cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Extending a DWDM optical network test system to 10 Gbps ×4

In 2009 IMS3TW we presented a “Development Platform” for prototyping new multi-GHz ATE [1,2,3]. At that time, a complete multi-channel 2.5Gbps (per channel) test system was shown as the first application of the Development Platform. In this configuration, 9 transmitter channels (TX) and 9 receivers (RX) were used to test an all-optical Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) switching network. Additionally, several experimental modules were shown that supported signals in the 10 to 20Gbps range. In this present paper we incorporate elements from these prototypes into new, full-feature test modules targeting applications running at 2.5 to 20Gbps (per channel). Specifically, we are extending the optical test system to handle burst-mode DWDM packets with each wavelength running at 10Gbps (4-times that of the original system). Using 8 TX channels we achieve an aggregate data rate of 80Gbps within the burst-mode packet (similar for RX). Alternatively, some modules can be used to double the channel-count (up to 18), while operating at the lower 2.5Gbps rate. The new modules include interesting testability features such as: (1) provisions to support “loopback” testing of DUT output-to-inputs, (2) DC electrical tests, (3) 2-to-1 multiplexing up to 20Gbps, (4) ATE loopback self-test, and (5) ATE calibration paths. We have recently built multiple Development Platforms that can be operated independently or optionally synchronized using very low-jitter (∼1ps RMS) clock distribution paths.
Comparison of the inhibitory effects of spermine, papaverine and adrenaline upon isolated segments of the rat small intestine.

SUMMARY 1. In the rat isolated duodenal and ileal segments the active baseline force and spontaneous contractile frequency were inhibited by spermine; the relative potencies, estimated as an ED50, were adrenaline papaverine spermine. The changes in baseline force, but not frequency, due to spermine were sensitive to increased calcium. 2. The duodenum was always more sensitive to papaverine and adrenaline, but the relative sensitivities of the duodenum and ileum were essentially equal for spermine. 3. Inasmuch as the gastrointestinal mucosa of most species contains an abundance of polyamines, these results suggest that, in its free form, spermine may subserve a functional role in the inhibition of gastrointestinal motility.
Angiogenesis in brain tumors.

Angiogenesis is a complex process regulated by multiple stimulatory and inhibitory factors that are able to modulate the migration and/or proliferation of microvascular cells with the objective of formation of neovasculature from preexisting vessels. It involves well-coordinated steps including production and release of angiogenic factors, proteolytic degradation of extracellular matrix components to allow formation of capillary sprout, proliferation and directional migration of microvascular cells, and the final composition of new vessels [Senger (1996) Am. J. Pathol. 149:1-7]. Angiogenesis is present in a number of hypoxic and/or ischemic conditions in the central nervous system, in particular in infarctions and infectious processes. Angiogenesis also plays an important role in malignant primary tumors. Glioblastomas, the most malignant gliomas in adults, are among the most angiogenic of all human tumors. This review will examine recent data of the role of angiogenic growth factors in the neoplastic and reactive conditions in the brain.
Sensor network assisted teleoperation

Rapid advances in the field of sensing and sensor networks is opening the door to many new possibilities. This paper presents work related to interfacing a robot being controlled remotely via the Internet with a sensor network. The sensor network measurements are fed back to the operator and rendered in the form of a haptic force. This provides the operator with information regarding the environment and thus more efficient and safe operation. The challenge is to efficiently fuse the measurements from the different nodes and convey the result to the operator in an intuitive form. A centralized approach and a distributed approach for the fusion of sensed measurements are presented. In addition, experimental results are provided to highlight the concepts developed
Intranuclear trafficking of transcription factors: implications for biological control

The subnuclear organization of nucleic acids and cognate regulatory factors suggests that there are functional interrelationships between nuclear structure and gene expression. Nuclear proteins that are localized in discrete domains within the nucleus include the leukemia-associated acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and promyelocytic leukemia (PML) factors, the SC-35 RNA-processing factors, nucleolar proteins and components of both transcriptional and DNA replication complexes. Mechanisms that control the spatial distribution of transcription factors within the three-dimensional context of the nucleus may involve the sorting of regulatory information, as well as contribute to the assembly and activity of sites that support gene expression. Molecular, cellular, genetic and biochemical approaches have identified distinct protein segments, termed intranuclear-targeting signals, that are responsible for directing regulatory factors to specific subnuclear sites. Gene rearrangements that remove or alter intranuclear-targeting signals are prevalent in leukemias and have been linked to altered localization of regulatory factors within the nucleus. These modifications in the intranuclear targeting of transcription factors might abrogate fidelity of gene expression in tumor cells by influencing the spatial organization and/or assembly of machineries involved in the synthesis and processing of gene transcripts.
Laser-assisted extraction of pacemaker and defibrillator leads: the role of the cardiac surgeon.

