cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Associations Between Adverse Childhood Experiences, High-Risk Behaviors, and Morbidity in Adulthood

Introduction Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with early mortality and morbidity. This study evaluated the association among ACEs, high-risk health behaviors, and comorbid conditions, as well as the independent effect of ACE components. Methods Data were analyzed on 48,526 U.S. adults from five states in the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. Exposures included psychological, physical, and sexual forms of abuse as well as household dysfunction such as substance abuse, mental illness, violence, and incarceration. Main outcome measures included risky behaviors and morbidity measures, including binge drinking, heavy drinking, current smoking, high-risk HIV behavior, obesity, diabetes, myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, stroke, depression, disability caused by poor health, and use of special equipment because of disability. Multiple logistic regression assessed the independent relationship between ACE score categories and risky behaviors/comorbidities in adulthood, and assessed the independent relationship between individual ACE components and risky behaviors/comorbid conditions in adulthood controlling for covariates. Results A total of 55.4% of respondents reported at least one ACE and 13.7% reported four or more ACEs. An ACE score ≥4 was associated with increased odds for binge drinking, heavy drinking, smoking, risky HIV behavior, diabetes, myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, stroke, depression, disability caused by health, and use of special equipment because of disability. In addition, the individual components had different effects on risky behavior and comorbidities. Conclusions In addition to having a cumulative effect, individual ACE components have differential relationships with risky behaviors, morbidity, and disability in adulthood after controlling for important confounders.
Pathways to the Geosciences Summer High School Program: A Ten-Year Evaluation.

ABSTRACT The high demand for scientists and engineers in the workforce means that there is a continuing need for more strategies to increase student completion in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. The challenge lies in finding and enacting effective strategies to increase students' completion of STEM degrees and in recruiting students to these disciplines, especially those from underrepresented minority groups. This article presents results from 10 years of data from collected during a 2-week summer program for high school students in geosciences targeted at participants of Hispanic American origin in El Paso, Texas. The short-term goal of the program was to introduce the students to the geosciences and to inform them of the possibilities of the geosciences as a college major and career choice. The long-term goal was to form a pipeline from the summer program to undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of Texas at El Paso. Short-term indicators show statisticall...
In Defense of the Underused, Much-Abused Student-Authored Recent-Developments Note

With the advent of improved dissemination technology, the time has come for the renaissance of the student-authored recent-developments note — a brief, neutral, detached, critical, intellectual commentary and analysis of a single important case or piece of legislation. Once the staple of student law review writing, they have been discarded in favor of more sophisticated scholarship and as a concession to students’ heavy editing burdens. Legal scholarship is suffering from symptoms that link directly with its absence because students who write less scholarship are less likely to be effective writers and editors. Part II uses the development of student writing at the Harvard Law Review to illustrate the critical, valued role the recent-developments note has historically played. Part III charts the current anemic state of the recent-developments note and discusses two possible causes: the editorial burden created by the increased use of discursive footnotes, and the belief by some that the role of legal reporter, once played by the recent-developments note, is now adequately (if not completely) filled by legal blogs (or blawgs) and legal news services. To test this assumption that blogs are making recent-development notes obsolete, Part III also analyzes the blog traffic of one recent case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, U.S. v. Kramer, to demonstrate that because blog traffic tends to be reactionary or limited in its coverage, it does not always adequately address the issues raised by a decision. And if this one sample decision from a federal appeals court does not receive adequate attention, it is even more likely to be true of lower federal court or state court decisions. There is space in our legal discourse for strong student scholarship, which adds breadth and depth to an analysis of an issue, and, in this age of improved dissemination, the notes can even be timely. Reintroducing these notes into the law review will benefit the legal readership, but — as discussed in Part IV — it will also have significant benefit for the students learning the form and substance of legal scholarship, and for the faculty authors who will benefit from more experienced editors. The article ends with a few suggestions for ensuring that recent-developments notes are efficiently produced without significant additional burden on law review staffs, and are timely and effectively offered to readers.
Zhu Chen: health care reform in China

As China's economy continues to prosper, adequate health care for all people has become an uppermost issue for the government. In 2007, as China began its reform of the health care system on a scale unprecedented in recent history, Zhu Chen was appointed to head the Ministry of Health and took charge of this formidable task. Since leaving his Ministry post in 2013, Chen remains actively involved in the formulation of China's health care-related policies in his capacity as a Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, the Chairman of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, and most recently the President of the Red Cross Society of China. In addition to his achievements in administrative services, Chen also had a distinguished research career and is internationally recognized for his contribution in developing the most effective therapy for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). In a recent interview with NSR, Chen summarized and reflected upon his experience as the Health Minister, and expressed his view on the current status and future prospect of health care reform in China, and a variety of related issues in translational medicine, medical personnel training, precision medicine, and big data for health care in China.
Simulating Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Properties Using Damped Cubic Response Theory within Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory

A general implementation for damped cubic response properties is presented using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) and Slater-type orbital basis sets. To directly calculate two-photon absorption (TPA) cross sections, we also present an implementation of a reduced damped cubic response approach. Validation of the implementations includes a detailed comparison between response theory and the sum-over-states approach for calculating the nonlinear optical properties of LiH, as well as a comparison between the simulated and experimental TPA and third-harmonic generation (THG) spectra for the dimethylamino-nitrostilbene (DANS) molecule. The study of LiH demonstrates the incorrect pole structure obtained in response theory due to the adiabatic approximation typically employed for the exchange-correlation kernel. For DANS, we find reasonable agreement between simulated and experimental TPA and THG spectra. Overall, this work shows that care must be taken when calculating higher-order response funct...
Old hardware new students: using old computing machinery in the modern classroom

This paper describes the use of 8-bit computers (circa 1980's) in a learning module as part of a CS-2 course. The overall goal of the described module is to give students the opportunity to apply their problem solving strategies in a completely foreign programming situation. Other potential lessons from using old computing hardware such as computing history, programming language design, interface design, and computer architecture are also discussed. Finally, student reaction to this innovative module is presented.
The effect of sample storage on the extraction of Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn and organic material from oxidized estuarine sediments

Concentrations of extractable Cu, Zn, Fe and Mn in oxidized estuarine sediment are influenced by the manner and time of storage between collection and extraction. No storage method tested completely preserves the initial chemical and physical characteristics of the sediment. Freezing or (for some extractions) drying are adequate methods of storage if sediments are to be extracted only with acids. However, if a variety of extractants is to be used, extractions should be conducted as soon as practical after collection.
Effect of the Δ6‐desaturase inhibitor SC‐26196 on PUFA metabolism in human cellsinhibitor SC‐26196 on PUFA metabolism in human cells

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of 2,2-diphenyl-5-(4-{[(1E)-pyridin-3-yl-methylidene]-amino}piperazin-1-yl)pentanenitrile (SC-26196), a Δ6-desaturase inhibitor, on PUFA metabolism in human cells. SC-26196 inhibited the desaturation of 2 μM [1-14C] 18∶2n−6 by 87–95% in cultured human skin fibroblasts, coronary artery smooth muscle cells, and astrocytes. By contrast, SC-26196 did not affect the conversion of [1-14C]20∶3n−6 to 20∶4 in the fibroblasts, demonstrating that it is selective for Δ6-desaturase. The IC50 values for inhibition of the desaturation of 2 μM [1-14C] 18∶3n−3 and [3-14C]24∶5n−3 in the fibroblasts, 0.2–0.4 μM, were similar to those for the inhibition of [1-14C] 18∶2n−6 desaturation, and the rates of recovery of [1-14C] 18∶2n−6 and [3-14C] 24∶5n−3 desaturation after removal of SC-26196 from the culture medium also were similar. SC-26196 reduced the conversion of [3-14C] 22∶5n−3 and [3-14C] 24∶5n−3 to DHA by 75 and 84%, respectively, but it had no effect on the retroconversion of [3-14C] 24∶6n−3 to DHA. These results demonstrate that SC-26196 effectively inhibits the desaturation of 18- and 24-carbon PUFA and, therefore, decreases the synthesis of arachidonic acid, EPA, and DHA in human cells. Furthermore, they provide additional evidence that the conversion of 22∶5n−3 to DHA involves Δ6-desaturation.
A Cross-Sectional Study on the Relationship Between Utilization of Root Cause Analysis and Patient Safety at 139 Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers

Article-at-a-Glance Background Empirical evidence is limited that root cause analysis (RCA), an event analysis tool used in health care to evaluate the systemic factors that lead to adverse events, improves patient safety. A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the relationship between RCA and patient safety. Methods RCA data were collected for the 139 Department of Veteran Affairs medical centers (VAMCs) in the National Center for Patient Safety database from 2004 through 2006. Participants were divided into three RCA utilization categories on the basis of their yearly RCA rate: (1) fewer than 4 RCAs, (2) 4 to 5 RCAs, and (3) 6 or more RCAs per year. An analysis of variance was conducted of each Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) across the three RCA utilization categories. Results Facilities completed between 3 and 59 RCAs in the three-year period (mean RCA utilization rate, 4.86 RCAs per year). In this period, RCA actions by facility ranged from 9 to 323 (mean, 28 actions per year per facility). Mean patient-days of care, facility budget, surgical volume, and the number of strong improvement actions were significantly different across RCA utilization categories. The mean rates of PSI 9 (Postoperative Hemorrhage or Hematoma), PSI 10 (Postoperative Physiologic and Metabolic Derangements), and PSI 13 (Postoperative Sepsis) were significantly different across RCA utilization categories. Conclusions Large, high-spending VAMCs conduct more RCAs per year than smaller, low-spending facilities. VAMCs that do more RCAs develop more corrective actions. VAMCs that complete fewer than four RCAs per year have higher rates of postoperative complications. It is unclear if RCAs are associated with a functional patient safety program or directly improve patient safety.
SU-F-T-337: Accounting for Patient Motion During Volumetric Modulated Ac Therapy (VMAT) Planning for Post Mastectomy Chest Wall Irradiation

