cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Preventing pelvic inflammatory disease.

Effective strategies for preventing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) are crucial to protect women from adverse reproductive consequences and to avoid substantial economic losses. To identify current PID prevention options and assess their efficacy, we conducted a literature search and examined relevant data in published reports. We organized our review by level of participation (ie, individuals, providers, and communities) and prevention (ie, primary, secondary, and tertiary). For individuals, several prevention strategies related to personal protection appear promising, but few have been appropriately evaluated. For providers of health care, five prevention measures are recommended, including such primary prevention activities as counseling and patient education in addition to the usual diagnosis and treatment. Specific evidence supporting the efficacy of these provider practices, however, is limited. For communities, maintaining comprehensive sexually transmitted disease control strategies to prevent lower genital tract chlamydial and gonococcal infection is most important in reducing both symptomatic and asymptomatic PID. We provide specific recommendations for preventing PID and outline research needs. ( JAMA . 1991;266:2574-2580)
Toward a unified theory of visual-verbal strategies in communication design

This paper presents a descriptive framework for modeling the visual designer's rhetorical strategies. Revising and extending the theory of representational composition postulated by David Kaufer and his colleagues, visual communication artifacts are described in terms of types of audience experiences created through small units of visual decisions, including the choice and use of images, layout, and typography. The framework is intended to provide professional and technical communicators with a metalanguage that enables them to articulate the rhetorical appropriateness of visual choices. The framework is also used to develop a better understanding of visual design strategies that are commonly used by authors/designers to create communication artifacts that are created for similar rhetorical situations.
First‐order closure theories for series‐parallel reaction in simulated homogeneous turbulence

Simple first-order closure models for covariances of concentration fluctuations, for use in modeling turbulent flow reactors, were tested by direct numerical simulations. Concentration covariances and other statistical functions were evaluated for a series parallel reaction scheme in decaying, homogeneous turbulent flow. The simulations involve solving the unsteady Navier-Stokes and mass conservation equations by a pseudo-spectral method in a 643 wavenumber domain, with initially segregated reactants, for an initial turbulence Reynolds number of 29.9. Simulation results show that covariances of concentration fluctuations normalized with respect to mean concentration values are almost constant and that the time dependence of concentration covariances can be estimated if the mean concentrations are known at any one time after the initial time. Predictions of the first-order closure models of Bourne and Toor, Brodkey and Lewalle, Li and Toor, and Dutta and Tarbell were compared to simulation results. While none of these closures are satisfactory for all the conditions tested, the Brodkey-Lewalle closure agrees best with the simulations.
Learning From Weakly Supervised Data by The Expectation Loss SVM (e-SVM) algorithm

In many situations we have some measurement of confidence on "positiveness" for a binary label. The "positiveness" is a continuous value whose range is a bounded interval. It quantifies the affiliation of each training data to the positive class. We propose a novel learning algorithm called expectation loss SVM (e-SVM) that is devoted to the problems where only the "positiveness" instead of a binary label of each training sample is available. Our e-SVM algorithm can also be readily extended to learn segment classifiers under weak supervision where the exact positiveness value of each training example is unobserved. In experiments, we show that the e-SVM algorithm can effectively address the segment proposal classification task under both strong supervision (e.g. the pixel-level annotations are available) and the weak supervision (e.g. only bounding-box annotations are available), and outperforms the alternative approaches. Besides, we further validate this method on two major tasks of computer vision: semantic segmentation and object detection. Our method achieves the state-of-the-art object detection performance on PASCAL VOC 2007 dataset.
Calcineurin enhances L-type Ca2+ channel activity in hippocampal neurons: increased effect with age in culture

The Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase, calcineurin, modulates a number of key Ca(2+) signaling pathways in neurons, and has been implicated in Ca(2+)-dependent negative feedback inactivation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors and voltage-sensitive Ca(2+) channels. In contrast, we report here that three mechanistically disparate calcineurin inhibitors, FK-506, cyclosporin A, and the calcineurin autoinhibitory peptide, inhibited high-voltage-activated Ca(2+) channel currents by up to 40% in cultured hippocampal neurons, suggesting that calcineurin acts to enhance Ca(2+) currents. This effect occurred with Ba(2+) or Ca(2+) as charge carrier, and with or without intracellular Ca(2+) buffered by EGTA. Ca(2+)-dependent inactivation of Ca(2+) channels was not affected by FK-506. The immunosuppressant, rapamycin, and the protein phosphatase 1/2A inhibitor, okadaic acid, did not decrease Ca(2+) channel current, showing specificity for effects on calcineurin. Blockade of L-type Ca(2+) channels with nimodipine fully negated the effect of FK-506 on Ca(2+) channel current, while blockade of N-, and P-/Q-type Ca(2+) channels enhanced FK-506-mediated inhibition of the remaining L-type-enriched current. FK-506 also inhibited substantially more Ca(2+) channel current in 4-week-old vs. 2-week-old cultures, an effect paralleled by an increase in calcineurin A mRNA levels. These studies provide the first evidence that calcineurin selectively enhances L-type Ca(2+) channel activity in neurons. Moreover, this action appears to be increased concomitantly with the well-characterized increase in L-type Ca(2+) channel availability in hippocampal neurons with age-in-culture.
A Study of the Philadelphia Knowledge Economy