Background The development of laser-assisted extraction techniques for chronically implanted pacemaker and defibrillator leads has reduced the need for open surgical removal. Reports of the mortality from laser-assisted extraction range from 1.9% to 3.4%. The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of major cardiovascular injury and emphasize the need for cardiothoracic surgical participation in this procedure. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed of 112 consecutive laser-assisted lead extractions at a single university medical center during a 6-year period. Patient and lead characteristics were analyzed as well as indications, outcomes, and major complications. Results Successful lead extraction was accomplished in 103 (92%) of the 112 patients. Elective sternotomy after failure of laser-assisted lead removal was successfully performed in 4 patients. Emergent surgical intervention was required in 4 patients for caval perforation (n = 2), subclavian vein injury (n = 1), or right atrial injury (n = 1). Three of the 4 patients requiring emergent intervention died, for an overall series mortality of 2.6%. In July of 2006, a policy of cardiothoracic surgeon presence during the laser-assisted extraction was instituted. Since that time, there has been one emergent sternotomy and one elective sternotomy for lead removal with no procedure-related deaths. Conclusions Despite recent advances in laser technology for the removal of pacemaker and defibrillator leads, the potential for major cardiovascular injury and death remains. Involvement of the cardiothoracic surgeon in both the preoperative decision-making process as well as the laser-assisted lead extraction is critical to prevent or emergently treat any major complications.
Quantifying the fiscal effects of trade reform

A general equilibrium tax model estimated for 60 countries provides a simple but rigorous method for estimating the fiscal impact of trade reform. Using a tax model of an open economy, Devarajan, Go, and Li provide a simple but rigorous method for estimating the fiscal impact of trade reform. Both the direction and the magnitude of the fiscal consequences of trade reform depend on the elasticities of substitution and transformation between foreign and domestic goods, so they provide empirical estimates of those elasticities. They also discuss the implications of their analysis for public revenue. In general, they find that it matters what the values of the two elasticities are relative to each other. If only one of the elasticities is low (close to zero), revenue will drop unequivocally as a result of tariff reform, reaching close to the maximum drop whether or not the other elasticity is high. For imports to grow and tariff collection to compensate for the tax cut, the import elasticity has to be high. Because of the balance of trade constraint, however, imports cannot substitute for domestic goods unless supply is able to switch toward exports. Hence, the export transformation elasticity has to be high as well. As substitution possibilities between foreign and domestic goods increase, a tariff reform can theoretically be self-financing. But if the elasticities are less than large, tax revenue will fall with tariff reduction and further fiscal adjustments will be necessary. Devarajan, Go, and Li provide empirical estimates of the possible range of values for the elasticities of about 60 countries, using various approaches. The elasticities range from 0 to only 3 in most cases - nowhere near the point at which tariff reform can be self-financing. This paper - a product of Public Economics, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to develop and apply tools to analyze fiscal reform. The authors may be contacted at sdevarajan@worldbank.org, dgo@worldbank.org.
Relationship of Affordable Care Act Implementation to Emergency Department Utilization Among Young Adults.

Study objective The 2010 provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) extended eligibility for health insurance for young adults aged 19 to 25 years. It is unclear, however, how expanded coverage changes health care behavior and promotes efficient use of emergency department (ED) services. Our objective was to use population-level emergency department data to characterize any changes in diagnoses seen in ED among young adults since the implementation of the ACA dependent coverage expansion. Methods We performed a difference-in-differences analysis of 2009 to 2011 ED visits from California, Florida, and New York, using all-capture administrative data to determine how the use of ED services changed for clinical categories after the ACA provision among young adults aged 19 to 25 years compared with slightly older adults unaffected by the provision, aged 26 to 31 years. Results We analyzed a total of 10,158,254 ED visits made by 4,734,409 patients. After the implementation of the 2010 ACA provision, young adults had a relative decrease of 0.5% ED visits per 1,000 people compared with the older group. For the majority of diagnostic categories, young adults' rates and risk of visit did not change relative to that of slightly older adults after the implementation of the ACA. However, although young adults' ED visits significantly increased for mental illnesses (2.6%) and diseases of the circulatory system (eg, nonspecific chest pain) (4.8%), visits decreased for pregnancy-related diagnoses and diseases of the skin (eg, cellulitis, abscess) compared with that of the older group (3.7% and 3.1%, respectively). Conclusion Our results indicate that increased coverage has kept young adults out of the ED for specific conditions that can be cared for through access to other channels. As EDs face capacity challenges, these results are encouraging and offer insight into what could be expected under further insurance expansions from health care reform.
Beware Buyer Power

