rating personalization. In order to verify this new baseline estimate, we apply it into SVD++, and propose a novel SVD++ model named PBESVD++. Experiments based on six real datasets show that the proposed PBEModel is rational and more accurate than current baseline estimate model, and the PBESVD++ has relatively higher prediction accuracy than SVD++.
The calculus of relations

The theory of relation algebras naturally begins with the concrete study of binary relations and operations on binary relations. This immediately raises several questions. First, what exactly is a binary relation, and how can such relations be visualized? Second, what are the natural operations on binary relations, and how can these operations be visualized? Third, what are the laws that govern the behavior of these operations, and how can the validity of these laws be established? The theory that addresses these questions is usually referred to as the calculus of relations. It is the task of this chapter to present a brief outline of this calculus.
Investigation of Known Genetic Mutations of Arabian Horses in Egyptian Arabian Foals with Juvenile Idiopathic Epilepsy.

BACKGROUND The carrier status of lavender foal syndrome (LFS), cerebellar abiotrophy (CA), severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), and occipitoatlantoaxial malformation (OAAM1) in foals with juvenile idiopathic epilepsy (JIE) is unknown. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES To determine the carrier status of LFS, CA, SCID, and OAAM1 in foals with JIE. ANIMALS Ten foals with JIE. MATERIALS AND METHODS Archived DNA samples were tested for known genetic mutations causing LFS, CA, SCID, and OAAM1. The inclusion criteria consisted of having been diagnosed with JIE by ruling out other causes of seizures in foals and supported by electroencephalographic examination. RESULTS Ten Egyptian Arabian horses (5 females and 5 males) were phenotyped as foals with JIE by electroencephalography (EEG). All foals were negative for the genetic mutations that cause LFS, CA, SCID, and OAAM1 except for 1 foal that was a carrier of CA. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Juvenile idiopathic epilepsy of Egyptian Arabian foals and LFS appear to be phenotypically and genetically distinct disorders. There was no apparent association between JIE and LFS, CA, SCID, and OAAM1.
Labelling and determination of the energy in reactive intermediates in solution enabled by energy-dependent reaction selectivity.

Any long-lived chemical structure in solution is subject to statistical energy equilibration, so the history of any specific structure does not affect its subsequent reactions. This is not true for very short-lived intermediates because energy equilibration takes time. Here, this idea is applied to achieve the ‘energy labelling’ of a reactive intermediate. The selectivity of the ring-opening α-cleavage reaction of the 1-methylcyclobutoxy radical is found here to vary broadly depending on how the radical was formed. Reactions that provide little excess energy to the intermediate lead to a high selectivity in the subsequent cleavage (measured as a kinetic isotope effect), whereas reactions that provide more excess energy to the intermediate exhibit a lower selectivity. Accounting for the expected excess energy allows the prediction of the observed product ratios and, in turn, the product ratios can be used to determine the energy present in an intermediate. Short-lived intermediates in solution may react before undergoing thermal equilibration. This phenomenon is used here to achieve the ‘energy labelling’ of an alkoxy radical. The intermediate's excess energy varies broadly depending on how it is formed and can be determined from the observed reaction selectivity.
A 1.1μm-Pitch 13.5Mpixel 3D-stacked CMOS image sensor featuring 230fps full-high-definition and 514fps high-definition videos by reading 2 or 3 rows simultaneously using a column-switching matrix

Slow-motion video is a desirable feature for state-of-art smartphones. The effect is achieved by capturing a video at a higher frame rate and playing it back at a lower frame rate. While the still-image resolution of smartphone cameras ranges from 8MP to 25MP, standard videos are limited to 3 formats: 3840×2160 (4K2K, 2160p), 1920×1080 (Full High Definition, FHD, 1080p), and 1280×720 (High Definition, HD, 720p). CMOS image sensors using various column-parallel aDc architectures have been reported to reach high frame rates [1-5]. The single-slope (SS) ADC is an attractive choice for a balanced performance among high speed, low noise, small area, and low power consumption. However, in conventional SS ADC design, each ADC is hardwired to a column signal line. ADCs for skipped columns are left idle during the subsampling operation, and the potential to reach higher frame rate is not optimized. In this paper, we develop an approach in which all the column ADCs are fully utilized in both of the 2-to-1 and 3-to-1 subsampling modes, such that the maximum of 4x faster FHD and 9x faster HD videos are demonstrated with reference to the 1-to-1 non-subsampled 4K2K video.
Metallization and Scottky Contacts

