cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
State vocational rehabilitation services and employment in multiple sclerosis

Background:Obtaining and maintaining suitable employment can be a significant challenge for people with multiple sclerosis (MS).Objective:The objective of this article is to identify what vocational rehabilitation (VR) services helped MS clients obtain and maintain employment, after controlling for the effect of demographic covariates and disability-related government benefits.Methods:We retrieved data from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) 911 database in the fiscal year (FY) 2009, and used VR services as predictors to predict employment outcomes of people with MS by hierarchical logistic regression.Results:A total of 924 out of 1920 MS clients (48.1%) were successfully employed after receiving VR services. Logistic regression analysis results indicated that cash benefits (OR =0.51, p < 0.001) and public medical benefits (OR =0.76, p < 0.01) were negatively associated with employment outcomes, whereas counseling and guidance (OR = 1.68, p < 0.001), job placement assistance (OR = 2.43, p < ...
Cost-effective multiperiod spraying for routing in delay-tolerant networks

In this paper, we present a novel multiperiod spraying algorithm for routing in delay-tolerant networks (DTNs). The goal is to minimize the average copy count used per message until the delivery while maintaining the predefined message delivery rate by the given deadline. In each period, some number of additional copies are sprayed into the network, followed by the wait for message delivery. At any time instance, the total number of message copies distributed to the network depends on the urgency of achieving the delivery rate by the given deadline for that message. Waiting for early delivery in the initial periods with a small number of copies in existence decreases the average number of copies sprayed in the network till delivery. We first discuss two- and three-period variants of our algorithm, and then we also give an idea of how the presented approach can be extended to more periods. We present an in-depth analysis of the algorithm and validate the analytical results with simulations. The results demonstrate that our multiperiod spraying algorithm outperforms the algorithms with a single spraying period.
Attitudes About Childlessness in the United States Correlates of Positive, Neutral, and Negative Responses

The study used cross-sectional analyses of the National Survey of Families and Households (1987-1988, 1992-1994) to examine attitudes about childlessness in the United States. It (a) assesses prevalence of positive, neutral, and negative attitudes about childlessness and (b) identifies the correlates of different attitudes in the population. About one fifth of adults disagreed with prescriptive norms that favor parenthood over childlessness, whereas two fifths gave neutral responses. More than 86% agreed or were neutral on whether childless adults could have fulfilling lives. Positive attitudes were consistently found among those who were female, college educated, or childless. Those with negative attitudes were distinct from those with neutral or positive attitudes and were more likely to be older, male, non-White, less educated, or have conservative religious beliefs, net of other factors. The authors argue attitudes reflect acceptance but not endorsement of childlessness, and substantial proportions of...
Early clinical results from chemoradiation with 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin for locally advanced rectal cancer.

Abstract Purpose Preoperative chemoradiation with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has improved local control and resectability in patients with locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma. The possible benefit of adding oxaliplatin is being investigated. We present background on the use of oxaliplatin as well as institutional experience assessing treatment tolerability and early outcome data. Patients and Methods From August 2001 to August 2006, 15 patients were treated with concurrent 5-FU, oxaliplatin, and radiation. Each had locally advanced rectal carcinoma with staging as follows: T3 (10 patients), T4 (5 patients), N1 (3 patients), and M1 (1 patient). Three patients were treated for local recurrence; 2 had received previous radiation therapy. All patients received continuous-infusion 5-FU at 225 mg/m2 per day. The oxaliplatin dose was 70 mg/m2 in 1 patient and 85 mg/m2 in the others, administered every other week × 3 weeks starting on day 1 of radiation. Resection followed completion of radiation by 6 weeks. Results The treatment was tolerable, with the most frequent hematologic toxicity being grade 1/2 anemia. Twelve patients were evaluable, with 11 treated preoperatively. All were able to undergo resection with negative margins, with T stage at resection as follows: T4 (2 patients, 1 with 5% viable tumor), T3 (4 patients), T2 (1 patient), T1 (2 patients); there were pathologic complete responses in 4 patients. At resection, 2 patients had N2 disease; 1 of these was also found to have a peritoneal metastasis. Two patients with clinical N1 disease initially were N0 at resection. With median follow-up of 13 months (range, 4-36 months), 9 patients have clinically no evidence of disease. There have been no local recurrences and 1 death from disease. Conclusion We present tolerability and early clinical efficacy data for patients treated with concurrent 5-FU and oxaliplatin chemoradiation. The oxaliplatin-based regimen was tolerable. All patients were able to undergo resection with negative margins, with encouraging downstaging, local control, and survival.
Ischaemic stroke after ST-elevation myocardial infarction