Purpose: To evaluate two dose optimization strategies for maintaining target volume coverage of inversely-planned post mastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) plans during patient motion. Methods: Five patients previously treated with VMAT for PMRT at our clinical were randomly selected for this study. For each patient, two plan optimization strategies were compared. Plan 1 was optimized to a volume that included the physician's planning target volume (PTV) plus an expansion up to 0.3 cm from the bolus surface. Plan 2 was optimized to the PTV plus an expansion up to 0.3 cm from the patient surface (i.e., not extending into the bolus). VMAT plans were optimized to deliver 95% of the prescription to 95% of the PTV while sparing organs at risk based on clinical dose limits. PTV coverage was then evaluated following the simulation of patient shifts by 1.0 cm in the anterior and posterior directions using the treatment planning system. Results: Posterior patient shifts produced a difference in D95% of around 11% in both planning approaches from the non-shifted dose distributions. Coverage of the medial and lateral borders of the evaluation volume was reduced in both the posteriorly shifted plans (Plan 1 and Plan 2). Anterior patient shifts affected Plan 2 more than Plan 1 with a difference in D95% of 1% for Plan 1 versus 6% for Plan 2 from the non-shifted dose distributions. The least variation in PTV dose homogeneity for both shifts was obtained with Plan 1. However, all posteriorly shifted plans failed to deliver 95% of the prescription to 95% of the PTV. Whereas, only a few anteriorly shifted plans failed this criteria. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest both planning volume methods are sensitive to patient motion, but that a PTV extended into a bolus volume is slightly more robust for anterior patient shifts.
Solidification of additive-enhanced phase change materials in spherical enclosures with convective cooling

Abstract Solidification of eicosane with and without nanoadditives is experimentally investigated in spherical enclosures subject to convective cooling in water and air. The effects of additive volume fraction and external convective cooling conditions (i.e., the heat transfer medium, subcooling, and flow velocity) on the solidification process are examined. The results are compared with a conduction-controlled thermal network model accounting for the enclosure and PCM resistances, as well as the convective subcooling. The experimentally determined solidification time is found to be consistently lower than the model prediction, likely due to asymmetric and dendritic solidification, as well as natural convection inside the enclosure and possible thermocouple position errors. A simple correlation is proposed to predict the solidification time of a phase change material (PCM) in a spherical enclosure subject to convective cooling based on the same enclosure subject to a constant temperature boundary. Results show that the solidification time decreases with the volume fraction of nanoadditives due to the improved PCM conductivity. In addition, the nanoadditives are found to be more effective for solidification in water than in air, due to the large air-side convective resistance that does not benefit from improving PCM conductivity.
Theory of prokaryotic genome evolution

Bacteria and archaea typically possess small genomes that are tightly packed with protein-coding genes. The compactness of prokaryotic genomes is commonly perceived as evidence of adaptive genome streamlining caused by strong purifying selection in large microbial populations. In such populations, even the small cost incurred by nonfunctional DNA because of extra energy and time expenditure is thought to be sufficient for this extra genetic material to be eliminated by selection. However, contrary to the predictions of this model, there exists a consistent, positive correlation between the strength of selection at the protein sequence level, measured as the ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous substitution rates, and microbial genome size. Here, by fitting the genome size distributions in multiple groups of prokaryotes to predictions of mathematical models of population evolution, we show that only models in which acquisition of additional genes is, on average, slightly beneficial yield a good fit to genomic data. These results suggest that the number of genes in prokaryotic genomes reflects the equilibrium between the benefit of additional genes that diminishes as the genome grows and deletion bias (i.e., the rate of deletion of genetic material being slightly greater than the rate of acquisition). Thus, new genes acquired by microbial genomes, on average, appear to be adaptive. The tight spacing of protein-coding genes likely results from a combination of the deletion bias and purifying selection that efficiently eliminates nonfunctional, noncoding sequences.
Self-efficacy theory applied to undergraduate biomechanics instruction

Abstract Undergraduates are usually required to complete one or more biomechanics courses in a movement science curriculum. Students often avoid taking this course, perhaps because they have a reduced perception of success due to low self-efficacy with the perceived content, particularly related to mathematics. Student learning may be increased through the self-efficacy theory constructs of performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal. Within these, instructors may enhance student learning by: increasing students’ perception of the content's application, reducing the use of technical equipment, utilizing modern presentation technologies, and emphasizing qualitative understanding. This paper will detail each of these.
Three Aspects on Using Convolutional Neural Networks for Computer-Aided Detection in Medical Imaging

Deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) enable learning trainable, highly representative and hierarchical image feature from sufficient training data which makes rapid progress in computer vision possible. There are currently three major techniques that successfully employ CNNs to medical image classification: training the CNN from scratch, using off-the-shelf pretrained CNN features, and transfer learning , i.e., fine-tuning CNN models pretrained from natural image dataset (such as large-scale annotated natural image database: ImageNet) to medical image tasks. In this chapter, we exploit three important factors of employing deep convolutional neural networks to computer-aided detection problems. First, we exploit and evaluate several different CNN architectures including from shallower to deeper CNNs: classical CifarNet, to recent AlexNet and state-of-the-art GoogLeNet and their variants. The studied models contain five thousand to 160 million parameters and vary in the numbers of layers. Second, we explore the influence of dataset scales and spatial image context configurations on medical image classification performance. Third, when and why transfer learning from the pretrained ImageNet CNN models (via fine-tuning) can be useful for medical imaging tasks are carefully examined. We study two specific computer-aided detection (CADe) problems, namely thoracoabdominal lymph node (LN) detection and interstitial lung disease (ILD) classification. We achieve the state-of-the-art performance on the mediastinal LN detection and report the first fivefold cross-validation classification results on predicting axial CT slices with ILD categories. Our extensive quantitative evaluation, CNN model analysis, and empirical insights can be helpful to the design of high-performance CAD systems for other medical imaging tasks, without loss of generality.
A new rapid and efficient method to estimate browse impacts from twig age

Abstract High densities of white-tailed deer restrict the regeneration of tree species, reduce understory cover and diversity, enhance invasions of exotic species, and facilitate the spread of human and deer diseases. Deer managers often base management decisions on estimated deer densities and carrying capacities, generating controversy. It may be simpler, cheaper, and more appropriate to manage deer populations in relation to their effects on local habitat conditions. Here, we describe a method based on the mean ages of woody twigs on saplings exposed to browsing. Growth can be traced back at least five years on deciduous species using terminal bud scale scars, generating estimates for the minimum interval between browsing events. We applied this method to three species of maple ( Acer ) growing in canopy gaps in- and outside a 5–7 year-old fenced deer exclosure in a mature forest in upper Michigan. Maples are palatable to deer but resprout readily after browsing. The method was simple and efficient to implement in the field with negligible among-observer variation. Mean twig age responded sensitively to differences in deer impacts among species, across the fence, and over time (all p Acer rubrum and pensylvanicum had lower mean twig ages than A. saccharum reflecting higher rates of browsing. Twig age showed a larger deer effect size and r 2 values than the sapling height or browse indicators (Cohen’s d = 34.85 vs. 1.39 and 9.55 for height and browse; r 2 = 0.556 vs. 0.154 and 0.331). Twig ages declined with height outside the fence while rising inside, providing a second independent indicator of deer impacts. Twig ages provide a direct indicator of deer browse on regenerating trees with lower sampling variance and higher independence from local environmental conditions than height or browse incidence. We should next test the twig age method in other contexts and species to confirm that it is an efficient, sensitive, and reliable indicator of deer impacts and habitat conditions.
What Would Jefferson Do

Sociologist Andrea Press discusses the recent firing of President Teresa Sullivan, the first woman and first sociologist serving this role at the University of Virginia, by Helen Dragas, the first woman rector directing University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors. She analyzes the role of gender in these events and also examines the importance of social media in relation to facilitating faculty governance.
Liposuction for Swelling in Patients with Lymphedema

Lymphedema is frequently a disabling consequence of cancer staging. Liposuction can considerably reduce swelling and may improve lymphatic drainage in an affected limb. This intervention is worthy of additional study.
Possibilities of Increasing the Antioxidant Properties of Garlic Plants (Allium sativum, L.)

The effect of some selenium-containing compounds on the antioxidant properties of Allium sativum L. plants is shown in the present work. Pre-treatment of bulbs before planting and foliar treatment during plant growth with gibberellin solution (125 mg · L⁻¹); potassium selenate (36 μg Se·L⁻¹) and a new cobalt(III) coordinative compound (33 μg Se·L⁻¹) resulted in the increase of the concentration of proline and assimilating pigments, reduced peroxide oxidation of lipids, enhanced antioxidant cell protection. The greatest effect was observed in plants pre-treated with the new coordinative compound, “Fludisec”, manifested by an increase of antioxidant properties of leaves and bulbs, optimization of growth process and productivity. X-ray analysis of monocrystal demonstrated that Fludisec is a coordination compound of ionic type tetrafluoroborate-[bis(dimethylglyoximato)-(selenocarbamide)₁.₄-(selenium-seleno-carbamide)₀.₅-(selenium-selenium)₀.₁cobalt(III)] with chemical formula [Co(DmgH)₂(Seu)₁,₄(Se-Seu)₀.₅(Se-Se)₀.₁][BF₄].
VM Live Migration At Scale

