cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comments on Stuart et al.’s “Genetic Associations With Intimate Partner Violence in a Sample of Hazardous Drinking Men in Batterer Intervention Programs”

Stuart et al. correlate genetic characteristics of men in batterer intervention programs with their level of intimate partner violence (IPV). In this commentary, I address the generality of the results in light of the characteristics of the participants, speculate about possible effects of current and future genetic and biological research on potential consumers of such research, and place this research in the context on an ongoing criticism of batterer intervention programs by various constituents.
In Search of Hypothalamic Hormones

I was fortunate to be born into an intellectual family since my father was on the faculty at Rice Institute and my mother had taken graduate work in French. Furthermore, my grandfather, although not formally trained, took a lively interest in natural phenomena. For whatever reason, I early developed an interest in science and did a great deal of reading, first in astronomy and later in paleontology and ichthyology. I was particularly fascinated by the book called Backyard Exploration and used an old microscope to study organisms in pond water. I also chased butterflies and kept tropical fish. At various stages, I was interested in a career in mathematics, physics, and chemistry, but by the time I had reached college I had more or less settled on biochemistry as my major interest.
Mediation of Adult Age Differences in Cognition by Reductions in Working Memory and Speed of Processing

Three studies, involving a total of 672 adults between 20 and 84 years of age, were conducted to evaluate the relative importance of working memory and perceptual comparison speed in the age-related differences in selected measures of cognitive functioning. The same measures of working memory and comparison speed were used in each study, but the studies differed in the specific cognitive measures examined. A common finding across all studies was that the magnitude of the age-related cognitive differences was greatly reduced by statistically controlling measures of working memory and perceptual comparison speed. Many of the age differences in process or fluid aspects of cognition therefore appear to be mediated by age-related reductions in working memory, which may in turn be largely mediated by age-related reductions in the speed of executing simple processing operations.
Next Generation Wellness: A Technology Model for Personalizing Healthcare

Personalization or individualization of care is essential to the behavioral modifications and lifestyle changes that result in patient wellness (for good health or chronic disease management). The implementation of effective personalized care is hampered by the lack of reliable means to collect and process real-time data on individual contexts (preferences, constraints) and on adherence to care protocols and mechanisms to provide timely, customized cognitive coaching that is structured, consistent and informative to users.
A Property Rights Approach to Sacred Sites Cases: Asserting a Place for Indians as Non-Owners

Although the Free Exercise Clause prohibits governmental interference with religion, American Indians have been unsuccessful in challenging government actions that harm tribal sacred sites located on federal public lands. The First Amendment dimensions of these cases have been well studied by scholars, but this Article contends that it is also important to analyze them through a property law lens. Indeed, the Supreme Court has treated the federal government's ownership of public lands as a basis for denying Indian religious freedoms claims. This Article contends that such holdings rely on an ownership model of property law wherein the rights of the owner trump all other interests and values. As scholars have argued, however, the ownership model represents a view of property law that is neither descriptively accurate nor normatively attractive. In theory and practice, property law also recognizes the rights of nonowners in furtherance of human values and social relations. Accordingly, this Article contends that, even as nonowners, Indians may have enforceable property rights to use, and maintain the physical integrity of, sacred sites. Examining sacred sites problems through common law, federal Indian law, public lands law, and human rights law, the Article identifies and analyzes property rights arguments that may be available to Indian litigants even where the government is the undisputed owner of the land. While this approach will not secure Indian religious freedoms in every case, the Article concludes that Indian nations should consider property rights arguments as part of a multipronged legal strategy in sacred sites cases.
Structural plasticity: how intermetallics deform themselves in response to chemical pressure, and the complex structures that result.

Interfaces between periodic domains play a crucial role in the properties of metallic materials, as is vividly illustrated by the way in which the familiar malleability of many metals arises from the formation and migration of dislocations. In complex intermetallics, such interfaces can occur as an integral part of the ground-state crystal structure, rather than as defects, resulting in such marvels as the NaCd2 structure (whose giant cubic unit cell contains more than 1000 atoms). However, the sources of the periodic interfaces in intermetallics remain mysterious, unlike the dislocations in simple metals, which can be associated with the exertion of physical stresses. In this Article, we propose and explore the concept of structural plasticity, the hypothesis that interfaces in complex intermetallic structures similarly result from stresses, but ones that are inherent in a defect-free parent structure, rather than being externally applied. Using DFT-chemical pressure analysis, we show how the complex str...
Fecal Contamination and Diarrheal Pathogens on Surfaces and in Soils among Tanzanian Households with and without Improved Sanitation

