cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of Nicotine Patch vs Varenicline vs Combination Nicotine Replacement Therapy on Smoking Cessation at 26 Weeks: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance Smoking cessation medications are routinely used in health care; it is vital to identify medications that most effectively treat this leading cause of preventable mortality. Objective To compare the efficacies of varenicline, combination nicotine replacement therapy (C-NRT), and the nicotine patch for 26-week quit rates. Design, Setting, and Participants Three-group randomized intention-to-treat clinical trial occurring from May 2012 to November 2015 among smokers recruited in the Madison, Wisconsin, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, communities; 65.5% of smokers offered the study (2687/4102) refused participation prior to randomization. Interventions Participants were randomized to one of three 12-week open-label smoking cessation pharmacotherapy groups: (1) nicotine patch only (n = 241); (2) varenicline only (including 1 prequit week; n = 424); and (3) C-NRT (nicotine patch + nicotine lozenge; n = 421). Six counseling sessions were offered. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was carbon monoxide–confirmed self-reported 7-day point-prevalence abstinence at 26 weeks. Secondary outcomes were carbon monoxide–confirmed self-reported initial abstinence, prolonged abstinence at 26 weeks, and point-prevalence abstinence at weeks 4, 12, and 52. Results Among 1086 smokers randomized (52% women; 67% white; mean age, 48 years; mean of 17 cigarettes smoked per day), 917 (84%) provided 12-month follow-up data. Treatments did not differ on any abstinence outcome measure at 26 or 52 weeks, including point-prevalence abstinence at 26 weeks (nicotine patch, 22.8% [55/241]; varenicline, 23.6% [100/424]; and C-NRT, 26.8% [113/421]) or at 52 weeks (nicotine patch, 20.8% [50/241]; varenicline, 19.1% [81/424]; and C-NRT, 20.2% [85/421]). At 26 weeks, the risk differences for abstinence were, for patch vs varenicline, −0.76% (95% CI, −7.4% to 5.9%); for patch vs C-NRT, −4.0% (95% CI, −10.8% to 2.8%); and for varenicline vs C-NRT, −3.3% (95% CI, −9.1% to 2.6%). All medications were well tolerated, but varenicline produced more frequent adverse events than did the nicotine patch for vivid dreams, insomnia, nausea, constipation, sleepiness, and indigestion. Conclusions and Relevance Among adults motivated to quit smoking, 12 weeks of open-label treatment with nicotine patch, varenicline, or C-NRT produced no significant differences in biochemically confirmed rates of smoking abstinence at 26 weeks. The results raise questions about the relative effectiveness of intense smoking pharmacotherapies. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier:NCT01553084
De la apatía a la vigilancia: la política del desarrollo energético en el Perú

The Peruvian government's lack of commitment in promoting the development of energy projects between 1935 and 1990 resulted in budget deficits and a scarcity of priva te investment in that sector. In the 1990s, this situation started to change. The threshold level was based on new legal agreements. This paper studies the interactions between the Peruvian government, firms and the international institutions in developing the energy market by means of oil and gas exploitation of oil and gas and improved quality services in the electricity sector. The paper also focuses on the quality of management capacities at different levels of government (central and local). lt illustrates the steps taken by the Fujimori government to strike a balance between energy sector management and privatization. To this end, regulatory policies were introduced to establish a climate of confidence between firms and consumers. Furthermore, policies were introduced to protect indigenous communities to forestal! actions that might be harmful to these people when private firms began to exploit natural resources in these areas.
Internal jugular vein duplication: a further truncular malformation in a patient with multiple sclerosis

Different internal jugular vein (IJV) abnormalities can be found in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS): stenoses, complete occlusion, distortions and intraluminal structures, such as membranes, webs and inverted valves. IJV duplication is a very rare phenomenon. We report a case of right IJV duplication as an incidental finding during IJV morphological and haemodynamic assessment in a patient with MS. A 55-year-old female patient was admitted to our Institute for IJV and vertebral veins morphological and haemodynamic assessment. During the last seven years she had been treated for MS. Colour Doppler ultrasonography in our patient did not reveal IJV or vertebral veins stenoses or abnormal valves, but instead right IJV duplication. This finding was confirmed using multislice computed tomography angiography and by selective phlebography. In conclusion, to our knowledge, a case of IJV duplication in a patient with MS has not been described yet. This further venous malformation can be assessed by the means ...
Host Influence on the Laboratory Production of the Parasitoid, Microctonus aethiops (Nees)