A local civic organization, Greater Philadelphia First, engaged us to study the knowledge economy of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania region and make recommendations on ways to improve its rate of growth. To structure our thinking and the interviews with local entrepreneurs, civic leaders, and others, using soft operations research techniques, we developed a framework for collecting ideas through interviews, generating our own by reflecting on the interviews, and organizing the resulting ideas. We generated a large number of useful ideas for improving the local knowledge economy. The organization sifted through the collection of ideas and selected the ones it is now advocating.
A design analysis model for developing World Wide Web sites

This study applies reader-response criticism to examine the relationship between and among designers, text, and users of the Galter Health Sciences Library Web site. It asks such questions as "How do Web site designers construct their subject?" or, "whom do the web designers think their users are?" The study ascertains the intentions of the designers of the GHSL Web site; examines the meanings made by the users through interviews; compares the similarities and differences of designers' intentions with their organization of knowlege represented in the GHSL Web site; and compares the similarities and differences between the designers' intentions and views of the users.
The implicit costs and benefits of family friendly work practices

This paper posits that the provision of family friendly practices is, on balance, costly to firms and valuable to workers. As a consequence, we anticipate the emergence of a hedonic equilibrium in which workers provided with such practices face an implicit reduction in their earnings. Using WERS98 linked employer-employee data, we show that the ability to confirm this compensating wage differential depends critically on an appropriate treatment model designed to purge typical estimates of the income effect. We find that family friendly jobs may be associated with as much as a 20 percent reduction in earnings. Our estimates can be used to inform impact assessments of new UK legislation extending family friendly practices.
Increased Severity and New Symptoms of Infectious Bursal Disease During Aflatoxicosis in Broiler Chickens

Abstract A factorial design for the presence and absence of infection with a mild strain of infectious bursal disease (IBD) virus and graded levels of dietary aflatoxin (0, .625, 1.25, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 μg/g of diet) in young broiler chickens revealed several interactions which greatly changed the character of the IBD infection. An infection that was essentially free of mortality became lethal to about half the birds. A coagulopathy as indicated by prolonged prothrombin times and by the occurrence of slight hemorrhages in skeletal muscles, a hypoproteinemia, a hypocalcemia, and a markedly enlarged kidney were observed in combined aflatoxicosis and IBD, but not in IBD alone. The size of the bursa of Fabricius following an initial hypertrophy was atrophied 4 days after inoculation and the spleen was enlarged. The effects of aflatoxin and IBD on these two glands were additive. Packed blood cell volume and hemoglobin values were decreased by aflatoxin only. Thus, aflatoxin had the effects of making IBD a much more severe disease and of changing the symptoms.
Scaling the PhysioNet WFDB Toolbox for MATLAB and Octave

The PhysioNet WaveFormDataBase (WFDB) Toolbox for MATLAB and Octave is a collection of functions for reading, writing, and processing physiologic signals and time series used by PhysioBank databases. Using the WFDB Toolbox, researchers have access to over 50 PhysioBank databases consisting of over 3TB of physiologic signals. These signals include ECG, EEG, EMG, fetal ECG, PLETH (PPG), ABP, respiration, and others. The WFDB Toolbox provides support for local concurrency; however, it does not currently support distributed computing environments. Consequently, researchers are unable to utilize the additional resources afforded by popular distributed frameworks. The present work improves the scalability of the WFDB Toolbox by adding support for distributed environments. An example is shown of surrogate data significance testing. The example uses StarCluster to launch, within minutes, Hadoop Streaming on a newly created Amazon EC2 cluster with minimum configuration. The results demonstrate up to 30 fold performance increases can be achieved compared to single node processing.
Utility-based multiagent coalition formation with incomplete information and time constraints

In this paper we propose a coalition formation model for a cooperative multiagent system in which an agent forms sub-optimal coalitions in view of incomplete information about its noisy, dynamic, and uncertain world, and its need to respond to events within time constraints. Our model has two stages: (1) when an agent detects an event in the world, it first compiles a list of coalition candidates that it thinks would be useful (coalition initialization), and (2) then negotiates with the candidates (coalition finalization). A negotiation is an exchange of information and knowledge for constraint satisfaction until both parties agree on a deal or one opts out. Each successful negotiation adds a new member to the agent's final coalition. This paper talks about the steps we have designed to enhance the finalization stage.
Adsorption of Metal Ions from Aqueous Solutions: Model Development

The development of a comprehensive description of metal ion adsorption from aqueous solutions at equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions, based on the principles of surface complexation models, is presented. This presentation begins with the various surface complexation models, previously developed to describe adsorption equilibrium, and then further develops the models for the prediction of adsorption rates.
Contemporary carotid stenting: comparative effectiveness research from the NCDR (National Cardiovascular Data Registry).