Uninterrupted uptime is a critical aspect of Virtual Machines (VMs) offered by cloud hosting providers. Google's VMs run on top of rapidly changing infrastructure: we regularly update hardware and host software, and we must quickly respond to failing hardware. Frequent change is critical to both development velocity---deploying new versions of services and infrastructure---and the ability to respond rapidly to defects, including critical security fixes. Typically these updates would be disruptive, resulting in VM termination or restart. In this paper we present how we use VM live migration at scale to eliminate this disruption with minimal impact to the guest, performing over 1,000,0001migrations monthly in our production fleet, with 50ms median blackout, 300ms 99th percentile blackout.
Zu den positiven Wirkungen von Nicergolin bei experimenteller Koronararterienokklusion und -reperfusion

In der letzten Zeit ist der moglicherweise positiven Beeinflusbarkeit akuter Myokardischamien durch a-Rezeptorenblocker vermehrt Aufmerksamkeit zugewendet worden. Prazosin und Phentolamin wirken dem Zustandekommen eines Kammerflimmerns bei Koronararterienverschlus und Reperfusion bei Katzen entgegen [1], bleiben jedoch bei Hunden in dieser Hinsicht wirkungslos [2]. Phentolamin besitzt bei Patienten mit akutem Myokardinfarkt geringgradige antiarrhythmische Eigenschaften [3] und vermag, was ja noch wesentlicher ist, bei akutem Myokardinfarkt mit Linksherzversagen und/oder Hypertonie uber eine Senkung der Nachlast die Hamodynamik zu verbessern [4–6]. Da die Substanz jedoch die Herzfrequenz steigern kann [5, 6], ist ungewis, ob sie sich positiv auf den Schweregrad der Ischamie auswirkt [7]. Wir [2] konnten vor kurzem nachweisen, das weder Phentolamin noch Prazosin imstande sind, bei Hunden den anhand der intramyokardialen CO2-Spannung beurteilten Schweregrad der Ischamie, den koronaren Kollateralkreislauf und die Herzrhythmusstorungen wahrend eines akuten Koronarverschlusses zu bessern.
Development and evaluation of an instrument to assess medical students' cultural attitudes.

This paper describes the development and psychometric evaluation of an instrument designed to assess medical students' comfort with a range of sociocultural issues and intercultural experiences. Each survey item obliged students to reflect on their own sociocultural identities and academic status in relation to others', and to judge how comfortable they would be interacting across perceived boundaries based on sociocultural identity and academic status. More than 90% of University of Michigan first-year medical students (n=153) completed the survey just before classes began. Principal components analysis of the survey's 26 items identified 7 interpretable factors or subscales; the Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients for the 7 subscales and the total scale ranged from .73 to .92. T-tests were used to investigate differences in average ratings among student subgroups (based on gender and ethnicity). To assess the magnitude of the effect of the differences between groups, effect size was computed for each of the means comparisons. Psychometric analyses indicated that this survey was both reliable and valid for assessing students' cultural attitudes. Further, analyses by gender and ethnic subgroup identified meaningful ratings differences in men's and women's reported comfort levels. Our findings suggest that this instrument is useful for assessing students' openness to developing cultural awareness and competence. Educators at other medical schools may find this instrument useful as a needs assessment tool for planning educational programs designed to increase students' cultural competence.
The Mouse Model of Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome Type 1

Autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1 (APS-1) is a monogenic autoimmune disease caused by mutations in the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene. Here we describe the mouse models of APS-1 generated by targeted mutation of the mouse Aire gene, and how these models recapitulate the autoimmunity seen in APS-1. Further, we discuss how the study of these mouse systems has shed light on the pathogenesis of the disease and some of the basic mechanisms of self-tolerance in the immune system. Aire promotes self-antigen expression within the thymus, and failure to express such antigens in the thymus leads to autoimmunity. We discuss how the AIRE protein may function at a molecular and cellular level to accomplish this remarkable feat. We then address the identification of organ-specific antigens and the characterization of specific cell populations involved in this disease model, and how these discoveries in the mouse may lead to improved therapies for APS-1 and other autoimmune diseases. Finally, we present a number of current and prospective topics in autoimmunity and self-tolerance that have emerged from the study of these mouse models.
On Testing Moderation Effects in Experiments Using Logistic Regression

Consumer researchers seeking to explain the probability of a binary outcome in an experiment often attend to the moderation of one treatment variable’s effect by the value of second. The most commonly used method for analyzing such data is logistic regression, but because this method subjects the dependent variable to a nonlinear transformation, the resulting interaction coefficients do not properly reflect moderation effects in the original probabilities. Significant moderation effects may result in non-significant interaction coefficients and vice versa. We illustrate the problem, discuss possible responses, describe how to correctly test moderation effects on probabilities, and demonstrate that addressing this problem makes a practical difference.
Designing Diana: Female Sports Entrepreneurs and Equestrian Innovation