The effects of Hypera postica (Gyllenhal) size, sex, and age on the productivity of its parasite, Microctonus aethiops (Nees) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) were studied in the laboratory. Host size had no significant effect on the mean number of progeny or mean percent females produced per parasitoid. However, host mortality was significantly higher among the small hosts. Host sex had no effect on host selection by the parasitoid, nor was a differential mortality observed between male or female hosts. Host age was a factor in the production of M. aethiops progeny. The majority of parasite larvae diapaused in 1- to 21-day-old host weevils, with the exception of those 7 days old. In the 7-day-old host, 28.5 of a mean 40.5 parasitoid larvae completed development without diapause. In 28- to 70-day-old hosts, with exception of those 49 days old, the majority completed development without diapause. In the 49- to 70-day-old weevils, significantly fewer eggs were oviposited by the parasitoids. This was attributed mainly to the weevils' reduced physical activity and feeding. Parasitization by M. aethiops caused negligible mortality prior to parasite emergence in the 1- to 70-day-old weevils. The results suggest that physical development of the hosts' reproductive organs is not always an accurate index of its suitability for parasitoid development. In general, 28- to 70-day-old weevils were suitable for uninterrupted, nondiapausing development of M. aethiops larvae.
Capacity Planning Model for a Multipurpose Water Reservoir with Target-Priority Operation

We consider the capacity determination problem of a hydro reservoir. The reservoir is to be used primarily for hydropower generation; however, commitments on release targets for irrigation as well as mitigation of downstream flood hazards are also secondary objectives. This paper is concerned with studying the complex interaction among various system reliabilities (power, flood, irrigation, etc.) and to provide decision makers a planning tool for further investigation. The main tool is an optimization model that recognizes the randomness in streamflow. The model incorporates a special target-priority policy according to given system reliabilities. Optimized values are then used in a simulation model to investigate the system behavior. Detailed computational results are provided.
“Support Your Client at the Space That They're in”: HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Prescribers' Perspectives on PrEP-Related Risk Compensation

Abstract Despite the demonstrated effectiveness of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and evidence that most PrEP users do not engage in risk compensation (i.e., increased risk behavior due to a perceived decrease in HIV susceptibility), some healthcare providers report patient risk compensation to be a deterrent to prescribing PrEP. Overcoming this barrier is essential to supporting PrEP access and uptake among people at risk for HIV. To inform such efforts, this qualitative study explored PrEP-related risk compensation attitudes among providers with firsthand experience prescribing PrEP. US-based PrEP providers (n = 18), most of whom were HIV specialists, were recruited through direct outreach and referral from colleagues and other participants. Individual 90-min semistructured interviews were conducted by phone or in person from September 2014 through February 2015, transcribed, and thematically analyzed. Three attitudinal themes emerged: (1) providers' role is to support patients in making informed d...
Visual acuity norms in pre-school children: the Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Disease Study.

The diagnosis and management of amblyopia, strabismus, refractive error, and other vision disorders in children are dependent upon an accurate and reliable determination of visual acuity (VA). VA is also the most common measure used in vision screening to identify children who may require comprehensive eye examinations. While VA of 20/20 or better is widely considered to be “normal” for most adult patients,1 VA worse than 20/20 is common in preschool children, even in the absence of refractive error or other vision disorders.2 For this reason, vision screening referral criteria and definitions of amblyopia are often based on acuity values in the range of 20/30 to 20/50 or worse. However, there are no published VA norms derived from population-based samples of preschool children. Thus, it remains imperative to define normal VA test performance in healthy preschool children, including its dependence on age. The Amblyopia Treatment Study (ATS) HOTV visual acuity testing protocol was specifically developed for young children. It is currently used by the pediatric vision research community and increasingly used in clinical practice by pediatric eye care providers. Testability rates are high for preschool children3,4 and measurements can sometimes be obtained in children as young as 2 years of age.5,6 As is the case for other optotype acuity tests, existing studies of HOTV protocols in young children are not population-based,7 and/or do not report data for normal children (i.e., children without visually significant refractive error or ocular abnormalities).4,8,9,10 The Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Disease Study (MEPEDS) is an ongoing cross-sectional, population-based study, with the specific aims of providing prevalence estimates for amblyopia, strabismus, and refractive error in a multi-ethnic cohort of children between the ages of 6 and 72 months. The purpose of this report is to provide population-based, age-specific visual acuity normative data for monocular VA and interocular VA differences in African-American and Hispanic children between the ages of 30 and 72 months who have no significant refractive error or other ophthalmic abnormalities.
Targeting the Hsp90 C-terminal domain to induce allosteric inhibition and selective client downregulation