Little is known about the extent or pattern of environmental fecal contamination among households using low-cost, on-site sanitation facilities, or what role environmental contamination plays in the transmission of diarrheal disease. A microbial survey of fecal contamination and selected diarrheal pathogens in soil (n = 200), surface (n = 120), and produce samples (n = 24) was conducted in peri-urban Bagamoyo, Tanzania, among 20 households using private pit latrines. All samples were analyzed for E. coli and enterococci. A subset was analyzed for enterovirus, rotavirus, norovirus GI, norovirus GII, diarrheagenic E. coli, and general and human-specific Bacteroidales fecal markers using molecular methods. Soil collected from the house floor had significantly higher concentrations of E. coli and enterococci than soil collected from the latrine floor. There was no significant difference in fecal indicator bacteria levels between households using pit latrines with a concrete slab (improved sanitation) versus t...
A Quality Control System and Its Application to Clinical Chemistry

A quality control system is presented that involves the Quality Control Log for documenting data, decisions, and corrective actions. It emphasizes the use of the Calibration Work Record, cusum, and comparison of means to monitor acute and chronic drift and method bias. It introduces clinically useful limits criteria for efficient and cost-effective quality control.
Soviet Role in the Regional Dynamics

The strategic environment in Asia from 1960 to 1965 underwent a radical transformation, affecting South Asia in particular. The regional dynamics, reflecting historical antagonisms and territorial claims and mutual fears generated by the lopsided distribution of power between India and Pakistan, spawned substantial changes in the foreign policies of the regional states and more so in the bilateral relations of India and Pakistan. The festering antagonism between India and Pakistan provided the Soviet Union diplomatic opportunities to court India and Afghanistan assiduously, while the strategically-located Pakistan throughout the late 1940s and 1950s refused to maintain even ‘normal friendly’ relations with the USSR.
Technotes: Back to the Future

BACK in 1997 when the Web was per haps three years old, the Council on Social Work Education's (CSWE) Annual Program Meeting (APM) Tech Commit tee printed paper bookmarks listing ma jor websites for social work educators. Those were exciting times. New resources were emerging daily and it was difficult to keep up. Early search engines such as Magellan and WebCrawler were arcane and often produced bizarre results— some still do. URLs were discovered by accident and informally circulated among friends and colleagues through emails and phone calls. The committee, the APM poster participants, the National Asso ciation of Social Workers Technology Center, and the Association of Baccalau reate Social Work Program Directors Technology Committee came up with a list of 73 resources for social work educa tion. Wow—seventy-three! These were printed onto canary card stock and 3,000 copies were distributed at the APM in Chicago. The little yellow bookmarks survived six hours. People were grabbing them by the handful. The contents of those early websites were often primitive. Contributors gen erally paid scant attention to substance in favor of interactivity in their rush to get something on the Web. It was the era of flashing stars pointing to few resources which were sometimes of questionable worth. Design conventions such as hav ing consistent background colors had not evolved, and surfers were often left wondering if they were still in the same website. Credibility was frequently a mat ter of blind faith.
Hackathon Planning and Participation Strategies for Non-Techie Librarians

Column description. Special Libraries, Special Challenges is a column dedicated to exploring the unique public services challenges that arise in libraries that specialize in a particular subject, such as law, medicine, business, and so forth. In each column, the author will discuss public service dilemmas and opportunities arise in special libraries. Special or subject-matter librarians interested in authoring a piece for this column are invited to contact Ilana Stonebraker.
Methodological considerations when conducting in vitro, air-liquid interface exposures to engineered nanoparticle aerosols.

AbstractLittle consistency exists in the methodology for toxicological testing of aerosolized nanoparticles used in in vitro, air-interfaced culture (AIC) exposure systems for engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) risk-assessment, preventing inter-laboratory comparisons to identify dose thresholds for adverse effects. These inconsistencies result from heterogeneity in particle types, exposure durations, exposure systems, and dose metrics reported. We screened 10,241 studies in the literature for toxicological assessment of ENPs, resulting in 110 publications included after meeting eligibility criteria. In this review, we critically analyzed methodology within these studies to answer whether: (1) the administered dose or the deposited dose correlated better with biological response, (2) a difference existed between various AIC exposure systems when depositing the same dose, (3) consistent results were generated for nanomaterials with similar physico-chemical properties, (4) the deposited dose in vitro correlated...
An unsupervised machine learning model for discovering latent infectious diseases using social media data

