cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rapid diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis by using Roche AMPLICOR Mycobacterium tuberculosis PCR test.

A rapid PCR-based test for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, the Roche AMPLICOR Mycobacterium tuberculosis test (AMPLICOR MTB), was evaluated. Results from AMPLICOR MTB were compared with culture results and the final clinical diagnosis for each patient. A total of 985 specimens from 372 patients were tested. When AMPLICOR MTB results were compared with resolved results, i.e., a specimen grew M. tuberculosis or was obtained from a patient with a clinical diagnosis of tuberculosis, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for the AMPLICOR MTB test were 66.7, 99.6, 91.7, and 97.7%, respectively. These results were comparable to those obtained from culture. Test results were available approximately 6.5 h after specimen receipt in the laboratory. Our data demonstrate that AMPLICOR MTB will provide rapid, valuable information for the diagnosis and control of tuberculosis.
Experimental transmission of granulocytic ehrlichial organisms in dogs.

Canine granulocytic ehrlichial organisms were transmitted from an infected dog from Missouri to two male, 10-month-old dogs by an intravenous injection of whole blood. Physical or behavioral abnormalities were not detected during the 98 days of evaluation other than a mild pyrexia from Day 18 to 20. Ehrlichial morulae were found in blood granulocytes of Dog 1 from Day 13 to 44 and of Dog 2 from Day 14 to 34 with the peak rickettsemia occurring on Day 16 for both dogs. By Day 21 after inoculaiuon, both dogs had positive titers to Ehrlichia canis. The highest titers for both dogs were found 63 days after inoculation, after which the titers decreased. Most of the hematologic abnormalities (i.e., neutropenia, lymphocytosis, thrombocytopenia) and fever occurred between 18 and 24 days after inoculation. The pathologic bases of these abnormalities were not investigated but their concurrent presence suggested an association with the dogs' immunologic responses to the granulocytic ehrlichial agent. Results from the study indicated that the canine granulocytic ehrlichial agent of Missouri may produce subclinical infections and suggested that dogs may be able to clear the organism without antimicrobial therapy.
The Crystal Structure of Human Soluble CD14 Reveals a Bent Solenoid with a Hydrophobic Amino-Terminal Pocket

Human monocyte differentiation Ag CD14 is a pattern recognition receptor that enhances innate immune responses to infection by sensitizing host cells to bacterial LPS (endotoxin), lipoproteins, lipoteichoic acid, and other acylated microbial products. CD14 physically delivers these lipidated microbial products to various TLR signaling complexes that subsequently induce intracellular proinflammatory signaling cascades upon ligand binding. The ensuing cellular responses are usually protective to the host but can also result in host fatality through sepsis. In this work, we have determined the x-ray crystal structure of human CD14. The structure reveals a bent solenoid typical of leucine-rich repeat proteins with an amino-terminal pocket that presumably binds acylated ligands including LPS. Comparison of human and mouse CD14 structures shows great similarity in overall protein fold. However, compared with mouse CD14, human CD14 contains an expanded pocket and alternative rim residues that are likely to be important for LPS binding and cell activation. The x-ray crystal structure of human CD14 presented in this article may foster additional ligand-bound structural studies, virtual docking studies, and drug design efforts to mitigate LPS-induced sepsis and other inflammatory diseases.
Static Relationship of Cycle Length to Reentrant Circuit Geometry

Background Knowledge of the pathway common to both wave fronts in figure-8 reentrant circuits (ie, the isthmus) is of importance for catheter ablation to stop reentrant ventricular tachycardia. It ...
Variability in apraxia of speech: Perceptual analysis of monosyllabic word productions across repeated sampling times

Background: Variability in speech sound errors has been regarded as a primary characteristic of apraxia of speech (AOS). Early research deemed errors extremely unpredictable, resulting in a number of different error types on repeated productions of the same stimuli. However, recent research has suggested that errors may not be variable, but there are limited data regarding variability over time (i.e., beyond a single sampling occasion). Furthermore, the influence of conditions of stimulus presentation (i.e., blocked vs random) on sound errors remains unclear. Aims: The purpose of this investigation was to examine variability of sound errors in 11 individuals with AOS and aphasia. Of particular interest were the effects of repeated sampling and method of speech elicitation on the variability of error types as evaluated with narrow phonetic transcription. Methods & Procedures: A total of 28 monosyllabic words served as experimental stimuli. There were four exemplars for each of the seven initial target phon...
GO for gene documents

Annotating genes and their products with Gene Ontology codes is an important area of research. One approach for doing this is to use the information available about these genes in the biomedical literature. Our goal, based on this approach, is to develop automatic methods for annotation that could supplement the expensive manual annotation processes currently in place. Using a set of Support Vector Machines (SVM) classifiers we were able to achieve Fscores of 0.48, 0.4 and 0.32 for codes of the molecular function, cellular component and biological process GO hierarchies respectively. We explore thresholding of SVM scores, the relationship of performance to hierarchy level and to the number of positives in the training sets. We find that hierarchy level is important especially for the molecular function and biological process hierarchies. We find that the cellular component hierarchy stands apart from the other two in many respects. This may be due to fundamental differences in link semantics. This research also exploits the hierarchical structures by defining and testing a relaxed criteria for classification correctness.
Unraveling the pathophysiology of percutaneous coronary intervention: is it in the genes?

