cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Readmission after major surgery: effect of the postdischarge environment.

Abstract Background Although uncoordinated postdischarge care has been associated with poor clinical outcomes, the effect of discharge to a low healthcare resource area (LHRA) on readmission remains undetermined. We sought to assess how the quality of discharge area health resources impact readmission following major surgery. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed by linking Maryland state data for 2012-2015 to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Area Health-Resource File. Patients undergoing one of 11 common surgical procedures were identified. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the effect of discharge area health resource quality on readmission. Results A total of 76,747 patients were identified of which 9.4% were discharged to a high healthcare resource area (HHRA), whereas 81.9% of patients were discharged to an LHRA. Perioperative morbidity and length of stay were comparable between HHRA versus LHRA patients (both P > 0.05). Among all patients, 30-d and 90-d readmission was 6.5% and 12.4%, respectively. On multivariable analysis, discharge to LHRA was independently associated with a 19% (odds ratio = 1.19; 95% CI, 1.01-1.41; P = 0.043) and 18% (odds ratio = 1.18; 95% CI, 1.04-1.33; P = 0.010) greater odds of 30-d and 90-day readmission, respectively. Conclusions Patients discharged to an area characterized by LHRA were more likely to be readmitted at 30 d and 90 d following index discharge.
President G. W. Bush and the Hyper-unitary Approach to Waging the War on Terror

President G. W. Bush faced the worst American attack in the history of the USA. The attacks of September 11, 2001 were clearly a watershed moment in American history. Similar to the barbaric invasion of Rome, led by Hannibal, the USA would never be the same after the infamous day of September 11, 2001. In this chapter, I examine President G. W. Bush’s response to the attacks and determine whether he supported an implied theory of executive emergency power. I find through thorough research of classified documents that President Bush did invoke a theory of implied executive emergency power and used his own prerogative to determine what powers to use and when to use such powers in waging America’s War on Terror.
Computer Simulations of Bottle Brushes: From Melts to Soft Networks

Using a combination of molecular dynamics simulations and analytical calculations, we study dense bottle- brush systems in a melt and network state. Analysis of our simulation results shows that bottle-brush macromolecules in melt behave as ideal chains with effective Kuhn length bK. Simulations show that the bottle-brush-induced bending rigidity is due to an entropy decrease caused by redistribution of the side chains upon backbone bending. The Kuhn length of the bottle brushes increases with increasing the side-chain degree of polymerization nsc as bK ∝ nsc 0.46 . This model of bottle-brush macromolecules is extended to describe mechanical properties of bottle-brush networks in linear and nonlinear deformation regimes. In the linear deformation regime, the network shear modulus scales with the degree of polymerization of the side chains as G0 ∝ (nsc +1 ) −1 as long as the ratio of the Kuhn length, bK, to the size of the fully extended bottle-brush backbone between cross-links, Rmax, is smaller than unity, bK/Rmax ≪ 1. Bottle-brush networks with bK/Rmax ∝ 1 demonstrate behavior similar to that of networks of semiflexible chains with G0 ∝ nsc −0.5 . In the nonlinear network deformation regime, the deformation-dependent shear modulus is a universal function of the first strain invariant I1 and bottle-brush backbone deformation ratio β describing stretching ability of the bottle-brush backbone between cross-links.
Psychotherapy in the Aftermath of Human Trafficking: Working Through the Consequences of Psychological Coercion

ABSTRACTShame and mistrust are factors that complicate a trafficking survivor’s readiness to benefit from services offered by multidisciplinary providers. Shame is understood as one of the consequences of the trafficker’s coercion. Experiences of coercion and resulting shame later complicate trust building with psychotherapists. Through case studies of psychotherapy work in a public hospital, the authors describe how trust and shame issues are worked through. The psychotherapist facilitates the survivor’s work towards restoring a sense of humanity and dignity.
Prediction of hot-carrier degradation in digital CMOS VLSI by timing simulation

We have adapted an RC time-constant based timing simulator to predict hot-carrier degradation effects in digital CMOS circuits. The use of a timing simulator enables a quick characterization of degradation in large circuits. The speed-up over SPICE-based simulation can be greater than 3 orders-of-magnitude. >
Detection of event onset using Twitter

Social Media generates information about news and events in real-time. Given the vast amount of data available and the rate of information propagation, reliably identifying events is a challenge. Most state-of-the-art techniques are post hoc techniques that detect an event after it happened. Our goal is to detect onset of an event as it is happening using the user-generated information from Twitter streams. To achieve this goal, we use a discriminative model to identify change in the pattern of conversations over time. We use a topic evolution model to find credible events and eliminate random noise that is prevalent in many of the event detection models. The simplicity of the proposed model allows detect events quickly and efficiently, permitting discovery of events within minutes from the start of conversation about those conversations on Twitter. Our model is evaluated on a large-scale Twitter corpus to detect events in real-time. The proposed model is tested on other datasets to detect change over longer periods of time. The results indicate we can detect real events, within 3 to 8 minutes of it first appearing, with a lower degree of noise compared to other methods.
Constitutional Torts and the War on Terror