Abstract Background Inhibition of Hsp90 is desirable due to potential downregulation of oncogenic clients. Early generation inhibitors bind to the N-terminal domain (NTD) but C-terminal domain (CTD) inhibitors are a promising class because they do not induce a heat shock response. Here we present a new structural class of CTD binding molecules with a unique allosteric inhibition mechanism. Methods A hit molecule, NSC145366, and structurally similar probes were assessed for inhibition of Hsp90 activities. A ligand-binding model was proposed indicating a novel Hsp90 CTD binding site. Client protein downregulation was also determined. Results NSC145366 interacts with the Hsp90 CTD and has anti-proliferative activity in tumor cell lines (GI 50 = 0.2–1.9 μM). NSC145366 increases Hsp90 oligomerization resulting in allosteric inhibition of NTD ATPase activity (IC 50 = 119 μM) but does not compete with NTD or CTD-ATP binding. Treatment of LNCaP prostate tumor cells resulted in selective client protein downregulation including AR and BRCA1 but without a heat shock response. Analogs had similar potencies in ATPase and chaperone activity assays and variable effects on oligomerization. In silico modeling predicted a binding site at the CTD dimer interface distinct from the nucleotide-binding site. Conclusions A set of symmetrical scaffold molecules with bisphenol A cores induced allosteric inhibition of Hsp90. Experimental evidence and molecular modeling suggest that the binding site is independent of the CTD-ATP site and consistent with unique induction of allosteric effects. General significance Allosteric inhibition of Hsp90 via a mechanism used by the NSC145366-based probes is a promising avenue for selective oncogenic client downregulation.
Issues in performing arts teacher preparation program evaluation policy

ABSTRACTSolid, well-grounded teachers can be instrumental in solving the problems facing our schools and students because it is successful teachers who are the most valuable, in-school contributors to our students' success. The importance of teacher preparation programs (TPPs) in developing quality teachers has been reinforced by researchers who have demonstrated that preparation linked directly to practice benefits teachers in their first year of teaching. In contrast, federal legislation and government officials' statements suggest that TPPs are responsible for many of the problems facing public education, which has resulted in additional regulations and systems designed to evaluate TPPs' success in preparing effective teachers, including graduates' knowledge of appropriate content. In order to analyze the status of TPP evaluation as it relates to arts education, past models for TPP assessment are reviewed, newer models are discussed, and the possible effects on teacher evaluation processes are outlined...
The Detection of Human Viruses in Cell Lines

Thirty-four cell lines were examined for presence of human viruses by two detection methods, DNA hybridisation and polymerase chain reaction. The sensitivities of both methods were examined semi quantitatively by use of known copy numbers of viral DNA. The viruses detected were Human Immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2 (HIV 1/2), Human T-cell Leukaemia Virus types 1 and 2 (HTLV 1/2), Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV). Key words: Human virus, cell culture, hybridisation, polymerase chain reaction
Acute Spinal Epidural Hematoma as a Complication of Dry Needling: A Case Report

Dry needling is a procedure commonly performed for the relief of myofascial pain disorders. The procedure is generally well tolerated. Adverse events often are mild, but severe complications have been reported. This case report describes an acute spinal epidural hematoma as a complication of dry needling. It is a reminder to the performing physician or therapist to take specific precautions when placing a needle near the spine. Sudden onset of neuropathic pain after needling therapy in and around the spine should prompt emergency assessment with possibly advanced spine imaging to evaluate the integrity of the spinal cord. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: V.
Validation of a new continuous geographic isolation scale: A tool for rural health disparities research

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a new continuous measure for rural health disparities research that characterizes geographic areas according to a perspective of access to resources. We call the measure Isolation and anticipate it will be useful as an alternative to commonly used rural classification schemes (e.g., the Census Bureau's measure). Following the best known standards for measuring rurality, it captures the trade-off between access to resource-rich, high-population-density areas and the cost of travel to those areas; thus even intrinsically low-resource areas may have high access to nearby resources. Validity was tested with proxies such as distance to hospitals, physician availability, and access to high quality food. The Isolation scale demonstrated good construct validity (i.e., both convergent and criterion validity). Fit statistics indicated that, compared to other commonly-used urban/rural definitions, the Isolation scale was the best overall measure when predicting several proxies for rurality, even when categorized. We also show that the measure does a substantially better job at explaining national health outcome data at the state level. This new continuous Isolation scale shows considerable promise for improving our conceptualization, theorization, and measurement of the features of rurality that are pertinent to rural health disparities research, and can also be useful to policy makers who may find value in using isolation thresholds that are most relevant to their policy planning needs.
Spatiotemporal dynamics of prehistoric human population growth: Radiocarbon ‘dates as data’ and population ecology models

Abstract Archaeologists now routinely use summed radiocarbon dates as a measure of past population size, yet few have coupled these measures to theoretical expectations about social organization. To help move the ‘dates as data’ approach from description to explanation, this paper proposes a new integrative theory and method for quantitative analyses of radiocarbon summed probability distributions (SPDs) in space. We present this new approach to ‘SPDs in space’ with a case study of 3571 geo-referenced radiocarbon dates from Wyoming, USA. We develop a SPD for the Holocene in Wyoming, then analyze the spatial distribution of the SPD as a function of time using a standard nearest-neighbor statistic. We compare population growth and decline throughout the Holocene with expectations for different Ideal Distribution Models from population ecology that predict the relationship between habitat quality and population density. Results suggest that populations in Wyoming were initially clustered and then became increasingly dispersed through the course of the Holocene. These results suggest that Allee-like benefits to aggregation, rather than ideal free-driven dispersion patterns, explain settlement decisions in response to growing populations. Our approach is a first step in constructing a method and theory for describing relationships between social organization and population growth trends derived from archaeological radiocarbon time-series.
THE ASSOCIATION OF OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA WITH LEFT VENTRICULAR HYPERTROPHY AND AORTIC ROOT DILATION IN A POPULATION OF FORMER PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Enlarged left ventricle, aortic root dilation, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have been reported as findings in retired professional football players. However, there are few studies examining the relationship between OSA risk and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) or aortic root dilation in this
A Review of the Archipini of the Bahamas with the Description of a New Species of Argyrotaenia Stephens (Tortricidae)

