cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Finding the difficult-to-visualize ventral cervix with the bruno speculum.

T ability to visualize the cervix remains a prerequisite for obtaining a satisfactory Pap smear or for investigating complaints of vaginal discharge, postcoital bleeding, postmenopausal bleeding, and irregular bleeding and sometimes for obtaining evidence after a sexual assault. Experienced clinicians, however, certainly know the feeling of frustration when they cannot visualize the cervix despite all efforts. There are a number of clinical and anatomical conditions that can make pelvic examination very challenging, leading to clinician frustration as noted by Rabbitstew [1]. This article describes some of these challenges and introduces a speculum that can help visualize the cervix in a number of difficult cases. Not uncommon is the patient with a retroverted, retroflexed uterus, wedged in the hollow of the pelvis as a result of uterine enlargement, fibroids, adhesions, endometriosis, or other abnormality that limits uterine mobility. Visualizing the cervix in this situation may be restricted because the cervix may be abutting firmly against or positioned well behind the pubic symphysis. Another difficult-to-visualize cervix is the ventrally located cervix located on the anterior vaginal wall, which gets hidden behind the anterior blade of a conventional speculum. The conventional speculum has an anterior blade that is too long for finding the cervix in these situations. Most examiners have developed their own technique of withdrawing the speculum blades partially or completely, then reinserting them to try to find the cervix. Other helpful techniques include elevating the end of the table, putting the patient in McRobert’s or Sim’s position, using a headlamp, or having the examiner kneel on the floor. There are many times when all these maneuvers and others still fail to bring the cervix into view. Louis C. Bruno, MD, who was a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist in Providence, RI, died in August 2010. Dr Bruno was a very talented surgeon, a revered teacher, an author of medical articles, and the inventor of a speculum that he left to the larger medical community. The speculum is named the ‘‘Bruno speculum’’ after its inventor. Because of its novel design, it helps overcome the problem of the ventrally located cervix. Reprint requests to: Marguerite B. Vigliani, MD, Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University, 450 Veterans Memorial Pkwy, Suite 101, East Providence, RI 02914. E-mail: mbvmd@fullchannel.net The author has declared that there are no conflicts of interest.
Pharmacodynamic study of Zhigankang

Objective:To investigate the therapeutic effect of Zhigankang on experimental fatty liver.Methods:To observe the effect of Zhigankang on "blood stasis" of rats that were fed with ethionine,high-fat food,or by iv injection of high molecular Dextran.Results:Zhigankang significantly reduced TC and TG content in liver and blood of rats and inhibited the increase of whole blood viscosity in "blood stasis" rats.Conclusion:Zhigankang has obvious therapeutic effect on fatty liver in rats
E-learning Change under Web 2.0: From One-way Transferring to Collaborative Sharing

With the upgrading of internet technology from web1.0 to web2.0, E-learning evolves correspondingly from E-learning1.0 to E-learning2.0. Compared with the teaching mode of one-way transferring under E-learning1.0, E-learning2.0 extends and surpasses the content of E-learning1.0 and mainly embodies the teaching mode of collaborative sharing. There are qualitative difference between two teaching modes in roles of teachers and students, ways of knowledge management and distribution, responsibility assignment, learning objectives definition, and performance appraisal. This paper concludes that E-learning2.0 will be an integration of teaching modes of one-way transferring and collaborative sharing. Besides facilities upgrading, the more important thing is to change the mode of thinking in the process of the integration.
Unscramble Zen's Conversation with Cognitive Metaphor

Zen is concerned by more and more people for its profound philosophic thoughts.But the non-logic of Zen's language is difficult to understand.Unscrambling the Zen's language becomes a hot topic.As a mean of instruction,Zen's conversation focuses on the validity of communication.However,the meaning of Zen cannot be expressed by any logic language,it "does not write any word".How to enlighten students to grasp the information which is hard to be expressed by the language itself? Cognitive metaphor makes it possible for us to understand the "nonsense" in the Zen's quotation.
Obi-Wan Stevens vs. Darth Rehnquist: A Clerical Fantasy

In his 1993 article, “John Paul Stevens and the Manners of Judging”, Professor Christopher Eisgruber illustrates Justice Stevens’s undeniable “kindness and wit... [and] good manners” with “two stories that Stevens clerks hand down from year to year.” The first story is not relevant here. The second story is. It “takes place in open court. A nervous lawyer was stumbling through an argument, and several times addressed members of the Court as ‘Judge.’ The Chief Justice became more irritated each time that title was used, and finally interrupted the lawyer. ‘Counselor,’ the Chief Justice intoned, ‘the members of this Court are Justices, not Judges, and you should address them accordingly.’ The lawyer was mortified by this criticism, and began a long, hand-wringing apology. Justice Stevens leaned forward in his chair, and said, ‘Don’t feel badly, counselor. The Constitution makes the same mistake.’ Which it does.”A pleasing anecdote, if one is an admirer of Stevens, and a non-admirer of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who plays the irritable, unkind, and pompous bully, in contrast to the good-humored, kind, and gracious Stevens. But is it a true story, or not? And either way, what does it tell us?
A computationally lightweight and localized centrality metric in lieu of betweenness centrality for complex network analysis