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) is a theme that will play an increasingly important role in the discourse of medical care. The Institute of Medicine defines CER as “the generation and synthesis of evidence that compares the benefits and harms of alternative methods to prevent, diagnose
There is no fitness but fitness, and the lineage is its bearer

Inclusive fitness has been the cornerstone of social evolution theory for more than a half-century and has matured as a mathematical theory in the past 20 years. Yet surprisingly for a theory so central to an entire field, some of its connections to evolutionary theory more broadly remain contentious or underappreciated. In this paper, we aim to emphasize the connection between inclusive fitness and modern evolutionary theory through the following fact: inclusive fitness is simply classical Darwinian fitness, averaged over social, environmental and demographic states that members of a gene lineage experience. Therefore, inclusive fitness is neither a generalization of classical fitness, nor does it belong exclusively to the individual. Rather, the lineage perspective emphasizes that evolutionary success is determined by the effect of selection on all biological and environmental contexts that a lineage may experience. We argue that this understanding of inclusive fitness based on gene lineages provides the most illuminating and accurate picture and avoids pitfalls in interpretation and empirical applications of inclusive fitness theory.
A Tale of Two Social Contexts: Race-Specific Testimonials on Commercial Web Sites

This two-part study examines the effects of race-specific testimonials on both Black and White consumers and on Black majority and Black minority consumers. Study I demonstrates that Black Internet surfers respond more favorably to testimonial ads that utilize Black character testimonials than they do to testimonials that use White characters. White Internet surfers responded no differently to testimonials based on the race of the product presenter. Study I also indicates that Black and White Web surfers seem to have a slight preference for moderately vivid testimonials versus highly vivid testimonials. Study II indicates that Blacks who represented a numeric minority in their immediate social environment showed more favorability toward ads that use Black characters than Blacks who resided in a social environment wherein they comprised a numeric majority.
Language policy, multilingual encounters, and transnational families

The study of what has come to be known as family language policy has evolved and expanded significantly over the last hundred years, from its early beginnings in the diary studies of Ronjat and Leopold, to the interdisciplinary and transnational research found in this thematic issue of the Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development on ‘Multilingual Encounters in Transcultural Families’, edited by Elizabeth Lanza and Li Wei. This concluding discussion analyses the ways in which the five papers in this special issue illustrate current, cutting-edge of work in the field, but also showcase the methodological breadth that has long characterised family language policy. Furthermore, as argued here, the papers suggest the ways the field has evolved over time in step with the significant changes in the field of applied linguistics and language policy in particular, as well as reckoned with the intensified forces of globalization evident in recent decades.
HETEROZYGOSITY AND DEVELOPMENTAL STABILITY UNDER INBREEDING AND CROSSBREEDING IN PINUS ATTENUATA.

The relationship between stability of annual trunk growth and heterozygosity at 24 polymorphic isozyme loci was studied in 10-year-old trees of knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata Lemm.) that were the products of contrasting systems of mating, self-, and interpopulation cross- pollination. Heterozygosity and variability of trunk growth were strongly related only when inbreds and crossbreds were compared; the crossbreds showed greater residual variability on an absolute scale, and greater responsiveness to climate on both absolute and relative scales. Within the inbreds there was no evidence of a relationship between heterozygosity and variability. Within the crossbreds, only one trait, a measure of relative trunk growth rate, showed a relationship with heterozygosity, and indicated greater variability of the more heterozygous trees. These results, and others in the literature, suggest that the relationship of heterozygosity to homeostasis for fitness components is neither simple nor monotonic; it varies between scales of measurement, genetic backgrounds, and environments.
Drug-Eluting Stents in the Superficial Femoral Artery: The Long and Winding Road.