This book explores the response of the federal courts to Bivens claims brought to secure remedies for torture and other human rights abuses that were committed in connection with the Bush Administration’s war on terror. It finds that such claims have been almost universally rejected, on one basis or another. Indeed, while some claims may have settled, no federal appellate court has confirmed an award of damages to a victim of torture. As a result, the constitutional limits on torture (if any) in the national security context remain undeveloped and victims have received no formal redress. This book chronicles the failure of Bivens litigation, explores the justifications for judicial silence, and suggests a solution. It finds that the modern federal judiciary has pushed these suits aside as part of a stated reluctance to evaluate matters of national security policy as to which the political branches have greater expertise. Such a deferential approach represents a marked departure from a nineteenth-century approach to remedies for federal government wrongdoing. Back then, such leading jurists and statesmen as James Madison, John Marshall, and Joseph Story applied a narrow test of legality to claims of government wrongdoing. The executive was free to act in a moment of crisis, and could request indemnity from Congress. But as Justice Story explained, federal courts were to ignore proffered excuses based on claims of military necessity and national security: “the Court can only look to the questions, whether the laws have been violated; and if they were, justice demands, that the injured party should receive a suitable redress.” Federal courts can discharge their judicial duty and reclaim their law-saying function in war-on-terror litigation by adopting changes to current doctrine. The book argues that the Supreme Court should presume the right to sue under Bivens, in keeping with the lessons of the 1988 Westfall Act; it should eliminate the qualified immunity defense in cases in which the victim seeks only nominal damages; and it should recognize that the Constitution applies as a limit on government action taken outside the territorial boundaries of the United States. Two chapters of the book appear here: the Introduction and Chapter 5, responding to arguments against judicial intervention.
Milk production and nutrient digestibility responses to increasing levels of stearic acid supplementation of dairy cows

The objective of our study was to evaluate the dose-response effects of a stearic acid (C18:0)-enriched supplement on nutrient digestibility, production responses, and the maximum amount of C18:0 that can be incorporated into the milk fat of dairy cows. Multiparous Holstein cows (n = 32; 145 ± 66 d in milk) with a wide range in milk yield (30 to 70 kg/d) were blocked by milk yield and assigned to replicated 4 × 4 Latin squares. Treatments were diets supplemented with a C18:0-enriched supplement (SA; 93% C18:0) at 0, 0.80, 1.50, or 2.30% of diet dry matter (DM). Periods were 21 d with the final 5 d used for data and sample collection. Dry matter intake increased linearly as SA supplementation increased. Supplementation of SA had no effect on the yield of milk or milk components. Due to the increase in DM intake, SA linearly reduced the ratio of energy-corrected milk to DM intake. Supplementation of SA did not affect body weight. Increasing SA reduced digestibility of 16-carbon, 18-carbon, and total fatty acids (FA), with the reduction in digestibility of 18-carbon FA being approximately 30 percentage units from the 0.0 to 2.30% SA supplemented diets. Supplementation of SA linearly increased concentrations of preformed milk fatty acids (FA) but did not affect the yield of preformed milk FA. Yields of C18:0 plus cis-9 C18:1 were increased by SA supplementation; however, the increase from 0 to 2.3% SA was only 16 g/d. The concentration and yield of de novo and 16-carbon milk FA were unaffected by SA supplementation. In conclusion, increasing doses of SA decreased FA digestibility and had little effect on production parameters. Although SA increased the yield of C18:0 and cis-9 C18:1 in milk fat, it had no overall effect on milk fat yield. The lack of production responses to a C18:0-enriched fat supplement was most likely associated with the marked decrease in FA digestibility.
Evaluation of the Fibre-Matrix Debond Strength of a Ti-22Al-23Nb (AT.%)/Trimarc Metal Matrix Composite:

A methodology involving experimental testing using a cruciform specimen geometry has been developed which assists fibre/matrix debond strength calculations for continuously reinforced metal matrix ...
FAT METABOLISM IN HIGHER PLANTS. 23. PROPERTIES OF A SOLUBLE FATTY ACID SYNTHETASE FROM AVOCADO MESOCARP.

