cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High-Dielectric Constant Insulators and the AMLCD Process: Is Amorphous BST a Candidate?

As the active matrix flat panel market continues to grow, manufacturers are constantly looking for ways of gaining an advantage in the marketplace typically through increased performance, expanded functionality and/or reduced cost. The continuing trend of larger panel sizes and higher resolution poses interesting challenges for manufacturers in the areas of image quality and brightness. In particular, it has been clearly shown that as pixel dimensions shrink, relative crosstalk coupling coefficients increase while the area available for pixel electrodes and storage capacitors (Cδ,t) decreases, so that charge compensation drive schemes must be employed to eliminate visual artifacts. One approach to minimizing crosstalk and flicker is to increase Cδ,t, however this requires increased pixel area, usually at the expense of brightness due to smaller aperture ratio. Depending on design and process flow, it may be possible to replace the typical Cδ,t, insulator, SiNx:H, with a material of higher dielectric constant thereby vastly improving electrical performance without sacrificing brightness.
An economic perspective on the individual mandate's severability from the ACA.

Four U.S. district court judges have now ruled on the constitutionality of the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which requires people to obtain health insurance coverage or pay a penalty through their federal income taxes. Two of these judges, both nominated by a Democratic president, upheld the mandate; the other two, both appointed by Republican presidents, rejected it. Given that party-line split and the similar one in Congress on both the passage of the ACA and the recent effort to repeal it, many observers have speculated that the mandate's constitutionality will ultimately have to be decided by . . .
The present and future of Moore's law

I will give an overview of industry leading and state of art Intel 14nm technology, present key results and enabling innovations, and highlight technology values for the products. I will briefly review the history of Moore's law, discuss challenges for continual silicon scaling, and describe important vectors in advancing Moore's law in the future.
Problems in the Use of Sea-Level Data for Archaeological Reconstructions

Accurate environmental reconstructions are essential for modeling cultural responses to changing environments and testing archaeological hypotheses of cultural adaptation. The character of the paleoenvironmental record and assumptions inherent in analyzing and interpreting data must therefore be appreciated by archaeologists (Dincauze 1978, 1981). Fluctuating sea levels are dominant in determining the character and development of Holocene coastal environments (Fladmark 1983; Perlman 1980; Richardson 1981; Salwen 1975). This paper considers problems in the use of sea-level data and in constructing sea-level curves. The emphasis is on sources of data, not on actual techniques of reconstructing paleoenvironments. The goal is to provide the reader with a critical introduction to sea-level studies and to the sea-level literature. An extensive bibliography includes the classic references and current reviews of Holocene sea-level data, where more detail can be found on particular topics. The history of sea level in the Gulf of Maine is summarized to illustrate the complexities that may be encountered. Although the focus is on the Atlantic coast of North America, the issues discussed are global.
A Sociological Model of Creativity

This chapter recounts the prevalence as well as the lack of discussion of creativity in the Sociology domain. Rarely discussed by American sociologists, the concept has been theorized in German Sociology, especially in action theory. The “Sociological Imagination,” a lens through which to critically assess creativity, is introduced in this chapter, and the arguments of social constructionism are presented. The need to integrate issues of culture is briefly outlined, and the preeminence of American methodologies is questioned. The first macrosociological model of creativity in the literature is mapped out and its various stages are explained. Finally, this chapter presents arguments against social constructionism.
Experimental study of PES/SiO2 based TFC hollow fiber membrane modules for oilfield produced water desalination with low-pressure nanofiltration process

Abstract In this study, a PES/SiO 2 based thin film composite (TFC) hollow fiber membrane (HFM) was prepared for the oilfield produced water desalination with low-pressure nanofiltration process. The effects of operating parameters including pressure, salt concentration and time, on the salt rejection were investigated. The results showed that the salt rejection increased linearly with an increase in operating pressure from 50 psi to 80 psi, decreasing slightly with a further increase in pressure to 100 psi. The increased salt concentration resulted in a decrease in salt rejection. A solution diffusion theory-based model was proposed to well explain the laboratory testing results.
Intracerebral Distribution of the Oncometabolite D-2-Hydroxyglutarate in Mice Bearing Mutant Isocitrate Dehydrogenase Brain Tumors: Implications for Tumorigenesis

The prevalence of mutant IDH1 brain tumors has generated significant efforts to understand the role of the mutated enzyme product D-2-hydroxyglutarate (D2HG), an oncometabolite, in tumorigenesis, as well as means to eliminate it. Glymphatic clearance was proposed as a pathway that could be manipulated to accelerate D2HG clearance and dictated the study design that consisted of two cohorts of mice bearing U87/mutant IDH1 intracerebral tumors who underwent two microdialysis – providing D2HG interstitial fluid concentrations - sampling periods of awake and asleep (activate glymphatic clearance) in a crossover manner. Glymphatic clearance was found not to have a significant effect on D2HG brain tumor interstitial fluid concentrations that were 126.9 ± 74.8 µM awake and 117.6 ± 98.6 µM asleep. These concentrations, although low relative to total brain tumor concentrations of 6.8 ± 3.6 mM, were considered sufficient to be transported by interstitial fluid and taken up into normal cells to cause deleterious effects. A model of D2HG CNS distribution supported this contention and was further supported by in vitro studies that showed D2HG could interfere with immune cell function. The study provides insight into the compartmental distribution of D2HG in the brain wherein the interstitial fluid serves as a dynamic pathway for D2HG to enter normal cells and contribute to tumorigenesis.
Radiation impacts on human health during spaceflight beyond Low Earth Orbit