When coronary drug eluting stents (DES) burst onto the scene with the publication of the remarkable results from the RAVEL (Randomized Study with the Sirolimus-Coated BX Velocity Balloon-Expandable Stent in the Treatment of Patients with de Novo Native Coronary Artery Lesions) trial, the practice of interventional cardiology changed forever. 1 Large scale randomized trials confirmed the superiority of both sirolimus and paclitaxel eluting DES platforms over bare metal stents (BMS). 2, 3 Second generation DES provided incremental improvement in outcomes over first generation platforms and DES was shown to be superior to BMS in almost every clinical and anatomic scenario. 4 Continued improvements in stent design, device deliverability, and the evolution of drug/polymer chemistry have further established DES as the standard of care for percutaneous coronary intervention. 5
Dielectric Measurements On Printed-Wiring And Circuit Boards, Thin Films, And Substrates: An Overview

A review of the most common methods of permittivity measurements on thin films, printed-wiring and circuit boards, and substrates is presented. Transmission-line techniques, coaxial apertures, open resonators, surface-wave modes, and dielectric resonators methods are examined. The frequency range of applicability and typical uncertainties associated with the methods are summarized.
A Model for Diagnosing and Reducing Non-response Bias

ABSTRACT Perhaps the first question people ask when judging the quality of a sample survey is, ‘What is the sample size?’ Just as important, but one less often asked, is the question ‘What is the response rate?’. Response rate is important in assessing the non-response bias, which is independent of sample size and usually far exceeds sampling error as a source of uncertainty. This discussion paper looks at current ‘callback’ and weighting methods, and proposes a model to reduce response rate error.
Active pulmonary tuberculosis among students in Shengzhou from 2005 to 2011

Objective To understand the condition of students' pulmonary tuberculosis in Shengzhou,and to provide reference for prevention and control of pulmonary tuberculosis.Methods Descriptive epidemiological method was used to analyze the reported data of pulmonary tuberculosis through infectious disease network system.Results A total of 151 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis were reported during 2005-2011,33cases of which were TB smear positive patients, 109cases TB smear negative cases,and 9cases without sputum microscopy.71.94% of pulmonary tuberculosis cases were found through clinical consultation,20.86% screening test of contacts,another 7.20% physical examination or other ways;34.44% of pulmonary tuberculosis cases were treatment delay,and 54.55% of smear positive cases were treatment delay.The sex ratio was 1.56:1between boys and girls.The cases were mainly in high school students,which accounted for 77.12% of all cases.The peak period was from March to May each year.Conclusions The main way of finding students' pulmonary tuberculosis in Shengzhou was through clinical consultation.There existed a condition of treatment delay.The education about pulmonary tuberculosis among students should be strengthened.In order to ensure early discovery of new patients and prevention of tuberculosis outbreak,tuberculosis screening test among new students should be strengthened.
Current status and administration for drug clinical trial institutions in Shanghai

Clinical trial is an important link in the chain of new drug research and development (RD). The results of drug RD directly depend on the extent of standardization of clinical trial. This paper explored the measures for the supervision and control of drug clinical trials according to the distribution of drug clinical trial institutions and the professional field related to new drug registration in recent years.
Frequency, duration, and perceptual measures in relation to judgments of alaryngeal speech acceptability.

Thirty-three recordings of laryngectomized speakers reading a standard passage were subjected to two separate perceptual evaluations and to fundamental frequency and durational analysis. Factors re...
Nursing aspects of outpatient surgery.

SUMMARY The increase in outpatient care presents a unique opportunity for health team members and particularly nursing practitioners to participate in cost-saving practices. The ambulatory surgery setting requires participation in all aspects of patient care, from admission through discharge and provides a comprehensive environment for the practice of perioperative nursing. It also presents a unique challenge to encourage the patient to become a more active participant in the regimen of care, encouraging activities that will assist in goal setting and evaluation of care.
The Need for a Reduced Workweek in the United States

This paper argues that a reduced workweek offers a way to alleviate work-family conflict without exacerbating the sex-based division of labor in paid work and unpaid family work. We distinguish our position from two other approaches: (1) one that compensates unpaid family work directly (through such policies as traditional welfare provision, or alimony), policies we argue can discourage women from labor force attachment and contribute to sex-stereotyping and sex-segregated employment; and (2) an approach that spurs employers to accommodate workers' family responsibilities (through such policies as part-time work for parents), policies workers often avoid out of a well founded fear that they will be penalized unless all workers take advantage of them. Although there is room for supplemental policies such as paid leave, we argue that it is only by reducing the long hours required for many higher-paying full-time jobs - and increasing the hours associated with many lower-paying non-standard jobs - that post-industrial societies can actually create opportunities for both men and women to participate fully in paid employment and parenting. Requiring employers to pay premium wages or compensatory time, plus proportionally additional benefits, to people who work more than 30 to 35 hours a week could help eliminate current legal incentives for employers to overwork full-time employees, who are disproportionately male. Similarly, requiring employers to pay equal wages and proportional benefits to people who work less than 30 to 35 hours a week could eliminate the incentive for employers to create the part-time and contingent jobs in which women are disproportionately concentrated. Other policies, such as an expanded earned-income tax credit, could help men and women converge toward a more moderate workweek norm. Drawing on experience in Europe and the United States, we evaluate the likely effectiveness of various regulatory approaches. Although the matter is complex, the evidence suggests that it is possible to design policy approaches that could help achieve a more moderate workweek in the U.S. We conclude that, even though doing so would alleviate gender inequalities around paid work and unpaid family work, the current political and economic climate is not conducive to achieving such change. We call upon scholars, policymakers, and activists to study and press this issue further.
Why is Hypnosis Effective in Pain Control

