cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Depression and anxiety in patients with COPD

Under-recognised and untreated depression and anxiety symptoms have deleterious effects on physical functioning and social interaction increasing fatigue and healthcare utilisation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Depression and anxiety are challenging to identify and treat because their symptoms often overlap with those of COPD. The cause(s) of depression and anxiety symptoms are multifactorial and include behavioural, social and biological factors. Less than one-third of COPD patients with comorbid depression or anxiety symptoms are receiving appropriate treatment. Factors that contribute to the lack of provision of treatment are varied, they include patient perceived barriers, for example lack of knowledge and reluctance to receive antidepressant drug therapy; poor treatment compliance and lack of a standardised diagnostic approach; and scarcity of adequate resources for mental health treatment. The evidence for the efficacy of antidepressant drug therapy in patients with COPD with comorbid depression and anxiety is inconclusive. There are some promising findings regarding pulmonary rehabilitation, psychological therapy and the collaborative care model in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms in patients with COPD, but these findings are limited by short-term follow-up periods. Further work is required to examine the efficacy of these interventions in randomised controlled trials with larger samples and long-term follow-up.
Nonlinear optimization to generate non-overlapping random dot patterns

We have devised a method to generate non-overlapping random dot patterns for light guides and diffuser films in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Molecular-dynamics-based algorithms are being for this purpose and have been proven to generate high quality dot patterns. The key technical challenge is how to remove inter-dot overlap that leads to visible roughness in the luminance distribution. In this paper, we describe a new overlap removal method that penalizes the overlap of dots and minimizes the sum of the penalties by using a nonlinear optimization technique. Through computational experiments with real world data, we show that our optimization-based method runs faster than an existing simulation-based method and generates dot patterns with comparable quality.
Trophic shifts in predatory catfishes following the introduction of Nile perch into Lake Victoria

This study looked for evidence of trophic shifts in the diet of two predatory catfishes (Bagrus docmac and Schilbe intermedius) following the establishment of introduced Nile perch (Lates niloticus) into lakes of the Lake Victoria basin. Bagrus docmac exhibited a shift from a primarily piscivorous diet dominated by haplochromine cichlids to a broader diet that included a significant proportion of invertebrates and the cyprinid fish, Rastrineobola argentea, which became abundant following depletion of the haplochromines. Schilbe intermedius exhibited a trophic shift from a piscivorous diet dominated by haplochromines to an insectivorous diet. The flexibility in diet exhibited by these two catfishes may have permitted these species to persist, albeit in reduced numbers, subsequent to the introduction of Nile perch and may facilitate resurgence as fishing pressure reduces numbers of large Nile perch. Resume Cette etude cherchait des preuves d'une evolution dans le regime alimentaire de deux poissons-chats predateurs (Bagrus docmac et Schilbe intermedius), suite a l'installation de la perche du Nil (Lates niloticus) introduite dans les lacs du bassin du Lac Victoria. Bagrus docmac presentait une evolution d'un regime au depart piscivore, domine par les cichlides haplochromines, vers un regime plus ouvert qui comprend une proportion significative d'invertebres et du cyprin Rastrineobola argentea, qui est devenu abondant suite a la rarefaction des haplochromines. Schilbe intermedius a manifeste une evolution d'un regime piscivore domine par les haplochromines vers un regime insectivore. La flexibilite alimentaire manifestee par ces deux poissons-chats peut avoir permis a ces deux especes de survivre, encore qu’en nombre restreint, a l'introduction de la perche du Nil et pourrait faciliter leur recuperation alors que la pression de la peche reduit le nombre de grosses perches du Nil.
Gauss-Vaníček and Fourier Transform Spectral Analyses of Marine Diversity

This article shows that Gauss-Vanick (GV) analysis of this diversity data detrended with a cubic also strongly signals a 62-million-year periodicity. Furthermore, it was found that neither GV analysis nor Fourier transform analysis of the nondetrended data leads to any statistically significant periodicity. The results show that the two techniques are equivalent.
Lateral bending of the lumbar spine during quadrupedalism in strepsirhines

Abstract Much research has been devoted to spinal kinematics of nonmammalian vertebrates, while comparatively little is known about the locomotor role of spinal movements in mammals, especially primates. This study, conducted at the Duke University Primate Center, examines the function of lateral spinal bending during quadrupedal walking among a diverse sample of strepsirhines. The taxa studied include Loris tardigradus (1), Nycticebus coucang (1), N. pygmaeus (1),Cheirogaleus medius (2), Varecia variegata (2), Eulemur fulvus (2), and a total sample size of 261 strides. Lateral bending varies among the taxa with respect to both magnitude and effects of velocity, and does not appear to be correlated with body size. In addition, the timing of lateral bending during a stride appears to differ from that reported for other (nonmammalian) tetrapods. On average, maximum lateral flexion occurs just after ipsilateral foot touchdown, which may be functionally associated with touchdown of the contralateral forelimb during diagonal sequence gait. For some of the taxa, lateral flexion coincides more closely with foot touchdown as velocity increases, suggesting a functional role in increasing hindlimb stride length. Both of these timing patterns contrast with those reported for lizards. Finally, although lorids as a group have been described as having a “sinuous” gait, this study shows more pronounced lateral flexion in Nycticebus than in Loris.
A Single-Chain Model to Predict Buckling in Active Gels

