cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gravity measurements in Wyoming and central Colorado

Gravity surveys made by personnel from the University of Wyoming include the Laramie Mountains, the Medicine Bow Mountains, the Hanna Basin, and the South Pass area in Wyoming and the mountainous area west of Aspen in Colorado. These surveys are made with a Worden Master model gravimeter and are tied into gravity base stations established by the U.S. Air Force; almost all the stations are established on surveyed elevations. The purpose of these surveys is largely to study relationships in crystalline rocks. Detailed gravity surveys on spacing as close as ½ to 1 km have been conducted in the Precambrian core of the Laramie Mountains between 41°00′ to 42°00′N and 105°00′ to 105°4O′W. Rock types covered include Sherman granite, Laramie anorthosite, and related rocks and gneisses. Bouguer anomalies within Precambrian rocks range from −110 mgal over mafic gneisses in the north to −185 mgal over Sherman granite in the south [Hodge, 1966; Woodfill and Smithson, 1968]. Interpretation of these anomalies is being used to study petrogenesis of the anorthosite and structure of the geneisses. Gravity measurements extend out from the Laramie Mountains across a flanking fault into the Denver-Julesberg Basin on the east and west into the Laramie Basin.
Involving Students in School Violence Prevention: Are They Willing to Help?

Why are some students not willing to tell adults about a possibly violent situation in their school? In this study, 1,100 students in the Mid-South were surveyed on their knowledge of, and willingness to tell about, a possibly violent situation, their involvement in behaviors that are related to school violence, and their school's climate. About 1/3 of students knew of a potentially violent situation, and about 3/4 were willing to tell an adult. However, students who were involved in antecedents to violence and/or who had an unfavorable view of their school were much less likely to tell an adult about such situations. Efforts to prevent school violence should be designed with these factors in mind.
An Intermediate Alemtuzumab Schedule Reduces the Incidence of Mixed Chimerism Following Reduced-Intensity Conditioning Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis

Abstract Reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) improves the outcomes of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). Proximal (ie, close to graft infusion) dosing of alemtuzumab is associated with a high incidence of mixed chimerism, whereas distal (ie, distant from graft infusion) dosing is associated with less mixed chimerism but more acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The alemtuzumab dose per kilogram of body weight also influences these outcomes. We hypothesized that an intermediate alemtuzumab dosing schedule would reduce mixed chimerism and maintain a low incidence of acute GVHD. In this study, 24 consecutive HCTs were performed in patients with HLH or a related disorder using a novel intermediate alemtuzumab schedule of 1 mg/kg starting on day -14. The cumulative incidences (CIs) of mixed chimerism, upfront acute GVHD grades II-IV, and receipt of additional hematopoietic cell products after HCT were compared in patients treated with a distal alemtuzumab schedule (n = 15) and those treated with a proximal alemtuzumab schedule (n = 33). All patients received fludarabine and melphalan. The CI of mixed chimerism was 31% in the intermediate group, 72% in the proximal group (P
Temperature Effects on Gaseous Fuel Cracking Studies Using a Dielectric Barrier Discharge

Fuel cracking using a plasma is one of the methods to enhance combustion by forming lighter hydrocarbons and hydrogen from heavier ones. Lighter hydrocarbons and hydrogen burn more cleanly and under much leaner burn conditions, thereby increasing combustion stability and producing less pollution (particularly oxides of nitrogen - NOx). The cracked fuel fragments are also expected to efficiently burn more, and thus, more energy can possibly be extracted from the fuel. Fuel cracking is accomplished at Los Alamos National Laboratory by using an AC annular dielectric barrier discharge (also called a silent electrical discharge). This forms a nonthermal plasma between the barrier (a ceramic tube) and the central electrode, which is typically charged to 5-10 kV. The nonthermal plasma is relatively cold, since electrons carry most of the energy and the ions and neutrals remain at approximately ambient temperature. Our experiments show that increased temperature inside the reactor elevates the stable concentration of CH4 (methane), C2H2 (acetylene), C2H4 (ethylene), and C3H8 (propane) from a C2H6 (ethane) parent gas. The AC waveform was used to heat the dielectric barrier, which in turn heated the nonthermal plasma in the reactor. Results of these experiments were compared to a KINEMA model of ethane plasma chemistry. The model predicts the same global trends as the experimental data. This modeling shows that certain radical-forming reactions, and direct pathways for H2, CH4, and C3H8, have enhanced reaction rates at higher temperatures compared to the ambient case.
Nuclear Proliferation and the Geocultural Divide: The March of Folly