Recent surveys in The Bahamas recorded four species of Archipini. Of these, Argyrotaenia flavoreticulana Austin & Dombroskie, sp. n. is described and illustrated, while A. amatana (Dyar), A. kimballi Obraztsov, and Clepsis peritana (Clemens) are reported from The Bahamas for the first time. Because of the difficulty of identifying the latter three species, they are re-described and figured. A key to the Archipini of The Bahamas is included.
Treatment of Tuberculosis

Excellent Statements of recommendation for the treatment of tuberculosis have been produced by the American Thoracic Society-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (American Thoracic Society et al, 2003), (1997), and other organizations. These statements are written by committees of experts and set the standard for treatment. They are more authoritative than any single authored work and should be consulted for the treatment and management of tuberculosis. This chapter generally keeps within these Standards, but occasionally goes beyond, or aside of, them especially when clinical trial data is unavailable or unreliable. Anecdotal information, although less authoritative, is often additive and helpful in dealing with clinical problems and practice.
Spring migration, reproductive behavior, monitoring procedures, and host preference of plum curculio (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on Prunus species in central Georgia.

Plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst), enroute from hibernating sites in the woods were first recovered from plum trees at 95% full bloom. First mating occurred as early as 95% full bloom and no later than 90% petal fall. Most matings occurred during April when the adult population was highest. Fruit injury (feeding and oviposition) was greater on plum than on peach or other Prunus species. Little feeding and/or oviposition was recorded on fruit of Prunus japonica Thunb. in field nursery plots. However, when P. japonica fruit was picked, brought into the laboratory, put in cups with laboratory-reared plum curculio, the weevils fed and oviposited as well as on other Prunus species fruit. First field brood emergence was detected when most collected adult females (16 of 18) were virgin during 26 May - 1 June 1991. The 7-day period was indicative of a new generation because newly-emerged females were sexually immature for approximately 7 days. Prior to and after that 7-day emergence period, most fema...
Promoting high-leverage writing instruction through an early childhood classroom daily routine (WPI): A professional development model of early writing skills

Abstract This study presents an initial investigation of a professional development intervention model for promoting preschool teachers’ high-leverage writing instruction through a modification of the “Morning Meeting Time” (MMT) classroom routine. Using a quasi-experimental design, 14 teachers and 112 children were assigned to intervention and comparison conditions. Intervention group teachers received a four-hour workshop and one in-classroom coaching session focused on modifying existing MMT routine activities to implement interactive writing instruction. Results indicate that intervention group teachers achieved high intervention implementation fidelity and significantly improved the quality of their writing instruction ( Cohen’s d ranges from 1.22 to 2.36). Further, despite a relatively brief intervention phrase (three months), intervention group children showed greater gains in name writing, letter writing, and letter naming skills than comparison group children ( Cohen’s d ranges from 1.28 to 1.59). Findings provide initial evidence for the merit of utilizing typically occurring classroom routines, such as Morning Meeting, for embedding explicit teaching and writing opportunities for young children.
A tradeoff between the sub-packetization size and the repair bandwidth for reed-solomon code

Reed-Solomon (RS) codes are widely used in practical storage systems but their repair bandwidth characterization is still an open problem. RS codes can be viewed as the evaluations of a polynomial over a finite field. Recently, Guruswami and Wootters proposed a repair method for RS codes when the evaluation points are the entire field. Tamo, Ye and Barg achieved the minimum storage regenerating (MSR) bound when the sub-packetization size grows faster than the exponential function of the size of the evaluation points. In this work, we extend these results to accommodate different sizes of the evaluation points. Our schemes provide a flexible tradeoff between the sub-packetization size and the repair bandwidth. In addition, we present a technique for the sub-packetization bound of scalar MSR codes, based on the dimension of some constructed vector space.
Psychosocial intervention utilization and substance abuse treatment outcomes in a multisite sample of individuals who use opioids

