cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Can We Reduce the Utilization of Home-Visiting Nurse Services After Primary Total Joint Arthroplasty?

Abstract Background Home-visiting nurse services (HVNSs) after total joint arthroplasty (TJA) are touted as advantageous compared with inpatient rehabilitation. No study has established the utility of HVNSs compared with discharge home without services. Methods A retrospective single-surgeon consecutive series of 509 primary TJA patients compared discharge disposition, length of stay, complications, and patient satisfaction between 2 cohorts. The cohorts were defined by the elimination of routine HVNSs. Results Surprisingly, without routine HVNSs, more patients were discharged home (95% vs 88.3% with routine HVNSs) and mean length of stay significantly decreased. Complication rate was similar (2.9% vs 3.9% with routine HVNSs). Patient satisfaction remained favorable. We estimated that eliminating HVNSs avoids excess costs of $1177 per hip and $1647 per knee arthroplasty. Conclusions With dramatically diminished HVNS utilization after primary TJA, there was an associated decrease in length of stay and no increase in complication rate suggesting no compromise of patient care with significant cost savings.
Medical education resources initiative for teens program in baltimore: A model pipeline program built on four pillars.

Background: Less than 6% of U.S. medical school applicants are African-American. The lack of diversity among physicians, by race as well as other measures, confers a negative impact on the American healthcare system because underrepresented minority (URM) physicians are more likely to practice in underserved communities and deliver more equitable, culturally competent care. Methods: MERIT (Medical Education Resources Initiative for Teens) is a nonprofit organization based in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. MERIT prepares URM high school students for health careers by providing a holistic support system for seven consecutive years. The program model, which utilizes weekly Saturday sessions, summer internships, and longitudinal mentoring, is built on four foundational pillars: (1) Ignite the Fire, (2) Illuminate the Path, (3) Create the Toolkit, and (4) Sustain the Desire. Results: Since 2011, MERIT has supported 51 students in the Baltimore City Public School System. For the past two years, 100% (n = 14) of MERIT seniors enrolled in universities, compared to only 20.2% of Baltimore City students overall. While it is too early to know whether MERIT alumni will realize their goals of becoming healthcare professionals, they are currently excelling in universities and over 75% (n = 17) are still planning to pursue graduate degrees in health-related fields. Discussion: After piloting an effective program model, MERIT now has three key priorities moving forward: (1) Creating a sustainable and thriving organization, (2) increasing the number of scholars the program supports in Baltimore, and (3) expanding MERIT to other cities.
OVERVIEW OF STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS MODEL VALIDATION ACTIVITIES AT LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY

This presentation will provide a summary of the research and applications of structural dynamics model validation at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In this context model validation refers to the assessment of confidence in the usefulness of computational structural dynamics predictions for a particular application. The presentation will cover the problem definition, objectives, and motivation for studying model validation. Current paradigms for the model validation problem will also be presented. Supporting technologies such as uncertainty quantification, global sensitivity analysis, metamodeling, parameter updating, and design of experiments will be discussed, along with their role in the model validation process. The usefulness of model validation results for the computational modeling of system-level structural dynamics will be demonstrated. Examples of model validation techniques applied to transient structural dynamics problems of interest will be shown.
Overcoming the Challenges of Porting OpenCV to TI's Embedded ARM + DSP Platforms:

The growing performance and decreasing price of embedded processors are opening many doors, for both developers in the industry and in academia. However, the complexities of these systems can creat...
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one: What cognitive neuropsychology can't do, what it can, and what it should. Commentary on Laine and Martin, “Cognitive neuropsychology has been, is, and will be significant to aphasiology”

Harley (2004) summarises the two fundamental aims of cognitive neuropsychology (CNP) as follows: 1. To explain the patterns of impaired and intact performance seen in people with brain damage in te...
Techniques and Preliminary Studies on the Chromosomes of Nilobezzia and Bezzia

The chromosome complements from ovarian tissue of Nilobezzia brevicornis (Wirth), Bezzia(Probezzia) sp., and several species of Culicoides were examined and found to have a haploid number of three. Meiotic metaphase I stages of the aforementioned 2 species and the karyotype of N. brevicornis are figured. Somatic pairing, as in other Diptera, occurs in ceratopogonids, and evidence indicates that it persists in anaphase. Techniques for obtaining chromosome preparations from ceratopogonids are discussed.
Effects of epidermal growth factor on signal transduction in rabbit parietal cells

The aim of this study was to elucidate the cellular mechanisms of action of epidermal growth factor (EGF) inhibition of parietal cell secretion. EGF effects on histamine- and carbachol-stimulated [14C]aminopyrine (AP) uptake and intrinsic factor (IF) secretion were evaluated in isolated rabbit parietal cells. EGF inhibited histamine-stimulated [14C]AP uptake and IF secretion through a reduction in stimulated adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) levels. EGF decreased the phosphorylation of a cytosolic 30-kDa, histamine-stimulated, cAMP-dependent protein kinase substrate. These effects on histamine-stimulated activation were reversed by pertussis toxin preincubation. EGF inhibited carbachol-stimulated [14C]AP uptake and IF secretion, but did not alter the carbachol-stimulated Ca2+ transient. These results indicate that EGF inhibits histamine-stimulated secretion through the inhibitory Gi guanosine 5'-triphosphate-binding protein and carbachol-stimulated secretion through a mechanism independent of th...
Predicting prolonged dose titration in patients starting warfarin.