The conventional antitrust wisdom is that buyer side market power or monopsony is so unusual and so rarely anticompetitive that it should not merit more than a scholarly afterthought. Moreover, these brief mentions typically say it is essentially the mirror image of seller power or that, while seller-side power is suspect since it leads to higher consumer prices, buyer-side power is usually benign, because the public should not care which layer of a distribution channel gets any potential savings that can arise. This short article discusses how buyer power can be anticompetitive. It also discusses how buyer power or monopsony power is not the reciprocal of seller power or monopoly power, and summarizes an American Antitrust Institute conference on the subject.
Preliminary Development of a Performance Assessment Tool for Documentation of History Taking in Child Physical Abuse.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to develop a performance assessment tool for the history-taking components of the medical evaluation of physical abuse in young children by (1) determining the consensus-based injury history and social components for documentation, (2) identifying preliminary performance standards, (3) assessing current level-specific performance using the created tools, and (4) evaluating reliability and validity of the created tools. METHODS: The Physical Abuse Assessment Tool (PHAAT) was developed in 2 steps: (1) a modified Delphi survey was used to identify the injury history and social components for documentation in a medical evaluation for physical abuse, and (2) level-specific ("novice," "competent," "expert") practice standards (minimum passing scores) were created using the identified components via the Angoff method. To evaluate validity, reliability, and level-specific performance of the PHAAT, a chart review of 50 consecutive cases from each of the 3 levels was performed. RESULTS: Seventy-one child abuse pediatricians and 39 social workers participated in the modified Delphi survey, and 67 child abuse pediatricians and 27 social workers participated in the Angoff method. The resulting PHAAT included 2 checklists for use based on presence or absence of a history of an injurious event. One-way analysis of variance shows significant differences in performance based on team level (P CONCLUSIONS: Initial evaluation suggests the PHAAT may be a reliable and valid practice assessment tool for the medical evaluation of physical abuse. Language: en
The Effect of a Magnetic Field on the Catalyzed Nondissociative Para hydrogen Conversion Rate

Publisher Summary This chapter describes all available results on the extrinsic field magnetocatalytic effect discovered several years ago. It is well known that the ortho-parahydrogen conversion may proceed by either of two mechanisms. One, the nondissociative, involves a nuclear spin singlet-triplet transition caused by interaction with magnetic sites present in the catalyst. The other, the dissociative mechanism, involves separation and recombination of the atoms. No effect of a magnetic field on the dissociative conversion has ever been confirmed. All of the remarks have reference to the nondissociative process. By magnetocatalytic effect is meant a change of a catalyzed reaction rate caused by a field produced externally or internally. An extrinsic field is one coming from the outside. The experimental results are classified according to the catalyst, or class of catalyst. There appear to be no results on a possible field effect for the homogeneous nondissociative conversion.
Influencing the size and anion selectivity of dimeric Ln(3+)[15-metallacrown-5] compartments through systematic variation of the host side chains and central metal.

Dimeric Ln3+[15-metallacrown-5] compartments selectively recognize carboxylates through guest binding to host metal ions and intermolecular interactions with the phenyl side chains. A systematic study is presented on how the size, selectivity, and number of encapsulated guests in the dimeric containers is influenced by the Ln3+[15-metallacrownCu(II)-5] ligand side chain and central metal. Compartments of varying heights were assembled from metallacrowns with S-phenylglycine hydroxamic acid (pgHA), S-phenylalanine hydroxamic acid (pheHA), and S-homophenylalanine hydroxamic acid (hpheHA) ligands. Guests that were examined include the fully deprotonated forms of terephthalic acid, isonicotinic acid, and bithiophene dicarboxylic acid (btDC). X-ray crystallography reveals that the side-chain length constrains the maximum and minimum length guest that can be encapsulated in the compartment. Compartments with heights ranging from 9.7 to 15.2 A are formed with different phenyl side chains that complex 4.3–9.2 A l...
Assessing factors that lead to use of appropriate technology handwashing stations in Mali, West Africa

Proper hand hygiene is an effective and efficient method to prevent diarrheal disease and acute respiratory infections, and their resulting deaths, particularly for children under 5 years old. Despite this evidence, handwashing rates remain seriously low in the developing world. This study presents results of a mixed methods approach and comprehensive monitoring strategy of five use variables (use of soap, handwashing station functionality, presence of cleansing agent including soap or white ash, ground wetness, and amount of water in the jug) over 2 years for 42–64 appropriate technology handwashing stations located in two communities in Mali, West Africa. Six factors were studied as potentially critical for lasting use of handwashing stations (gender, educational training, water proximity, seasonality, wealth, and station adoption). Statistically significant ( p
Autosomal Dominant Partial Epilepsy with Auditory Features