The betweenness centrality (BWC) of a vertex is a measure of the fraction of shortest paths between any two vertices going through the vertex and is one of the widely used shortest path-based centrality metrics for the complex network analysis. However, it takes O($$\vert V\vert ^{2}+\vert V\vert \vert E\vert )$$|V|2+|V||E|) time (where V and E are, respectively, the sets of nodes and edges of a network graph) to compute the BWC of just a single node. Our hypothesis is that nodes with a high degree, but low local clustering coefficient, are more likely to be on the shortest paths of several node pairs and are likely to incur a larger BWC value. Accordingly, we define the local clustering coefficient-based degree centrality (LCCDC) for a node as the product of the degree centrality of the node and one minus the local clustering coefficient of the node. The LCCDC of a node can be computed based on just the knowledge of the two-hop neighborhood of a node and would take significantly lower time. We conduct an exhaustive correlation analysis and observe the LCCDC to incur the largest correlation coefficient values with BWC (compared to other centrality metrics under three different correlation measures) and to hold very strong levels of positive correlation with BWC for at least 14 of the 18 real-world networks analyzed. Hence, we claim the LCCDC to be an apt metric to rank the nodes or compare any two nodes of a real-world network graph in lieu of BWC.
Recommendations for Replication Research in Special Education A Framework of Systematic, Conceptual Replications

Special education researchers conduct studies that can be considered replications. However, they do not often refer to them as replication studies. The purpose of this article is to consider the potential benefits of conceptualizing special education intervention research within a framework of systematic, conceptual replication. Specifically, we advocate for the value and importance of replication research that includes both closely aligned and distal conceptual replications. We acknowledge the challenges associated with conducting replications in applied school-based research and also provide recommendations for how to design, conduct, and report replication studies in special education research with the goal of supporting the identification of effective practices for individuals with disabilities.
Evaluation and Management of Febrile Children: A Review.

Importance Management of febrile children is an intrinsic aspect of pediatric practice. Febrile children account for 15% of emergency department visits and outcomes range from the presence of serious bacterial infection to benign self-limited illness. Observations Studies from 1979 to 2015 examining febrile infants and children were included in this review. Management of febrile infants younger than 90 days has evolved considerably in the last 30 years. Increased rates of Escherichia coli urinary tract infections, increasing resistance to ampicillin, and advances in viral diagnostics have had an effect on the approach to caring for these patients. Widespread vaccination with conjugate vaccines against Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae has virtually eliminated the concern for bacterial infections in children aged 3 to 36 months. Urinary tract infections still remain a concern in febrile infants of all ages. Conclusions and Relevance Advances over the last 30 years allow for more precise risk stratification for infants at high risk of serious bacterial infection. With appropriate testing at the initial visit, much of the diagnostic testing and empirical treatment can be avoided for infants younger than 90 days. In the vaccinated child aged 3 to 36 months, the only bacterial infection of concern is urinary tract infection.
The Weintraub-Kaldor Models of Endogeneity

A full-fledged theory of an endogenous money supply requires an outright rejection of the quantity theory of money in three clear-cut ways: (1) rejection of the notion that a capitalist economy naturally tends toward a long-run, full-employment equilibrium; (2) rejection of the argument that the income velocity of money is stable and independent of the rate of interest (or, in more contemporary terms, that the demand for money is a stable function of real income per capita); and, most important of all, (3) rejection of the quantity theory’s causal arrow running from the money supply to either nominal income or the general price level. These points were made in Chapter 4. Put in more positive terms, for purposes of this chapter, the theory of an endogenous money supply, in its most extreme form, argues: (1) that capitalism is inherently unstable; (2) that the underlying financial structure is given to waves of financial innovations in response to the conventional tight-money policies of the central bank; and (3) that any increase in nominal income causes an increase in the supply of money sufficient to accommodate the resulting increase in the demand for money.
How Transparent are Spiral Galaxies