Abstract Background There are several relatively safe and effective FDA-approved medications for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). Despite the existence of these medications, the rate of returning to opioid use after treatment is relatively high, underscoring the need for continued enhancement of treatments. Adjunctive psychosocial interventions paired with medication have been shown to improve OUD treatment outcomes. However, studies have yet to conclusively examine the distinct effects of the most widely utilized psychosocial treatment modalities. The current study will investigate the relationship between individual counseling, group therapy, and 12-Step participation and illicit opioid abstinence at the end of treatment, 1 and 3 months after treatment. Method A secondary analysis was conducted with data from a sample of 570 individuals diagnosed with OUD who were recruited from eight substance abuse treatment centers in the United States. Participants were enrolled in a two-group randomized, controlled trial testing buprenorphine-naloxone versus extended-release naltrexone for OUD. A two-level hierarchical linear growth model was used to examine the effects of individual counseling, group therapy, and 12-Step participation on illicit opioid abstinence (urinanalyses) 1- and 3-months post-treatment. Results Hours of individual counseling and 12-Step participation significantly predicted abstinence at follow-up (p Conclusions Findings suggest that greater levels of individual therapy and 12-Step participation may be beneficial for individuals receiving medication treatment for OUD.
Textile Curriculum Development Model: Creating Continuity in Textile Education via Microscopic Fiber Identification

The textile curriculum development model entails extensive learning through the work of textile microscopy. The goal of this model is to bring students back to a textile laboratory throughout their undergraduate tenure. The study of textiles is complex and apparel students ought to be exposed to its complexities in many different subject areas. This textile development curriculum model is based on Dewey’s (1938, 1963) theory on continuity of experience in education. According to Dewey, “what the student has learned in the way of knowledge and skill in one situation becomes an instrument of understanding and dealing effectively with the situations which follow” (p. 44). To create continuity in textile learning, textile microscopy has been incorporated in two additional apparel courses: Supply Chain Management and Culture & Historic Costume.
Importance of medicine quality in achieving universal health coverage.

Objective To assess the importance of ensuring medicine quality in order to achieve universal health coverage (UHC). Methods We developed a systems map connecting medicines quality assurance systems with UHC goals to illustrate the ensuing impact of quality-assured medicines in the implementation of UHC. The association between UHC and medicine quality was further examined in the context of essential medicines in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by analyzing data on reported prevalence of substandard and falsified essential medicines and established indicators for UHC. Finally, we examined the health and economic savings of improving antimalarial quality in four countries in sub-Saharan Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria, Uganda, and Zambia. Findings A systems perspective demonstrates how quality assurance of medicines supports dimensions of UHC. Across 63 LMICs, the reported prevalence of substandard and falsified essential medicines was found to be negatively associated with both an indicator for coverage of essential services (p = 0.05) and with an indicator for government effectiveness (p = 0.04). We estimated that investing in improving the quality of antimalarials by 10% would result in annual savings of $8.3 million in Zambia, $14 million in Uganda, $79 million in two DRC regions, and $598 million in Nigeria, and was more impactful compared to other potential investments we examined. Costs of substandard and falsified antimalarials per malaria case ranged from $7 to $86, while costs per death due to poor-quality antimalarials ranged from $14,000 to $72,000. Conclusion Medicines quality assurance systems play a critical role in reaching UHC goals. By ensuring the quality of essential medicines, they help deliver effective treatments that lead to less illness and result in health care savings that can be reinvested towards UHC.
TRACE Analysis of a Loss of Alternating-Current Power Without Rod Insertion for the NuScale Power Module—I: Basic Event Progression and Long-Term Behavior

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff often performs confirmatory analysis to support regulatory decision making. In the current work the TRAC/RELAP Advanced Computational Engine (TRAC...
Mimesis and “The Man Marriage”: Protesting Marital Rape in Rebecca Harding Davis’s “The Second Life”

Some people die two or three times in a lifetime. … This is my third life I am going through at present (Oliphant, Salem Chapel 93). She had lived a hundred lives within the space of the last few d...
HeM3D: He terogeneous Manycore Architecture Based on M onolithic 3D Vertical Integration

