cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biological relationships of the pentastomida; a bibliography on the pentastomida.

Abstract The Pentastomida constitute an aberrant group of helminths which, like the onycophora, have lost most affinities to other major classes. Superficial acarin resemblances are thought to reflect larval adaptations only. Modern studies suggest that the pentastomes share both arthropod and annelid characters but that one cannot justify assigning them to either phylum. They are, therefore, assigned the status of an independent phylum with the belief that they share a common ancestry with the Annelida and Arthropoda. It appears that, initially, the pentastome ancestors invaded the respiratory cavities of reptiles thus indicating that they were probably land animals. The adoption of insects and mammals as secondary hosts seems to have been secondary. There are two orders. The Cephalobaenida are the more primitive and their life cycles involve insects, fish, amphibia, and reptiles as secondary hosts. There is evidence that some can complete direct life cycles in a single reptilian host species and this is considered the most primitive situation. All the Porocephalida except one require mammals as secondary and reptiles as definitive hosts. Species of Linguatula complete the cycle entirely in mammals. The porocephalids are considered to be more highly evolved than the Cephalobaenida.
Do differences make the heart grow fonder? Associations between differential peer experiences on adolescent sibling conflict and relationship quality.

ABSTRACT Though it is known that different familial relationships influence one another (e.g., Yu & Gamble, 2008) the influence of outside relationships (i.e., peers) on family dynamics (i.e., sibling relationships) is less clear. Thus, the authors examined the association differential peer experiences had on the conflict frequency, conflict intensity, and relationship quality of the sibling relationship. A 1-year longitudinal design measured first-born siblings in Grades 8, 10, and 12 along with their second-born siblings. In the first year, participants were brought to the university to complete questionnaires and in the following year, siblings again participated by completing online questionnaires at home. Results partially confirmed the study hypotheses that adolescents would show greater sibling conflict and poorer relationship quality with greater peer group differences, revealing that when peer group differences between siblings were greater, the youngest siblings reported more intense sibling con...
Self-Esteem: Assessing Measurement Equivalence in a Multiethnic Sample of Youth.

Global self-worth and five domains of self-esteem (scholastic competence, athletic competence, physical appearance, behavioral conduct, social acceptance) were tested for measurement equivalence in...
An anteroposterior wave of vascular inhibitor downregulation signals aortae fusion along the embryonic midline axis

Paracrine signals, both positive and negative, regulate the positioning and remodeling of embryonic blood vessels. In the embryos of mammals and birds, the first major remodeling event is the fusion of bilateral dorsal aortae at the midline to form the dorsal aorta. Although the original bilaterality of the dorsal aortae occurs as the result of inhibitory factors (antagonists of BMP signaling) secreted from the midline by the notochord, it is unknown how fusion is later signaled. Here, we report that dorsal aortae fusion is tightly regulated by a change in signaling by the notochord along the anteroposterior axis. During aortae fusion, the notochord ceases to exert its negative influence on vessel formation. This is achieved by a transcriptional downregulation of negative regulators while positive regulators are maintained at pre-fusion levels. In particular, Chordin, the most abundant BMP antagonist expressed in the notochord prior to fusion, undergoes a dramatic downregulation in an anterior to posterior wave. With inhibitory signals diminished and sustained expression of the positive factors SHH and VEGF at the midline, fusion of the dorsal aortae is signaled. These results demonstrate a novel mechanism by which major modifications of the vascular pattern can occur through modulation of vascular inhibitors without changes in the levels of positive vascular regulators.
Advanced Therapy for Venous Thromboembolism: Understanding the Role of Systemic Fibrinolysis, Catheter-Based Therapy, and Surgery

Selection of patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) for advanced therapies requires recognition of high-risk deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) syndromes. Advanced therapies for acute PE include systemic fibrinolysis, catheter-based “pharmacomechanical” intervention, and surgical pulmonary embolectomy. Choosing a particular advanced therapy depends on the individual patient’s risk for adverse outcomes due to VTE and for major bleeding, specifically intracranial hemorrhage. Multidisciplinary PE Response Teams may facilitate access to advanced therapies and appropriate patient selection.
Beetles (Coleoptera) of Peru: A Survey of the Families. Epimetopidae, Hydrochidae, Hydrophilidae (Hydrophiloidea)

The Superfamily Hydrophiloidea has varied greatly in its makeup over time. The most recent decisions have restricted it to six families: Epimetopidae, Hydrochidae, Georissidae, Helophoridae, Sperchidae, and Hydrophilidae. Three families have known Peruvian distributions and are described below. The family Georissidae is monogeneric and cosmopolitan in distribution. Georissus humeralis Pic, 1923 is known from Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia, and a Georissus sp. is known from Chile. Thus, the family may occur in Peru and may be found on sandy shores of lakes and streams. Spercheidae is monogeneric and widely distributed globally. Two species occur in South America: Spercheus fimbriicollis Bruch, 1915 from Brazil and Argentina and Spercheus halophilus Archangelsky, 2001 from Argentina. Spercheus may be found in Peru, especially in Amazonian areas where they would be found in stagnant waters. The monogeneric Helophoridae has approximately 190 species that are largely Holarctic in distribution. This family is not likely to be found in Peru.
Control of Motoneuron Output by Pathways Descending from the Brain Stem