The conversion of malonyl coenzyme A to long chain fatty acids has been studied in enzyme systems from various tissues (l-7). Attempts to purify the enzymes involved in this conversion revealed an important difference between these systems. Thus the highly purified synthetase from yeast (8, 9) and from liver (10, 11) behaves as a single complex; its fractionation has not yet been accomplished. However, extracts of Clostridium kluyveri and Escherichia coli can be resolved into several components which on combination catalyze the synthesis of fatty acids (7, 12-16). One of these components has the rather unusual property of being relatively stable to heat and dilute hydrochloric acid (7, 12, 13). Acetyl and malonyl moieties can be transferred from their coenzyme A derivatives to this protein. The acyl complexes are then condensed by suitable enzymes to form acetoacetyl-enzyme, which is subsequently converted to butyryl-enzyme (15-19). These findings support the scheme proposed earlier for the synthetase from yeast (8) .I Extracts from avocado mesocarp contain, in addition to the previously studied particulate system (5,20), a soluble enzymatic system, which converts malonyl coenzyme A to saturated long chain fat’ty acids (21). This soluble enzyme has as one of its components a heat-stable protein and therefore resembles the bacterial systems. Some of the data discussed here have already been reported elsewhere (22).
Analysis of Single Cells on a Pseudotime Scale along Postnatal Pancreatic Beta Cell Development

Single-cell RNA-seq generates gene expression profiles of individual cells and has furthered our understanding of the developmental and cellular hierarchy within complex tissues. One computational challenge in analyzing single-cell data sets is reconstructing the progression of individual cells with respect to the gradual transition of their transcriptomes. While a number of single-cell ordering tools have been proposed, many of these require knowledge of progression markers or time delineators. Here, we adapted an algorithm previously developed for temporally ordering bulk microarray samples [1] to reconstruct the developmental trajectory of pancreatic beta-cells postnatally. To accomplish this, we applied a multi-step pipeline to analyze single-cell RNA-seq data sets from isolated beta-cells at five different time points between birth and post-weaning. Specifically, we i) ordered cells along a linear trajectory (the Pseudotime Scale) by applying one-dimensional principal component analysis to the normalized data matrix; ii) identified annotated and de-novo gene sets significantly regulated along the trajectory; iii) built a network of top-regulated genes using protein interaction repositories; and iv) scored genes for their network connectivity to transcription factors [2]. A systematic comparison showed that our approach was more accurate in correctly ordering cells for our data set than previously reported methods and allowed for direct comparisons with external data sets. Importantly, our analysis revealed never before seen changes in beta-cell metabolism and in levels of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species. We demonstrated experimentally a role for these changes in the regulation of postnatal beta-cell proliferation. Our pipeline identified maturation-related changes in gene expression not captured when evaluating bulk gene expression data across the developmental time course. The proposed methodology has a broad applicability beyond the context here described and could be used to examine the trajectory of other single cell types along a continuous course of cell state changes.
Some quadrature waveform generators

The oscillators with different type of output signal e.g. sinusoidal, triangular, square etc. are often produced as function generators. Moreover quadrature oscillators are used in measurements and communication applications, e.g. mixers and single sideband modulators. In measurement applications this types of oscillators are used in selective voltmeters and vector generators. In this paper some problems with amplitude of generated waveforms of quadrature oscillators are described and also simulation results and techniques of oscillator's construction are presented.
Impact of electronic reminder systems on hepatitis C screening in primary care

Screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) was recommended in 2012 by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the population born between 1946 and 1965. Reminder systems are effective at promoting HCV screening, but the yield of positive tests among various population subgroups and the linkage to specialty HCV treatment is not well understood. We sought to determine: (i) the effect of the CDC recommendation alone, and the effect of an electronic medical record (EMR) reminder on the proportion of the population screened; (ii) the yield of positive HCV tests as screening strategies have evolved, and according to a patient's history of serum aminotransferase testing; (iii) the proportion of positive cases followed up for HCV treatment. This retrospective cohort study included 60 000 primary care patients at a northeast US academic medical centre serving an urban and rural population in which an EMR reminder was instituted in 2014. Results demonstrated an increase in proportion tested for HCV from 12% prior to the CDC recommendation to 37% after the reminder system. The yield of positive HCV antibody (HCV Ab) tests decreased from 7% in the "case-finding" era to 1.6% after the EMR reminder prompted screening of a lower risk population (P < .001). Patients with a history of abnormal aminotransferase tests had a fivefold higher rate of positive HCV Ab testing (6.7% vs 1.5%, P < .001). Ninety per cent of patients with confirmed HCV infection were seen in specialty care.
Why is announcement training more effective than conversation training for introducing HPV vaccination? A theory-based investigation