A 67-year-old Hispanic man presented with 5-h history of typical chest pain and an ECG consistent with inferior ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Coronary angiography revealed an occluded proximal right coronary artery, and a percutaneous intervention with drug eluting stent was performed. He was started on aspirin and clopidogrel. Two weeks later, he was admitted with loss of consciousness, tonic-clonic seizure and urinary incontinence. On physical examination, he was unresponsive to tactile stimuli. Cardiac examination revealed a prominent left ventricular heave. Neurological examination showed a left lateral gaze. Initial evaluation with brain MRI revealed focal areas of restricted diffusion within the cerebral and cerebellar hemispheres, consistent with an acute embolic phenomenon. ECG showed new-onset atrial fibrillation, inferior infarct …
Some features of the glasma

Abstract We discuss high energy hadronic collisions within the theory of the color glass condensate. We point out that the initial electric and magnetic fields produced in such collisions are longitudinal. This leads to a novel string like description of the collisions, and a large Chern–Simons charge density made immediately after the collision. The presence of the longitudinal magnetic field suggests that essential to the description of these collisions is the decay of Chern–Simons charge.
The Crisis of International Finance, the Eurozone and Economic Growth

This chapter considers the 2008 international financial crisis, the Eurozone and economic growth in a long term perspective. This systemic crisis has been the most severe among the recurring crises that have marked the “age of global finance” which had begun with the destruction of Bretton Woods. The current crisis led to a world-wide, near-meltdown of the financial and banking system, to the debt crisis and the Eurozone crisis. Contrary to the 1930s the worst has been avoided thanks to bold innovation and the successful cooperation among central banks, national governments and international organizations, and due to the break with policy orthodoxy. Yet, many of the excesses of globalization and of global finance still have to be corrected. Today, the world has to face the tasks of ending the artificially low (and even negative) interest rates and returning to a more market-conform interest rate structure without new financial turbulences as well as of overcoming the vicious circle of excessive debt and stagnation or slow growth. Both Europe and the world would be much worse off without the Euro. Strengthening the Eurozone requires cooperation, discipline and solidarity, not the creation of a European “super state”. In the long term, in order to restore sustained growth, social progress and economic and monetary stability, we also need a new rule-based global international monetary order. It is the responsibility of the main pillars of the liberal and democratic world economic order, Europe, the United States and Japan, to take the initiative and lead it to success.
Application of virtual three-dimensional surgery planning in management of open bite with idiopathic condylar resorption

This case report describes the successful treatment of an adult patient with idiopathic condylar resorption and Class II skeletal open bite malocclusion and temporomandibular joint disorder. A segmental Le Fort I bilateral osteotomy, ramus increasing length inverted L-osteotomy, and genioplasty combined with orthodontic treatment were performed. The treatment plan and surgery was aided by three-dimensional medical modeling, and we managed to resolve functional, esthetic, and pain concerns to a satisfactory level.
Experimental Evaluation of Sand Filtration Theory

An experimental evaluation of sand filtration theory is presented. The mathematical model of filtration presented by K. J. Ives (University College, London) was evaluated by the filtration of iron-bearing water. The results indicate that the equation does not adequately describe the filtration of water containing hydrous ferric oxide floc. Several minor modifications of Ive's equation were attempted without arriving at a suitable equation to fit the experimental data. Reasons for the inconsistency are presented. The iron floc does not conform to the characteristics assumed in the derivation of the equation, e.g., it is not of uniform size and it has a low density. Furthermore the use of the equation hinges on the determination of the specific deposit, namely, the volume of suspended solids removed per unit filter volume. This determination is so difficult as to greatly restrict the potential application of the equation.
Moving Atoms and Small Molecules out of Open Containers

Density functional theory with the M05-2X exchange/correlation functional is used to study the barriers for expulsion of atoms and small molecules (N2, CO, H2, Ar, Kr, Xe, H2O) out of open fullerenes (I20) and related molecular containers (C40H20, [5]beltene, cucurbit[5]uril). The reactions are examples where dispersion plays a critical role in determining the barrier heights. Calculations are compared with experimental kinetic data for N2@I20, CO@I20, and Xe@cucurbit[5]uril (Xe@CB[5]). Comparing the four molecular containers, the activation barriers for escape of an atom or small molecule correlate with the binding energies. A new open-fullerene model container C40H20 (C40) was constructed from C60 with a constriction at both ends formed by five methylene groups around the rim. The activation barriers for escape of N2 and CO from the model container are similar to those from the I20 open-cage fullerene. In the case of H2O@C40, charge analysis reveals an interesting charge transfer at the transition state...
Life History of Eustenopus villosus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a Promising Biological Control Agent for Yellow Starthistle

Studies on the biology and host specificity of Eustenopus villosus (Boheman) were carried out in the field and laboratory in Greece and in the laboratory in Italy from 1981 to 1990. The weevil was first released in the United States for biological control of yellow starthistle, Centaurea solstitialis L. (Asteraceae: Cardueae), during 1990. In nature, overwintering adults appeared on bolting yellow starthistle plants by mid-May and were found until mid-July, south of Thessaloniki, Greece. Oviposition started at the beginning of June and the first pupae were found in early July. The first adults of the F1 generation were found about mid-July in field-collected seedheads. Adults started to emerge gradually from seedheads from mid-July to the end of August and hibernated in cracks in the soil and among debris on the soil surface. E. villosus is univoltine and had three instars under laboratory conditions. Mating and feeding behavior, fecundity, and mortality are described. Adults fed on meristematic tissue and caused severe damage to the plants, and larvae fed in developing seedheads and reduced seed production up to 100% in infested seedheads. Because there is up to 97% mortality of the immature stages, the weevil does not build up dense populations in its native area.
Investigation on haemal mineral status among 1353 preschool children