When US President Harry Truman dispatched the Enola Gay from the Pacific island of Eniwetok on August 6, 1945 with “Little Boy” in its bomb bay, little did he and his advisors realize that it was far from the opening shot in what came to be known as the “North–South” divide: the cleavage between the geographically “North” or culturally Western and those who exist outside that sphere. Their energies were focused on the more immediate challenge of bringing World War II to a rapid and victorious conclusion. Not that the decision to target Hiroshima with the first available—and barely tested—atomic bomb was a simple and obvious one. Aside from the uncertainty of the weapon's reliability and effectiveness, there was the internal debate as to whether its use was militarily necessary. The allied consensus was that Japan was far from defeated and that a long and bloody campaign would be needed to take the Pacific islands surrounding Honshu before the final assault. Equally salient to many of the principals was, of course, the desirability of an atomic “message to Moscow.” The prospect of an accelerated Soviet-American rivalry was never far below the surface during the war and there were those who relished a monopoly of quite a few years to develop and put into place the strategies for addressing the Russian challenge. In any event, the momentum of battle and the investment in the Manhattan Project were more than sufficient to carry the day. In terms of our discussion here, one of the arguments against the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was all too prescient: would this be seen as a racially motivated decision? Although the Allies by no means went easier on the Germans than the Japanese—casualties from the attacks on Cologne, Dresden, and other cities were comparable to the …
Probabilistic cascade random fields for man-made structure detection

This paper develops the probabilistic version of cascade algorithm, specifically, Probabilistic AdaBoost Cascade (PABC). The proposed PABC algorithm is further employed to learn the association potential in the Discriminative Random Fields (DRF) model, resulting the Probabilistic Cascade Random Fields (PCRF) model. PCRF model enjoys the advantage of incorporating far more informative features than the conventional DRF model. Moreover, compared to the original DRF model, PCRF is less sensitive to the class imbalance problem. The proposed PABC and PCRF were applied to the task of man-made structure detection. We compared the performance of PABC with different settings, the performance of the original DRF model and that of PCRF. Detailed numerical analysis demonstrated that PABC improves the performance with more AdaBoost nodes, and the interaction potential in PCRF further improves the performance significantly.
A hybrid polymer gel with controlled rates of cross-link rupture and self-repair

A family of hybrid polymer gels is described, in which covalent cross-links create a permanent, stiff scaffold onto which reversible metal–ligand coordinative cross-links are added. The reversible metal–ligand interactions are shown to bear mechanical stress within the hybrid gel, and relaxations in response to that applied stress are consistent with the stress-free kinetics of ligand exchange in systems that model the reversible cross-links. The stress-induced dissociation of a model metal–ligand complex is examined by a single-molecule force spectroscopy, and its mechanical response is compared with a previously studied complex. The mechanical response of the individual interactions is relevant to those found in the family of hybrid gels, and the modular platform is therefore suitable for the study of stress-induced molecular dissociations, and their subsequent repair, within a macroscopic material of fixed structure.
T650/AFR-PE-4/FM680-1 Mode I Critical Energy Release Rate at High Temperatures: Experiments and Numerical Models

An experimental program to determine the mode I critical energy release rate (GIc) of the T650/AFR-PE-4/FM680-1 material system is reported. Two forms of GIc are determined over the range of 20 to 350 C, the area method critical energy release rate G a and the inverse method critical energy release rate (G i). The value of GIc was found to increase with increasing temperature. The inverse method is determined to be a very effective method of determining GIc over the entire range of temperatures. Inverse modeling was completed using the finite element method, coupled with a novel Discrete Cohesive Zone Element, to determine G i over the range of crack advance in a given specimen. The element is described in detail, as well as the metrics used by the inverse algorithm. The FE models, subsequent to inverse modeling, accurately reproduce the experimental load-displacement curves. They therefore provide a capable analysis method, as well as a material system constitutive relation that contains a range of appropriate properties for use in the design and analysis of T650/AFR-PE-4/FM680-1 joints. Nomenclature GI Energy release rate, J/m 2 GIc Critical energy release rate, J/m 2 G a Area method critical energy release rate, J/m 2 G i Inverse method critical energy release rate, J/m 2 c Cohesive strength of the adhesive system, N/m 2
Fluvastatin suppresses IgE-mediated mast cell activation in vitro and in vivo (HYP3P.411)

Fluvastatin, the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor known for its role in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and cardiovascular disease, has more recently been shown to play a role in the immune response. Given the critical role that mast cells play in allergy and inflammatory diseases such as asthma, which effects one third of America’s population, we assessed the effect of Fluvastatin on mast cell function. We demonstrate that Fluvastatin downregulated IgE-mediated cytokine production and mast cell migration. Additionally, in vivo studies showed that Fluvastatin suppressed IgE-mediated anaphylaxis. Interestingly, the effect of Fluvastatin may be restricted to mast cells cultured from mice with a Th1-prone background. Characterizing the role of Fluvastatin on mast cells may prove to be therapeutically important.
Primary chromoblastomycosis of the nasal septum.