Results of self-consistent electronic-structure calculations of aluminum deposited on Ge, as a function of metal coverage, provide strong evidence for overlayer metallization. At monolayer metal coverages, the overlayer changes into a (quasi-) two-dimensional metal characterized by a (modulated) ladder-type density of states. The origin of this transition is traced to the metal-semiconductor interlayer-distance relaxation upon metallization. Our results are in agreement with recent experimental observations, and have important implications for Schottky-barrier formation.
Geometrodynamic Mass Decrease During Gravitational Collapse

The proof of Birkhoff's Theorem relies on a coordinate transformation to diagonalize the metric. This coordinate transformation is made to affect the vacuum region, but will nevertheless cause the matter in the non-vacuum region to have a different velocity in the new coordinate system than in the old coordinate system, because a coordinate transformation cannot be abruptly turned off where the two regions meet without violating the holonomy requirement. The effects of this coordinate transformation on the matter have never before been studied. In fact, the coordinate transformation turns out to cause part of a gravitationally collapsing mass distribution to at some point start to move backwards in time. This causes problems which invalidate the proof. Furthermore, we provide an actual counterexample to Birkhoff’s Theorem: In the particular circumstance of a spherically symmetric thin shell of matter collapsing it is shown that the Bianchi Identities give results contrary to Birkhoff’s Theorem.
Impact of Patient Safety Indicators on readmission after abdominal aortic surgery.

Patient safety is a critical component of health-care quality and measures created by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to identify hospitalizations with potentially preventable adverse events. This analysis evaluated whether Patient Safety Indicator (PSI) events after open surgical repair (OSR) or endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) were associated with increased risk of readmission. Patients undergoing elective repair of nonruptured AAA from 2009 to 2012 were selected in the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review files using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes. To identify PSI events, we used the AHRQ PSI International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification numerator codes. Chi-square test, multivariable logistic regression analysis, nonparametric Wilcoxon rank sum test, and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used for statistics. A total of 66,923 patients undergoing elective AAA repair were evaluated: (1) 9,315 with OSR and (2) 57,608 with EVAR. The most frequent PSI events after OSR versus EVAR were postoperative respiratory failure (PSI, 11; 17.7% vs 1.8%; P P P P P P In conclusion, AHRQ PSI events may be used to identify patients at the greatest risk for readmission after AAA repair. The risk for 30-day readmission was 71% higher when a PSI event occurred and was not associated with the type of repair. Minimizing preventable PSI events may be beneficial to reducing hospital readmissions after open and endovascular AAA repair and to improving hospital resource utilization.
One Assigned-Female-At-Birth male student's journey through school to understanding his identity

This article explores schooling experiences of James, assigned-female-at-birth (AFAB) male, with a focus on his Catholic K-8 experience. James was caught in the tensions of school and home: Catholi...
IMPUTATION OF COUPLED TENSORS AND GRAPHS

Joint analysis of data from different sources can potentially improve one’s ability to reveal latent structure in heterogeneous datasets. For instance, social network activities and user demographic information can be leveraged to improve recommendations. However, the incompleteness and heterogeneity of the data challenge joint factorization of multiple datasets. Aspiring to address these challenges, the coupled graph tensor factorization model accounts for side information available in the form of correlation matrices or graphs. Here, a novel ADMM-based approach is put forth to impute missing entries and unveil hidden structure in the data. The iterative solver enjoys closed-form updates that result in reduced computational complexity. Numerical tests with synthetic and real data corroborate the merits of the proposed method relative to competing alternatives.
Translating a "Stand Up and Move More" intervention by state aging units to older adults in underserved communities: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

AbstractIntroduction:As aging is associated with functional decline, preventing functional limitations and maintaining independence throughout later life has emerged as an important public health goal. Research indicates that sedentary behavior (prolonged sitting) is associated with functional loss
Postoperative Neurological Complications Following Revision Spine Surgery: A State Inpatient Database Analysis

ABSTRACT Background Postoperative neurological complications after spine surgery can result in increased mortality and morbidity. Despite the introduction of new spinal implants and surgical technology, reoperation rates have remained stable over recent years. Understanding the reasons for revision (refusion) surgery and the risk of neurological complications can assist in developing more effective screening protocols for repeat surgeries and early detection of potential neurological complications. Methods This study was designed and conducted as a retrospective cohort study. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate whether revision spine surgery increased the risk of postoperative neurological deficits. A secondary objective of the study was to analyze whether deficits following repeat spine surgery increased morbidity and mortality. Data on revision spine procedures were extracted from the California State Inpatient Database for years 2008 to 2011. Patients who developed postoperative neurological deficits were then subdivided into causative procedure: revision anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, revision posterior cervical fusion, and revision thoracolumbar fusion. These data were then used to calculate the total incidence of postoperative neurological deficits following each type of procedure. The impact of neurological deficits on in-hospital morbidity following revision procedures was also calculated. Results Revision procedures accounted for 5.84% of all spine procedures in a total of 7645 patients. Among these patients, 67 patients (0.88%) developed a postoperative neurological deficit with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.56 (95% CI, 1.20–2.00, P Conclusions/Clinical Relevance This study exposes the increased risk of postoperative neurological complications in revision spine surgeries. In response, further studies are needed to evaluate the use of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring to reduce this risk.
Strategic Use of Data for Student Enrollment Management: A Case Study

