cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quasar Astrophysics with the Space Interferometry Mission

Precision optical astrometry of quasars and active galaxies can provide important insight into the spatial distribution and variability of emission in compact nuclei. SIM — the Space Interferometry Mission — will be the first optical interferometer capable of precision astrometry on quasars. Although it is not expected to resolve the emission, it will be very sensitive to astrometric shifts, for objects as faint as R magnitude 20. In its wide-angle mode, SIM will yield 4 microarcsecond absolute positions, and proper motions to about 2 microarcsecond/yr. A variety of AGN phenomena are expected to be visible to SIM on these scales, including time and spectral dependence in position offsets between accretion disk and jet emission. SIM should be able to answer the following questions. Does the most compact optical emission from an AGN come from an accretion disk or from a relativistic jet? Do the relative positions of the radio core and optical photocentre of quasars used for the reference frame tie change on the timescales of their photometric variability? Do the cores of galaxies harbour binary supermassive black holes remaining from galaxy mergers? In this paper we briefly describe the operation of SIM and the quasar measurements it will make. We estimate the size of the astrometric signatures which may be expected, and we discuss prospects for using astrometry as a fundamental tool for understanding quasar nuclei.
APP-BP1, a novel protein that binds to the carboxyl-terminal region of the amyloid precursor protein.

β-Amyloid protein precursors (APPs, 695-770 amino acids) are the source of the 39-43-amino acid β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides that comprise diffuse and fibrillar deposits in the cerebral cortex and vasculature of Alzheimer's disease brains. Aβ is thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, and, hence, considerable effort has been invested in defining the means by which Aβ is generated from the APPs. Knowledge of the normal function of the APPs is sure to provide insights into the genesis and pathological persistence of Aβ in Alzheimer's disease. APP is a cell surface protein with a large extracellular amino-terminal domain, a single transmembrane segment, and a short cytoplasmic tail. Its location and structural features characteristic of a receptor for signal transduction led us to search for potential effector proteins capable of binding and interacting with its cytoplasmic domain. Here, we report the cloning of a cDNA encoding one such protein. This ubiquitously expressed 59-kDa APP-binding protein, called APP-BP1, is 61% similar to a protein encoded by the Arabidopsis AXR1 gene, required for normal response to the hormone auxin, and is a relative of the ubiquitin activating enzyme E1.
Long period modulation of stacking order in Au3Mn

Abstract The crystal structure of Au-Mn alloys near Au3Mn has been determined on both thin film and bulk single crystals utilizing electron, neutron and X-ray diffraction, in order to clarify the long standing controversies concerning the structure of alloys in this composition range. In the single crystal thin films, the Au-Mn alloys form a two dimensional long period superlattice, as determined by Watanabe, over a wide composition range (~22% – ~28% Mn). In a bulk single crystal of composition near 24% Mn, on the other hand, the crystal has basically an ordered face centered cubic lattice, but the stacking order of the close packed planes is modulated in the [111] direction at every fifth layer and the stacking sequence can thus be described as ABCAB. It was also found that the structure of the bulk crystal is extremely sensitive to the composition although all these different structures are closely related. This is therefore an interesting example where the crystal structures are different in bulk and thin film form. A strong resemblance in the physical origin between the modulation of the superlattice by “antiphase boundaries” in the long period superlattice, and the modulation of the normal lattice by “stacking fault boundaries”, as in the present case, is emphasized.
Functional anatomy and “throttle valve” action of the pulmonary veins

Abstract The functional anatomy of the junction of pulmonary veins and atrium has been studied, and the findings have been presented. The probable significance of the anatomy of this region in cardiac and pulmonary hemodynamics in health and disease has been indicated. The possible role of the “throttle valve” action of pulmonary veins in acute pulmonary edema, syncope, and sudden death, as well as its therapeutic implications, has been discussed.
The Duistribution of Income and Tax Incidence in Panama: 1969

This paper reports estimates of the distribution of income and tax Abstract incidence in Panama in 1969. The distribution estimates are based upon the 1969 manpower survey, social security, income tax and Canal Zone records, and detailed studies of nonemployment incomes in each major industry. Despite the existence of the Panama Canal and a substantial commercial sector, the distribution of income seems to be no less unequal than in other Latin American countries. However, there is some evidence that the tax structure of Panama may be mildly progressive throughout.
Is RAGE still a therapeutic target for Alzheimer’s disease?