Abstract Many features of the space environment cause physical ailments for human explorers, some which are truly unique. For example, the long-term health effects of living and working in a microgravity environment can currently only be experienced in an orbiting spacecraft. Radiation exposure, however, is a significant concern in space but is also an issue in certain terrestrial environments. Despite similarities with terrestrial radiation, space-based radiation is rarely encountered in an Earth environment. In fact, there are only a few locations around the world where space radiation can even be produced for research purposes. Although many long-term studies on the health effects of terrestrial radiation have been performed, there remain significant uncertainties as to whether or not Earth-based radiation can be used as a model for space-based radiation. Some of this uncertainty rests with the limited human-applicable radiation data acquired in space environments beyond Low Earth Orbit. Recent publications documenting radiation measurements from NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory have significantly added to the understanding of estimated total radiation exposure doses during a human Mars mission. Despite the uncertainties regarding these estimates and the use of Earth-based radiation as a model, it is known that there are unquestionable health risks associated with long-term exposure to space radiation including tissue damage, increased cancer risk, acute radiation syndrome, central nervous system defects, and many others. This paper will discuss these health risks, the differences between terrestrial and space radiation, recent knowledge developments regarding space radiation, and also potential countermeasures for protecting future human spaceflight explorers.
Improving Removable Thin Films Used for the Abatement and Mitigation of Beryllium

The use of removable thin films for the abatement of hazardous particulates has many advantages. The easy removal and securing of materials, such as, broken glass, lead, beryllium, uranium, and biological agents, to name a few. Removable thin films are designed to trap and fix in the film's matrix by adhesion. Thin films can be applied to an existing contaminated area to fix and capture the particulates for removal. The nature of the removable thin films, after sufficient cure time, is such that it can typically be removed as one continuous entity. The removable thin films can be applied to almost any surface type with a high success rate of removal
Cocaine differentially affects synaptic activity in memory and midbrain areas of female and male rats: an in vivo MEMRI study

Manganese enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) has been previously used to determine the effect of acute cocaine on calcium-dependent synaptic activity in male rats. However, there have been no MEMRI studies examining sex differences in the functional neural circuits affected by repeated cocaine. In the present study, we used MEMRI to investigate the effects of repeated cocaine on brain activation in female and male rats. Adult female and male rats were scanned at 4.7 Tesla three days after final treatment with saline, a single cocaine injection (15 mg kg−1, i.p. × 1 day) or repeated cocaine injections (15 mg kg−1, i.p. × 10 days). A day before imaging rats were provided with an i.p. injection of manganese chloride (70 mg kg−1). Cocaine produced effects on MEMRI activity that were dependent on sex. In females, we observed that a single cocaine injection reduced MEMRI activity in hippocampal CA3, ventral tegmental area (VTA), and median Raphe, whereas repeated cocaine increased MEMRI activity in dentate gyrus and interpeduncular nucleus. In males, repeated cocaine reduced MEMRI activity in VTA. Overall, it appeared that female rats showed a general trend towards increase MEMRI activity with single cocaine and reduced activity with repeated exposure, while male rats showed a trend towards opposite effects. Our results provide evidence for sex differences in the in vivo neural response to cocaine, which involves primarily hippocampal, amygdala and midbrain areas.
How I manage children with neutropenia.

Summary Neutropenia, usually defined as a blood neutrophil count <1·5 × 109/l, is a common medical problem for children and adults. There are many causes for neutropenia, and at each stage in life the clinical pattern of causes and consequences differs significantly. I recommend utilizing the age of the child and clinical observations for the preliminary diagnosis and primary management. In premature infants, neutropenia is quite common and contributes to the risk of sepsis with necrotizing enterocolitis. At birth and for the first few months of life, neutropenia is often attributable to isoimmune or alloimmune mechanisms and predisposes to the risk of severe bacterial infections. Thereafter when a child is discovered to have neutropenia, often associated with relatively minor symptoms, it is usually attributed to autoimmune disorder or viral infection. The congenital neutropenia syndromes are usually recognized when there are recurrent infections, the neutropenia is severe and there are congenital anomalies suggesting a genetic disorder. This review focuses on the key clinical finding and laboratory tests for diagnosis with commentaries on treatment, particularly the use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor to treat childhood neutropenia.
Small Business vulnerability to floods and the effects of disaster loans

