cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical benefits of integrating cardiac and vascular models.

Introduction: Recent advances in computational methods and medical imaging techniques have enabled non-invasive exploration of cardiovascular pathologies, from cardiac level to complex arterial networks. The potential of cardiac and vascular modeling in guiding and monitoring therapies could be further extended through the integration of the two systems. Areas covered: This review includes advances in methods for cardiac electromechanics and vascular flow simulations. The results of a literature search depicting the state of the art in cardiac and vascular modeling are reviewed. The paper goes on to address the benefits and challenges of combined cardiovascular modeling, highlighting the relevance of specific cardiovascular features and implementation. Various alternative approaches and insights on future directions are presented and analyzed with respect to their applicability to clinical practice. Expert opinion: The article has emerged from the exploration of currently available cardiac and vascular ma...
A Three-Dimensional Radiative Transfer Model to Investigate the Solar Radiation within a Cloudy Atmosphere. Part II: Spectral Effects

A new Monte Carlo‐based three-dimensional (3D) radiative transfer model of high spectral and spatial resolution is presented. It is used to investigate the difference in broadband solar radiation absorption, top-of-theatmosphere upwelling, and surface downwelling solar radiation in a cloudy atmosphere between 3D and 1D calculations. Spatial variations of these same radiation components (absorption, upwelling, and downwelling), together with pathlength distributions, are analyzed for different wavelengths to describe the main physical mechanisms at work. The model contains all of the important atmospheric and surface radiative constituents. It includes Rayleigh scattering, absorption and scattering by both cloud droplets and aerosols, and absorption by the major atmospheric gases. Inputs include 3D liquid water fields, aerosols, and gas distribution, type, and concentrations. Using satellite imagery of a tropical cloud field as input, model results demonstrate that various plane-parallel (1D) assumptions can underestimate atmospheric absorption when compared to 3D computations. This discrepancy is caused by a complex interaction of gaseous absorption, cloud droplet absorption, and the solar zenith angle. Through a sensitivity analysis, the authors demonstrate that the most important factor is the morphology of the cloud field, followed by the vertical stratification of water vapor.
Deglutition in Patients with Tracheostomy, Nasogastric Tubes, and Orogastric Tubes

Swallowing, in both normal and disordered populations, with regard to the presence of a tracheotomy tube, one-way tracheotomy tube speaking valve, nasogastric tube, and orogastric tube is described. Specific subject areas include swallowing and tracheotomy tube use across the age span from pediatric to adult populations and swallowing success when mechanical ventilation via tracheotomy is required. Additional topics include swallowing success dependent on tracheotomy tube cuff status, i.e., inflated versus deflated, tracheotomy tube occlusion status, i.e., occluded versus open, and the presence versus absence of a tracheotomy tube itself. Also, current data and a discussion on swallowing and one-way tracheotomy tube speaking valve use are addressed. Lastly, nasogastric and orogastric tubes, by traversing the same path as a food bolus, can potentially impact on swallowing and information regarding their effect on swallowing is presented.
Tapping the mHealth Opportunity

Health managers have reasons to be optimistic about the potentials of mobile health or mHealth. Studies after studies have pointed out how personalized messages delivered over mobile phones can help patients improve their adherence to treatment regimes, resulting in better health outcomes. Instructional messages prompt health workers perform their tasks for various patients undergoing treatment while their supervisors monitor. Electronic transactions over mobile phone can enable health system to manage its human resources, supply chain and financial transactions in fast, reliable and accurate manner. Mobile devices like smart phones and netbooks can process and transmit patient health data faster and more accurately than paper. The potentials of mHealth seem to be limitless with the growing capacity and connectivity in mobile devices. In view of this, this article elaborates the areas where mHealth will have a role to play in the public health programs in India. In particular, mHealth can improve monitoring and supervision of hundreds of thousands of individual tasks performed by the community health workers. Government of India, donors and other funding organizations can develop framework of support to develop innovation labs to design and implement mHealth initiatives.
Validity of an Abbreviated WISC Scale for Retarded and Borderline Children