We present a single-chain theory to describe the dynamics of active actin gels, driven by motor proteins. Molecular motors create active cross-links between the semiflexible filaments. We model the semiflexible filaments as bead-spring chains; the active interactions between filaments are accounted for using a mean-field approach in which filaments have prescribed probabilities to undergo a transition from one motor attachment state into the other depending on the state of the probe filament. The level of description of the model includes the change in the end-to-end distance of the filaments, the attachment state of the filaments, and the motor-generated forces, as stochastic state variables which evolve according to a proposed differential Chapman-Kolmogorov equation. The motor-generated forces are drawn from a stationary distribution of motor stall forces that can be measured experimentally. The general formulation of the model allows accounting for physics that is not possible, or not practical, to include in available models that have been postulated on coarser levels of description. To obtain analytical results that provide insight into the microscopic mechanisms underlying the dynamics of active gels we first treat the special case of filaments as one-dimensional dumbbells, approximate the elasticity of the semiflexible filaments with a Hookean spring law, and assume that the transition rates are independent of the tension in the filaments. We show that even in this simplified form, the model predicts the buckling of individual filaments that is thought to be the underlying mechanism in the self-contraction of non-sarcomeric actin-mysoin bundles [Lenz et. al., PRL 108, 238107 (2012)]. The active dumbbell model also explains the violation of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem observed in microrheology experiments on active gels [Mizuno et. al., Science 315, 370-373 (2007)].
Influence of vitamin B12 and antibiotics on hatchability.

Abstract SEVERAL investigators have reported that vitamin B12 is essential for hatchability, and that it can successfully replace animal proteins as a source of vitamin B12. A.P.F. supplements containing this vitamin improved hatchability with an all-vegetable diet as reported by Lindstrom et al. (1949a), Carver and McGinnis (1950a), and Hill et al. (1950). Crystalline vitamin B12 has also been shown to support good hatchability by Petersen et al. 1950), Carver and McGinnis (1950b), and Milligan and Combs (1950). This paper reports the results obtained when hens, which had received various levels of vitamin B12 for an 8-week experimental period, were returned to the all-vegetable basal ration. The value of feeding antibiotics on hatchability with or without vitamin B12 has been investigated and the results are presented. EXPERIMENTAL Ninety-six White Leghorn hens were placed in individual raised wire-bottom laying cages at approximately 5 months of age. A ration low in vitamin B12, . . .
Characterization of spatial aliasing and contrast sensitivity in peripheral vision

Psychometric performance was measured for contrast detection and spatial resolution tasks in foveal and peripheral vision. Objective evidence was obtained for a quantitative difference between resolution acuity and detection acuity in the peripheral field. These two types of spatial acuity differed by up to an order of magnitude (3 vs 30 c/deg at 30 deg eccentricity) and they varied with stimulus contrast in distinctly different ways. Contrast sensitivity at the resolution limit was an order of magnitude above the absolute threshold of unity and the shape of the contrast sensitivity function was significantly different from that measured for foveal vision. The results suggest that current models of eccentricity scaling of contrast sensitivity be re-evaluated to take account of the extensive aliasing zone of spatial frequencies which becomes functional in peripheral vision when the retinal image is well focused.
Geometrodynamics of Schwarzschild black holes.

The curvature coordinates T, R of a Schwarzschild spacetime are turned into canonical coordinates T(r), ssR(r) on the phase space of spherically symmetric black holes. The entire dynamical content of the Hamiltonian theory is reduced to the constraints requiring that the momenta ${\mathit{P}}_{\mathit{T}}$(r), ${\mathit{P}}_{\mathit{s}\mathit{s}\mathit{R}}$(r) vanish. What remains is a conjugate pair of canonical variables m and p whose values are the same on every embedding. The coordinate m is the Schwarzschild mass and the momentum p the difference of parametrization times at right and left infinities. The Dirac constraint quantization in the new representation leads to the state functional \ensuremath{\Psi}(m;T,ssR]=\ensuremath{\Psi}(m) which describes an unchanging superposition of black holes with different masses. The new canonical variables may be employed in the study of collapsing matter systems.
Design and Implementation of a Continuous Microwave Heating System for Ballast Water Treatment