In this paper, we examine the impacts of floods on businesses and the efficacy of small business administration (SBA) disaster loans on mitigating disaster aftereffects. We find lack of business adaptation to extreme events in the short term, indicating their extreme vulnerability to flood disasters. Our results further indicate that subsidized disaster loans are important for businesses, with statistically significant effects estimated for businesses employing fewer than 50 people. At the margin, for every additional dollar spent on disaster loans per establishment in a county, four small businesses survive. Gloomy projections about increasing frequency and severity of disasters imply there will be significant loss in local economic activities because of increased vulnerability of small businesses to these incidents. Moreover, these effects will have implications nationwide, given the vital role small businesses play in creating jobs.
You Deserve a Break Tonight: A Self-Regulatory Perspective on Psychological Detachment

Adopting a self-regulation lens, this paper explores potential behavioral antecedents that might enable or hinder employee psychological detachment in after-work hours. Daily task performance and c...
Data, Variables, and Their Sources

In this chapter we describe the data and how we prepare the data for analysis. We choose “usual suspect” variables that are widely known as the correlates of growth. Specifically, we look at Xavier Salaa I Martin’s work in identifying these variables. In the process, we include variables suggested by multiple theoretical growth models. We also show how non-parametric approaches can help create variables that capture the latent underlying factors that span multiple variables. This process also helps reduce unsystematic measurement errors.
A model of human small intestinal absorptive cells. 1. Transport barrier.

The Caco-2 cell culture model of human small intestinal absorptive cells was used to investigate transepithelial transport. Transport of permeability markers such as mannitol demonstrated that Caco-2 monolayers became less permeable with increasing age in culture. Cells were routinely used for transport studies between day 18 and day 32. A transport index was determined for each compound by calculating the ratio of transport of the molecules under investigation to transport of an internal standard such as the permeability marker mannitol. Comparison of transport rates at 4 and 37°C was a simple approach for differentiating primary transport mechanisms (passive paracellular, passive transcellular, or transporter-mediated) but must be coupled with additional experimental manipulations for definitive determination of transport pathways. Compounds predicted to undergo predominantly paracellular transport (mannitol, FITC, PEG-900, and PEG-4000), transporter-mediated transcellular transport (glucose, biotin, spermidine, oralanine), or lipophilic transcellular transport (alprenolol, propranolol, clonidine, or diazepam) showed differential effects of temperature on rates of transport as well as the transport index.
New modification to the Hawkins classification scheme is more predictive of osteonecrosis: commentary on an article by Heather A. Vallier, MD, et al.: "A new look at the Hawkins classification for talar neck fractures: which features of injury and treatment are predictive of osteonecrosis?".

Talar neck fractures are rare injuries that are typically the result of high-velocity traumas. Because of the high rate of osteonecrosis and posttraumatic arthritis associated with talar neck fractures, application of current classification systems for prognostication of the development of talar osteonecrosis and posttraumatic arthritis has been challenging. In a large retrospective review of talar fractures, Halvorson et al.1 reported the overall rate of posttraumatic talar osteonecrosis in a series of 848 patients to be 33.3% (282 patients). Additional analysis revealed that osteonecrosis occurred in 5.7% (nine) of 159 Hawkins type-I fractures, 18.4% (fifty-eight) of 314 Hawkins type-II fractures, 44.7% (102) of 228 Hawkins type-III fractures, and 12.1% (four) of thirty-three Hawkins type-IV fractures1. In another study, Vallier et al.2 revealed that osteonecrosis occurred in approximately 39% of Hawkins type-II fractures and 64% of Hawkins type-III fractures. Several areas of controversy exist, specifically the wide range of osteonecrosis for Hawkins type-II fractures and potentially the timing of operative fixation. First, one key observation …
The Place of C.S. Peirce in the History of Logical Theory

Speaking of someone’s “place in history” is often a preface to eulogy. But we have come to study Peirce, not to praise him, and only incidentally to try to see that his good ideas are not interred with his bones or with his unpublished papers.
Ruler, Compass and Computer

The term “computational geometry” was originally coined by Robin Forrest[21] to denote the study of computational techniques in the realm of computer-aided design. More recently, this term has been used to name a somewhat different field, in a way broader and in a way narrower than Forrest’s conception, which is considered part of theoretical computer science. This new use of the name “computational geometry,” whose origin can be traced to Shamos,[62] refers to the design and analysis of algorithms for all kinds of geometric problems; it is the sense in which the term will be used in this paper.
New Models and Measures for Reliability of Multi-state Systems

This chapter descibes some new reliability models and measures for multistate systems. Equivalent classes and lower/upper boundary points are used for deriving the structure function for multistate system with multistate components. In addition to the static multistate reliability measures, several dynamic reliability measures are also introduced. Two stochastic models, Markov process and non-homogeneous continuous time Markov process are applied to formulate the probability that the system is in each state. With Non-homogeneous continuous time Markov, the age effect of the system is considered. Utility functions and disutility functions are incorporated with the stochastic models for the customer-centered reliability measures. Couple of potential applications are introduced and used to illustrate these reliability models and measures.
Selective Data Transfer from DRAMs for CNNs