Several studies (Doppelt, 1956; Maxwell, 1957; Olin & Reznikoff, 1957; Satz & Mogel, 1962; Satz, Van De Riet, & Mogel, 1967) have demonstrated that abbreviated forms of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales can effectively be used in predicting Full-Scale IQs. Doppelt found that as few as four subtests correlated .96 with the Full Scale standard score, whereas Maxwell found four subtests correlated .936 and five correlated ,946 with total WAIS IQs. Other investigators have employed abbreviated forms in clinical settings with comparable success. For exanrple, Olin and Reznikoff (1957), using a sample of psychiatric patients, obtained an r of 925 between scores on an abbreviated form (4 subtests) and Total Scale IQs. The purpose of the present scudy was to determine the feasibiliry of developing an abbreviated form of the WISC for predicting WISC Full Scale scores of suspected retardates. Specifically, the intention of Es was to identify the four subtesa which correlated highest wirh total IQ scores and the ~elationship between 1Q estimates based on these four subtests and the Full-Scale IQs. The present authors do not wish to imply that an abbreviated form of the WISC is as usef~.l in clinical evaluation as the full scale. Not only are 1Q measures based on abbreviatec forms somewhat less reliable, but there is a definite possibiliry that by employing an abbreviated appraisal the examiner may fail to obtain data that are germane to an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis. However, because of excessive clinical demands, many clinicians simply do nor have available time to administer the enrire WISC to all clients as part of the evaluation. An abbreviated form could serve as a screening device to indicate the necessity of additional subtests in obtaining a more precise estimate of intellecrual ability, particularly for borderline Ss being considered for special placement. Ss were 165 elementary school children (M,,,. = 9.79, age range = 6-15) who were being evaluated for possible placement in special education classes. Each S was ad
A Mass-Tagging Approach for Enhanced Sensitivity of Dynamic Cytokine Detection Using a Label-Free Biosensor

Monitoring cytokine release by cells allows the investigation of cellular response to specific external stimuli, such as pathogens or candidate drugs. Unlike conventional colorimetric techniques, label-free detection of cytokines enables studying cellular secretions in real time by eliminating additional wash and labeling steps after the binding step. However, label-free techniques that are based on measuring mass accumulation on a sensor surface are challenging for measuring small cytokines binding to much larger capture agents (usually antibodies) because the relative signal change is small. This problem is exacerbated when the capturing antibodies desorb from the surface, a phenomenon that almost inevitably occurs in immunoassays but is rarely accounted for. Here, we demonstrate a quantitative dynamic detection of interleukine-6 (IL-6), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, using an interferometric reflectance imaging sensor (IRIS). We improved the accuracy of the quantitative analysis of this relatively small ...
Childhood empyema in North-East Scotland over the past 15 years.

IntroductionThe incidence of paediatric empyema is rising in the United Kingdom and North America. The reasons for increasing admissions are unclear. Management in tertiary units is often required....
Gastroschisis: mortality risks with each additional week of expectant management

Background Prior studies have evaluated the overall risk of stillbirth in pregnancies with fetal gastroschisis. However, the gestational age at which mortality is minimized, balancing the risk of stillbirth against neonatal mortality, remains unclear. Objective We sought to evaluate the gestational age at which prenatal and postnatal mortality risk is minimized for fetuses with gastroschisis. Study Design This was a retrospective cohort study of singleton pregnancies delivered between 24 0/7 and 39 6/7 weeks, using 2005 through 2006 US national linked birth and death certificate data. Among pregnancies with fetal gastroschisis, prospective risk of stillbirth and risk of infant death were determined for each gestational age week. Risk of infant death with delivery was further compared to composite fetal/infant mortality risk with expectant management for 1 additional week. Results Among 2,119,049 pregnancies, 860 cases (0.04%) of gastroschisis were identified. The overall stillbirth rate among gastroschisis cases was 4.8%, and infant death occurred in 8.3%. Prospective risk of stillbirth became more consistently elevated beginning at 35 weeks, rising to 13.9 per 1000 pregnancies (95% confidence interval, 10.8–17.1) at 39 weeks. Risk of infant death concurrently nadired in the third trimester, ranging between 62.4-66.8 per 1000 live births between 32-39 weeks. Comparing mortality with expectant management vs delivery, relative risk was significantly greater with expectant management between 37-39 weeks, reaching 1.90 (95% confidence interval, 1.73–2.08) at 39 weeks with a number needed to deliver of 17.49 (95% confidence interval, 15.34–20.32) to avoid 1 excess death. Conclusion Risk of prenatal and postnatal mortality for fetuses with gastroschisis may be minimized with delivery as early as 37 weeks.
RPN13/ADRM1 inhibitor reverses immunosuppression by myeloid-derived suppressor cells.