Objective To assess the prevalence of haemal minerals(Fe,Cu,Zn,Ca,Mg) among preschool children in Jintan and provide basic information to further identify risk factors and health outcome associated with minerals in this cohort.Method A total of 1 353 male and female preschool children,aged 4-6 years,from 3 kindergarten cohorts(central city,suburbs,and countryside) in Jintan city participated in the study.Blood concentrations of Fe,Cu,Zn,Ca and Mg were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer.Results There were high deficiency rates in Zn(38.14%),Ca(34.29%),and Fe(24.32%),but only 0.67% and 0.61% have Cu and Mg deficiency respectively.Conclusion The data show that preschool children in Jintan city have in adequate mineral status which should be improved.Further study on identifying risk factors and health outcome associated with minerals is needed.
Mobile agent-based search for service discovery on dynamic peer-to-peer networks

Dynamic multi-agent planning has many shortcomings in real-world domains. Specifically, it is not clear how servic es can be discovered and located in dynamic non-fault-tolerant networks. Examples of such include multi-hop ad hoc wireless and dynamic peer-to-peer networks. The nature of ad hoc and peer-to-peer networks inherently imposes the restriction of communication to one’s “neighbors.” Therefor e, communication over multiple hops in the network is difficult without facilities such as ad hoc routing. In these networks , the problem of locating a service is compounded when services themselves can be mobile. In some domains mobile agents can be service providers. For example, consider a group of helicopters deployed on a battlefield, as in the synthetic aircraft domain (Tambe 1998 ). A certificate authority might be required for secure communication between helicopters; this server could be encapsulated by a mobile agent capable of reasoning about the network (Artz, Peysakhov, & Regli 2003). The agent might then continuously migrate to portions of the network with low volatility. For instance, the agent might migrate to hel icopters less likely to be removed from the network. To improve performance and minimize latency, heuristics for such migration might include proximity to the geographic center of the group or association with the centroid of the network topology graph. Therefore a method for pro-actively tracking the location of services in dynamic networks is required. No fixed memory deterministic algorithm can locate a service in a network in a fixed amount of time (Kirousis et al. 2000). We propose a fixed-memory randomized method for approximating the location of a service in a dynamic network with a probabilistic certainty in a fixed amount of time. Deploying a set of service monitoring agents to randomly walk the hosts of a dynamic peer-to-peer network can provide an accurate means of service discovery. The agents’ task environment, a dynamic peer-to-peer network, is stochastic, dynamic, and continuous; there exists a delay between actual topology changes and the propagation of knowledge of these changes throughout the network. The agents do not have a goal, per se; their sole purpose is to randomly walk the network gathering information. Agents’ percepts are comprised solely of the set of services avail
Surgical Considerations in the Management of Lacrimal Gland Tumors

Diagnosis, approaches to biopsy, and definitive surgery for cysts, inflammations, and neoplasms of the lacrimal gland are discussed.
Abstract 1852: Multiple PI3K pathway mutations predominate in low stage endometrial carcinomas

Objectives: Endometrial cancers (ECs) frequently harbor mutations in PI3K pathway genes. Our objective was to determine the mutation frequency of the PIK3 pathway in the tumors of EC patients prospectively enrolled on an IRB-approved institutional tumor sequencing initiative (UNCseq) and correlate these with clinical factors. Methods: Snap-frozen and FFPE tissue samples were collected from patients enrolled on UNCseq (NCT01457196). DNA was isolated using the Puregene DNA purification system, and Illumina libraries were prepared separately from tumor and a matched normal sample from each patient. Relevant targets, were enriched by a custom designed Agilent SureSelect hybrid capture enrichment library using standard protocols. Samples were sequenced on Illumina HiSeq machines in a variety of formats. Statistical analysis of clinical correlates was performed in R (v 3.1.1). Results: Data was collected from 109 EC patients. Thirty-six tumors (33.0%), 34 of which were endometrioid, had >2 mutations between PIK3CA and PIK3R1. 20 patients had multiple PIK3CA mutations (18.3%) and 11 had multiple PIK3R1 mutations (10.1%). In all but 5 cases, multiple mutations of PIK3R1 or PIK3CA were coincident with PTEN mutation (p = 0.018). There were strong correlations between PI3K pathway mutations and tumor grade and stage. High stage tumors (stage >2) were less likely (5/36) than stage 1 tumors (31/73) to have multiple PI3K mutations (p = 0.0056). Though not reaching significance, grade 3 tumors (8/37) were less likely than low-grade tumors (28/72) to demonstrate multiple PI3K mutations (p = 0.11). Of the 10 serous ECs, none exhibited multiple PI3K mutations. Conclusions: There is a strong relationship between mutated PIK3 pathway genes and clinically relevant tumor biology in ECs. Multiple mutations in the PIK3 pathway are common, suggesting that PI3K pathway inhibition in EC may need to be directed against PIK3CA and PIK3R1 simultaneously. These multiply mutated tumors are strongly linked to lower stage and grade tumors with concurrent PTEN mutations. We posit that initially PTEN mutant clones may give rise to subclonal populations with various PI3K mutations which may be relatively indolent until additional driver mutations are acquired such that one subpopulation predominates, resulting in higher grade and stage ECs. Citation Format: Dario R. Roque, Will R. Jeck, David N. Hayes, Arthur M. Dizon, Leslie Clark, Stuart Pierce, Weiya Z. Wysham, Tara Castellano, Paola A. Gehrig, Victoria Bae-Jump. Multiple PI3K pathway mutations predominate in low stage endometrial carcinomas. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1852.
Occult Fungal Scleritis.