Auditory and language processing in 17 subjects with autosomal dominant partial epilepsy with auditory features (ADPEAF) was investigated by MRI, fMRI, and MEG and compared to 26 controls, in a study at Columbia University, New York.
Initial experience with 223Ra vial delivery (Alpharadin®) vs. unit dose delivery (Xofigo®)

2526 Objectives Radium-223 (223Ra) dichloride is used to treat castrate resistant prostate cancer that that has spread to bones. 223Ra can be delivered to the nuclear medicine clinics in either a vial or a unit dose. At our institution we used both methods: vial for the early access program (EAP) and unit dose for the FDA-approved product. With the protocol used for the EAP method, the prescribed dose was drawn using a syringe and then administered using a lead-shielded pump and a 10-minute infusion. Using the unit dose method, we administered the dose by hand over 1-3 minutes. Therefore, we compared the two administration methods for the amount of residual measured after administration. Methods This is a retrospective review of all the 223Ra doses administered at Stanford from Nov 2012 to Dec 2013. We compared the prescribed dosage, the administered dosage and the values of residual activity. Immediate adverse reactions were also recorded if present. Results There were 21 men, 58-85 year-old (average: 71.4 ± 9.8) who had 223Ra administrations. A total of 23 doses were delivered using the vial method (EAP), and 29 administrations were completed using the unit dose method. There were no immediate adverse reactions noted during any of the 52 administrations. The dosages and residual measurements post-injection are summarized in the table below (all in μCi). All the differences between Alpharadin® and Xofigo® deliveries were statistically significant. Conclusions The use of the unit dose method is more convenient for the patients, technologists and physicians (decreased administration time), reduces the residual activity while maximizing the dosage delivered to the patients, and has no increased rate of adverse reactions.
Home monitoring in infants and children with obstructive apnea.

There have been no reports of studies of the effectiveness of home monitoring in reducing mortality or morbidity in children with tracheostomies or with diagnoses such as Pierre Robin sequence, vocal cord paralysis, or tracheomalacia. The decision to prescribe a home cardiorespiratory monitor should be informed by a knowledge of the individual patient’s risk for obstructive apnea and the usefulness and limitations of this treatment modality. The available monitors are discussed. The author examines the usefulness of home monitoring and reviews the costs—both monetary and psychological—of the treatment.
Historic Shipwreck Preserves in Maryland

At present Maryland has one historic shipwreck preserve with a second, Mallows Bay, in the acquisition and planning stages, and others are being considered at Historic St. Mary’s City and Point Lookout (Figure 1). The first features a single resource, the German submarine U-1105; the second encompasses more than one hundred thirty wooden ships, most dating to World War I; and the others consider both maritime and once-terrestrial remains adjacent to Maryland’s first formal settlement (founded in 1634) and an eroded Civil War prisoner of war camp and hospital at the mouth of the Potomac River. This chapter focuses largely on the extant preserve, its creation, and the general response to it, as well as problems encountered past and present, and possible solutions to these. Comparable discussion for the other planned preserves follows.
Test-retest repeatability of patterns of brain activation provoked by bladder filling.

Objective To assess short-term repeatability of an fMRI protocol widely used to assess brain control of the bladder. fMRI offers the potential to discern incontinence phenotypes as well as the mechanisms mediating therapeutic response. If so, this could enable more targeted efforts to enhance therapy. Such data, however, require excellent test-retest repeatability. Methods Fifty-nine older women (age ≥60 years) with urgency incontinence underwent two fMRI scans within 5-10 min with a concurrent bladder infusion/withdrawal protocol. Activity in three brain regions relevant to bladder control was compared using paired t tests and intra-class correlation. Results There were no statistically significant differences in brain activity between the two consecutive scans in the regions of interest. Intra-class correlation was 0.19 in the right insula, 0.32 in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex/supplementary motor area, and 0.44 in the medial pre-frontal cortex. Such correlations are considered fair or poor, but are comparable to those from studies of other repeated fMRI tasks. Conclusions This is the first evaluation of the repeatability of a bladder fMRI protocol. The technique used provides a framework for comparing different fMRI protocols applied to brain-bladder research. Despite universal patient response to the stimulus, brain response had limited repeatability within individuals. Improvement of the investigational protocol should magnify brain response and reduce variability. These results suggest that although analysis of fMRI data among groups of subjects yields valuable insight into bladder control, fMRI is not yet appropriate for evaluation of the brain's role in continence on an individual level.
Privatization in the Neighborhood

Privatization has become one of the most powerful currents in global policy debates (Henig 1989; Kantor and Savitch 2002; Barber 2014). It has become a widely advocated policy in urban redevelopment (Gormley 1991; Judge et al. 1995). Henig wrote that “Notions that seemed provocative but quaint when first introduced by Milton Friedman four decades ago now occupy center stage” (Henig 2003, p. 38). In the USA, privatization commonly refers to government contracting out service delivery to private providers (Gormley 1991; Handler 1996; Henig 1989; Judge et al. 1995).
Assessing Multimodal Literacy in the Online Technical Communication Classroom

This article examines the teaching of a multimodal pedagogy in an online technical communication classroom. Based on the results of an e-portfolio assessment, the authors argue that multimodality c...
The circle of Willis predicts the antihypertensive effects of carotid artery stenting.