The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is a multiligand receptor involved in inflammatory disorders, tumor outgrowth, diabetic complications and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). RAGE transports circulating amyloid-β toxins across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) into the brain. RAGE–amyloid-β toxin interaction at the BBB leads to oxidative stress, inflammatory responses and reduced cerebral blood flow. Thus, regulating RAGE activity at the BBB and/or within brain could be beneficial to AD patients. Herein, the structure–function relation for RAGE–ligand interaction and the role of RAGE as a potential target in the development of treatments for AD and other RAGE-associated disorders are discussed. Despite recent setbacks in the development of RAGE-based therapies for AD, a new generation of compounds that regulate RAGE activity could be efficacious. Careful studies are needed in rodent and nonrodent animal models of AD with new the generation of RAGE antagonists to ensure safety and efficacy in chro...
DETECTING EMULATED ENVIRONMENTS

One of the most powerful tools in the hacker's reverse engineering arsenal is the virtual machine. These systems provide a simple mechanism for executing code in an environment in which the program...
Mechanics of Interfacial Failure during Thin-Slice Fiber Pushout Tests

Interfacial failure along the fiber-matrix interface during fiber push-out tests is examined for conditions where (1) a “thin-slice” specimen geometry is used and (2) matrix plasticity is necessary for large scale fiber displacement. The influence of both test geometry and the combination of thermally and mechanically induced stresses on the potential failure process is discussed. Experimental results are presented which illustrate a range of interfacial failure processes as a consequence of different combinations of specimen geometries, thermally induced residual stresses, and mechanically applied stresses. It is concluded that mode I crack opening and growth induced by specimen bending can be a major contributor to the interfacial failure process. Accurate quantitative measurements of interfacial shear properties must therefore rely on test configurations in which specimen bending is eliminated.
Mean-Risk Trade-Offs in Inductive Expert Systems

Notably absent in previous research on inductive expert systems is the study of meanrisk trade-offs. Such trade-offs may be significant when there are asymmetries such as unequal classification costs, and uncertainties in classification and information acquisition costs. The objective of this research is to developmodels to evaluate mean-risk trade-offs in value-based inductive approaches. We develop a combined mean-risk measure and incorporate it into the Risk-Based induction algorithm. The mean-risk measure has desirable theoretical properties (consistency and separability) and is supported by empirical results on decision making under risk. Simulation results using the Risk-Based algorithm demonstrate: (i) an order of magnitude performance difference between mean-based and risk-based algorithms and (ii) an increase in the performance difference between these algorithms as either risk aversion, uncertainty, or asymmetry increases given modest thresholds of the other two factors.
A density functional treatment of organolithium compounds: Comparison to ab initio, semiempirical, and experimental results

Density functional calculations on several classes of organolithium compounds are described. The compounds studied include lithium bonds to carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen and are representative of most types of organolithium compounds that have appeared in the recent literature. The computational results are compared to those using MNDO, which has been shown to have some serious deficiencies in compounds involving carbon–lithium bonds, and to PM3 results, which offer some improvement over MNDO for many organolithium compounds. Most of the density functional calculations with a large basis set are in good agreement with available ab initio and experimental data. Calculated carbon–lithium bond lengths were slightly shorter than those calculated by other ab initio methods and were substantially longer than those calculated by MNDO, which is known to underestimate carbon–lithium bond lengths severely. Dimerization energies of methyllithium, calculated by DMol, were also in good agreement with those of other ab initio calculations. Lithium–nitrogen bonds in lithium amides were calculated to be slightly shorter by DMol than by MNDO, although the two methods were in qualitative agreement for this type of compound. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
An integrated processor management scheme for the mesh-connected multicomputer systems

The performance of a multicomputer system depends on the processor management strategy. Processor management deals with processor allocation and job scheduling. Most of the processor allocation and job scheduling schemes proposed in the literature incur high implementation complexity and are therefore impractical to be integrated. In this paper, we propose an integrated processor management scheme that includes a bypass-queue scheduling policy and a fixed-orientation allocation algorithm. Both policies have very low complexities and are hence suitable to be integrated. Both policies improve the system performance considerably when applied in isolation. The integrated scheme provides even better performance.
Model equations for condensation biosynthesis using stable isotopes and radioisotopes.

Important syntheses in living systems occur by condensation reactions of the type nA----1B (where n is the number of A molecules needed to synthesize 1 molecule of B). Quantitative relationships fo...
Relations Among Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms and Drinking Frequency During Adolescence

Background: In adolescence, internalizing (e.g., anxious, depressive, and withdrawn) and externalizing (e.g., aggressive, oppositional, delinquent, and hyperactive) symptoms are related with alcohol use. However, the directionality among internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and alcohol use during adolescence is equivocal. Moreover, gender differences and similarities among these behaviors are not definitive in existing literature. Objectives: This study examined longitudinal relationships between internalizing and externalizing symptoms and past-month alcohol use among adolescent boys and girls. Methods: Using longitudinal survey data from a study of community-dwelling adolescents (n = 724), we estimated cross-lagged structural equation models to test relations between internalizing and externalizing symptoms (as measured by the Youth Self Report, YSR [Achenbach, 1991]) and self-report alcohol use in the past month among adolescents. Gender differences were tested in a multiple group structural...
A New Walk