Despite recent advances in catheter technology, acute complications, including death, delayed abrupt closure and periprocedural myocardial infarction, continue to occur in 10% to 15% of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) [(1,2)][1]. Because numerous observational studies
Towards Non-Neutral Principles of Private Law: Designing Secondary Liability Rules for New Technological Uses

A series of recent cases revisits secondary liability in intellectual property law, solving some particular problems but without providing completely specified rules that are predictable and principled. Prior law already includes several varieties of secondary liability with a rationale for each. Together, these old and new sources point the way towards a synthesis which may allow for a designed solution that is more fully specified, at least in respect of new technological uses. When all is said, secondary liability in intellectual property law still turns on two essential questions: (1) is there someone who is liable for direct infringement, and if so (2) is it "just" to hold someone else accountable? Both of these inquiries contain embedded variables which are to a surprising degree free and indeterminate with respect to users of new technologies in "places" created by code. These places created by code include the metaverse, virtual worlds, cypherspace, and cyberspace proper (the "code world"). The code world and the new machines that enable it constitute new technological uses (NTUs) that have great economic and practical consequence. I propose legal rules purposely chosen to encourage a designed architecture for NTUs that will prefer hitchhikers, guides and ordinary users over predators, pirates and spoilers of the new machines and the code world. I propose both a short term solution centered on interim safe harbors and a longer term project to disintegrate liability-style rules from property-style rules. The solutions depend upon intentional design of liability rules (is there someone liable for direct infringement?), and of limited remedies intentionally fitted to the new technological uses for which they are designed (is it "just" to hold someone else accountable?)
A social semiotic multi-modal approach to communication practices in Early Christianity : orality and literacy in Early Christianity

Increasingly, New Testament scholars have been calling attention to the interrelationship between spoken words and written words in the rhetorical world of the first century CE. In this essay, I examine these two forms of verbal expression through the lens of social semiotic multi-modal theory as articulated by Gunther Kress. In attending to how spoken words and written words give material realization to meaning through modality as well as how they are employed in systems of meaning making within specific historical, cultural and social contexts, I endeavor to introduce a new level of complexity to our understanding of communication systems in early Christianity and how they were employed to generate meaning. The studies of Pieter Botha on orality and literacy serve as my point of entry for the ancient world.
Are K-12 school environments harming students with obesity? A qualitative study of classroom teachers.

Purpose Weight bias can negatively impact health, and schools may be risky environments for students with obesity. We aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions of the school experiences and academic challenges of students with obesity.
Cultural Competence: A Lifelong Journey to Cultural Proficiency (Book Review)

This book on cultural competence and proficiency edited by Leavitt offers a contemporary look that the impact culture has on our lives as both physical therapists and citizens of the world. Written...
Notes on the Life History of a Beneficial Reduviid, Sinea Diadema (Fabr.), Heteroptera

Sinea diadema (Fabr.) is a predacious insect which, because of its wide distribution on our continent, its richness in individuals, and its dict of injurious insects, is of considerable importance as a beneficial insect. It winters as an adult and probably passes through two generations a season. Description of the eggs, the process of hatching, feeding of the nymphs, length of the nymphal stages and descriptions of the nymphal instars are given in this paper.
Pre-Existing Cardiac Disease, Troponin I Elevation and Mortality in Patients with Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock:

A prospective, observational study was undertaken to determine the frequency of troponin I elevation and the incidence of pre-existing cardiac disease in patients with severe sepsis and septic shoc...
Optical thermal profiling in liquid and solid photopolymer

A Mach-Zehnder interferometer system is used to measure time-dependent index of refraction profiles in liquid photopolymer and in the solid formed during photopolymerization. The system required that the data be collected at a two- dimensional spatial array with a resolution of at least 25 μm. A miniature interferometer was assembled (Fig. 1) permitting imaging lenses to be placed close to the sample and providing the needed image size, and the data image was recorded with a video camera (CCD). The data (Fig. 2) are then transferred to a computer for capture and analysis.
Attitudes Concerning the Purchase of Domestic vs. Imported Products: The Jamaican Experience

This paper examines the attitudes and opinions of 48 Kingston, Jamaica, consumers toward locally produced products as opposed to imports. Most preferred import and export product categories are discussed along with methods for creating more interest in Jamaican products. The findings provide useful insights for U.S. firms seeking to enter markets in the Caribbean.
Early detection of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity using the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) targeted radiotracer, 99mTc-RP805.