Throughout the late nineteenth century, many women turned their talents to improving horse sports as authors, equipment inventors, clothing designers, and trainers. Although these were male-dominat...
A Method for Detecting Atmospheric Lagrangian Coherent Structures Using a Single Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aircraft System

The transport of material through the atmosphere is an issue with wide ranging implications for fields as diverse as agriculture, aviation, and human health. Due to the unsteady nature of the atmosphere, predicting how material will be transported via the Earth's wind field is challenging. Lagrangian diagnostics, such as Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs), have been used to discover the most significant regions of material collection or dispersion. However, Lagrangian diagnostics can be time-consuming to calculate and often rely on weather forecasts that may not be completely accurate. Recently, Eulerian diagnostics have been developed which can provide indications of LCS and have computational advantages over their Lagrangian counterparts. In this paper, a methodology is developed for estimating local Eulerian diagnostics from wind velocity data measured by a single fixed-wing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) flying in a circular arc. Using a simulation environment, driven by realistic atmospheric velocity data from the North American Mesoscale (NAM) model, it is shown that the Eulerian diagnostic estimates from UAS measurements approximate the true local Eulerian diagnostics and also predict the passage of LCSs. This methodology requires only a single flying UAS, making it easier and more affordable to implement in the field than existing alternatives, such as multiple UASs and Dopler LiDAR measurements. Our method is general enough to be applied to calculate the gradient of any scalar field.
Protocatechuic Acid Extends Survival, Improves Motor Function, Diminishes Gliosis, and Sustains Neuromuscular Junctions in the hSOD1G93A Mouse Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating disorder characterized by motor neuron apoptosis and subsequent skeletal muscle atrophy caused by oxidative and nitrosative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuroinflammation. Anthocyanins are polyphenolic compounds found in berries that possess neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties. Protocatechuic acid (PCA) is a phenolic acid metabolite of the parent anthocyanin, kuromanin, found in blackberries and bilberries. We explored the therapeutic effects of PCA in a transgenic mouse model of ALS that expresses mutant human Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase 1 with a glycine to alanine substitution at position 93. These mice display skeletal muscle atrophy, hindlimb weakness, and weight loss. Disease onset occurs at approximately 90 days old and end stage is reached at approximately 120 days old. Daily treatment with PCA (100 mg/kg) by oral gavage beginning at disease onset significantly extended survival (121 days old in untreated vs. 133 days old in PCA-treated) and preserved skeletal muscle strength and endurance as assessed by grip strength testing and rotarod performance. Furthermore, PCA reduced astrogliosis and microgliosis in spinal cord, protected spinal motor neurons from apoptosis, and maintained neuromuscular junction integrity in transgenic mice. PCA lengthens survival, lessens the severity of pathological symptoms, and slows disease progression in this mouse model of ALS. Given its significant preclinical therapeutic effects, PCA should be further investigated as a treatment option for patients with ALS.
Predicting malignancy in patients with adrenal tumors using 18 F-FDG-PET/CT SUVmax.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18 F-FDG-PET/CT) parameters may help distinguish malignant from benign adrenal tumors, but few have been externally validated or determined based on definitive pathological confirmation. We determined and validated a threshold for 18 F-FDG-PET/CT maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax) in patients who underwent adrenalectomy for a nonfunctional tumor. METHODS Database review identified patients with 18 F-FDG-PET/CT images available (training cohort), or only SUVmax values (validation cohort). Discriminative accuracy was assessed by area under the curve (AUC), and the optimal cutoff value estimated by maximally selected Wilcoxon rank statistics. RESULTS Of identified patients (n = 171), 86 had adrenal metastases, 20 adrenal cortical carcinoma, and 27 adrenal cortical adenoma. In the training cohort (n = 96), SUVmax was significantly higher in malignant versus benign tumors (median 8.3 vs. 3.0, p < .001), with an AUC of 0.857. Tumor size did not differ. The optimal cutoff SUVmax was 4.6 (p < .01). In the validation cohort (n = 75), this cutoff had a sensitivity of 75% and specificity 55%. CONCLUSIONS 18 F-FDG-PET/CT SUVmax was associated with malignancy. Validation indicated that SUVmax ≥ 4.6 was suggestive of malignancy, while lower values did not reliably predict benign tumor.
Reconsidering ‘Ties’: The Sociotechnical Job Search Network:

This study explored how job seekers perceived human and technological sources in their sociotechnical ego-networks. United States residents (N = 285) who had sought jobs in the past 2 years respond...
Combined Immunotherapy and Stereotactic Radiotherapy Improves Neurologic Outcomes in Patients with Non-small-cell Lung Cancer Brain Metastases

