cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Arbitrary size bitonic (ASB) sorters and their applications in broadband ATM switching

Bitonic sorters require that the number of inputs to the sorter N be a power of two. If N is not a power of two, the sorter size must be increased to make it a power of two nearest to N which in turn increases the sorter complexity. In this paper we propose a scheme which does not require N to be a power of two. We call it an arbitrary size bitonic (ASB) sorter. It is shown that the number of sorting elements in an ASB sorter increases slowly as the number of inputs increases from N to 2N. It has also been shown that the proposed ASB sorters can be used to significantly reduce complexity of the ATM switches which employ sorters with recirculation.
Radiation Dosimetry for Ureteroscopy Patients: A Phantom Study Comparing the Standard and Obese Patient Models

Abstract Purpose: To determine the effect of obesity on radiation exposure during simulated ureteroscopy. Methods: A validated anthropomorphic adult male phantom with a body mass index (BMI) of approximately 24 kg/m2, was positioned to simulate ureteroscopy. Padding with radiographic characteristics of human fat was placed around the phantom to create an obese model with BMI of 30 kg/m2. Metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) dosimeters were placed at 20 organ locations in both models to measure organ dosages. A portable C-arm was used to provide fluoroscopic x-ray radiation to simulate ureteroscopy. Organ dose rates were calculated by dividing organ dose by fluoroscopy time. Effective dose rate (EDR, mSv/sec) was calculated as the sum of organ dose rates multiplied by corresponding ICRP 103 tissue weighting factors. Results: The mean EDR was significantly increased during left ureteroscopy in the obese model at 0.0092 ± 0.0004 mSv/sec compared with 0.0041 ± 0.0003 mSv/sec in the nonob...
Diagnostic performance of MDCT in identifying closed loop small bowel obstruction

To assess the diagnostic performance of MDCT in the diagnosis of closed loop small bowel obstruction. One hundred fifty patients with CT reports including “small bowel obstruction (SBO)” between 1/30/2011 and 12/4/2012 were included (65 men, 85 women, mean age 63 years). CT examinations were independently and blindly reviewed by five radiologists to determine the presence of closed loop obstruction (CL-SBO) and to assess findings of bowel ischemia. Clinical records were reviewed to determine management and operative findings. Using operative findings as a gold standard, reader agreement for the diagnosis of and the CT findings associated with CLO was analyzed using Pearson’s correlation (r). Positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value for the diagnosis of CL-SBO and CT signs of bowel ischemia were analyzed. Eighty-eight of 150 patients underwent operative intervention for SBO and 24/88 were considered CL-SBO operatively. Average reader sensitivity and specificity for CL-SBO was 53 % (95 % CI 44–63 %) and 83 % (95 % CI 79–87 %). Reader agreement on CL-SBO was poor to moderate (K = 0.39–0.63). Reader agreement for CT signs of bowel ischemia resulting in a diagnosis of CL-SBO was weak (r = 0.19–0.32). The CT diagnosis of CL-SBO is complex and associated imaging findings have variable sensitivity for predicting a closed loop operative diagnosis. CT can be helpful in excluding a closed loop component in patients with SBO.
Even the Snow Is White: Displacement and Literary Ecology in Diane Glancy's "Pushing the Bear".

One cannot read important voices of nature writing and ecology literature without noticing a view of landscape that closely parallels an indigenous perspective. For example, Barry Lopez gains insight from the Navajo culture to ground his thoughts concerning how story and landscape function to bring interior harmony to an individual otherwise bound in chaos.1 The Navajo ceremony Beauty Way is “a spiritual invocation of the order of the exterior universe” for the purpose of “re-creating” individuals in order “to make the individual again a reflection of the myriad enduring relationships of the landscape.”2 Other writers in the genre, such as Aldo Leopold, emphasize a view of land similar to that of a Native understanding. In his famous “Land Ethic” he warns against seeing land as a commodity, instead emphasizing the communal aspects of land.3 John Graves, in Goodbye to a River, echoes the notion of spirituality, landscape, and individual identity and consciousness.4 In his elegiac journey Graves’s Thoreau-like observations also include reverential references to the “People” who inhabited his Brazos River before the whites arrived. Another important book for literary ecologists, Harry Middleton’s The Earth Is Enough, posits Elias Wonder, a dislocated Sioux, along with the two protagonists who resist modernization, relying instead on the insights gained by observing indigenous culture.5 Jack Burns, the protagonist of Edward Abbey’s
An introduction to the Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline on treatment of symptoms of the menopause

Treatment of symptoms of menopause remains a challenge for many health care practitioners. In an effort to facilitate this process, the Endocrine Society convened an international Task Force of menopause experts to review the relevant clinical evidence and formulate practical recommendations for relieving the most common menopausal symptoms. The result is a comprehensive evidence-based guideline, which emphasizes an individualized approach to alleviate bothersome vasomotor symptoms and those related to postmenopausal changes of the vagina and urinary tract. Therapies including estrogen, either alone or in combination with progestogen or bazedoxifene, tibolone, antidepressants, gabapentin, as well as complementary approaches are discussed. In this commentary, the chairs of the Task Force highlight the organization and content of the guideline and the processes involved in its development.
Computational Prediction of Molecular Photoresponse upon Proximity to Gold Nanorods