1640 Objectives Doxorubicin (DOX) induces cardiotoxicity in 3-26% of patients. A reliable non-invasive imaging approach for the detection of early cardiotoxicity during doxorubicin chemotherapy that precedes the development of irreversible cardiac injury is currently not available. Clinical imaging approaches (e.g., using echocardiography, SPECT, MR, etc.) typically detect late-stage cardiotoxicity, which manifests as gross and often irreversible cardiac dysfunction. Recent experimental evidence has uncovered a link between early cardiotoxicity and myocardial activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)—enzymes that degrade both extracellular matrix (ECM) and non-ECM substrates. The radiolabeled tracer, 99mTc-RP805, binds to the active catalytic site of MMPs. Our objective was to determine whether evaluation of myocardial MMP activation with 99mTc-RP805 provides a sensitive indicator of early chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity in a rat model. Methods Male Wistar rats were injected intraperitoneally with 25 mg/kg of DOX HCL (n=5) or an equivalent volume of 0.9% NaCl (n=7, controls (CTL)). On day 5 post treatment, global diastolic and systolic function were assessed with echocardiography. In addition, left ventricular (LV) MMP activity was assessed with tissue well counting 4 hours following intravenous injection of 99mTc-RP805 (~5 mCi). MMP activity is expressed as percent injected dose per gram of myocardial tissue (% Inj. Dose/g). Results DOX treatment reduced body weight (CTL: 371.9 ± 6.3 g; DOX: 291.8 ± 5.7 g, P Conclusions Increases in myocardial MMP activity precede clinically used echocardiographic indices for early detection of cardiotoxicity, including ejection fraction and global myocardial strain. Therefore, 99mTc-RP805 may serve as a promising approach for early detection of DOX-induced cardiotoxicity when combined with SPECT/CT imaging.
Evaluation of individual and combined management practices to reduce the off-site transport of pesticides from golf course turf ☆

The detection of pesticides, associated with turfgrass management, in storm runoff and surface waters of urban watersheds has raised concerns regarding their source, potential environmental effects and a need for strategies to reduce their inputs. In previous research we discovered that hollow tine core cultivation (HTCC) was more effective than other management practices for reducing the off-site transport of pesticides with runoff from creeping bentgrass turf managed as a golf course fairway. This was primarily the result of enhanced infiltration and reduced runoff volumes associated with turf managed with hollow tines. In this study we evaluated the addition of verticutting (VC) to HTCC (HTCC+VC) in an attempt to further enhance infiltration and mitigate the off-site transport of pesticides with runoff from managed turf. Overall, greater or equal quantities of pesticides were transported with runoff from plots managed with HTCC+VC compared to HTCC or VC alone. For the pesticides evaluated HTCC<VC<HTCC+VC for the off-site transport of the high mobility pesticides while HTCC=VC=HTCC+VC for the low mobility pesticides. It is likely the addition of VC following HTCC further increased compaction and reduced availability of recently exposed soil sorptive sites produced from the HTCC. Results of this research provides guidance to golf course managers on selection of management practices that assure quality turf while minimizing off-site transport of pesticides, improving pesticide efficacy and the environmental stewardship of managed biological systems.
Live demonstration: Pulse transit time measurement on a modified weighing scale for cuffless blood pressure estimation

The demonstration setup will include a modified weighing scale with an analog circuit built into the device, a National Instruments myRIO system for data acquisition, and a laptop for visualization of the data and implementation of the demo. The weighing scale measures the ballistocardiogram (BCG) signal — the reaction forces of the body to ejection of blood from the heart into the vasculature and movement of the blood through the vascular tree [1] — as well as a reflectance mode photoplethysmogram (PPG) from the top of the foot, representing the local blood volume pulse [2]. The BCG is measured from the strain gauges built into the scale, interfaced to a low noise instrumentation amplifier and filter circuit for amplifying the AC component of bodyweight which fluctuates synchronously with the heartbeat. The reflectance PPG is measured using a custom strap that we have developed, including an array of photodiodes and light emitting diodes (LEDs) for illuminating the top of the foot — close to the dorsal artery — and measuring the changes in reflectance at that location associated with the blood volume pulse. The time delay from the BCG I-wave to the PPG waveform foot is pulse transit time (PTT), and we have shown in previous work that this measurement of PTT is correlated to the subject's blood pressure [3].
Breast Health Services: Accuracy of Benefit Coverage Information in the Individual Insurance Marketplace