// Ruey-Shyang Soong 1, 5, 6 , Ravi K. Anchoori 4 , Benjamin Yang 1 , Andrew Yang 1 , Ssu-Hsueh Tseng 1 , Liangmei He 1 , Ya-Chea Tsai 1 , Richard B.S. Roden 1, 2, 4 , Chien-Fu Hung 1, 4 1 Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, United States 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, United States 3 Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, United States 4 Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, United States 5 Department of General Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Keelung, Keelung City, Taiwan 6 Department of Chang Gung University, College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan Correspondence to: Chien-Fu Hung, email: chung2@jhmi.edu Keywords: RPN13, proteasome, immunosuppression, MDSCs, Stat3 Received: January 14, 2016 Accepted: September 12, 2016 Published: September 17, 2016 ABSTRACT Myeloid-derived-suppressor cells (MDSCs) are key mediators of immune suppression in the ovarian tumor microenvironment. Modulation of MDSC function to relieve immunosuppression may enhance the immunologic clearance of tumors. The bis-benzylidine piperidone RA190 binds to the ubiquitin receptor RPN13/ADRM1 on the 19S regulatory particle of the proteasome and directly kills ovarian cancer cells by triggering proteotoxic stress. Here we examine the effect of RA190 treatment on the immunosuppression induced by MDSCs in the tumor microenvironment, specifically on the immunosuppression induced by MDSCs. We show that RA190 reduces the expression of Stat3 and the levels of key immunosuppressive enzymes and cytokines arginase, iNOS, and IL-10 in MDSCs, while boosting expression of the immunostimulatory cytokine IL-12. Furthermore, we show that the RA190-treated MDSCs lost their capacity to suppress CD8+ T cell function. Finally, we show that RA190 treatment of mice bearing syngeneic ovarian tumor elicits potent CD8+ T cell antitumor immune responses and improves tumor control and survival. These data suggest the potential of RA190 for ovarian cancer treatment by both direct killing of tumor cells via proteasome inhibition and relief of MDSC-mediated suppression of CD8 T cell-dependent antitumor immunity elicited by the apoptotic tumor cells.
Activated Peripheral Mononuclear Cells Plus Soluble Plasma Tissue Factor Activate Factors VII and X in Cardiac Surgical Wounds.

Objectives: This study examines the role of pericardial wound monocytes in thrombin generation during clinical cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Background: The mechanism by which wound mononuclear cells rapidly express procoagulant activity is unexplained. Methods: Factor VII activation (FVIIa) was measured using recombinant, truncated, soluble tissue factor (rsTF) and various blood cells in vitro . FVIIa was also measured with monocytes and soluble plasma tissue factor taken before CPB and simultaneously from the pericardial wound and perfusion circuit during CPB in thirteen patients. Results: RsTF in combination with monocytes, but not platelets, neutrophils or red cells, accelerates activation of FVII beginning at 1 pmole/L rsTF. Less than 1% rsTF is bound, yet catalytic activity peaks at 7 minutes and decays afterwards. In wound plasma, monocytes are activated (MCP-1 = 29.5 ± 2.1 pmoles/L) and wound plasma tissue factor (wpTF) is substantially elevated (3.64 ± 0.45 pmoles/L) with 81.7% in the supernatant and 18.3% in microparticles. By Western blot all forms of plasma TF migrate at Mr 65 kDa [TF/FVII(FVIIa) complex]. Wound monocytes and C5a activated prebypass or perfusate monocytes plus wpTF convert all available FVII to FVIIa. Activated monocytes plus supernatant TF/FVII(VIIa) more efficiently activate factor X than microparticle TF/FVII(FVIIa). The correlation coefficient (r) between wound thrombin generation (F1.2) and wpTF is 0.944 (p = 0.0004). Conclusions: During clinical cardiac surgery with CPB wound monocytes plus wpTF or microparticle-free, protein fragments of wound tissue factor preferentially accelerate activation of FVII and FX. This system represents a new mechanism of thrombin generation.
The crazy world of quantum computing

Quantum computers could be faster and more powerful than conventional computers. Moreover, they could trigger a revolutionary new approach to information processing. That is the intriguing message conveyed by the science journalist George Johnson in this short book. He explains how this new approach could undermine the security of current cryptography protocols, lead to fast algorithms for searching databases, and offer ways of simulating complex quantum-mechanical systems. However, the full scope of quantum computers is unknown. It might well be beyond our imagination.
Introduction: Following the Kantian Dilemmas and Grand Conception

Major definitions of the schema include those of Bartlett, Craik, and Piaget. They focus the schema as a key template for information, but they eschew the Kantian idea of the schema as a key to the structuring of knowledge. Major present-day concepts of the schema are dependent on the ‘frame.’ The role of analogy put front and center by Kant is major in the advance of the schema concept to deal with the unknown and to project new ideas. Selz took on the problem of the schema’s place and function relative to productive thinking.
Family Life Education with Diverse Community Partners

Davis, Hill, and Chandler discuss a redesigned Family Life Education course to include service-learning that engages several community partners. The redesigned course transformed students’ motivation as they connected with actual community needs, and they were thus required and expected to provide professional-level education. The outcome is consistent with research on service-learning and engagement of students in the classroom experience. They also discovered four benefits that are consistent with high-impact practices. Discussion focuses on student objectives, guiding principles and practices (cultivating community partners, student partner matching, and team structure and development), and detailed methods of implementing high-impact elements.
Spintronic signatures of Klein tunneling in topological insulators

Klein tunneling, the perfect transmission of normally incident Dirac electrons across a potential barrier, has been widely studied in graphene and explored to design switches, albeit indirectly. We show an alternative way to directly measure Klein tunneling for spin-momentum locked electrons crossing a PN junction along a three-dimensional topological insulator surface. In these topological insulator PN junctions (TIPNJs), the spin texture and momentum distribution of transmitted electrons can be measured electrically using a ferromagnetic probe for varying gate voltages and angles of current injection. Based on transport models across a TIPNJ, we show that the asymmetry in the potentiometric signal between PP and PN junctions and its overall angular dependence serve as a direct signature of Klein tunneling.
The meaning of life in medicine: non-religious spiritual care in Japan