Improving healthcare providers’ communication about HPV vaccination is critical to increasing uptake. We previously demonstrated that training providers to use presumptive announcements to introduce HPV vaccination improved uptake, whereas training them to use participatory conversations had no effect. To understand how communication training changed provider perceptions and communication practices, we evaluated intermediate outcomes and process measures from our randomized clinical trial, with a particular focus on identifying mechanisms that might explain the announcement training’s impact. In 2015, a physician educator delivered 1-h in-clinic HPV vaccination recommendation trainings at 20 primary care clinics in North Carolina serving 11,578 patients age 11 or 12. Clinics were randomized to receive training to use “announcements” that presume parents are ready to vaccinate or “conversations” that invite dialog about vaccination. Training participants were 83 HPV vaccine providers. Pre- and post-training surveys assessed constructs from the theory of planned behavior (TPB), including providers’ attitudes and subjective norms about HPV vaccination and their perceived behavioral control to recommend HPV vaccination. Surveys also assessed providers’ perceptions of the announcement and conversation communication strategies. Both trainings improved TPB-related constructs, including providers’ positive attitudes toward HPV vaccination, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control to recommend the vaccine (all p < .001, Cohen’s d = .62–.90). Furthermore, in both trainings, the amount of time providers reported needing to discuss HPV vaccination with parents decreased from pre-training to 1-month follow-up (mean = 3.8 vs. 3.2 min, p = .01, d = .28). However, announcement trainings outperformed conversation trainings on other measures. For example, providers who received announcement training more often reported that the communication strategy saved them time, was easy to use, helped them promote HPV vaccination as routine care, and increased HPV vaccination coverage in their clinics (all p < .05; d = .44–.60). Both announcement and conversation trainings improved providers’ HPV vaccine-related perceptions. However, providers viewed announcements as easier to use and more effective, which may help to explain the success of this training approach. Future provider communication interventions should consider implementation outcomes, including acceptability, alongside more traditional TPB constructs. clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02377843 . Registered on February 27, 2015.
Addressing Gaps in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Education: Training Middle School Students in Hands-Only Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.

Background Training middle school students to perform hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (HOCPR) is a potential method to increase overall rates of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). We aimed to examine the feasibility of teaching this population CPR using teacher-implemented education sessions guided by American Heart Association (AHA) training kits and resources. Methods We conducted a national HOCPR training campaign in middle schools during the 2014-2015 school year. Participating schools utilized AHA CPR training kits to train seventh and eighth grade students. We assessed pretest/posttest knowledge and comfort in performing HOCPR. Results We recruited 1131 schools and trained approximately 334,610 students in HOCPR. The average pretest score on knowledge questions was 50% and the average posttest score was 84%. Most students (76%) felt comfortable performing HOCPR after the education session. Overall, 98% of teachers said they would continue to implement CPR training in the future. Conclusions Large-scale, teacher-implemented CPR education sessions in the middle school setting are a successful approach to increase middle school student's knowledge and comfort in performing HOCPR and to increase overall bystander CPR rates.
Ivabradine in heart failure: hope or hype?

During the past two decades considerable progress has been made in understanding the pathophysiology of heart failure (HF) and subsequent development of several therapeutic agents primarily based on the neurohormonal blockade with reninangiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) blocking agents (e.g., angiotension-converting enzyme inhibitors [ACEIs], angiotensin II receptor blockers [ARBs], and aldosterone receptor blockers) and b-blockers. Although these drugs are highly effective in reducing the morbidity and mortality in HF, there is considerable residual risk that remains despite appropriate use of these agents. Ivabradine, which is a specific heart rate (HR)-lowering agent that acts by inhibiting funny channels (If), a key ‘pacemaker’ current in the sino-atrial node, has recently been shown to be effective in the treatment of patients already receiving guideline-based therapy with RAAS blocking agents and bblockers bringing new hope of further reducing the residual risk of recurrent hospitalization and death due toHF. In this issue of the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs, the Drug Profile on ivabradine provides an excellent overview regarding the pharmacology of this drug and its role in the treatment of HF based on the results of SHIFT (Systolic Heart failure treatment with If inhibitor ivabradine Trial). [3] Despite the obvious and highly significant benefit observed during treatment with ivabradine in the SHIFT study, there has been some discussion and debate in the academic community regarding the precise role of ivabradine in patients with HF in the clinic. A careful examination of the SHIFT study shows that treatment with ivabradine was indeed associated with significant reduction in the primary composite endpoint consisting of cardiovascular death and hospitalization for worsening HF. There was a 26% reduction in hospitalizations due to worsening HF and also a 26% reduction in deaths related to HF. These effects were seen primarily in the patients who had baseline HR ‡75 beats/min. The fact that ivabradine was primarily effective in those with higher HR should not be surprising given the fact that it works primarily by slowing theHRby blocking the If channels. Although there are some data in experimental settings demonstrating various other actions, these require further confirmation and evaluation in humans.
Secure Mobile Framework for Monitoring Medical Sensor Data

Increasing elderly populations, medical facility under-staffing, and increased governmental spending on healthcare have created a shaky climate which could ultimately lead to bankrupting government healthcare programs and generally lower qualities of healthcare for all individuals. This chapter proposes a secure and reliable web-based architecture for a mobile platform based system for monitoring a wireless sensor network of medical devices which could effectively be used as a solution in mitigating costs on individual patient care while maintaining a high quality level of care. First we discuss related work in the area of wireless medical sensor networks. Then we describe our proposed solution and detail our experimental implementation and results.
Cognitive Therapy Applied to Personality Disorders