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have changed the direction of image and speech signal processing. They have become prolific in applications such as self driving cars and voice assistants like Siri and Alexa. Since the success of AlexNet, many deep learning networks like GoogleNet, ResidualNet etc have been introduced. These networks are highly competent in image classification however, they are very large in size and have a lot of parameters, for example, AlexNet has 60M parameters [1]. On-Off chip data transfer is a great engineering challenge that needs to be addressed while implementing CNN in hardware. Hardware Acceleration and parallelization are constrained by energy cost of reading and writing data from main memory. For one forward pass during inference, one image needs to go through to all the CNN layers and be classified into a softmax determined category. During this process, the memory bandwidth is used by three types of payloads that need to be moved on and off-chip - input image, intermediate feature maps, and filter weights. This research is focused on reducing weight-related memory traffic that occurs between off-chip memory and on-chip buffers during inference. In this paper, we propose a technique named ‘weight sharing selective transfer’ (WS-ST) that uses processing in-memory architecture to selectively transfer weights from the DRAM memory structure to the computation unit. We emulate a PIM architecture by having a self populating FIFO as a part of Selective DRAM controller and a weight selector logic near the DRAM. The DRAM is modeled in the FPGA as a dual port static RAM in order to analyze the effectiveness of the weight selector. We observe a 30% decrease in memory transfer traffic compared to a non-selective approach for AlexNet in redundancy analysis and use the selective DRAM to implement it. The power saving of 2% of dynamic power as a result of the selective transfer are reported in the results.
Effects of early life NICU stress on the developing gut microbiome.

Succession of gut microbial community structure for newborns is highly influenced by early life factors. Many preterm infants cared for in the NICU are exposed to parent-infant separation, stress, and pain from medical care procedures. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of early life stress on the trajectory of gut microbial structure. Stool samples from very preterm infants were collected weekly for 6 weeks. NICU stress exposure data were collected daily for 6 weeks. V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified by PCR and sequenced. Zero-inflated beta regression model with random effects was used to assess the impact of stress on gut microbiome trajectories. Week of sampling was significant for Escherichia, Staphylococcus, Enterococcus, Bifidobacterium, Proteus, Streptococcus, Clostridium butyricum, and Clostridium perfringens. Antibiotic usage was significant for Proteus, Citrobacter, and C. perfringens. Gender was significant for Proteus. Stress exposure occurring 1 and 2 weeks prior to sampling had a significant effect on Proteus and Veillonella. NICU stress exposure had a significant effect on Proteus and Veillonella. An overall dominance of Gammaproteobacteria was found. Findings suggest early life NICU stress may significantly influence the developing gut microbiome, which is important to NICU practice and future microbiome research.
Decision support needs of kidney transplant candidates regarding the deceased donor waiting list: A qualitative study and conceptual framework.

Background Kidney transplant candidates face complex decisions about transplant options such as living donation or acceptance of lower quality kidneys. We sought to characterize knowledge and decision support needs regarding kidney transplant outcomes and options. Methods We conducted 10 interviews and four focus groups of 28 adult kidney transplant candidates from two centers in Minnesota. Transcripts were analyzed thematically using a grounded theory approach. Results We identified four themes: First, candidates have a limited understanding of treatment options and demonstrate confusion or a lack of awareness about waiting list outcomes and prognosis. Second, candidates desired frank discussions about likely outcomes and individualized prognosis. Third, emotional barriers impact how patients make informed decisions. Finally, participants relied on the support of family and friends to help process information, and many favored the medical community engaging their family and friends in their medical decisions. These findings were incorporated into a conceptual model to support kidney transplant candidates in medical decision making. Conclusions Transplant candidates had limited understanding about treatment options and outcomes on the kidney transplant waiting list. Individualized risk information and cognitive approaches that recognize how patients process information and balance competing risks may improve informed decision making.
A fast multi-layer boundary element method for direct numerical simulation of sound propagation in shallow water environments

Abstract Direct three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations of acoustic fields in range-dependent shallow water environments remains a challenge due to environmental complexities and large computational cost. We develop an efficient 3D boundary element method (BEM) to solve the Helmholtz equation for shallow water acoustic propagation, which utilizes a Pre-corrected Fast Fourier Transform (PFFT) approach to reduce the computational effort from O ( N 2 ∼ 3 ) to O ( N log ⁡ N ) where N is the total number of boundary unknowns. To account for inhomogeneous media, the method allows for arbitrary number of coupled multi-layer BEM sub-domains. With O ( N log ⁡ N ) efficiency and the use of massively parallel high-performance computing platforms, we are able to conduct multi-layer 3D direct numerical simulations of low-mid frequency acoustics over kilometer ranges. We perform extensive validations of the method and provide two shallow water waveguide examples benchmarked against theoretical solutions. To illustrate the efficacy and usefulness of the PFFT-BEM method, we perform 3D large-scale direct numerical simulations to assess the performance of two established canonical models: axisymmetric coupled mode model for 3D seamount; and Kirchhoff approximation and perturbation theory for 3D rough surface scattering.
Investigation of Thermal Metamaterials based on Nanoporous Silicon Using Ray Tracing and Finite Element Simulations