Purpose: To heighten awareness of occult fungal scleritis. Method: Case report and review of the literature. <i&
Abstract IA24: Vaccines targeting innate immune cells

Targeting dendritic cells (DCs) for immunotherapy represents a powerful approach for harnessing the patient9s own immune system to eliminate cancer cells or to limit chronic infection. Immunostimulatory DCs as vaccine adjuvants have been applied and tested in both conditions, with some encouraging results. However, immune suppression mediated by tumors and the tumor microenvironment or chronic viral infection, limits the potential of DC based vaccines and compromises DC activity and that of other innate immune cells in the TME. Targeting DC in situ represents another approach to boost immunity in vivo. Along these lines, DC targeted approaches include antibodies that bind DC receptors and agonists or alarmins that prime DC via multiple pattern recognition receptors. The presentation will address the activities of some of these various agents and the imprinting of adjuvant activity upon DC in vitro and in clinical trials. Combining DC targeted vaccines with new approaches that enhance immunogenicity and overcome the regulatory mechanisms underlying peripheral tolerance may be the key to achieving effective and durable immune responses that translate to better clinical outcomes. Citation Format: Nina Bhardwaj. Vaccines targeting innate immune cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy: A New Chapter; December 1-4, 2014; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2015;3(10 Suppl):Abstract nr IA24.
Solvent-Slaved Dynamic Processes Observed by Tryptophan Phosphorescence of Human Serum Albumin.

Despite extensive experimental and computational efforts to understand the nature of the hierarchy of protein fluctuations and the modulating role of the protein hydration shell, a detailed microscopic description of the dynamics of the protein-solvent system has yet to be achieved. By using single tryptophan protein phosphorescence, we follow site-specific internal protein dynamics over a broad temperature range and demonstrate three independent dynamic processes. Process I is seen at temperatures below the bulk solvent Tg, has low activation energy, and is likely due to fast vibrations that may be enabled by water mobility on the protein surface. Process II is observed above 170 K, with activation energy typical of β relaxations in a glass; it has the same temperature dependence as fluctuations of hydration shell waters. Process III is observed at T > 200 K; it has super-Arrhenius temperature dependence and closely follows the primary relaxation of the bulk. The fluorescence of pyranine bound to the protein reports on the mobility of water in the hydration shell; it reveals a shift in emission spectra with increasing temperature, indicative of a changing H-bond network at the surface of the protein. These results support a model of solvent-slaved protein dynamics.
Absence seizure susceptibility correlates with pre-ictal β oscillations.

Absence seizures are generalized, cortico-thalamo-cortical (CTC) high power electroencephalographic (EEG) or electrocorticographic (ECoG) events that initiate and terminate suddenly. ECoG recordings of absence seizures in animal models of genetic absence epilepsy show a sudden spike-wave-discharge (SWD) onset that rapidly emerges from normal ECoG activity. However, given that absence seizures occur most often during periods of drowsiness or quiet wakefulness, we wondered whether SWD onset correlates with pre-ictal changes in network activity. To address this, we analyzed ECoG recordings of both spontaneous and induced SWDs in rats with genetic absence epilepsy. We discovered that the duration and intensity of spontaneous SWDs positively correlate with pre-ictal 20-40Hz (β) spectral power and negatively correlate with 4-7Hz (O) power. In addition, the output of thalamocortical neurons decreases within the same pre-ictal window of time. In separate experiments we found that the propensity for SWD induction was correlated with pre-ictal β power. These results argue that CTC networks undergo a pre-seizure state transition, possibly due to a functional reorganization of cortical microcircuits, which leads to the generation of absence seizures.
Good Googling: A Consumer Health Literacy Program Empowering Parents to Find Quality Health Information Online