OBJECTIVE Carotid artery stenting (CAS) has antihypertensive effects, but the durability and degree of this response remain variable. The authors propose that this clinical variability is a function of the presence or absence of a complete circle of Willis (COW). Incomplete COWs perfuse through a higher-resistance pial collateral pathway, and therefore patients may require a higher mean arterial pressure (MAP). Carotid artery revascularization in these patients would reduce the end-organ collateral demand that has been hypothesized to drive the MAP response. METHODS Using a retrospective, nonrandomized within-subject case-control design, the authors compared the postoperative effects of CAS in patients with and without a complete COW by using changes in MAP and antihypertensive medication as end points. They recorded MAP and antihypertensive medications 3 months prior to surgery, preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, and at the 3-month follow-up. RESULTS Data were collected from 64 consecutive pati...
Impaired immune function in children and adults with Fanconi anemia.

Background Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by genome instability, bone marrow failure, and cancer predisposition. Previously, small studies have reported heterogeneous immune dysfunction in FA. Procedure We performed a detailed immunologic assessment in a large FA cohort who have not undergone bone marrow transplantation or developed malignancies. Comprehensive quantitative and functional immunologic assessment of 29 FA individuals was compared to healthy age-matched controls. Results Compared to non-FA persons of similar ages, FA individuals showed lower absolute total B cells (P < 0.001), lower memory B cells (P < 0.001), and decreased IgM (P < 0.001) but normal IgG. NK cells (P < 0.001) and NK cytotoxicity (P < 0.001) were decreased. CD4+ T cells were decreased (P = 0.022), while CD8+ T cell and absolute T-cell numbers were comparable. Cytotoxic T cells (P < 0.003), and antigen proliferation response to tetanus (P = 0.019) and candida (P = 0.019), were diminished in FA. Phytohemagglutinin responses and plasma cytokines were normal. Within FA subjects, adults and older children (≥10 years) exhibited higher CD8+ T cells than younger children (P = 0.004). Documented atypical infections were infrequent, although oral human papilloma virus (HPV) prevalence was higher (31% positive) in FA. Conclusions Overall, these results demonstrate a high rate of significant humoral and cellular immune dysfunction. Continued longitudinal study of immune function is critical to understand evolution with age, bone marrow failure, and cancer development.
Macro Model with Social Accouting Structure for Brazil

Abstract A general equilibrium model is presented for Brazil. It is based on a social accounting framework to ensure consistency. There are eight sectors and two income classes rural and urban. Among its features are the introduction of resource constraints. These can be either sector specific or combined. Corresponding factor prices are allowed to adjust to meet these constraints so that one has flexible prices by sectors. A number of policy options are discussed to demonstrate the methodology. The data base may be readily updated to reflect recent economic changes.
Automated diagnosis of HV/LV and floating gate faults in VLSI design

This paper presents automated methods and CAD programs to trace the connectivity of hierarchical netlists and detect HV/LV connection or floating gate faults in VLSI design. We describe algorithms and data structures for the flattening of a hierarchical netlist as well as detecting faults in a large circuit. The paper describes experimental results and GUI capability to highlight faults in Cadence schematic window.
Estimates of smoking before and during pregnancy, and smoking cessation during pregnancy: comparing two population-based data sources.

Objectives.We compared three measures of maternal smoking status—prepregnancy, during pregnancy, and smoking cessation during pregnancy—between the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) questionnaire and the 2003 revised birth certificate (BC).Methods.We analyzed data from 10,485 women with live births in eight states from the 2008 PRAMS survey, a confidential, anonymous survey administered in the postpartum period that is linked to select BC variables. We calculated self-reported prepregnancy and prenatal smoking (last trimester only) prevalence based on the BC, the PRAMS survey, and the two data sources combined, and the percentage of smoking cessation during pregnancy based on the BC and PRAMS survey. We used two-sided t-tests to compare BC and PRAMS estimates.Results.Prepregnancy smoking prevalence estimates were 17.3% from the BC, 24.4% from PRAMS, and 25.4% on one or both data sources. Prenatal smoking prevalence estimates were 11.3% from the BC, 14.0% from PRAMS, and 15.2% on one or b...
Modeling of the Passive Permeation of Mercury and Methylmercury Complexes Through a Bacterial Cytoplasmic Membrane