A continuous microwave system to treat ballast water inoculated with different invasive species was designed and installed at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. The effectiveness of the system to deliver the required heating loads to inactivate the organisms present was studied. The targeted organisms were microalgae (Nannochloropsis oculata), zooplankton at two different growth stages (newly hatched brine shrimp-Artemia nauplii and adult Artemia), and oyster larvae (Crassosstrea virginica). The system was tested at two different flow rates (1 and 2 liters per min) and power levels (2.5 and 4.5 kW). Temperature profiles indicate that, depending on the species present and the growth stage, the maximum temperature increase will vary from 11.8 to 64.9 °C. The continuous microwave heating system delivered uniform and near-instantaneous heating at the outlet, proving its effectiveness. The power absorbed and power efficiency varied for the species present. More than 80% power utilization effic...
Fluid and Solute Transport in Bone: Flow-Induced Mechanotransduction.

Much recent evidence suggests that bone cells sense their mechanical environment via interstitial fluid flow. In this review, we summarize theoretical and experimental approaches to quantify fluid and solute transport in bone, starting with the early investigations of fluid shear stress applied to bone cells. The pathways of bone interstitial fluid and solute movement are highlighted based on recent theoretical models, as well as a new generation of tracer experiments that have clarified and refined the structure and function of the osteocyte pericellular matrix. Then we trace how the fluid-flow models for mechanotransduction have evolved as new ultrastructural features of the osteocyte lacunar-canalicular porosity have been identified and how more recent in vitro fluid-flow and cell-stretch experiments have helped elucidate at the molecular level the possible pathways for cellular excitation in bone.
Analysis of an M/G/1/N queue with vacations and its application to FDDI asynchronous timed-token service systems

An M/G/1/N queuing system with vacations under dynamic time-limited service policy is analyzed. This methodology is used to develop a procedure for performance analysis of a fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) network serving buffer-limited stations under asynchronous service. An efficient iteration procedure is employed to evaluate the limiting state distribution of the embedded Markov chain representing the system state process. The queue size distribution at an arbitrary instant of time, the blocking probability and the mean packet delay are derived using supplementary variables and sample biasing techniques. Performance curves obtained under the approximations in deriving the time-domain packet delay distribution are illustrated. An iteration procedure for the analysis of a multistation FDDI network is presented. The analytical techniques presented yield results close to those obtained by simulations. >
Survival and Neurologic Recovery in Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Resuscitated From Cardiac Arrest

Objectives We examined outcomes of patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest owing to ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and predictors of survival and neurologic recovery. Background Immediately after resuscitation from cardiac arrest owing to STEMI, many patients show signs of neurologic impairment, and benefits of percutaneous coronary intervention and subsequent prognosis are not well defined. Methods Between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2006, we retrospectively identified consecutive patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest, regardless of time to return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and neurologic status, and reviewed the outcomes of those who had STEMI. Mortality and neurologic recovery at discharge and long-term mortality were assessed by individual chart review for those who underwent emergent angiography. Results Our study population consisted of 98 patients; 64% survived to discharge, and 92% had a full neurologic recovery. Predictors of survival were shorter time to ROSC, younger age, neurologic status post-resuscitation (alert or minimally responsive), and male sex. Predictors of neurologic recovery included shorter time to ROSC, neurologic status post-resuscitation (alert or minimally responsive), and younger age. Ninety-six percent of patients who were alert post-resuscitation survived. Ninety-three percent of patients who were minimally responsive post-resuscitation survived. Fifty-nine patients were unresponsive post-resuscitation, with 44% survival, of whom 88% had full neurologic recovery. In the unresponsive group, unwitnessed arrest, prolonged ROSC, and older age were associated with increased risk of death, and older age and prolonged ROSC predicted poor neurologic recovery. Conclusions When resuscitated patients with STEMI are being evaluated in the emergency department, serious consideration should be given to emergent angiography and revascularization, regardless of neurologic status.
Dealing with chaos: neural nets and fuzzy logic-tools for building products in the information age

The tools of neural networks, fuzzy logic, and the like are providing the first crude computational tools to deal with the nonlinear and complex nature of the world. A recent paper on neural nets talked about separating points in its dimensional space. The idea was incomprehensible to us only a few years ago and now such accomplishments are taken for granted. Chaos theory, antichaos, complexity and so on are fields that must deal with complexity to thrive. They promise to show us even better ways to understand and deal with our complex universe. It is proposed that these computational tools are at least the first crude attempts to allow us to better master our understanding of complexity. >
Alcohol and lipids.