Understanding thermal transport phenomena at the nanoscale is challenging due to complex phonon scattering effects. In particular, nanoporous structures with critical dimensions comparable to or smaller than the phonon mean free path can induce multidimensional phonon boundary scattering that is not properly captured by simple analytical models. Here we first investigate reduced thermal conductivity of nanoporous silicon of varying geometrical parameters due to phonon boundary scattering suing a ray tracing technique. This method can track a transport path of individual phonons, dully accounting for complex phonon boundary scattering interactions in nanoporous structures. Our results show that asymmetric pore shapes provide a lower thermal conductivity than symmetric pore shapes with the same neck size and porosity, due to localized heat fluxes. We can potentially achieve a thermal rectification ratio up to 13 in fully diffuse and phonon injection angles. For symmetric nanopores, hexagonal-lattice pores reduce more thermal conductivity than square-lattice pores due to the limited phonon line of sight. And alternating pore size distribution yields a lower thermal conductivity than uniform pore size distribution. The understanding of geometry-dependent thermal transport in nanoscale enables complex heat flow manipulation such as thermal cloaking on the device level, which can be used to shield thermally sensitive units in electronics. Utilizing alternating annual rings of bulk and nanoporous silicon, we can achieve reduced temperature gradient in the cloaked region depending on thermal conductivity ratios. We predict the reduced thermal conductivity of nanoporous silicon due to the phonon size effect using a combination of ray tracing technique and Boltzmann Transport Equation, which will be fed into Finite Element Method simulations for macroscale optimization of thermal cloaking designs. By evaluating the impacts of different geometrical parameters, we present the most optimized thermal cloaking design with a fixed neck size or porosity. These findings advance the understanding of phono boundary scattering phenomena in complex geometries and feasibility of using nanoporous silicon to achieve heat flow control, which are promising for thermoelectric applications and thermal management in electronic devices.
Ethical Considerations for Using School-Based Motivational Interviewing with Parents, Teachers, and Students

AbstractRecently, an increasing number of researchers and school psychologists have advocated for the use of School-Based Motivational Interviewing (SBMI) for working directly with students and for...
Active Defense: China's Military Strategy since 1949

This seminal work by M. Taylor Fravel takes on the ambitious task of analyzing China’s military strategy since 1949. This is an enormous challenge, both because of the vastness of China and because...
Assessment of a proposed BMI formula in predicting body fat percentage among Filipino young adults.

Body mass index (BMI), while routinely used in evaluating adiposity, cannot distinguish between fat and lean mass, and thus can misclassify weight status particularly among athletic, physically active, and tall- and short-statured individuals, whose lean-to-fat ratios and body proportions vary considerably from average individuals. Believing that the traditional BMI formula divides weight by too much with short people and by too little with tall people, University of Oxford professor L. N. Trefethen proposed a modified formula in computing BMI. This study was conducted among a sample of Filipino young adults (n = 190) to assess the performance of the modified BMI formula against the traditional one in: (1) predicting body fat percentage (%BF) measured using bioelectric impedance analysis, and (2) diagnosing overweight/obesity. Using robust polynomial regression analysis (covariates: age, waist circumference, smoking history and alcohol intake), the BMI quadratic models had the highest adjusted R2 and the lowest AIC and BIC for both sexes compared to the linear models. The AuROCs of the traditional BMI were higher than those of the proposed BMI, albeit nonsignificant. In conclusion, both traditional and modified BMIs significantly predicted %BF, as well as adequately discriminated between %BF-defined normal and overweight-obese states using optimal BMI cutoff values.
Beyond the lifetime of organizations: A framework for multi-generational goal survival in the ecology of goals

Abstract The completion of initiatives designed to address wicked problems often requires the participation of a variety of actors spanning multiple generations of both individuals and organizations. Until now, frameworks for addressing problems and articulating the sustainability of goals related to overcoming them have yet to adequately account for the timespans required for addressing such problems; particularly as far as the lifecycle of organizations is shorter than such timespans. Here, a framework is presented to articulate the survival of goals to the point of initiative completion under conditions in which it is not assumed that any individual organization or subunit exists long enough to fulfill the requirements for completing such initiatives.
Percutaneous ablation versus surgical ablation and resection of liver tumors: medicare volume and physician reimbursement trends from 2010 to 2018.

