cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 229: An Urban Garden Initiative: A Component of Project Healthy Schools

INTRO: Childhood obesity has been a growing problem in the US, with its prevalence linked to cardiovascular disease.School gardens can provide a hands-on method of teaching healthy dietary habits for students. Project Healthy Schools (PHS) is a school-based wellness program, a collaboration between the University of Michigan Health System and community groups that focuses mainly on middle school students. PHS currently has educational programming in 42 schools across lower and mid-Michigan. In 2010, PHS began implementing a garden initiative in select Detroit schools. METHODOLOGY: The goal of the garden initiative is to familiarize students with fruits and vegetables and increase their interest in eating fresh produce and other healthy foods. Students are invited to participate in the gardening, which increases time spent outdoors, away from televisions, computers and video games. Initial funding for this project came from multiple donors interested in promoting healthy lifestyles in school-age children: The University Cultural Center Association, Detroit’s Garden Resource Program, Lowe’s Education Toolbox Grant, Whole Kids Foundation and the American Heart Association. RESULTS: Six Detroit schools participated in the garden initiative. The gardens are located either directly at or within walking distance of the school. At each school, the garden initiative consists of an afterschool club, led by a PHS Wellness Coordinator and/or a teacher. Students from regular classes also visit the garden as a way to engage additional students with the project. Each year, the gardening starts in April and the harvest season ends in October. During summer vacation, students have the opportunity to remain involved. In the fall, the produce they harvest has been used in lessons where students consume the produce raw, learn to cook with produce, or even sell the garden produce. While not all changes reached a level of significance, there were some notable trends, including an increase in vegetable consumption in four schools in 2012. The gardens have also encouraged parental involvement as some parents accompanied their children to the school garden. CONCLUSIONS: Garden initiatives have given a number of Detroit students the opportunity to learn about fresh produce, encouraged healthy eating, and promoted parental involvement. Garden initiatives for this program will continue with the goal of incorporation into the schools’ curricula. As the project expands, future studies will further evaluate the effects of students’ participation in the gardens on students’ eating habits and physiological markers.
Public Control of Land Use in the United States

Social control over the use of land is not new nor untried in America. It lies in the sovereign power of the state itself. Take, for instance, a clause in the Wisconsin state constitution framed in 1848 by men grown up in the atmosphere of Jeffersonian democracy and the freedom of the frontier, "The people of the state in their right of sovereignty are declared to possess the ultimate property in and to all lands within the jurisdiction of the state." (Art. 9, Sect. 3.) Through eminent domain, the authority to tax and the police power the state exercises the rights of sovereignty. The right exists; the real question is whether the people are willing to make use of these powers and how far it is wise and reasonable to do so. Courts will generally test the constitutionality of such controls on the basis of reasonableness. Public control over land use takes three forms: (1) direct administration of lands in public ownership, (2) regulations or control induced by or incident to subsidies paid to private owners, (3) public regulation of privately owned land through the police power.' This paper will exclude the first because it is always within the power of a public land owner to do with the land as it pleases, and also the second, because it is only right and proper that whenever the government assists an individual that it should lay down the rules under which the grant, subsidy or donation is made. The treatment will be confined to the regulation of non-urban land uses under the police power in the interests of public health, safety, morals and the general welfare. In this case no public compensation for the loss of income for damage or inconvenience is required, though not excluded as a part of the good will of the state toward its citizens. It is proposed also to avoid legal questions such as the division of powers between federal and state governments, the problems of due process, of police power and public purpose, the delegation of power, or the constitutionality of the use of the police power as
Erythropoietic Effect of Testosterone in the Polycythemic Mouse

SummaryTestosterone has been demonstrated to stimulate erythropoiesis in the polycythemic mouse. A response can be observed following a single injection of 0.5 mg of testosterone. One mg is as effective as larger single doses. A greater erythropoietic response was observed with 10 daily injections. Possible mechanisms of action of testosterone on erythropoiesis are discussed.
Differentiation of different mixed Listeria strains and also acid-injured, heat-injured, and repaired cells of Listeria monocytogenes using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to differentiate mixed strains of Listeria monocytogenes and mixed strains of L. monocytogenes and Listeria innocua. FT-IR spectroscopy was also applied to investigate the hypothesis that heat-injured and acid-injured cells would return to their original physiological integrity following repair. Thin smears of cells on infrared slides were prepared from cultures for mixed strains of L. monocytogenes, mixed strains of L. monocytogenes and L. innocua, and each individual strain. Heat-injured and acid-injured cells were prepared by exposing harvested cells of L. monocytogenes strain R2-764 to a temperature of 56 ± 0.2°C for 10 min or lactic acid at pH 3 for 60 min, respectively. Cellular repair involved incubating aliquots of acid-injured and heat-injured cells separately in Trypticase soy broth supplemented with 0.6% yeast extract for 22 to 24 h; bacterial thin smears on infrared slides were prepared for each treatment. Spectral collection was done us...
Familial Episodic Amaurosis