Purpose Patients initiating warfarin therapy generally experience a dose-titration period of weeks to months, during which time they are at higher risk of both thromboembolic and bleeding events. Accurate prediction of prolonged dose titration could help clinicians determine which patients might be better treated by alternative anticoagulants that, while more costly, do not require dose titration. Methods A prediction model was derived in a prospective cohort of patients starting warfarin (n = 390), using Cox regression, and validated in an external cohort (n = 663) from a later time period. Prolonged dose titration was defined as a dose-titration period >12 weeks. Predictor variables were selected using a modified best subsets algorithm, using leave-one-out cross-validation to reduce overfitting. Results The final model had five variables: warfarin indication, insurance status, number of doctor's visits in the previous year, smoking status, and heart failure. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) in the derivation cohort was 0.66 (95%CI 0.60, 0.74) using leave-one-out cross-validation, but only 0.59 (95%CI 0.54, 0.64) in the external validation cohort, and varied across clinics. Including genetic factors in the model did not improve the area under the ROC curve (0.59; 95%CI 0.54, 0.65). Relative utility curves indicated that the model was unlikely to provide a clinically meaningful benefit compared with no prediction. Conclusions Our results suggest that prolonged dose titration cannot be accurately predicted in warfarin patients using traditional clinical, social, and genetic predictors, and that accurate prediction will need to accommodate heterogeneities across clinical sites and over time. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A fully-integrated digitally-programmable 4×4 picosecond digital-to-impulse radiating array in 65nm bulk CMOS

In this paper, a fully-integrated 4×4 digital-toimpulse radiating array with a programmable delay at each element is reported. Coherent spatial combining from 16 elements is successfully demonstrated. The combined signal from 16 elements achieves a jitter of 230fsec, a pulse width of 14psec, and an EIRP of 17dBm. Each array element is equipped with an 8-bit digitally-programmable delay that provides a step resolution of 200fsec and a dynamic range of 20psec. The chip is implemented in a 65nm bulk CMOS process.
Analysis of a hybrid phase modulated converter with a current doubler rectifier in CCM and a comparison with its center-tapped counterpart

A hybrid phase modulated converter with current doubler rectification has been analyzed. The operating principles in continuous conduction mode are discussed. Various equations and equivalent circuits that aid in design have been derived. How this topology compares against a conventional hybrid resonant converter has been delineated under various design considerations. The zero voltage switching characteristics, filter requirements, small-signal transfer characteristics, device ratings and magnetics size requirement are discussed. Simulation results and experimental verification from a 500 W prototype converter switched at 100 kHz are presented.
The Psychologist's Companion: A Guide to Professional Success for Students, Teachers, and Researchers

The Psychologist's Companion, 6th edition is written for students, young professionals, and even mid-career scholars. It is the most comprehensive guide available to both written and oral communication processes for academic psychologists. It covers the topics necessary for career success, including planning papers, writing papers, presenting data, evaluating one's papers, writing grant proposals, giving talks, finding a book publisher, doing job interviews, and doing media interviews. Because the book is in its sixth edition, it is market tested for success in reaching and engaging its readers. Two special (new) pedagogical features are 'Experience is the best teacher', which draws on the authors' personal experiences to help make the book more personalized and exciting to readers, and 'What's wrong here', which gives readers an opportunity for active learning while they read the book. The authors have written the book in a personable and often humorous style that will keep readers engaged.
Disease-Specific Knowledge Assessment of Caregivers Is a Better Predictor of Health Care Utilization Than Caregiver Functional Health Literacy Among Children with Sickle Cell Disease