Abstract Introduction The authors of this work propose an unsupervised machine learning model that has the ability to identify real-world latent infectious diseases by mining social media data. In this study, a latent infectious disease is defined as a communicable disease that has not yet been formalized by national public health institutes and explicitly communicated to the general public. Most existing approaches to modeling infectious-disease-related knowledge discovery through social media networks are top-down approaches that are based on already known information, such as the names of diseases and their symptoms. In existing top-down approaches, necessary but unknown information, such as disease names and symptoms, is mostly unidentified in social media data until national public health institutes have formalized that disease. Most of the formalizing processes for latent infectious diseases are time consuming. Therefore, this study presents a bottom-up approach for latent infectious disease discovery in a given location without prior information, such as disease names and related symptoms. Methods Social media messages with user and temporal information are extracted during the data preprocessing stage. An unsupervised sentiment analysis model is then presented. Users’ expressions about symptoms, body parts, and pain locations are also identified from social media data. Then, symptom weighting vectors for each individual and time period are created, based on their sentiment and social media expressions. Finally, latent-infectious-disease-related information is retrieved from individuals’ symptom weighting vectors. Datasets and results Twitter data from August 2012 to May 2013 are used to validate this study. Real electronic medical records for 104 individuals, who were diagnosed with influenza in the same period, are used to serve as ground truth validation. The results are promising, with the highest precision, recall, and F1 score values of 0.773, 0.680, and 0.724, respectively. Conclusion This work uses individuals’ social media messages to identify latent infectious diseases, without prior information, quicker than when the disease(s) is formalized by national public health institutes. In particular, the unsupervised machine learning model using user, textual, and temporal information in social media data, along with sentiment analysis, identifies latent infectious diseases in a given location.
Not saving or psychology, or science, but a new liberalism: a reply to Gaus, Goldstone, Baker, Amadae, and Mokyr

The reply to five reviews of Bourgeois equality in a symposium in EJPE observes that all the reviewers admit the great force of ideas in causing the Great Enrichment. Materialism is dead. Liberalism reigns.
Generation of signaling molecules by de novo sphingolipid synthesis

Sphingolipids are abundant components of cellular membranes in eukaryotic cells as well as potent signaling molecules. De novo sphingolipid biosynthesis begins with condensation of L-serine and palmitoyl-CoA, generating sphingoid bases, ceramide, and other species through a series of reactions. Ceramide can also be formed from free sphingoid bases, which has been termed the’ salvage’ pathway. Sphingolipids from both the de novo and salvage pathways increase with exposure of yeast or mammals to various stimuli such as Fas ligands, chemotherapeutic drugs, tumor necrosis factor-γ and heat stress, and then act as lipid second messengers mediating inflammatory responses, senescence, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis or stress responses. Therefore, generation of signaling molecules by de novo synthesis and/or salvage accounts not only for homeostasis, but also for several disorders resulting from aberrant sphingolipid accumulation or depletion.
A Comparison of the Role of Hospital Chief Executive Officers in Freestanding Hospitals and Multi-Hospital Systems

In the past decade, the growth of multi-hospital systems has altered the face of the U.S. health services delivery system. Defined as “some form of corporate organization which is responsible for the executive management and/or policy for two or more owned, leased or managed hospitals,” these systems accounted for only 24% of the total number of the U.S. hospitals in 1975. (Zuckerman 1982) Currently, 33 percent of all non-federal community hospitals in the U.S. are in some type of multi-unit system. By 1986, nearly 70 percent of the U.S. hospitals will be assimilated into systems. (Brown 1982)
A green, facile, and rapid method for microextraction and Raman detection of titanium dioxide nanoparticles from milk powder

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been widely used as a common ingredient in numerous food products. Recently, the analysis of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) has attracted increasing attention due to potential risks to human health and the environment. Herein, we present a green, facile, and rapid method using flavonoid-assisted microextraction and Raman spectroscopy for TiO2 NPs (anatase, 21 nm) detection in real food samples. Flavonoids can bind onto TiO2 NPs, enabling the microextraction of the particles by ethyl acetate and sodium chloride. The extracted TiO2 NPs concentrate at the interlayer and are easily removed for analysis by Raman spectroscopy. By taking advantage of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), we evaluated and selected the best binding flavonoid, myricetin (MYC) bound onto TiO2 NPs, and were able to achieve detection at concentrations as low as 0.2 mg L−1 TiO2 NPs in water. The method was successfully challenged in the presence of various interferences from common food components and different pH conditions. The recoveries determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) ranged from 66.6% to 88.3%. More important, the method showed good capability for the extraction and quantification of TiO2 NPs from infant milk powder dilutions. As flavonoids, ethyl acetate, and sodium chloride have low toxicity and are relatively abundant in the environment, this may be considered a green approach for TiO2 NP extraction and detection. The developed method in this study holds great potential for rapid (<1 h) detection of TiO2 NPs from food products.
The segmentation of the foodstuff market in the České Budějovice district

The segmentation of the market is a corner stone of the marketing management. The principal is the choice of the homogeneous groups of the customers. We made the research by the public inquiry between tire respondents in the Ceske Budějovice district for the specification of the some non-price criterions of the segments. We tried to find if the respondents choose the foodstuff according the sonic principles and what is the main reason for it. 126 respondents from 140 choose the foodstuff according the some system (it is 90 %). The respondents choose the foodstuff mainly according the taste, than they prefer white meal and keep from the foodstuff containing white sugar or salt and or food from tins. The reason for this system of choice is it that the respondents try to be slim and try not to burden their organism.
Analysis of roles in engaging contentious online discussions in science