Until recently is was commonly thought that most spiral galaxies were transparent or contained only modest amounts of absorbing dust, making them optically thin in the B-band (Holmberg 1958). However Disney et al. (1989) showed that there was very little evidence for this. Using a very large optical database Valentijn (1990) showed that surface brightness in B is almost independent of inclination, implying that spiral galaxies in general are optically thick in B.
Saturation Binding of Nicotine to Synthetic Neuromelanin Demonstrated by Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Neuromelanin (NM) has long been considered as an aging pigment, perhaps an unavoidable and undesirable byproduct of dopaminergic neural transmission. However, NM is carefully packaged into double membrane-bound structures within cells of the substantia nigra and other neural tissues, suggesting a beneficial function to maintaining these stores. It is well established that NM is able to concentrate toxic xenobiotics within pigmented cells due to its unique chemical environment. In doing so, such agents may confer susceptibility to Parkinson’s disease (PD) as illustrated by model PD-inducing neurotoxins such as methyl-phenyl-pyridinium ion. It is possible that high-affinity binding interactions toward NM may contribute to the adverse effects of PD-inducing toxins, as well as neuroprotective agents. Here we aim to develop a generalized assay capable of elucidating the binding constants of chemical agents to synthetic and natural neuromelanins. Toward this end, a model neuromelanin synthesized from dopamine and cysteine was prepared according to published procedure. Using a UV/Visible spectroscopic assay, we show that dopamine, 6-hydroxy dopamine, and nicotine bind to the synthetic neuromelanin, while caffeine did not. More importantly, nicotine was further found to induce a fluorescence signal in the presence of NM which was used to establish a binding constant estimated at 0.65 mM. Dopamine appears to enhance this signal, also in a saturable manner, with an estimated Kd of 0.05 mM in our isolated chemical system. In summary, the micro-scale fluorescence assay described herein will allow us to overcome many of the problems inherent in the study of chemical interaction with NM through traditional spectroscopic means. Using a single standardized signal, it should now be possible to rank a number of PD-related toxins based on NM-binding affinity and shed further light on this important problem.
On the complexity of Platonic solids

Global, relative, and local complexity of the five Platonic solids (tetrahedron, octahedron, cube, icosahedron, and dodecahedron) are described and compared. Several of the most recent measures of topological complexity are used: the subgraph count, overall connectivity and overall Wiener indices, the total walk count, and the information theoretic index for vertex degrees distribution. Equations are derived for the first several orders of these indices as functions of the number of vertices and vertex degrees. Relative complexity, defined as the ratio of the complexity index selected and its value for the complete graph having the same number of vertices as the respective Platonic solid, singles out tetrahedron as the most complex structure with 100 % relative complexity. The global complexity indices, as well as the local indices (defined per vertex and per edge) uniformly identify icosahedron as the most complex Platonic solid. These findings correlate with the preferable formation of icosahedron and tetrahedron in a variety of cases.
Collaborative Innovation Centers (CICs): Toward Smart Service System Design

This paper begins to integrate the technical literature on smart service systems with the more established policy literature on industry, academic, government collaborations. IBM’s existing Collaborative Innovation Centers (CICs) serve to ground the discussion in practice. CICs are an example of a Triple Helix smart service system, designed to rapidly close skills gaps and to accelerate the growth of high-skill jobs, essential to regional economic development and quality of life in knowledge economies. As such, this paper further provides insight into CIC design methodology and comparison with alternate types of collaborative centers highlighting differentiated design dimensions.
Phytate Metabolism with Special Reference to its Myo-Inositol Component

To most plant scientists, the term phytic acid suggests that compound most commonly functioning as the major phosphate reserve of the seed. Indeed, the carbon skeleton of phytic acid is dismissed as a structure of small consequence to the seedling.1,2 Phytate is a maior source of inorganic phosphate (Pi) for the germinated seed. 3–5 In this respect its importance ranks that of other seed reserves such as carbohydrate, fat and protein, compounds dependent upon Pi for mobilization during germination. It is also an ester of the alicyclic polyol, myo-inositol (MI). Structurally, phytic acid is the hexakisphosphoric acid ester of MI (Fig. 1). All six phosphates are ortho 6 and the fully dissociated salt has twelve negative charges. The sodium salt hydrate containing 38 molecules of water has an inverted conformation with axial phosphates at carbon 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and an equatorial phosphate at carbon 27 as shown in Figure 2. In solution, conformation is influenced by pH with the structures in Figure 2 representing conformational extremes.8–10 Within the seed, where phytate occurs as a complex salt of K, Mg and in some instances Ca,11–13 its conformation is still unknown. Partial salt-type linkages between phytate and protein in phytate-rich regions of the seed are not excluded.
Identifying and Prioritizing Information Needs and Research Priorities of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Practitioners

Objective This study describes findings from an assessment conducted to identify perceived knowledge gaps, information needs, and research priorities among state, territorial, and local public health preparedness directors and coordinators related to public health emergency preparedness and response (PHPR). The goal of the study was to gather information that would be useful for ensuring that future funding for research and evaluation targets areas most critical for advancing public health practice. Methods We implemented a mixed-methods approach to identify and prioritize PHPR research questions. A web survey was sent to all state, city, and territorial health agencies funded through the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement program and a sample of local health departments (LHDs). Three focus groups of state and local practitioners and subject matter experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were subsequently conducted, followed by 3 meetings of an expert panel of PHPR practitioners and CDC experts to prioritize and refine the research questions. Results We identified a final list of 44 research questions that were deemed by study participants as priority topics where future research can inform PHPR programs and practice. We identified differences in perceived research priorities between PHEP awardees and LHD survey respondents; the number of research questions rated as important was greater among LHDs than among PHEP awardees (75%, n=33, compared to 24%, n=15). Conclusions The research questions identified provide insight into public health practitioners’ perceived knowledge gaps and the types of information that would be most useful for informing and advancing PHPR practice. The study also points to a higher level of information need among LHDs than among PHEP awardees. These findings are important for CDC and the PHPR research community to ensure that future research studies are responsive to practitioners’ needs and provide the information required to enhance their capacity to meet the needs of the communities and jurisdictions they serve. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:552–561)
Living donor follow‐up: Unfunded mandates and the Hippocratic oath where perfect may be the enemy of good?