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to determine if breast health coverage information provided by customer service representatives employed by insurers offering plans in the 2015 federal and state health insurance marketplaces is consistent with Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and state-specific legislation. Methods One hundred fifty-eight unique customer service numbers were identified for insurers offering plans through the federal marketplace, augmented with four additional numbers representing the Connecticut state-run exchange. Using a standardized patient biography and the mystery-shopper technique, a single investigator posed as a purchaser and contacted each number, requesting information on breast health services coverage. Consistency of information provided by the representative with the ACA mandates ( BRCA testing in high-risk women) or state-specific legislation (screening ultrasound in women with dense breasts) was determined. Results Insurer representatives gave BRCA test coverage information that was not consistent with the ACA mandate in 60.8% of cases, and 22.8% could not provide any information regarding coverage. Nearly half (48.1%) of insurer representatives gave coverage information about ultrasound screening for dense breasts that was not consistent with state-specific legislation, and 18.5% could not provide any information. Conclusions Insurance customer service representatives in the federal and state marketplaces frequently provide inaccurate coverage information about breast health services that should be covered under the ACA and state-specific legislation. Misinformation can inadvertently lead to the purchase of a plan that does not meet the needs of the insured.
Correspondence between the rigid amorphous fraction and nanoconfinement effects on glass formation

Semicrystalline polymers' properties are strongly influenced by the presence of a “rigid amorphous fraction” (RAF) of material with enhanced glass transition temperature and suppressed mobility. Here, we review striking similarities between this domain and near-interface regions of altered dynamics in other nanostructured polymers, including thin films, nanocomposites, layered films, and ionomers. Building on these observations, we present results of molecular simulations of model nanolayered polymers in which one layer is crystalline. The results of these simulations, which bear close similarities to semicrystalline homopolymers while providing a well-defined equilibrium crystal size, suggest that the RAF shares the same phenomenology and mechanism as dynamic interphases in these other polymeric systems. Specifically, the fraction of rigid amorphous material is driven by the scale of cooperative rearrangements characteristic of dynamics in polymers and other supercooled liquids. These results situate the RAF as a specific instance of a general tendency towards broad dynamic interphases in polymers and other glass-forming materials. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017, 55, 907–918
MBA Coaching Program: Best Practices for Success With Limited Resources:

Professional coaching has been touted as a highly effective approach to helping executives and managers enhance their organizational acumen and interpersonal skills. In the past several years, a number of prestigious, top-ranked MBA programs have established one-on-one coaching programs to attract students by offering “executive treatment before the title.” Coaching, however, does not have to be the purview of larger, prestigious, resource-rich universities. We offer robust coaching services to students with limited university resources. From its modest beginnings 15 years ago, our MBA Coaching Program recently received national recognition. This article highlights the challenges and decisions that those wishing to undertake a coaching program should consider.
Nonlinear Compensation in Optical Communications Systems With Normal Dispersion Fibers Using the Nonlinear Fourier Transform

We investigate the computational cost of the nonlinear Fourier transform (NFT) based on the Zakharov–Shabat scattering problem as a nonlinear compensation technique for quadrature-phase-shift keyed (QPSK) signals with raised cosine frequency characteristic in optical fiber transmission systems with normal dispersion fibers. We show that the primary sources of computational errors that arise from the use of the NFT is the finite eigenvalue resolution of the left and the right reflection spectra. We show that this effect and, consequently, the computational cost of the NFT as a nonlinear mitigation technique in the normal dispersion regime increases exponentially or faster with both the channel power and the number of symbols per data frame even using the most efficient NFT algorithms that are currently known. We find that the computational cost of this approach becomes unacceptably large at data frame lengths and powers that are too small for this approach to be competitive with standard transmission methods. We explain the physical reasons for these limits.
Microstructural changes associated with osteoporosis negatively affect loading-induced fluid flow around osteocytes in cortical bone

Loading-induced interstitial fluid flow in the microporosities of bone is critical for osteocyte mechanotransduction and for the maintenance of tissue health, enhancing convective transport in the lacunar-canalicular system. In recent studies, our group has reported alterations of bone's vascular porosity and lacunar-canalicular system microarchitecture in a rat model of postmenopausal osteoporosis. In this work, poroelastic finite element analysis was used to investigate whether these microstructural changes can affect interstitial fluid flow around osteocytes. Animal-specific finite element models were developed combining micro-CT reconstructions of bone microstructure and measures of the poroelastic material properties. These models were used to quantify and compare loading-induced fluid flow in the lacunar-canalicular system of ovariectomized and sham-operated rats. A parametric analysis was also used to quantify the influence of the lacunar-canalicular permeability and vascular porosity on the fluid velocity magnitude. Results show that mechanically-induced interstitial fluid velocity can be significantly reduced in the lacunar-canalicular system of ovariectomized rats. Interestingly, the vascular porosity is shown to have a major influence on interstitial fluid flow, while the lacunar-canalicular permeability influence is limited when larger than 10-20m2. Altogether our results suggest that microstructural changes associated with the osteoporotic condition can negatively affect interstitial fluid flow around osteocytes in the lacunar-canalicular system of cortical bone. This fluid flow reduction could impair mechanosensation of the osteocytic network, possibly playing a role in the initiation and progression of age-related bone loss and postmenopausal osteoporosis.
Vibrational Stabilizability of a Class of Distributed Parameter Systems