The author briefly reviews the concepts of “pain” and the distinctions between pain and suffering. He then reviews some of the theoretical constructs that have been advanced to explain the effectiveness of hypnosis in pain control. These include psychological abstractions, psycho-social observations and generalizations, analysis of communications between patient and hypnotizer, anatomic, neuro-physiologic and bio-chemical conjectures, behavioral principles, and psycho-analytical theories, among others.
A research agenda for business-driven information technology

On Demand Computing is a popular vision of the future in which businesses will respond nimbly to new opportunities and threats. Unfortunately, the ever-growing complexity of IT is a key inhibitor of this vision, as it raises the cost and risk of altering systems, rendering them ever more ponderous. Since the purpose of autonomic computing is to reverse the trend of increasing IT complexity, it is a critically important enabler for On Demand Computing, or businessdriven IT. In this paper, we situate autonomic computing within the broader context of business-driven IT, and use the resulting picture to motivate and discuss a research agenda that we and our colleagues at IBM have begun to pursue.
Comparative effectiveness of primary bariatric operations in the United States.

Abstract Background Four current bariatric operations were compared after matching patients for differences at baseline. Operations with greater weight loss and resolution of co-morbidities also incurred more adverse events. Reflux was best treated by gastric bypass and type 2 diabetes with duodenal switch. These results can guide decision making regarding choice of bariatric operation. Relative outcomes of common primary bariatric operations have not been compared previously in a large multisite cohort from surgeons in multiple surgical centers. Objective Compare outcomes of primary bariatric operations in a matched national sample. Setting Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence in the United States of America Methods Data from Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence Data File was queried from June 2007 to September 2011 for 30-day and 1-year adverse events, 1-year weight loss and comorbidity resolution. Inverse probability weighting accounted for covariate imbalances in multivariable linear/logistic regressions estimates of differences/odds ratios for each pairwise surgical procedure comparison. A Bonferroni correction was applied to account for multiple pairwise comparisons. Results Among 130,796 patients, 57,094 patients underwent AGB, 5942 patients underwent SG, 66,324 patients underwent RYGB and 1436 patients underwent BPD/DS. Compared with AGB, change in body mass index units at 1 year for BPD/DS was 10.6 (standard error [SE]: .15), RYGB 9.3 (SE: .03), and SG 5.7 (SE: .06). Resolution of GERD was best for RYGB (odds ratio [OD] = 1.5, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.48–1.58) and lowest for SG (OR = 0.87, 95% CI: .79–.95). Hypertension and T2D resolution were better after the BPD/DS (OR = 3.82, 95% CI: 3.21–4.55, and OR=5.62, 95% CI: 4.60–6.88, respectively) or after RYGB (OR = 3.08, 95% CI: 2.98–3.18 and OR=3.5, 95% CI: 3.39–3.64, respectively). Odds of serious adverse events at 1 year were: SG, OR=3.22, 95% CI: 2.64–3.92; RYGB, OR=4.92, 95% CI: 4.38–5.54; BPD/DS, OR=17.47, 95% CI: 14.19–21.52. Conclusion Odds of adverse events and co-morbidity resolution were determined after matching for baseline characteristics. RYGB was associated with highest resolution of GERD, whereas BPD/DS was associated with highest resolution of T2D. These findings can guide decision making regarding choice of bariatric operation.
Exploring Topic-Based Sharing Mechanisms

General-purpose content-sharing platforms make it difficult for users to limit sharing to people interested in particular topics. Additional topic-based controls may allow users to better reach desired audiences. Designing such tools requires understanding current interest-based targeting techniques and the potential impact of additional mechanisms. We present an exploratory, interview-based study (n = 16) that addresses these dynamics for Facebook. We use diary-driven probes to explore general topic-based sharing across applications. We then use Facebook-based mockups to probe use cases and design tensions around adding topic-based sharing mechanisms to Facebook. We find that participants currently draw on various audience-limiting and reaching strategies to target interest-based audiences. Participants felt additional topic-based sharing mechanisms on Facebook might allow them to avoid oversharing or offending others and allow them to target improved audiences or share improved content. Usable topic-based sharing tools would also need to account, however, for participants' varied desired engagement strategies.
Observations on pregnancy at altitude: II. Transplacental pressure differences of oxygen and carbon dioxide