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) brain metastases treated with stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) alone versus SRT and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Patients and Methods Patients treated for their first diagnosis of intracranial metastases with SRT or SRT plus ICI were retrospectively identified. Overall survival (OS), local control (LC), distant brain failure (DBF), neurologic death, and rates of radiation necrosis were calculated. Univariate (UVA) and multivariable (MVA) analyses with competing risk analysis were performed. Results Seventy-seven patients with 132 lesions were analyzed, including 44 patients with 68 lesions in the SRT group and 33 patients with 64 lesions in the SRT plus ICI group. There were no differences in baseline factors between groups. Use of ICI predicted for decreased DBF (hazard ratio [HR], 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.24-0.84; P = .01), decreased rates of neurologic death (HR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.10-0.85; P = .02), and better OS (HR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.23-0.91; P = .03). Two-year LC was 97% for the SRT + ICI group, and 86% for the SRT-alone group (P = .046). Actuarial 2-year DBF was 39% for the SRT + ICI group and 66% for the SRT alone group (P = .016). On MVA, ICI use persisted in predicting lower incidence of neurologic death (HR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.09-0.72; P = .01) and DBF (HR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.25-0.85; P = .01) when adjusted for competing risk of death. Conclusion In this cohort of patients with NSCLC brain metastases, ICI use combined with SRT predicted for improved LC and OS and decreased DBF and risk of neurologic death.
Implementing Psychiatric Advance Directives: The Transmitter and Receiver Problem and the Neglected Right to Be Deemed Incapable

Psychiatric advance directives (PADs) can help adults with serious mental illnesses preserve their autonomy and avoid involuntary interventions during an incapacitating mental health crisis. A PAD is a legal document prepared while mentally competent and states the person's treatment preferences to be implemented during a future crisis, ideally with the advocacy of an authorized proxy decision maker. PADs have been available in the United States for more than three decades but have yet to be robustly implemented in practice. This Open Forum describes PADs metaphorically as a device for remote communication among the person with mental illness, a proxy decision maker, and health care providers. Barriers to PAD usage occur on both "transmitter" and "receiver" sides and must be addressed to advance PAD implementation.
Design for Synergy with Brand or Price Information

Customers' preference for the hedonic benefits (e.g., aesthetics) and utilitarian benefits (e.g., functionality) offered by a product varies depending on the context — buying versus selling, and choice versus willingness-to-pay. However, a customer's preference formation could involve brand information or price information in addition to the benefits offered by the product. It is unclear how the consideration of brand or price information influences customers' relative preference for hedonic and utilitarian product benefits. Does this information alter preference in favor of a product that offers greater utilitarian or greater hedonic benefits, and why? The results show that (1) hedonic (utilitarian) attributes have a significantly stronger influence on consumer preference when accompanied by a strong (weak) versus a weak (strong) brand; and (2) in the presence of price information, hedonic attributes have a dominant influence on consumer preference compared to in the absence of price information. The article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical contributions and managerial implications of design for synergy with brand or price information.
Effects of elevation and selective disturbance on soil climate and vegetation in big sagebrush communities

Changing climatic conditions prompt concerns about vegetation response to disturbance under future compared to past conditions. In this long-term study, we examined soil climate and vegetation differences at lower, mid, and upper elevations in two separate locations in the Great Basin, USA. We hypothesized that soil climate and vegetation associations across the elevational gradient could help predict responses under future warming and drying. We measured soil water availability, soil temperatures, and vegetation cover in relation to fire and perennial herb removal at each elevation for 13-17 yr after treatment. Seasonal soil water availability increased, while soil temperature-related variables decreased with increasing elevation. Soil water availability in spring was positively correlated with October through June precipitation (r2 = 0.53), while water availability in spring through fall was positively correlated with perennial plant cover (r2 = 0.65). Partition models separated low, mid, and high elevations by spring soil water availability and growing degree days when soil water was available (R2 = 0.93). Current soil climate and vegetation conditions at lower elevations could indicate future conditions at higher elevations under a warmer and drier climate. During the first years after removal of perennial grasses and forbs, there was an increase in soil water availability in spring at 13-30 cm soil depth that was associated with sagebrush establishment, particularly at upper elevations. In subsequent years, sagebrush continued to dominate even though little difference in soil water availability existed between disturbed and undisturbed plots. This indicates that quickly establishing sagebrush preempted resources and reduced perennial herb recovery. Resource preemption after disturbance will likely be a major driver of plant succession in the future as in the past. Species that establish best under future warmer and drier conditions are most likely to dominate after disturbance. A negative correlation (r2 = 0.34) between the standard deviation of annual spring soil water availability and perennial vegetation cover, which helps resist annual grass invasion, supports the hypothesis that greater resource fluctuation is associated with greater plant community invasibility. Current responses to fire and loss of native plant cover across elevational gradients can indicate future responses under a warmer and drier climate.
Creation of the Association of Pediatric Program Directors Faculty Development for Educators "Nuts and Bolts" Teaching Aids.