The prevalence of sites in which users can contribute content increases ordinary citizens' participation in emerging forms of knowledge sharing. This article investigates the practices associated with the roles of participants who actively contribute to the coproduction of knowledge in three online communities and how these roles differ in controversial and noncontroversial threads. The Measles, Mumps, and Rubella MMR vaccine was selected as a contentious scientific topic because of persistent belief about an alleged link between the vaccine and autism. Contributions to three online communities that engage mothers with young children were analyzed to identify participant roles. No consistent roles were evident in noncontroversial threads, but the role of mediator consistently appeared in controversial threads in all three communities. This study helps to articulate the roles played in online communities that engage in knowledge collaboration. The variety of roles in online communities has implications for both the study for practice and the design of information technologies.
Primary Urinary Bladder Osteosarcoma in a Dog.

Summary A 13-year-old, female Welsh corgi had a clinical history of haematuria and cystitis for 2–3 months. A 4 × 3 × 2 cm mass was excised surgically from the apex of the urinary bladder. A primary urinary bladder osteosarcoma was diagnosed histologically. Primary urinary bladder osteosarcoma is a rare tumour in man and animals. To the author's knowledge, there is no previously published report of a primary canine urinary bladder osteosarcoma.
A Dual-Mode circularly-polarized microstrip antenna

A circularly-polarized (CP) microstrip antenna with both large impedance bandwidth and large circular polarization bandwidth is proposed. The antenna consists of two dual-mode nearly-square sub-patches that are each optimized to achieve maximum bandwidth. The two sub-patches are then used to construct an overall CP antenna.
Marital Text: A Feasibility Study

Face-to-face prevention-focused relationship education programs have generally been efficacious in improving couples’ communication and relationship satisfaction. Computer-based interventions have ...
K3 Surfaces Over Number Fields with Geometric Picard Number One

If d is an even positive integer, the generic complex K3 surface of degree d has Picard number one. However, because \(\overline {\Bbb Q} \) is countable it is not a priori obvious that there exists such a K3 surface defined over a number field. We prove that for every d, there exists a number field K and a K3 surface X/K which has geometric Picard number one.
Bone Demineralization Following Ureterosigmoid Anastomosis: An Experimental Study in Rats

This study was designed to examine the renal and bony metabolic responses to urinary diversion through intestinal segments. Twenty rats underwent urinary diversion by ureterosigmoidostomy and were compared to twenty control rats with respect to renal excretion of electrolytes and bone mineralization after a 10-week period. Ureterosigmoidostomy rats demonstrated increased renal excretion of ammonium, sulfate, magnesium, and possibly phosphorus. Bone calcium content was decreased in ureterosigmoidostomy rats, while bone phosphorus content was slightly increased. These changes occurred in the absence of systemic acid-base alterations. We are unable to demonstrate an increased renal loss of calcium in the ureterosigmoidostomy rats compared to controls. This suggests that decreased renal reabsorption of urinary calcium is not the primary pathophysiologic process involved in this problem.
Dissociation of Macroglobulins with 2-Mercaptoethanol

Deutsch and Morton (1957) reported that sulfhydryl compounds, such as 2-mercaptoethanol, are able to dissociate IgM macroglobulins, thus reducing their 19 S sedimentation constants to 6.5 S, The reactivity of the IgM with the corresponding antigens is also abolished. The breakdown products of the dissociated macroglobulins will be recombined if the 2-mercaptoethanol is removed by dialysis, but the conformation of the reaggregated macromolecules is said to be different from the native globulin. This recombination may be prevented by the addition of SH-blocking agents such as iodoacetate to the phosphate buffer in which the dialysis of the 2-mercaptoethanol and macroglobulin mixture is carried out.
Cost-Effectiveness of Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common supraventricular tachyarrhythmia encountered in clinical practice. The incidence and prevalence of this arrhythmia continue to rise. Strategies for the management of atrial fibrillation include rate or rhythm control. Rhythm control can be attempted pharmacologically, surgically, or more recently by the use of catheter ablation. Catheter ablation of AF is now a widely accepted and practiced treatment modality. The cost-effectiveness of this technique hinges on procedural success rates, complication rates, up-front costs, and the stroke risk in the treatment population. There have been several studies of the cost-effectiveness of catheter ablation of AF compared with pharmacological management. Most of these studies projected a time horizon of at least 5 years before catheter ablation becomes cost-effective. As techniques become more uniform and widespread, the efficacy is likely to increase, with a reduction in complication rate, leading to a reduced time horizon for making this procedure cost-effective. A prospective, randomized, multicenter study is required to definitively establish the cost-effectiveness of this procedure.
Single-Layer Slow-Wave Substrate Integrated Waveguide with Enhanced Capacitance