Abstract Stabilization of distributed parameter systems by zero mean parametric perturbations is known to be an alternative stabilization method when feedback and/or feedforward cannot guarantee stability due to the lack of reliable on-line measurements. In this paper conditions of vibrational stabilizability for a class of parabolic partial differential equations (PDE's) are derived and examples of vibrational stabilization of unstable PDE's are presented. The novelty of the approach consists in the fact that all conditions are obtained without resorting to finite dimensional approximations which eliminates the need for truncation error estimates.
Regulation of Growth Hormone Secretion

Human growth hormone (hGH) is a 191-amino-acid, single-chain polypeptide containing two intramolecular disulfide bonds which has a molecular weight of 21.5K daltons.(1,2) Growth hormone (GH) is the most abundant hormone in the anterior pituitary. Approximately 15% of total pituitary hGH is represented by a smaller 20K-dalton molecule with a 15-amino-acid deletion between residues 32 and 46. Although this variant has been shown to possess growth-promoting activity and lacks insulinlike activity, it is uncertain whether it is a physiologically important secretory product of the somato trope.
Caveat Emptor: The Meaning of Perception and Integration in Speech Perception

A recent letter^1^ claimed integration of auditory and tactile information in speech perception. Although I have been an advocate of multisensory integration, neither perception nor integration was sufficiently formalized, operationalized, and tested to support this claim.
LiveTag: Sensing Human-Object Interaction Through Passive Chipless Wi-Fi Tags

Information about the objects a person touches is an essential input to many applications in ubiquitous computing. The ability to sense touch in the physical world can form the basis of the tangible user interface [1], which allows humans to use omnipresent objects as a command-and-control interface to the digital world. On the other hand, the sequence of objects used can enable inference of human activities. Post-processing of this information can support many activity-aware applications, such as stroke rehabilitation assessment in homes, consumer analytics for retail stores, etc.
Frege on truth, beauty and goodness

The paper attempts to shed light on Frege's views on the relation of logic to truth by looking at several passages in which he compares it to the relation of ethics to the good and aesthetics to the beautiful. It turns out that Frege makes four distinct points by means of these comparisons only one of which both concerns truth and makes use of distinctive features of ethics and aesthetics. This point is that logic is about reaching truth in the way that ethics is about reaching the good and aesthetics the beautiful. I then sketch how Frege can plausibly maintain this view about logic.
Sir William Osler: Would He Have Made His Relative Value Units (RVUs)?

This commentary discusses the lessons of Sir William Osler's time in Philadelphia with regard to how the medical profession values modern-day clinician-educators.
Patient Perception of Providers: Do Patients Understand Who Their Doctor Is?

Background:When being treated at a university-based hospital, a patient may encounter multiple levels of physicians, including trainees during a single emergency visit. Patients want to know the ro...
Talar Osteonecrosis After Subchondroplasty for Acute Lateral Ligament Injuries: Case Series:

Talar osteonecrosis is a well-described phenomenon following talar neck fracture, but is a rarely described complication after procedures about the foot and ankle. Here we describe the clinical cou...
LEVERAGING THE ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD TO PERFORM TARGETED SCREENING FOR FAMILIAL HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA WITHIN A LARGE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) remains an underdiagnosed and undertreated condition with high cardiovascular risk, including premature coronary artery disease. Targeted screening for FH using established diagnostic criteria in the electronic health record (EHR) offers an approach for risk
A Bayesian Attack Tree Based Approach to Assess Cyber-Physical Security of Power System

The advantage of adding modern day information and communication technology (ICT) in the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system associated with the power network comes at the cost of an increased risk due to cyber intrusion. A well planned malicious attack on the SCADA system can not only compromise the communication network, but also cause catastrophic effects on the power grid in form of a widespread blackout. In this context, a lot of prior work deals with the comprehensive modeling of the cyber-physical system (CPS) and evaluating the possible vulnerabilities. In the present work, a Bayesian attack tree based approach is used to model cyber attacks in the SCADA network and the associated risk is evaluated as the combined effect on the communication and power system. This avoids the detailed modeling of every component in the CPS and considers only the critical vulnerabilities required to be exploited to perform the attack. Furthermore, the model takes into account the skill level of the adversary and the difficulty in intruding through each type of vulnerability. The proposed cyber attack model is applied on the IEEE-39 bus system with an associated SCADA network. The risk of a cyber attack on the critical vulnerabilities is evaluated for the power system.
Pediatric Obesity, Hypertension, Lipids