Abstract The oxygen and carbon dioxide contents and tensions have been determined in the maternal arterial, uterine venous, umbilical arterial, and imbilical venous blood in pregnant ungulates bred and pastured at sea level and then exposed to altitudes as high as 15,000 feet. At altitude, the oxygen tension in the umbilical blood vessels decreases less than in the maternal placental vessels. Despite a smaller transplacental difference in oxygen pressure, the carbon dioxide pressure difference remains unchanged from sea level.
ADAMs10/17 deficient mast cells exhibit decreased IgE-mediated activation in vitro .

Allergies and asthma are common ailments that are on the rise around the world. Mast cells play a direct role in the signs and symptoms characteristic in allergic patients. The family of A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinases (ADAMs) are involved in regulating many cellular processes by cleaving surface receptors, ligands, and signaling molecules. We sought to determine the role of ADAMs10/17 in bone marrow-derived mast cell (BMMC) activity. In dual inhibitor-based studies, percent degranulation and cytokines released by IgE-mediated activation were significantly reduced. Interestingly, ionomycin-activation was unchanged with inhibitor treatment, suggesting that ADAMs10/17 may be involved in IgE-mediated mast cell activation upstream of calcium influx. Preliminary results with ADAM17 MC−/− BMMCs have confirmed the inhibitor data and provided interesting results regarding increased mast cell survival and proliferation. These data suggest that targeting ADAMs10/17 could attenuate mast cell-related T H 2 responses.
DEM Extensions: Acoustical Pre-Processing

In numerous industries, particle-laden fluids are a key part of the fabrication of products such as (1) casted machine parts, (2) additively manufactured and 3D printed electronics and medical devices, and even (3) slurry processed food to name a few.
Mammography screening trends: the perspective of African American women born pre/post World War II.

Researchers have traditionally combined aging women (aged ≥50 years) when reporting their mammography use. This may inadvertently mask important cohort effects in mammography use, which are likely to result from distinct personal life experiences and generational differences. Using the Health and Retirement Study samples of 1998, 2000, and 2004, we examined cohort differences in mammography use between African American women born before 1946 (non-baby boomers) and those born in 1946 to 1953 (baby boomers). Between 1998 and 2004, screening rates for non-baby boomers declined, while those for baby boomers remained relatively steady. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses suggest that while screening rates decreased with age (OR, 0.957; 95% CI, 0.947-0.968) cohort effects may have partially reversed the age effect, with non-baby boomers having an increased likelihood of receiving a mammogram compared to baby boomers (OR, 1.697; 95% CI, 1.278-2.254). Because African American women are diagnosed at later stages of breast cancer, documentation of cohort differences in mammography use among older African American women is important as health care professionals design intervention programs that are maximally effective for women from different cohorts. This is particularly critical as more African American women in the baby boomer cohort become part of the aging population.
Internal Consistency of the Concept of Automaticity

While attention theorists have examined the internal consistency of the concept of automaticity by asking how attentional demands covary with intentional control, the relationship between attention demands and awareness is not clear. The current experiments used the internal consistency of two-process models of attention as a null hypothesis, and considered the functional relationship between controlled and automatic processes. Three experiments manipulated subjects' awareness and knowledge, and related these manipulations to aspects of performance traditionally considered to be controlled or automatic. It was found that variations in awareness and knowledge were not related to processes that have traditionally been considered controlled. Manipulations of subjects' awareness or knowledge consistently affected how they executed their movements, suggesting executive processes such as awareness, are coordinated with automatic processes such as movement execution. It was recommended that theoretical models of automaticity consider how automatic processes are coordinated with controlled processes.
Roger Apéry: Explaining Proofs

In this chapter we discuss the role of proof in mathematics and theory. A proof must convince not only the author but others; if it does not, it is not a proof. One wonderful example of this is Roger Apery’s proof that the zeta function evaluated at 3 is irrational. This was a result that the great Leonhard Euler missed, and many at first doubted Apery’s arguement. His argument is solid and solved this long-standing open problem.
Use of Standard-Basis Operators in the Configuration-Based Model of Narrow Band Solids

We show that the standard-basis (or atomic) operators are well suited for determining the Fermion excitation spectra which arise when interatomic f-d hybridization and f-f overlap are considered within the configuration-based model. The temperature dependences of the magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity of the model show qualitative agreement with experimental data on many narrow band rare earth and actinide materials.
Unusual electrodiagnostic feature in patient with severe Myasthenia Gravis (P6.438)