The purpose of this study is to analyze trends in Medicare volume and physician reimbursement for percutaneous ablation, surgical ablation, and resection of liver tumors from 2010 to 2018. Claims from the Medicare Part B PSPSMF for the years 2010 to 2018 were extracted using the CPT codes for percutaneous and surgical ablation of liver tumors and surgical liver resection. Total procedural volume and physician payment were analyzed by procedure and physician specialty. From 2010 to 2018, the volume of percutaneous ablation of liver tumors increased 94.3% from 1630 to 3168 procedures, and the volume of surgical ablations increased 86.2% from 593 to 1104 procedures. In contrast, there was a 16.8% decrease in liver resections from 10,807 to 8994 procedures. Physician reimbursement for percutaneous ablation decreased from $702.41 to $610.11 (− 13.1%). Conversely, reimbursement for resection increased from $849.18 to $1015.06 (19.5%). Reimbursement for surgical ablation also increased from $722.36 to $744.25 (3.0%). In 2018, physician reimbursement for resection and surgical ablation were 66% and 22% more than that for percutaneous ablation. An increasing number of patients with liver tumors were treated with percutaneous ablation from 2010 to 2018. Despite higher morbidity, a dwindling set of theoretical advantages over percutaneous ablation, and higher overall costs, the volume of surgical ablation also increased over this time period. The findings of this study suggest that a reevaluation of practice and referral patterns for surgical ablation of liver tumors is warranted in many institutions.
Do larger reductions yield larger returns? patient-reported outcomes as a function of specimen weight in bilateral reduction mammoplasty.

Abstract Background Patients undergoing breast reduction mammoplasty for symptomatic macromastia have a significantly improved quality of life postoperatively. However, there are no data that examine the effect of reduction mammoplasty on quality of life as a function of the weight of tissue removed. Because the process by which insurance providers consider patients’ candidacy for this breast reduction mammoplasty is most often based on the proposed weight of tissue to be removed, this gap in our understanding is particularly glaring. We therefore designed a prospective trial with the intent of investigating the correlation between breast reduction specimen weight and postoperative pain and quality of life. Methods After obtaining institutional review board (IRB) approval, patients presenting for breast reduction mammoplasty at a single academic medical center between January 2016 and September 2019 were prospectively enrolled in the study. Study participants completed the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), and the BREAST-Q at set time points (preoperatively, 1 week/1 month/3 months/6 months postoperatively). Patients were divided into three cohorts based on breast reduction specimen weights: small ( 1000 g reduction). The surveys were then analyzed while controlling for demographic factors and complications. Results A total of 85 women were enrolled in the study and completed pre- and postoperative surveys (small reduction n = 21 (25%), intermediate n = 45 (53%), and large n = 19 (22%)). Regardless of reduction specimen weight, patients reported decreased overall pain and increased satisfaction with their breasts, as well as improved psychosocial, sexual, and physical well-being at each postoperative visit. Preoperative SF-MPQ pain scores were significantly lower in the small specimen weight group compared with either the intermediate or the large group (p = 0.001). Postoperatively, both the intermediate and large groups reported significant improvement in pain at each time point. The small specimen weight group did not report significant pain improvement until 3 months postoperatively. Conclusions Patients undergoing breast reduction mammoplasty experience decreased pain and improved quality of life regardless of reduction specimen weight. Improvement in these parameters manifests as early as 1 week postoperatively and maintained at 3 months postoperatively. These data suggest that many patients who are denied coverage for reduction mammoplasty on the basis of low projected reduction specimen weight would derive significant benefit from the procedure.
Using Integrative Implementation Theory to Understand New Jersey’s 2015 Opt-Out Movement

Background/ContextIn the spring of 2015, about 135,000 New Jersey students—almost 20% of the test-eligible children—did not take the state's test. Opposition of this magnitude directly contradicted...
Disparities in Emergency Medical Services Time Intervals for Patients with Suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome: Findings from the North Carolina Prehospital Medical Information System.

Background Timely emergency medical services (EMS) response, management, and transport of patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) significantly reduce delays to emergency treatment an...
Transverse Single-Spin Asymmetries of Midrapidity Direct Photons and Neutral Mesons at PHENIX

Results are presented for the transverse single-spin asymmetries of direct photons, neutral pions, and eta mesons for $|\eta|<0.35$ from $p^\uparrow + p$ collisions with $\sqrt{s} = 200$ GeV at PHENIX. As hadrons, $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ mesons are sensitive to both initial- and final-state effects and at midrapidity probe the dynamics of gluons along with a mix of quark flavors. Because direct photon production does not include hadronization, the direct photon TSSA is only sensitive to initial-state effects and at midrapidity provides a clean probe of the gluon dynamics in transversely polarized protons. All three of these results will help constrain the collinear twist-3 trigluon correlation function as well as the gluon Sivers function, improving our knowledge of spin-dependent gluon dynamics in QCD.
Student Retention in School Bands and Orchestras: A Literature Review:

The purpose of this review was to synthesize the literature on attrition and retention in instrumental music and to identify strategies to encourage students’ continued participation in school band...
Disparity in prehospital scene time for geriatric trauma patients