Kidney transplantation in patients with endstage renal disease (ESRD) provides far superior patient survival compared to chronic dialysis. The USRDS report from 2016 demonstrated that the average 3-year survival for patients with ESRD on hemo- or peritoneal dialysis was 56% and 67%, respectively compared to 84% and 91% 3-year survival after deceased donor (DD) and living donor (LD) kidney transplantation (KT), respectively.1 Despite superior patient survival, rates of living donation have decreased since 2005. This is somewhat surprising, given the high mortality for patients on dialysisa, the large kidney transplant waiting list b, the number of DDKT each year (which are far less than number of waitlisted candidates)c, and the high waitlist mortalityd. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Relationship of Teachers' Ratings of Kindergarteners' 21st Century Skills and Student Performance.

This study investigated the relationship of kindergarten teachers’ ratings of their students’ 21st century skills (college readiness skills) with students’ behavioral and academic performance. Teachers rated the frequency that their students (n = 579) demonstrated persistence, curiosity, affective, and cognitive (e.g., critical thinking) behaviors within their classrooms via the Human Behavior Rating Scale: Brief (HBRS: Brief, a teacher rating scale. The relationship of the HBRS: Brief teachers’ ratings was compared with data the school annually collected (behavioral ratings, academic performance, student office discipline referrals [ODRs], and absences). Hierarchical linear modeling indicated that teachers’ ratings of students’ persistence and cognition behaviors were significantly associated with students’ academic performance. Teachers’ persistence, curiosity, and externalizing affect ratings were predictive of behavioral ratings and teachers’ externalizing affect ratings were significantly associated with ODRs. The results support the efficacy of investigating teacher perceptions of students’ 21st century skills with kindergarteners.
Rebirth and Reinvention: Army Reform, 1902–1914

During the period of flux following the Second Boer War, the Yeomanry presented a mixed picture of progressiveness and stubborn resistance to change. The chapter explores how the force developed both independently and with central direction, paying particular attention to the way the needs of the state and armed forces were balanced with the sensitivities and idiosyncrasies of voluntary service. Again drawing on the context provide by the wider voluntary movement, it shows how the individualism of the Yeomanry led to it being willingly drawn into the cavalry armament debate, just as many inside and outside the force raised serious questions about how it might contribute to the war that was rapidly approaching.
Myeloid neoplasms with t(16;21)(q24;q22)/RUNX1-RUNX1T3 mimics acute myeloid leukemia with RUNX1-RUNX1T1

Chromosome translocation t(16;21)(q24;q22)/RUNX1-RUNX1T3 is an infrequent but recurrent chromosomal abnormality identified in myeloid neoplasms, with only 25 cases have been reported to date. Here, we report eight cases (six women and two men) of myeloid neoplasms associated with t(16;21)(q24;q22): five with therapy-related myeloid neoplasms, two with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and one with blast phase of chronic myeloid leukemia. Morphologic and immunophenotypic features include granulocytic dysplasia, blasts with prominent perinuclear hof, large orange-pink granules, long and slim Auer rods, and aberrant expression of CD19. Six patients received AML-based regimens, and five achieved complete remission after initial induction therapy. Our study suggests that myeloid neoplasm with t(16;21)/RUNX1-RUNX1T1 resembles AML with t(8;21)(q22;q22)/RUNX1-RUNX1T1, in regard to morphology, immunophenotype, and response to therapy. Therefore, the clinical management of AML with t(8;21) may provide the best model for patients with myeloid neoplasms with t(16;21).
THE FORMATION OF STOICHIOMETRIC ADSORPTION COMPLEXES FOR SIMPLE THIOLS IN H-ZSM-5 AND H-ZSM-12

ABSTRACT We have examined the adsorption of ethanethiol, 1-propanethiol, 2-propanethiol, and 2-methyl-2-propanethiol on H-ZSM-5 and H-ZSM-12 zeolites. With the exception of 2-methyl-2-propanethiol on H-ZSM-5, each of the thiols forms stoichiometric adsorption complexes with the Al sites. While the 1:1 complexes formed by the primary and secondary thiols decompose reversibly back to the thiols, 2-methyl-2-propanethiol desorbs as H2S and olefin products. A potential energy model based on the proton affinities of the various species along the reaction coordinate is able to explain the reactivity of the thiols, suggesting that the chemistry is dominated by proton transfer from the acid sites to the adsorbed species.
Benchmarking ADMM in nonconvex NLPs