The rise of the pediatric obesity pandemic over the past 40 years has sharpened focus on the management of obesity, hypertension, and lipid abnormalities in children. Multiple studies demonstrate that these risk factors track from childhood into adulthood predisposing individuals to premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and putting them at risk for early morbidity and mortality. Importantly, obesity, hypertension, and lipid problems are individual risk factors that can occur independently. Multiple studies have shown that each risk factor causes target organ damage in children. Intensive and focused lifestyle modifications can improve a child’s subclinical disease and decrease the risk for future morbidity. Childhood offers a unique opportunity at primordial and primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Clinicians must focus on targeting these highly prevalent conditions and applying lifestyle modification and then pharmacologic or surgical therapies as needed.
Abstract WMP112: Cilostazol versus Aspirin for Secondary Stroke Prevention: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction: Cilostazol has promise as an alternative to aspirin for secondary stroke prevention given its vasodilatory and anti-inflammatory properties in addition to platelet aggregation inhibit...
Quantum-Mechanical Uncertainty and the Stability of Incompatibility

In talking about the compatibility of quantum observables, discussions often center on the question of whether the corresponding operators commute—even though commutativity is a coarse-grained notion that largely fails to capture the salient “nonclassical” features of quantum theory. Often, too, such discussions involve the issue of whether the operators in question satisfy a Heisenberg-like inequality, of the form ΔA·ΔB≥r>0—even though such inequalities are specific to unbounded operators and (for this and other reasons) are typically not a useful way to discuss joint uncertainty in quantum mechanics. In the present paper we emphasize a simpler dichotomy, in which operator pairs (A, B) are classified according to whether or not states can be found with arbitrarily small dispersions in both A and B. If A and B cannot be made arbitrarily dispersionless simultaneously, then we call A and B an uncertainty pair. Otherwise, we call A and B a certainty pair. An interesting feature of uncertainty pairs in particular is that they are stable, in the sense that if A and B form an uncertainty pair, then slight enough perturbations of A and B must also form an uncertainty pair. This stability, obvious in the finite-dimensional case, follows in general from an operator inequality derived herein. A consequence of this inequality is that perturbed position and momentum operators X+δX and P+δP cannot share an eigenvector unless |δX|·|δP|≥ℏ/2. (Here vertical bars denote the operator norm.) This, despite the fact that (as we show) arbitrarily slight perturbations of X and P can fail to satisfy a Heisenberg inequality—a fact which raises interesting measurement issues in its own right.
Design Team Performance: Context, Measurement, and the Prospective Impact of Social Virtual Reality

Measuring design performance for effective support of team coaching and redesign efforts has been difficult to near impossible. This is because, design is context dependent and takes place in different environments. Virtual reality gives us as designers, the opportunity to construct and simulate different environments, as coaches, the opportunity to improve our effectiveness in different design scenarios, and as researchers, the possibility to measure design performance and factors that affect it. This possibility was investigated experimentally. Two environments were constructed—one corresponding to a garage in a rural setting, and the other, to a conference room on one of the floors of a skyscraper in the city. Teams of three designers were recruited for the experiment. They worked on two product concept generation tasks and two decision making tasks, while being situated in each of the spaces. Several types of data were collected including video records, screen records, participant questionnaires, and position data of the VR headset and the hand controllers. The position data was used to calculate the level of synchrony between the designers. To investigate the correlation between the synchrony scores and the environment, we used a Kruskal-Wallis ordinal test. The test showed that the teams in the conference room had significantly higher synchrony (H(1) = 7.056, p = 0.0079) than the teams in the garage. This data was surprising, unexpected, and difficult to explain. In the course of searching for an explanation, several earlier models of behavior and context from the literature were reviewed. This led to the development of a comprehensive model of human-environment interaction which we believe will help guide future experiments. Early prototypes of this model are presented and discussed.
Using the electronic medical record to increase testing for HIV and hepatitis C virus in an Appalachian emergency department.