We endeavor to gain insight into radiative and nonradiative decay phenomena of emitters proximate to gold nanorods (AuNRs), which could be useful in fluorescence enhancement and also in mitigating loss in metal nanostructures. Factors that influence the photoresponse, such as the orientation, positioning, and distance, were quantified by applying finite-difference time-domain simulations, particularly for small separations afforded by chemical synthesis of the nanoparticles. In order to provide guidelines to experimental work, the geometries examined were consistent with synthesized nanostructures. For fluorophore fluorescence enhancement (FFE), we quantified requirements for compensation of the large nonradiative decay at small separations to the AuNR surface, for example by the preferable use of larger aspect ratio rods, yet care has to be taken in utilizing larger nanostructures. Quantifying the quantum yield is important in assessing the interplay among various parameters that tune the fluorescence. F...
Structural, Optical, and Photocatalytic Properties of Cr:TiO2 Nanorod Array Fabricated by Oblique Angle Codeposition

A unique fabrication method, oblique angle codeposition (OACD), is used to deposit well-aligned arrays of Cr/TiO2 composite nanorods (Cr:TiO2) that exhibit optical absorption in the visible region. The effect of the Cr atoms on the structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties of TiO2 has been investigated. The high Cr concentration (10 atom %) alters the TiO2 lattice structure, with an increase in the crystallization temperature of the anatase phase and a decrease in the rutile crystallization temperature. Additionally, Cr is found to segregate out of the TiO2 matrix and migrate to grain boundaries and the surface of the nanorods. The photocatalytic efficiency and photoelectrochemical performance for H2 production of the Cr:TiO2 films are reduced when compared to pristine TiO2 due to the formation of surface and intergranular Cr(VI) oxide clusters, which act as recombination centers and cover catalytically active sites on the nanorod surface.
Laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy appears to be an alternative to total abdominal hysterectomy.

Seventy percent of hysterectomies in the United States are performed as total abdominal hysterectomies (TAH). Laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) has been promoted by some to be a low morbidity substitute for TAH. In this study, we compared the outcomes of 61 recent LAVH cases to 65 TAH cases performed during an earlier time interval. Data were abstracted from the charts of 65 TAH cases performed between August 1988 and December 1990 and 61 LAVH cases performed between June 1991 and September 1992 by the same gynecologist (E.D.R.). Patient characteristics and perioperative morbidities were compared. Patient characteristics were similar between the two groups except that LAVH procedures were performed on thinner women (148 +/- 3.4 vs 162 +/- 4.3 lbs, p < or = 0.01, LAVH vs TAH) and operating time was longer (137 +/- 4.1 vs 66 +/- 1.7 min, p < or = 0.0001). Uterine weights were comparable (152 +/- 12 vs 194 +/- 31 g, p = 0.2). There was less intraoperative blood loss (337 +/- 21 vs 417 +/- 16 ml, p < or = 0.003), febrile morbidity (9.8 vs 66%, p < or = 0.0001), respiratory complications (6.6 vs 22%, p < or = 0.05), and urinary morbidity (6.6 vs 24.4%, p < or = 0.02) and shorter postoperative hospitalization (22 +/- 1.2 vs 99 +/- 2.3 h, p < or = 0.0001) in the LAVH group. Thinner patients were selected for the LAVH procedure, and operating room time was twice that of those undergoing TAH. Conversely, perioperative morbidity and postoperative hospitalization time were significantly less with LAVH. LAVH appears to be an alternative to TAH.
Renin angiotensin system and ASCVD.

The renin angiotensin system was first described over 100 years ago and is still the focus of intense clinical and basic science investigation. The renin angiotensin system was demonstrated to play a major pathogenetic role in hypertension. The development of inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enz
Kinetic evidence for both a fast and a slow secretory pathway for apolipoprotein A-I in humans.