A case of primary chromoblastomycosis of the nasal septum in a farmer from northern Mississippi is presented. The fungus responsible was identified by culture as Phialophora verrucosa . Chromoblastomycosis is an uncommon fungal infection, at least in this country, and its primary involvement of the areas other than the extremities is extremely rare. The present case is the second documented case of primary chromoblastomycosis of the nasal septum.
A Note on Understanding, Detecting and Reporting Criminal Antitrust Violations

This technical note focuses on assisting industry professionals in better understanding the types of conduct that constitute criminal violations of the federal antitrust laws. It outlines concepts and tools for training industry professionals to identify conduct that crosses the line between legitimate business transactions and felonious conduct.
Heterozygote Detection in Tay-Sachs Disease: A Prototype Community Screening Program for the Prevention of Recessive Genetic Disorders

Supported by the John F. Kennedy Institute Tay-Sachs Fund, The Aaron and Lillian Strauss Foundation, and a grant from the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Geographical analysis of scorpion populations on habitat islands

We examined the population structure of sand scorpions (Paruroctonus mesaensis) by performing genetic and morphological analyses. Sand scorpions were expected to show large genetic distances among populations because they are limited to sandy habitats. However, allozyme analysis showed only moderate genetic differentiation among populations. The morphological analysis showed a geographical association among regional sites. A positive association was found among genetic, morphological and geographical distance matrices. However, the morphological distance matrix showed a higher correlation value with geographical distance than with genetic distance. This result suggests that local environmental conditions may affect scorpion morphology more than they affect genetic structure among populations. The sand scorpion population structure can be described as one with gene flow among populations in the middle of the range and increased isolation along the range boundaries. The major mechanism of genetic exchange is probably sand corridors that periodically connect different sand dune systems. As the age of the North American Sonoran Desert may be less than 10 000 years, it is also possible that isolation has not existed long enough to differentiate the populations to a greater extent.
Diffraction of Fe/Cr using Anomalous Dispersion Enhancement

Results for a study using anomalous scattering to increase the X-ray contrast between Fe and Cr in metallic multilayers are reported. This increased contrast is sufficient to provide reliable values for actual bilayer distances and to begin semi-quantitative analysis of peak intensities even in the presence of orientational texture.
Analysis of Radiation Damage in Lysozyme Crystals with High Resolution Triple Axis X-Ray Diffraction

High resolution triple axis X-ray diffraction has been used to monitor the effects of X-ray radiation damage in hen egg white lysozyme crystals. At long irradiation the expected decrease in peak intensity and increase in the angular extent of the peak breadth was seen. In contrast, both the intesi-ties and peak breadths exhibited more complex behavior during the initial stages of irradiation. Possible reasons for these observations are discussed.
The Najaf Ḥawzah Curriculum

Najaf has been the cradle of Shī῾ī learning for many centuries. According to Najaf tradition, it has been so ever since the prominent scholar Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī, called shaykh al-tā'ifa or “senior scholar of the the sect”, migrated there shortly after the Saljuq conquest of Baghdad in 447/1055. We have very little information about the teaching system and curriculum in Najaf before the nineteenth century. In this essay, I will try to present the basic elements of a Najaf ḥawza education as they exist in contemporary Iraq and compare it with a Najaf curriculum of 1913. Quite remarkably, the curriculum, teaching methods and patronage networks have been remarkably stable over the last century. Politics and reform movements have, however, had their effects on the curriculum too, as I shall explain in the course of this essay.
Question From the Clinician:Levalbuterol in Managing Pediatric Asthma

1. Eric Sundel, MD 1. Director, Inpatient Pediatrics Bryn Mawr Hospital and duPont at Bryn Mawr Bryn Mawr, PA As a pediatric hospitalist, I am seeing more and more children receiving levalbuterol nebulizer treatments. Some of their parents request levalbuterol in the hospital rather than albuterol. I am confused on the manufacturer’s claims. Does levalbuterol have a clinically superior safety profile? Are there fewer adverse effects? How does it compare in terms of efficacy? Finally, are there any data on continuous levalbuterol nebulization therapy for patients in severe status asthmaticus? # Question From the Clinician {#article-title-2} 1. Myles B. Abbott, MD 1. Clinical Professor of Pediatrics University of California San Francisco School of Medicine San Francisco, CA 1. Robert H. Levin, PharmD 1. Professor Emeritus of Clinical Pharmacy University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy San Francisco, CA 1. Jennifer A. Miller, MD 1. Children’s Hospital and Research Center at Oakland Oakland, CA The precise role of levalbuterol in asthma therapy for children still is being defined. National guidelines recommend short-acting inhaled beta2-agonists for quick relief (“rescue”) from acute asthma symptoms. (1) The most common rescue medication for childhood asthma is racemic albuterol, usually referred to simply as “albuterol.” Levalbuterol is the R-isomer of albuterol. Organic compounds that have the same molecular formula are called isomers. Stereoisomers are isomers that differ in their orientation in space by their three-dimensional shape (R or S) or their ability to rotate a plane of polarized light to the …
Temperature Dependence of the SeH Vibrational Dephasing Time in Chalcogenide Glasses