In late April of 2013, the dogwood around Sweet Briar College had already shed their white petals in favor of even green, and the redbud blossoms were long blown away. The trails around campus, though, should have been colorful with students. Instead, along the stream-edge, there were only horseshoe prints—perhaps a few days old? An installation of broken crockery sat on a tree stump deep in the woods, suggesting a tea party gone feral.
Unknown Risks Parental Hesitation about Vaccination

Objective. This qualitative study of a select sample of vaccine-hesitant parents (VHPs) explores perceived and constructed personal judgments about the risks and uncertainties associated with vacci...
Interventional oncology: pictorial review of post-ablation imaging of liver and renal tumors

Percutaneous image-guided ablation is now commonly performed in many institutions for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, liver metastases, and renal cell carcinoma in select patients. Accurate interpretation of post-ablation imaging is of supreme importance because treatment algorithms for these diseases rely heavily on imaging to guide management decisions. The purpose of this pictorial essay is to provide abdominal imagers with a review of the indications for percutaneous ablation in the abdomen, a basic overview of ablation modalities in clinical use today, the expected post-ablation imaging findings in the liver and kidney, and potential complications of hepatic and renal ablation procedures.
Use of Mycelium and Detached Leaves in Bioassays for Assessing Resistance to Boxwood Blight

Boxwood blight caused by Calonectria pseudonaviculata is a newly emergent disease of boxwood (Buxus spp. L.) in the United States that causes leaf drop, stem lesions, and plant death. A rapid and reliable laboratory assay that enables screening hundreds of boxwood genotypes for resistance to boxwood blight is needed to enable breeding and selection of resistant cultivars. Using eight boxwood cultivars with differing susceptibilities, we examined parameters for a screening assay comparing whole plant inoculation with detached leaf inoculation, use of mycelium versus spores as the inoculum, comparison of times of the year for inoculation, and comparison of two leaf inoculation methods. Inoculation of detached leaves gave comparable results to inoculation of whole plants when compared across genotypes, although the detached leaf assay resulted in greater percentages of symptom expression. The time of year of plant inoculation (spring, summer, or winter) did not affect the relative expression of symptoms among the most resistant and susceptible genotypes. Inoculating plants with mycelium was as effective as spore inoculation for causing disease symptoms and allowed us to distinguish the more resistant genotypes, yet mycelium inoculation was much easier to prepare in large quantities for multiple assays.
An electron microscopic study of rabbit syncytium virus.

SummaryThe ultrastructure and viruscell relation of rabbit syncytium virus was studied by electron microscopy. The virus was seen in infected cell cultures, frequently in the cytoplasm and rarely in the nucleus, as a 650 A-diameter, nonmembrane-bound sphere. It was rarely found in intracytoplasmic vesicles as a 750-800 A-diameter, membrane-bound particle, the latter particle having acquired, in passing intravesicularly, a membrane derived from the vesicle wall The virus appeared to originate within dense cytoplasmic inclusions, and rarely, within similar nuclear inclusions. The virus particles were frequently associated with membrane-bound intracytoplasmic and intranuclear rods whose diameter was 750-1100 A. The biologic significance of the rod structures is not known. Our findings suggest that the ultrastructure and the intracellular behavior of rabbit syncytium are unlike those associated with any known virus, but approach most nearly those associated with the virus of epizootic diarrhea of infant mice....
Determinants of allograft survival in 100 consecutive cadaver kidney transplants.

AbstractWe reviewed 100 consecutive cadaver renal transplants done at our clinic between April 1976 and October 1979. A minimum 1-year followup was available on all patients. The actual 1-year graft survival rate was 64 per cent and the actual 1-year patient survival rate was 91 per cent. Criteria that had no significant effect on 1-year allograft survival were performance of pre-transplant nephrectomy and/or splenectomy, red blood cell group or the level of pre-formed antibody. A major determinant of graft survival was the number of blood transfusions received before transplantation. The 1-year graft survival rate was 36 per cent with no pre-transplant transfusions, 64 per cent with 1 to 5 transfusions and 70 per cent with more than 5 transfusions (p less than 0.005). The 1-year graft survival rate was not influenced by the use of kidneys imported from other states, the use of pediatric cadaver donors 1 to 15 years old or extended renal preservation times. Our experience supports continued regional and n...
Relationship of the EBV Lytic Activator Zta to the bZIP Family of Cellular Transactivators