This chapter will be concerned with the control of spinal motoneuron output by neuronal activity originating from the red nucleus, the vestibular nuclear complex, and the medial pontomedullary reticular formation. These brain stem nuclei give rise, respectively, to the rubrospinal tract and the various vestibulospinal and reticulospinal tracts which, together with the corticospinal tract, constitute the major descending fiber systems controlling motor output in mammals. Each of these tracts contains some fibers running the length of the spinal cord, and each influences motoneurons from cervical to lumbosacral levels. These brain stem nuclei together with their descending fibers will be referred to in this chapter as the brain stem efferent systems.
A self‐powered thin‐film radiation detector using intrinsic high‐energy current

Purpose: The authors introduce a radiation detection method that relies on high-energy current (HEC) formed by secondary charged particles in the detector material, which induces conduction current in an external readout circuit. Direct energy conversion of the incident radiation powers the signal formation without the need for external bias voltage or amplification. The detector the authors consider is a thin-film multilayer device, composed of alternating disparate electrically conductive and insulating layers. The optimal design of HEC detectors consists of microscopic or nanoscopic structures. Methods: Theoretical and computational developments are presented to illustrate the salient properties of the HEC detector and to demonstrate its feasibility. In this work, the authors examine single-sandwiched and periodic layers of Cu and Al, and Au and Al, ranging in thickness from 100 nm to 300 μm and separated by similarly sized dielectric gaps, exposed to 120 kVp x-ray beam (half-value thickness of 4.1 mm of Al). The energy deposition characteristics and the high-energy current were determined using radiation transport computations. Results: The authors found that in a dual-layer configuration, the signal is in the measurable range. For a defined total detector thickness in a multilayer structure, the signal sharply increases with decreasing thickness of the high-Z conductive layers. This paper focuses on the computational results while a companion paper reports the experimental findings. Conclusions: Significant advantages of the device are that it does not require external power supply and amplification to create a measurable signal; it can be made in any size and geometry, including very thin (sub-millimeter to submicron) flexible curvilinear forms, and it is inexpensive. Potential applications include medical dosimetry (both in vivo and external), radiation protection, and other settings where one or more of the above qualities are desired.
Genome Sequence of the Deep-Sea Bacterium Idiomarina abyssalis KMM 227T

ABSTRACT Idiomarina abyssalis KMM 227T is an aerobic flagellar gammaproteobacterium found at a depth of 4,000 to 5,000 m below sea level in the Pacific Ocean. This paper presents a draft genome sequence for I. abyssalis KMM 227T, with a predicted composition of 2,684,812 bp (47.15% G+C content) and 2,611 genes, of which 2,508 were predicted coding sequences.
Limits to causal inference with state-space reconstruction for infectious disease.

Infectious diseases are notorious for their complex dynamics, which make it difficult to fit models to test hypotheses. Methods based on state-space reconstruction have been proposed to infer causal interactions in noisy, nonlinear dynamical systems. These "model-free" methods are collectively known as convergent cross-mapping (CCM). Although CCM has theoretical support, natural systems routinely violate its assumptions. To identify the practical limits of causal inference under CCM, we simulated the dynamics of two pathogen strains with varying interaction strengths. The original method of CCM is extremely sensitive to periodic fluctuations, inferring interactions between independent strains that oscillate with similar frequencies. This sensitivity vanishes with alternative criteria for inferring causality. However, CCM remains sensitive to high levels of process noise and changes to the deterministic attractor. This sensitivity is problematic because it remains challenging to gauge noise and dynamical changes in natural systems, including the quality of reconstructed attractors that underlie cross-mapping. We illustrate these challenges by analyzing time series of reportable childhood infections in New York City and Chicago during the pre-vaccine era. We comment on the statistical and conceptual challenges that currently limit the use of state-space reconstruction in causal inference.
Effect of Sex and Instar on Food Consumption, Nutritional Indices, and Foliage Wasting by the Western Spruce Budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis

Consumption rates, food utilization efficiencies, and foliage wasted by the western spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis , were determined for three larval instars and for both sexes. Sixth-instar larvae ingested significantly more Douglas-fir foliage than did fifth-instar larvae. Relative consumption rate ( RCR ), relative growth rate ( RGR ), efficiency of conversion of ingested foods ( ECI ), and the percentage of foliage wasted were statistically equal (α = 0.10) between fifth- and sixth-instar larvae feeding on host foliage. Fourth-instar larvae feeding on artifical diet medium ingested less food than did fifth- and sixth-instar larvae. Relative growth rate was greater for fourth- and fifth-instar larvae, ECI was greater for fifth- and sixth-instar larvae, and RCR was greater for fourth-instar larvae. Female budworms consumed less host foliage in relation to their body weight than did males. However, females maintained an RGR equal to that of males due to greater ECI. Female budworms had significantly longer development times and greater fresh pupal weights than males. The percentages of total damaged host foliage that was wasted by male and female western spruce budworms were statistically equal. The percentages of foliage wasted were also statistically equal for fifth- and sixth-instar larvae feeding on Douglas-fir foliage.
Stereoselective Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP) of Methyl-N-(1-phenylethyl)-2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-ene-3-carboxylate by Molybdenum and Tungsten Initiators

Ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of methyl-N-(1-phenylethyl)-2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-ene-3-carboxylate (PhEtNNBE; (S) and racemic) was investigated employing six molybdenum and tungsten imido alkylidene initiators and two tungsten oxo alkylidene initiators. Of the six initiators that we proposed should yield cis,syndiotactic-poly[(S)-PhEtNNBE], two molybdenum OHMT alkylidene initiators, Mo(NR)(CHMe2Ph)(pyr)(OHMT) (R = 1-adamantyl (Ad) or 2,6-Me2C6H3 (Ar′); OHMT = O-2,6-mesityl2C6H3; pyr = pyrrolide), and two tungsten oxo alkylidene initiators, W(O)(CHMe2Ph)(2,5-dimethylpyrrolide)(PMe2Ph)(OR) (OR = OHMT or (R)-OBr2Bitet where (R)-Br2BitetOH = (R)-3,3′-dibromo-2′-(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy)-5,5′,6,6′,7,7′,8,8′-octahydro-1,1′-binaphthyl-2-ol), produced essentially pure cis,syndiotactic-poly[(S)-PhEtNNBE]. Essentially pure cis,isotactic-poly[(S)-PhEtNNBE] was formed when (S)-PhEtNNBE was polymerized by Mo(NAr′)(CHCMe2Ph)(OBiphenCF3)(thf) or W(NAr′)(CHCMe2Ph)((S)-OBiphenMe) (OBiphenCF3 = 3,3′-d...
4-H Women and Their Horses: An Extraordinary Relationship with an Extraordinary Animal

There is minimal research on the large animal-human companionship bond. The purposes of the phenomenological study reported here were to identify the meaning of the relationship between women and their horses and the impact on their adult lives of the human-horse bond. Analysis is based on in-depth interviews with five adult 4-H alumni horsewomen. The meaning of the relationship was a deeply emotional response to a reciprocal relationship between women and their horses. The central finding...
Shoulder Injuries in Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse, 2004-2009

Background:Men’s lacrosse has been one of the fastest growing team sports in the United States, at both the collegiate and high school levels. Uniquely, it combines both continuous overhead and contact activity. Thus, an understanding of its injury epidemiology and mechanisms is vital. Shoulder injuries have been shown to be common in the sport, but thus far there has been no dedicated analysis of these injuries with which to better inform injury prevention strategies.Study Design:Descriptive epidemiology study.Methods:All athlete exposures (AEs) and shoulder injuries reported to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Injury Surveillance System for intercollegiate men’s lacrosse athletes from 2004-2005 through 2008-2009 were collected. Type of injury was documented and the injury incidence per 1000 AEs was calculated. Event type, injury mechanism, specific injury, outcome, and time lost were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using 95% CIs, calculated based on a normal approximation...
An Appealing Extension: Extending Martinez v. Ryan to Claims of Ineffective Assistance of Appellate Counsel

In March of 2012, in Martinez v. Ryan, the Supreme Court announced a new type of cause under the cause-and-prejudice exception to procedural default in federal habeas cases. This new type of cause allowed federal courts to review a subset of claims that had been procedurally defaulted in state habeas proceedings due to the ineffectiveness of postconviction counsel. The parameters of that subset were the source of a heated debate on the Supreme Court. The majority, limiting its analysis to the facts before it, claimed that the new definition excused only claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel (IATC). The dissent, however, argued that it would apply to other claims as well. The application of Martinez to excuse procedurally defaulted claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel (IAAC) is the subject of this Note.Following Martinez, the circuit courts split along the same lines as the majority and dissent in that case: The Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits held that Martinez cannot be used to excuse IAAC claims in addition to IATC claims, whereas the Ninth Circuit held that Martinez can be used to excuse IAAC claims. Many scholars have also written on the potential impact of Martinez. Some of these scholars have predicted or acknowledged the circuit split. None, however, have analyzed in detail the circuit courts’ limitation of Martinez to excusing IATC claims or explored whether that limitation is the correct result. This Note examines the circuit courts’ and commentators’ arguments both in favor of and against limiting Martinez to the IATC context.
Gastric Restrictive Procedures: Gastroplasty