Cellular uptake and export are important steps in the biotransformation of mercury (Hg) by microorganisms. However, the mechanisms of transport across biological membranes remain unclear. Membrane-bound transporters are known to be relevant, but passive permeation may also be involved. Inorganic HgII and methylmercury ([CH3HgII]+) are commonly complexed with thiolate ligands. Here, we have performed extensive molecular dynamics simulations of the passive permeation of HgII and [CH3HgII]+ complexes with thiolate ligands through a model bacterial cytoplasmic membrane. We find that the differences in free energy between the individual complexes in bulk water and at their most favorable position within the membrane are ∼2 kcal mol–1. We provide a detailed description of the molecular interactions that drive the membrane crossing process. Favorable interactions with carbonyl and tail groups of phospholipids stabilize Hg-containing solutes in the tail–head interface region of the membrane. The calculated permea...
A temporal-frequency variant on robust-principle component analysis for segmentation of motile cilia in optical coherence tomography images (Conference Presentation)

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has established itself as an important tool for studying the role of cilia in Mucociliary Clearance (MCC) due to its ability to observe the cilia’s temporal characteristics over a large field of view. To obtain useful, quantitative measures of this dynamic morphology, the ciliated layer of tissue needs to be segmented from other static components. This is currently accomplished using Speckle Variance processing, a technique whose success relies on subjective thresholding and lacks sensitivity to other sources of speckle noise. We present a modified, frequency constrained, version of Robust Principle Component Analysis (RPCA) which we call Frequency Constrained RPCA (FC-RPCA) as an alternative method for dynamic segmentation of cilia from time-varying OCT B-scans. Based in Sparse Representation theory, FC-RPCA decomposes stacks of images in time into low-rank (static) and a sparse (dynamic) matrices. The sparse matrix represents the segmented cilia layer because of the sparse frequency spectrum exhibited by their characteristic beating pattern. This novel algorithm introduces an additional feature, a user defined frequency constraint on the sparse component, which prevents other sources of speckle noise, like slow moving mucus clouds at the tissues surface, from being segmented with the cilia. The algorithm was used to segment motile cilia in 17 datasets of ex-vivo human ciliated epithelium with high accuracy. Furthermore, FC-RPCA requires no parameter tuning across datasets, demonstrating its capability as a robust tool for processing large volumes of data. When compared with the standard Speckle Variance method, FC-RPCA performed with improved accuracy and selectivity.
Effects of Auxin and Cytokinin on Morphogenesis in Callus Tissue

Development, as applied to plants arising by sexual reproduction, refers to the sum of the gradual and progressive qualitative and quantitative changes which comprise the transformation of a zygote into a mature, reproductive plant. The phenomenon is characterized by changes in size and weight, appearances of new structures and functions and losses of former ones, and temporary spatial and temporal discontinuities and changes in rate. Of course it is quite appropriate to speak of development of individual organs as well as whole plants.
Competing Through Mass Customization

We consider a market with heterogeneous customer tastes served by a duopoly. In our base model the firms first decide whether to adopt MC, which enables a firm to provide each customer her ideal product configuration. A firm that chooses not to invest in MC serves a standard product. Following investment decisions, the firms competitively price their products. A customer evaluates a product alternative considering its price and misfit relative to her ideal point (and delay in our extended model). We solve for the resulting equilibrium and study its characteristics. We then study the competition between a firm that adopted MC and a firm that continues to sell standard products in more detail extending our base model to account for some key operational differences between these two firms: While the firm selling standard products usually carries product inventories, the firm selling custom products does not carry inventory, it makes-to-order and its customers incur waiting costs until they receive their orders. Our results are useful for characterizing conditions that favor custom and standard products under competition. We find that the value of mass customization critically depends on the firm’s competitive position, determined by its cost efficiency and perceived quality vis-a-vis its competitor: It may not be desirable even at zero cost due to its negative effect on price competition. A firm with an overall cost and quality disadvantage never adopts mass customization. We show that allowing firms to set custom prices for each product configuration leads to a broader adoption of mass customization compared to when they are restricted to uniform prices. Furthermore, we find that a customizing firm’s profit is not monotone in the market size and its ease of customization when competing against a firm selling standard products. We show that its competitive position crucially affects its ideal market size and its returns from improving the ease of customization.
Distinct Element Simulations of Shear Rupture in Dilatant Granular Media

AbstractThe development of shear rupture in granular media due to boundary deformation was captured using the distinct element method (DEM). Assemblages of nonspherical, three-dimensional particles...
Medical Trainees’ Formal and Informal Incident Reporting Across a Five-Hospital Academic Medical Center