The kinetics of apolipoproteins A-I and A-II were examined in human subjects using leucine tracers administered intravenously. High density lipoproteins were separated and apoA-I and A-II were isolated. The specific activity or enrichment data for these apolipoprotein were analyzed by mathematical compartmental modeling. In 11 of 14 subjects studied with a bolus-injected [3H]leucine tracer, in 3 subjects studied similarly with [3H]leucine, and in one subject studied by primed dose, constant infusion of [3H]leucine, a rapidly turning-over apoA-I fraction was resolved. A similar component was observed in 7 of 10 studies of apoA-II. The apoA-I data were analyzed using a compartmental model (Zech, L.A. et al. 1983. J. Lipid Res. 24: 60-71) modified to incorporate plasma leucine as a precursor for apoprotein synthesis. The data permitted resolution of two apoA-I pools, one, C(2), turned-over with a residence time of less than 1 day, the other, C(1), a slowly turning-over pool, appeared in plasma after a delay of less than half a day. C(1) comprised the predominant mass of apoA-I and was also the primary determinant of the residence time of apoA-I. Although the mass of the fast pool, C(2), was considerably less than that of C(1), because of its rapid turnover, the quantities of apoA-I transported through this fast pathway were 2- to 4-fold greater. These kinetic studies indicate that apoA-I is secreted into both fast and slowly turning-over plasma pools. The latter is predominantly measured with radioiodinated apoA-I tracers. The data can be analyzed by postulating either separate input pathways to each of the pools or by assuming the fast pool is the precursor to the slow pool. Thus, apoA-I could be initially secreted as a family of particles that are rapidly cleared from plasma, and a portion of this apoprotein then reappears in a slowly turning-over pool that constitutes the major mass of apoA-I. The physiologic identity of these kinetically distinct apoA-I species is unknown; however, the fast pool of apoA-I demonstrated in these studies is strikingly similar to that seen in subjects with Tangier disease who lack the slow pool.
Design and Implementation of Android–based Microblogging Public Opinion Monitoring System for the Power Industry

In order to deal with new challenges in the field of public opinion monitoring, brought by a new media microblogging, the power industry should take full advantage of new information technologies to implement microblogging public opinion monitoring and crisis management. Taking mobile internet as application background, this paper describes the overall design, operation process and implementation of the android-based power industry microblogging public opinion monitoring system in detail. Currently, the system has been put into operation with good conditions, which shows that this a successful example of application of new information technologies to the power industry.
21 ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM PARTICIPATION, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS AND SEDENTARY BEHAVIORS AMONG 5TH GRADERS

Purpose Obesity and lack of fitness are national health “emergencies” especially among our racial/ethnic minority youth. After-school programs may be one venue to address these health issues. Therefore, this study evaluated the association between after-school program participation and physical and sedentary activity, and to describe racial/ethnic differences in the level of after-school program participation. Methods 691 fifth grade students attending 12 schools in Vallejo, CA (an ethnically diverse community in CA) were given a survey for their parent/guardian to fill out and to mail back in a self-addressed stamped envelope. Small incentives were provided to classes with the highest response rate. The 29-question survey asked parents about their child9s sedentary activities such as television watching (hours/day), and current participation in after-school programs. If they did not participate, parents were asked to give the reasons for non-participation: “too expensive”, “no transportation”, “don9t know of any”, “don9t need to”, or “other”. Results There were 415 respondents (60% response rate). Participants9 race/ethnicity reflected that of the overall school district with African-American 22%, American-Indian 2%, Asian 5%, Filipino 25%, Latino/a 20%, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 2%, White 18%, and Multi-ethnic/Other 6%. Only 20% of the 5th graders currently participated in some after-school program; however, those who participated, watched significantly less television than children who did not participate (2.5 hrs/day vs. 2.2 hrs. respectively, p=0.03). After-school participation did not differ by race/ethnicity. Barriers to after-school participation included: cost (n=39), not knowing of any program (n=32) and lack of transportation (n=29). Conclusions This is one of the first studies to examine after-school program participation of an ethnically diverse population of fifth graders. This study found that participation in after school programs is associated with fewer hours spent watching television (a risk factor for childhood overweight/obesity); yet at the same time, fewer than 20% of students participate in after school activities. Although this study did not find significant ethnic differences in after school program participation, more research is needed to examine ethnic differences in after school participation while also examining factors such as socio-economic status and language spoken at home. It would also be important to examine these differences across multiple ages/grades as after-school participation has been shown to decrease as children age.
Designing Closeness to Increase Gamers' Performance

Designers often make use of social comparisons to motivate people to perform better. In this paper, we present the concept of closeness to comparison to improve the efficacy of social comparison feedback. Specifically, we test two design strategies related to closeness: (1) comparing users to a target described as a similarly experienced player and (2) adjusting the visual representation of performance so player scores appear closer to the comparison target. We evaluate the effects of these strategies for social comparison on player performance in an online game. In a controlled experiment with 425 participants, both feedback techniques improved game performance, but only for experienced players. We conclude with design implications for helping designers create social comparisons that motivate higher game performance.
Surface Properties and Color Stability of Resin-Infiltrated Enamel Lesions

Clinical Relevance Resin infiltration increases surface hardness of white spot lesions and remains stable under thermocycling challenges, but its surface polish and color stability may be of concer...
P092 APOL1 genotyping: Can it aid in donor selection?