Within the context of a growing global interest in the role of spirituality in medicine, “spiritual care” has developed as a form of patient-centered care that addresses existential suffering. This paper provides an introduction to spiritual care in Japan. On the basis of publications by leading Japanese authors on spiritual care, it first shows how spiritual care developed in Japan and how it is understood as a way of providing meaning and comfort distinct from “religious care.” Then it introduces some common methods used for spiritual care in Japan. Overall, it argues that the way spiritual care is conceptualized and offered in Japan provides suggestions for how spiritual care might be offered to patients who are non-religious and do not see themselves as “spiritual”.
Acting over Time, Acting Together

In temporally extended agency, past, present, and (normally) future thought and action are tied together in distinctive ways. In shared intentional activity, the thoughts and actions of the participants are tied together in distinctive ways. My conjecture is that a fundamental ground of these human capacities for temporally extended and shared intentional agency are human capacities for planning agency. The conceptual, metaphysical, and normative resources in play in our planning agency provide a backbone of our temporally extended and shared intentional agency.
Automated Optimization of Potential Parameters

An algorithm and software to refine parameters of empirical energy functions according to condensed phase experimental measurements are discussed. The algorithm is based on sensitivity analysis and...
Nonintrusive ultrasonic-based occupant identification for energy efficient smart building applications

Abstract The ability to non-intrusively identify people will enable smart buildings to customize the environment to meet occupants’ comfort level while saving energy. Occupant identification can help in energy savings effort in a building because we can retrieve each occupant’s temperature preference profile and choose the temperature that minimizes the total discomfort of a group in the building. To enable occupant identification in buildings, many methods used can be intrusive, such as using cameras or requiring the users to carry mobile gadgets or a smart phone. Non-intrusive techniques are gaining interest in smart building applications. In this paper, we present a non-intrusive ultrasonic based sensing technique to identify people by sensing their body shape and movement. The ultrasonic sensors are placed on the top and sides of doors to measure the height and width as the occupant walks through the instrumented doorway. Height and width and their related features can give a unique signature to occupants to identify them. In this study, the proposed system senses a stream of height and width data, recognizes the walking event when a person walks through the door, and extracts features that capture a person’s movement as well as physical shape. These features are fed to a clustering algorithm that associates each occupant with a distinct cluster. The system was deployed for a total of three months. The results show that the proposed approach achieves 95% accuracy with 20 occupants suggesting the suitability of our approach in commercial building settings. In addition, the results show that using girth to distinguish between occupants is more successful than using height. We show that this system generalizes beyond our datasets and works for different populations of different physical distributions.
TeleMental Health: Standards, Reimbursement, and Interstate Practice [Formula: see text].

BACKGROUND: TeleMental Health (TMH) is gaining widespread acceptance in the United States. OBJECTIVE: Summarize current evidence regarding TMH risks and benefits, standards of care, practice guidelines, reimbursement, and interstate practice issues pertinent to psychiatric nurses and consumers. DESIGN: A targeted review of literature, current practice, and TMH websites was generated using the following key search words: clinical outcomes, practice guidelines, regulations, interstate practice, and reimbursement for TMH. A search of government and professional organization websites and a literature review of PubMed and PsychINFO databases was limited to the past 15 years. RESULTS: Studies demonstrate TMH services are equal in efficacy to that provided in face-to-face encounters and preferred by some populations. Current TMH practice guidelines, reimbursement, and regulatory issues are reviewed. CONCLUSIONS: Providers, including psychiatric advanced practice registered nurses, can use TMH to effectively addr...
Place and practice in field biology.

En prenant l'exemple de l'ecologie et de l'evolution, l'A. demontre l'importance et l'influence du lieu de la recherche en biologie eu XIX e et XX e siecle en Amerique du Nord
10-OR: SSO TO RESOLVE AMBIGUITIES CONSISTING OF TWO OR MORE ANTIGEN GROUPS IN ONE-PASS THRU SEQUENCING