Abstract Abstract 4240 Background: Recent data suggests 20–30% of parents of young children in the United States have low health literacy. Caregiver health literacy has implications for recognizing illness and can affect child health outcome. We used the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA), a 36-item validated measure of functional health literacy (FHL) that can be administered in a short period of time, to identify caregivers of children with sickle cell disease that had inadequate or marginal FHL. We further sought to identify caregivers’ disease-specific knowledge (DSK) deficits by administering our own unique questionnaire. We then determined if FHL and DSK were related to emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of caregiver-child dyads from a sample of children aged 12 months to 18 years that presented to routine visits in a comprehensive sickle cell clinic at an urban teaching hospital. Caregivers were administered the S-TOFHLA and also given a 22-item questionnaire assessing both demographic data and also qualitative and quantitative measures of DSK. A 12-month retrospective review of the child's electronic medical record was then performed to determine number of annual emergency room visits and hospital admissions at our institution. Results: A total of n=85 caregiver-child dyads were enrolled in the study during one year of recruitment. On the S-TOFHLA, only 3/85 caregivers (3.5%) had inadequate or marginal FHL. Of all 85 caregivers, 82% identified themselves as mothers to the patient, while 6% were fathers. Nearly 97% graduated from high school. We selected 12 unique items assessing DSK on our questionnaire and gave each item a value of 1 point. Caregivers were divided based on correct answers to these 12 items using a median split, with 49/85 caregivers (n1) scoring between 9–12 and 36/85 caregivers (n2) scoring 8 or less. Although there was no difference in FHL outcome between the two groups, those in n1 scored slightly higher on the 36-item S-TOFHLA than those in n2 (average 33/36 vs. 34/36, p=0.01). Group n1 was more likely to have attended college (p=0.03) and children of caregivers in this group were younger (average age 9 years vs. 12 years, p=0.008). Children of caregivers in n1 were nearly twice as likely to visit the ED than those in n2 (p Conclusion: Only 3.5% of caregivers of children with sickle cell disease had inadequate or marginal FHL. Our data suggests caregivers with more DSK were more educated and more likely to identify illness in their children. Knowledge-based questionnaires for chronic childhood illnesses such as sickle cell disease may be more useful than standard measurements of FHL to assess caregivers' ability to identify and react to illness. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells (ipRGCs) Are Necessary for Light Entrainment of Peripheral Clocks

Light is a powerful entrainer of circadian clocks in almost all eukaryotic organisms promoting synchronization of internal circadian rhythms with external environmental light-dark (LD) cycles. In mammals, the circadian system is organized in a hierarchical manner, in which a central pacemaker in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) synchronizes oscillators in peripheral tissues. Recent evidence demonstrates that photoentrainment of the SCN proceeds via signaling from a subpopulation of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) which are melanopsin-expressing and intrinsically photosensitive (ipRGCs). However, it is still unclear whether photoentrainment of peripheral clocks is mediated exclusively by the ipRGC system or if signaling from RGCs that do not express melanopsin also plays a role. Here we have used genetic "silencing" of ipRGC neurotransmission in mice to investigate whether this photoreceptive system is obligatory for the photoentrainment of peripheral circadian clocks. Genetic silencing of ipRGC neurotransmission in mice was achieved by expression of tetanus toxin light chain in melanopsin-expressing cells (Opn4::TeNT mouse line). Rhythms of the clock gene Period 2 in various peripheral tissues were measured by crossbreeding Opn4::TeNT mice with PER2 luciferase knock-in mice (mPER2Luc). We found that in Opn4::TeNT mice the pupillary light reflex, light modulation of activity, and circadian photoentrainment of locomotor activity were severely impaired. Furthermore, ex vivo cultures from Opn4::TeNT, mPER2Luc mice of the adrenal gland, cornea, lung, liver, pituitary and spleen exhibited robust circadian rhythms of PER2::LUC bioluminescence. However, their peak bioluminescence rhythms were not aligned to the projected LD cycles indicating their lack of photic entrainment in vivo. Finally, we found that the circadian rhythm in adrenal corticosterone in Opn4::TeNT mice, as monitored by in vivo subcutaneous microdialysis, was desynchronized from environmental LD cycles. Our findings reveal a non-redundant role of ipRGCs for photic entrainment of peripheral tissues, highlighting the importance of this photoreceptive system for the organismal adaptation to daily environmental LD cycles.
Improved lithium iodide neutron scintillator with Eu2+ activation: The elimination of Suzuki-Phase precipitates

Abstract Monovalent alkali halides such as NaI, CsI, and LiI are widely used as inorganic scintillators for radiation detection due to their light yield, the capability for the growth of large single crystals, relatively low cost, and other favorable characteristics. These materials are frequently activated through the addition of small amounts (e.g., a few hundred ppm) of elements such as thallium - or sodium in the case of CsI. The monovalent alkali halide scintillators can also be activated with low concentrations of Eu 2+ , however Eu activation has previously not been widely employed due to the non-uniform segregation of the divalent Eu dopant that leads to the formation of unwanted phases during Bridgman or other solidification crystal-growth methods. Specifically, for Eu concentrations near and above ~0.5%, Suzuki Phase precipitates form in the course of the melt-growth process, and these Suzuki Phase particles scatter the scintillation light. This adversely affects the scintillator performance via reduction in the optical transmission of the material, and depending on the crystal thickness and precipitated-particle concentration, this reduction can occur up to the point of opacity. Here we describe a post-growth process for the removal of Suzuki Phase precipitates from single crystals of the neutron scintillator LiI activated with Eu 2+ at concentrations up to and in excess of 3 wt%, and we correlate the resulting neutron-detection performance with the thermal processing methods used to remove the Suzuki Phase particles. The resulting improved scintillator properties using increased Eu activator levels are applicable to neutron imaging and active interrogation systems, and pulse-height gamma-ray spectroscopy rather than pulse-shape discrimination can be used to discriminate between gamma ray and neutron interaction events.
ASSERT: Advanced wireleSS Environment Research Testbed