Aim Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) is capable of killing Trypanosoma brucei brucei . In populations with recent African ancestry, 2 APOL1 coding variants (G1, G2) confer resistance to T. brucei rhodesiense, a leading cause of African sleeping sickness. G1 is a pair of non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; S342G and I384M). G2 is an in-frame deletion of 2 amino acid residues, N388 and Y389. People with one G1 or G2 variant are resistant to T. b. rhodesiense , but those with 2 copies of G1 and/or G2 are at high risk for kidney disease. Knowledge of APOL1 renal-risk genotypes may aid physicians in allocation of deceased donor kidneys and suitability of living donors, potentially improving outcomes for recipients and donors. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibly of performing rapid genotyping in an “on call” situation. Methods Using a MicroAmp® Optical 96-well Reaction Plate, 2 μl of DNA is added to 3 wells. A cocktail containing TaqMan® Genotyping Master Mix plus Custom TaqMan® SNP Genotyping Mix is made for each of the 3 SNP’s (rs73885319 [G1a], rs60910145 [G1b], rs143830837 [G2]) then added to the appropriate wells. The tray is sealed, placed into a Thermo-Fisher ViiA7 TM and run using a predefined program. Based on intensity data, risk is assigned based on the homozygous presence of the nucleotide guanine at both of the sites in G1 or homozygosity of deletion at G2. Alternatively, risk can be assigned via the combination of heterozygous mutations at both G1 and G2. Results To date, nearly 100 African American deceased donors and 10 potential living donors have been tested. Utilizing Real-time PCR techniques, it was feasible to perform APOL1 testing in an afterhours situation, adding no more than 30 min to the time required for HLA typing. Conclusions APOL1 genotyping may assist in determining risk for chronic kidney disease. We conclude that rapid APOL1 testing is feasible to perform alongside our normal histocompatibility testing, even in on call situations. B.I. Freeman: Grant/Research Support; Company/Organization; Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Consultant; Company/Organization; Ionis Pharmaceuticals. Other (Identify); Company/Organization; Wake Forest University Health Sciences and Dr. Barry Freedman have applied for a patent related to APOL1 genetic testing.
DST approach to enhance audio quality on lost audio packet steganography

Lost audio packet steganography (LACK) is a steganography technique established on the VoIP network. LACK provides a high-capacity covert channel over VoIP network by artificially delaying and dropping a number of packets in use to convey stegnogram. However, the increasing loss of packets will hurt the quality of the VoIP service. The quality deterioration will not only affect the legitimate VoIP service but also constrain the capacity of the covert channel. Discrete spring transform (DST) is proven to be a way to eliminate the perceptual redundancy in the multimedia signal. In this paper, the DST is applied on the LACK so that the perceptual redundancy of the voice frames is suppressed. In this way, the less redundant VoIP frames with perceptual equivalent quality can be transmitted in a channel whose capacity is squeezed by the established covert channel. As a result, the VoIP perceptual quality can be maintained with the existence of the covert channel. Meanwhile, the proposed DST-based method demonstrates the possibilities in exploiting the perceptual space of the multimedia signal. The simulation results show that the DST on LACK achieves up to 24 % more capacity over the LACK scheme.
The Van Meegeren Art Forgeries

After the liberation of Belgium in World War II, the Dutch Field Security began its hunt for Nazi collaborators. They discovered, in the records of a firm which had sold numerous works of art to the Germans, the name of a banker who had acted as an intermediary in the sale to Goering of the painting ‘Woman Taken in Adultery’ by the famed 17th-century Dutch painter Jan Vermeer. The banker in turn revealed that he was acting on behalf of a third-rate Dutch painter H. A. Van Meegeren, and on May 29, 1945, Van Meegeren was arrested on the charge of collaborating with the enemy. On July 12, 1945, Van Meegeren startled the world by announcing from his prison cell that he had never sold Woman Taken in Adultery to Goering. Moreover, he stated that this painting and the very famous and beautiful Disciples at Emmaus, as well as four other presumed Vermeers and two de Hooghs (another 17th-century Dutch painter) were his own works. Many people, thought that Van Meegeren was lying to save himself from the charge of treason. To prove his point, Van Meegeren began, while in prison, to forge the Vermeer painting Jesus Amongst the Doctors to demonstrate to the skeptics just how good a forger of Vermeer he really was. The work was nearly completed when Van Meegeren learned that a charge of forgery had been substituted for that of collaboration.
Mode-locked mid-infrared frequency combs in a silicon microresonator

Mid-infrared (mid-IR) frequency combs have broad applications in molecular spectroscopy and chemical/biological sensing. Recently developed microresonator-based combs in this wavelength regime could enable portable and robust devices using a single-frequency pump field. Here, we demonstrate a mode-locked microresonator-based frequency comb in the mid-IR spanning 2.4–4.3 μm. We observe high pump-to-comb conversion efficiency, in which 40% of the pump power is converted to the output comb power. Utilizing an integrated PIN structure allows for tuning the silicon microresonator and controlling cavity soliton formation via free-carrier detection and control. Our results significantly advance microresonator-based comb technology toward a portable and robust mid-IR spectroscopic device that operates at low pump powers.
Evaluation of maternal health and labor and delivery conditions as risk factors for childhood leukemias in children with Down syndrome