Background The ongoing Appalachian opioid epidemic has led to increasing hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among people who inject drugs (PWID), and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) outbreaks have been observed. The primary aim of this study was to assess the potential increase in screening for HIV and HCV in an academic central Appalachian emergency department (ED) through the use of Best Practice Alerts (BPAs) in the electronic medical record (EMR). A secondary aim was to assess for an increase in linkage to care using patient navigators. Methods EMR algorithms based on current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HIV and HCV testing recommendations were created that triggered Best Practice Alerts (BPAs), giving providers a one-click acceptance option to order HIV and/or HCV testing. Placards were placed in care areas, informing patients of the availability of routine screening. Patient navigators facilitated linkage to care for seropositive patients. Results The BPA appeared 58,936 times on 21,098 patients eligible for HIV screening and 24,319 times on 11,989 patients eligible for HCV screening over a one-year period. Of those, 7106 (33.7%) patients were screened for HIV and 3496 (29.2%) patients were screened for HCV, for an overall testing increase of 2269% and 1065% for HIV and HCV, respectively. Linkage to care increased by 15% for HIV to 100, and 14% for HCV to 64%. Conclusion HIV and HCV screening and linkage to care were increased in an academic ED setting in central Appalachia using EMR alerts. This approach could be utilized in multiple ambulatory settings. Increased testing and earlier linkage to care may help combat the current injection drug use-related HCV epidemic and avoid additional HIV outbreaks.
Virtual Watercoolers: A Field Experiment on Virtual Synchronous Interactions and Performance of Organizational Newcomers

Do virtual, yet informal and synchronous, interactions affect individual performance outcomes of organizational newcomers? We report results from a randomized field experiment conducted at a large global organization that estimates the performance effects of “virtual water coolers” for remote interns participating in the firm’s flagship summer internship program. Findings indicate that interns who had randomized opportunities to interact synchronously and informally with senior managers were significantly more likely to receive offers for full-time employment, achieved higher weekly performance ratings, and had more positive attitudes toward their remote internships. Further, we observed stronger results when the interns and senior managers were demographically similar. Secondary results also hint at a possible abductive explanation of the performance effects: virtual watercoolers between interns and senior managers may have facilitated knowledge and advice sharing. This study demonstrates that hosting brief virtual water cooler sessions with senior managers might have job and career benefits for organizational newcomers working in remote workplaces, an insight with immediate managerial relevance.
Interstitial lung disease is a dominant feature in patients with circulating myositis-specific antibodies

BACKGROUND Many patients with polymyositis (PM) or dermatomyositis (DM) have circulating myositis-specific antibodies (MSAs). Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common manifestation of PM/DM, and it can even precede the onset of characteristic muscle or skin manifestations. Furthermore, there appear to be some patients with ILD and circulating MSAs who do not develop muscle or skin disease even after prolonged follow-up. We sought to determine whether ILD is equally or more common than myositis or dermatitis at the time of initial detection of MSAs. METHODS We identified all patients found to have circulating MSAs at our institution over a 4-year period and assessed for the presence of lung, muscle, and skin disease at the time of initial detection of MSAs. Among those found to have ILD, we compared demographic and clinical features, chest CT scan findings, and outcomes between those with PM/DM-associated ILD and those with ILD but no muscle or skin disease. RESULTS A total of 3078 patients were tested for MSAs, and of these 40 were positive. Nine different MSAs were detected, with anti-histidyl tRNA synthetase (anti-Jo-1) being the most common (35% of MSAs). Among patients with positive MSAs, 86% were found to have ILD, compared to 39% and 28% with muscle and skin involvement, respectively (p < 0.001). Fifty percent of all MSA-positive patients had isolated ILD, with no evidence of muscle or skin disease. Those with isolated ILD were more likely to be older and have fibrotic changes on chest CT, less likely to receive immunomodulatory therapy, and had worse overall survival. CONCLUSIONS In this study we found that individuals with circulating MSAs were more likely to have ILD than classic muscle or skin manifestations of PM/DM at the time of initial detection of MSAs. Our findings suggest that the presence of ILD should be considered a disease-defining manifestation in the presence of MSAs and incorporated into classification criteria for PM/DM.
Discordant expression of CD3 and T-cell receptor beta-chain antigens in T-lineage lymphomas

Using an immunoperoxidase technique that identifies both surface and cytoplasmic antigen expression, the authors examined 28 benign reactive lymphorproliferative lesions and 55 T-lineage lymphomas for reactivity with CD3 (Leu-4; T-cell receptor-associated antigen) and beta F1 antibodies, the latter recognizing nonpolymorphic determinants on T-cell receptor beta chains. Consistent with previous observations that these two antigens are co-expressed on the vast majority of thymocytes, peripheral blood T cells and tonsillar T cells, all 28 reactive lymphoproliferations showed essentially identical patterns of CD3 and beta F1 expression. In contrast, only 29 of 55 T-lineage lymphomas displayed coexpression of these antigens. Among 33 peripheral T-cell lymphomas, 11 cases showed CD3/beta F1 discordance (7 CD3+/beta F1-; 4 CD3-/beta F1+), and 5 showed absence of both these antigens. Nine of 22 T-lymphoblastic lymphomas showed CD3/beta F1 discordance (all CD3+/beta F1-), and 1 case was CD3-/beta F1-. These patterns of CD3/beta F1 expression, along with the patterns of CD2, CD4, CD5, CD7, and CD8 antigen expression in these neoplasms, indicate that T-cell lymphomas can manifest phenotypes not apparently reflective of normal T populations and suggest the presence of abnormal gene expression in these malignancies. The existence of aberrant phenotypes in T-cell neoplasia suggests caution in interpretation of investigations using T-lineage malignancies as models of normal T-cell biology. Finally, the identification of phenotypic abnormalities in T-lineage populations can be of great diagnostic usefulness in the delineation of benign versus malignant T-cell proliferations.
Stochastic Complexity and the Maximum Entropy Principle