In this paper, a novel slow-wave transmission line structure substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) is proposed and investigated. The slow-wave effect is achieved by the enhanced capacitance between the signal trace grid and periodic grounded patches on the same top layer. Such slow-wave effect can provide more than 40% size reduction in lateral dimension compared with the conventional SIW with the same cutoff frequency. At the same time, the longitudinal dimension can also be reduced by more than 40%. To demonstrate its applications, two-pole bandpass filters (BPF) built from conventional SIW and proposed slow-wave SIW (SW-SIW) are compared through simulations and experiments. The BPF implemented with SW-SIW reduces the size by 58.8%. Its measured unloaded quality factor $(Q_{u})$ is up to 120.2.
Utilizing Brightness Temperature Histograms for Microwave Radiometer High Frequency (150–183 GHz) Calibration

Spaceborne microwave radiometers with high frequency channels (150 – 183 GHz) are important for retrieving many geophysical parameters such as snowfall, ice water path, and atmospheric water vapor profiles. In order to obtain accurate retrievals from the brightness temperature measurements, the radiometers must be properly calibrated. Several methods have been developed to analyze the on-orbit calibration, including comparisons with radiative transfer models, comparisons with radiosonde profiles, and cross-calibration with similar radiometers. This paper introduces a new method to calibrate high frequency channels that utilizes TB histograms. This new method gives an independent approach that can be used by itself to analyze radiometer calibration or in conjunction with other methods to corroborate results.
understanding Cache Policy to Evaluate Write Performance with Hierarchical Hardware

First, it briefly introduces the status of write-optimized distributed file system, focuses on the issues related to write optimization, and then introduces write-optimized full-stack cache acceleration and related technology of storage tiering, followed by full-stack cache acceleration in SSD Cache. Accelerated technology was introduced in detail, and the performance advantages were further demonstrated through comparative testing, from the above data, we can clearly see that using the Flash cache, the flash cache of the four nodes is 64% lower than the SATA hard disk processing time. Finally, the challenges that may be faced in the future research work were prospected.
Lens Dose-Response Prediction Modeling and Cataract Incidence in Patients With Retinoblastoma After Lens-Sparing or Whole-Eye Radiation Therapy.

Purpose We retrospectively assessed the incidence of cataracts in patients with retinoblastoma (Rb) treated with either lens-sparing radiation therapy (LSRT) or whole-eye radiation therapy (WERT). A secondary aim of this study was to model the dose-response risk of cataract. Methods and Materials We reviewed 65 patients with Rb treated with radiation therapy (RT) at Children's Hospital, Los Angeles from 1997 to 2015. Eyes that were enucleated before RT or lacked follow-up eye examinations were excluded. All patients underwent computed tomography simulation, and mean lens dose data were collected. Follow-up ophthalmologic examinations and intraocular lens implant history were reviewed for cataracts. The primary event-free survival (EFS) outcome was cataract development. Eyes without cataracts were censored on the last date of eye examination or post-RT enucleation, if applicable. Kaplan-Meier estimates were used to compare EFS outcomes, and dose response was projected with Cox regression and logistic regression models. Results Sixty-one patients (94 eyes) were analyzed with a median follow-up of 51.8 months. For eyes treated with WERT, cataracts developed in 71.7% versus 35.3% for LSRT. Median EFS for WERT and LSRT were 20.8 and 67.9 months, respectively. Compared with WERT, a significant EFS benefit was demonstrated for LSRT (P Conclusions We report the first clinical data demonstrating significantly improved EFS in patients with Rb treated with LSRT. Through lens dose-response modeling, we validate a mean lens dose threshold of 7 Gy to keep cataract risk below 25%. Although RT is used less often for Rb owing to advances in chemotherapy delivery options, these findings are relevant for refining lens dose constraints, particularly in children who have received radiation dose near the orbit.
Design and results of a smartphone-based digital phenotyping study to quantify ALS progression.

Objective The amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) trial outcome measures are clinic based. Active and passive smartphone data can provide important longitudinal information about ALS progression outside the clinic. Methods We used Beiwe, a research platform for smartphone-based digital phenotyping, to collect active (self-report ALSFRS-R surveys and speech recordings) and passive (phone sensors and logs) data from patients with ALS for approximately 24 weeks. In clinics, at baseline and every 3 months, we collected vital capacity, ALSFRS-R, and ALS-CBS at enrollment, week 12, and week 24. We also collected ALSFRS-R by telephone at week 6. Results Baseline in-clinic ALSFRS-R and smartphone self-report correlation was 0.93 (P < 0.001). ALSFRS-R slopes were equivalent and within-subject standard deviation was smaller for smartphone-based self-report (0.26 vs. 0.56). Use of Beiwe afforded weekly collection of speech samples amenable to a variety of analyses, and we found mean pause time to increase by 0.02 sec per month across the sample. Interpretation Smartphone-based digital phenotyping in people with ALS is feasible and informative. Self-administered smartphone ALSFRS-R scores correlate highly with clinic-based ALSFRS-R scores, have low variability, and could be used in clinical trials. More research is required to fully analyze speech recordings and passive data, and to identify optimal digital markers for use in future ALS clinical trials.
Infiltration of Water into Nonuniform Soil