The concept of relating the properties of glass-like solids to their microscopic topology rather than to their chemical nature was originally introduced by Phillips [1] and later refined by Thorpe[2]. The key parameter in this model is the mean coordination number , i. e. the average number of covalent bonds per atom. Constraint counting arguments lead to topological thresholds at = 2.4 and = 2.67. Both can be observed in different glasses as extrema or kinks in physical properties as a function of the mean coordination number, such as the glass forming temperature, the mean atomic volume or the dielectric constant[3–5].
Exploring the Mental Load Associated with Switching Smartphone Operating Systems

The increasing importance of the smartphone industry has led many to debate which leading mobile platform, iOS or Android, is best. One of the central arguments is that perceived ease of use of the device should be the principle consideration. To measure this, one can reference Cognitive Load Theory and employ EEGs to register the mental load associated with completing common smartphone tasks such as making a call or navigating to a web page. The proposed study aims to evaluate the mental load associated with a set of tasks performed on a smartphone by a user who is unfamiliar with the operating system. It is our belief that this initial measure of mental load will act as a surrogate for which operating system embodies the idea of universal usability.
Group Play Therapy for Preschoolers Exposed to Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a relatively common problem that has serious, negative consequences for preschoolers’ emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal functioning. Many children who witness domestic violence also experience the loss of a caregiver, which can exacerbate difficulties. Unfortunately, only a small number of preschoolers receive treatment for these problems, possibly because there are few well-developed programs for this age group. This paper describes a group play therapy for preschoolers exposed to domestic violence and other traumas. The group is designed for 14 sessions, each lasting 60 minutes, and takes place in a Head Start preschool. Individual sessions follow a consistent format; the group begins with a warm-up exercise about feelings, followed by structured activities, and ends with unstructured free play and clean-up. General techniques used in the group and their therapeutic uses are described. Recommendations for future groups and future research on the efficacy of groups are also discussed.
Infinite Analysis and Counterfactuals

Leibniz maintained that the logical difference between truths of reason and truths of fact consists in the fact that the former are finitely demonstrable while the latter are not. He stated this criterion quite often, clearly, and unambiguously as he does here:
Changing paradigm in the management of elderly patients with intracranial aneurysms: An institutional review

Abstract Optimal treatment of intracranial aneurysms (IAs) in elderly patients has not yet been well established. We have investigated the clinical and radiological outcomes and predictors of unfavorable outcome of IAs in elderly patients. Radiological and clinical data of 85 elderly patients from 2010 through 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Significant differences between the groups were determined by a chi-square test. Regression analysis was performed to identify the predictors of unfavorable outcome. Among the 85 patients with IAs, the number of patients with >7 mm size aneurysm (p = 0.01), diabetes mellitus (DM) (p = 0.02), smoking (0.009) and Hunt and Hess grade 4–5 (p = 0.003) was significantly higher in the ruptured group compared to the unruptured group. Similarly, the number of patients who underwent clipping was higher in the ruptured aneurysm group (p = 0.01). The overall clinical outcome was comparatively better in the unruptured group (p = 0.03); however, microsurgical clipping of aneurysms provides a significantly higher rate of complete aneurysmal occlusion (p = 0.008). Overall, there was no significant difference in outcome in respect to treatment approach. In regression analysis, hypertension (HTN), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), prior stroke, ruptured aneurysms and partial occlusion of aneurysms were identified as predictors of unfavorable outcome of IAs. Intracranial aneurysms in elderly patients reveals that endovascular treatment provides better clinical outcome; however, microsurgical clipping yields higher complete occlusion. Retreatment of residual aneurysms was comparatively more in the coiling group. Practice pattern has shifted from clipping to coiling for aneurysms in posterior circulation but not for aneurysms in anterior circulation.
Thermocapillary Multidewetting of Thin Films

Thermocapillary dewetting of liquids and molten films has recently emerged as a viable alternative to conventional microprocessing methods. As this thermal gradient-induced mechanism is universal, it can be applied to any material. This work explores the sequential dewetting of materials with varying melting points, including polymers and metals, to create aligned morphologies. The variation in melting point allows for the dewetting of single layers at a time or mobility-limited simultaneous dewetting. As a result, a variety of multimaterial structures can be produced with built-in alignment, such as arrays of concentric circles, lines with periodic segmentation, or islands on holes. This approach employs photothermal methods to induce the necessary thermal gradient, manipulating several variables in order to influence the consequent structures. Adjusting laser power and light intensity allows for the control of temperature for selective dewetting of films; altering beam size and exposure time affects the extent of dewetting in terms of diameter size; overlap effects and simultaneous dewetting can result in complex architectures. This controlled writing of patterns also presents a technique to create both masks at low temperatures for conductive multilayers as well as templates for electrospray deposition.
The Taylor Estimate of Recoverable Strains in Shape-Memory Polycrystals