In the last several years, there has been a growing interest in the study and understanding of personality disorders. Patients with personality disorders have been part of the clinician’s case load since the beginning of the recorded history of psychotherapy; the general psycho­therapeutic literature on the treatment of personality disorders, however, has emerged more recently and is growing quickly. The main theoretical orientation in the present literature is psychoanalytic (Abend, Porder, & Willick, 1983; Chatham, 1985; Goldstein, 1985; Gunder­son, 1984; Horowitz, 1977; Kernberg, 1975, 1984; Lion, 1981; Masterson, 1978, 1980, 1985; Reid, 1981; Saul & Warner, 1982). Millon (1981) is one of the few volumes in the area of personality disorders that offers a behavioral focus, and the volume by Beck, Freeman and associates (1989) will be the first to offer a specific cognitive-behavioral focus. This is of interest, in that leading cognitive therapists have been, and remain, interested in “personality disorder” and “personality change” (Hartman & Blankenstein, 1986). When Beck (1963a,b) and Ellis (1957a, 1958) first introduced cognitive approaches, they drew upon the ideas of “ego analysts,” derived from Adler’s critiques of early Freudian psychoanalysis. Though their therapeutic innovations were seen as radical, their earliest cognitive therapies were, in many ways, “insight therapies” in that the therapy was assumed to change a patient’s overt “personality,” whether or not the therapy changed some hypothesized underlying personality. Although Beck and Ellis were among the first to use a wide array of behavioral treatment techniques, including structured in vivo homework, they have consistently emphasized the therapeutic impact of these techniques on cognitive schemata and have argued in favor of the integration of behavioral techniques into therapy within a broad framework that has some roots in prior analytic practice (Beck, 1976; Ellis & Bernard, 1985); they and their associates have emphasized the impact of treatment for particular types, or styles, of cognitive errors on dysfunctional self-concepts, as well as on presenting focal problems (Beck & Freeman, 1989; Ellis, 1985; Freeman, 1987).
Synthesis and processing of nanostructured WC-Co materials

In this study a novel approach, termed the integrated mechanical and thermal activation (IMTA) process, was used to synthesize nanostructured WC-Co powder. As a result of the integration of mechanical and thermal activation, nanostructured WC-Co powder was synthesized below 1000°C, starting from WO3, CoO and graphite powder mixtures. Furthermore, consolidation of the nanostructured WC-Co powder via high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying and solid state sintering was investigated. The results demonstrated the feasibility of converting the nanostructured WC-Co powder to coatings and bulk components, the properties of which are either comparable to or better than that of the conventional coarse-grained counterparts.
Management Strategies in Geriatric Trauma Care

The geriatric population is rapidly growing, and they are leading an increasingly active lifestyle resulting in a brisk and continuing increase in the incidence of traumatic injury in this population. Due to normal physiologic changes associated with aging and an increased prevalence of coexisting disease, it is expected that traumatic injuries in geriatric patients would be associated with a higher morbidity and mortality. However, the current statistics are dismal, and the economic impact is enormous. It is imperative that we improve. This chapter will provide a brief overview of the normal physiologic changes associated with aging and then discuss a geriatric-specific approach to the triaging, evaluation, and management of these patients with a particular focus on orthopedic and neurologic traumatic injuries. It will conclude with a brief discussion of the concept of clinical momentum as it relates to the management of traumatic injuries in the geriatric population.
Perturbance analysis of nuclear determination in Tetrahymena I: background, rationale, and illustrative example, employing temperature responses.

Summary A model based on comparative considerations, is presented for the nuclear determination of mating type in Tetrahymena thermophila. The model proposes a system of three binary control elements, each capable of stable persistence in one of two states. A general method is proposed for evaluating the model and for assigning particular mating types to particular compound states. Preliminary assignments of mating types are made from the responses of nuclei to temperature differentials.
Role of strain-dependent weakening memory on the style of mantle convection and plate boundary stability

How plate tectonic surface motions relate to the convecting mantle remains one of the major problems in geosciences. In particular, the cause and consequence of strain localization at plate boundaries remains debated, even though strain memory, i.e. the ability to preserve and reactivate tectonic inheritance over geological time, appears to be a critical feature in plate tectonics. Here, we analyze how a parameterized damage weakening rheology, strain-dependent weakening, affects the time-dependence of plate boundary formation, the transition between mobile and stagnant-lid, and the reorganization of plates in 2-D convection models. The strain-dependent weakening within our models allows for a self-consistent formation and preservation of lithospheric weak zones, which are formed as remnants of subduction zones due to large-scale compressional deformation in the trench region. Such inherited weak zones can be reactivated as intra-plate subduction zones, ridge adjacent subduction, or as spreading centers themselves. Due to the weakening along plate boundaries, the inherited weak zones, and partly the accumulated strain along spreading centers, which weakens the shallow parts of the lithosphere, the longevity of mobile-lid convection increases. Strain-dependent weakening also enhances strain localization along convergent plate boundaries which increases their stability and longevity. As a consequence, tectonic inheritance is an important contribution to understanding the time-dependence of plate reorganization. Strain-dependent weakening results in a shift of the mobile-stagnant lid transition to higher effective yield stresses, if the weak zones fully penetrate the lithosphere and are relatively weakened by at least 20 %.
Mobility Management for 5G IoT Devices: Improving Power Consumption With Lightweight Signaling Overhead