A simplified procedure for calculating infiltration into soil of nonuniform water content or hydraulic conductivity, or both, is presented. The procedure is based on the Green and Ampt model of piston flow. Input data consist of the difference in water content before and after wetting, the hydraulic conductivity after wetting, and the water entry value of the soil. Techniques for measuring these parameters in the field are briefly described. The procedure is applied to calculate infiltration-time relationships for flood irrigation of a coarse-textured and a fine-textured soil, and to evaluate the effect of nonuniform inundation time on irrigation efficiency. The results show that the usual recommendation of allowing an inundation-time difference of not more than 25% of the time required for the desired amount of water to infiltrate into soil can give irrigation efficiencies of 90% or more. Thus, larger differences in inundation time can be allowed in practice, particularly if the hydraulic conductivity of the soil decreases with depth.
Degree Reduction of B-Spline Curves

This work deals with the problem of degree reducing a B-spline curve without intermediate conversion to Bezier form. Degree elevation for B-spline curves may easily be described in blossom form. We also use blossoms for the degree reduction problem, and set up least squares problems for finding the B-spline coefficients directly. We also give an application to curve fairing.
72-hour Return Quality Improvement (qi) Initiative: Improving the Discharge Process to Decrease Unexpected Returns

Purpose: Unscheduled return visits within 72 hours of discharge account for 4% of pediatric emergency department (ED) visits each year. As many of these visits are considered preventable, 72-hour returns are often used as a quality indicator for ED effectiveness. Objective: To reduce the 72-Hour unexpected return visit rate for a network of ED and Urgent Cares (UC) by improving the ED discharge …
Treatment and outcomes of distal tibia salter harris II fractures.

Abstract Background Distal Salter-Harris (SH) II fractures of the tibia are common injuries in the pediatric population. The purpose of this study is to evaluate our treatment and outcomes of SH II fractures of the distal tibia. Methods The study was approved by the medical school's institutional review board (IRB). Fifty-one distal tibia SH type II fractures were treated from 2003 to 2017. We performed a retrospective review of all patients. Patients with displacement less than 3 mm, on x-ray, were treated with a cast. Patients with displacement greater than or equal to 3 mm displacement were initially treated with closed reduction in the emergency department with conscious sedation. Patients were also categorized based on the mechanism of injury and complications were noted. Patients were followed for an average of 4 months (range, 4 weeks-28 months). Results Fifty-one patients, 28 females and 23 males, were included in the study, with a mean age of 9.4 years (range, 13 months-13 years) at presentation. The most common mechanism of injury was participation in sports (43%). Out of the 51 patients, 45 were minimally displaced and treated with cast. Six displaced fractures were treated with closed reduction. The mean displacement in the closed reduction group at presentation was 5.7 (range, 3- 8.8) mm. Five out of 6 patients had reduction to less than 3 mm. The overall complication rate was 1 out of 51 patients, 2%. When examining displaced fractures, the complication rate was 1 out of 6 patients, 17%. Conclusion Most SH II fractures of the distal tibia are minimally displaced and do not need a reduction. 6/51 cases (12%) in the current study were displaced and were indicated for a reduction. Displacement greater than or equal to 3 mm can be treated with closed reduction followed by a cast; if closed reduction fails, open reduction is indicated. Displaced fractures have a small risk of growth arrest.
Predicting onset of secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis using genetic and non-genetic factors.

Predicting the transition from relapsing–remitting (RR) to secondary-progressive (SP) multiple sclerosis (MS) from early in the disease course is challenging. To construct prediction models for SPMS using sociodemographic and self-reported clinical measures that would be available at/near MS onset, with specific considerations for MS genetic risk factors. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study based on 1295 white, non-Hispanic individuals. Cox proportional hazard prediction models were generated for three censored SPMS outcomes (ever transitioning, transitioning within 10 years, and transitioning within 20 years) using sociodemographic, comorbid health information, symptomatology, and other measures of early disease activity. HLADRB1*15:01 and HLA-A*02:01, as well as a genetic risk score, were iteratively considered in each model. We also explored the relationships for all 200 MS risk variants located outside the major histocompatibility complex. Nomograms were generated for the final prediction models. An older age of MS onset and being male predicted a short latency to SPMS, while a longer interval between the first two relapses predicted a much longer latency. Comorbid conditions and onset symptomatology variably predicted the risk for transitioning to SPMS for each censored outcome. The most notable observation was that HLA-A*02:01, which confers decreased risk for MS, also contributed to decreased hazards for SPMS. These results have the potential to advance prognostication for a person with MS using information available at or near onset, potentially improving care and quality of life for those who live with MS.
19 – Nucleus regeneration