Alcoholic fatty liver and hyperlipemia result from the interaction of ethanol and its oxidation products with hepatic lipid metabolism. An early target of ethanol toxicity is mito-chondrial fatty acid oxidation. Acetaldehyde and reactive oxygen species have been incriminated in the pathogenesis of the mitochondrial injury. Microsomal changes offset deleterious accumulation of fatty acids, leading to enhanced formation of triacylglycerols, which are partly secreted into the plasma and partly accumulate in the liver. However, this compensatory mechanism fades with progression of the liver injury, whereas the production of toxic metabolites increases, exacerbating the lesions and promoting fibrogenesis. The early presence of these changes confers to the fatty liver a worse prognosis than previously thought. Alcoholic hyperlipemia results primarily from increased hepatic secretion of very-low-density lipoprotein and secondarily from impairment in the removal of triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins from the plasma . Hyperlipemia tends to disappear because of enhanced lipolytic activity and aggravation of the liver injury. With moderate alcohol consumption, the increase in high-density lipoprotein becomes the predominant feature. Its mechanism is multifactorial (increased hepatic secretion and increased extra-hepatic formation as well as decreased removal) and explains part of the enhanced cholesterol transport from tissues to bile. These changes contribute to, but do not fully account for, the effects on atherosclerosis and/or coronary heart disease attributed to moderate drinking.
A Call To Combine Rhetorical Theory and Practice in the Legal Writing Classroom

The theory and practice of law have been separated in legal education to their detriment since the turn of the twentieth century. As history teaches us and even the 2007 Carnegie Report perhaps suggests, teaching practice without theory is as inadequate as teaching theory without practice. Just as law students should learn how to draft a simple contract from taking Contracts, they should learn the theory of persuasion from taking a legal writing course. In an economy where law apprenticeship has reverted from employer to educator, legal writing courses should do more than teach analysis, conventional documents, and the social context in which lawyers write. The legal writing professor's task is to impart to his or her students the intellectual ballast necessary to navigate complex analytical challenges in the workplace. By combining rhetorical theory and practice in the legal writing classroom, the professor can pique students' interest, hasten their learning, and help them develop transferable skills better than teaching by imitation alone. In addition, teaching the rhetorical nature of law in a legal writing course helps students debunk sooner the myth of black letter law in their doctrinal courses. Finally, as the Carnegie Report indicates, a more holistic approach to teaching can best blend the analytical and practical habits of mind that professional practice demands.... This Article begins with a brief history of the separation of theory and practice in the law classroom and the impact that it has had on the quality and reputation of writing as its own subject. The Article argues that despite a wave of pedagogical advances, legal writing as its own subject has ample room to grow. For legal writing courses to achieve intellectual maturity, they must incorporate rhetorical theory. To ignore it is to confirm Plato's suspicion that rhetoric is a discipline without a subject matter and to enable the insidious undervaluing of our profession. As detailed below, there are several advantages to teaching legal writing as rhetoric. Although not the focus of this Article, a corollary advantage may be to help legal writing faculty achieve academic equality, which benefits teacher and student alike. For a variety of reasons, this Article concludes that legal writing professors are responsible for teaching both practical skills as well as the theories that inform them.
High-Molecular-Weight, High-Unsaturation Copolymers of Isobutylene and Conjugated Dienes. I. Synthesis

Abstract This investigation has provided insight into the critical role of solution properties on the course of cationic polymerization and has led to a technique for reconciling the opposing demands for synthesis of isoolefin-diene copolymers both free from gel and high in molecular weight. By this technique, the synthesis of a broad range of intermediate-unsaturation elastomers of quality has been realized.
Real space imaging of co‐adsorbed CO and benzene molecules on Rh(111)

SUMMARY Scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) images of the c(2√3×4)rect layer of benzene and carbon monoxide co-adsorbed on the Rh(111) surface are shown. For the first time, individual CO molecules have been resolved, as well as ring-like benzene structures.
Microstructure of Rapidly Solidified W-Ni Alloys

Binary W-Ni alloys of four different compositions were rapidly quenched into thin foils. Microstructures and hardnesses of the as-quenched alloys were studied by TEM and hardness measurements. The results from the microstructural study show that the W grains and particles undergo extensive refinement and that the grain size is much smaller than that obtained in conventional alloys. In addition, the formation of WNi and W2Ni, the low melting temperature intermetallic compounds in the W-Ni system, was readily suppressed by rapid quenching. The hardness increase in rapidly solidified W-Ni alloys appears to have originated from the microstructural refinement.
Cardiac allograft vasculopathy--a changing perspective.

Together, recent clinical and basic studies show that Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is multi-factorial and regulated by interacting forces at different stages. Data show that at least three forms of vasculopathy (fibrosis, arteritis, atheroma) contribute to the thickening of graft vascular disease. Current therapy to prevent or treat CAV should focus on control of both alloantigen dependent and independent forces. In the future, therapies will be targeted at manipulation of the donor (to reduce antigenicity and ischemic injury) as well as manipulation of the recipient to attenuate or permanently interrupt the immune responses in a donor specific manner.
Breast conservation therapy in patients with stage T1-T2 breast cancer: current challenges and opportunities.