A family with a stereotyped unilateral or bilateral transient visual loss, that recurred many times daily and was associated with childhood epilepsy and familial hemiplegic migraine, is reported from University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
Preparation and Characterization of Silicon Nanocrystals in a SiO2 Matrix and Study of Suboxide Stability

The kinetics of the decomposition of silicon suboxides (SiOx, x<2) to Sic + SiO2 was studied as a function of composition and post-deposition annealing. Amorphous hydrogenated SiOx films (0.8<x<1.4) were deposited by remote plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RPECVD) and rapid thermal annealed (RTA) at temperatures of 500–1000°C. By monitoring the Si-O infra-red (IR) bond-stretch mode frequency, it was found that at temperatures below 850°C, or at a oxygen poor composition near SiO0.8, the decomposition reaction only proceeded to a metastable form of SiO1.6 + Si. Characterization by Raman and spectroscopie ellipsometry confirm similar trends. Cross sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirms that Si nanocrystals (Sinc) are formed with anneals at 900°C (30 sec). As deposited suboxides show band edge photoluminescence at 1.6 eV which disappears upon annealing at 900°C, indicating a sharp suboxide free interface between Sinc and SiO2 matrix.
Wearable textile input device with multimodal sensing for eyes-free mobile interaction during daily activities

Abstract As pervasive computing is widely available during daily activities, wearable input devices which promote an eyes-free interaction are needed for easy access and safety. We propose a textile wearable device which enables a multimodal sensing input for an eyes-free mobile interaction during daily activities. Although existing input devices possess multimodal sensing capabilities with a small form factor, they still suffer from deficiencies in compactness and softness due to the nature of embedded materials and components. For our prototype, we paint a conductive silicone rubber on a single layer of textile and stitch conductive threads. From a single layer of the textile, multimodal sensing (strain and pressure) values are extracted via voltage dividers. A regression analysis, multi-level thresholding and a temporal position tracking algorithm are applied to capture the different levels and modes of finger interactions to support the input taxonomy. We then demonstrate example applications with interaction design allowing users to control existing mobile, wearable, and digital devices. The evaluation results confirm that the prototype can achieve an accuracy of ≥ 80 % for demonstrating all input types, ≥ 88 % for locating the specific interaction areas for eyes-free interaction, and the robustness during daily activity related motions. Multitasking study reveals that our prototype promotes relatively fast response with low perceived workload comparing to existing eyes-free input.
Spontaneous polyploidy, gynogenesis and androgenesis in second generation (F2 ) koi Cyprinus carpio × goldfish Carassius auratus hybrids.

The objective of this study was to characterize the genetics of second generation (F2) koi Cyprinus carpio × goldfish Carassius auratus hybrids. Spermatozoa produced by a novel, fertile F1 male were found to be diploid by flow-cytometric analysis. Backcross (F1 female × C. carpio male and C. carpio female × F1 male) juveniles were triploid, confirming that female and male F1 hybrids both produced diploid gametes. The vast majority of surviving F2 juveniles was diploid and small proportions were aneuploid (2·1n–2·3n and 3·1n–3·9n), triploid (3n) and tetraploid (4n). Microsatellite genotyping showed that F2 diploids repeated either the complete maternal or the complete paternal genotype. Fish with the maternal genotype were female and fish with the paternal genotype were male. This demonstrates that F2 diploids were the result of spontaneous gynogenesis and spontaneous androgenesis. Analysis of microsatellite inheritance and the sex ratio in F2 crosses showed that spontaneous gynogenesis and androgenesis did not always occur in equal proportions. One cross was found to have an approximate equal number of androgenetic and gynogenetic offspring while in several other crosses spontaneous androgenesis was found to occur more frequently than spontaneous gynogenesis.
Knowledge Decay in an Engineering Mechanics Sequence

AbstractRetention of knowledge is an important outcome for students enrolled in any course. The civil engineering and mechanical engineering programs at the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) organize their shared engineering mechanics sequence to fully integrate concepts of stress and design throughout a two-course-sequence. However, a key question in this undertaking has been “To what extent do students retain critical engineering mechanics concepts over a summer break?” Using a new statistical approach, this study examined and analyzed the expected performance versus the actual performance of a large population of students in the engineering mechanics sequence. The results suggest that knowledge decay does occur, but, perhaps, not to the extent anticipated.
BUILDING CAPACITY FOR DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING IN AFRICAN HIV TESTING PROGRAMS: FIELD PERSPECTIVES ON DATA USE WORKSHOPS

Strategic, high quality HIV testing services (HTS) delivery is an essential step towards reaching the end of AIDS by 2030. We conducted HTS Data Use workshops in five African countries to increase data use for strategic program decision-making. Feedback was collected on the extent to which workshop skills and tools were applied in practice and to identify future capacity-building needs. We later conducted six semistructured phone interviews with workshop planning teams and sent a web-based survey to 92 past participants. The HTS Data Use workshops provided accessible tools that were readily learned by most respondents. While most respondents reported increased confidence in interpreting data and frequency of using such tools over time, planning team representatives indicated ongoing needs for more automated tools that can function across data systems. To achieve ambitious global HIV/AIDS targets, national decision makers may continue to seek tools and skill-building opportunities to monitor programs and identify opportunities to refine strategies.
A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND ENGAGEMENT RISK ON AUDITOR MATERIALITY DECISIONS IN PUBLIC SECTOR AUDITS