Abstract We study connections between the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM), the classical method of multipliers (MM), and progressive hedging (PH). The connections are used to derive benchmark metrics and strategies to monitor and accelerate convergence and to help explain why ADMM and PH are capable of solving complex nonconvex NLPs. Specifically, we observe that ADMM is an inexact version of MM and approaches its performance when multiple coordination steps are performed. In addition, we use the observation that PH is a specialization of ADMM and borrow Lyapunov function and primal-dual feasibility metrics used in ADMM to explain why PH is capable of solving nonconvex NLPs. This analysis also highlights that specialized PH schemes can be derived to tackle a wider range of stochastic programs and even other problem classes. Our exposition is tutorial in nature and seeks to to motivate algorithmic improvements and new decomposition strategies
Utilization of Local Flexibility for Charge Management of a Battery Energy Storage System Providing Frequency Containment Reserve

Abstract This paper estimates the potential to reduce market-based charging and discharging of a battery energy storage system (BESS) that provides frequency containment reserve (FCR) through (a) the utilization of degrees of freedom (DOFs) during reserve provision, and (b) the utilization of the flexibility of local power units (LPUs) at an investigated industrial site. In context of a of a real BESS providing 7 MW of FCR, the potential is quantified based on a simulation using real grid frequency data and real power profiles of LPUs at an industrial site for the year 2016. At the explored site, LPUs identified to provide charge management of the BESS include wind turbines (WT), a combined heat and power plant (CHPP), and power consumption by the fans of a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Results indicate that the energy charged and discharged through market-based transactions can be reduced by 56% and 66% respectively; however, the majority of these reductions are caused by the intelligent use of DOFs. Savings by using the flexibility of the mentioned LPUs can be attributed largely to the flexible operation of the HVAC system due to its highest availability and potential to substitute market-based charge events of the BESS.
EU-Japan security cooperation: trends and prospects

An edited volume on EU–Japan relations is very timely. On 1 February 2019, the EU–Japan Strategic Partnership provisionally entered into force between the two entities that already have strong econ...
The differential influence of computerized neuropsychological assessment across psychopathology

Objective: Novel technologies have transformed neuropsychological test administration so that research examining the equivalency of computerized versions of traditional tests is needed. This study examined the relationship between psychological symptom severity and performance on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) using the manual versus computerized administration.Method: Eighty-five participants were randomly assigned to the manual or computerized WCST administration and also completed the Dot Counting Test, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, and Short UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale. Moderation analyses examined the effects of depressive, anxiety, and impulsivity symptom severity on WCST performance.Results: For Perseverative Responses (PR), the methods of administration (MOAs) were equivalent regardless of psychological symptom severity. For failures to maintain set (FMS), MOA itself influenced performance, with participants making at least twice as many FMS on the computerized WCST. MOA also significantly moderated the relationship between FMS and impulsivity severity, including Lack of Perseverance, Sensation Seeking, and Positive Urgency. Individuals with greater Positive Urgency made more FMS on the manual WCST, and individuals with greater Lack of Perseverance made more FMS on the computerized WCST.Conclusions: Findings suggest that equivalence between the manual and computerized versions of the WCST depends on the WCST subscale and the type of psychological symptom. New normative data need to be developed for the computerized WCST, along with a more consistent method of scoring and interpreting WCST subscales.
Changes in association between school meals and children's dietary quality during implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010

Purpose. To estimate the effect of Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) implementation on dietary quality of all US school-aged children and adolescents, and examine whether those effects differed by demographic group. Methods. We used survey regression on 2007-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data to estimate the proportion of energy intake from school foods and the association between school food intake and dietary quality, before and after HHFKA passage/implementation. To account for demographic changes in the US population over time, inverse probability weighting was employed. The product of the proportion of energy from school foods and the association between school food intake and dietary quality estimated the effect of HHFKA implementation on dietary quality. Results. School food intake quantity remained stable during the study period. HHFKA implementation improved students9 dietary quality by 4.3 Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI) points (95% CI: 2.5, 6.1) on days when school foods were eaten, and by 1.3 HEI points (95% CI: 0.73, 1.8) averaged over all days annually. Conclusions. HHFKA implementation improved the total dietary quality of US school students. US students would benefit from eating school meals in the post-HHFKA era, and HHFKA regulations should not be relaxed.
DNN-Assisted Sensor for Energy-Efficient ECG Monitoring