Gastroplasty for the treatment of morbid obesity has developed over the last 20 years from inconsistent suture technique operations to precisely constructed procedures. To date, the best results are achieved with the most recently developed techniques, vertical (mesh) banded gastroplasty, and silicone elastomer ring vertical gastroplasty. These operations produce a 33 to 37 per cent weight loss at 2 years with a failure rate of 6 to 8 per cent.
Adaptive Dose-Compensation Technique for Image-Guided Radiotherapy of Prostate Cancer

Background: For image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) of prostate cancer, the current standard is online image guidance which can effectively correct setup errors and inter-fraction rigid organ motion. However, planning margins are still necessary for deformation and intra-fraction motion. Objectives: The purpose is to investigate an adaptive planning technique incorporating offline dose feedback to manage interfraction motion and residuals from online corrections. Methods: Repeated CT scans from 28 patients were studied. Online IG was simulated by matching center-of-mass of prostate. A seven-beam IMRT plan with zero margins was designed for each patient. Dose distribution at each fraction was evaluated based on actual target and OARs from that fraction. Cumulative dose was calculated using deformable registration and compared to initial plan. If deviation exceeded pre-defined 2% threshold in prostate D99, an adaptive planning technique called dose compensation was invoked, in which cumulative dose was fed back to the planning system and dose deficit was made up through boost radiation in future fractions through IMRT. Results: If 2% under-dose is allowed at the end of course, then 11 patients fail. If the same criteria is assessed at the end of each week (every 5 fractions), then 14 patients fail. The average dose deficit for these 14 patients was 4.4%. They improved to 2% after weekly compensation. Ten (out of 14) patients passed criterion after weekly dose compensation; 3 failed marginally; one failed significantly (10% deficit). A more aggressive compensation frequency (every 3 fractions) could reduce the dose deficit to the acceptable level for this patient. The doses to OARs were not significantly different from online IG only without dose compensation. Conclusions: We demonstrated an offline dose compensation technique in prostate IGRT which can effectively account for residual uncertainties uncorrectable in online IG. Dose compensation allows further margin reduction and critical organs sparing.
Eneström–Kakeya Theorem and Some of Its Generalizations

The study of the zeros of polynomials has a very rich history. In addition to having numerous applications, this study has been the inspiration for much theoretical research (including being the initial motivation for modern algebra). The earliest contributors to this subject were Gauss and Cauchy. Algebraic and analytic methods for finding zeros of a polynomial, in general, can be quite complicated. So it is desirable to put some restrictions on polynomials. Enestrom–Kakeya theorem, which is a result in this direction, states that if \(p(z)=\sum_{j=0}^n a_j z^j\) is a polynomial of degree n with real coefficients satisfying \(0\leq a_0\leq a_1\leq \cdots \leq a_n\), then all the zeros of p lie in \(|z|\leq 1\). Enestrom–Kakeya theorem has been the starting point for considerable literature in Mathematics, concerning the location of the zeros of polynomials. In this article we begin with the earliest results of Enestrom and Kakeya and conclude this by presenting some of the recent results on this subject. Our article is expository in nature.
Primary Bile Duct Melanoma Causing Obstructive Jaundice

Malignant melanoma is one of the few malignancies that are well known for unusual behavior. Primary malignant melanoma usually originates from squamous epithelium of skin, mucous membranes, retina, and uvea. Although melanoma can metastasize to any part of the body, including biliary tract, primary malignant melanoma of bile ducts is an extremely rare entity. We present a 52-year-old man who presented with 5-month epigastric pain and 15-pound weight loss, with 1-week duration of jaundice, nausea/vomiting, pale stools, and dark urine, blood work suggested cholestatic jaundice. Imaging revealed a large perihilar/peripancreatic mass involving the portal vein and hepatic artery, and intrahepatic biliary dilation. Biliary brushings revealed neoplastic cells strongly suggestive of malignant melanoma.
Conversion of Ethanol to 2-Ethylhexenal at Ambient Conditions Using Tandem, Biphasic Catalysis.

Ethanol is a ubiquitous fermentation product well-tolerated by microbes, but purification from growth media requires multiple distillations or other energy intensive processes. Converting such metabolites to larger, hydrophobic products would both yield higher energy products and facilitate separation. Here, we demonstrate the conversion of C2 ethanol to C8 2-ethylhexenal via a sequential oxidation–aldol–hydrogenation–aldol process with solar energy as the only required input. Photocatalysis was utilized to drive enzymatic oxidation of ethanol, while biphasic media in conjunction with aldol coupling and Pd assisted hydrogenation kept the oxidation and reduction processes physically and chemically separated. Using this process, 2-ethylhexenal was produced from ethanol in both buffer and diluted yeast media.
Is "Precision Medicine" Ready to Use in Primary Care Practice? Yes: It Offers Patients More Individualized Ways of Managing Their Health.