The Zta (BZLF1) transactivator is capable of reactivating lytic cycle expression when introducted into latently infected B-cells (1) and hence represents the pivotal viral protein in the reactivation process. In earlier studies we utilized a bacterially expressed Zta in DNAseI footprinting assays to identify six Zta binding sites in the BamHI-H divergent promoter (2). The sequences protected by Zta binding were TGTGTAA, TGAGCAA, TGTGCAA and TGTGTCA (3 copies). These sites resemble the AP-1 binding site (TGAGTCA) for the Jun/Fos cellular transcription factors and Zta binds equally well to an AP-1 site as a ZRE site (2,3). The sites identified not only bind Zta but when cloned into a normally non-responsive target, for example TK-CAT or A10-CAT, confer Zta responsiveness on these targets (2).
Linearization of CMOS Hot-Electron Injectors for Self-Powered Monitoring of Biomechanical Strain Variations

In our previous work we demonstrated that by eliminating regulation and rectification modules from the energy harvesting pathway, the minimum activation power of a piezoelectricity-driven hot-electron injector (p-HEI) can be reduced down to a few nanowatts. As a result the p-HEI device could be used for self-powered, in-vivo recording of biomechanical strain variations. However, for large magnitudes of input strain energy, the response of the modified p-HEI sensor was found to be quasi-linear with respect to the number of loading cycles, which made the calibration of the sensor difficult across a wide variety of biomedical applications. In this paper we propose a compensation circuit that is able to linearize the response of the p-HEI injector over a wide range of input power while maintaining a low activation threshold. The compensation circuit uses a combination of a storage capacitor and a non-linear resistor which produces a compressive input-output response required for linearization. Using prototypes fabricated in a 0.5-μm bulk CMOS process we validate the functionality of the injector and demonstrate that it can achieve a linear injection response for input power ranging from 5 nW to 1.5 μW.
Applying Political Apportionment to Pre-allocate Float/buffer Ownership☆

Abstract Float in project schedules can provide important protection for activities if delays occur. Traditionally, total float exists along noncritical paths and shared among these activities. This has given rise to the longstanding question of who owns float. However, by definition the critical path lacks the unique flexibility provided by float. This conundrum is newly addressed by explicitly assigning float from the project finish as a buffer. Another more specific question appears: If each critical activity is entitled to a portion, what should its share be to protect the project? And how well does it fulfill the criterion of fairness, since activities are typically performed by different companies? Political apportionment is an established area to fairly distribute parliamentary seats by the votes that representatives have received. It provides systematic quota calculation with rounding methods to give consistent integer results that consider the relative size, i.e. importance, of competing participants. Inspired by apportionment, this research adapts a methodology to solve the problem of optimizing float allocation. Its contribution to the body of knowledge is twofold: First, float allocation is integrated with various apportionment methods. Second, an index is created to compare their performance based on Monte Carlo simulation. This research thus transforms float from being a passive byproduct of schedules to an active asset with which project managers can reduce delays. It builds a foundation for future research on active float management.
The Use of ATR-FTIR in Conjunction with Thermal Analysis Methods for Efficient Identification of Polymer Samples: A Qualitative Multi-instrument Instrumental Analysis Laboratory Experiment

A multi-instrument approach has been applied to the efficient identification of polymers in an upper-division undergraduate instrumental analysis laboratory course. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) is used in conjunction with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to identify 18 polymer samples and to determine whether polyethylene samples are high density or low density and whether nylon samples are composed of nylon-6 or nylon-6,6. This experiment introduces students to the use of two different instruments to qualitatively analyze several polymers in an efficient manner.
Chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea (CIA) risk associated with taxane/platinum-based chemotherapy in young (≤45 years) breast cancer patients.

9592 Background: Twenty-five percent of women with breast cancer (BC) are premenopausal and 15% are diagnosed in reproductive age group (≤45 years), thus at risk of CIA. Although CIA rates with alk...
The Trump majority: white womanhood and the making of female voters in the U.S.

ABSTRACTThe estimated 52% of white female voters who supported Donald Trump for President of the United States in 2016 animates this dialogue on the politics of groups and identities. The Trump majority among white women exists in contrast to strong support of Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton among women of color as well as minority men. While many observers were surprised at the high proportion of white female Trump voters, this pattern of electoral behavior supporting Republican Party candidates is a consistent phenomenon since the 1950s in U.S. Presidential elections. The pattern is both clear and easily visible, and provides an important clue to better understand the dynamics of race and gender in electoral politics. I argue for political scientists to pursue intersectional analytical perspectives by situating voting behavior within the context of a polity beyond the black-white binary of race and ethnicity. I suggest analysts consider the positionality of white women as second in sex to men...
Evaluation of an NP-based model of palliative care delivery within an oncology clinic.