Shape-memory behavior ls the ability of ccrwin materials to recover, on heating, apparently plastic deformation sustained below a critical temperature. Some materials have good shape-memory behavior as single crystals but little or none as polycrystals, while others have good shape-memory behavior even as polycrystals. Bhattacharya and Kohn (1996. 1997) have proposed a framework to understand this difference. They use energy minimization and the Taylor estimate to argue that the recoverable strains in a polycrystal depend not only on the texture of the polycrystal and the transformation, but critically on the change in symmetry during the underlying martensitic phase transformation. Their results agree with the experimental observations. Shu and Bhattacharya (1997) have also used the Taylor estimate to study the effect of texture in polycrys- tals of Nickel-Titanium and Copper based shape-memory alloys. The use of the Taylor estimate was evaluated in some detail in Bhattacharya and Kohn ( 1997) and more recently in Shu and Bhattacharya (1997) and Shu (1997). In this short report, we summarize the model of recoverable strain and discuss some results that allow us to evaluate the Taylor estimate.
Energy methods in connectionist modelling

Massively parallel (connectionist) computational models are playing an increasingly important role in cognitive science. Establishing the behavioral correctness of a connectionist model is exceedingly difficult, as it is with any complex system. For a restricted class of models, one can define an analog to the energy function of physics and this can be used to help prove properties of a network. This paper explores energy and other techniques for establishing that a network meets its specifications. The treatment is elementary, computational, and focuses on specific examples. No free lunch is offered.
Antisense c-myc oligodeoxyribonucleotide cellular uptake.

Antisense oligonucleotides have therapeutic potential as inhibitors of gene expression. However, the mechanism by which an intact oligonucleotide reaches the intracellular site of action is unknown. In this study, we use an Oligodeoxyribonucleotide 21-mer complementary to the translation initiation codon of the c-myc proto-oncogene to study the mechanism of oligonucleotide uptake and internalization into Rauscher Red 5-1.5 cells. We find trypsin-sensitive and trypsin-insensitive surface binding, in addition to internalization. Uptake is partially energy dependent and inhibited by charged molecules, including DNA, ATP, a random sequence oligonucleotide, and dextran sulfate. Uptake does not appear to occur via a traditional receptor-mediated uptake pathway because chloro-quine, monensin, and phenylarsine oxide pretreatment does not significantly decrease internalization. An anion channel inhibitor, SITS, and the salts, NaCl, Na2SO4, and NH4Cl, significantly decrease oligonucleotide uptake. Whether uptake occurs via a channel or a novel uptake mechanism is still unknown. A model is proposed which reasonably simulates the experimental data.
Free Shipping Is Not Free: A Data-Driven Model to Design Free-Shipping Threshold Policies.

Online retailers often offer free shipping threshold policies: customers who purchase more than a threshold amount are not charged an additional fee for shipping. This paper provides a data-driven analytical model to (i) assess the profitability of a retailer’s current shipping threshold policy and (ii) identify the best freeshipping threshold policy for a retailer. The model is estimated from actual transaction and product return data. The model explicitly accounts for changes in customer shopping behavior due to a free shipping threshold, including strategically adding items to a shopping basket to receive free shipping, which we call orderpadding, and the subsequent adjustment in product return decisions. Roughly speaking, according to our model, a retailer that offers a free shipping threshold policy should set the threshold slightly abovethe average shopping basket amount. We calibrate our model to data from an online apparel retailer and determine that its decision to offer a lower free shipping threshold reduced its profitability considerably.This result is robust to a number of assumptions regarding the impact on long-run sales and possible price adjustments. We conclude that free shipping threshold policies are profitable only under a limited set of restrictive conditions.
Botulinum Toxin in Abdominal Wall Hernia Repair

As surgeons are treating more complex hernias, adjuncts to aid in repair can be useful in certain situations. Botulinum toxin A (BTA) is one such adjunct that can help increase intraabdominal volume and increase ease of repair for large hernias, including those with loss of domain. The evidence for the use of BTA is increasing and thus far some benefit is seen, with minimal risk. In this chapter, we will be reviewing current evidence for the use of BTA for hernia repair, and describing our technique of administration.
Back to the Future: The Evolution of Pharmacovigilance in the Age of Digital Healthcare

Pharmacovigilance originated in an attempt to better understand the safety of drugs so that we can protect individual patients and consumers. Over time the development of the field has been heavily influenced by the need for the pharmaceutical industry to fulfill regulatory requirements, with the unintended result of losing track of the individual patient. With the onset of digitized healthcare data, we have an opportunity to reunite the industrial and personal in pharmacovigilance. Informatics can help with this by focusing future work on a pharmacovigilance research agenda.
Racial disparity in maternal phthalates exposure; Association with racial disparity in fetal growth and birth outcomes