The question that primary care physicians should be considering is not whether precision medicine is ready for “prime time” in their practices. Rather, they should be considering how they will adjust their practice patterns to the changing landscape of medicine to maximize patient benefit while minimizing potential harms, including costs.
Verification of hybrid mixture theory based two-scale unsaturated transport processes using controlled frying experiments

Abstract Involvement of unsaturated transport and high temperatures during frying of foods makes it a challenging process to study via experiments and computer simulations. The objective of this research is to validate the hybrid mixture based unsaturated transport theory of Takhar (2014) via controlled frying experiments. A hollow Teflon disc is used to insulate the edges of potato disc to ensure that frying is controlled, one-dimensional, and oil uptake and moisture loss happen only through top and bottom surfaces. The model was used to predict moisture and oil content, evaporation rates, temperature distribution, and pore and gas pressure profiles as a function of frying time and temperature. Percentage average absolute difference (AAD) between predicted and experimental values for moisture content was 3.89%, 5.7% and 5.5% and oil content was 14%, 31% and 20% at 150, 170 and 190 °C respectively. Simulations showed that oil penetrated to only 0.5 mm into the potato disc. Removal of surface oil improved the prediction of experimental oil content. Maximum evaporation rate of 0.13 kg/m3 s was observed near the surface of potato slice at 150 s frying time resulting in rapid moisture loss. Pore pressure remained negative beyond 90 s frying time, which may act as a driving force for oil uptake.
How academically productive are endocrine surgeons in the United States

Abstract Background Many surgical departments in the United States lack endocrine surgery faculty. Although endocrine surgeons can provide worthwhile clinical services, it is unclear how they contribute to the overall academic mission of the department. The present study aims to evaluate the academic productivity of endocrine surgeons, as defined by the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES) membership, when compared with other academic surgical faculty. Materials and methods An established database of 4081 surgical department faculty was used for this study. This database includes surgical faculty of the top 50 National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded universities and faculty from five outstanding hospital-based surgical departments. Academic metrics including publication, citations, H-index, and NIH funding were obtained using publically available data from websites. The AAES membership status was gathered from the online membership registry. Results A total of 110 AAES members were identified in this database, accounting for 2.7% of this population. Overall, the AAES members outperformed other academic surgical faculty with respect to publications (66 ± 94 versus 28 ± 91, P Conclusions Based on these data, the AAES members excelled with respect to publications, citations, and research funding compared with nonendocrine surgical faculty. These results demonstrate that endocrine surgeons can contribute enormously to the overall academic mission. Therefore, more surgical departments in the United States should consider establishing an endocrine surgery program.
Randomized Fault Tolerant Group Testing and Advanced Security

In this chapter, we further optimize the time complexity of the scheme discussed in Chap. 3 and provide more advanced solutions. In detail, a randomized fault-tolerant group testing construction to reduce the computational cost, compared to the one using irreducible polynomials on Galois Field is introduced. Based on such a new GT construction, a more robust defense solution to an advanced jamming attack is presented for various network scenarios. Theoretical analysis and simulation results are included to validate the performance of this framework.
Torsion of a Prismatic Bar

If a bar is loaded by equal and opposite torques T on its ends, we anticipate that the relative rigid-body displacement of initially plane sections will consist of rotation, leading to a twist per unit length β. These sections may also deform out of plane, but this deformation must be the same for all values of z. These kinematic considerations lead to the candidate displacement field $$u_x {\rm } = {\rm } - \beta zy;{\rm }u_y {\rm } = {\rm }\beta zx{\rm };{\rm }u_z {\rm } = {\rm }\beta f(x,{\rm }y){\rm },$$ (16.1) where f is an unknown function of x, y describing the out-of-plane deformation. Notice that it is convenient to extract the factor β explicitly in uz, since whatever the exact nature of f, it is clear that the complete deformation field must be linearly proportional to the applied torque and hence to the twist per unit length.
Health care transition preparation in youth with chronic conditions: Working towards translational evidence with a patient perspective

Research in the health care transition (HCT) field has increasingly expanded in the last few decades. However, struc- tured and more intensive examination of this field is needed to provide the best health care practices for youth with chronic health conditions. This commentary includes the views of a young adult with a chronic condition who has graduated to adult-focused services, his parent, and a group of interdisciplinary health providers. We examined the current evidence in the field and suggest prioritizing future directions for research and practice. The key factors in HCT are discussed, along with the current initiatives that are guiding policy, and propose suggestions for how to integrate the current research into practice.
Financial implications of telemedicine visits in an academic endocrine surgery program