Objectives Despite the fact that breast conservation therapy has been established as an effective treatment, a number of issues and controversies currently surround the application of this treatment for patients with stage T1 and T2 breast cancer. Methods Records of patients with histologically confirmed stage T1 (n = 1172) and stage T2 (n = 349) breast cancer, treated with wide local tumor excision and whole breast irradiation between January 1970 and December 2000, were prospectively registered on our database. Median follow-up was 6.6 years. Numerous publications addressing issues to be reviewed were collected, and data and prevailing controversies are discussed. Results The 10-year actuarial incidence of ipsilateral breast relapse was 7% for T1 and 11% for T2 tumors. Results with breast conservation therapy were equivalent in white or black women with T1 or T2 tumors. In patients younger than 40 years, incidence of failures was 10% for T1 (in contrast to 4% for other age groups) and 15% for T2 lesions (in contrast to 6% in other groups). The incidence of ipsilateral recurrences in women younger than 40 years was, for T1 tumors, 9% with negative surgical margins and 12% with close or positive margins and for T2 tumors 12% and 22%, respectively (difference not statistically significant). Conclusions Use of breast-conserving surgical therapy should be optimized to enhance therapeutic outcome. Many developments in the oncological field and refinements in treatment planning and delivery of radiation therapy provide unique opportunities for the radiation oncologist to continue to play an integral role in the management of patients with breast cancer.
Protection and Sustainable Utilization of Lilium lancifolium,A Species in the Liliaceae Family

After reviewing the biological characteristics, geological distributions, chemical compositions and nutritional constituents of the plant species, the present paper has introduced emphatically its medicinal, ornamental and edible values, and its perspectives of sustainable exploitations and utilizations. It is shown that Lilium lancifolium is an important economic plant that is of high value but small in quantity and distributed unevenly. The authors suggest that introduction and domestication of wild resources, artificial propagations and cultivations, productions of effective components using biological methods and so on have to be firstly considered when the plant species are to be exploited and utilized.
The exploriatory study on the advanced PBO fiber composite

The application of PBO fiber and its composite are briefly introduced.Experimental analysis of the mechanical properties of PBO fiber/epoxy composite NOL rings prepared by pre impregnated and wet precesses winding respectively,and the testing research of NOL rings was carried out by electronic radiation treatment on PBO fiber.Pre impregnated roving wound Φ150mm pressure vessels were tested.The preliminary results show that no obvious improvment of interfacial properties of fiber/epoxy composite by electronic radiation treatment exists;The characteristic coefficient pV/W C of the vessels reach 47.55km.
Plasma fibronectin levels in clinical disease states and after cryoprecipitate infusion.

Fibronectin levels were measured in 151 hospitalized patients with liver disease, sepsis, malignancy, leukemia, and following trauma or surgery, using heterologous precipitating antibody in an immunoassay. The mean (+/- S.E.M.) in 25 controls was 0.95 +/- 0.06 U/ml, with females, 0.83 +/- 0.07 U/ml, lower than males, 1.09 +/- 0.09 U/ml. Mean fibronectin levels were decreased in all disease groups except in obstructive liver disease. The reduced levels in hepatocellular disease and the restoration of levels to normal after orthotopic liver transplantation in patients with hepatocellular disease supports the theory that hepatic synthesis contributes significantly to plasma fibronectin levels. Following cryoprecipitate infusion in four hemophiliac patients, plasma fibronectin levels rose to 32% to 45% of the levels predicted. In patients with reduced fibronectin and poor clinical response to standard treatment (antibiotics, chemotherapy), cryoprecipitate infusions may raise the levels of fibronectin and, perhaps, contribute to clinical improvement.
Anticoagulants in Pediatric Sinovenous Thrombosis

Safety and outcome of anticoagulant therapy in neonates and children with cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT) were determined in a study at the Hospital for Sick Children and Toronto Western Hospital, Ontario, Canada.
Acquired aplastic anemia

Aplastic anemia manifests with pancytopenia and a hypocellular bone marrow. The disease may be acquired or inherited. Most cases of acquired aplastic anemia result from autoimmune destruction of hematopoietic stem/progenitors and respond to immunosuppressive therapies. The inherited forms of aplastic anemia are less common and usually present within the first decade of life. Inherited bone marrow failure may be due to a variety of genetic mutations such as DNA repair defects (Fanconi anemia), telomerase defects (dyskeratosis congenita), ribosomopathies (Schwachman–Diamond syndrome), or cMPL mutations (amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia). Immunosuppressive therapy is not helpful for most inherited forms of bone marrow failure. This chapter will predominantly focus on acquired aplastic anemia; however, it is important to be aware of these less common inherited forms of aplastic anemia since they can sometimes be hard to distinguish from the acquired form of the disease.
Division of Labor in Insect Societies