In mobile wireless networks, mobility management (MM) is an important process to track and locate user equipments (UEs), including Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, while moving throughout the network. In long term evolution (LTE) and fifth generation (5G) wireless networks, the two MM procedures are known as tracking area update (TAU) and Paging , which are burdensome for both mobile IoT/UEs and network—the IoT/UEs and network always initiate the TAU and Paging , respectively. Because of potentially very high-volume traffic and increasing density of high-mobility IoT/UEs, the TAU/Paging procedure increases the accompanied signaling overhead and the power consumption in the battery-limited IoT/UEs. Hence, this problem will become even worse in 5G because the latter is expected to accommodate exceptional services (e.g., longer IoT/UE battery lifetime). We propose a new solution to solve this problem, named gNB-based UE mobility tracking (gNB-based UeMT). This solution has four features achieving 5G goals. First, the mobile IoT/UEs will no longer trigger the TAU to report their location changes, giving much higher power savings with no signaling overhead. Instead, second, the network elements, gNBs, take over the responsibility of Tracking and Locating these IoT/UEs, giving always-known IoT/UE locations. Third, our Paging procedure is markedly improved over the conventional one, providing very fast IoT/UE reachability with no Paging messages being sent simultaneously. Fourth, this solution guarantees lightweight signaling overhead with very low Paging delay; it achieves about 92% reduction in the corresponding signaling overhead. To this end, our solution adds no implementation complexity; instead, it exploits the already existing LTE/5G communication protocols, functions, and measurement reports.
HETEROTOPICALLY TRANSPLANTED RAT URINARY BLADDER AS A MODEL FOR BLADDER CARCINOGENICITY STUDY

The heterotopic urinary bladder with a communicating reservoir is a potentially useful model for bladder carcinogenesis studies. To test whether such bladders will develop transitional cell carcinomas after chronic carcinogenic stimuli, 2 carcinogens, MNU and BCPN * were instilled repeatedly into the reservoir connected with the heterotopic bladder. Transitional cell carcinomas developed in 25 of 33 heterotopic bladders exposed to cumulative dose of 1.5, 3.0 or 6.0 mg of MNU between 20 and 30 weeks, while heterotopic bladders exposed to cumulative dose of 150, 300 or 600 mg of BCPN developed only one tumor. However, 22 of 40 rats whose heterotopic bladders were exposed to BCPN developed tumors in their homotopic or natural bladders. MNU probably acted directly on the bladder epithelial cells to induce neoplastic change. The reason(s) for the development of tumors in homotopic but not heterotopic bladders when BCPN was administered directly into the heterotopic bladders could not be ascertained from these studies.
“Displacing the Productionist Paradigm: A Comment on Paul Thompson's Spirit of the Soil, 2nd Edition.”

Paul Thompson's book The Spirit of the Soil first appeared in 1995, and has been re-issued in a new edition in 2017. This comment on the new edition addresses Thompson's argument concerning the pro...
[Corrigendum] Cancer‑related fatigue during combined treatment of androgen deprivation therapy and radiotherapy is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction

Combined androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and radiation therapy (RT) is the standard of care treatment for non‑metastatic prostate cancer (NMPC). Despite the efficacy, treatment‑related symptoms including fatigue greatly reduce the quality of life of cancer patients. The goal of the study is to examine the influence of combined ADT/RT on fatigue and understand its underlying mechanisms. A total of 64 participants with NMPC were enrolled. Fatigue was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‑Fatigue. Mitochondrial function parameters were measured as oxygen consumption from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) extracted from participants' whole blood. An ADT/RT‑induced fatigue mouse model was developed, with fatigue measured as a reduction in voluntary wheel‑running activity (VWRA) in 54 mice. Mitochondrial function was assessed in the ADT/RT mouse brains using western blot analysis of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) and transcription factor A, mitochondrial (TFAM). The results demonstrated that fatigue in the ADT group was exacerbated during RT compared with the non‑ADT group. This effect was specific to fatigue, as depressive symptoms were unaffected. PBMCs of fatigued subjects exhibited decreased ATP coupling efficiency compared to non‑fatigued subjects, indicative of mitochondrial dysfunction. The ADT/RT mice demonstrated the synergistic effect of ADT and RT in decreasing VWRA. Brain tissues of ADT/RT mice exhibited decreased levels of GLUT4 and TFAM suggesting that impaired neuronal metabolic homeostasis may contribute to fatigue pathogenesis. In conclusion, these findings suggest that fatigue induced by ADT/RT may be attributable to mitochondrial dysfunction both peripherally and in the central nervous system (CNS). The synergistic effect of ADT/RT is behaviorally reproducible in a mouse model and its mechanism may be related to bioenergetics in the CNS.
Scaling Recurrent Models via Orthogonal Approximations in Tensor Trains