Heterogeneous manycore architectures are the key to efficiently execute compute- and data-intensive applications. Through-silicon-via (TSV)-based 3D manycore system is a promising solution in this direction as it enables the integration of disparate computing cores on a single system. Recent industry trends show the viability of 3D integration in real products (e.g., Intel Lakefield SoC Architecture, the AMD Radeon R9 Fury X graphics card, and Xilinx Virtex-7 2000T/H580T, etc.). However, the achievable performance of conventional TSV-based 3D systems is ultimately bottlenecked by the horizontal wires (wires in each planar die). Moreover, current TSV 3D architectures suffer from thermal limitations. Hence, TSV-based architectures do not realize the full potential of 3D integration. Monolithic 3D (M3D) integration, a breakthrough technology to achieve “More Moore and More Than Moore,” opens up the possibility of designing cores and associated network routers using multiple layers by utilizing monolithic inter-tier vias (MIVs) and hence, reducing the effective wire length. Compared to TSV-based 3D integrated circuits (ICs), M3D offers the “true” benefits of vertical dimension for system integration: the size of an MIV used in M3D is over 100 × smaller than a TSV. This dramatic reduction in via size and the resulting increase in density opens up numerous opportunities for design optimizations in 3D manycore systems: designers can use up to millions of MIVs for ultra-fine-grained 3D optimization, where individual cores and routers can be spread across multiple tiers for extreme power and performance optimization. In this work, we demonstrate how M3D-enabled vertical core and uncore elements offer significant performance and thermal improvements in manycore heterogeneous architectures compared to its TSV-based counterpart. To overcome the difficult optimization challenges due to the large design space and complex interactions among the heterogeneous components (CPU, GPU, Last Level Cache, etc.) in a M3D-based manycore chip, we leverage novel design-space exploration algorithms to trade off different objectives. The proposed M3D-enabled heterogeneous architecture, called HeM3D, outperforms its state-of-the-art TSV-equivalent counterpart by up to 18.3% in execution time while being up to 19°C cooler.
Effect of postsurgical chronic hypoparathyroidism on morbidity and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Hypoparathyroidism (HypoPT) is a common sequela of anterior neck surgeries. While the acute risks of HypoPT are well known, emerging evidence is beginning to define the risks chronic HypoPT poses to patients. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate that risk and give more insight into its consequences. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed, searching EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus for studies published up to July 1, 2020 and reported following PRISMA guidelines. Pooled analysis was estimated using the Mantel-Haenszel method and a random-effects model. A sub-analysis of the pooled data for each morbidity was performed and demonstrated in forest plots. Results Patients with postsurgical chronic HypoPT had a high risk of cardiac morbidities [odds ratio (OR) =1.43; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.21 to 1.70; P<0.001] in the absence of elevated risk of cardiac arrhythmias (OR =1.35, 95% CI: 0.96 to 1.79, P=0.08). Analysis also showed higher odds of developing renal disease (OR =4.85, 95% CI: 3.54 to 6.67, P<0.001), renal stones (OR =3.86, 95% CI: 1.81 to 8.23, P<0.001), seizures (OR =2.41, 95% CI: 1.66 to 3.5, P<0.001), mental health problems (OR =1.46, 95% CI: 1.21 to 1.77, P<0.001), and infections (OR =1.51, 95% CI: 1.28 to 1.78, P<0.001). Conversely, HypoPT has no effect on mortality risk (OR =1.19, 95% CI: 0.96 to 1.49, P=0.12). Conclusions Postsurgical HypoPT patients are vulnerable to a variety of medical and psychiatric diseases. This meta-analysis should guide surgeons in preoperative counseling and postoperative care for patients undergoing anterior neck surgeries.
Group‐Randomized Trials, Planning and Analysis of

Planning a group-randomized trial is a complex process. Care must be taken to delineate the research question, to create the research team, to plan the research design, to avoid potential design and analytic problems, to select variables of interest and their measures, to plan the intervention, and to ensure adequate power. Failure in any of these areas may lead to a dissappointing result; attention to each will increase the likelihood of success Keywords: group-randomized trial; research design
Decontamination of Bacillus anthracis Spores: Evaluation of Various Disinfectants.

The present study compares the efficacy of various disinfectants against Bacillus anthracis spores. While Bleach Rite® and 10% bleach reduce spore numbers by 90% within 10 minutes, a long contact t...
Traverse: Simplified Indexing on Large Map-Reduce-Merge Clusters

The search engines that index the World Wide Web today use access methods based primarily on scanning, sorting, hashing, and partitioning (SSHP) techniques. The MapReduce framework is a distinguished example. Unlike DBMS, this search engine infrastructure provides few general tools for indexing user datasets. In particular, it does not include order-preserving tree indexes, even though they might have been built using such indexing components. Thus, data processing on these infrastructures is linearly scalable at best, while index-based techniques can be logarithmically scalable. DBMS have been using indexes to improve performance, especially on low-selectivity queries and joins. Therefore, it is natural to incorporate indexing into search-engine infrastructure. Recently, we proposed an extension of MapReduce called Map-Reduce-Merge to efficiently join heterogeneous datasets and executes relational algebra operations. Its vision was to extend search engine infrastructure so as to permit generic relational operations, expanding the scope of analysis of search engine content. In this paper we advocate incorporating yet another database primitive, indexing, into search engine data processing. We explore ways to build tree indexes using Hadoop MapReduce. We also incorporate a new primitive, Traverse , into the Map-Reduce-Merge framework. It can efficiently traverse index files, select data partitions, and limit the number of input partitions for a follow-up step of map, reduce, or merge.
Multidisciplinary consultation in child protection: a clinical data-mining evaluation

This article presents the results of an evaluation of a multidisciplinary consultation program in child protection by applying a clinical data‐mining approach. Using available agency records, data concerning mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence consultations were extracted retrospectively for evaluative purposes. The results demonstrated that by examining existing records, child‐protection practitioners were able to evaluate the existing practices as well as recognize areas for program improvement. Additionally, differential patterns emerged in consultation types. Lastly, a discussion of the strengths and limitations as well as implications of clinical data‐mining studies is presented.
Comment on "Rotational Relaxation in Hypersonic Low-Density Flows"