ABSTRACTOnly 12% of Americans possess adequate health literacy skills. Among the populations cited with the lowest health literacy are those who experience chronic health conditions. A pilot health information literacy program was designed for parents of children with complex medical needs to help improve low health literacy in this population. The program targeted finding and determining trustworthy information online and was evaluated using a pre-post survey design. After the program parents’ confidence improved significantly in finding, interpreting, and judging quality online health information. These skills play an important role in promoting family-centered care and decreasing the burden on health care consumers.
A HBT-based 300 MHz-12 GHz blocker-tolerant mixer-first receiver

A 300 MHz-12 GHz HBT-based mixer-first receiver in 130 nm BiCMOS is presented. The mixer core is composed of four SiGe HBTs driven by quadrature LO pulses with a shared emitter RF input and feedback from the baseband to HBT bases to generate baseband-to-RF impedance-transparency. This is analogous to effects seen in CMOS passive-mixer-first receivers, but at higher frequencies than attainable with traditional CMOS topologies. LO circuitry is also implemented in emitter-coupled logic to generate 25% duty-cycle LO pulses capable of driving the high frequency mixer, which achieves a measured out-of-band 1 dB compression point of+10dBm at 9 GHz.
Positive Outcome Expectations and Tobacco Product Use Behaviors in Youth.

ABSTRACTBackground: Outcome expectations are an important determinant of health behavior, according to Social Cognitive Theory; yet recent literature has not examined the relationship between outco...
An Automated Displaced Proportional Circle Map Using Delaunay Triangulation and an Algorithm for Node Overlap Removal

Proportional circle maps are a popular method for visualizing quantitative data on a map. Circles are scaled proportionally based on the data provided; larger circles represent larger quantities. The circles require two values, a location and a numeric quantity. For data that have a wide range of values, the resulting map will produce clutter and overlap in which large symbols obscure the information contained in smaller circles. Some previous solutions to this problem are modifying and improving the contrast between symbols, or using stacking algorithms so all symbols are visible. This article proposes the displaced proportional symbol map, which displaces the symbol's location based on the amount of overlap between neighbouring circles. At the same time, it preserves the location of non-overlapping symbols, which distinguishes it from the circular cartogram. The displacement is automated through the proximity stress model algorithm for node overlap removal. This algorithm was originally designed for gra...
Homeopathic Prevention and Management of Epidemic Diseases.

Background Homeopathy has been used to treat epidemic diseases since the time of Hahnemann, who used Belladonna to treat scarlet fever. Since then, several approaches using homeopathy for epidemic diseases have been proposed, including individualization, combination remedies, genus epidemicus, and isopathy. Methods The homeopathic research literature was searched to find examples of each of these approaches and to evaluate which were effective. Results There is good experimental evidence for each of these approaches. While individualization is the gold standard, it is impractical to use on a widespread basis. Combination remedies can be effective but must be based on the symptoms of a given epidemic in a specific location. Treatment with genus epidemicus can also be successful if based on data from many practitioners. Finally, isopathy shows promise and might be more readily accepted by mainstream medicine due to its similarity to vaccination. Conclusion Several different homeopathic methods can be used to treat epidemic diseases. The challenge for the future is to refine these approaches and to build on the knowledge base with additional rigorous trials. If and when conventional medicine runs out of options for treating epidemic diseases, homeopathy could be seen as an attractive alternative, but only if there is viable experimental evidence of its success.
Ultrasonic Vocalizations of Young Mice in the Genus Peromyscus

Abstract Peromyscus is a diverse group of mice that exhibits important and extensive natural variation across many traits and is ideal for studying ultrasonic vocalization (USV) behavior. Early work established that Peromyscus males in the laboratory use USVs for modulation of sexual behavior. Recent work from laboratory and field studies, focusing on the California mouse (Peromyscus californicus), has investigated the effect of changing behavioral contexts on USVs. The studies included research on both males and females as well as endocrine and social control of vocal emission and animal response to playbacks. In adult Peromyscus, four USV types have been described as: sustained vocalization (also termed “syllable” vocalization), bark, simple sweep, and complex sweep. Evidence is presented for the differential use of these USV types under affiliative (pair bonding, courtship) and aversive (inter- and intrasexual aggression) contexts. We argue that field studies in wild Peromyscus should complement laboratory experiments and suggest future directions of investigations.
Self Reported and Teachers' Rankings of Anxiety Among First Grade Children.