Aim A proposal (Hurley et al “A One-Pass DNA Sequencing Strategy at Recruitment of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Donors - Rethinking Typing Requirements”) to reduce time and cost by one-pass DNA sequencing may result in a small percentage of individuals with greater than 2 antigen groups. We have devised a method which utilizes the speed and flexibility of SSO to resolve these ambiguities. Methods Out of 2,746 donors typed by one-pass SBT, a small number (19 B locus and 21 C locus) had HLA assignments including more than two antigen groups. These donors were typed using One Lambda’s LABType HD HLA-B and HD HLA-C kits. The SSO results have been verified by group specific amplifications performed using SBT. Results Most of the B locus ambiguities were typed as B ∗ 35:FVSH, 49:BAXH by one-pass SBT (12 of 19). These donors were resolved to B ∗ 35:DNXN, 49:01 with 5 additional beads. The next most common B locus ambiguity, B ∗ 35:HADV, 51:HAFE (4 of 19) was resolved to B ∗ 35:DNXN, 52:01:02 with 10 additional beads. The other three ambiguities (B ∗ 15:DNG, 35:FVSH; B ∗ 44:GNJN, 51:GNJH; B ∗ 35:01+/39:05, 38:FXTB) were seen once and were resolved with beads used in the HD kits. Most of the samples needing C locus ambiguity resolution were C ∗ 05:NGV, 16:AB by one-pass SBT (19 of 21). Bead 63 in the OLI C locus kit resolved these samples as either C ∗ 05:AC, 16:01 (95%) or C ∗ 08:02, 16:02 (5%). The other C locus ambiguity (C ∗ 04:GHCN, 05:HDAK) could only be resolved to two common genotypes by SSO (C ∗ 04:01+, 08:04 or C ∗ 04:04, 08:02) and had to be resolved by separating alleles by SBT. Conclusions In order to perfect this ambiguity resolution process we propose using biotinylated primers for the generic SBT amplification so that it could also be used for the SSO ambiguity resolution. Also, new probes specific for the known ambiguities would be created which would eliminate the need for secondary amplification. Whether the SSO was performed by automation or manually, the ambiguity resolution could be performed in less than 2 hours.
Radioactive Roulette: Should the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Be Regulating the United States Army Corps of Engineers' FUSRAP Activities?

The Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program was created in 1974 to clean up radioactive waste at sites used in the nation's early atomic energy and atomic weapons programs. For over two decades, this program was administered by the Department of Energy and its predecessor agencies. In 1997, responsibility for FUSRAP was shifted to the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The transfer did not occur without controversy. Congress transferred the program with little legislative direction. Almost immediately, questions arose about the Corps' authority to administer to program without appropriate permits from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Since 1997, the NRC has repeatedly asserted that it does not have the authority to govern the remediation activities of another agency in the federal government. This Note explores the reasons why NRC regulation of the Corps' FUSRAP activities is not only proper, but should be undertaken in the interests of public health and safety.
Grower adoption of insecticide resistance management practices increase with extension‐based program

Background Insecticide resistance management (IRM) practices that improve the sustainability of agricultural production systems are developed, but few studies address the challenges with their implementation and success rates of adoption. This study examined the effectiveness of a voluntary, extension-based program to increase grower adoption of IRM practices for onion thrips (Thrips tabaci) in onion. The program sought to increase the use of two important IRM practices: rotating classes of insecticides during the growing season and applying insecticides following an action threshold. Results Onion growers (n = 17) increased their adoption of both IRM practices over the 3-year study. Growers increased use of insecticide class rotation from 76% to 100% and use of the action threshold for determining whether to apply insecticides from 57% to 82%. Growers who always used action thresholds successfully controlled onion thrips infestations, applied significantly fewer insecticide applications (one to four fewer applications) and spent $148/ha less on insecticides compared with growers who rarely used the action threshold. Growers who regularly used action thresholds and rotated insecticide classes did so because they were primarily concerned about insecticide resistance development in thrips populations. Conclusion Implementation of the IRM education program was successful, as adoption rates of both practices increased within 3 years. Growers were surprisingly most receptive to adopting these practices to mitigate insecticide resistance as opposed to saving money. Developing extension-based programs that involve regular and interactive meetings with growers may significantly increase the adoption of IRM and related integrated pest management tactics. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.
The Influence of Carrier Gas on Nanosecond-Pulsed Plasma Discharge Generated in a Water Film Plasma Reactor

Plasma discharge with liquid water has been widely studied due to its potential application in water treatment and chemical synthesis. Hydrogen peroxide, mainly formed by the recombination of hydroxyl radicals, is the major stable product of the plasma discharge with liquid water. The production rate of hydrogen peroxide is affected by operating conditions such as reactor type and input power1 2. In our previous work3, a nanosecond power supply with adjustable pulse width, input voltage and pulse frequency, was used to investigate how input power influences the hydrogen peroxide production in the water film reactor. In the present study we expand upon the previous work with this nanosecond pulsed plasma discharge by considering the influence of carrier gas (argon and helium) on the plasma properties and the formation of hydrogen peroxide. We hypothesize that the carrier gas influences the plasma properties that in turn affect the hydrogen peroxide production rate. The plasma properties, including electron density, gas temperature, and plasma volume, and the hydrogen peroxide production rate are measured in argon, helium, and argon/helium mixtures. We found that the helium plasma is more diffusive compared with the argon plasma. In addition, the helium plasma has a larger volume and lower electron density and gas temperature. These results may be due to the higher thermal conductivity of helium compared to argon. We also found that by combining helium with argon, thus increasing the thermal conductivity over that of pure argon, the plasma became more diffusive with the increasing percentage of helium in the gas mixture.
Diversity and decorum in open source communities