Children with Down syndrome (DS) have a remarkably high risk of developing leukemia during childhood; the mechanisms driving that risk are not well understood, and no clear prevention strategies exist. We conducted a nested case-control study in a Texas DS birth cohort to investigate possible links between maternal health, labor/delivery conditions, and leukemia risk. For most of the factors studied there was no evidence of an increased risk of total leukemias, or the subtypes acute lymphoid or acute myeloid leukemia. Ultrasound use showed an almost 2-fold increased odds of leukemia, but this result is likely an example of confounding by indication. There was a pattern of increased risk seen for presence of co-occurring heart anomalies, including tetralogy of Fallot, ventricular septal defects, atrial septal defects, and patent ductus arteriosus. Further investigation of the links between co-occurring heart defects in children with DS and development of leukemia may provide new understanding of cancer mechanisms, and ultimately lead to prevention opportunities for this high-risk population.
Forward and Backward Extended Prony (FBEP) Method for Power System Small-Signal Stability Analysis

The performance of the Forward and Backward Extended Prony (FBEP) method on power system small-signal stability analysis is investigated in this paper. The effectiveness of the FBEP method in identifying system eigenvalues from the output signal is validated by experiments on a test system model. Using a four-machine-two-area power system model the estimation of the dominant modes contained in oscillatory signals given by the FBEP method is compared with that given by the SVD-TLS method, Trudnowski's algorithm, and the Prony with stepwise regression method. The multi-signal analysis and sliding window analysis using the FBEP method are also studied.
Social Networks and Gang Violence Reduction

This review traces the origins, development, and use of social network analysis in gang research and gang violence reduction strategies. Although early gang scholars intuitively recognized the networked nature of gangs and gang violence, such insights were not always leveraged by gang violence reduction efforts that became increasingly enforcement-centric throughout the twentieth century. This review describes these historical shifts, the recent advent of social network analysis in research and gang interventions, and future directions that research and interventions can take to develop a more victim-focused approach to gang violence reduction.
Radiologists differed in their interpretations of mammograms

Source Citation Elmore JG, Wells CK, Lee CH, Howard DH, Feinstein AR. Variability in radiologists' interpretations of mammograms. N Engl J Med. 1994 Dec 1; 331:1493-9.
Direct observation of influence of secondary-phase defects on CZT detector response

Abstract Commercial detector-grade cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) crystals still suffer from various types of extended defects, e.g., dislocations, micro-grains, grain boundaries, and Te-rich secondary phases. Most of these defects cannot readily be identified and characterized using conventional techniques, though they are believed to be the dominant factor causing non-uniformity in the detector response. In this work, we revealed and characterized these secondary-phase defects in CZT crystals by employing multiple advanced techniques, e.g. X-ray diffraction topography, micro-scale X-ray response mapping, chemical etching and infrared microscopy. We then evaluate the detector performance of the crystals by recording high spatial-resolution raster scans of the charge collection and spectral response. We directly correlated the influence of the secondary-phase defects on the performance of the detector responses. The experimental results exhibit clear evidence of the undesirable effects of extended defects on the performance of commercial CZT radiation detectors.
Revisiting conditioning dose in newly diagnosed light chain amyloidosis undergoing frontline autologous stem cell transplant: impact on response and survival

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is an important treatment modality in light chain (AL) amyloidosis. Use of reduced-dose melphalan conditioning is common, given the associated organ and functional decline. The impact of full-intensity melphalan conditioning (n=314) was compared to reduced-dose conditioning (n=143). Patients in the full-intensity group were younger, with better performance status, fewer involved organs, lower tumor burden and lower Mayo stage. Full-dose conditioning was associated with higher rate of very good partial response or better (79% vs 62%; P<0.001), complete response rate (53% vs 37%; P=0.003) and organ response rate (74% vs 59%; P=0.002) as compared to reduced-dose conditioning. PFS was superior in the full-intensity group compared to the reduced-dose group (4-year PFS 55% vs 31%; P<0.001) as well as a longer overall survival (OS) 4-year OS (86% vs 54%; P<0.001). In addition, the OS and PFS were significantly lower in the reduced-dose group compared to the full-intensity group in Mayo stage III/IV as well as stage I/II. A multivariate analysis confirmed an independent impact for conditioning dose on PFS/OS. This study calls for re-assessment of the use of reduced-dose conditioning in ASCT for AL amyloidosis.
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Big Data Research From the National Inpatient Sample.