This is an outline of a modeling principle based upon the search for the shortest code length of the data, defined to be the stochastic complexity. This principle is generally applicable to statistical problems, and when restricted to the special exponential family, arising in the maximum entropy formalism with a set of moment constraints, it provides a generalization which permits the set of the constraints or their number to be optimized as well.
A Simple Market Model of Prices and Trading Volume

This chapter studies the evolution of prices and trading volume in a model involving two securities, a risky security (the market portfolio) and a risk-free security. This model addresses the question like how representativeness affects security prices and trading volume. This model also serves to set the stage for the discussion of long-run survival. The chapter first helps in developing the model. The chapter focuses on security prices and on trading volume. Subsequently, the examples of this model are also provided. The chapter discusses the relationship between the underlying state prices and the prices and returns associated with the risky and risk-free securities. The chapter describes the equilibrium portfolio strategies for a market involving trade in a risky security and a risk-free security, when one investor is a trend follower and the other investor succumbs to gambler's fallacy. A key issue in the chapter involves the relationship between trading volume and the changes in beliefs stemming from the different transition probabilities employed by the investors.
Infinite structures in SCRATCHPAD II

An infinite structure is a data structure which cannot be fully constructed in any fixed amount of space. Several varieties of infinite structures are currently supported in Scratchpad II: infinite sequences, radix expansions, power series and continued fractions. Two basic methods are employed to represent infinite structures: self referential data structures and lazy evaluation. These may be employed either separately or in conjunction.
Action-Reinforcement Learning Versus Rule Learning

How well do various learning models predict the dynamics of the population distribution of play in a variety of games? We measure and compare the in-sample and out-of-sample prediction performance of seven action-reinforcement learning models as well as Rule Learning for symmetric normal-form games. The criteria include log-likelihood values and root-mean-squared error. We conclude that a logit best-reply dynamic with inertia and adaptive expectations (LBRIAE) is the best among the action-reinforcement models. We formulate a population Rule Learning model that nests the LBRIAE model and find that Rule Learning is statistically superior. Sophistication is learned in the sense that random behavior and herd behavior decline substantially, and level-1 and level-2 behaviors increase over time.
Fundamentals of Texas Multiple-Party Accounts

Multiple-party accounts, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, are contractual arrangements for the deposit of money with financial institutions such as state or national banks, savings and loan associations, and credit unions. The disposition of the funds remaining in these accounts upon the death of one of the depositors depends on the type of account, the account contract, and the applicable state law.Multiple-party accounts are important non-probate transfer mechanisms because these accounts are used widely, easy to understand, and inexpensive to obtain. This article discusses the four commonly recognized types of multiple-party accounts: (1) the joint account, which may transfer ownership rights to the account’s balance to the surviving party; (2) the agency or convenience account, which does not transfer the account’s balance upon the death of one of the parties; (3) the payable on death account, which causes the balance to belong to the surviving pay on death payees upon the death of the depositors; and (4) the trust account, under which the beneficiaries receive the account’s balance upon outliving all trustees.
Structure and function of the anaphylatoxins

Biologic characterization and structural analysis of the complement-derived factors known as anaphylatoxins have advanced markedly over the past decade. For example, structure analyses have progressed to a point that detailed features of these The number designation used throughout the text for amino acid residues is that of the human C3a sequence unless otherwise stated factors have been elucidated at the molecular level. The molecules in question, namely C3a, C4a, and C5a, are bioactive fragments that are generated in vivo as a result of complement activation. The physiologic role of these anaphylatoxins in host defense mechanisms is becoming more and more apparent as their many and varied biologic activities are better defined and understood. These humoral mediators induce numerous inflammatory responses and have recently been identified as immunomodulators capable of regulating aspects of the humoral and cellular immune response [87, 88]. In a very real sense the anaphylatoxins are local hormones, assuming that one accepts the definition for a local hormone of “a substance with hormone-like properties, produced from blood or other body fluids precisely when and where it is needed, that is rapidly destroyed.” The anaphylatoxins fulfill these criteria by acting at the cellular level via surface receptors to stimulate responses, are generated in blood either after tissue injury or during immunologic damage, and are under the strict control of a serum enzyme (e. g., carboxypeptidase N) [4, 68].