Objective: To report a case of severe generalized myasthenia gravis with unusual post-exercise facilitation Background: Autoimmune myasthenia gravis is a post synaptic neuromuscular transmission disorder with antibodies directed at muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and muscle specific kinase. A post exercise facilitation increment of up to 92 % can occur with severe myasthenia gravis and often leads to confusion of coexistence of pre synaptic disorder such as Lambert Eaton Syndrome (LEMS). 85% of patients with LEMS show >100% increment. Design/Methods: 52-year-old female with history of SLE presented with progressive dysphagia and dysarthria along with symptoms of fluctuating bilateral ptosis, diplopia, and difficulty chewing. Neurologic exam demonstrated normal cognitive and language function, pupils were bilaterally reactive to light, bilateral fatigable ptosis, and mild facial asymmetry were seen. Motor exam showed asymmetric proximal weakness in the lower extremities and distal weakness in upper extremities, preserved reflexes, intact sensory exam and Trendelenburg gait. Results: Further workup demonstrated positive Acetylcholine receptor binding, blocking and modulating antibodies. Electromyography showed electrodiagnostic evidence of post neuromuscular junction disorder with small CMAP amplitudes at baseline and greater than 10% decrement with repetitive nerve stimulation at 3 Hz in the thenar and hypothenar muscles at baseline (25% – 50 % decrement) and at 1 and 2 minutes post exercise (25%–75% decrement ). There was also >50% ( 25% – 52%) increase in amplitude after 10 seconds post exercise. Further testing for voltage gated calcium channel antibodies (VGCC) were negative, and helped differentiate MG from LEMS or a MLOS (Myasthenia Lambert Eaton Overlap Syndrome). Chest CT was negative for thymoma, Patient was started on Pyridostigmine, Prednisone and Azathioprine for management of MG. Conclusions: Post exercise facilitation on electromyography can be seen in severe generalized Myasthenia Gravis. Negative VGCC antibodies help rule out LEMS or the coexistence of LEMS. Early recognition is important for subsequent management of the condition. Disclosure: Dr. Tarasaria has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rath has nothing to disclose. Dr. Daniel has nothing to disclose.
Ecological wisdom as a guide for implementing the precautionary principle

Many governments around the world have used the precautionary principle as the foundation in developing public policies since the late twentieth century. The principle stipulates that governments shall be obligated to restrict or ban activities that may cause serious and/or irreversible harm to human health and the environment, even without fully established scientific evidence of causal relationship. Further, the proposers of the activities must demonstrate that those activities will not cause serious harm. The precautionary principle has received criticisms, and these range from ignoring the benefits from proposed activities or overlooking the harm from inaction, having bias toward nature, to imposing an impossible burden of proof on the action proposers. Some of the debates have revealed the misuse of the principle and the need for clarification and specification. Other differences of opinion can be attributed to the uncertainties of the future since neither the proponents nor the opponents of the principle can be certain about the outcome of a proposed action. Therefore, socio-ecological practitioners need more knowledge implementation and impact research to produce actionable guidance on implementing the precautionary principle for sustaining human settlements. The recent progress of ecological wisdom has the potential to provide a fresh perspective for applying the precautionary principle. After describing ecological wisdom, this essay demands that pursuing benefits and avoiding problems are everyone’s responsibility. All involved stakeholders have the same moral obligation to internalize knowledge, experience, and ethical values in decision-makings that affect humans and the environment they rely on.
Total 12-Lead QRS Voltage in Patients Having Orthotopic Heart Transplantation for Heart Failure Caused by Adriamycin-Induced Cardiomyopathy.

Objective Although several studies have described the effects of adriamycin on the heart, electrocardiographic total 12-lead QRS voltage (distance in millimeters from the peak of the R wave to the nadir of either the Q or S wave, whichever was deeper, with 10 mm [1 mV] being standard) both before and after orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) has not been reported. This study describes the total 12-lead QRS voltage in 8 patients studied at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, from 1994 to June 2018, who underwent OHT for severe heart failure caused by anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy. Method Prior to OHT, the total 12-lead non-paced QRS voltages ranged from 86 to 189 mm (mean 125 ± 56) and for paced QRS voltages from 82 to 113 mm (mean 97 ± 15). The total 12-lead QRS voltages post-OHT ranged from 100 to 190 mm (mean 130 ± 30). Total 12-lead QRS voltages were lower in patients with a pacemaker than without. Results/conclusion These low voltages are like those found in patients with carcinoid syndrome, severe cardiac adiposity, cardiac amyloidosis, and cardiac sarcoidosis.
Impact of a documentation intervention on health-assessment metrics on an inpatient gynecologic oncology service.