163Background: We initiated a nurse practitioner (NP)-based model of palliative care delivery embedded within an oncology clinic guided by a shared mental model (SMM) between palliative care, oncol...
Common Histologically Benign Tumors of the Brain.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW As a group, benign tumors account for the majority of primary neoplasms affecting the central nervous system (CNS). This article reviews the epidemiology, clinical presentation, neuroimaging features, and management of the most common of these tumors: meningiomas, schwannomas, and pituitary adenomas. RECENT FINDINGS Awareness of the most common nonmalignant tumors of the CNS and their management guidelines is important as many of these tumors are managed conservatively, with neurologists playing a primary role in both surveillance and symptom management. Knowledge of the varied neurologic consequences of these tumors allows optimizing interventions that improve quality of life in people living with these tumors without incurring treatment-related complications. Awareness of the clinical features that require surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy is imperative. Finally, important discoveries in both germline and somatic mutations underlying some of these lesions have contributed to the launch of several novel drug trials for these tumors. SUMMARY As a group, nonmalignant neoplasms are the most common neoplasms affecting the CNS in adults. Because of their unique neuroanatomic location or containment within the bony skull, these histologically benign lesions can cause significant neurologic morbidity. Management with a multidisciplinary team that includes neurologists, neuro-oncologists, radiologists, neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists, otolaryngologists, pathologists, neuropsychologists, physiatrists, and others is necessary for the optimal management of these lesions.
Optimizing the Definition of a Sudden Stratospheric Warming

AbstractVarious criteria exist for determining the occurrence of a major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW), but the most common is based on the reversal of the climatological westerly zonal-mean zonal winds at 60° latitude and 10 hPa in the winter stratosphere. This definition was established at a time when observations of the stratosphere were sparse. Given greater access to data in the satellite era, a systematic analysis of the optimal parameters of latitude, altitude, and threshold for the wind reversal is now possible. Here, the frequency of SSWs, the strength of the wave forcing associated with the events, changes in stratospheric temperature and zonal winds, and surface impacts are examined as a function of the stratospheric wind reversal parameters. The results provide a methodical assessment of how to best define a standard metric for major SSWs. While the continuum nature of stratospheric variability makes it difficult to identify a decisively optimal threshold, there is a relatively narrow env...
PREDICTORS OF DEATH WHILE ON VENO-ARTERIAL EXTRACORPOREAL MEMBRANE OXYGENATION (VA-ECMO) SUPPORT

VA-ECMO is increasingly being used to salvage patients with extremely severe cardiogenic shock, usually with multi-organ system failure in hyperacute clinical scenarios. Because of the inherently high mortality of this patient population, identification of predictors of death may be useful in the
Operationalizing and validating disciplinary literacy in secondary education

The goal of this study was to define the construct and establish the validity of disciplinary literacy, which has recently gained attention from the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers in Common Core State Standards for English language arts & literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects [PDF]. Authors, Washington, DC, 2010). After defining disciplinary literacy in the four core disciplines of English language arts, science, history and social studies, and mathematics, scales were developed and administered to a snowball sample of professionals nationwide, with 857 respondents. The data showed evidence of disciplinary literacy as a multidimensional construct with three related factors: source literacy, analytic literacy, and expressive literacy. Based on EFA and CFA results, we can conclude that there are at least three types of literacy in operation among the four core disciplines. The three factors of literacy varied significantly by the four core disciplines of English/language arts (ELA), science, history and social studies, and mathematics, supporting the notion that each discipline uses literacy uniquely. This is the first study of its kind to attempt to define, quantify, and validate the construct of disciplinary literacy.
Microvisor: a runtime architecture for thermal management in chip multiprocessors

In today's high performance computing environment, power density issues are at the forefront of design constraints. Many platforms integrate a diverse set of processing cores on the same die to fit small form factors. Due to the design limitations of using expensive cooling solutions, such complex chip multiprocessors require an architectural solution to mitigate thermal problems. Many of the current systems deploy voltage/frequency scaling to address thermal emergencies, either within the operating system or in hardware. These techniques have certain limitations in terms of response lag, scalability, cost and being reactive. In this paper, we present an alternative thermal management system to address these limitations, based on virtual machine concept that uses a runtime layer of software (microvisor) to manage the computational demands of threads to the thermal constraints of cores. Our results show that a predictive, targeted, and localized response to thermal events improves performance by an average of 21% over counterpart operating system and hardware control theoretic implementations.
Pharmacotherapy-Induced Hepatitis B Reactivation Among Patients With Prior Functional Cure: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To describe and quantify the incidence and morbidity of hepatitis B reactivation (HBVr) secondary to pharmaceutical agents (eg, rituximab, tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, direct-acting...
Prolonged Coma and Early Disorders of Consciousness