Article-at-a-Glance Background Despite the importance of incident reporting for promoting patient safety, the extent to which residents and fellows (trainees) in graduate medical education (GME) programs report incidents is not well understood. A study was conducted to determine the prevalence of and variations in incident reporting across hospitals in an academic medical center. Methods Trainees enrolled in GME programs sponsored by the Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) completed (1) the Behavior Index Survey (BIS), which asked respondents if they knew how to locate incident forms and if they ever submitted an incident form, and (2) the Safety Culture Survey (SCS), which asked about the frequencies of their formal and informal incident reporting behaviors. Results Some 443 of 992 invited trainees (45% response rate) participated in the study. Of the 305 BIS respondents who rotated through all five hospitals, varying proportions knew how to locate an incident form (22.3%–31.5%) and had completed an incident form (6.2%–20%) in each hospital. Incident report completion rates were higher (20.1%–81.3%) among trainees who knew how to locate an incident form. Higher proportions of the 443 SCS respondents had informally discussed an incident with other trainees (90%), faculty physicians (70%), and at resident meetings and conferences (73%). Discussion The study confirms that GME trainees formally report incidents rarely. The flow of communication to and from trainees about patient safety and incidents is low, despite an organizational focus on safety and quality. Discussion of safety issues among trainees occurs more informally among colleagues and peers than with faculty or through formal reporting mechanisms. The data suggest a number of strategies to increase the culture of safety among GME trainees.
Using Virtual Environments Simulation to Improve Construction Safety: An Application of 3D Online-Game Based Training

Construction safety is consistently an important issue in the Architecture, construction and engineering (ACE) industries and attracts continuously effort to worldwide. However, lives are deprived every year due to construction accidents. Taking the United States as example, in 2009 there are 18.8% fatalities occurred in construction. Different efforts have been taken to enhance the safety and mitigate the accidents frequency, and the educational information technology is one of them. Meanwhile with the fast development of internet, the virtual environments based 3D online games present constructive educational features for safety training, especially to the young generations. This approach is especially applicable in construction as most construction-related accidents are destructive and are dangerous to teach in a jobsite-based training. This paper presents the new training application that uses 3D online computer games for electrical hazards awareness enhancement in the U.S. construction industry.
Evaluation of Viscoelastic Properties and Cracking Behaviour of Asphalt Mixtures with Laboratory Aging

Aging can significantly affect the performance of asphalt mixtures causing increase in stiffness, reduction in relaxation capability and increase in brittleness. These changes can be quantified through viscoelastic properties and cracking behaviour of asphalt mixtures. In this study, six mixtures are evaluated using different laboratory conditioning protocols (loose mixture conditioned at various temperatures and durations to represent different aging levels) to evaluate how the viscoelastic, fatigue, and fracture properties of the mixtures will change over time. Comparison of viscoelastic characterization between different aging levels and mixtures is conducted by using complex modulus testing. Semi Circular Bending (SCB) and Disk Shaped Compact Tension (DCT) tests are used to evaluate the fracture behaviour of the mixtures. The Simplified Viscoelastic Continuum Damage (S-VECD) testing is used to estimate the ability of the mixtures to resist fatigue cracking. The results indicate that the viscoelastic, fatigue and fracture properties of the mixtures change significantly with aging. The two long term conditioning protocols induce statistically similar changes in linear viscoelastic properties and fatigue properties but produce differences in fracture indices. In this study, two virgin mixtures generally have better fracture and fatigue performance than the four mixtures with RAP. Two mixtures which have the largest difference between the high and low performance grade temperatures show the largest change in fracture and fatigue properties with aging.
Prevalence and phenomenology of violent ideation and behavior among 200 young people at clinical high-risk for psychosis: an emerging model of violence and psychotic illness.

In a previously reported longitudinal study of violent ideation (VI) and violent behavior (VB) among 200 youths at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis, we found that VI, hitherto underinvestigated, strongly predicted transition to first-episode psychosis (FEP) and VB, in close temporal proximity. Here, we present participants’ baseline characteristics, examining clinical and demographic correlates of VI and VB. These participants, aged 13–30, were examined at Columbia University Medical Center’s Center of Prevention and Evaluation, using clinical interviews and the structured interview for psychosis-risk syndromes (SIPS). At the onset of our longitudinal study, we gathered demographics, signs and symptoms, and descriptions of VI and VB. One-third of participants reported VI (n = 65, 32.5%) at baseline, experienced as intrusive and ego-dystonic, and associated with higher suspiciousness and overall positive symptoms. Less than one-tenth reported VB within 6 months of baseline (n = 17, 8.5%), which was unrelated to SIPS-positive symptoms, any DSM diagnosis or other clinical characteristic. The period from conversion through post-FEP stabilization may be characterized by heightened risk of behavioral disinhibition and violence. We provide a preliminary model of how violence risk may peak at various points in the course of psychotic illness.
Calculations of the Unsteady, Three-Dimensional Flow Field Inside a Motored Wankel Engine