Often performance and other organizational data in the form of reports, models and dashboards remain in the executive silo, however empowering all of the employees in an organization with some or all of this data can result in significant competitive advantage for the organization. In this work we look at an online MBA program that employed such a data empowerment strategy for the decade from 2003 to 2012. We show how it outperformed its peers by tripling the student enrollments during this period. We describe in some detail the organizational structure and information systems that the team managing this online MBA program employed. We also take a look at the size and growth of the MBA market in the U.S. for the decade under review, as well as, the economics of the online MBA market.
Response to Comment on “Nicotinamide mononucleotide increases muscle insulin sensitivity in prediabetic women”

In evaluating any randomized clinical trial, it is important to determine whether baseline differences between groups could have affected the primary outcome. In our study, muscle insulin sensitivity, which was identical in both groups at baseline, improved after nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), not placebo, therapy. Differences in baseline intrahepatic triglyceride content between groups do not negate the effects of NMN observed in muscle.
Evaluation of Early vs Standard Liver Transplant for Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease.

Importance Traditionally, liver transplant (LT) for alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) requires 6 months of abstinence. Although early LT before 6 months of abstinence has been associated with decreased mortality for decompensated ALD, this practice remains controversial and concentrated at a few centers. Objective To define patient, allograft, and relapse-free survival in early LT for ALD, and to investigate the association between these survival outcomes and early vs standard LT. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study analyzed all patients with ALD who underwent their first LT at a single academic referral center between October 1, 2012, and November 13, 2020. Patients with known pretransplant hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatitis B or C, or an alternative cause of liver failure were excluded. Follow-up period was defined as the time from LT to the most recent encounter with a transplant center or death. Exposures The exposure of interest was early LT, which was defined as less than 180 days of pre-LT abstinence. Standard LT was defined as 180 days or more of pre-LT abstinence. Patients were separated into early LT and standard LT by time from abstinence to LT. Main Outcomes and Measures The outcomes were patient, allograft, relapse-free, and hazardous relapse-free survival for patients who underwent early LT or standard LT. These groups were compared by log-rank testing of Kaplan-Meier estimates. Hazardous relapse was defined as binge, at-risk, or frequent drinking. Abstinence was reassessed at the most recent follow-up visit for all patients. Results Of the 163 patients with ALD included in this study, 88 (54%) underwent early LT and 75 (46%) underwent standard LT. This cohort had a mean (SD) age at transplant of 52 (10) years and was predominantly composed of 108 male patients (66%). Recipients of early LT vs standard LT were younger (median [interquartile range (IQR)] age, 49.7 [39.0-54.2] years vs 54.6 [48.7-60.0] years; P < .001) and had a higher median (IQR) Model for End-stage Liver Disease score at listing (35.0 [29.0-39.0] vs 20.0 [13.0-26.0]; P < .001). Both recipients of early LT and standard LT had similar 1-year patient survival (94.1% [95% CI, 86.3%-97.5%] vs 95.9% [95% CI, 87.8%-98.7%]; P = .60), allograft survival (92.7% [95% CI, 84.4%-96.7%] vs 90.5% [95% CI, 81.0%-95.3%]; P = .42), relapse-free survival (80.4% [95% CI, 69.1%-88.0%] vs 83.5% [95% CI, 72.2%-90.6%]; P = .41), and hazardous relapse-free survival (85.8% [95% CI, 75.1%-92.2%] vs 89.6% [95% CI, 79.5%-94.9%]; P = .41). Conclusions and Relevance Adherence to the 6-month rule was not associated with superior patient survival, allograft survival, or relapse-free survival among selected patients. This finding suggests that patients with ALD should not be categorically excluded from LT solely on the basis of 6 months of abstinence, but rather alternative selection criteria should be identified that are based on need and posttransplant outcomes.
Introduction to the Fifth Annual Frankel Lecture: Authorship and Originality in the Dead Sea Scrolls