Abstract Background Telemedicine is an emerging medium for the delivery of ambulatory care, but the reimbursement profile of telemedicine visits in the surgical setting has not been well studied. Methods A retrospective assessment of telemedicine encounters for thyroid and parathyroid conditions occurring from April 2015 to April 2017 was performed. Financial reimbursement from commercial payers for new and established patient visits were compared between telemedicine visits and in-person visits. Patient “savings” in terms of travel distance and drive time were calculated. Results A total of 290 telemedicine encounters were conducted; 7% were initial consultations, 47% were postoperative visits, and 45% were follow-up visits. The median patient age was 57 years. The median round-trip travel distance saved was 123.6 miles with estimated drive time of 2.4 hours per encounter. In 2% of cases, a second in-person visit within the 90-day global period occurred after a postoperative telemedicine encounter. Charges were filed for 67 encounters. The initial unpaid claims rate was 6%, which was consistent with the unpaid claims rate for in-person visits. The charge-to-collection ratio was comparable to that of in-person visits. There was a higher ratio of level 2 visits in the telemedicine encounters. Over the study period, 70 clinic hours were liberated via the use of telemedicine. Conclusion Endocrine surgery telemedicine visits have the same level for level reimbursement profile as in-person visits. Down-coding and elimination of components of in-office physical examinations may lead to modest decreases in overall reimbursement. Other advantages include reallocation of clinic resources and decreased travel burden for patients.
Forgotten Agricultural Heritage: Reconnecting food systems and sustainable development

Contemporary agriculture is often criticized for its industrial scale, adverse effects on nutrition, rural employment and the environment, and its disconnectedness from nature and culture. Yet there are many examples of traditional smaller scale systems that have survived the test of time and provide more sustainable solutions while still maintaining food security in an era of climate change. This book provides a unique compilation of this forgotten agricultural heritage and is based on objective scientific evaluation and evidence of the value of these systems for present and future generations. The authors refer to many of these systems as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) and show how they are related to the concepts of heritage and the World Heritage Convention. They demonstrate how GIAHS based on family farms, traditional indigenous knowledge and agroecological principles can contribute to food and nutrition security and the maintenance of agro-biodiversity and environmental resilience, as well as sustain local cultures, economies and societies. Two substantial chapters are devoted to descriptions and assessments of some 50 examples of designated and potential GIAHS from around the world, including rice-fish culture in China, mountain terrace systems in Asia, coffee agroforestry in Latin America, irrigation systems and land and water management in Iran and India, pastoralism in East Africa, and the dehesa agrosilvopastoral system of Spain and Portugal. The book concludes by providing policy and technical solutions for sustainable agriculture and rural development through the enhancement of these systems.
Cost and Insurance Issues in Botulinum Toxin Therapy

Botulinum toxin therapy is expensive. This chapter discusses the venues that are available to the patients through the manufacturing companies to defray some of the cost of botulinum toxin therapy. The role of patient and treating physician in facilitating co-pays is also discussed. Finally, data from the literature for certain indication, indicating cost effectiveness of botulinum toxin therapy (despite its high cost) is provided.
A Place in the Sun: Black Placemaking in Pan African Detroit:

The article argues that a distinctive character of the Black city is revealed in its connections to African heritage preservation. The Africanized Black city is situated within the long foundations...
Two-dimensional electron liquid in a weak magnetic field

We present a theory describing the low-energy properties of an interacting two-dimensional electron gas in a magnetic field at large non-integer filling factors v»1. For a moderate interaction strength, r S <1, we find two energy scales controlling the electron dynamics at energies less than hω c . The first energy scale, (hω c /v)In(vr s ), appears in the one electron spectral density as the width of a pseudogap. The second and larger scale, r s hω c , characterizes the exchange-enhanced spin splitting and the thermodynamic density of states.
A survey of character characteristics: a quantitative and qualitative study of english letters in handwriting and fonts

Previous work of optical character recognition of typed forms or scene text will often get strong results by training over synthetic data, created by rendering words from fonts [3] [4] [7]. Similar methods have been used to create handwriting data from fonts, especially in Chinese and Japanese, but such methods in English are often done ad hoc over small hand selected font sets that look like handwriting, while OCR of typed forms will use much larger datasets [13] [5] [11] [9]. Here, we looked at comparing large scale font datasets with handwritten datasets, as a first step towards integrating them into large scale synthetic data. We did this by first collating large numbers of both fonts and "handwritten fonts", that is, fonts created to look like handwriting. We then use these fonts to create a large database consisting of all the numbers 0-9 as well as both uppercase and lowercase letters a-z. We then ran a large series of qualitative and quantitative comparisons between them and human handwritten data from the full NIST SD 19 dataset, which we use to categorize characters (such as seven written with and without a line through it). Our qualitative comparisons are visually oriented. For example, we calculated heatmaps for handwritten characters, fonts, and handwritten fonts, which allows for visual comparisons where some differences are immediately visible. Our quantitative methods encompass comparing statistics such as character orientations, complexity, eccentricity, density, among others. We find that although handwritten fonts are in general closer to actual handwriting than the full font set, it still has distinct characteristics of fonts, and occupies a space in between fonts and handwriting. The statistics and especially visualizations are also interesting in and of themselves, and present a continuation of work done in quantitative writing systems.
Spectroscopic Characterization of μ-η1:η1-Peroxo Ligands Formed by Reaction of Dioxygen with Electron-Rich Iridium Clusters