Experimental and observational data implicate phthalates as developmental toxicants. However, few data are available to assess the maternal risks of gestational exposure by race and infant sex. To begin to address this data gap, we characterized associations between maternal urinary phthalate metabolites and birth outcomes among African American and white mothers from a southeastern U.S. population. We enrolled pregnant African American (n = 152) and white (n = 158) women with singleton live births between 18 and 22 weeks gestation. We measured phthalate metabolites (mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP), monoisobutyl phthalate (MiBP), monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), mono-2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl phthalate (MEHHP), monoethyl phthalate (MEP), monomethyl phthalate (MMP), and the sums of DEHP (ΣDEHP) and DBP (ΣDBP) metabolites) in up to two gestational urine specimens from mothers, and evaluated confounder-adjusted associations per natural log unit greater concentration with birth weight for gestational age z-score, small for gestational age (SGA; <10th %tile), preterm birth (PTB; <37 weeks gestation), and low birth weight (LBW; <2500 g). We also tested for interactions by maternal race and infant sex. We found that lower z-scores were associated with greater MiBP (β = -0.28; 95% CI: -0.54, -0.02) and MMP (β = -0.30; 95% CI: -0.52, -0.09) concentrations, while MEP interacted with race (p = 0.04), indicating an association among whites (β = -0.14; 95% CI: -0.28, 0.001) but not among African Americans (β = 0.05; 95% CI = -0.09, 0.19). Greater MiBP (OR = 2.82; 95% CI: 1.21, 6.56) and MEOHP (OR = 2.80; 95% CI: 1.05, 7.42) were associated with an overall higher SGA risk, greater MEHP was associated with higher SGA risk (p = 0.10) in whites (OR = 3.26 95% CI: 0.64, 16.56) but not in African Americans (OR = 0.71 95% CI: 0.07, 7.17), and the associations for MiBP (p = 0.02) and ΣDBP (p = 0.02) varied by infant sex. We detected interactions for PTB in which African Americans were at higher risk than whites for greater MiBP (p = 0.08) and MEP (p = 0.02) although lower risk for greater MEHP (p = 0.09). Greater MEP was associated with an overall higher LBW risk (OR = 1.33; 95% CI: 0.95, 1.86), and males were at higher risk than females with greater MBP (p = 0.002), MiBP (p = 0.02), MBzP (p = 0.01), MEP (p = 0.002), MMP (p = 0.09), and ΣDBP (p = 0.01) concentrations. Overall, our results suggest that gestational phthalate exposure is associated with adverse maternal birth outcomes, and that the effects vary by maternal race and infant sex.
Scribble, Erbin, and Lano redundantly regulate epithelial polarity and apical adhesion complex.

The basolateral protein Scribble (Scrib), a member of the LAP protein family, is essential for epithelial apicobasal polarity (ABP) in Drosophila. However, a conserved function for this protein in mammals is unclear. Here we show that the crucial role for Scrib in ABP has remained obscure due to the compensatory function of two other LAP proteins, Erbin and Lano. A combined Scrib/Erbin/Lano knockout disorganizes the cell–cell junctions and the cytoskeleton. It also results in mislocalization of several apical (Par6, aPKC, and Pals1) and basolateral (Llgl1 and Llgl2) identity proteins. These defects can be rescued by the conserved “LU” region of these LAP proteins. Structure–function analysis of this region determined that the so-called LAPSDb domain is essential for basolateral targeting of these proteins, while the LAPSDa domain is essential for supporting the membrane basolateral identity and binding to Llgl. In contrast to the key role in Drosophila, mislocalization of Llgl proteins does not appear to be critical in the scrib ABP phenotype.
Pulmonary Hypertension Subtypes and Mortality in CKD.

Rationale & Objective Pulmonary hypertension (PH) contributes to cardiovascular disease and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but the pathophysiology is mostly unknown. This study sought to estimate the prevalence and consequences of PH subtypes in the setting of CKD. Study Design Observational retrospective cohort study. Setting & Participants We examined 12,618 patients with a right heart catheterization in the Duke Databank for Cardiovascular Disease from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2014. Exposures Baseline kidney function stratified by CKD glomerular filtration rate category and PH subtype. Outcomes All-cause mortality. Analytical Approach Multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis. Results In this cohort, 73.4% of patients with CKD had PH, compared with 56.9% of patients without CKD. Isolated postcapillary PH (39.0%) and combined pre- and postcapillary PH (38.3%) were the most common PH subtypes in CKD. Conversely, precapillary PH was the most common subtype in the non-CKD cohort (35.9%). The relationships between mean pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and right atrial pressure with mortality were similar in both the CKD and non-CKD cohorts. Compared with those without PH, precapillary PH conferred the highest mortality risk among patients without CKD (HR, 2.27; 95% CI, 2.00-2.57). By contrast, in those with CKD, combined pre- and postcapillary PH was associated with the highest risk for mortality in CKD in adjusted analyses (compared with no PH, HRs of 1.89 [95% CI, 1.57-2.28], 1.87 [95% CI, 1.52-2.31], 2.13 [95% CI, 1.52-2.97], and 1.63 [95% CI, 1.12-2.36] for glomerular filtration rate categories G3a, G3b, G4, and G5/G5D). Limitations The cohort referred for right heart catheterization may not be generalizable to the general population. Serum creatinine data in the 6 months preceding catheterization may not reflect true baseline CKD. Observational design precludes assumptions of causality. Conclusions In patients with CKD referred for right heart catheterization, PH is common and associated with poor survival. Combined pre- and postcapillary PH was common and portended the worst survival for patients with CKD
Women Living With HIV in High Income Countries and the Deeper Meaning of Breastfeeding Avoidance: A Metasynthesis.