Public administration theory suggests that increased accountability in the public sector influences the auditor to lower materiality levels; thereby increasing the audit sample size; which decreases the likelihood of an inappropriate opinion. Accounting theory posits that engagement risk leads the auditor to lower materiality levels to decrease the likelihood of rendering an inappropriate opinion, in an effort to avoid litigation. The results of this study indicate, that in public sector entities, accountability guides the auditors’ materiality decisions.
Efficacy and safety of administration of gemcitabine and docetaxel with radiation therapy in patients with high-grade soft tissue sarcoma

e21503 Background: Neo-adjuvant therapy of soft tissue sarcoma is not standardized. Anthracyclines (A) improve disease free and overall survival in high grade extremity soft tissue sarcomas measuring more than 5 cm. A and ifosfamide (I) therapy require inpatient administration and is associated with significant toxicities when administered in combination with RT. G in combination with D has been shown to prolong progression free and overall survival in patients with advanced or metastatic STS after progression on A and I, and in patients unable to receive the combination. The safety of administration of G with radiation is not known. We evaluated the safety of neo-adjuvant G and D in combination with RT in patients with STS. Methods: Retrospective analysis of subjects with high grade STS treated with RT and neo-adjuvant chemotherapy with G and D was conducted. G 600mg/m2 was administered on days 1 and 8 along with D 75 mg/m2 on day 8 for a total of 3 cycles. 2200 cGY RT was administered in 11 daily fracti...
Surgery for patients receiving ipilimumab: Safety profile and immunological insights.

8583 Background: Ipilimumab (ipi), a monoclonal antibody blocking CTLA-4, demonstrated survival benefit in metastatic melanoma in two randomized controlled trials. With its approval by the FDA, the...
Air Pollution and Mortality in the Medicare Population.

BackgroundStudies have shown that long-term exposure to air pollution increases mortality. However, evidence is limited for air-pollution levels below the most recent National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Previous studies involved predominantly urban populations and did not have the statistical power to estimate the health effects in underrepresented groups. MethodsWe constructed an open cohort of all Medicare beneficiaries (60,925,443 persons) in the continental United States from the years 2000 through 2012, with 460,310,521 person-years of follow-up. Annual averages of fine particulate matter (particles with a mass median aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm [PM2.5]) and ozone were estimated according to the ZIP Code of residence for each enrollee with the use of previously validated prediction models. We estimated the risk of death associated with exposure to increases of 10 μg per cubic meter for PM2.5 and 10 parts per billion (ppb) for ozone using a two-pollutant Cox proportional-hazards model...
Seemingly Inextricable Dynamic Differences: The Case of Concealed Gun Permit, Violent Crime and State Panel Data

Setting off an ongoing controversy, Lott and Mustard (1997) famously contended that so-called shall-issue laws (SILs) deterred violent crime. In this controversy the weapon of choice has been the inherently static differences-in-differences (DiD) estimator applied to state and county panel data spanning various intervals of time. In contrast, by accounting for the behaviors of forward-looking potential and contemporaneous violent criminals, this paper uses a novel method, the seemingly inextricable dynamic differences (SIDiD) estimator. SIDiD nests DiD and yields unbiased and time-consistent estimates of three distinct contemporaneous effects of SILs: the entry effect on those eligible to enter, the surprise effect on violent criminals who entered prior to the adoption of SILs, and the selection effect on violent criminals who entered afterwards. Applying our new method to the standard state panel data and controls in the literature, we: (i) estimate that all three effects to be robustly positive and significant with the dominance of increased entry resulting in a larger population of violent criminals, more churning of in and out of the violent crime population and an increase in violent crime rates, (ii) find overwhelming evidence against the L&M's deterrence hypothesis, (iii) reject decisively the restrictions that would reduce our dynamic specification to that of the static DiD, (iv) show that the famously differing results between L&M and Ayers and Donohue (2003, 2009) stem from the relatively short post-treatment sample of L&M where the DiD estimate is a combination of mostly the entry and surprise effect whereas in the longer post-treatment samples of A&D the DiD estimate is a combination of all three effects. Finally, (v) we estimate that in the counterfactual absence of SILs, the rate of violent crime would be reduced by one third.
The Impact of Antihypertensive Medications on Bone Mineral Density and Fracture Risk.