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses division of labor in insect societies. Division of labor is one of the defining characteristics of the most extreme form of sociality in the animal kingdom, eusociality. Eusociality is defined by three traits: Cooperative care of young by members of the same colony; an overlap of at least two generations of adults in the same colony; and division of labor for reproduction, with sterile individuals working on behalf of fecund colony members. Females dominate the functioning of insect societies in which males play more diverse roles than in hymenopteran societies. There are two types of females in an insect society, queens and workers. Queens specialize in reproduction and may lay up to several thousand worker eggs per day. Workers are either completely or partially sterile, engage in little, if any, personal reproduction, and perform all tasks related to colony growth and maintenance. There is also a division of labor among the workers for tasks related to colony growth and maintenance. Colony division of labor, although highly structured, also shows great plasticity. Colonies respond to changing needs by adjusting the ratios of individual workers engaged in different tasks. There is plasticity in age-related division of labor, with workers being able to respond to changes in colony age demography with accelerated, retarded, or reversed behavioral development.
The differential virial theorem with gradient- and Laplacian-dependent operator formulas

Abstract A differential operator is given that can replace the two operators of the differential virial theorem that arise from the kinetic-energy operator. This new operator has a formula that depends only on the gradient and Laplacian operators. The differential virial theorem then becomes an equation containing operators with formulas that depend only on either the gradient operator or the gradient and Laplacian operators.
Risk factors and mortality associated with undertriage at a level I safety-net trauma center: a retrospective study

Purpose The primary objective of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with undertriage and the risk factors for mortality among the undertriaged patients at a level I safety-net trauma center. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed of all trauma patients who presented to a level I safety-net trauma center with an injury severity score >15 over a 2-year period (2013-2014). Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to determine the risk factors predictive of undertriage in major trauma patients (injury severity score >15) and of mortality in undertriaged patients. Results During the 2-year study period, 334 of 2,485 admitted trauma patients presented with major trauma and were included in our study. From the univariate analysis, variables that were found to be independently associated with mortality in undertriaged patients included intubation, Glasgow Coma Scale score, revised trauma score, and dementia. Independent risk factors that were found to be significantly associated with undertriage in severely injured trauma patients included Glasgow Coma Scale score, motor vehicle crash, falls, revised trauma score, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, intubation, and dementia. When a multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the statistically significant risk factors, dementia was found to be significantly associated with undertriage in severely injured trauma patients. Conclusion Severely injured trauma patients with dementia are at significant risk for undertriage. Early identification of these risk factors while triaging at a level I safety-net trauma center could translate into improved patient outcomes following severe trauma.
Abstract 867: Reproductive factors and risk of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma among women in Los Angeles

Background: Overall, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) incidence is higher in men than women, and the male to female ratio differs by NHL subtype. Historically, female reproductive characteristics and patterns have been inconsistently linked to NHL risk, though studies on this topic remain limited. Because a woman experiences changes in immune function during pregnancy, that permit her to establish and maintain a successful pregnancy, we hypothesize that such pregnancy-associated changes in immune function could affect the risk of NHL, a cancer of the immune cells. Methods: We conducted a population-based case-control study among women in Los Angeles County comprising 998 histologically confirmed B-cell NHL patients diagnosed 2004-2008 from the Los Angeles Cancer Surveillance Program and 998 individually matched controls (matched on age, race and socioeconomic status). Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate the associations [odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI)] between female reproductive factors (e.g., ever pregnant; number of full-term pregnancies; breastfeeding) with B-cell NHL overall and unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate the associations with major NHL subtypes. Results: Compared to women who had never been pregnant, women who had full-term pregnancies had 17% decreased risk of B-cell NHL (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.64-1.08); the decreased risk was most pronounced for the diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) subtype (OR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.47-0.98). Increasing number of full-term pregnancies was inversely associated with B-cell NHL overall (P-trend = 0.02), DLBCL (P-trend = 0.03) and follicular lymphoma (P-trend = 0.04). Women who had reported breastfeeding also had decreased risk of B-cell NHL overall (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.64-1.00) and follicular lymphoma (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.50-1.00). Among women who had full-term pregnancies, women who breastfed for 60 weeks or more had 30% decreased risk of B-cell NHL overall (OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.52-0.93; P-trend = 0.06), which was consistent for follicular lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL). Conclusions: Our results provide evidence for an association between female reproductive factors and decreased risk of B-cell NHL, supporting a role for hormonal factors in B-cell NHL etiology. Citation Format: Yani Lu, Jianning Luo, Sophia Wang, Jane Sullivan-Halley, Wendy Cozen, Leslie Bernstein. Reproductive factors and risk of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma among women in Los Angeles. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 867. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-867
Methods Matter: Tracking Health Disparities in Alternative High Schools.