Software simulation has often been used to evaluate proposed protocols for wireless devices. Simulation allows for rapid development and testing, but does not provide a realistic RF environment. To compensate for this, field experiments are performed. However, problems encountered during field experiments can be difficult to locate and correcting problems on-site can be time-consuming. Emulations attempt to provide the advantages of simulation and field experiments without the suffering the disadvantages of both. This demo provides an overview of the hardware, software, and emulation capabilities of ASSERT, an emulation testbed.
Application of IATA – A case study in evaluating the global and local performance of a Bayesian network model for skin sensitization

AbstractThe information characterizing key events in an Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) can be generated from in silico, in chemico, in vitro and in vivo approaches. Integration of this information and interpretation for decision making are known as integrated approaches to testing and assessment (IATA). One such IATA was published by Jaworska et al., which describes a Bayesian network model known as ITS-2. The current work evaluated the performance of ITS-2 using a stratified cross-validation approach. We also characterized the impact of replacing the most significant component of the network, output from the expert system TIMES-SS, with structural alert information from the OECD Toolbox and Toxtree. Lack of structural alerts or TIMES-SS predictions yielded a sensitization potential prediction of 79%. If the TIMES-SS prediction was replaced by a structural alert indicator, the network predictivity increased up to 87%. The original network’s predictivity was 89%. The local applicability domain of the origin...
Emergency Medicine Myths: Ectopic Pregnancy Evaluation, Risk Factors, and Presentation.

Abstract Background Ectopic pregnancy (EP) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in females of reproductive age. Proper diagnosis and treatment are critical, as complications such as rupture, hemorrhagic shock, and even death can occur. Objective EP is a condition emergency physicians are trained to detect, yet there are multiple myths concerning its evaluation and diagnosis. This article reviews several of these myths in order to improve emergency department (ED) evaluation and diagnosis. Discussion EP is a difficult diagnosis and may be missed on initial ED visit. While the diagnosis is often delayed simply due to very early presentations, it can also be missed because patients may not have all the same risk factors or demonstrate the same symptoms. They may also not demonstrate the same serum B-human chorionic gonadotropin levels and trends or have the same ultrasound findings at equivalent gestational ages. Some patients with early EP may have positive ultrasound findings with serum β-hCG levels under a defined discriminatory zone (DZ). On the other hand, some patients with an early viable intrauterine pregnancy may have no visible findings on initial ultrasound, but have serum β-hCG (quantitative) levels well above the DZ. Although rare, EP has even been demonstrated in women with negative urine β-hCG tests or low serum β-hCG levels. Conclusions While EP may be a challenging diagnosis, understanding the myths surrounding EP may help emergency physicians consider it, even when patient risk factors, symptoms, or ED laboratory or imaging studies do not initially or easily define the diagnosis.
Blurred lines: Multiple freshwater and marine algal toxins at the land-sea interface of San Francisco Bay, California

San Francisco Bay (SFB) is a eutrophic estuary that harbors both freshwater and marine toxigenic organisms that are responsible for harmful algal blooms. While there are few commercial fishery harvests within SFB, recreational and subsistence harvesting for shellfish is common. Coastal shellfish are monitored for domoic acid and paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), but within SFB there is no routine monitoring for either toxin. Dinophysis shellfish toxins (DSTs) and freshwater microcystins are also present within SFB, but not routinely monitored. Acute exposure to any of these toxin groups has severe consequences for marine organisms and humans, but chronic exposure to sub-lethal doses, or synergistic effects from multiple toxins, are poorly understood and rarely addressed. This study documents the occurrence of domoic acid and microcystins in SFB from 2011 to 2016, and identifies domoic acid, microcystins, DSTs, and PSTs in marine mussels within SFB in 2012, 2014, and 2015. At least one toxin was detected in 99% of mussel samples, and all four toxin suites were identified in 37% of mussels. The presence of these toxins in marine mussels indicates that wildlife and humans who consume them are exposed to toxins at both sub-lethal and acute levels. As such, there are potential deleterious impacts for marine organisms and humans and these effects are unlikely to be documented. These results demonstrate the need for regular monitoring of marine and freshwater toxins in SFB, and suggest that co-occurrence of multiple toxins is a potential threat in other ecosystems where freshwater and seawater mix.
A Multiphase Flow and Internal Corrosion Prediction Model for Mild Steel Pipelines

A number of CO2 corrosion models can predict successfully the “worst case” corrosion rate but fail when more complex effects need to be included such as protective scale formation, water entrainment/wetting and the H2S effect. A comprehensive integrated CO2 / H2S corrosion – multiphase flow model package has been built that takes into account the effect of most important variables and processes in internal pipeline corrosion including the effects of H2S, water entrainment in multiphase flow, corrosion inhibition by crude oil components and localized attack. In the text below it is described how the model can account for formation of iron carbonate and iron sulfide scales and predict their morphology as well as the effect on the corrosion rate. It is then shown how the model can successfully predict the critical velocity for entraining free water by the flowing oil phase as well as the effect of the key variables. The model has been extensively calibrated with laboratory data and compared with limited field data.
Reversible dissociation of chick oviduct progesterone receptor subunits.

Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that chick oviduct cytosol contains two 4S progesterone-binding components of different molecular weights, designated A and B, which exhibit high affinity for DNA and chromatin, respectively (Schrader et al., 1972). Both are single polypeptide chains with kinetically identical hormone binding sites (Schrader and O’Malley, 1972). Their molecular weights are 79,000 and 108,000, respectively (Coty et al., 1979; Kuhn et al., 1975). We have postulated that the native cytoplasmic receptor form, sedimenting at 6–8S in low-salt sucrose gradients and containing equal amounts of A and B (Schrader et al., 1975), is a dimer or higher aggregate consisting of one part each of the A and B proteins as subunits.
A Public Health Model for Simulating Policy Interventions to Reduce Nonmedical Opioid Use

Reports on the development of a system dynamics simulation model of initiation and nonmedical use of pharmaceutical opioids in the US. The study relies on historical trend data as well as expert panel recommendations that inform model parameters and structure. The model was used to assess simulated public health interventions for reducing initiation and nonmedical use of opioids. Results indicate that interventions which reduce the likelihood of informal sharing of leftover medicine could significantly reduce initiation and nonmedical use. Less effective are supply restrictions, such as drug take-back days, and interventions aimed at reducing the likelihood that nonusers would decide to initiate nonmedical use based on their interactions with nonmedical users. We conclude that system dynamics is an effective approach for evaluating potential interventions to this complex system where the use of pharmaceutical opioids to treat pain can lead to unintended distal outcomes in the public sphere.
Chapter 1 – Algebraic Preliminaries

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses various algebraic notions and connections. The chapter discusses sets, relations and mappings. Any subset of A × B is called a (binary) relation between A and B. The sets A and B are said to have the same cardinality if there exists a one-to-one mapping of A onto B. In the finite case this means that A and B have the same number of elements. In the infinite case, a proper—that is, distinct from A—subset of a set A may have the same cardinality as A, for example, the even integers and all integers. Moreover, this property characterizes infinite sets. A one-to-one mapping of a set A onto itself is called a permutation. Groupoids, and semigroups are also reviewed. A is a partial binary system if there is defined an operation—called, like, multiplication— in A, which “combines” some ordered pairs of elements of A to give, in result, an element of A.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the new millennium.

Background Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has become the gold standard for the treatment of symptomatic cholelithiasis. Many authors—including investigators at our institution, who reported one of the initial experiences with laparoscopic cholecystectomy in July 1992—have documented a definite learning curve associated with this procedure. We present a follow-up study of our experience with laparoscopic cholecystectomy and compare these data to an earlier study of the initial experience with laparoscopic cholecystectomy at the Beth Israel Medical Center.
How Much is Flexibility Worth

When a situation involves great uncertainty and managers need flexibility to respond, real options valuation comes into its own. If the decision you face involves low uncertainty, or you have no scope to change course when you acquire new information later on, then NPV works fine. If not, you will want to know more about what real options are and how to value them. We compare the main decision-making tools and show why traditional techniques such as NPV, economic profit (EP), and decision trees are incomplete, often misleading, and sometimes dead wrong. We also look at how real options have been used in several practical situations, drawing on simple examples for illustrative purposes rather than going into the mechanics of valuing complicated real options.
A Paradox of Political Reform: Shadow Interests in the U.S. States

Laws that restrict and disclose the actions of lobbyists are attempts to protect elected officials from undue influence and preserve public trust in lawmaking processes. Imposing too many campaign ...
An atlas-based method to predict three-dimensional dose distributions for cancer patients who receive radiotherapy

Due to the complexity of advanced radiotherapy techniques, treatment planning process is usually time consuming and plan quality can vary considerably among planners and institutions. It is also impractical to generate all possible treatment plans based on available radiotherapy techniques and select the best option for a specific patient. Automatic dose prediction will be very helpful in these situations, while there were a few studies of three-dimensional (3D) dose prediction for patients who received radiotherapy. The purpose of this work was to develop a novel atlas-based method to predict 3D dose prediction and to evaluate its performance. Previously treated nineteen left-sided post-mastectomy breast cancer patients and sixteen prostate cancer patients were included in this study. One patient was arbitrarily chosen as the reference for each type of cancer and all the remaining patients' computed tomography (CT) images and contours were aligned to it using deformable image registration (DIR). Deformable vector field (DVF) for each patient i (DVF i-ref) was used to deform the original 3D dose matrix of that patient. CT scan of a test patient was also registered with the same reference patient using DIR and both direct DVF (DVFtest-ref) and inverse DVF ([Formula: see text]) were derived. Similarity of atlas patients to the test patient was determined based on the similarity of DVFtest-ref to atlas DVFs (DVF i-ref) and appropriate weighting factors were calculated. Patients' doses in the atlas were deformed again using [Formula: see text] to transform them from the reference patient's coordinates to the test patient's coordinates and the final 3D dose distribution for the test patient was predicted by summing the weighted individual 3D dose distributions. Performance of our method was evaluated and the results revealed that the proposed method was able to predict the 3D dose distributions accurately. The mean dose difference between clinical and predicted 3D dose distributions were 0.9 ± 1.1 Gy and 1.9 ± 1.2 Gy for breast and prostate plans. The proposed dose prediction method can be used to improve planning quality and facilitate plan comparisons.
AltEx: An open source web application and toolkit for accessing and exploring altimetry datasets