T distribution of the rotational spectrum of the electron-beam-induced (0-0) vibrational transition in nitrogen can be used to infer the local rotational temperature. The first work to give a complete model for the excitation deexcitation process was that of Muntz. This model was discussed by Robben and Talbot and it was pointed out that the spectrally determined temperature appeared to be always greater than the predicted local translational temperature in both freejet expansions and in nozzles. Because of the, importance of the measurement, considerable interest has centered on this discrepancy. In a recent Note, Tirumalesa has compared computed rotational temperatures in a freejet of nitrogen to the measured values obtained by Robben and Talbot and Marrone. It should be'observed that apparent typographical errors and/or nomenclature inconsistencies exist in the Note in Eqs. (5 and 8-10). The relaxation model used in the Note is
Equilibrium Wage Dispersion: Monopsony or Sorting?

Why are similar workers paid differently? I review and compare two lines of research that have recently witnessed great progress in addressing “unexplained” wage inequality: (i) worker unobserved heterogeneity in, and sorting by, human capital; (ii) firms’ monopsony power in labor markets characterized by job search frictions. Both lines share a view of wage differentials as an equilibrium phenomenon. Despite their profound conceptual and technical differences, they remain natural competitors in this investigation. Unlike other hypotheses, they provide natural and unifying explanations for job and worker flows, unemployment duration and incidence, job-to-job quits, and the shape of the wage distribution.
The human histone H2A.Z gene. Sequence and regulation.

The gene encoding the human basal histone variant H2A.Z has been cloned and sequenced. There is a single functional H2A.Z gene with several pseudogene copies. No other histone genes were found in the 3 kilobases of upstream sequence or in the 0.7 kilobase of downstream sequence. In the upstream region, there are regions of Alu sequences, located about 1375 and 2650 base pairs before the transcription start site. The amount of the H2A.Z transcript is unlinked to DNA replication; however, the amount of the H2A.Z transcript is greatly decreased as proliferating cell cultures become quiescent due in part to a decrease in the rate of transcription. Promoter sequences upstream from the H2A.Z gene have been delineated in IMR-90 cells by chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene expression. Maximal promoter activity was found in a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase construct that contained 234 base pairs just upstream from the transcription start site. This region includes two GC boxes and three CCAAT boxes as well as a properly positioned TATA box. The organization of the human gene is similar to that of the recently characterized chicken gene (Dalton, S., Robins, A. J., Harvey, R. P., and Wells, J. R. E. (1989) Nucleic Acids Res. 17, 1745-1756). Both have four introns with identical exon-intron borders, but three of the introns in the chicken gene are much longer than those in the human. The promoter regions of the two genes have little overall homology; however, two GC boxes and one of the CCAAT boxes are conserved.
Estimation of groundwater consumption by phreatophytes using diurnal water table fluctuations : A saturated-unsaturated flow assessment

[1] Groundwater consumption by phreatophytes is a difficult-to-measure but important component of the water budget in many arid and semiarid environments. Over the past 70 years the consumptive use of groundwater by phreatophytes has been estimated using a method that analyzes diurnal trends in hydrographs from wells that are screened across the water table (White, 1932). The reliability of estimates obtained with this approach has never been rigorously evaluated using saturated-unsaturated flow simulation. We present such an evaluation for common flow geometries and a range of hydraulic properties. Results indicate that the major source of error in the White method is the uncertainty in the estimate of specific yield. Evapotranspirative consumption of groundwater will often be significantly overpredicted with the White method if the effects of drainage time and the depth to the water table on specific yield are ignored. We utilize the concept of readily available specific yield as the basis for estimation of the specific yield value appropriate for use with the White method. Guidelines are defined for estimating readily available specific yield based on sediment texture. Use of these guidelines with the White method should enable the evapotranspirative consumption of groundwater to be more accurately quantified.
Correlates of Cumulative Sexual Risk Behaviors among African American Youth Living in Public Housing

African American youth and especially those who reside in public housing report high rates of sexually transmitted disease (STI) risk behaviors; however, too few studies have examined the correlates of cumulative sexual risk behaviors among this population. This study recruited 298 youth ages 11 to 21 and examined to what degree factors such as age, gender, self-efficacy, substance use, negative peer norms, and delinquency were correlated with cumulative sexual risk behaviors. Major findings indicated that gender, substance use, self-efficacy, and involvement with delinquent peer networks were independent correlates of cumulative sexual risk behaviors, with gender and self-efficacy being the strongest of these factors. Collectively, these findings suggest that gendered approaches to sexual risk reduction among this population are warranted with special content and attention focused on substance abuse risk reduction, improving self-efficacy and managing negative peer influences.
Assessment of total body stores of vitamin A in Guatemalan elderly by the deuterated-retinol-dilution method