Open source software communities are increasingly aware of how social biases and discrimination negatively affect their culture. Many choose to establish policies regulating their contributors' social interactions without considering the efficacy of such measures. If these communities lack an empirical awareness of their policies' impact, they may find themselves adopting dogmatic practices that serve only to increase overhead maintenance costs. Conducting a gender diversity analysis of popular open source projects, I discovered no significant change in the proportion of women contributing to projects with or without a code of conduct. In light of this discovery, the open source community should consider supplemental strategies in order to foster diverse participation in their projects.
Free-electron laser inverse-Compton interaction x-ray source

Free-electron lasers (FEL) and synchrotron sources of high brilliance x-rays have proven to be of tremendous value in basic and applied research. Inverse-Compton sources (ICS) can achieve brilliance matching the requirements of many applications pioneered at those FEL and synchrotron facilities---including phase contrast imaging, macromolecular x-ray crystallography, and x-ray microscopy---but with size, cost, and complexity compatible with a small laboratory. The free-electron laser inverse-Compton interaction compact x-ray source at the University of Hawaii at Manoa is a unique approach to an ICS which employs an FEL as the laser source. We have measured a total average flux of $3.0\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{5}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{photons}/\mathrm{second}$ with an average brilliance of $2.0\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{7}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{photons}/\mathrm{s}\text{ }{\mathrm{mm}}^{2}\text{ }{\mathrm{mrad}}^{2}$ 0.1% of bandwidth (BW) with a peak energy of 10.9 keV from the source. While these results are modest in comparison to the standards set by other IC sources, upgrades to the system have the potential to increase the total average flux to $9.2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{11}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{photons}/\mathrm{second}$ with an average brilliance of $1.9\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{12}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{photons}/\mathrm{s}\text{ }{\mathrm{mm}}^{2}\text{ }{\mathrm{mrad}}^{2}$ 0.1% BW: comparing more favorably to other sources. We discuss the scientific program, the progress made in design and development, and the achievements of the source to date. We also outline future upgrades and integration needed to yield an enabling source for emerging high brilliance x-ray applications.
On Analysis of the Bitcoin and Prism Backbone Protocols

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system proposed by Nakamoto in 2008. Properties of the bitcoin backbone protocol have been investigated in some depth: the blockchain growth property quantifies the number of blocks added to the blockchain during any time intervals; the blockchain quality property ensures the honest miners always contribute at least a certain fraction of the blockchain; the common prefix property ensures if a block is deep enough, it will eventually be adopted by all honest miners with high probability. Following the spirit of decoupling various functionalities of the blockchain, the Prism protocol is proposed to dramatically improve the throughput while maintaining the same level of security. Prior analyses of the bitcoin and Prism backbone protocols assume the lifespan of blockchain is finite. This paper presents a streamlined and strengthened analysis without the finite horizon assumption. Specifically, the results include a blockchain growth property, a blockchain quality property, and a common prefix property of the bitcoin backbone protocol, as well as the liveness and persistence of the Prism backbone protocol regardless of whether the blockchains have a infinite lifespan. We also express the properties of bitcoin and Prism backbone protocols in explicit expressions rather than order optimal results, which lead to tighter bounds and practical references for public transaction ledger protocol design.
Settlement of the Caminada Headlands Beach and Dune Nourishment in Coastal Louisiana

AbstractThe Caminada Headlands is a beach and dune system that provides natural protection for back barrier marshes against storm surges and wave overtopping. Due to significant shoreline erosion a...
Beneficial rheological properties of lithium-ion battery cathode slurries from elevated mixing and coating temperatures

Abstract It is imperative that lithium-ion battery manufacturers implement strategies to expedite production without sacrificing quality due to rising consumer demand. Cathode coating is commonly performed at the industrial scale with a slot-die coater. In slot-die coating, substrate velocity is maximized and imperfections (such as air entrainment and thickness variations) are minimized by reducing the viscosity of the material being coated. A simple, scalable method of reducing the viscosity of the cathode slurry is to increase its temperature, though it is dire that this heat does not cause irreversible gelation or otherwise deteriorate the slurry constituents. Cathode slurries were prepared at different mixing temperatures between 25 °C and 75 °C and their flow behavior was studied at their mixing temperature. At practical shear rates, the slurry coated at 60 °C was 23% less viscous than that coated at 25 °C, meaning the critical coating speed could be increased by roughly 14% at 60 °C. Between 25 °C and 60 °C, the slurries’ yield stress and equilibrium storage modulus increased monotonically, providing the additional benefit of higher sedimentation resistance of the active materials. To examine the influence of temperature on coating morphology and electrochemical performance, slurries were prepared and coated at 25 °C and 60 °C. Micrographs revealed no superficial differences between coatings. The electrode coated at 60 °C demonstrated comparable capacity retention during long-term cycling and high-rate discharge testing when compared to the electrode coated at 25 °C. The results of this study indicate that warmer mixing and coating operations serve to maximize cathode productivity, particularly if advancements can be made in industrial-scale electrode drying.
Detection of Circulating Tumor DNA in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer Using Digital Next-Generation Sequencing.