This abstract flags for those who may not have noted it at the time the splendid--and, at 222 pages, extended--article by David Nimmer that comprised the Fifth Annual Frankel Lecture at the University of Houston Law Center in 2001. The piece (accompanied by commentaries by James L. Oakes, Senior Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Martha Woodmansee, Professor of English at Case Western Reserve University) filled almost an entire issue of Houston Law Review. Nimmer was so pleased with his "monsterpiece" (as he and the author of this abstract privately termed it) that he subsequently published it as a monograph. In the lecture, Nimmer asks whether “originality,” a prerequisite to copyright protection in the United States, requires “intent” on the part of the author to create a “work of authorship”? He concludes that the answer is “yes.” Fascinatingly, however, the bulk of the article explores in elaborate detail how scholars reconstructed the archeological remains of various pieces of multiple copies of the ancient Hebrew manuscript we know today as the Dead Sea Scrolls; how their failure to publish that reconstruction for decades sparked bitter resentment among other scholars, leading ultimately to an unauthorized publication; how copyright litigation ensued; and how the Israeli Supreme Court reached a decision shockingly at odds with U.S. copyright doctrine on authorship and originality. Nimmer concludes that, in this country, copyright protection must co-exist in our constitutional system with First Amendment rights of expression, making it inconceivable that a monopoly over expressive content of any text of Biblical import could be subject to private ownership.
FaraPy: An Augmented Reality Feedback System for Facial Paralysis using Action Unit Intensity Estimation

Facial paralysis is the most common facial nerve disorder. It causes functional and aesthetic deficits that often lead to emotional distress and affect psychosocial well-being. One form of treatment is mirror therapy, which has shown potential but has several mirror-related drawbacks that limit its effectiveness. We propose FaraPy, the first mobile augmented reality mirror therapy system for facial paralysis that provides real-time feedback and tracks user progress over time. We developed an efficient convolutional neural network to detect muscle activations and intensities as users perform facial exercises in front of a mobile device camera. Our model outperforms the state-of-the-art model on benchmark data for detecting facial action unit intensity. Our user study (n=20) shows high user satisfaction and greater preference for our interactive system over traditional mirror therapy.
RECURRENCES OF CARCINOMA OF THE CERVIX AFTER 15 YEARS. REPORT OF A 16-YEAR AND 24-YEAR LOCAL RECURRENCE AFTER IRRADIATION.

Abstract 1. 1. The case histories of two local recurrences of carcinoma of the cervix 16 years and 24 years after radiotherapy are reported, making a total of 37 cases of recurrence of carcinoma of the cervix after the fifteenth year. 2. 2. A table giving the name of the author and the year of the recurrence after therapy of the 44 cases was included. 3. 3. The study showed that: (1) recurrences of carcinoma of the cervix after the fifteenth year are extremely rare; (2) proved new growths of the cervix after irradiation are also extremely rare; (3) late recurrences were more common after irradiation than after surgical removal; and (4) 8.1 per cent of the 37 late recurrences were carcinomas in situ.
Collective potential energy and shape fluctuations of even nuclei: (I). Dynamical effects in 154Sm

Abstract Collective quadrupole motion of even nuclei, described by Bohr's Hamiltonian, is investigated by using the numerical method of Kumar and Baranger. A potential function, which is an extension of the Myers-Swiatecki potential, is suggested. Parameters of the Hamiltonian are determined by fitting the experimentla data. Effects of dynamics or quantal fluctuations of the nuclear shape are appreciable in 154 Sm, a well-deformed nucleus, and cause coupling between β-vibrations, γ-vibrations and rotations. A new type of band, which represents a strong mixing of prolate, spherical and oblate shapes, is predicted.
Constraints, Inference Channels and Secure Databases

This paper investigates the problem of confidentiality violations via illegal data inferences that occur when arithmetic constraints are combined with non-confidential numeric data to infer confidential information. The database is represented as a point in an (n + k)-dimensional constraint space, where n is the number of numerical data items stored in the database (extensional database) and k is the number of derivable attributes (intensional database). Database constraints over both extensional and intensional databases form an (n+ k)-dimensional constraint object. A query answer over a data item x is an interval I of values along the x axis of the database such that I is correct (i.e., the actual data value is within I) and safe (i.e., users cannot infer which point within I is the actual data value). The security requirements are expressed by the accuracy with which users are allowed to disclose data items. More specifically, we develop two classification methods: (1) volume-based classification, where the entire volume of the disclosed constraint object that contains the data item is considered and (2) interval based classification, where the length of the interval that contains the data item is considered. We develop correct and safe inference algorithms for both cases.