This review summarizes the impact of thiazide diuretics on fracture risk in older hypertensive individuals. We performed a post hoc evaluation of the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial, a randomized, prospective, double blind hypertension study comparing a thiazide-like diuretic, a calcium channel blocker (CCB), and an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi). We examined the risk of hip and pelvic fractures during the in-trial period (n = 22,180 participants; mean 4.9-year follow-up) and during the post-trial period using national data bases (n = 16,622 participants) (mean total follow-up 7.8 years). During the trial, participants randomized to the thiazide diuretic versus the CCB or the ACEi had a lower risk of fracture on adjusted analyses (HR 0.79 [95% CI, 0.63, 0.98], p = 0.04). Risk of fracture was significantly lower in participants randomized to the diuretic as compared to those randomized to the ACEi (HR 0.75 [95% CI, 0.58, 0.98]; p = 0.04), but not significantly different compared to the CCB (HR 0.87 [95% CI, 0.71, 1.09]; p = 0.17). Over the entire trial and post-trial period of follow-up, the cumulative incidence of fractures was non-significantly lower in participants assigned to the diuretic vs assignment to the ACEi or the CCB (HR 0.87 [0.74–1.03], p = 0.10) and versus each medication separately. These findings establish a benefit for thiazide diuretic treatment for the prevention of fractures versus other commonly used antihypertensive medications using prospective, randomized data. The effects of the thiazide diuretic on bone appear to be long lasting.
Loss functions and estimation

In the previous chapter we reviewed some results of linear (least squares) models without making the loss function explicit. In this chapter we remedy this and extend the discussion to various other (sometimes referred to as "robust") approaches. That the loss function determines the properties of estimators is common to classical and Bayesian statistics (whether made explicit or not). We’ll review a few loss functions and the associated expected loss minimizing estimators. Then we briefly review maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and nonlinear regression.
Irreversible Processes: The Onsager and Boltzmann Pictures

The primary objective of this book is to develop a mathematical picture of measurable quantities that can be used to understand macroscopic observations of matter. As we have discussed in Chapter 1, that picture is necessarily stochastic and involves ensembles of systems that are prepared in similar ways. In Chapter 1 we outlined some of the techniques of the theory of stochastic processes that are necessary for understanding physical ensembles. Although we used Brownian motion to illustrate the physical relevance of stochastic processes, the stochastic point of view is essential for understanding all kinds of macroscopic observations. Fluctuations are inherent in all matter because of its molecular constitution. Indeed, one of the lessons of Brownian motion is that these fluctuations are observable and that they are closely related to the irreversible processes caused by molecular motion.
Stochasticity in Hydrogen in Presence of dc and ac Fields

We have analyzed Stochasticity in highly excited atomic hydrogen in the presence of a microwave field and a dc electric field using a classical one-dimensional model similar to that of an electron system over a helium surface. We have determined in detail the effect of the dc field on the threshold of global stochasticity and on the number of states trapped in the nonlinear resonces. Our results indicate that the number of trapped states may not always increase, and may decrease with increasing dc field contrary to the case of a system of surface electrons.
Building CHAOS: An Operating System for Livermore Linux Clusters

The Livermore Computing (LC) Linux Integration and Development Project (the Linux Project) produces and supports the Clustered High Availability Operating System (CHAOS), a cluster operating environment based on Red Hat Linux. Each CHAOS release begins with a set of requirements and ends with a formally tested, packaged, and documented release suitable for use on LC's production Linux clusters. One characteristic of CHAOS is that component software packages come from different sources under varying degrees of project control. Some are developed by the Linux Project, some are developed by other LC projects, some are external open source projects, and some are commercial software packages. A challenge to the Linux Project is to adhere to release schedules and testing disciplines in a diverse, highly decentralized development environment. Communication channels are maintained for externally developed packages in order to obtain support, influence development decisions, and coordinate/understand release schedules. The Linux Project embraces open source by releasing locally developed packages under open source license, by collaborating with open source projects where mutually beneficial, and by preferring open source over proprietary software. Project members generally use open source development tools. The Linux Project requires system administrators and developers to work together to resolve problems thatmore » arise in production. This tight coupling of production and development is a key strategy for making a product that directly addresses LC's production requirements. It is another challenge to balance support and development activities in such a way that one does not overwhelm the other.« less
Systemic amyloidosis presenting in the lateral pharyngeal band of Waldeyer's ring: A case report

Abstract Amyloidosis is an uncommon disease involving extracellular protein deposition in organs and tissues throughout the body. This report discusses the case of a 23-year-old woman with a one-year history of a progressively enlarging oropharyngeal lesion in the region of the left lateral pharyngeal band. Upon biopsy it was found to contain amyloid and subsequent evaluation was significant for a diagnosis of systemic amyloidosis. We present the first known report of systemic amyloidosis manifesting in an isolated lesion of the lateral pharyngeal band and discuss the implications for diagnosis and treatment.
Safety of a 2-Day Antibiotic Regimen After Delayed Chest Closure Post Pediatric Cardiac Surgery.

Background:There is no consensus for the length of prophylactic antibiotics after delayed chest closure (DCC) postcardiac surgery in pediatrics. In September 2014, our institution’s pediatric cardi...
I Was His Litmus Test: An Autoethnographic Account of Being Groomed in Sport

Grooming is an ever-increasing concern for sport stakeholders, sport administrators, and parents as sport provides an ideal site for the exploitation of children. Through sharing personal autoethno...
Congenital aneurysm of the palmar digital artery: A case report and literature review.