Background:Recommendations to avoid breastfeeding for women living with HIV in high income countries has resulted in a gap in the literature on how healthcare professionals can provide the highest ...
Measurements of argon laser light attenuation in the skin ‘in vivo’ using a unique animal model

A dorsal skin flap chamber model for microcirculation studies permits direct irradiation of subcutaneous arterioles and venules ‘in vivo’ as well as irradiation of the same vessels through the skin of unanaesthetized hamsters. A system has been developed to permit vital and video microscopy while selected vessels of the microvascular system are being irradiated. Information relating to light attenuation in the skin can be obtained by comparing the response curves of irradiation aimed directly to the blood vessels to those of laser light delivered to vessels through the skin. Selected vessels have been irradiated with the argon laser (488 nm and 514.5 nm) adjusting the power to deliver radiant exposures 1 to 55 J cm−2 on a 250 μm diameter spot during a 20 ms irradiation time and embolized or stationary coaguli are produced in response to the irradiation. The radiant exposure threshold for production of embolized coaguli when irradiation is directed at the surface of the skin is 1.45 times larger than the threshold when the vessel is directly irradiated. The skin to vessel threshold ratio for the production of stationary coaguli is 1.39. Higher doses are required through the skin because of light attenuation due to absorption and scattering. These ratios are compared with the predictions of two light distribution models based on Beer's law and the Monte Carlo solution of the radiative transfer equation.
Employee job satisfaction at Florida for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals

High quality health care requires competent, motivated, and satisfied health care employees. This research examines whether employee job satisfaction differs at for-profit (FP) and not-for-profit (NFP) hospitals and how other organizational characteristics mediate this relationship. In this cross-sectional study, Press Ganey Employee Partnership Survey data from 35 Florida hospitals were used to understand the relationship between hospital ownership (primary independent variable) and employee job satisfaction (outcome). A flexible structural equation model was used to examine the relationship. The sample included 32,892 valid responses (approximately 23% from FP hospitals). Employees in FP hospitals were found to less satisfied with their jobs than their NFP counterparts. This trend was strongly associated with an inverse relationship between job satisfaction and assessment of immediate supervisors. The resulting job satisfaction model had an R2 of 0.524, indicating good fit. Further analyses revealed a positive association between perceived staffing levels and supervisor satisfaction, suggesting that the relative leanness of FP institutions might explain the observed difference in supervisor satisfaction. Employee job satisfaction is a complex multifaceted construct. Four main organizational factors affect employee job satisfaction: the organization’s ownership type (FP or NFP), employee relationships with supervisors, work schedule, and length of employment. Leaders need to provide front line supervisors with adequate resources and support. Training immediate supervisors how to approach and be supportive of their workers provides an immediate solution toward increasing employee job satisfaction.
FastFeatGen: Faster Parallel Feature Extraction from Genome Sequences and Efficient Prediction of DNA N 6 -Methyladenine Sites.

\(N^6\)-methyladenine is widely found in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. It is responsible for many biological processes including prokaryotic defense system and human diseases. So, it is important to know its correct location in genome which may play a significant role in different biological functions. Few computational tools exist to serve this purpose but they are computationally expensive and still there is scope to improve accuracy. An informative feature extraction pipeline from genome sequences is the heart of these tools as well as for many other bioinformatics tools. But it becomes reasonably expensive for sequential approaches when the size of data is large. Hence, a scalable parallel approach is highly desirable. In this paper, we have developed a new tool, called FastFeatGen, emphasizing both developing a parallel feature extraction technique and improving accuracy using machine learning methods. We have implemented our feature extraction approach using shared memory parallelism which achieves around 10\(\times \) speed over the sequential one. Then we have employed an exploratory feature selection technique which helps to find more relevant features that can be fed to machine learning methods. We have employed Extra-Tree Classifier (ETC) in FastFeatGen and performed experiments on rice and mouse genomes. Our experimental results achieve accuracy of 85.57% and 96.64%, respectively, which are better or competitive to current state-of-the-art methods. Our shared memory based tool can also serve queries much faster than sequential technique. All source codes and datasets are available at https://github.com/khaled-rahman/FastFeatGen.
Inflammatory bowel disease–associated bleeding