Abstract Objective Accurate documentation is critical for patient care and hospital reimbursement. We sought to improve the accuracy of severity of illness (SOI) and risk of mortality (ROM) scores through implementation of documentation initiatives. Methods We performed a pre- versus post-implementation analysis to assess the impact of a documentation intervention bundle on calculated admission/discharge SOI/ROM scores on an inpatient gynecologic oncology service. Introduced in January 2017, the bundle included educational in-service, introduction of problem-based progress notes, a documentation tip ID badge and video, and weekly chart audits. Admission/discharge SOI/ROM scores (range 1–4) were obtained from hospital performance services. Demographics and 30-day mortality were collected from electronic medical records for all inpatients in historic (calendar year 2015) and intervention (2017) cohorts. Primary outcomes (discharge SOI/ROM) were modelled using ordinal and multinomial logistic regressions, controlling for confounders. 30-day observed/expected mortality ratios were reported for each cohort. Results 629 patients were included: 378 (60%) in 2015, 251 (40%) in 2017. Increased odds of having higher SOI score were observed in the intervention cohort for medical (OR = 2.22; 95% CI 1.38, 3.58) and surgical admissions (OR = 2.63; 95% CI 1.47, 4.40). Surgical (OR = 5.54; 95% CI 1.29, 23.96), but not medical (OR = 1.45; 95% CI 0.46, 4.57), admissions in the intervention cohort had higher odds of having the worst ROM score. Observed/expected mortality was 0.24 in the intervention compared to 0.37 in historic cohort (p = 0.58, NS). Conclusion An intervention bundle to improve physician documentation accuracy resulted in higher discharge SOI scores for medical and surgical admissions.
Exploring the thermal reversibility and tunability of a low molecular weight gelator using vibrational and electronic spectroscopy and rheology.

Cationic glycylalanylglycine (GAG) self-assembles into a gel in a 55 mol% ethanol/45 mol% water mixture. The gel exhibits a network of crystalline fibrils grown to lengths on a 10−4–10−5 m scale (Farrel et al., Soft Matter, 2016, 12, 6096–6110). Rheological data are indicative of a rather strong gel with storage moduli in the 10 kPa regime. Spectroscopic data revealed the existence of two gel phases; one forms below T = 15 °C (phase I) while the other one forms in a temperature range between 15 °C and the melting temperature of ca. 35 °C (phase II). We explored the reformation of the cationic GAG gel in 55 mol% ethanol/45 mol% water after thermal annealing by spectroscopic and rheological means. Our data reveal that even a short residence time of 5 minutes in the sol phase at 50 °C produced a delay of the gelation process and a gel of lesser strength. These observations suggest that the residence time at the annealing temperature can be used to adjust the strength of both gel phases. Our spectroscopic data show that the annealing process does not change the chirality of peptide fibrils in the two gel phases and that the initial aggregation state of the reformation process is by far more ordered for phase I than it is for phase II. In the gel phases of GAG/ethanol/water mixtures, ethanol seems to function as a sort of catalyst that enables the self-assembly of the peptide in spite of its low intrinsic propensity for aggregation.
Munich to Manhattan: German Bibliothekswissenschaft and the Beginnings of North American Library Science Education

Abstract The achievements of German librarians in establishing Bibliothekswissenschaft—the science of libraries—were internationally acknowledged in the nineteenth century. The first part of this a...
Understanding the Impact of Seeing Gun Violence and Hearing Gunshots in Public Places: Findings From the Youth Firearm Risk and Safety Study:

There is a current public health emphasis on finding strategies for reducing the risks associated with children's gun violence exposure. This article examines the impact of seeing and hearing gun violence on youth of different ages and living in urban and nonurban areas. Participants were 630 youth, aged 2 to 17. Youth, ages 10 to 17, completed a self-report survey, and caregivers of young children, ages 2 to 9, completed the survey as a proxy for that child. Participants resided in Boston, MA; Philadelphia, PA; and rural areas of eastern TN. Participants were recruited through a variety of techniques including pediatric clinics, housing authorities, youth-serving agencies, festivals, word of mouth, and local e-mail lists for classified advertisements. Data were collected between October 2017 and April 2018 and analyzed in 2019. In total, 41% of youth in this study reported ever seeing or hearing gun violence; 32% had such an experience in the past year. Among exposed youth, 50% took protective action to keep themselves safe, and 58% reported being very or extremely afraid, sad, or upset as a result of the indirect gun violence. More youth living in urban compared with nonurban areas took some protective action. Females and younger children had increased odds of experiencing high fear as a result of the violence. Current gun violence prevention has typically targeted adolescents; however, current findings suggest the need to focus on younger children as well, including the distress resulting from indirect exposure to gun violence.