The use of large administrative databases is transforming clinical cardiovascular research. These sources of big data allow the study of practices and outcomes across a spectrum of health systems, providing real-world evidence. However, these databases have peculiarities to their design that require specialized expertise and distinct analytic practices for their appropriate interpretation. We discuss these issues in the context of the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) that is one such data set used in healthcare research. Compiled by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality annually since 1988, it comprises a large number of inpatient discharges from US community hospitals regardless of the payer (≈8 million/y), with each observation representing a unique hospitalization.1 It has some features to its design and the content of its data that are essential to consider in the pursuit of studies with it. The NIS includes information on patient demographics, administrative codes for primary diagnosis and secondary diagnoses, procedures, survival to discharge, disposition, hospital charges, and length of stay.1 The NIS can be used to examine the use of hospital health services, practice variation, cost, and the impact of health policy interventions in the inpatient setting.1 The data are easily accessible, inexpensive, and can be analyzed using ubiquitous statistical programs. Consequently, research publications from the NIS data have grown rapidly in recent years (Figure 1). Nevertheless, researchers, as well as scientific journals and their readers, may not yet be familiar with the nuances of this complex data set and therefore be challenged to determine if the data are interpreted correctly. Figure 1. Calendar year trends in publications from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS). Number of peer-reviewed publications from the NIS have increased rapidly in recent years. Data from other Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) data sets are presented for comparison—Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) and …
Respiratory viruses in transplant recipients: more than just a cold. Clinical syndromes and infection prevention principles.

Abstract Objectives The aim of this review is to provide updated information on the clinical spectrum, treatment options, and infection prevention strategies for respiratory viral infections (RVIs) in both solid organ (SOT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients. Methods The MEDLINE and PubMed databases were searched for literature regarding the aforementioned aspects of RVIs, with focus on respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, human metapneumovirus, and rhinovirus. Results Compared to immunocompetent hosts, SOT and HSCT patients are much more likely to experience a prolonged duration of illness, prolonged shedding, and progression of upper respiratory tract disease to pneumonia when infected with respiratory viruses. Adenovirus and respiratory syncytial virus tend to have the highest mortality and risk for disseminated disease, but all the RVIs are associated with higher morbidity and mortality in these patients than in the general population. These viruses are spread via direct contact and aerosolized droplets, and nosocomial spread has been reported. Conclusions RVIs are associated with high morbidity and mortality among SOT and HSCT recipients. Management options are currently limited or lack strong clinical evidence. As community and nosocomial spread has been reported for all reviewed RVIs, strict adherence to infection control measures is key to preventing outbreaks.
Crohn’s Disease Variants of Nod2 Are Stabilized by the Critical Contact Region of Hsp70

Nod2 is a cytosolic, innate immune receptor responsible for binding to bacterial cell wall fragments such as muramyl dipeptide (MDP). Upon binding, subsequent downstream activation of the NF-κB pathway leads to an immune response. Nod2 mutations are correlated with an increased susceptibility to Crohn’s disease (CD) and ultimately result in a misregulated immune response. Previous work had demonstrated that Nod2 interacts with and is stabilized by the molecular chaperone Hsp70. In this work, it is shown using purified protein and in vitro biochemical assays that the critical Nod2 CD mutations (G908R, R702W, and 1007fs) preserve the ability to bind bacterial ligands. A limited proteolysis assay and luciferase reporter assay reveal regions of Hsp70 that are capable of stabilizing Nod2 and rescuing CD mutant activity. A minimal 71-amino acid subset of Hsp70 that stabilizes the CD-associated variants of Nod2 and restores a proper immune response upon activation with MDP was identified. This work suggests that...
Implicitly Regulating the Stress of Oppression: Re-establishing Safety in Intercultural Practice

This article offers two neurobiological frameworks to inform treatment of stress resulting from racial and cultural oppression. It is established that oppression can cause stress symptoms. Because ...
Specialty Article: so You Think You Got a Bypass? A Case Series of Adventures in Bariatric Surgery

To raise awareness for surgeons encountering bariatric patients with anatomy that deviates from the standard Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). This is a single-institution retrospective case series over 12 years (2003–2014) involving patients who believed they received RYGBs, but actually did not. Data was obtained reviewing physician encounters, imaging, and operative reports. There were six cases with confusing clinical pictures, found to have aberrant RYGB anatomy: (1) gastric bypass with jejuno-jejunostomy only without gastrojejunostomy, (2) distal partial vertical gastrectomy without expected prosthetic band, (3) inverse vertical banded gastroplasty, (4) non-divided gastric bypass with no gastrojejunostomy, (5) 20-cm Roux limb, with gastro-gastric fistula, and (6) 200-cm bilio-pancreatic limb similar to the traditional Scopinaro procedure. There are cases of “Roux-en-Y gastric bypasses” that have no resemblance to the named procedure at all. Adjunctive upper gastrointestinal studies and upper endoscopies help surgeons make diagnoses that are incongruent with the surgical history. It is important to keep in mind that there could be anatomic or surgical variations which were born out of necessity or based on other surgeons’ creativities.
Menopause and Risk of Kidney Stones

Purpose: Metabolic changes due to menopause may alter urine composition and kidney stone risk but results of prior work on this association have been mixed. We examined menopause and the risk of incident kidney stones, and changes in 24-hour urine composition in the NHS (Nurses’ Health Study) II.Materials and Methods: Using multivariate adjusted Cox proportional hazards models we prospectively analyzed 108,639 NHS II participants who provided information on menopause and kidney stones. We also analyzed 24-hour urine collections from 658 participants who performed a collection while premenopausal and a repeat collection after menopause.Results: During 22 years of followup there were 3,456 incident kidney stones. The multivariate adjusted relative risk of an incident kidney stone in postmenopausal participants compared with premenopause was 1.27 (95% CI 1.08–1.46). On stratified analysis compared with premenopause the multivariate adjusted relative risk of natural and surgically induced menopause was 1.27 (...
The evolution of egg clustering in butterflies: A test of the egg desiccation hypothesis