The quasi-periodic nature of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals enables the use of compression techniques to minimize communications and reduce energy intake for diagnostic and preventive health monitoring. However, compression often degrades signal quality and may impair analysis by means of machine learning algorithms for the detection of anomalies. In this paper, we present an approach to pre-select relevant portions of the ECG signal at the sensor to reduce network load while satisfying a predefined diagnostic sensitivity requirement. We deploy a Deep Neural Network (DNN) to filter-out the signal's normal rhythms and reduce the amount of data stored or transmitted for further processing. Our extensive experiments covering a wide range of DNN hyper-parameters illustrate the tradeoff between diagnostic sensitivity, channel usage, energy consumption and computational complexity.
Identifying alternative solvents for C60 manufacturing using singular and combined toxicity assessments

Abstract Linseed oil, olive oil, and sunflower oil were selected based on green chemistry principles and C60 solubility as alternative solvents to replace 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene (TMB) for C60 manufacturing. Singular acute toxicity experiments of C60 and the four solvents was performed using Daphnia magna to identify the solvent with the lowest toxicity and estimate the toxicity of C60. The EC50 for C60 was estimated to be higher than 176 ppm. The toxicity of the solvents increased from sunflower oil to olive oil, linseed oil, and TMB. Combined toxicity tests were conducted to investigate the interaction between C60 and the solvent since essential oils can be nanocarriers and facilitate the transport of C60 into the cell membranes, which would increase its toxicity. Various concentrations of C60 (0, 11, 22, 44, 88, and 176 mg/L) were mixed with solvents at their EC50 concentrations. The toxicity of linseed oil increased with increasing C60 concentrations. For olive and sunflower oil, the toxicity was lowered with low concentrations of C60. Olive oil was determined to be a suitable solvent for C60 manufacturing based on singular and combined toxicity assessments. This study showed the importance of considering combined toxicity for solvent selection.
Joint low-count PET/CT segmentation and reconstruction with paired variational neural networks

Most existing fully automatic or semi-automatic medical imaging segmentation methods start from reconstructed images. However, a framework for joint segmentation and image reconstruction can be beneficial because both tasks can be mutually dependent. Better segmentation can improve image reconstruction and vice-versa. We propose to perform joint PET image reconstruction and fully automatic PET image segmentation, using the CT image from a PET-CT scanner as a given input. Within a unified framework, our proposed method generates a PET image and a segmentation mask utilizing two connected trained networks: 1) a network dedicated to denoising the PET image with boundary information from the segmentation network. While reconstructing the PET image, the algorithm exploits the denoised image recovered from the trained network. 2) a segmentation network dedicated to estimating the lesion and background (e.g., liver) masks using PET/CT information. A boundary indicator image is generated based on the gradients of segmentation masks. We simulated extremely low-count PET, typical for Y-90 imaging, where traditional segmentation and reconstruction methods tend to perform poorly. For PET reconstruction, proposed method using true boundary improves CNR (RMSE) by 28.9 % (49.1%) and 16.8 % (13.2%) compared to EM and proposed method without using boundary. For multi-modal segmentation, our proposed method improved global Dice score in tumor by 70.6% compared to our proposed segmentation framework using only CT information.
Hydroxychloroquine early in pregnancy and risk of birth defects.

Background Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is generally considered safe in pregnancy for the treatment of rheumatic conditions, but studies have been too small to evaluate teratogenicity. Quantifying the risk of congenital malformations associated with early pregnancy exposure to HCQ is important both in the context of its ongoing use for rheumatological disorders as well as its potential future use for COVID-19 prophylaxis, for which a number of clinical trials are ongoing despite initial trials for COVID-19 treatment having been negative. Objective The study objective was to evaluate the risk of major congenital malformations associated with exposure to HCQ during the first trimester, the period of organogenesis. Study design We performed a population-based cohort study nested in the Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX, 2000-2014) and IBM MarketScan Research Database (MarketScan, 2003-2015). The source cohort included 2,045 HCQ exposed and 3,198,589 unexposed pregnancies continuously enrolled in their respective insurance program from 3 months before the last menstrual period through at least one month after delivery; infants were enrolled for at least 3 months after birth. We compared the risk of congenital malformations in women with HCQ use during the first trimester versus no use, restricting the cohort to women with rheumatic disorders and using propensity score matching to control for indication, demographics, medical comorbidities, and concomitant medications (N= 1,867 HCQ exposed; 19,080 unexposed pregnancies). The outcomes considered included major congenital malformations diagnosed during the first 90 days after delivery, and specific malformation types for which there were at least 5 exposed events: oral clefts, cardiac, respiratory, gastrointestinal, genital, urinary, musculoskeletal, and limb defects. Results Overall, 54.8 per 1,000 infants exposed to HCQ were born with a major congenital malformation versus 35.3 per 1,000 unexposed infants, corresponding to an unadjusted relative risk of 1.51 (95% CI, 1.27-1.81). Patient characteristics were balanced in the restricted, propensity score matched cohort. The adjusted relative risk was 1.26 (1.04-1.54); it was 1.33 (1.08-1.65) for a daily dose ≥400mg and 0.95 (0.60-1.50) for Conclusions Our findings suggest a small increase in the risk of malformations associated with first trimester HCQ use. For most patients with autoimmune rheumatic disorders, the benefits of treatment during pregnancy will likely outweigh this risk. If HCQ were shown to be effective for COVID-19 prophylaxis in ongoing trials, the risk of malformations would need to be balanced against such benefits.
Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare access among patients receiving medication for opioid use disorder.