Abstract Spontaneous arterial aneurysms of the hand are uncommon but are well-described in the adult population. In the pediatric population, however, congenital or true aneurysms of the hand are exceptionally rare. A case report and a literature review were performed for published cases of arterial aneurysms of the hand in the pediatric population. A 13-month-old child presented with an aneurysm of the common digital artery and underwent surgical excision without need for reconstruction. Literature review found 13 documented cases. Patient characteristics and management strategies were summarized. There are very few documented cases of hand arterial aneurysms in the pediatric population, with our patient being the third youngest ever reported. No cases were associated with hereditary disease, and aneurysm excision was performed in all cases. Our report highlights the need to include arterial aneurysm in a differential diagnosis when evaluating a pediatric patient with a palpable hand mass.
Neonatal mice exposed to a high-fat diet in utero influence the behaviour of their nursing dam.

The behaviour of a nursing dam influences the development, physiology, and behaviour of her offspring. Maternal behaviours can be modulated both by environmental factors, including diet, and by phy...
Mediated semiquantum key distribution

In this work, we design a quantum key distribution protocol, allowing two limited semiquantum or ``classical'' users to establish a shared secret key with the help of a fully quantum server. A semiquantum user can prepare and measure qubits only in the computational basis and so must rely on this quantum server to produce qubits in alternative bases and also to perform alternative measurements. However, we assume that the server is untrusted and we prove the unconditional security of our protocol even in the worst case: when this quantum server is an all-powerful adversary. We also compute a lower bound of the key rate of our protocol, in the asymptotic scenario, as a function of the observed error rate in the channel, allowing us to compute the maximally tolerated error of our protocol. Our results show that a semiquantum protocol may hold similar security to a fully quantum one.
Einige Beobachtungen über Peptisation und Präzipitation

1. Silberchlorid, Silberchromat, Kalziumsilikat, Kuprifluorid und Bariumsulfat werden, wenn sie in Gegenwart von Glyzerin oder in konzentrierten Zuckerlosungen gefallt werden, nicht peptisiert. 2. Die Hydroxyde von Eisen, Nickel, Kobalt, Thorium und Quecksilber konnen durch Zusatz von Aetzalkali zu den Losungen der entsprechenden Metallsalze in Gegenwart von Glyzerin oder konzentrierter Zuckerlosung peptisiert werden. Bei Gold- und Uransalzen mus an Stelle von Aetzalkali Ammoniumhydroxyd verwendet werden. Die Peptisation erfolgt nur dann, wenn das Alkali zur Mischung von Salz. und Glyzerin zugesetzt wird; setzt man aber die Salzlosung zur Mischung von Alkali und Glyzerin zu, so erfolgt Ausfallung. Leitfahigkeitsversuche stutzen diese Ergebnisse. 3. Wie Leitfahigkeitsmessungen zeigen, sind die Hydroxyde von Al, Cr, Pb, Hg und Cu zum grosten Teil im Alkalihydroxyd als Kolloide, das Zinkhydroxyd hingegen hauptsachlich als Zinkat gelost. In ahnlicher Weise bilden die Hydroxyde von Al, Fe und Cr in Essigsaure kolloide Losungen, das Zinkhydroxyd hingegen bildet Zinkazetat. 4. Die Umwandlungen der blauen Hydroxyde von Kupfer bzw. Kobalt in eine schwarze bzw. rote Modifikation sind vom gleichen Typus und werden durch verschiedene Katalysatoren in nahezu gleicher Weise beeinflust. 5. Die Hydroxyde von Al, Cr und Zn werden von Ferrihydroxyd adsorbiert, wenn letzteres in Losungen dieser Hydroxyde in Alkali gefallt wird.
O-030 Opthalmic artery chemotherapy in retinoblastoma

Purpose To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) for the treatment of children with retinoblastoma. Methods and materials Retrospective chart review of all pediatric patients with retinoblastoma treated with intra-arterial chemotherapy was performed. Common femoral artery was accessed with the placement of 4Fr sheath in all procedures using ultrasound guidance. Marathon microcatheter was used with .008 or .010 inch wire. Initial angiography of the internal carotid artery was performed to evaluate the territories supplied by the ophthalmic artery and to exclude variant anatomy. Results Sixty-six ophthalmic arteries in 16 patients (M:F=7:9; mean age= 21 (±9.2 ) months) were catheterized for IAC. The median time for each procedure was under 30 minutes. Three patients had unilateral and 13 had bilateral retinoblastoma. forty-four infusions were performed through the right and 22 through the left side ophthalmic artery. The median number of IAC cycles per patient was 4.1. The Technical success rate was 98% (65 out of 66 procedures) excluding one patient due to the complex anatomy. Hypersensitivity reaction to Melphalan was seen in 2 patients (one requiring adrenaline) during the catheterization procedure. One child eventually ended in enucleation after 4 cycles of IAC. Conclusions Intra-arterial chemotherapy is an acceptable treatment option for retinoblastoma with a considerable high success rate and low rate of complications; however, attention must be paid to the technical nuances of and indications for its use in order to avoid potential complications. Disclosures T. Shokuhfar: None. R. Abdalla: None. S. Ansari: None. M. Hurley: None. B. Rahmani: None. A. Shaibani: None.
Of Charlatans, Humbugs, and Pocketbooks: Advocacy of Standards, Education, and Certification for Voice Teachers in The Bulletin of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, 1944-1954