Females of many insect species cluster their eggs. Egg clustering by lepidopteran species usually results in aggregation of larvae that are more often conspicuously coloured and apparently distasteful or unpalatable than larvae of solitary species. While the costs and benefits of aggregation in terms of larval survival and growth are well documented, the evolutionary ecology of egg clustering has been long debated and is still unresolved. We tested the egg desiccation hypothesis, first proposed by Stamp (1980), which to our knowledge has never been examined experimentally. The egg desiccation hypothesis proposes that egg clustering is adaptive per se (i.e. increases fitness of females) by reducing egg mortality via desiccation.
The being that knew too much

L'A. considere les attaques que John Abbruzzese a lance contre lui au sujet de l'omniscience. Aucune des defenses de l'omniscience d'Abbruzzese ne semble adequate a la sauver.
SIMULATION OF DAILY TOTAL WIND ENERGY USING A TIME-SERIES MODEL

The focus of this research is the development, evaluation, and implementation of a mathematical/statistical time-series model to simulate daily total wind energy in the central United States. By modeling the annual cycle, sub-annual cycles, autocorrelation, and random component of the time series, a concise representation of daily total wind energy is provided. The model can be used to create scenarios and probability distributions for wind energy that are conditional on time of year and persistence (autocorrelation). As an example, probabilistic forecasts are generated to determine the probability of exceeding the 80th percentile wind-energy value for two days of the year, based on both a high and low wind-energy value for the previous day. These forecasts indicate that seasonality is a much more important factor in determining a particular day's wind-energy value (and probability distribution) than is persistence in the central United States. Scenarios of climatic change were simulated by altering the a...
Aspects of Modeling Transport in Small Systems with a Look at Motor Proteins

Diffusion-mediated transport is a phenomenon in which directed motion is achieved as a result of two opposing tendencies: diffusion, which spreads the particles uniformly through the medium, and transport, which concentrates the particles at some special sites. It is implicated in the operation of many molecular level systems. These include some liquid crystal and lipid bilayer systems, and, especially, the motor proteins responsible for eukaryotic cellular traffic. All of these systems are extremely complex and involve subtle interactions on widely varying scales. The chemical/mechanical transduction in motor proteins is, by contrast to many materials microstructure situations, quite distant from equilibrium. These bio-systems function in a dynamically metastable range. There is an enormous biological literature about this and a considerable math-biology and biophysics literature, e.g., [1, 2, 8, 9, 14, 15, 19, 20, 23, 25–28].
On highly regular digraphs

We explore directed strongly regular graphs (DSRGs) and their connections to association schemes and finite incidence structures. More specifically, we study flags and antiflags of finite incidence structures to provide explicit constructions of DSRGs. By using this connection between the finite incidence structures and digraphs, we verify the existence and non-existence of 112 -designs with certain parameters by the existence and non-existence of corresponding digraphs, and vice versa. We also classify DSRGs of given parameters according to isomorphism classes. Particularly, we examine the actions of automorphism groups to provide explicit examples of isomorphism classes and connection to association schemes. We provide infinite families of vertex-transitive DSRGs in connection to non-commutative association schemes. These graphs are obtained from tactical configurations and coset graphs.
Implicit and Self-Attributed Dependency Needs in Homeless Men and Women

Recent metaanalyses indicate that women consistently obtain higher scores than men do on self-report dependency measures, but not on projective dependency tests (R. F. Bornstein, 1995, 1996). To explore this issue in a heretofore unexamined population, we analyzed archival data from 85 homeless participants (40 women and 45 men) enrolled in a vocational rehabilitation program, using the MMPI Dependency (Dy) Scale (L. Navran, 1954) and the Rorschach Oral Dependency (ROD) Scale (J. M. Masling, L. Rabie, & S. H. Blondheim, 1967). Consistent with earlier results, there were no gender differences in projective dependency scores, but contrary to earlier results, there were also no gender differences in self-reports of dependency. These findings suggest that stressful conditions like homelessness may mitigate the impact of gender on self-reported dependency.
Cutting the Tail: Designing High Performance Message Brokers to Reduce Tail Latencies in Stream Processing