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered treatment delivery for opioid treatment programs (OTPs) dispensing medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). We aimed to identify patterns of substance use among MOUD patients and examine whether COVID-19-related impacts on access to healthcare varied across subgroups. Methods This analysis was embedded within a type 3 hybrid trial that enrolled patients across eight OTPs at the start of the pandemic. Enrolled patients reported on past-30 day use of multiple substances during their baseline assessment. Participants re-contacted in May–July 2020 completed a survey about COVID-19-related impacts on various life domains. Using latent class analysis we identified patient subgroups, and then examined group differences on a set of negative and positive COVID-19 impacts related to healthcare access. Results Of the 188 trial participants, 135 (72 %) completed the survey. Latent class analysis identified three MOUD patient subgroups: minimal use (class probability: 0.25); opioid use (class probability: 0.34); and polysubstance use (class probability: 0.41). Compared to the minimal use group, the polysubstance use group reported increased substance use and difficulty accessing sterile needles, naloxone, and preferred substance. The opioid use group reported increased substance use and difficulty accessing their preferred substance. There were no significant group differences related to accessing routine or specialized healthcare or medication; or paying attention to their health. Conclusions During COVID-19, many MOUD patients reported challenges accessing care, particularly harm reduction services for patients with polysubstance use. Additional efforts, like providing wraparound support, may be necessary to serve the needs of MOUD patients.
Texas Estate Planning Judicial Update: End of 2020 Edition

This article discusses recent judicial developments (last half of 2020) relating to the Texas law of intestacy, wills, estate administration, trusts, and other estate planning matters. The discussion of each case concludes with a moral, i.e., the important lesson to be learned from the case. By recognizing situations that have led to time consuming and costly litigation in the past, estate planners can reduce the likelihood of the same situations arising with their clients.
Attachment of Fibroblasts and Tenocytes in a Porous Titanium Scaffold: A Bioreactor Approach

Background: Direct attachment of tendons to metallic implants is important. Tissue integration depends on scaffold microstructure and composition. This study evaluated the effect of pore size of titanium on the viability and function of fibroblasts and tenocytes in a dynamic bioreactor. Method: Standardized Ti porous cylinders with three pore sizes (400, 700 and 1000µm) were seeded with either fibroblasts or tenocytes (4500 cells/µl) in silicon tubes. Cells were analyzed via AlamarBlue assay in addition to scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) at day 7 (fibroblasts) or day 8 (tenocytes) and day 15. Results: At day 7, fibroblasts cultured on all sizes reduced AB with significant differences were noted between the 400 versus 1000 µm (p=0.013) and the 700 versus 1000 µm (p=0.001). At day 15, fibroblasts reduced AB on all sizes with a significant difference was noted between the 700 versus 1000 µm (p=0.004). Fibroblasts on all three pore sizes increased AB reduction from day 7 to day 15. Tenocytes reduced AB with significant differences between the 400 versus 700 µm pore sizes (p=0.049) and 400 versus 1000 µm at day 8. In contrast to fibroblasts, tenocyte reduction of AB decreased from day 8 to day 15. ESEM performed on fibroblast cylinders showed fibroblasts reached the surface of the cylinders, confirming interconnectivity. Conclusions: While both fibroblasts and tenocytes penetrated the pores, fibroblasts preferred larger pore sizes, whereas tenocytes favored smaller sizes. Results are encouraging since tissue attachment to a metallic scaffold is difficult but clinically desirable. Future studies could be performed in an in-vivo animal model.
Limb-Prosthetic Interface

The residual limb must securely attach to the prosthesis via a custom socket . This device must be comfortable, safe, and securely attached to the prosthesis . Health of the residuum depends upon the socket environment, which can be harsh, unless properly designed. The socket environment lacks ventilation, impairs circulation, produces shear forces on the tissue, and may behave poorly during gait. Many factors influence the socket interface, including its fitting, composition, and fabrication. This chapter outlines these factors.
Culturally Relevant Online Cancer Education Supports Tribal Primary Care Providers to Reduce Their Cancer Risk and Share Information About Cancer.