Abstract Faculty development (FD) continues to be a great need and challenge for faculty engaged in graduate medical education (GME) and such educator development should ultimately benefit learners in GME programs. As a Task Force within the Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD) FD Learning Community, our Educator subcommittee utilized multiple needs assessments to develop a novel educator development program called the APPD FD for Educators Nuts and Bolts (Nuts & Bolts) consisting of 1 to 2 page FD teaching aids. This paper outlines the development of these teaching aids and can be used as a reference for developing future Nuts & Bolts teaching aids. The development was based on 1) a defining framework (Glassick's criteria), 2) a clear model for evaluation of the program (Logic model), and 3) development of an assessment tool to demonstrate effectiveness of the teaching aids in FD at the local level. These 3 components help establish the scholarly nature of the FD Nuts & Bolts program. Multiple lessons learned from development of this program are presented to inform others engaged in educator program development. Detailed proposals for use of FD Nuts & Bolts for faculty improvement and plans for generating additional teaching aids are presented.
Changing Talk Online: Protocol for a cluster pragmatic trial testing communication education to reduce behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in nursing home care.

Abstract Nursing home (NH) care of persons living with dementia is often made challenging by behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) such as aggression, vocal outbursts, wandering, and withdrawal that occur due to cognitive and communication changes. Staff frequently communicate to NH residents using “elderspeak” which is patronizing speech similar to baby talk. Residents respond to elderspeak with increased BPSD that prompts use of psychotropic medication to control symptoms. The Cha nging T alk (CHAT) training educates staff about effective, person-centered communication strategies and reduces elderspeak by staff and subsequent BPSD among residents. This study will test effects of an adapted online version (CHATO) increasing access and dissemination of education to busy staff across diverse care settings. Nursing homes (N = 128) will be stratified and then randomized to CHATO education (n = 64) or to the control group (n = 64). Data on behavioral symptoms (primary outcomes) and psychotropic medication use (secondary outcomes) will be extracted from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Minimum Data Set before and after education and will be compared between the groups using generalized linear mixed modeling. It is hypothesized that after completing the CHATO education residents will have reduced behavioral symptoms and psychotropic medication use compared to residents in control NHs. Additionally, factors related to NH participation and cost of the intervention will be determined. The overall goal of this study is to prepare for large scale dissemination and implementation of the evidence-based nonpharmacological CHATO intervention to reduce BPSD in residents with dementia across long-term care settings.
Vaccine breakthrough infections in veterans hospitalized with coronavirus infectious disease-2019: A case series.

Background While SARS-CoV-2 vaccine breakthrough infections are expected, reporting on breakthrough infections requiring hospitalization remains limited. This observational case series report reviewed ten individuals hospitalized with vaccine breakthrough infections to identify patient risk factors and serologic responses upon admission. Methods Electronic medical records of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) or mRNA-1732 (Moderna) vaccinated patients admitted to VAAAHS with newly diagnosed COVID-19 between 15 March 2021 and 15 April 2021 were reviewed. Patient variables, COVID-19 lab testing including anti-S IgM, anti-N IgG antibodies, and hospital course were recorded. Based on lab testing, infections were defined as acute infection or resolving/resolved infection. Results Of the ten patients admitted with breakthrough infections, all were > 70 years of age with multiple comorbidities. Mean time between second vaccine dose and COVID-19 diagnosis was 49 days. In the seven individuals with acute infection, none had observed serologic response to mRNA vaccination, five developed severe disease, and one died. Three individuals had anti-N IgG antibodies and a high polymerase chain reaction cycle threshold (Ct) value, suggesting resolving/resolved infection. Conclusions Given the variability of vaccine breakthrough infections requiring hospitalization, serologic testing may impart clarity on timing of infection and disease prognosis. Individuals at risk of diminished response to vaccines and severe COVID-19 may also benefit from selective serologic testing after vaccination to guide risk mitigation strategies in a post-pandemic environment.
Movement by Bacteria: On the Mechanism of Sensory Transduction in Bacterial Chemotaxis

The “plant” I am working with is Escherichia coli (Fig. 1). Ever since being introduced to bacteria by Professor K.V. Thimann’s course on The Behavior of the Lower Plants, I have been convinced that I am studying a plant!
A Flexible Multilayer Perceptron Co-processor for FPGAs

Implementing a custom Artificial Neural Network (ANN) in hardware lacks the scalability and the flexibility of changing from one topology to another at run time. This paper presents a Multilayer Perceptron Co-processor (MLPCP) targeting FPGAs that is configurable during design time and programmable during run time. The MLPCP can be reprogrammed at run time to rapidly change network topologies and use different activation functions. This allows application developers to change parameters of a given network without the need to resynthesize. This also allows the MLPCP to be used for different applications during run time. Run time results show the MLPCP can deliver performance levels close to those of a custom ANN, and can execute network topologies that cannot fit into FPGAs with limited resources. Performance comparisons against software versions show up to 70x speedup compared to a MicroBlaze running at 100 MHz, and 4x compared to a Zynq running at 667 MHz.