Prolonged unconsciousness—arbitrarily but sensibly defined as an undrugged comatose patient for at least 4 weeks after brain injury—is very. By this time, it is likely there have been conversations between clinicians and families regarding the degree of further life-sustaining treatment, and when appropriate and certain, care would have been witdrawn. How to go about that it difficult and requires expertise. Neuropalliative care in patients with devastating acute brain injury—damaging the eloquent structures, which allow us to be aware, sapient and prospective—is multifaceted. Clinicians need to master diagnostic and prognostic skills including a recognition of later complications, which may cloud the clinical picture. At the same time, clinicians need to effectively and empathetically communicate changes in neurologic status (or lack thereof) and prognosis, and support families through a difficult decision-making process. This chapter will follow the clinical course of a patient and stop along the way to discuss the pertinent issues around prolonged unconsciousness in the ICU setting. The conditions discussed in this chapter are complementary to the acute presentation of severe acute brain injury described in Chap. 2 “Severe Acute Brain Injury”, and the chronic disorders of consciousness managed in neurorehabilitation centers and elsewhere and further elaborated upon in Chap. 4 “Chronic Disorders of Consciousness”. Herein, I discuss the critical decision making in the early days of facing a comatose patient with a catastrophic brain injury.
Experience participating in the American College of Cardiology Quality NetworkTM: paediatric and adult congenital cardiology collaborative quality improvement.

Background The American College of Cardiology Quality Network enables national benchmarking and collaborative quality improvement through vetted metrics. We describe here our initial experience with the Quality Network. Methods Quarterly data for metrics pertaining to chest pain, Kawasaki disease, tetralogy of Fallot, elevated body mass index, and others were shared with the collaboratives for benchmarking. National improvement efforts focussed on counselling for elevated body mass index and 22q11.2 testing in tetralogy of Fallot. Improvement strategies included developing multi-disciplinary workgroups, educational materials, and electronic health record advances. Results Chest pain metric performance was high compared with national means: obtaining family history (90-100% versus 51-77%), electrocardiogram (100% versus 89-99%), and echocardiogram for exertional complaints (95-100% versus 74-96%). Kawasaki metric performance was high, including obtaining coronary measurements (100% versus 85-97%), prescribing aspirin (100% versus 86-99%), follow-up with imaging (100% versus 85-98%), and documenting no activity restriction without coronary aneurysms (83-100% versus 64-93%). Counselling for elevated body mass index was variable (25-75% versus 31-50%) throughout quality improvement efforts. Testing for 22q11.2 deletion in tetralogy of Fallot patients was consistently above the national mean (60-85% versus 54-68%) with improved genetics data capture. Conclusion The Quality Network promotes meaningful benchmarking and collaborative quality improvement. Our high performance for chest pain and Kawasaki metrics is likely related to previous improvement efforts in chest pain management and a dedicated Kawasaki team. Uptake of counselling for elevated body mass index is variable; stronger engagement among numerous providers is needed. Recommendations for 22q11.2 testing in tetralogy of Fallot were widely recognised and implemented.
Cutting the Cord: A Corrective for World Navels in Cartography and Science

A map is not its territory. Taking a map too seriously may lead to pernicious reification: map and world are conflated. As one family of cases of such reification, I focus on maps exuding the ompha...
Steady-state analysis of the human respiratory system

Steady state model for human respiratory system analysis, discussing controlled and controlling parts
Groundwater in California: From Juridical and Biopolitical Governmentality to a Political Physics of Vital Processes:

This article analyzes the emergence of a political rationality of groundwater in contemporary California. It contrasts a new government of nature that we call a ‘political physics of vital processe...
The effects of genetic screening and assortative mating on lethal recessive-allele frequencies and homozygote incidence.

Abstract The widespread use of genetic screening, along with mating and reproductive patterns reflecting that information, can significantly alter the genetic structure of populations. Both allele frequencies and mortality could be significantly reduced if carriers of lethal recessive alleles were withdrawn from the mating pool. But schemes to mask deleterious alleles in heterozygous condition could significantly increase the deleterious-allele frequencies while resulting in only a slight reduction in mortality. The immediate and equilibrium consequences of such mating strategies may be quite disparate.
Whole Slide Imaging for High-Throughput Sensing Antibiotic Resistance at Single-Bacterium Level and Its Application to Rapid Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing

Since conventional culture-based antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) methods are too time-consuming (typically 24-72 h), rapid AST is urgently needed for preventing the increasing emergence and spread of antibiotic resistant infections. Although several phenotypic antibiotic resistance sensing modalities are able to reduce the AST time to a few hours or less, concerning the biological heterogeneity, their accuracy or limit of detection are limited by low throughput. Here, we present a rapid AST method based on whole slide imaging (WSI)-enabled high-throughput sensing antibiotic resistance at single-bacterium level. The time for determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was theoretically shortest, which ensures that the growth of each individual cell present in a large population is inhibited. As a demonstration, our technique was able to sense the growth of at least several thousand bacteria at single-cell level. Reliable MIC of Enterobacter cloacae against gentamicin was obtained within 1 h, while the gold standard broth dilution method required at least 16 h for the same result. In addition, the application of our method prevails over other imaging-based AST approaches in allowing rapid and accurate determination of antibiotic susceptibility for phenotypically heterogeneous samples, in which the number of antibiotic resistant cells was negligible compared to that of the susceptible cells. Hence, our method shows great promise for both rapid AST determination and point-of-care testing of complex clinical bacteria isolates.
Planning for Change in the Electric Power Industry: A Primer for Transactive Energy Scenario Development