This study presents data regarding the relationship between teachers' perceptions of their students' anxiety and the students' rankings of anxiety as determined by two self-report measures. Rank-or...
Adding Biology to One-Dimensional Models of Sediment-Carbon Degradation: The Multi-B Approach

Models of particulate organic-carbon (POC) diagenesis in deep-sea (and shallow-water) sediments typically describe carbon degradation as a direct function of the concentrations of various types of organic maller. Such a formulation may be mechanistically misleading because the degradation rates of specific detrital components can vary solely due to changes in the community structure of mineralizing organisms. This note presents a model. in the form of a one-dimensional diffusion-advection-reaction equation, expressing POC degradation as a function of the biomass concentrations in size classes of benthos. This modeling approach may be useful in elucidating the role of particular benthic size classes (e.g., the bacteria) in the degradation of sedimentary organic matter, and in predicting rates of mineralization at various levels within the sediment column.
A sense of a smarter planet

In the next couple of years, there are expected to be 2 billion people connected to the Internet. At the same time, the instrumentation and interconnection of the worlds human-made and natural systems is exploding which could mean that there soon will be more things connected to the Internet than there are people who are connected. This Internet of Things promises to give people a much better understanding of how complex systems work, so they can be tinkered with to make them work better. But it also opens up a whole new sphere of opportunity to mine the data to create anything from smarter traffic to smarter healthcare to smarter food supply chains.
A Novel Method for Quantifying Traction Forces from Hexagonal Micropatterned Features on Deformable Poly-Dimethyl Siloxane Sheets

Many methods exist for quantifying cellular traction forces, including traction force microscopy and microfabricated post arrays. However, these methodologies have limitations, including a requirement to remove cells to determine undeflected particle locations and the inability to quantify forces of cells with low cytoskeletal stiffness, respectively. Here we present a novel method of traction force quantification that eliminates both of these limitations. Through the use of a hexagonal pattern of microcontact-printed protein spots, a novel computational algorithm, and thin surfaces of polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) blends, we demonstrate a system that quantifies cellular forces on a homogeneous surface that is stable, easily manufactured, and can quantify forces without need for cellular removal.
Overview of high-risk Food and Drug Administration recalls for cosmetics and personal care products from 2002 to 2016.

Background There have been several recent controversies surrounding cosmetic products that have impacted health. Dermatologists are often the first to encounter these issues, and recalls are one metric of a safety profile of cosmetics and their impact on health. Objective To analyze all recalls of cosmetic and personal care products from 2002 to 2016. Methods This observational study describes all FDA cosmetic and personal care product recalls, acquired via a Freedom of Information Act request, from 2002 to 2016. The total number of Class I, Class II, and Class III recalls, number and origin of manufacturers, number of products affected, and main reason for recall were collected. Results A total of 14 Class I, 266 Class II, and 33 Class III recalls were recorded. Baby products comprised the largest product category accounting for 24% of all recalls (76/313). 76% of recalls were due to bacterial contamination (237/313), followed by unapproved components, labeling issues, and skin irritation. The 14 Class I recalls accounted for 1.9 million products in distribution. Conclusions Cosmetic recalls impacted millions of products and had the potential to cause serious harm. Dermatologists have the ability to strengthen public safety by reporting adverse events, encouraging recalls of harmful products, and lobbying through dermatology organizations for meaningful change to current cosmetic regulation.
Error in estimating area‐level air pollution exposures for epidemiology

In air pollution epidemiology, measurements of relevant exposure concentrations are typically made at point locations, resulting in spatial misalignment between the exposure data and health outcomes aggregated at the area level. To obtain values that match the spatial units of the health data, observations can be averaged directly or prediction models developed. We present a framework for evaluating the error in aggregating exposure concentrations to the area unit. We present estimators of mean squared error that can be used for model selection. We find that exposure prediction models, even when misspecified, outperform monitor averages in settings with realistic numbers of monitors and that important reductions in error of the health effect estimate can be obtained when restricting to areas with a monitor. In an analysis of long‐term particulate matter concentrations across the United States, we estimated the error of the prediction model approach to be less than that of the monitor averaging approach on average across counties. We present health effect estimates about particulate matter exposure and pediatric asthma morbidity in the Medicaid population using each approach. Our findings support the use of a prediction model for estimating area‐wide averages, even when restricting to areas that contain a monitor.
Elusive alliance: the German occupation of Poland in World War I: by Jesse Kauffman, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 2015, 320 pp., $36.00 (hbk), ISBN 978-0-6742-8601-6

Over 50 years after the publication of Germany’s Aims in the First World War by Fritz Fischer, historians continue to debate Germany’s ambitions in the Great War and continuities between the two wo...
Toward a Comprehensive Model of Snow Crystal Growth: 7. Ice Attachment Kinetics near -2 C

I examine a variety snow crystal growth experiments performed at temperatures near -2 C, as a function of supersaturation, background gas pressure, and crystal morphology. Although the different experimental data were obtained using quite diverse experimental techniques, the resulting measurements can all be reasonably understood using a single comprehensive physical model for the basal and prism attachment kinetics, together with particle diffusion of water vapor through the surrounding medium and other well-understood physical processes. As with the previous paper in this series, comparing and reconciling different data sets at a single temperature yields significant insights into the underlying physical processes that govern snow crystal growth dynamics.
Infant Sound Classification on Multi-stage CNNs with Hybrid Features and Prior Knowledge