Although oxygen is a common ligand in supported metal catalysts, its coordination has been challenging to elucidate. We now characterize a diiridium complex that has been previously shown by X-ray diffraction crystallography to incorporate a μ-η1:η1-peroxo ligand. We observe markedly enhanced intensity at 788 cm-1 in the Raman spectrum of this complex, which is a consequence of bonding of the peroxo ligand but does not shift upon 18O labeling. Electronic structure calculations at the density functional theory level suggest that this increase in Raman intensity results from bands associated with rocking of CH2 substituents directly attached to P(Ph)2 groups coupling with the O-O band. These results provide part of the foundation for understanding oxygen ligands on a silica-supported tetrairidium carbonyl cluster stabilized with bulky electron-donating phosphine ligands [p-tert-butyl-calix[4]arene(OPr)3(OCH2PPh2) (Ph = phenyl; Pr = propyl)]. Reaction of the cluster with O2 also led to the growing in of a Raman band at 788 cm-1, similar to that in the diiridium complex and also assigned to the bonding of a bridging peroxo ligand. Infrared spectra recorded as the supported cluster reacted in sequential exposures to (i) H2, (ii) O2, (iii) H2, and (iv) CO indicate that two bridging peroxo ligands were bonded irreversibly per tetrairidium cluster, replacing bridging carbonyl ligands without altering either the cluster frame or the phosphine ligands. X-ray absorption near edge and infrared spectra include isosbestic points signifying a stoichiometrically simple reaction of the cluster with O2, and mass spectra of the effluent gas show that CO2 formed by oxidation of one terminal CO ligand per cluster as H2 (and not H2O) formed, evidence that hydride ligands had been present on the cluster following treatment (i). The understanding of how O2 reacts with the metal polyhedron provides a foundation for understanding of how oxidation catalysis may proceed on the surfaces of noble metals.
Riverbed Sediments Control the Spatiotemporal Variability of E. coli in a Highly Managed, Arid River

High concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) can result in exceedance of surface water quality standards, particularly in urban areas which receive stormwater runoff. Although FIB are considered to be an indicator of mammalian waste, there is increasing evidence of regrowth in sediments of warm streams. However, the role that sediment-water interactions play on the spatiotemporal distribution of FIB is not well understood, particularly on scales relevant to water quality management. We examined E. coli loads in river water and concentrations in sediments in a 60 km reach of the Rio Grande near Albuquerque, USA to determine seasonal and spatial trends of the coupling between FIB in the water column and those in sediments. Our study reach progresses from a narrow, coarse-bottom channel (0-9.4 km) with insignificant anthropogenic FIB sources to a wide, sand-braided channel with prevalent mid-channel bars and islands (25-61.5 km) that flows through a city with 1 million inhabitants. At upstream sites, we observed low E. coli loads during low discharges and low sediment E. coli concentrations. Conversely, downstream sites had high E. coli loads and high sediment concentrations year-round. Using a simple framework to quantify sediment-water interactions and E. coli transferability, we found that the fine riverbed sediments present at downstream sites served as a source of E. coli to the overlying water and that they promoted the survival of E. coli along this subreach, contributing to frequent violations of the stream standard. Therefore, we propose that sediment-water interactions should be explicitly considered in water quality management, protection, and improvement efforts.
Effect of O 2 concentration in ambient mixture and multiphase radiation on pollutant formation in ECN spray-A

This study investigates the formation and evolution of soot and NO X in a high-pressure constant-volume combustion chamber. This work focuses on the effect of multiphase thermal radiation and O2 di...
Developing a Theoretical Real System Age

A critical challenge faced by systems engineers is the determination of when to retire a legacy system verses upgrading the system. Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the effects of these decisions are evident in the long life span of systems like the B-52 bomber. Are there attributes of systems that make them more prone to lifecycle extensions? If so, can we calculate the real age of an engineered system to provide insight into the retirement decision? This article draws inspiration from the literature on aging of biological systems, software systems, and the medical field to understand the aging process and identify ways to slow or reverse aging. The systems engineering ilities provide the basis for developing a mathematical representation for real system age. The real system age is a factor of the number of changes to a system and changes to the interoperability, robustness, and versatility of a system. When combined in a mathematical equation, these factors produce a logical output and demonstrate how changes, internal and environmental, affect the age of a system. Future work could explore the theoretical real system age as it applies to DoD systems to determine if it can improve the retirement decision.
21 – Osmosis and Regulation of Cell Volume