Alternative high school (AHS) students are at-risk for school dropout and engage in high levels of health-risk behaviors that should be monitored over time. They are excluded from most public health surveillance efforts (e.g., Youth Risk Behavior Survey; YRBS), hindering our ability to monitor health disparities and allocate scarce resources to the areas of greatest need. Using active parental consent, we recruited 515 students from 14 AHSs in Texas to take a modified YRBS. We calculated three different participation rates, tracked participation by age of legal consent (≥18 and <18 years), and identified other considerations for obtaining quality data. Being required to use active consent resulted in a much lower cooperation rate among students <18 years (32%) versus those who were ≥18 years and could provide their own consent (57%). Because chronic truancy is prevalent in AHS students, cooperation rates may be more accurate than participation rates based off of enrollment or attendance. Requiring active consent and not having accurate participation rates may result in surveillance data that are of disparate quality. This threatens to mask the needs of AHS students and perpetuate disparities because we are likely missing the highest-risk students within a high-risk sample and cannot generalize findings.
High-temperature diode laser pumps for directed energy fiber lasers (Conference Presentation)

Kilowatt-class fiber lasers and amplifiers are becoming increasingly important building blocks for power-scaling laser systems in various different architectures for directed energy applications. Currently, state-of-the-art Yb-doped fiber lasers operating near 1060 nm operate with optical-to-optical power-conversion efficiency of about 66%. State-of-the-art fiber-coupled pump diodes near 975 nm operate with about 50% electrical-to-fiber-coupled optical power conversion efficiency at 25C heatsink temperature. Therefore, the total system electrical-to-optical power conversion efficiency is about 33%. As a result, a 50-kW fiber laser will generate 75 kW of heat at the pump module and 25 kW at the fiber laser module with a total waste heat of 100 kW. It is evident that three times as much waste heat is generated at the pump module. While improving the efficiency of the diodes primarily reduces the input power requirement, increasing the operating temperature primarily reduces the size and weight for thermal management systems. We will discuss improvement in diode laser design, thermal resistance of the package as well as improvement in fiber-coupled optical-to-optical efficiency to achieve high efficiency at higher operating temperature. All of these factors have a far-reaching implication in terms of significantly improving the overall SWAP requirements thus enabling DEW-class fiber lasers on airborne and other platforms.
Utilization of Patient-Reported Outcomes to Guide Symptom Management during Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer.

Introduction: Utilization of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to guide symptom management during radiation therapy is increasing. This study focuses on the use of the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite for Clinical Practice (EPIC-CP) as a tool to assess urinary and bowel bother during stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and its utility in guiding medical management. Methods: Between September 2015 and January 2017, 107 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer were treated with 35-36.25 Gy via SBRT in 5 fractions. PROs were assessed using EPIC-CP one hour prior to the first fraction (baseline) and after each subsequent fraction. Symptom management medications were prescribed based on physician clinical judgment or if patients reported a moderate to big problem. Clinical significance was assessed using a minimally important difference (MID) of 1/2 SD from baseline score. Results: A median baseline EPIC-CP urinary symptom score of 1.5 significantly increased to 3.7 on the day of the final treatment (p <0.0001). Prior to treatment, 9.3% of men felt their overall urinary function was a moderate to big problem that increased to 28% by the end of the fifth treatment. A median baseline EPIC-CP bowel symptom score of 0.3 significantly increased to 1.4 on the day of the final treatment (p <0.0001). Prior to treatment, 1.9% of men felt their overall bowel function was a moderate to big problem that increased to 3.7% by the end of the fifth treatment. The percentage of patients requiring an increased dose of alpha-antagonist increased to 47% by the end of treatment and an additional 28% of patients required a short steroid taper to manage moderate to big urinary problems. Similarly, the percentage of patients requiring anti-diarrheals reached 12% by the fifth treatment. Conclusion: During the course of SBRT, an increasing percentage of patients experienced clinically significant symptoms many of which required medical management. Monitoring patient symptoms during treatment allowed for prompt detection and management of acute urinary and bowel symptoms. The usage of symptom management medications was high in this study as compared to historical controls and may be due to increased physician awareness of moderate to big patient problems.
A new potential energy surface and state-to-state quantum dynamics of the Li + HF → H + LiF reaction