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) measurements can be used to estimate tumor burden, but avoiding false-positive results is challenging. Herein, digital next-generation sequencing (NGS) is evaluated as a ctDNA detection method. Plasma KRAS and GNAS hotspot mutation levels were measured in 140 subjects, including 67 with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and 73 healthy and disease controls. To limit chemical modifications of DNA that yield false-positive mutation calls, plasma DNA was enzymatically pretreated, after which DNA was aliquoted for digital detection of mutations (up to 384 aliquots/sample) by PCR and NGS. A digital NGS score of two SDs above the mean in controls was considered positive. Thirty-seven percent of patients with pancreatic cancer, including 31% of patients with stages I/II disease, had positive KRAS codon 12 ctDNA scores; only one patient had a positive GNAS mutation score. Two disease control patients had positive ctDNA scores. Low-normal–range digital NGS scores at mutation hotspots were found at similar levels in healthy and disease controls, usually at sites of cytosine deamination, and were likely the result of chemical modification of plasma DNA and NGS error rather than true mutations. Digital NGS detects mutated ctDNA in patients with pancreatic cancer with similar yield to other methods. Detection of low-level, true-positive ctDNA is limited by frequent low-level detection of false-positive mutation calls in plasma DNA from controls.
The Hidden Curriculum of Work in English Language Education: Neoliberalism and Early English Programs in Public Schooling.

Abstract There has been a rapid global expansion of English instruction in the early grades in public school curricula. Particularly in so-called developing countries, the increase of and its shift from exclusively private to public education is linked to the idea that acquiring English promotes personal, social, and economic development. The author takes one case of a recent early English program, the national program in Mexico, and argues that it is a representative case of a language education programme and policy organized around neoliberal principles. The policy’s stated goal is to address issues of access and equity for public school students; however, findings indicate that the actual processes of teaching and learning at the classroom level remain highly stratified across social class lines. An analysis of English lessons in schools at different points on the socioeconomic spectrum illustrates that instruction is preparing children with certain types of skills and dispositions congruent to their class position and revealing the hidden curriculum of work in early English education.
Modulations of foveal vision associated with microsaccade preparation

It is known that attention shifts prior to a saccade to start processing the saccade target before it lands in the foveola, the high-resolution region of the retina. Yet, once the target is foveated, microsaccades, tiny saccades maintaining the fixated object within the fovea, continue to occur. What is the link between these eye movements and attention? There is growing evidence that these eye movements are associated with covert shifts of attention in the visual periphery, when the attended stimuli are presented far from the center of gaze. Yet, microsaccades are primarily used to explore complex foveal stimuli and to optimize fine spatial vision in the foveola, suggesting that the influences of microsaccades on attention may predominantly impact vision at this scale. To address this question we tracked gaze position with high precision and briefly presented high-acuity stimuli at predefined foveal locations right before microsaccade execution. Our results show that visual discrimination changes prior to microsaccade onset. An enhancement occurs at the microsaccade target location. This modulation is highly selective and it is coupled with a drastic impairment at the opposite foveal location, just a few arcminutes away. This effect is strongest when stimuli are presented closer to the eye movement onset time. These findings reveal that the link between attention and microsaccades is deeper than previously thought, exerting its strongest effects within the foveola. As a result, during fixation, foveal vision is constantly being reshaped both in space and in time with the occurrence of microsaccades.
Successful Increase of Outpatient Clinic Continuity in a Fellowship Quality Improvement Project.

Background Patient-to-physician continuity is the result of coordinated and consistent care. Optimizing continuity can be a challenge in medical training without impacting work hours. We sought to use quality improvement science during graduate medical training to increase outpatient continuity. Objective The primary goal was to improve outpatient continuity in our pediatric cardiology fellowship, without increasing trainee clinic hours, from a baseline of 38% to ≥70% within 18 months. Methods Our fellowship conducted a quality improvement project across 3 years to improve continuity-of-care in our outpatient clinic using the Institute for Healthcare Improvement model for improvement. We conducted Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles and completed a key driver diagram using a multidisciplinary team. We defined continuity as a patient being evaluated by their primary fellow or a different fellow that was provided a handoff. The outcome measure was the continuity rate over 2-week periods. Results Continuity improved from 38% to ≥80%. The improvement resulted from a series of interventions, including creating a handoff system among fellows, identifying follow-up patients in advance, and communicating this information to the clinic team. Although we anticipated a decrease when new fellows were incorporated, continuity continued to be ≥70%. This system retained continuity above 90% one year after completion of the project. Conclusions Our fellowship created a system change to improve primary patient-to-fellow continuity care rates. We achieved sustainable continuity by working with a multidisciplinary team without altering staffing, infrastructure, or fellow work hours. This project engaged trainees to address the practical application of quality improvement methodology to solve a common clinical problem.
Insights on developing a field hospital formulary and medication distribution process in preparation for a second surge of COVID-19 cases.