The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) is the largest organization of voice teachers in the world with over 7,000 members. This historical investigation tells the story of the five ...
Adrenalectomy (Open and MIS Approaches)

This chapter describes the surgical procedure for adrenalectomy as performed by the following approaches: open and minimally invasive. The text includes an introduction that outlines the indications, risks, alternatives, essential steps, needed equipment, and variations in technique for the procedure in question. This is followed by a template operative dictation, which provides the reader with an operative report, such as is found in a patient chart or electronic medical record. A description is provided of the following critical concepts for this procedure: preoperative optimization based on hypersecretory/functional status, access to the adrenal gland by mobilizing overlying structures, vascular control (especially venous for pheochromocytoma), and complete dissection of adrenal gland and surrounding adipose tissue.
A System-Wide Debugging Assistant Powered by Natural Language Processing

Despite advances in debugging tools, systems debugging today remains largely manual. A developer typically follows an iterative and time-consuming process to move from a reported bug to a bug fix. This is because developers are still responsible for making sense of system-wide semantics, bridging together outputs and features from existing debugging tools, and extracting information from many diverse data sources (e.g., bug reports, source code, comments, documentation, and execution traces). We believe that the latest statistical natural language processing (NLP) techniques can help automatically analyze these data sources and significantly improve the systems debugging experience. We present early results to highlight the promise of NLP-powered debugging, and discuss systems and learning challenges that must be overcome to realize this vision.
Uranium concentrations and chemical associations in the Southern Gulf Coast Aquifer, Texas

Dissolved concentrations of uranium and potentially associated parameters, including nitrate, alkalinity, calcium, iron, manganese, vanadium, and fluoride, were compiled for 65 water wells sampled ...
A neonate with metabolic acidosis: Intentional ethylene glycol poisoning

Abstract We present a rare case of the intentional poisoning of a neonate. An 8-day old child presented to an academic pediatric emergency department (ED) with respiratory distress and decreased intake. In the ED the patient was stabilized, and workup uncovered an anion gap metabolic acidosis. Blood, urine, and CSF cultures were negative at 48 h and a metabolic screen revealed elevated glycine. Calcium oxalate crystals were later found in the urinalysis, raising concern for ethylene glycol poisoning. The patient's father admitted to mixing antifreeze with the child's formula. The workup of an ill or distressed neonate should be methodical, ruling out sepsis, inborn errors of metabolism, cardiac disease, trauma, and less common etiologies such as intestinal catastrophes, renal or hepatic disease, neurologic disease, drug withdrawal, non-accidental trauma, formula mixing errors, and poisoning.
Deep learning artery-vein classification in OCT angiography

Early disease diagnosis and effective treatment assessment are crucial to prevent vision loss. Retinal arteries and veins can be affected differently by different eye diseases, e.g., arterial narrowing and venous beading in diabetic retinopathy (DR). Therefore, differential artery-vein (AV) analysis can provide valuable information for early disease detection and better stage classification. However, manual, or semi-automated methods for AV identification are inefficient in a clinical setting. This study is to demonstrate the use of deep learning for automated AV classification in optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). We present ‘AV-Net’, a fully convolutional network (CNN) based on a modified Ushaped architecture. The input to AV-Net is a 2-channel system that combines grayscale enface OCT and OCTA. The enface OCT is a near infrared image, equivalent to a fundus image, which provides the vessel intensity profiles. In contrast, the OCTA contains the information of the blood flow strength, and vessel geometric features. The output of AV-Net is an RGB (red-green-blue) image, with R and B corresponding to arteries and veins, respectively, and the G channel represents the background. The dataset in this study is comprised of images from 50 individuals (20 controls and 30 DR patients). Transfer learning and regularization techniques, such as data augmentation and cross validation, were employed during training to prevent overfitting. The results reveal robust vessel segmentation and AV classification. A fully automated platform is essential for fostering efficient clinical deployment of AI-based screening, diagnosis, and treatment evaluation.
Longitudinal Model-Based Biomarker Analysis of Exposure-Response Relationships in Adults with Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