The electric power industry and its associated infrastructures (a.k.a. "the grid") are evolving from centrally planned, organized, and operated networks of players, technologies, and resources to systems of systems that are increasingly digitized and distributed in their operation and innovative capacity. Subsequently, strategic planners and technology managers associated with the electric power industry are faced with a range of scenarios to evaluate, including one that considers the emergence of commercialized transactive energy systems in the coming ten-year time horizon. The crafting of a transactive energy scenario can help inform technology innovation and management efforts that benefit consumers, electricity providers, and society by providing planners with a tool to investigate key drivers of change and a range of desired attributes of future technologies that could be employed to address emerging customer needs, wants, and expectations. This paper introduces readers to key elements associated with the market emergence and adoption of transactive energy systems in order to encourage their inclusion in long-term scenario portfolios being utilized to inform electric power industry planning efforts.
Pancreatic safety of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose This study aimed to systematically evaluate the association between sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and pancreatic safety in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods Electronic databases were searched before September 2019 to include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of SGLT2 inhibitors that reported any event on pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer among patients with T2DM. Peto odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to pool the data. The GRADE framework was introduced to assess the quality of evidence. Results Of the 35 trials involving 44 912 patients with T2DM included, 41 events of acute pancreatitis (19 trials; 32 932 patients), 72 events of overall pancreatitis (including acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis, or nonspecific pancreatitis; 26 trials; 36 688 patients), and 40 events of pancreatic cancer (18 trials; 27 806 patients) were reported during a median follow-up of 52 weeks. SGLT2 inhibitors were not associated with an increased risk of acute pancreatitis compared to controls (placebo or other active drugs; Peto OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.60-2.13; moderate quality evidence). A similar result was found for risk of overall pancreatitis (Peto OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.67-1.75; moderate quality evidence) and pancreatic cancer (Peto OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 0.71-2.54; very low-quality evidence). Conclusions Moderate quality evidence from RCTs shows no significantly increased risk of acute pancreatitis associated with SGLT2 inhibitors, while there is very low-quality evidence suggesting no significant association between SGLT2 inhibitors and pancreatic cancer among patients with T2DM.
The potential biomechanical advantage of lag by technique screw fixation of the posterior pelvic ring

Diastasis of the sacroiliac joint after pelvic ring injury is commonly reduced by lagging by design with partially threaded (PT) screws. There may be a biomechanical benefit to lagging by technique with fully threaded (FT) screws. The purpose of this study was to compare these two methods. Twelve pairs of synthetic bone blocks were lagged together with 8.0-mm FT or PT screws. Maximum compressive and steady-state force was measured. Pullout force testing was performed. The maximum compressive force of FT and PT screws was not different [mean difference (MD) 32 Newtons (N), 95% confidence interval (CI) 124, 60)]; however, lagging by technique with FT screws resulted in significantly higher steady-state force (MD 83 N, 95% CI 165, 5) and pullout force (MD 634 N, 95% CI 778, 491). Lagging by technique with large diameter FT screws has a biomechanical advantage over lagging by design with PT screws.
Structural inequality in the time of COVID-19: Urbanization, segregation, and pandemic control in sub-Saharan Africa:

The COVID-19 pandemic exposes countries and people in sub-Saharan Africa to severe risks because of structural global inequalities. There is a simultaneous risk of the use of public health action t...
Bernard Shaw and Sean O’Casey: Remembering James Connolly

This chapter explores the developments of Shaw and O’Casey within Irish socialism during the years leading to and into the 1920s as defined by how each dealt with the memory of James Connolly. While Shaw endeavoured to recognize Connolly as an internationalist, O’Casey—by early 1918—decidedly could not. Prompted by the machinations of Connolly’s former allies in the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union against the union’s founder James Larkin, O’Casey began finding his voice by striking at said allies—including against the memory of Connolly. Shaw, on the other hand, cognizant of his having supported Connolly in 1913 and further, came to embrace elements of Connolly’s ideologies. The directions of both Shaw and O’Casey, by the late 1920s, placed them on the thresholds for articulating Irish socialism, within the internationalist vein, in defining works, respectively.
Performance of Multi-group DIF Methods in Assessing Cross-Country Score Comparability of International Large-Scale Assessments