Purpose The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused health systems across the country to plan for field hospitals to care for patients outside of traditional healthcare settings in the event of a second surge. Here we describe key considerations for the implementation of pharmacy operations and a field hospital formulary at an offsite location within a 2-week time frame. Summary Development of an offsite field hospital formulary is first dependent on the location and patient population defined for the field hospital. Creation of a limited formulary for a planned field hospital in Michigan involved reviewing physical space limitations and drug distribution workflows, assessing current prescribing trends, creating drug categories, and creating formulary guidelines to limit formulary options in each therapeutic category. Ultimately, our institution developed a 140-medication field hospital formulary, a process to enable appropriate use of nonformulary drugs, and a mixed operations model including automated dispensing cabinets and a manual cart-fill process. Although the institution did not have to open the field hospital, the process used for developing the formulary and determining distribution models will allow for an immediate implementation if a second surge occurs. Conclusion A methodical approach to developing limited formularies and pharmacy operations in a field hospital setting will allow health systems to establish efficient and effective medication distribution services in the event of a second surge of COVID-19 cases.
Use of Screening CT Colonography by Age and Race: A Study of Potential Access Barriers Related to Medicare Noncoverage Based on Data From the ACR's National CT Colonography Registry.

Abstract Objective The primary objectives of this investigation were to evaluate the use of screening CT colonography (CTC) examinations by age comparing individuals of Medicare-eligible age to younger cohorts and to determine if the association between use of CTC and Medicare-eligible age varies by race. Although the Affordable Care Act requires commercial insurance coverage of screening CTC, Medicare does not cover screening CTC. Materials and Methods Using the ACR’s CTC registry, the distribution of procedures by age was evaluated using a negative binomial model with patient age (to capture overall trend), indicator of Medicare-eligible age (to capture immediate changes in trend at age 65), and their interaction (to capture gradual changes after age 65) as independent variables. The association between the number of screening CTCs and age was compared by racial identity. Results The CTC registry contained data on 12,648 screening examinations. Between ages 52 and 64, the number of screening examinations increased; each additional age year was associated with a 5.3% (P Conclusion After age 65, the number of screening CTC examinations decreased, likely due, at least in part, to lack of Medicare coverage. Medicare noncoverage may have a disproportionate impact on black patients and other racial minorities.
Primary Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation of the Knee Versus Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation After Failed Marrow Stimulation: A Systematic Review.

Background:Marrow stimulation (MST) surgery, which includes microfracture, subchondral drilling, and abrasion arthroplasty, and autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) are 2 surgical options to t...
Clustered multi-node learning of electric vehicle charging flexibility

Abstract Forecasting the available flexible load provided by electric vehicles would enable electric utilities to make informed decision in utilizing these loads for enhancing the operational efficiency of distribution systems. To overcome the lack of historical loads data at newly-installed EV charging stations, this paper proposes a clustered multi-node learning with Gaussian Process (CMNL-GP) method to fuse data from multiple charging stations and to learn them simultaneously. The proposed method improves the forecasting accuracy in each node by transferring meaningful information among multiple nodes. The proposed method also performs a clustering algorithm within its objective function to obtain within-cluster similarity, since all the nodes may not be related equally, and the nodes within a cluster may have a stronger correlation. To characterize the clustered structures and to transfer the shared information among multiple nodes, different regularization terms are imposed in the objective function of the proposed method. The proposed clustered multi-node learning also utilizes the Gaussian Process for statistical attributes of the residual stochastic process, which refers to the information that may not be shared among multiple nodes and can be node-specific. The proposed method is validated by real-world EV charging stations data in State of Utah, USA, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
The Brief Case: A Case of Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis Due to Lodderomyces elongisporus.

A 46-year-old male was admitted to the neurosurgery intensive care unit with a diagnosis of intracerebral hemorrhage with intraventricular bleeding. His history was notable for replacement of his aortic valve with a mechanical prosthesis approximately 2 years prior, for which he was on chronic
Nonisothermal effects on water potential measurement in a simple geometry

In nature, unsaturated porous media, like soils or plant tissues, are often submitted to temperature gradients which can trigger water transport. A nanofluidic tool is employed here to measure the changes in water potential in response to temperature variations in a model geometry. Variations of -7.9 MPa/K are observed in agreement with previous measurements but which differ from a simple modeling, pointing at subtle couplings between natural convection and the Soret effect at play in the setup.
Core psychosocial issues for children and adolescents in the context of limb lengthening and reconstruction surgery treatment.

Abstract Purpose Addressing the psychosocial needs of adolescents can improve surgical outcomes. The aim of this retrospective comparative study was to understand the core psychosocial factors that...