Background Deuterated retinol dilution (DRD) gives quantitative estimates of total body stores of vitamin A. Objectives In elderly people, we studied 1) the time when an oral dose of deuterated vitamin A equilibrates with body stores, 2) whether serum ratios of deuterated to nondeuterated retinol (D:H) at 3 or 6 d postdosing predicted body stores, and 3) the ability of DRD to detect changes in the size of the body vitamin A pool. Design A 10-mg oral dose of [2H4]retinyl acetate was administered to 60-81-y-old Guatemalans (n = 47); percentage enrichment of serum retinol with deuterated retinol was determined at 1-3 time points per subject at 3, 6, 7, 14, 20, 21, and 54 d. In subjects from whom blood was obtained at 3 and 21 d (n = 15) and at 6 and 20 d (n = 9), total body stores were calculated by using the formula of Furr et al (Am J Clin Nutr 1989;49:713-6) with 21- or 20-d data and correlated with serum D:H at 3 or 6 d postdosing. Nine subjects received diets containing 982+/-20 microg RE (x+/-SEM) plus 800 microg RE as retinyl acetate supplements for 32 d. DRD, serum retinol, and relative dose response were used to assess vitamin A status before and after the intervention. Results Deuterated retinol equilibrated with the body pool by 20 d postdosing. Vitamin A supplementation for 32 d increased body stores, although unexplained exaggerated increases were seen in some subjects. An inverse linear relation was found between estimates of body stores and serum D:H at 3 d postdosing (r = -0.75, P = 0.002); at 6 d postdosing, the correlation was weaker. Conclusions DRD can detect changes in total body stores of vitamin A, although factors affecting serum D:H need to be elucidated. Serum D:H 3 d postdosing might be used as an early indicator of total body stores of vitamin A, although a predictive equation will need to be developed.
Flavone-enhanced accumulation and symbiosis-related biological activity of a diglycosyl diacylglycerol membrane glycolipid from Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii.

Abstract Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii is the bacterial symbiont which induces nitrogen-fixing root nodules on the leguminous host, white clover (Trifolium repens L.). In this plant-microbe interaction, the host plant excretes a flavone, 4',7-dihydroxyflavone (DHF), which activates expression of modulation genes, enabling the bacterial symbiont to elicit various symbiosis-related morphological changes in its roots. We have investigated the accumulation of a diglycosyl diacylglycerol (BF-7) in wild-type R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii ANU843 when grown with DHF and the biological activities of this glycolipid bacterial factor on host and nonhost legumes. In vivo labeling studies indicated that wild-type ANU843 cells accumulate BF-7 in response to DHF, and this flavone-enhanced alteration in membrane glycolipid composition was suppressed in isogenic nodA::Tn5 and nodD::Tn5 mutant derivatives. Seedling bioassays performed under microbiologically controlled conditions indicated that subnanomolar concentrations of purified BF-7 elicit various symbiosis-related morphological responses on white clover roots, including thick short roots, root hair deformation, and foci of cortical cell divisions. Roots of the nonhost legumes alfalfa and vetch were much less responsive to BF-7 at these low concentrations. A structurally distinct diglycosyl diacylglycerol did not induce these responses on white clover, indicating structural constraints in the biological activity of BF-7 on this legume host. In bioassays using aminoethoxyvinylglycine to suppress plant production of ethylene, BF-7 elicited a meristematic rather than collaroid type of mitogenic response in the root cortex of white clover. These results indicate an involvement of flavone-activated nod expression in membrane accumulation of BF-7 and a potent ability of this diglycosyl diacylglycerol glycolipid to perform as a bacterial factor enabling R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii to activate segments of its host's symbiotic program during early development of the root nodule symbiosis.
Estimation of change point in failure rate models

Abstract Estimation of the change point is considered for a failure rate function γ ( x ) which is an IDFR or a DIFR function. Kernel density estimators and emperical c.d.f. are utilized for estimating f ( x ) and F ( x ), respectively, which are then used to estimate γ ( x ) and its change point. Asymptotic properties of the change point estimator are considered. Simulation results are given for different γ ( x ) and kernel functions.
A new method for measuring the yield stress in thin layers of sedimenting blood

A new method is presented to describe the low shear rate behavior of blood. We observed the response of a thin layer of sedimenting blood to a graded shear stress in a wedge-shaped chamber. The method allows quantitation of the degree of phase separation between red cells and plasma, and extracts the yield stress of the cell phase as a function of hematocrit. Our studies showed that the behavior of normal human blood underwent a transition from a solid-like gel to a Casson fluid. This transition began at the Casson predicted yield stress. The viscoelastic properties of blood were examined at shear stresses below the yield stress. The measured Young's elastic moduli were in good agreement with published data. The yield stress of blood showed a linear dependence on hematocrit up to 60%, and increased more rapidly at higher hematocrit.