We propose an approach of generating a hybrid feature set and using prior knowledge in a multi-stage CNNs for robust infant sound classification. The dominant and auxiliary features within the set are beneficial to enlarge the coverage as well as keeping a good resolution for modeling the diversity of variations within infant sound. The novel multi-stage CNNs method work together with prior knowledge constraints in decision making to overcome the limited data problem in infant sound classification. Prior knowledge either from rules or from statistical results provides a good guidance for searching and classification. The effectiveness of proposed method is evaluated on commonly used Dustan Baby Language Database and Baby Chillanto Database. It gives an encouraging reduction of 4.14% absolute classification error rate compared with the results from the best model using one-stage CNN. In addition, on Baby Chillanto Database, a significant absolute error reduction of 5.33% is achieved compared to one-stage CNN and it outperforms all other existing related studies.
May the Work I Have Done Speak for Me

In January of 2019 I received the AAPT Melba Phillips award. The award provided me the opportunity to reflect on the many programs in which I had participated and the outstanding AAPT leaders that I had the privilege to know. Those reflections are represented in the following narrative that I delivered at the AAPT Winter Meeting in Houston. I will tell you a few short stories about working with these individuals. (There is a theme to these stories: working together, we can accomplish much more than any individual effort.)
Ambulatory Care Fragmentation and Subsequent Hospitalization: Evidence From the REGARDS Study

Background Previous studies have suggested that highly fragmented ambulatory care increases the risk of subsequent hospitalization, but those studies used claims only and were not able to adjust for many clinical potential confounders. Objective The objective of this study was to determine the association between fragmented ambulatory care and subsequent hospitalization, adjusting for demographics, medical conditions, medications, health behaviors, psychosocial variables, and physiological variables. Design Longitudinal analysis of data (2003-2016) from the nationwide REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, linked to Medicare fee-for-service claims. Subjects A total of 12,693 Medicare beneficiaries 65 years and older from the REGARDS study who had at least 4 ambulatory visits in the first year of observation and did not have a hospitalization in the prior year. Measures We defined high fragmentation as a reversed Bice-Boxerman score above the 75th percentile. We used Cox proportional hazards models to determine the association between fragmentation as a time-varying exposure and incident hospitalization in the 3 months following each exposure period. Results The mean age was 70.4 years; 54% were women, and 33% were African American. During the first year of observation, participants with high fragmentation had a median of 8 ambulatory visits with 6 providers, whereas participants with low fragmentation had a median of 7 visits with 3 providers. Over 11.8 years of follow-up, 6947 participants (55%) had a hospitalization. High fragmentation was associated with an increased hazard of hospitalization (adjusted hazard ratio=1.18; 95% confidence interval: 1.12, 1.24). Conclusion Highly fragmented ambulatory care is an independent risk factor for hospitalization.
From Geometry to Topology: Inverse Theorems for Distributed Persistence.

What is the "right" topological invariant of a large point cloud X? Prior research has focused on estimating the full persistence diagram of X, a quantity that is very expensive to compute, unstable to outliers, and far from a sufficient statistic. We therefore propose that the correct invariant is not the persistence diagram of X, but rather the collection of persistence diagrams of many small subsets. This invariant, which we call "distributed persistence," is trivially parallelizable, more stable to outliers, and has a rich inverse theory. The map from the space of point clouds (with the quasi-isometry metric) to the space of distributed persistence invariants (with the Hausdorff-Bottleneck distance) is a global quasi-isometry. This is a much stronger property than simply being injective, as it implies that the inverse of a small neighborhood is a small neighborhood, and is to our knowledge the only result of its kind in the TDA literature. Moreover, the quasi-isometry bounds depend on the size of the subsets taken, so that as the size of these subsets goes from small to large, the invariant interpolates between a purely geometric one and a topological one. Lastly, we note that our inverse results do not actually require considering all subsets of a fixed size (an enormous collection), but a relatively small collection satisfying certain covering properties that arise with high probability when randomly sampling subsets. These theoretical results are complemented by two synthetic experiments demonstrating the use of distributed persistence in practice.
30-Day Readmissions and Coordination of Care Following Endoscopic Transsphenoidal Pituitary Surgery: Experience with 409 Patients

Objective The study aimed to (1) quantify readmission rates and common causes of readmission following endoscopic transsphenoidal pituitary surgery (ETPS); (2) identify risk factors that may predict readmission within 30 days; (3) assess postoperative care coordination with endocrinology follow-up; and (4) identify patients for whom targeted interventions may reduce 30-day readmissions. Methods Retrospective quality improvement review of patients with pituitary adenoma who underwent ETPS from December 2010 to 2018 at a single tertiary care center. Results A total of 409 patients were included in the study, of which 57 (13.9%) were readmitted within 30 days. Hyponatremia was the most common cause of readmission (4.2%) followed by pain/headache (3.9%), cerebrospinal fluid leak (3.4%), epistaxis (2.7%), hypernatremia (1.2%), and adrenal insufficiency (1.2%). Patients with hyponatremia were readmitted significantly earlier than other causes (4.3 ± 2.2 vs. 10.6 ± 10.9 days from discharge, p = 0.032). Readmitted patients had significantly less frequent outpatient follow-up with an endocrinologist than the nonreadmitted cohort (56.1 vs. 70.5%, p = 0.031). Patients who had outpatient follow-up with an endocrinologist were at lower risk of readmission compared with those without (odds ratio: 0.46; 95% confidence interval: 0.24–0.88). Conclusion Delayed hyponatremia is one of the most common causes of 30-day readmission following ETPS. Postoperative follow-up with an endocrinologist may reduce risk of 30-day readmission following ETPS. Implications for Clinical Practice A multidisciplinary team incorporating otolaryngologist, neurosurgeons, and endocrinologist may identify patients at risk of 30-day readmissions. Protocols checking serum sodium within 1 week of surgery in conjunction with endocrinologist to tailor fluid restriction may reduce readmissions from delayed hyponatremia.
How Do College Students with Disabilities Feel About Taking COVID-19 Vaccines?