Standardized large-scale testing can be a debatable topic, in which test fairness sits at its very core. This study found that two out of five recent multi-group DIF detection methods are capable of capturing both the uniform and nonuniform DIF that affects test fairness. Still, no prior research has demonstrated the relative performance of these two methods when they are compared with each other. These two methods are the improved Wald test and the generalized logistic regression procedure. This study assessed the commonalities and differences between two sets of empirical results from these two methods with the latest TIMSS math score data. The primary conclusion was that the improved Wald test is relatively more established than the generalized logistic regression procedure for multi-group DIF analysis. Empirical results from this study may inform the selection of a multi-group DIF method in the ILSA score analysis.
Lipidomic Profiling Reveals an Age-Related Deficiency of Skeletal Muscle Proresolving Mediators that Contributes to Maladaptive Tissue Remodeling

Chronic inflammation and deregulated acute immune cell responses to injury contribute to age-associated skeletal muscle dysfunction. Specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) control inflammation and support myofiber regeneration in young mice, but their role in aging muscle remains unknown. Here we examined the effect of age on the mediator lipidome of skeletal muscle via LC-MS based lipidomic profiling and tested whether systemic administration of the SPM resolvin D1 (RvD1) could limit excessive inflammation and improve the regenerative capacity of aged muscle. Aged mice displayed chronic low-grade muscle inflammation prior to injury and this was associated with a basal deficiency of lipoxygenase (LOX) derived SPMs as well as anti-inflammatory cytochrome P450 (CYP) derived lipid epoxides. Following muscle damage, young and aged mice produced similar amounts of pro-inflammatory cyclooxygenase (COX) and 12-LOX metabolites, but aged mice mounted a markedly deficient SPM response. This was associated with heightened leukocyte recruitment, impaired myofiber regeneration, and delayed recovery of strength. Systemic treatment with RvD1 had minimal impact on excessive myeloid cell infiltration and defective myofiber regeneration in aged mice. Nevertheless, RvD1 treatment did suppress inflammatory cytokines, modulated muscle stem cells, limited maladaptive tissue remodeling, and improved recovery of specific muscle force. We conclude that aging results in a marked deficiency of local SPM biosynthesis within muscle and that immunoresolvents may be attractive novel therapeutics for the treatment of muscular injuries and associated pain in the elderly, due to positive effects on recovery of muscle function without the negative side effects on myofiber regeneration of traditional anti-inflammatory treatments.
Monotone Comparative Statics in Games with Both Strategic Complements and Strategic Substitutes

This paper analyzes games with both strategic substitutes and strategic complements. Such games may behave differently from either games with strategic complements or games with strategic substitutes. In such games, equilibria do not decrease as the parameter increases. Moreover, natural conditions are presented to guarantee that an increase in the parameter leads to an increase in the equilibrium: in other words, conditions to guarantee monotone comparative statics. These conditions are based on intuitive tradeoffs between direct parameter effects and indirect strategic effects. These conditions are needed only for players with strategic substitutes; no conditions are imposed on players with strategic complements. Several examples highlight the results.
Comparison of clinicopathological features and outcomes in patients with primary leiomyosarcoma of bone and soft tissue.

e23526Background: Leiomyosarcoma is a rare malignancy that may occur in bone. This investigation described the characteristics and outcomes of primary leiomyosarcoma of bone (PLB) compared to soft ...
A Mobile Health App (WYZ) for Engagement in Care and Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Youth and Young Adults Living With HIV: Single-Arm Pilot Intervention Study.

Background: Youth are globally recognized as being vulnerable to HIV. Younger age has been correlated with worse health outcomes. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions have the potential to interact with youth where they are, using a device they already access. Objective: Using predefined benchmarks, we sought to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of WYZ, an mHealth app, for improved engagement in care and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence among youth and young adults living with HIV. WYZ was designed and developed with input from youth and young adults living with HIV using a human-centered design approach and was based on the information, motivation, and behavioral skills framework to address common barriers to care and ART adherence among youth and young adults living with HIV. Methods: We recruited youth and young adults living with HIV (18-29 years old) from the San Francisco Bay Area to take part in a 6-month pilot trial. Their participation included completing baseline and exit surveys, and participating in seven phone check-ins about their use of WYZ. Results: Youth and young adults living with HIV (N=79) reported high levels of feasibility and acceptability with WYZ use. We met predefined benchmarks for recruitment (79/84, 94%), mean logins per week (5.3), tracking ART adherence (5442/9393, 57.9%), posting chat topics per week (4.8), and app crashes reported per week (0.24). The ease of app download, install, and setup, and comfort with security, privacy, and anonymity were highly rated (all over 91%). Additionally, participants reported high satisfaction for a research project that was remotely conducted. Participants used the app for shorter timeframes compared to the predefined benchmark. Conclusions: We noted high feasibility and acceptability with WYZ. Further research to examine the efficacy of WYZ will enable youth and young adults living with HIV and their providers to make informed decisions when using, recommending, and prescribing the app for improved engagement in HIV care and ART adherence. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03587857; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03587857