Over the last decade, organizations have become heavily reliant on providing near-instantaneous insights to the end user based on vast amounts of data collected from various sources in real-time. In order to accomplish this task, a stream processing pipeline is constructed, which in its most basic form, consists of a Stream Processing Engine (SPE) and a Message Broker (MB). The SPE is responsible for performing actual computations on the data and providing insights from it. MB, on the other hand, acts as an intermediate queue to which data is written by ephemeral sources and then fetched by the SPE to perform computations on. Due to the inherent real-time nature of such a pipeline, low latency is a highly desirable feature for them. Thus, several existing research works in the community focus on improving latency and throughput of the streaming pipeline. However, there is a dearth of studies optimizing the tail latencies of such pipelines. Moreover, the root cause of this high tail latency is still vague. In this paper, we propose a model-based approach to analyze in-depth the reasons behind high tail latency in streaming systems such as Apache Kafka. Having found the MB to be a major contributor of messages with high tail latencies in a streaming pipeline, we design and implement an RDMA-enhanced high-performance MB, called Frieda, with the higher goal of accelerating any arbitrary stream processing pipeline regardless of the SPE used. Our experiments show a reduction of up to 98% in 99.9th percentile latency for microbenchmarks and up to 31% for full-fledged stream processing pipeline constructed using Yahoo! Streaming Benchmark.
Abstract TP240: Non-Stenotic Cervical Carotid Plaque is More Common in Patients With ESUS

Background: One in 5 strokes have an embolic appearance but with no clear source (ESUS). Recent data have suggested anticoagulation is no better than antiplatelet therapy in preventing stroke recur...
Nearly optimal impulsive controls for reflected wideband width process

Abstract Near optimal control problem for a wideband noise process with impulsive controls and constrained to a bounded region is considered. The method developed here will show that sequence of physical processes converges (weakly) to a reflected controlled diffusion process with impulses as the “approximating parameter” goes to zero. The cost functional of the wideband system will also converge to the corresponding cost functional of the limit problem. Due to the reflection at the boundary, pseudo path topology will be used in the weak convergence analysis.
A "fitness" Theme May Mitigate Regional Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity: Evidence from Google Search and Tweets.

Taking ecological perspectives to overweight and obesity, the current study applies data mining approach to examine the association between information and social environments and regional prevalen...
A Secure and Distributed Architecture for Vehicular Cloud

Given the enormous interest in self-driving cars, Vehicular Ad hoc NETworks (VANETs) are likely to be widely deployed in the near future. Cloud computing is also gaining widespread deployment. Marriage between cloud computing and VANETs, would help solve many of the needs of the drivers, law-enforcement agencies, traffic management, etc. In this paper, we propose a secure and distributed architecture for vehicular cloud which uses the capabilities of vehicles to provide various services such as parking management, accident alert, traffic updates, cooperative driving, etc. Our architecture ensures privacy of vehicles, and supports scalable and secure message dissemination using vehicular infrastructure.
Immediate Targeted Nipple-Areolar Complex Reinnervation: Improving Outcomes in Gender-affirming Mastectomy.

Female-to-male mastectomy often renders the chest skin and nipple-areolar complex (NAC) insensate. We propose a new technique of preserving the intercostal nerves and using them to reinnervate the NAC after mastectomy. Methods We performed a prospective analysis of transmasculine patients who underwent female-to-male mastectomy. The technique involves dissecting out the lateral intercostal nerves to length and performing a neurorrhaphy to nerve stumps at the base of the NAC. Sensory outcomes, as assessed with Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments, were compared to a cohort of patients who underwent mastectomy without neurotization. Results Ten patients with a mean age of 17.5 years (range: 16-19 years) underwent mastectomy. The final follow-up was a mean of 15.4 ± 4.3 months for the treated group and 40.7 ± 12.9 months for the control group. Compared to control patients, treated patients had significant improvement in sensation at the nipple (P ≤ 0.0002), areola (P = 0.0001), and peripheral breast skin (P = 0.0001). For treated patients, there was no statistically significant difference in sensation between preoperative and postoperative sensation in all tested areas at final follow-up. Conclusion This proof of concept study suggests that immediate reinnervation of the NAC after mastectomy enhances recovery of NAC sensation in patients undergoing female-to-male mastectomy and may be further generalized to women undergoing postmastectomy breast reconstruction.
Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) classification models: Still evolving

Abstract The RNR (Risk-Need-Responsivity) Framework identifies principles to facilitate assigning individuals to appropriate programs by triaging program placement based on static and dynamic risk factors that influence offending behavior (dynamic risk factors) through programming. This well-accepted framework has resulted in justice agencies adopting risk and need assessment (RNA) tools, but the tools themselves present barriers to a classification system. RNA tools suffer from methodological weaknesses that affect the valuation of the information gleaned from the tool. Six classification schemes are based on the RNR principles, and they vary on consistency with the small body of empirical studies conducted to identify statistically-based risk-need profiles. Furthermore, the models are weakly coupled with the criteria for good classification systems. The question that emerges is whether there is a theoretically sound classification system or if the field would be better off creating levels of care scaffolding based on the risk-need profile clusters. Addressing the methodological issues associated with the RNA tools will remove stumbling blocks to a meaningful classification system.
Headline Format Influences Evaluation of, but Not Engagement with, Environmental News

Sparked by a collaboration between academic researchers and science media professionals, this study sought to test three commonly used headline formats that vary based on whether (and, if so, how) ...