BackgroundCulturally relevant education is an opportunity to reduce health disparities, and online learning is an emerging avenue for health promotion. In 2014–2019, a team based at the Alaska Nati...
The Car Warrior

What are “car wars?” One aspect is a vehicle inspection slowdown of imported Toyotas and Hondas. This is not a tariff, charging a tax on these vehicles, nor a quota, an arbitrary limitation of supply. In effect, it constitutes, merely, a tossing of sand into the mechanism of free trade: it just slows matters down.
The l -Adic Representations

In this chapter we exploit the fact that for n prime to the characteristic there exist exactly n2r points of order n on an abelian variety A of dimension r.
Alteration of p-PKM2 by UV radiation and H2O2 in Human Keratinocytes

UV radiation and oxidative stress have been shown to be related to skin aging and skin cancer. Our previous studies have demonstrated that UV radiation induces generation of reactive oxygen species...
The Education and Training of Law Librarians

This chapter describes the history, present, and future state of education and training of law librarians around the world. While it does not explicitly address the status of the profession of law librarianship, the study of law librarians' education will have a lot to say about the health and vigour of the profession.To provide context, the first section considered the competencies of law librarianship. Because the tradition of law librarianship education is more strongly developed and has a longer history in the United States than in other countries, the second section describes law librarianship education and training in the United States. The third section covers the education and training of law librarians who specialise in foreign, comparative and international law, a specilisation that provides wonderful opportunities for improving the status and role of law libraries throughout the world. The final section covers training and education for law librarianship in other countries. In each, the history, current state, and future of education and training of law librarians is described.
In Search of the Right Partner

Finding matching customers and providers is an essential part of any dynamic e-business or virtual enterprise solution, Existing standards such as the CORBA Trading Service or emerging standards such as UDDI fall short of what is needed if the promise of dynamic e-business is to be fulfilled. This paper explores what is needed, and presents an implementation that satisfies those requirements.
Preparing Korean Data for the Shared Task on Parsing Morphologically Rich Languages.

This document gives a brief description of Korean data prepared for the SPMRL 2013 shared task. A total of 27,363 sentences with 350,090 tokens are used for the shared task. All constituent trees are collected from the KAIST Treebank and transformed to the Penn Treebank style. All dependency trees are converted from the transformed constituent trees using heuristics and labeling rules de- signed specifically for the KAIST Treebank. In addition to the gold-standard morphological analysis provided by the KAIST Treebank, two sets of automatic morphological analysis are provided for the shared task, one is generated by the HanNanum morphological analyzer, and the other is generated by the Sejong morphological analyzer.
DISCRIMINATION LEARNING IN PARAMECIA (P. caudatum)

Previous attempts to condition a 1-celled organism, paramecium, by either classical or instrumental procedures, have yielded equivocal results. The present experimE3nts were designed to determine whether the use of positive reinforcement provided by DC electrical stimulation at the cathode, which had previously been shown to be attractive to paramecia, could be used to train these organisms in a discrimination learning task. The results indicate that such learning did take place. Prior investigations into the possibility of either instrumental or classical conditioning in paramecia have reported both positive and negative findings, with some serious questions later raised about the possible lack of proper controls in some of the studies. Day and Bentley (1911) observed turning behavior of paramecia in a capillary tube. They found that the number of turns and the elapsed time before the paramecia reversed their direction of movement decreased with the number of trials. Their results were similar to those reported earlier by Smith (1908), but sensitization, rather than conditioning, could have accounted for both; there was no control for this.
Sickle Cell Disease. A Serum Defect in the Thromboplastin Generation Test

1. A defective ability of sickle cell disease (SCD) serum to support thromboplastin generation was demonstrated. 2. The serum defect was associated primarily with homozygous SCD, although defects of varying severity were also noted in the heterozygous forms. 3. The deficiency appears to be due to an accelerated loss of thrombin or thrombin-like factors from serum.
System of digital video integrating technique

A simple and cost-effective technique to detect microwave signals in noise is introduced. The principle of this technique is digital video integration. The experimental procedure developed and the experimental results shown at 14.5 GHz are described. In this example the discernibility of the signal was at least 35 dB below the minimum detectable signal (MDS) of a HP 8551B spectrum analyzer. Methods for further discernibility improvement are suggested. >
Structured Forest Edge Detectors for Improved Eyelid and Iris Segmentation

Edge detection has long figured into iris segmentation algorithms, often providing a first-pass estimate of the inner and outer iris boundaries. Standard edge detectors, however, generally produce too many extraneous edges inside and outside the iris to be used for simple ellipse fitting to robustly find the iris boundaries. Solutions to this problem have been either to have additional filtering to select relevant edges or to design specialized edge detectors that highlight iris boundary edges and suppress irrelevant edge types. This description holds ever so more for eyelid boundaries, which are often very subtle. An edge detector that will trigger on an eyelid boundary will also likely trigger on almost any slight intensity gradient in an image. We seek to solve this problem by learning specialized edge detectors for each type of relevant boundary in an iris image. Using a fast Structured Random Forest approach developed for learning generalized edge detectors, we train detectors for the iris/sclera, iris/pupil, and eyelid boundaries. The results show that learned edge detectors should become part of the standard toolbox for iris segmentation and eyelid boundary detection.