Modern deep networks have proven to be very effective for analyzing real world images. However, their application in medical imaging is still in its early stages, primarily due to the large size of three-dimensional images, requiring enormous convolutional or fully connected layers – if we treat an image (and not image patches) as a sample. These issues only compound when the focus moves towards longitudinal analysis of 3D image volumes through recurrent structures, and when a point estimate of model parameters is insufficient in scientific applications where a reliability measure is necessary. Using insights from differential geometry, we adapt the tensor train decomposition to construct networks with significantly fewer parameters, allowing us to train powerful recurrent networks on whole brain image volume sequences. We describe the “orthogonal” tensor train, and demonstrate its ability to express a standard network layer both theoretically and empirically. We show its ability to effectively reconstruct whole brain volumes with faster convergence and stronger confidence intervals compared to the standard tensor train decomposition. We provide code and show experiments on the ADNI dataset using image sequences to regress on a cognition related outcome.
Dual-Mode Infrared Absorption by Segregating Dopants within Plasmonic Semiconductor Nanocrystals

When aliovalent dopants are sufficiently segregated to the core or near the surface of semiconductor nanocrystals, charge carriers donated by the dopants are also segregated to the core or near the surface, respectively. In Sn-doped indium oxide nanocrystals, we find that this contrast in free charge carrier concentration creates a core and shell with differing dielectric properties and results in two distinctly observable plasmonic extinction peaks. The trends in this dual-mode optical response with shell growth differ from core/shell nanoparticles composed of traditional plasmonic metals such as Au and Ag. We developed a model employing a core/shell effective medium approximation that can fit the dual-mode spectra and explain the trends in the extinction response. Lastly, we show that dopant segregation can improve sensitivity of plasmon spectra to changes in refractive index of the surrounding environment.
Prognostic Factors on Graft Function in Pediatric Kidney Recipients.

Abstract Background Graft survival in pediatric kidney transplant recipients has increased in the last decades. Determining prognostic factors for graft function over time allows the identification of patients at risk for graft loss and could lead to improvement of current guidelines. Methods Data were collected among pediatric kidney transplant recipients in a single center during the first 5 years after transplantation. Mixed model analysis was used to indicate possible prognostic factors for the loss of graft function. Results A total of 100 pediatric kidney transplant recipients were analyzed. Negative prognostics of graft function are higher donor age and higher recipient age, presence of obstructive uropathology, re-transplant, and occurrence of BK viremia. The negative influence on graft function of both donor age and presence of obstructive uropathology increased over time. In this study, the factors that did not influence graft function over time were the number of HLA mismatches, pre-transplant dialysis, intra-abdominal graft placement, ischemia time, occurrence of acute rejection, presence of lower urinary tract dysfunction, occurrence of urinary tract infections, and infections with cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus. Conclusions This study showed that a higher donor age and higher recipient age, presence of obstructive uropathology, a re-transplant, and the occurrence of BK viremia were negative prognostic factors of graft function over time, in the first 5 years after transplant. Graft function was comparable between steroid-sparing regimens (preferable in low-risk patients) and regimens including steroids (for special reasons).
European Integration Theory and the Future of the European Union after Brexit

In the last decade all four areas of European integration – economic, social, legal and political – have faced a series of unprecedented crises that have shattered the foundations of the integration process and have thrown into question the future of the European Union. Among the many paradoxes that have riddled the integration project since its inception, none is more puzzling than the one the EU faces currently. Arguably never in any other time has the EU been so integrated and so successful as it is today, and likewise, never in any other time has there been a greater cognitive dissonance and distance between the peoples of Europe and the EU. This project argues that the greatest crisis afflicting the European project is an epistemological crisis, resulting from our continued failure to understand the processes and forces that drive European integration. Attempts to address questions regarding the future of Europe are failing precisely because we are attempting to answer Europe’s ontological question, without first answering Europe’s epistemological question, in other words, we are attempting to agree on a future for Europe without first understanding the very nature of the integration process, and if we persist on this fallacy we are doomed to fail in both pursuits, as we have been failing for the last seventy years. This project argues that in order to solve this paradox, in order to determine the future of the EU and overcome Europe’s crisis, we must adopt a systems theory approach to understand the complex adaptive nature of the integration process. A systems theory approach to European integration theory allows us to uncover and to understand the different inputs that both constrain and compel European integration and allows us to create predictive models of future integration and disintegration.
Anatomic classification of mitral annular calcification for surgical and transcatheter mitral valve replacement.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: A systematic approach to quantify mitral annular calcification (MAC) in all-comers by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is essential to guide treatment, but lacking. METHODS From September 2015 to July 2019, 82 patients with MAC underwent MDCT at two institutions to evaluate for surgical mitral valve replacement (SMVR), transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR), or medical management. Type 1 MAC was defined as <270° annular calcium and Type 2 as ≥270°. Absence/presence of predicted left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction with virtual valve placement was used to further define Type 2 MAC into 2A/B for our treatment algorithm. RESULTS Type 1 MAC was present in 51.2%, Type 2A in 18.3%, and Type 2B in 30.5%. Operable Type 1 patients (50.0%) underwent hybrid transatrial TMVR or SMVR. Type 2A underwent a variety of treatments, and Type 2B surgical candidates (40.0%) underwent hybrid transatrial TMVR secondary to difficult suture anchoring with significant MAC and predicted LVOT obstruction. At a follow-up of 29.6 ± 12.0 months, mortality was 42.7% with 46.3% in the intervention group and 39.0% in the medical group (p = 0.47). All percutaneous TMVR patients expired. This translated to a disproportionate number of Type 2A deaths (80.0% with intervention), but all were high/extreme surgical risk. The hybrid TMVR group consisted of 95.0% Type 1/2B patients and had a lower Society of Thoracic Surgeons predicted risk of operative mortality (7.4% vs. 9.2%, p = 0.43)/mortality. CONCLUSIONS The highest mortality was seen in percutaneous TMVR Type 2A MAC patients, but they were at the greatest risk. Here we provide an objective MAC treatment algorithm for all-comers based on operability/anatomy.
Syntheses and Structures of the First Lanthanide-Thiosulfate Complexes and the Subsequent Formation of Mixed Thiosulfate-Sulfite Compounds