: The intervertebral disc is a complex structure consisting of different tissues (nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus and cartilage endplate) that differ chemically, histologically and physiologically. Its degeneration represents a serious medical problem which affects many people worldwide. Discectomy and spinal fusion compromise the biomechanics of the spine, whilst current disc prostheses do not properly reproduce the static mechanical behaviour, as well as the viscoelastic, transport and biological properties of the natural structure. This clearly stresses the importance of biological approaches to disc repair. Considering the structure-function relationship, biomimetic structures able to mimic the multi-scale structural hierarchy of complex tissues are extremely important for tissue engineering applications. This chapter first describes the structure, anatomy and function of the intervertebral disc, then it briefly introduces the mechanics–biology interrelation. In particular, the chapter underlines the several approaches considered in the field of tissue engineering of annulus, nucleus and entire intervertebral disc, also trying to evidence key functional features. Injectable materials, polymers, electrospun scaffolds and several cell sources are also discussed alone or in combination.
Incomplete lupus syndromes

Abstract Patients who meet less than four criteria using either the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) or the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) sets are generally considered to have incomplete lupus erythematosus (ILE). This is a heterogeneous group of patients with various clinical manifestations including skin rashes, arthritis, Raynaud's phenomenon and cytopenias. It is generally agreed that all ILE patients also have significant ANA positivity, but other more specific serologies are not common. For most ILE patients, the condition is less severe or organ-damaging than in patients with SLE; nephritis and neurologic manifestations are rare. While many ILE patients remain in this unclassified state indefinitely, a subset does progress to full SLE. For these patients ILE is a transitional and early disease phase during which it is possible to modifying environmental risk factors and use medications to improve outcomes. Development of algorithms or biomarkers to identify which ILE patients are most at risk for progression is an area of current investigation.
Evaluating the immunogenicity of carbohydrate mimotopes and synthetic conjugates

5109 Carbohydrate mimetic peptides (CMPs) are promising immunogens to generate memory type IgM and IgG responses to tumor associated carbohydrate antigens (TACA). Here we examine boosting of CMP-primed immune responses by KLH-conjugated LeY carbohydrate to improve the end-point titer of the cross-reactive IgG. Following immunization, antiserum was tested against LeY-PAA or LeY-expressing human breast cancer cells by ELISA and flow cytometry, respectively. A single immunization with LeY-KLH did not induce any IgG or IgM responses. A short-lived IgG response with higher endpoint titer was observed in LeY-KLH immunized mice, as compared with CMP immunization. However, the endpoint titer of conjugate vaccine dropped quickly, while CMP-immunized serum showed a more stable low titer response. The data suggest that CMPs prime the immune system for a memory IgM or IgG responses. Boosting of CMP-primed mice with LeY-KLH boosted IgG and IgM cross-reactive responses. The results suggest that CMPs have broader specificity than synthetic antigens and may be more promising immunogens in carbohydrate-targeting vaccine development.
Initial hearing preservation outcomes of cochlear implantation with a slim perimodiolar electrode array.

To assess the slim modiolar array as a hearing preservation electrode.Retrospective chart review of adult, post-lingual CI recipients implanted with slim modiolar array Sept 2016 to July 2017 in a ...
Inversion and Symmetries of the Star Transform

The star transform is a generalized Radon transform mapping a function of two variables to its integrals along “star-shaped” trajectories, which consist of a finite number of rays emanating from a common vertex. Such operators appear in mathematical models of various imaging modalities based on scattering of elementary particles. The paper presents a comprehensive study of the inversion of the star transform. We describe the necessary and sufficient conditions for invertibility of the star transform, introduce a new inversion formula and discuss its stability properties. As an unexpected bonus of our approach, we prove a conjecture from algebraic geometry about the zero sets of elementary symmetric polynomials.
Consumo proteínico y desarrollo cultural en la cuenca amazónica

Este articulo examina la propuesta de que la disponibilidad de proteinas animales limita el tamano, la densidad y la permanencia de los asentamientos de las sociedades aborigenes de la cuenca del Amazonas. Los debates anteriores se han centrado principalmente en el potencial agricola. Se presentan evidencias de etnografia y ecologia que sugieren que la pesca y la caza son escasos, particularmente lejos de los principales rios. Nueve sociedades relativamente no cultivadas tienen una ingesta per capita relativamente baja pero probablemente adecuada de proteina animal. Se discuten los efectos que esta limitacion puede tener en la cultura amazonica.
Working the crowd: Leveraging podcasts to enhance crowdfunding success