Abstract Bright red blood per rectum is a common presentation for ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s colitis, and cuffitis in patients with ileal pouch–anal anastomosis. Brisk bleeding is not common in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD). Rather, bleeding in patients with small bowel CD often presents with iron-deficiency anemia. Bleeding in patients with inflammatory bowel disease can result from inflammation, ulceration, polyps, or even malignancy. In addition, bleeding at the surgical anastomosis or suture or staple lines are common. Bleeding is also a common presentation in patients with diverted colon, rectum, or ileal pouch.
Prevalence and Effects of Food Insecurity and Social Support on Financial Toxicity in and Healthcare Use by Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Background & Aims We estimated the prevalence of social determinants of health (SDH, food insecurity and social support) in adults with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in the United States and evaluated associations with financial toxicity and healthcare use. Methods In the National Health Interview Survey 2015, we identified adults with IBD and estimated the prevalence of food insecurity and/or lack of social support. We evaluated associations with financial toxicity (financial hardship due to medical bills, personal and health-related financial distress, cost-related medication nonadherence, healthcare affordability) and emergency department use. Results Of estimated 3.1 million adults with IBD in the US, 42% or estimated 1,277,215 patients with IBD reported at least one negative SDH, with 12% reporting both food insecurity and lack of social support. On multivariable analysis adjusting for age, sex, race, family income and comorbidities, patients with food insecurity were significantly more likely to experience financial hardship due to medical bills (odds ratio [OR], 3.31; 95% CI, 1.48-7.39), financial distress (OR, 6.92; 95% CI, 2.28–21.0) and cost-related medication non-adherence (OR, 8.07; 95% CI, 3.16–20.6). Similarly, patients with inadequate social support were significantly more likely to experience financial hardship due to medical bills (OR, 2.98; 95% CI, 1.56–5.67), financial distress (OR, 3.05; 95% CI, 1.64–5.67) and cost-related medication non-adherence (OR, 2.71; 95% CI, 1.10–6.66). Food insecurity and/or lack of social support was not associated with increased risk of emergency department use. Conclusions In an analysis of data from the National Health Interview Survey 2015, we found that 1 in 8 patients with IBD have food insecurity and lack social support, which is associated with higher financial toxicity. Patients with IBD should be assessed for SDH to tailor healthcare delivery and improve population health.
Inverse Model Predictive Control (IMPC) Based Modeling and Prediction of Human-Driven Vehicles in Mixed Traffic

Modeling and predicting human-driven vehicle behaviors are critically important for the planning and control of autonomous vehicles in mixed traffic which includes both autonomous and human-driven vehicles. Despite the tremendous efforts on this problem, the traditional general driver model-based approaches are subject to prediction accuracy issues and the state-of-the-art data-driven heuristic approaches are subject to scalability issues. To this end, this paper proposes a novel inverse model predictive control (IMPC) based approach to address these issues. The approach can learn the internal control process of human drivers through the automatic learning of their cost functions in a novel IMPC setup, which could result in improvements in both the accuracy and scalability. The approach was implemented and validated with realistic human driver studies. The experiments illustrated that the proposed approach could achieve a better accuracy and a better scalability for unseen scenarios compared to existing approaches.
Pediatric Endocrinology: Perspectives of Pediatric Endocrinologists Regarding Career Choice and Recruitment of Trainees.

Abstract Objectives To examine main factors that influence the decision to choose pediatric endocrinology as a career among pediatric endocrinologists and assess their work satisfaction or stress level and suggested strategies to increase interest in subspecialty training in pediatric endocrinology. Methods A workforce survey was distributed among 1470 members of the Pediatric Endocrine Society. Results The response rate was 37.4%, with 550 members responding. The most common reasons for the respondents choosing pediatric endocrinology were intellectual stimulation (79%), exposure to endocrinology during residency (57%) or medical school (43%), and ability to establish relationships with patients with chronic disorders (54%). Of the respondents, 97% considered intellectual stimulation as the most favorable aspect of the specialty, and 84% considered financial compensation as the most unfavorable aspect of pediatric endocrinology. Majority (77%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their work environment. The mean work-related stress score (0 [none] to 10 [worst]) was 5.7, standard deviation was 2.1, and median was 6 (Q1, Q3: 4, 7). Increased financial compensation for the services and loan payment or forgiveness option were the top strategies suggested to enhance interest among residents for training in the subspecialty. One third (37%) felt that reducing the duration of the fellowship to 2 years would increase interest in training in pediatric endocrinology. Conclusion The pediatric endocrinologists reported overall excellent career satisfaction, indicating the potential to attract high-quality doctors to the specialty. Improving reimbursement and loan forgiveness were the top strategies suggested for increasing interest in subspecialty training in pediatric endocrinology.
Iron Recovery from Nickel Slag by Aluminum Dross: A Static Model from Industrial Practice View

Nickel slag can be recycled as one of excellent secondary sources due to valuable iron resource. A static model of recycling nickel slag by aluminum dross was established based on material balance and non-isothermal thermodynamic calculations. Discussions had been carried out under different basicities of the modified slags and the reduction degree of ‘FeO,’ and the results showed that the dosage of nickel slag, aluminum dross, and modifier is 55.60%, 28.82%, and 15.58%, respectively, at the basicity of modified slag of 1.0. The non-isothermal thermodynamic model indicated that an increment of slag temperature from 114.3 to 430.2 K could be obtained with the reduction process, which not only signified the superiority of aluminothermy, but also laid a foundation for the industrial practice.