This survey explores attitudes of 245 currently enrolled college students with disabilities regarding their comfort taking a COVID-19 vaccine. Results suggest most college students with disabilities are willing to take a COVID-19 vaccine if their institution requires it to return to campus in subsequent semesters. However, many students with disabilities would not feel comfortable with a vaccine mandate mid-semester and would consider withdrawing, especially among older students with disabilities and first-generation college students with disabilities. Implications for postsecondary policy and leadership are addressed.
WARFARIN METABOLISM - A PROBE OF PURIFIED RAT LIVER CYTOCHROMES P-450

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses warfarin metabolism and presents the results of a probe of purified rat liver cytochromes P-450. In a study described in the chapter, racemic warfarin was resolved and the warfarin metabolites were synthesized. The cytochromes were purified from livers of male Sprague Dawley rats (100–125 g), which were untreated (UT) or induced with PB or MC. The procedures for the separation and purification of the cytochromes have been described and the preparations used in that study were from untreated rats (UT-A, UT-C), PB-induced rats (PB-B, PB-C), and MC-induced rats (MC-A, MC-B). NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase was prepared from rat liver microsomes. Cytochromes, P-450 PB-B and MC-B, were used to raise antibodies in female New Zealand rabbits. The results revealed that UT-A and UT-C yielded different patterns of metabolites. UT-A showed no regioselectivity, while UT-C was clearly regioselective for 7-hydroxywarfarin. UT-A demonstrated no stereoselectivity, while UT-C was stereoselective for S-warfarin. UT-A was threefold more active than UT-C in overall rates.
Multiphoton Multielectron Excitation and Ionization of H2

Considerable discussion and controversy has concerned the interaction of short pulse radiation with atoms.1-5 Are they best explained as processes occurring in steps, or as collective phenomena? These arguments were triggered by recent measurements in which a 0.5 ps pulse of 192 nm laser radiation was focused on Xe producing similar numbers of both singly and multiply stripped ions.2 Collective emission occurring on a time scale of 1 fs was originally postulated to explain this abundance of multiply ionized Xe, but later theoretical study concluded that successive stripping of single electrons was the dominant mechanism.5
Eukaryotic signal peptide structure/function relationships: identification of conformational features which influence the site and efficiency of co-translational proteolytic processing by site-directed mutagenesis of human pre(Δpro)apolipoprotein A-II

Abstract The structural features which influence the efficiency and site of cleavage by eukaryotic signal peptidase have not been fully defined. Human pre(delta pro) apolipoprotein A-II is a useful model system for such an analysis. We have recently shown that a panel of mutants which have amino acids of varying physical-chemical properties substituted for the -1 residue (Ala20) of its signal peptide exhibit cleavage at one of three potential sites or, in some cases, bidirected cleavage (Folz, R. J., Nothwehr, S. F., and Gordon, J. I. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 2070-2078). In this present study, a subset of the pre(delta pro)Xaa20apoA-II mutants were used to identify conformational features, located COOH-terminal to the hydrophobic core domain, which regulate its cotranslational translocation and proteolytic processing. Proline residues were substituted at positions 13, 14, or 15 in ten of the original position 20 mutant preproteins in order to induce formation of a beta-turn structure at various positions upstream of the cleavage site. The effects of these mutations were assessed using an in vitro transcription/translation/microsome processing assay. Substitution of proline at position 13 resulted in a dramatic decrease in processing efficiency in all Xaa20 sequence contexts, while processing progressively increased when the proline was moved "downstream" to positions 14 and 15. Elongating the hydrophobic core of the Pro13 mutants by 1 residue reversed this effect. NH2-terminal sequence analysis of 34 co-translationally processed mutants revealed that the optimum distance between the site of proline introduction and the site of co-translational cleavage was 4-5 residues. However, this distance could be altered by the presence of certain amino acids at positions -1 and -3. The data suggest that several structural motifs NH2-terminal to residues -1 and -3 influence the location, site, and efficiency of cleavage by eukaryotic signal peptidase. These include specifically the length of the hydrophobic core, the location of beta-turns relative to the COOH terminus of this core domain, as well as the physical-chemical properties of amino acids at potential cleavage sites.