Abstract Understanding the spatial and temporal distribution of hydrologic variables, such as streamflow, is important for sustainable development, especially with global population growth and climate variations. Typical monitoring of streamflow is conducted using in situ gauging stations; however, stations are costly to setup and maintain, leading to data gaps in regions that cannot afford gauges. Satellite data, including altimetry data, are used to supplement in situ observations and in some cases supply information where they are lacking. This study introduces an open-source web application to access and explore altimetry datasets for use in water level monitoring, named the Altimetry Explorer (AltEx). This web application, along with its relevant REST API, facilitates access to altimetry data for analysis, visualization, and impact. The data provided through AltEx is validated using thirteen gauges in the Amazon Basin from 2008 to 2018 with an average Nash-Sutcliffe Coefficient and root mean square error of 0.78 and 1.2 m, respectively. Access to global water level data should be particularly helpful for water resource practitioners and researchers seeking to understand the long-term trends and dynamics of global water level and availability. This work provides an initial framework for a more robust and comprehensive platform to access future altimetry datasets and support research related to global water resources.
Bibliometric Studies on Gender Disparities in Science

Understanding gender related disparities in science is an essential step in tackling these issues. Through the years, bibliometric studies have designed several methodologies to analyze scholarly output and demonstrate that there are significant gaps between men and women in the scientific arena. However, gender identification in itself is an enormous challenge, since bibliographic data does not reveal it. These bibliometric studies not only focused on publication output and impact, but also on cross-referencing output, promotions and tenure data, and other related curriculum vitae (CV) information. This chapter discusses the challenges of tracking gender disparities in science through bibliometrics and reviews the various approaches taken by bibliometricians to identify gender and analyze the bibliographic data in order to point to gender disparities in science.
A Virtuous Circle: Political Communications in Postindustrial Societies

List of tables List of figures Preface Part I. The News Media and Civic Malaise: 1. The news media and democracy 2. Evaluating media performance 3. Understanding political communications Part II. Trends in Political Communication: 4. The decline of newspapers? 5. The rise (and fall?) of the television age 6. The emerging internet era 7. The evolution of campaign communications 8. The rise of the post-modern campaign? Part III. The Impact on Democracy: 9. Negative news, negative public? 10. Knows little? Information and choice 11. Cares less? Cynical media, cynical public? 12. Stays home? Political mobilization 13. American exceptionalism? 14. A virtuous circle? Technical appendix Notes Select bibliography Author index Subject index.
Association of Insurance Status With Treatment and Outcomes in Pediatric Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether a health insurance disparity exists among pediatric patients with severe traumatic brain injury using the National Trauma Data Bank. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING National Trauma Data Bank, a dataset containing more than 800 trauma centers in the United States. PATIENTS Pediatric patients (< 18 yr old) with a severe isolated traumatic brain injury were identified in the National Trauma Database (years 2007-2016). Isolated traumatic brain injury was defined as patients with a head Abbreviated Injury Scale score of 3+ and excluded those with another regional Abbreviated Injury Scale of 3+. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS Procedure codes were used to identify four primary treatment approaches combined into two classifications: craniotomy/craniectomy and external ventricular draining/intracranial pressure monitoring. Diagnostic criteria and procedure codes were used to identify condition at admission, including hypotension, Glasgow Coma Scale, mechanism and intent of injury, and Injury Severity Score. Children were propensity score matched using condition at admission and other characteristics to estimate multivariable logistic regression models to assess the associations among insurance status, treatment, and outcomes. Among the 12,449 identified patients, 91.0% (n = 11,326) had insurance and 9.0% (n = 1,123) were uninsured. Uninsured patients had worse condition at admission with higher rates of hypotension and higher Injury Severity Score, when compared with publicly and privately insured patients. After propensity score matching, having insurance was associated with a 32% (p = 0.001) and 54% (p < 0.001) increase in the odds of cranial procedures and monitor placement, respectively. Insurance coverage was associated with 25% lower odds of inpatient mortality (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Compared with insured pediatric patients with a traumatic brain injury, uninsured patients were in worse condition at admission and received fewer interventional procedures with a greater odds of inpatient mortality. Equalizing outcomes for uninsured children following traumatic brain injury requires a greater understanding of the factors that lead to worse condition at admission and policies to address treatment disparities if causality can be identified.
Evaluation of an Adapted Collaborative Care Model for Older Adult Depression Severity Reduction and Quality of Life Improvement.