The first rare-earth (RE) thiosulfate complexes, RE(S2O3)69–, have been crystallized via room-temperature reactions and structurally characterized through single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The inco...
Optimization of the catalytic activity of manganese dioxide (MnO2) nanoparticles for degradation of environmental pollutants

A routine release of slow-degrading agrochemicals in the environment has resulted in their gradual accumulation posing a major threat both to the terrestrial and aquatic environments worldwide. Robust remediation of such chemicals without causing any further environmental hazard is a highly desirable solution. In this context, we explored the catalytic activity of MnO2 nanoparticles for the degradation of varieties of commonly used agrochemicals including halogenated aromatic compounds (HACs) under organic solvent-free environmental conditions. The dye Rhodamine B was used as a model compound to optimize degradation. Efficient degradation of RhB was observed at or below pH 5.0 in the 10.0 mM sodium acetate buffer at 25 °C. Degradation efficiency was not affected by light, and MnO2 nanoparticles could be recycled up to three times without a significant loss of catalytic activity. The catalyst was also capable of degrading a panel of structurally diverse HACs under buffered acidic conditions. The catalytic activities were inhibited by varieties of organic solvents in a concentration-dependent manner. The results provided herein offer a viable option for the timely remediation of varieties of organic pollutants in an environment-friendly manner.
Long distance homing in the cane toad (Rhinella marina) in its native range

Many animals exhibit complex navigation over different scales and environments. Navigation studies in amphibians have largely focused on species with life histories that require advanced spatial capacities, such as territorial poison frogs and migratory pond-breeding amphibians that show fidelity to mating sites. However, other species have remained relatively understudied, leaving the possibility that well-developed navigational abilities are widespread. Here, we measured short-term space use in non-territorial, non-migratory cane toads (Rhinella marina) in their native range in French Guiana. After establishing home range, we tested their ability to return to home following translocations of 500 and 1000 meters. Toads were able to travel in straight trajectories back to home areas, suggesting map-like navigational abilities similar to those observed in amphibians with more complex spatial behavior. These observations break with the current paradigm of amphibian navigation and suggest that navigational abilities may be widely shared among amphibians.
COVID-19 Projections for K12 Schools in Fall 2021: Significant Transmission without Interventions

Abstract Background Millions of primary school students across the United States are about to return to in-person learning. Amidst circulation of the highly infectious Delta variant, there is danger that without the appropriate safety precautions, substantial amount of school-based spread of COVID-19 may occur. Methods We used an extended Susceptible-Infected-Recovered computational model to estimate the number of new infections during 1 semester among a student population under different assumptions about mask usage, routine testing, and levels of incoming protection. Our analysis considers three levels of incoming protection (30%, 40%, or 50%; denoted as “low”, “mid”, or “high”). Universal mask usage decreases infectivity by 50%, and weekly testing may occur among 50% of the student population; positive tests prompt quarantine until recovery, with compliance contingent on symptom status. Results Without masking and testing, more than 75% of susceptible students become get infected within three months in all settings. With masking, this values decreases to 50% for “low” incoming protection settings (“mid”=35%, “high”=24%). Testing half the masked population (“testing”) further drops infections to 22% (16%, 13%). Conclusion Without interventions in place, the vast majority of susceptible students will become infected through the semester. Universal masking can reduce student infections by 26-78%, and biweekly testing along with masking reduces infections by another 50%. To prevent new infections in the community, limit school absences, and maintain in-person learning, interventions such as masking and testing must be implemented widely, especially among elementary school settings in which children are not yet eligible for the vaccine.