Abstract A new global potential energy surface (PES) for the ground ( X 2 A ′ ) state of the Li + HF → LiF + H reactive system is constructed by fitting 12,399 points computed at the UCCSD(T)-F12b/aug-cc-pV5Z level of theory. The use of a neural network method helps to achieve a high-fidelity fit with a root mean square error of 0.88 meV. Quantum dynamics calculations with full Coriolis coupling on the new PES yield both differential and integral cross sections over a range of energy. In agreement with experiment, the product angular distribution depends sensitively on collision energy, but all with a forward bias. Moderate internal excitation is found in the LiF product. The energy dependence of the integral cross section is in reasonably good accord with the experimental excitation function, although some quantitative differences persist. This late-barrier reaction shows a dramatic vibrational enhancement of reactivity. The mode specificity is rationalized using the Sudden Vector Projection model.
Managing Chronic Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

What are the effectiveness, benefits, and harms of therapies used to address symptoms and prevent adverse long-term outcomes in adults with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)?
OUTCOMES OF NON-SURGICAL PATIENTS WITH SEVERE TRICUSPID REGURGITATION AND CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE

A significant number of patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and congestive heart failure do not undergo corrective surgery and are medically managed. We sought to assess their characteristics and outcomes and compare them to those who underwent tricuspid valve surgery (TVS). This was
Increasing viral hepatitis knowledge among urban ethnic minority youth: findings from a community based prevention intervention.

Viral hepatitis (VH) knowledge among youth is understudied in the United States. There has been a rise in VH cases in the U.S. in the wake of the opioid epidemic. Innovative approaches to preventing the infection are needed especially in urban communities. This study presents preliminary findings from a community-based HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and VH prevention education intervention for ethnic minority youth in a northeastern urban community. We aimed to evaluate VH knowledge and factors associated with knowledge. Participants in the study completed a baseline survey followed by an exit survey measuring VH knowledge after the intervention. The survey was completed by 691 individuals. Logistic regression analyses were conducted and indicated that there was a significant increase (82.3%) in VH knowledge among youth who participated in the intervention. The development and implementation of VH knowledge interventions can be crucial in alleviating the rise of VH infections in the U.S.
What They Were Thinking Then: The Consequences for Macroeconomics during the Past 60 Years

This article explores the development of Keynesian macroeconomics in its early years, and especially in the Big Bang period immediately after the publication of The General Theory. In this period, as standard macroeconomics evolved into the "Keynesian-neoclassical synthesis," its promoters discarded many of the insights of The General Theory. The paradigm that was adopted had some advantages. But its simplifications have had serious consequences—including immense regulatory inertia in response to massive changes in the financial system and unnecessarily narrow application of accelerationist considerations (regarding inflation expectations).
Comparative analysis of microbiota along the length of the gastrointestinal tract of two tree squirrel species (Sciurus aberti and S. niger) living in sympatry.

Microbiota inhabiting the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of animals has important impacts on many host physiological processes. Although host diet is a major factor influencing the composition of the gut micro-organismal community, few comparative studies have considered how differences in diet influence community composition across the length of the GI tract. We used 16S sequencing to compare the microbiota along the length of the GI tract in Abert's (Sciurus aberti) and fox squirrels (S. niger) living in the same habitat. While fox squirrels are generalist omnivores, the diet of Abert's squirrels is unusually high in plant fiber, particularly in winter when they extensively consume fiber-rich inner bark of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). Consistent with previous studies, microbiota of the upper GI tract of both species consisted primarily of facultative anaerobes and was less diverse than that of the lower GI tract, which included mainly obligate anaerobes. While we found relatively little differentiation between the species in the microbiota of the upper GI tract, the community composition of the lower GI tract was clearly delineated. Notably, the Abert's squirrel lower GI community was more stable in composition and enriched for microbes that play a role in the degradation of plant fiber. In contrast, overall microbial diversity was higher in fox squirrels. We hypothesize that these disparities reflect differences in diet quality and diet breadth between the species.
Reconfigurable Hardware in Postsilicon Microarchitecture

Computer architects want to design processors that are general purpose yet have the performance of special-purpose hardware tailored to each application. Recently, this goal has led to a proliferation of hardware accelerators for important tasks, including machine learning and cryptography. Despite the benefits of these accelerators, we cannot possibly design and incorporate enough of them to benefit all of the workloads that the processor will run.
Remote Usability Testing of a Pediatric Trauma Dashboard

Health information technologies (HIT) can support care and coordination of pediatric trauma patients. This study adapted to a remote usability study protocol to test a HIT prototype that was designed using a participatory design process. The participants were mostly successful interacting with the prototype and were able to locate and understand necessary information. Several design and interaction issues were identified. The tests provided valuable feedback about the prototype’s design that will inform the final prototype for testing in a team-centric in situ setting when it is safe to do so.
What Are (Common) Fractions

Many would say these are the numbers written with a fractional line, the numerator at the top and the denominator at the bottom. That’s the most important thing. Most people think of positive numbers, that is, the numerator and denominator are positive integers, that is, natural numbers.