The purpose of this clinical study was to evaluate the efficacy of a collaborative care model in the reduction of depression severity and the improvement of quality of life (QOL) of older adults. I...
A Minimum-Residual Mixed Reduced Basis Method: Exact Residual Certification and Simultaneous Finite-Element Reduced-Basis Refinement

We present a reduced basis method for parametrized partial differential equations certified by a dual-norm bound of the residual computed not in the typical finite-element "truth" space but rather in an infinite-dimensional function space. The bound builds on a finite element method and an associated reduced-basis approximation derived from a minimum-residual mixed formulation. The offline stage combines a spatial mesh adaptation for finite elements and a greedy parameter sampling strategy for reduced bases to yield a reliable online system in an efficient manner; the online stage provides the solution and the associated dual-norm bound of the residual for any parameter value in complexity independent of the finite element resolution. We assess the effectiveness of the approach for a parametrized reaction-diffusion equation and a parametrized advection-diffusion equation with a corner singularity; not only does the residual bound provide reliable certificates for the solutions, the associated mesh adaptivity significantly reduces the offline computational cost for the reduced-basis generation and the greedy parameter sampling ensures quasi-optimal online complexity.
Survival after intrapleural catheter (IPC) insertion for malignant pleural effusion (MPE): a retrospective audit of prognostic scoring tools in patients with MPE treated with an IPC in a district general hospital

The use of IPCs to manage malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is increasingly common. Prognosis in MPE is variable so scoring tools such as LENT and PROMISE may help select patients likely to benefit from IPC treatment. We wanted to determine which tool best predicted mortality in our first cohort of patients with MPE treated with an IPC. We applied LENT and PROMISE scores retrospectively in patients treated with an IPC for MPE between February 2017 and October 2019. 61 patients (32M, 29F) were treated with an IPC during the study period. The median (IQR) age was 72 (64-81). Median survival was 147 (39-251) days post insertion. 12 patients experienced complications, predominately infection related. LENT scores (LS) were available in 36 and PROMISE scores (PRS) in 42 patients. The median LS was 3 (2-4) and PRS 19 (14-26). ECOG performance status (PS) 3 or above and inpatients were both consistent predictors of mortality within 3 months. Patients with a PRS of In our cohort of patients, the PROMISE score was more readily available and predicted 90 and 180 day survival better than the LENT score.
DETECTION OF E-CYANOMETHANIMINE TOWARD SAGITTARIUS B2(N) IN THE GREEN BANK TELESCOPE PRIMOS SURVEY

The detection of E-cyanomethanimine (E-HNCHCN) toward Sagittarius B2(N) is made by comparing the publicly available Green Bank Telescope (GBT) PRIMOS survey spectra to laboratory rotational spectra from a reaction product screening experiment. The experiment uses broadband molecular rotational spectroscopy to monitor the reaction products produced in an electric discharge source using a gas mixture of NH3 and CH3CN. Several transition frequency coincidences between the reaction product screening spectra and previously unassigned interstellar rotational transitions in the PRIMOS survey have been assigned to E-cyanomethanimine. A total of eight molecular rotational transitions of this molecule between 9 and 50?GHz are observed with the GBT. E-cyanomethanimine, often called the HCN dimer, is an important molecule in prebiotic chemistry because it is a chemical intermediate in proposed synthetic routes of adenine, one of the two purine nucleobases found in DNA and RNA. New analyses of the rotational spectra of both E-cyanomethanimine and Z-cyanomethanimine that incorporate previous millimeter-wave measurements are also reported.
Chronic Lymphocytic Inflammation with Pontine Perivascular Enhancement not Responsive to Steroids – Management Decisions in a Situation of Diagnostic Uncertainty (P2.2-047)

Objective: To present a case of ‘non-CLIPPERS’ and discuss the diagnostic and management uncertainties in these cases. Background: Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) is a central nervous system inflammatory syndrome predominantly affecting the brainstem, but with manifestations known throughout the brain and spine. An increasing number of patients with reported CLIPPERS have been described in recent years, but many fail to meet the strict diagnostic criteria. Even within the cohort reported with the new diagnostic criteria, one-third of patients did not meet criteria (Tobin et al, 2017). 2/3s of the ‘non-CLIPPERS’ patients lacked a formal diagnosis, and there is limited guidance on management of these patients. Design/Methods: NA Results: A 59-year-old man presented with fatigue, dizziness, left facial numbness, and tinnitus evolving over months. Exam demonstrated limited left lateral gaze, hyperreflexia, and asymmetric postural tremor. MRI brain showed an area of increased T2 signal in the left middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP) with patchy nodular enhancement. Extensive laboratory testing for autoimmune, infectious, and neoplastic entities failed to identify a cause. Biopsy of the left MCP demonstrated an intense perivascular inflammatory infiltrate of CD3/CD4+ T-lymphocytes, without evidence of necrotizing vasculitis or demyelination. A presumptive diagnosis of CLIPPERS was made. However, the patient failed to respond to corticosteroid treatment, with both clinical and radiographic deterioration, inconsistent with a CLIPPERS diagnosis. The patient was subsequently started on oral methotrexate with good effect. Conclusions: The diagnosis of CLIPPERS is challenging. In an already rare disorder, similar presentations that do not meet diagnostic criteria present a management quandary, as most non-CLIPPERs patients will lack a formal diagnosis. In patients with similar radiographic and pathological features, the approach to management should be similar, with therapies targeting the inflammatory T-cell infiltrate. A lack of response to steroids does not necessarily predict an alternative etiology. Disclosure: Dr. Sengul has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gyang has nothing to disclose. Dr. Carlson has nothing to disclose.
Evaluating the Performance of Integer Sum Reduction on an Intel GPU