A computer program (referred to as UF-LRC-3D) was developed for studying the unsteady, three-dimensional flow field inside the combustion chambers of motored Wankel engines as a function of engine design and operating parameters. This paper presents the details of the governing equations and the numerical method used by UF-LRC-3D. Also presented are numerical solutions generated by UF-LRC-3D showing the velocity field inside a motored Wankel engine, the mixing of nonhomogeneous fuel-air mixtures that enter through the intake port, and the mixing that takes place when a gaseous fuel is injected into the combustion chamber during compression.
30-Day readmission rates, diagnoses, and risk factors following pediatric airway surgery

Abstract Background In the last few decades, the increased survival of premature infants and critically ill children have led to the increased frequency and complexity of pediatric airway procedures. Minimizing readmission rates following these procedures is important to maximize health outcomes and cost effectiveness. This study examines the incidence, reasons, and risk factors for hospital readmissions following pediatric airway surgeries in a large, nationally representative sample. Methods Pediatric airway surgeries performed across 22 states in 2014 were identified using data from the Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD). Airway surgeries were identified and categorized using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes into the following categories: tracheostomy, repair of larynx, repair of trachea, laryngeal excision, tracheal excision, bronchoscopy, laryngoscopy, laryngotracheal diagnostic procedures, other operations on larynx, and other operations on trachea. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify factors significantly correlated with readmissions. Results 10,289 pediatric airway procedures over 7120 visits were identified. 954 readmissions were identified for an overall readmission rate of 13.4%. 613 of these readmissions were related to the initial procedure, yielding a relevant readmission rate of 8.6%. On univariate analysis, factors that varied significantly with readmission rates included number of diagnoses on record (OR 1.06), number of chronic conditions (OR 1.18), number of procedures (OR 1.07), public insurance status (OR 1.39), bottom quartile median household income in patient zip code (OR 1.29), teaching hospital status (OR 1.60), and chronic perinatal respiratory disease (OR 1.45). On multivariate analysis, significant predictors included number of diagnoses (OR 1.02), number of chronic conditions (OR 1.13), and bottom quartile median household income in patient zip code (OR 1.20). The most common categories for readmission were respiratory distress (36%), infection (24%), and pneumonia (14%). The top overall individual reasons for readmission were stenosis of larynx (7.3%) and pneumonia (5.9%). Conclusions Pediatric airway surgeries have relatively high rates of readmission. Strategies to reduce readmissions should involve addressing health disparities and employing a multidisciplinary approach to improve care for medically complex patients.
Is Disorder Beneficial in Perovskite-Sensitized Solid-State Upconversion? The Role of DBP Doping in Rubrene

Solid-state bulk lead halide perovskite thin films have recently shown progress as triplet sensitizers in infrared-to-visible photon upconversion (UC) schemes. Common systems pair lead halide perov...
Housing Price Prediction via Improved Machine Learning Techniques

Abstract House Price Index (HPI) is commonly used to estimate the changes in housing price. Since housing price is strongly correlated to other factors such as location, area, population, it requires other information apart from HPI to predict individual housing price. There has been a considerably large number of papers adopting traditional machine learning approaches to predict housing prices accurately, but they rarely concern about the performance of individual models and neglect the less popular yet complex models. As a result, to explore various impacts of features on prediction methods, this paper will apply both traditional and advanced machine learning approaches to investigate the difference among several advanced models. This paper will also comprehensively validate multiple techniques in model implementation on regression and provide an optimistic result for housing price prediction.
Supporting Youth Purpose in Adolescence: Youth-Adult Relationships as Ecological Assets

Having or developing a sense of purpose is an important component of positive adolescent development. However, there is limited empirical understanding of how youth purpose develops and what aspects of youth’s ecologies best support purpose development during adolescence. This chapter seeks to provide insight into how significant adults, both parents and non-parental adults, serve as ecological assets that may support purpose development for youth during adolescence. We begin by discussing how developmental and ecological theories can inform the broader literature on youth purpose. We then present findings from a study examining the development, characteristics, and influence of youth–adult relationships across multiple contexts and over key transition points across adolescence, focusing on the ways in which relationships with parents and other significant adults can play a key role in cultivating and nurturing purpose development during adolescence. We close by discussing implications for understanding effective ways of supporting purpose development during adolescence and the benefits of mixed methods research for those aims.
Responding to social isolation among older adults through lifelong learning: Lessons and questions during COVID-19

As local systems shift to meet their constituents’ needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, lifelong learning institutes showcase positive responses to addressing the older adults’ needs. Older adults h...
Review: The Movement and the Middle East: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Divided the American Left, by Michael R. Fischbach

The U.S. Left has historically been a shining exception to American support for Israeli Zionism and Israel as a settler-colonial project, but not without conflict and contradiction. In The Movement...