Abstract Background Geriatric patients face disparities in prehospital trauma care. We hypothesized that geriatric trauma patients are more likely to experience prolonged prehospital scene time than younger adults. Methods Retrospective analysis of the 2017 National Emergency Medical Services Information System. Patients who met anatomic or physiologic trauma criteria based on national triage guidelines were included (n = 16,356). Geriatric patients (age≥65, n = 3594) were compared to younger adults (age 18–64). The primary outcome was prolonged scene time (>10 min). Multivariable logistic regression was performed, controlling for patient demographics, on-scene treatments, and injury severity. Results Geriatric patients were more likely to experience prolonged scene time than younger adults after controlling for other factors (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.57–2.04, p Conclusions Geriatric trauma patients are more likely than younger adults to have prolonged prehospital scene time. This disparity may be caused by delayed recognition of injury severity or age-related cognitive biases.
Vestibulospinal and Reticulospinal Systems

The sections in this article are: 1 Vestibular and Neck Reflexes 1.1 Vestibular Reflexes 1.2 Neck Reflexes 1.3 Interaction of Vestibular and Neck Reflexes 2 Central Pathways for Vestibular Reflexes 2.1 Pathways Linking Vestibular Nuclei to Spinal Cord 2.2 Vestibulospinal Tracts 2.3 Reticulospinal Tracts 2.4 Connections Between Labyrinthine and Spinal Motoneurons 3 Central Pathways for Neck Reflexes 4 Functional Studies of Vestibulospinal Reflexes 4.1 Semicircular Canal Reflexes 4.2 Otolith Reflexes 4.3 Central Pathways for Vestibulospinal Reflexes 4.4 Vestibulospinal Reflexes and γ-Loop 4.5 Cerebellum and Vestibulospinal Reflexes 5 Conclusion
Genetic Mapping of a Defective Bacteriophage on the Chromosome of Bacillus subtilis 168

A genetic marker responsible for the killing activity of PBSX, a defective phage carried by Bacillus subtilis 168, has been located on the bacterial chromosome. Two mutant strains of B. subtilis 168, which produced tailless phage particles upon mitomycin C induction, were shown to carry lesions, designated xtl-1 and xtl-2, which were linked by transformation and PBS1-mediated transduction to metC. The link-age relationship between xtl and adjacent auxotrophic markers was determined by three-factor PBS1 transduction, the suggested order of markers being argO 1 metA metC xtl.
Importance of Real-time Assays to Distinguish Multidrug Efflux Pump Inhibiting and Outer Membrane Destabilizing Activities in Escherichia coli

The constitutively expressed AcrAB multidrug efflux system of Escherichia coli shows a high degree of homology with the normally silent AcrEF system. Exposure of a strain with acrAB deleted to antibiotic selection pressure frequently leads to the insertion sequence-mediated activation of the homologous AcrEF system. In this study, we used strains constitutively expressing either AcrAB or AcrEF from their normal chromosomal locations to resolve a controversy about whether phenylalanylarginine β-naphthylamide (PAβN) inhibits the activities of AcrAB and AcrEF and/or acts synergistically with antibiotics by destabilizing the outer membrane permeability barrier. Real-time efflux assays allowed a clear distinction between the efflux pump-inhibiting activity of PAβN and the outer membrane-destabilizing action of polymyxin B nonapeptide (PMXBN). When added in equal amounts, PAβN, but not PMXBN, strongly inhibited the efflux activities of both AcrAB and AcrEF pumps. In contrast, when outer membrane destabilization was assessed by the nitrocefin hydrolysis assay, PMXBN exerted a much greater damaging effect than PAβN. Strong action of PAβN in inhibiting efflux activity compared to its weak action in destabilizing the outer membrane permeability barrier suggests that PAβN acts mainly by inhibiting efflux pumps. We concluded that at low concentrations, PAβN acts specifically as an inhibitor of both AcrAB and AcrEF efflux pumps; however, at high concentrations, PAβN in the efflux-proficient background not only inhibits efflux pump activity but also destabilizes the membrane. The effects of PAβN on membrane integrity are compounded in cells unable to extrude PAβN. IMPORTANCE The increase in multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens at an alarming rate has accelerated the need for implementation of better antimicrobial stewardship, discovery of new antibiotics, and deeper understanding of the mechanism of drug resistance. The work carried out in this study highlights the importance of employing real-time fluorescence-based assays in differentiating multidrug efflux-inhibitory and outer membrane-destabilizing activities of antibacterial compounds.
Analytic Guided-Search Model of Human Performance Accuracy in Target- Localization Search Tasks