Publisher Summary This chapter aims to provide the basis for understanding regulation of cell volume through the exchange of water and solutes across the plasma membrane. The chapter explains water movement across model membranes in detail. Osmosis refers to the movement of fluid across a membrane in response to differing concentrations of solutes on the two sides of the membrane. The ultimate cause of osmosis is the reduction of the chemical potential of water in a solution. The chapter discusses three examples of isosmotic regulation of cell volume that illustrate some of the principles. Gibbs-Donnan equilibrium is discussed in more depth. The primary mechanism of regulatory volume decrease (RVD) in a number of cell types is activation of conductive pathways, is discussed in detail. The chapter discusses anisosmotic media, membrane potential, cytoskeleton, calcium, phosphorylation, mass action model, and macromolecular crowding under signaling pathways underlying RVD and regulatory volume increase (RVI). Although principles of the pump-leak or double-Donnan model are correct and still relevant to the regulation of cell volume, it has become apparent that neither the leak nor the pump is constant. Not only is the control of these fluxes more complex than originally envisioned, but a myriad of other transport processes also contribute to cell volume regulation. The regulation of cell volume under anisosmotic conditions is also discussed in the chapter. From the perspective of regulation of ion transport, much remains to be understood about how cells sense swelling and shrinking and how a cell decides on its optimal volume. There are unanswered questions concerning the regulation of volume regulatory ion transporters by cellular messengers, metabolic demands, and pathological states.
THE IMPROVEMENT OF DYNAMIC COMMUNICATIONS IN A COMPLEMENTARY SYSTEM FOR MANAGING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-GOVERNING TERRITORIES

The purpose of the article is to substantiate approaches to the principles of improving dynamic communication in a complementary system of development management of self-governing territory (SGT). Problem statement (the description of the problem being analyzed in general and its relevance to important scientific or practical tasks). At the present stage of socio-economic and decentralization reforms in Ukraine, the formation of the effective development models of all SGTs (on regional, sub-regional and local levels) becomes a strategic and priority task of all institutions of power. At the same time, the issues of optimization of the complementary management system for the development of SGTs have not yet been the subject of special research, which necessitates the preparation of this publication. The methodological principles of the complex mechanism of the formation of a new model of SGTs development are offered on the basis of providing cooperation in the processes of integrated development. It is stated that our model of SGT is a coherent system, which correlates governance at the state, regional, sub-regional and local levels through different types of connections. The content of each type of connection at different levels of public administration is revealed. The results of the research prove that the effective functioning of the proposed model is possible under the condition of management relations improvement; the observance of the development process properties and the coordination of the subjects of influence in the process of prospect formation of the SGT. Practical implications are that co-operation and an integrated approach in the development of SGTs in Ukraine will allow to save industrial and social infrastructure, to prevent outflow of highly qualified personnel from the communities, will provide comprehensive support to the domestic producer and social protection of the population. Co-operation is able to provide an impetus for the development of small businesses and enterprises, and to improve the well-being of the individual family and the entire community in general. The research has its value and originality. It is that SGTs should be dominant in the Ukrainian reform. The issue of scientific and methodological substantiation and building of an effective system of development of self-governing communities on the basis of solving the problematic issues of modernization acceleration, the activation of innovations, the ensuring of cooperation and the integrated development is extremely urgent and determines the priority for improvement of the current management system.
Abstract C044: Dietary inflammatory potential prior to diagnosis and risk of all-cause mortality among African-American women with ovarian carcinoma

Background: Chronic inflammation is known to be associated with ovarian carcinogenesis, yet the impact of inflammatory-related exposures on outcomes has been understudied. Given the poor survival for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer, especially African Americans, we sought to examine whether a modifiable source of chronic inflammation, dietary intake as measured by the dietary inflammatory index (DII®), was associated with all-cause mortality among African-American women with ovarian carcinoma. Methods: Data were available from 490 patients enrolled in a multicenter, population-based case-control study of African-American women with ovarian carcinoma, the African-American Cancer Epidemiology Study. Energy-adjusted DII scores were calculated based on prediagnostic dietary intake of foods alone or foods and supplements, as measured by the 2005 Block Food Frequency Questionnaire. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all-cause mortality among ovarian carcinoma overall and among the most common histotype, high-grade serous carcinoma. Results: A more proinflammatory diet (i.e., greater DII including supplements score) was associated with a greater risk of mortality (HR1-unit change in DII=1.06, 95% CI=1.00-1.13), especially among high-grade serous carcinoma, where a 68% increased risk of mortality was observed for the most proinflammatory DII scores compared to the most anti-inflammatory DII scores (HRQuartile4/Quartile1=1.68, 95% CI= 1.04-2.69, ptrend=0.02). No association was observed for the DII excluding supplements, although trends were similar. Conclusions: A more proinflammatory prediagnostic diet is positively associated with all-cause mortality among African-American women with ovarian carcinoma. Increasing the consumption of anti-inflammatory foods (through diet or supplements) may lead to improvements in survival after a diagnosis of ovarian carcinoma. Citation Format: Lauren C. Peres, James R. Hebert, Bo Qin, Kristin A. Guertin, Elisa V. Bandera, Nitin Shivappa, Tareq F. Camacho, Deanna Chyn, Anthony J. Alberg, Jill Barnholtz-Sloan, Melissa L. Bondy, Michele L. Cote, Ellen Funkhouser, Patricia G. Moorman, Edward S. Peters, Ann G. Schwartz, Paul D. Terry, Joellen M. Schildkraut. Dietary inflammatory potential prior to diagnosis and risk of all-cause mortality among African-American women with ovarian carcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2018 Nov 2-5; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl):Abstract nr C044.