Abstract Crowdfunding has become an increasingly popular tool for entrepreneurs to solicit public funding from individuals. As its popularity grows, entrepreneurs are seeking to learn more about crowdfunding to improve their chances of success. In this article, we explore how podcasts can offer fresh insights to crowdfunding and serve as an effective tool for entrepreneurs to improve their knowledge and the likelihood that their campaigns are funded. We discuss key insights for entrepreneurs offered by ten popular podcast episodes on crowdfunding. Each episode offers enduring lessons for entrepreneurs interested in launching a campaign and also exemplifies the value that podcasts can potentially offer entrepreneurs.
Towards gallium(III)-catalyzed aldehyde deformylation

Abstract Several gallium(III) salts, most notably GaCl3, were found to serve as mild catalysts for the deformylation of aldehydes to alkenes by H2O2 and base, demonstrating that redox-active transition metals are not strictly required for this sort of reactivity. The identities of the counteranion and solvent strongly influence both the extent of the activity and the incidence of side-products. Although the catalysis has thus far been modest (∼ 3 turnovers), these turnovers occur in under 20 min at 20 °C; the reactivity compares well to that promoted by transition metal peroxo complexes, which require much more time to stoichiometrically convert aldehydes to alkenes and often substantial amounts of ketone side-products.
The Influence of Diet on the Regression of the Walker Carcinosarcoma 256 in Rats

Regression of the Walker carcinosarcoma 256 has been observed in rats inoculated with IO4viable tumor cells. The regression was found to be affected by dietary composition. Tumors in rats fed a commercial laboratory diet (CLD) regressed after a 9-day initial growth period while tumors in rats fed a purified diet high in free fatty acids continued to grow. Diets with 20 % corn oil promoted tumor regression, but rats fed diets containing 20 % free fatty acids from corn oil had tumors that continued to grow. The nonsaponifiable fraction (NSF) of corn oil appeared to promote tumor regression when this fraction was added to diets containing corn oil fatty acids. At the end of the experiment (14 days), the tumors of rats fed a free fatty acid diet weighed 13-17 g. The tumors of rats fed CLD, corn oil diet and the corn oil free fatty acid diet plus the NSF of corn oil weighed 1-5 g. These results indicate that something in the NSF of corn oil was associated with the regression of the tumor. However, the nature of the dietary components promoting tumor regression, and the host response to those components, have not been determined. J. Nutr. 114: 2324-2330, 1984.
Personal Health Monitoring Using a Smartphone

In this paper, we describe the Well Phone, a smartphone with additional software, that is used as a personal health monitoring device. The Well Phone interfaces various health monitoring devices to the smartphone, and collects physiological data from those devices. It employs novel algorithms that perform statistical analyses, relate sequences of disparate measurements from different devices, and correlate physical activity with physiological measurements. The Well Phone provides feedback to the user by means of visualization and speech interaction, and alerts a caregiver, medical professional, or emergency responder, as needed.
Meteorite impact in the ocean

In the present study, the dynamic of hypervelocity impacts and crater formation in water are examined with allowance for the unique properties of water. More precisely, the transient crater calculated is permitted to relax and act as a source of oceanic surface waves.
The Use of Surfactants to Enhance Particle Removal from Surfaces

Surfactants can enhance particle removal from surfaces by modifying the particle-surface interaction forces. Adsorbed surfactant molecules can alter the van der Waals attractive force, electrostatic force, hydrophobic force, as well as provide a steric barrier to contact. The effect of surfactant on these forces can result in greatly enhanced particle removal efficiency. Surfactant adsorption density and structure are important factors in determining removal enhancement performance associated with surfactants. Cleaning is generally most effective above the surface aggregation concentration, which for naturally hydrophilic surfaces allows for bilayer or multilayer level surfactant coverage that provides significant charge repulsion as well as a steric barrier. Adsorption below the monolayer level renders naturally hydrophilic substrates hydrophobic, which tends to reduce removal efficiency. In contrast, naturally hydrophobic surfaces are likely to benefit from both sub-monolayer and multilayer coverages of surfactant that occur, respectively, below and above the SAC. Existing adsorption theory and available formulas can aid in the prediction of the SAC, which is an important parameter in predicting the performance of surfactants in particle removal enhancement. Equations are also available to predict the effectiveness of surfactants in enhancing particle removal.
Publicly Traded Partnerships, Closely Held Corporations, and Entity Classification for Tax Purposes

This comment, presented as part of a November, 2009, tax program on publicly traded partnerships, argues for the adoption of two classification lines to facilitate the collection of tax attributable to business income. One line would separate public firms from private ones with the former, but not the latter, being made subject to an entity-level tax. This tax, which might be part of an integrated or classical income tax system, could be determined in a manner that takes advantage of the unique characteristics of public firms. The second line would separate private firms based on the tax profiles of their owners. Firms whose owners are all taxed in a comparable fashion could be provided with a somewhat simplified rule structure. All other private firms would be subject to a more rigorous, and possibly less flexible, set of pass through taxation rules. With this division, the IRS could concentrate its limited enforcement resources on the last group of firms, and policymakers could provide legislation focused on resolving the unique tax problems presented by those firms.