Sum reduction is a primitive operation in parallel computing while SYCL is a promising heterogeneous programming language. In this paper, we describe the SYCL implementations of integer sum reduction using atomic functions, shared local memory, vectorized memory accesses, and parameterized workload sizes. Evaluating the reduction kernels shows that we can achieve 1.4X speedup over the open-source implementations of sum reduction for a sufficiently large number of integers on an Intel integrated GPU.
Functional and Psychosocial Impact of Penile Cancer Treatments

Penile cancer is a rare malignancy in the Western world with its incidence in Europe and North America approaching 1 per 100,000 men. Although there is a potential for local invasion and distant metastasis, 80% of penile cancer cases can be cured if diagnosed early. Treatment for penile cancer may be life-saving, but it will undoubtedly have an effect on a patient’s psychosocial well-being and sexual health. Sexual dysfunction, voiding dysfunction, and cosmetic penile appearance all can adversely affect quality of life. Treatment options for penile cancer include both organ-preserving and radical surgical techniques. In this chapter, we review the psychosocial, quality of life, and sexual outcomes experienced in patients following conservative and radical treatments of penile cancer.
The High Cotton Project: A Community-Based Method for Serving the Urban Homeless

This article details the ways a series of architecture graduate classes partnered with a nonprofit youth sports organization and other community groups to design a shelter to accommodate those experiencing homelessness in Lubbock, Texas. The researchers use a case study approach to discuss how graduate students repeatedly engaged with the public for feedback on their designs and eventually created a design for a community-specific homeless shelter and treatment center. This article shares the project’s engagement methods, which included precedent studies, design charrettes, regular presentations to the public, meetings with stakeholders, and professional collaborations.
Viability of microwave technology for accelerated cold brew coffee processing vs conventional brewing methods

Abstract Production of cold brew (CB) coffee beverages can require 10–24 h of cold-water infusion. Accelerating this process would facilitate its production on a large scale. This study compared hot brewed coffee (HB), CB, heat-treated CB coffee (H-CB), and microwave treated CB coffee (M-CB) over time in terms of four attributes: color measured by L* values, total dissolved solids (TDS), and mg/100 g caffeine and chlorogenic acid (3-CQA). L* decreased over time for both HB and CB (34.98 → 17.19 vs 64.62 → 43.00), while TDS (0.89 → 1.39 vs 0.29 → 0.85), caffeine (48.90 → 84.39 vs 15.23 → 61.42) and 3-CQA (33.60 → 62.85 vs 5.55 → 44.82) increased. H-CB and M-CB attributes remained constant after the heat treatment (L*, 34.46–35.33 vs 29.23–29.29; TDS, 0.80–1.03 vs 1.00–0.94; caffeine, 56.10–62.21 vs 60.88–69.85; 3-CQA, 39.17–46.00 vs 41.39–49.95), were similar to CB samples, but required less preparation time. A brief heat treatment prior to cold infusion accelerates CB production, allowing industry to develop faster, less costly processing methods.
Direct Numerical Study of Crossflow Instability

Disturbances in the swept Hiemenz flow are calculated by solving the Navier-Stokes equations. The spatially-evolving base flow is treated exactly, allowing a check of the “local” stability theories. Different types of disturbances such as random noise, waves, and wave packets, are input near the attachment line, develop in space, and exit through an outflow boundary. They all generate streamwise vortices. The effect of the Reynolds number, of the time-dependence of the noise, and of nonlinearity, are investigated.
Saturation and isotopic replacement of deuterium in low-z materials

The saturation and replacement of hydrogen isotopes implanted into TiC, TiB/sub 2/, VB/sub 2/, B/sub 4/C, B, Si, and C has been examined experimentally and modeled theoretically. The deuterium saturation concentrations for these materials varied from .16 to .57. A new isotopic replacement model is presented which predicts isotopic trapping and exchange on the basis of the depth dependence of the implanted ions and the experimentally determined hydrogen saturation concentration. Our results indicate that, for these materials used as coatings on components in a D-T fueled tokamak, T recovery by ion induced replacement with H or D should be feasible and that T buildup will be at tolerable levels.