The identification of sensitive, specific, and reliable biomarkers that can be quantified in the early phases of tuberculosis treatment and predictive of long-term outcome is key for the development of an effective short-course treatment regimen. Time to positivity (TTP), a biomarker of treatment outcome against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, measures longitudinal bacterial growth in mycobacterial growth indicator tube broth culture and may be predictive of standard time to stable culture conversion (TSCC). In two randomized phase 2b trials investigating dose-ranging rifapentine (Studies 29 and 29X), 662 participants had sputum collected over 6 months where TTP, TSCC, and time to culture conversion were quantified. The goals of this post hoc study were to characterize longitudinal TTP profiles and to identify individual patient characteristics associated with delayed time to culture conversion. In order to do so, a nonlinear mixed-effects model describing longitudinal TTP was built. Independent variables associated with increased bacterial clearance (increased TTP), assessed by subject-specific and population-level trajectories, were higher rifapentine exposure, lower baseline grade of sputum acid-fast bacillus smear, absence of productive cough, and lower extent of lung infiltrates on radiographs. Importantly, sensitivity analysis revealed that major learning milestones in phase 2b trials, such as significant exposure-response and covariate relationships, could be detected using truncated TTP data as early as 6 weeks from start of treatment, suggesting alternative phase 2b study designs. The TTP model built depicts a novel phase 2b surrogate endpoint that can inform early assessment of experimental treatment efficacy and treatment failure or relapse in patients treated with shorter and novel TB treatment regimens, improving efficiency of phase 2 clinical trials. (The studies discussed in this paper have been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under identifiers NCT00694629 and NCT01043575.).
Impact of mRNA vaccines in curtailing SARS-CoV-2 infection and disability leave utilisation among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional analysis from a tertiary healthcare system in the Greater Houston metropolitan area.

Objectives We provide an account of real-world effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines among healthcare workers (HCWs) at a tertiary healthcare system and report trends in SARS-CoV-2 infections and subsequent utilisation of COVID-19-specific short-term disability leave (STDL). Design Cross-sectional study. Setting and participants Summary data on 27 291 employees at a tertiary healthcare system in the Greater Houston metropolitan area between 15 December 2020 and 5 June 2021. The initial 12-week vaccination programme period (15 December 2020 to 6 March 2021) was defined as a rapid roll-out phase. Main outcomes and measures At the pandemic onset, HCW testing and surveillance was conducted where SARS-CoV-2-positive HCWs were offered STDL. Deidentified summary data of SARS-CoV-2 infections and STDL utilisation among HCWs were analysed. Prevaccination and postvaccination trends in SARS-CoV-2 positivity and STDL utilisation rates were evaluated. Results Updated for 5 June 2021, 98.2% (n=26 791) of employees received a full or partial dose of one of the approved mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccination rate during the rapid roll-out phase was approximately 3700 doses/7 days. The overall mean weekly SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates among HCWs were significantly lower following vaccine roll-out (2.4%), compared with prevaccination period (11.8%, p Conclusion Despite limited generalisability of regional hospital-based studies-where factors such as the emergence of viral variants and population-level vaccine penetrance may differ-accounts of robust HCW vaccination programmes provide important guidance for sustaining a critical resource to provide safe and effective care for patients with and without COVID-19 across healthcare systems.
The Routledge Companion to the Crusades

A compilation of facts, figures, maps, family trees, summaries of the major crusades and their historiography, the Routledge Companion to the Crusades spans a broad chronological range from the eleventh to the eighteenth century, and gives a chronological framework and context for modern research on the crusading movement. Not just a history of the Crusades, but an overview of the logistical, economic, social and biographical history, this is a core text for students of history and religious studies.
Identification and Characterization of Reduced Epicuticular Wax Mutants in Rice

Abstract Epicuticular wax forms the outermost protective barrier of the aerial surfaces of land plants, working in concert with other components of the plant cuticle to prevent uncontrolled loss of water and to provide protection against an array of external environmental stress. In this study, chemically-mutagenized populations of rice ( Oryza sativa L.) derived from approximately 4 750 M 2 families were screened for adhesion of water droplets resulting in a wet leaf/glossy (wlg) phenotype. Mutants were identified in 11 independently-derived M 2 families. Scanning electron microscopy analysis confirmed the association of the wlg phenotype with changes in the epicuticular wax crystals of these plants. The phenotypes of five mutants (7-17A, 26.1, 524.2, 680.2, and 843.1) were confirmed to be the result of single recessive gene mutation. Evaluation of mutants from 3 (6-1A, 7-17A, and 11-39A) of 11 M 2 families revealed significant reductions (> 50%) in surface wax content and increases in cuticle membrane permeability.
Employment Interview Reliability: New meta‐analytic estimates by structure and format

This study sought to provide an update on evidence regarding the interrater reliability of employment interviews. Using a final dataset of 125 coefficients with a total sample size of 32,428, our results highlight the importance of taking all three sources of measurement error (random response, transient, and conspect) into account. For instance, the mean interrater reliability was considerably higher for panel interviews than for separate interviews conducted by different interviewers (.74 vs. .44). A strong implication of our findings is that interview professionals should not base perceptions of the psychometric properties of their interview process on interrater estimates that do not include all three sources. A number of directions for future research were identified, including the influence of cues in medium structure panel interviews (e.g., changes in tone or pitch) and the lower than expected reliability for highly structured interviews conducted separately by different interviewers.
The Real Causes of Food Insecurity in Africa: Helping Dr. De Schutter (UN) and Director Pascal Lamy (WTO) Identify the Causes of Hunger in Africa