Current models of human visual search have extended the traditional serial/parallel search dichotomy. Two successful models for predicting human visual search are the Guided Search model and the Signal Detection Theory model. Although these models are inherently different, it has been difficult to compare them because the Guided Search model is designed to predict response time, while Signal Detection Theory models are designed to predict performance accuracy. Moreover, current implementations of the Guided Search model require the use of Monte-Carlo simulations, a method that makes fitting the model's performance quantitatively to human data more computationally time consuming. We have extended the Guided Search model to predict human accuracy in target-localization search tasks. We have also developed analytic expressions that simplify simulation of the model to the evaluation of a small set of equations using only three free parameters. This new implementation and extension of the Guided Search model will enable direct quantitative comparisons with human performance in target-localization search experiments and with the predictions of Signal Detection Theory and other search accuracy models.
Replication of sindbis virus: VII. Location of 5-methyl cytidine residues in virus-specific RNA

Sindbis virus intracellular 26 S and 49 S RNA contain internal 5-methyl cytidine (m^(5)C) residues. In [methyl-^(3)H]methionine-labeled Sindbis virus RNA, an average of 19% of the methyl-^(3)H label in 26 S RNA is in m^(5)C, whereas in intracellular 49 S RNA, an average of 8% of the methyl-^(3)H label is in m^(5)C, the remainder of the label being in the cap. Sindbis virion 49 S RNA contains much less m^(5)C than intracellular 49 S RNA extracted from the same cells. In 26 S RNA, m^(5)C residues occur in five oligonucleotides, four of which have been identified as having base compositions of C_(4)A_(4)UG, C_(6)A_(2)UG, C_(3)A_(2)G, and C_(2)AG, which are found distributed between two major locations, one approximately 4000 nucleotides from the 3′ end and the other about 1200 nucleotides from the 3′ end (out of a total length of 5000 nucleotides). The m^(5)C containing nucleotide C_(2)AG is found only at the former location and the oligonucleotide of composition C_(4)A_(4)UG (which contains 40–50%. of the total m^(5)C in 26 S RNA) is restricted to the latter location; the distribution of methyl label between the two locations suggests that each region contains at least two of the methylated sequences. Although there appear to be five specific sites for methylation on the 26 S RNA, only a minority of these sites are modified, as each 26 S RNA molecule contains an average of less than one m^(5)C. Sindbis virus 26 S RNA isolated from both polysomes and nonpolysomal ribonucleoproteins contain equal amounts of m^(5)C. 49 S RNA isolated from polysomes contains 60–80% more m^(5)C than does 49 S RNA which is isolated primarily from nucleocapsids. The m^(5)C residues thus may be somehow involved in translating the viral RNA.
The Effects of Education on Health and Mortality

This article reviews recent studies on the effects of education on health and mortality focusing on studies that might plausibly yield causal estimates. The best evidence from studies that use compulsory schooling laws as source of identification provides little support for a causal link. Other credible research designs have in some cases yielded promising results of a causal effect, but more research is needed to supplement these studies. Recent comprehensive analyses using either statistical decompositions or a developmental model of how early life endowments give rise to health disparities, complement the studies that have relied on narrowly focused experimental evaluations. Another innovation in the literature that shows promise for future analysis includes the use of school quality measures.
Bedtime routines in early childhood: prevalence, consistency, and associations with nighttime sleep

The ability to transition from wakefulness to sleep is one of the most important tasks in the development of sleep during early childhood. Although establishing regular bedtime routines for children with sleep problems can be clinically effective in reducing the number of signaled night awakenings and increasing amount of sleep, it is unclear whether a regular bedtime routine would be associated with either the frequency of signaled night awakenings or nightly sleep minutes in a nonclinical sample of children. This study examined the role of a regular bedtime routine on the development of sleep regulation and consolidation in a community sample of young children. Adherence to a bedtime routine was concurrently associated with a greater amount of nightly sleep at 36 and 42 months. In addition, adherence to a bedtime routine predicted an increase in nightly sleep minutes over a 6-month period. Finally, this study demonstrated that adherence to a bedtime routine was particularly supportive of developmental gains for children of mothers who used consistent parenting practices during the day.
Methods for studying cell death and viability in primary neuronal cultures

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the advantages and disadvantages of neuronal cell death assays in vitro. The relative merits and risks of methods to identify and isolate neurons and the utility of methods to distinguish cell survival from changes in cell attachment, proliferation, or adaptation in vitro are examined. The chapter provides protocols for dissociating cells from the peripheral and central nervous system, identifying specific cell populations, isolating subgroups of cells, and measuring cell viability and cytoxocity. A variety of alternative cytotoxicity and viability assays are reviewed for their capacity to measure cell death in vitro accurately or rapidly. Many good manuals are available for general procedures in the preparation of cell cultures and for specialized protocols for particular populations of nerve or glial cells. A primary culture assay can reduce the components of an experiment to a dissected tissue explant or isolated cells observed and manipulated in a defined environment. Although enhanced experimental control is the principal advantage of primary culture experiments, it is also the major limitation and caveat when interpreting observations. The artificial nature of in vitro assays requires that conclusions regarding normal developmental or physiological principles be further examined in vivo.
Results on CP Violation from Belle

I describe the recent measurement of the CP violating parameter $\sin 2 \phi_1 =(0.99\pm 0.14\pm 0.05)$ from the Belle experiment at KEK.