Africa is generally regarded as the continent of negative extremes; hunger, wars, deserts, poverty, illiteracy, coup d’etat, to name just a few. To some people, including high ranked politicians, Africa is a country and should be dealt with as such. Further, African countries are often put in the same ‘box’ with other developing countries including China, Brazil, and India. These misapprehensions make it difficult to identify and solve the problems of the continent; particularly the issue of food insecurity. Last year, the U N rapporteur on the right to food, Dr. De Schutter, accused the WTO for stopping African countries from implementing policies to address food insecurity and Pascal Lamy responded. This paper, acknowledging their efforts, aims to help them understand and address the problem of hunger in Africa. It argues that Africa remains the continent of negative extremes because developed countries and international organizations do not really understand (or because they ignore) the roots causes of African problems and often propose solutions for the wrong problems.
An Integrated Scheduling Algorithm for Precedence Constrained Hard and Soft Real-Time Tasks on Heterogeneous Multiprocessors

In this paper, we propose a duplication-based algorithm (IDSA) for the integrated scheduling of precedence related real-time tasks with hard and soft deadlines on a set of heterogeneous multiprocessors. We employ a priority-based scheme in which the hard subtasks are always allotted a higher priority as compared to the soft subtasks. IDSA utilizes selective subtask duplication that enables some subtasks to have earlier start times, which results in an increased number of subtasks (and hence task sets) finishing before their deadlines, thereby increasing the schedulability of a real-time application. Our algorithm is also shown to be capable of scheduling a real-time application even if the available number of processors is less than the required number of processors. Based on extensive simulation results, we observe that IDSA offers better success ratio as compared to the existing algorithms in the literature when communication is a dominant factor in the system.
Mass transfer between binary stars

The transfer of mass from one component of a binary system to another by mass ejection is analyzed through a stellar wind mechanism, using a model which integrates the equations of motion, including the energy equation, with an initial static atmosphere and various temperature fluctuations imposed at the base of the star's corona. The model is applied to several situations and the energy flow is calculated along the line of centers between the two binary components, in the rotating frame of the system, thereby incorporating the centrifugal force. It is shown that relatively small disturbances in the lower chromosphere or photosphere can produce mass loss through a stellar wind mechanism, due to the amplification of the disturbance propagating into the thinner atmosphere. Since there are many possible sources of the disturbance, the model can be used to explain many mass ejection phenomena.
Experiences with Java tm JIT optimization

This paper presents some experiences with a Java just-in-time (JIT) compiler developed at Intel Corporation. For a few optimizations, the issues that are specific to Java programs are discussed. Furthermore, because in the context of a just-intime compilation, compile-time directly contributes to the run-time of the application, some remarks are made on how program analysis time is kept limited in our compiler. A preliminary experiment explores the impact of the presented optimizations.
Multidimensional Ramanujan-sum expansions on nonseparable lattices

It is well-known that the Ramanujan-sum c q (n) has applications in the analysis of periodicity in sequences. Recently the author developed a new type of Ramanujan-sum representation especially suited for finite duration sequences x(n): This is based on decomposing x(n) into a sum of signals belonging to so-called Ramanujan subspaces S qi . This offers an efficient way to identify periodic components using integer computations and projections, since c q (n) is integer valued. This paper revisits multidimensional signals with periodicity on possibly nonseparable integer lattices. Multidimensional Ramanujan-sum and Ramanujan-subspaces are developed for this case. A Ramanujan-sum based expansion for multidimensional signals is then proposed, which is useful to identify periodic components on nonseparable lattices.
Kinematic GPS landing system architecture and flight test results

Summary form only given, as follows. The kinematic GPS landing system (KGLS) uses differential GPS carrier phase data to navigate landing aircraft. As the aircraft overflies a "GPS marker beacon" during its approach, the KGLS sensor uses beacon data to resolve the carrier phase integer ambiguity. This deterministic method provides centimeter-level accuracy and high reliability on every approach. >
Dielectric behavior of Ba(Ti1-xZrx)O3 single crystals

In this article, we report the successful growth of Ba(Ti1−xZrx)O3 (x=0.05–0.2) single-crystal fibers by the laser-heated pedestal growth technique. A single-phase perovskite structure of the materials has been identified by the x-ray diffraction technique. The phase diagram for Ba(Ti1−xZrx)O3 single crystals is established for x⩽0.2. Dielectric properties as function of temperature and frequency and room-temperature hysteresis loops are measured. The remnant polarization (Pr) and coercive fields (Ec) are obtained and compared for both single crystals and ceramics. The small dielectric relaxation has been observed for the lower-temperature phase transition (around 40 °C at 1 kHz) of the sample with x=0.08. The relaxation times follow the Arrhenius law with τ0=0.4×10−13 s and Erelax=0.53 eV. A common feature of the low-temperature relaxation mode in the sample is also observed, which follows the Arrhenius law with the τ0=0.8×10−10 s and Erelax=0.46 eV.