cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bicycling Policy Indirectly Associated with Overweight/Obesity

BACKGROUND: Policies to enhance bicycling are correlated with health outcomes. Research has yet to provide an adequate, empirically derived explanation for this finding. PURPOSE: To examine a comprehensive model of a pathway potentially linking bicycle policies to overweight/obesity. METHODS: Data representing multiple years between 2006 and 2012 from CDC, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Alliance for Biking and Walking were subjected to bivariate and multivariate analyses in 2013. A path model was created to explain the relationship between bicycle policies and overweight/obesity in the 48 largest U.S. cities. RESULTS: Zero-order correlations were significant between the number of bicycle policies and the percentage of workers bicycling to work and rates of overweight/obesity. These relationships did not remain statistically significant in the multivariate analysis. However, more bicycle policies were associated with a greater number of bicycle infrastructure components (pCONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that large cities with more policies aimed at promoting bicycling have fewer overweight/obese residents, partially because the policies are related to supportive bicycling infrastructures that promote bicycling to work. Language: en
The interplay between oxidative stress and brain‐derived neurotrophic factor modulates the outcome of a saturated fat diet on synaptic plasticity and cognition

A diet high in saturated fat (HF) decreases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), to the extent that compromises neuroplasticity and cognitive function, and aggravates the outcome of brain insult. By using the antioxidant power of vitamin E, we performed studies to determine the role of oxidative stress as a mediator for the effects of BDNF on synaptic plasticity and cognition caused by consumption of the HF diet. Male adult rats were maintained on a HF diet for 2 months with or without 500 IU/kg of vitamin E. Supplementation of the HF diet with vitamin E dramatically reduced oxidative damage, normalized levels of BDNF, synapsin I and cyclic AMP-response element-binding protein (CREB), caused by the consumption of the HF diet. In addition, vitamin E supplementation preserved the process of activation of synapsin I and CREB, and reversed the HF-impaired cognitive function. It is known that BDNF facilitates the synapse by modulating synapsin I and CREB, which have been implicated in synaptic plasticity associated to learning and memory. These results show that oxidative stress can interact with the BDNF system to modulate synaptic plasticity and cognitive function. Therefore, studies appear to reveal a mechanism by which events classically related to the maintenance of energy balance of the cell, such as oxidative stress, can interact with molecular events that modulate neuronal and behavioural plasticity.
A transmission line and radiating system measurement

One of the major problems in mobile system maintenance is adequate evaluation of the transmission line and antenna performance. This paper describes a practical method of technique for making line loss and antenna match measurements to assure proper installatiom and continued satisfactory performance. Certain innovations have been incorporated in the process which are calculated to provide the maximum information with a minimum effort. The procedure consists essentially of making two transmission line input admittance measurements at widely differing frequencies. The results are plotted on a simplified version of the Smith Chart in a manner that yields transmission line loss and antenna match. These two properties adequately evaluate the transmission system for maintenance purposes. Both measurements are made at the input end of the transmission line without altering or disturbing the antenna or load end of the line. This is Important where tall towers are involved or the antenna is otherwise not readily accessible. Accuracies are more than adequate for service purposes and the results are consistent under a wide variety of conditions. A simple technique for determining the distance in feet to a fault such as a break or short circuit is also described.
Nur77 is differentially modified in PC12 cells upon membrane depolarization and growth factor treatment.

Abstract The rat pheochromocytoma cell line PC12 can be induced by growth factors to undergo proliferation and neuronal differentiation. These cells also have excitable membranes that can be depolarized by neurotransmitters or elevated levels of extracellular KCl. Treatment of PC12 cells with growth factors or membrane-depolarizing agents rapidly activates the expression of specific genes whose products are thought to mediate the subsequent biological responses. One such gene, nur77, is a member of the steroid and thyroid hormone receptor gene superfamily. We have identified the Nur77 protein and shown that it is synthesized rapidly and transiently in PC12 cells following stimulation, has a short half-life of 30 to 40 min, and is located in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Nur77 is posttranslationally modified, primarily by phosphorylation on serine residues. Phosphopeptide analysis reveals that Nur77 is modified differently upon membrane depolarization than after treatment with growth factors. We hypothesize that the activity of Nur77 is regulated by both differential gene expression and posttranslational modification and that these modes of regulation contribute to distinct downstream responses specific to membrane depolarization and growth factor treatment.
Energy loss of a high charge bunched electron beam in plasma: Simulations, scaling, and accelerating wakefields

The energy loss and gain of a beam in the nonlinear, ``blowout'' regime of the plasma wakefield accelerator, which features ultrahigh accelerating fields, linear transverse focusing forces, and nonlinear plasma motion, has been asserted, through previous observations in simulations, to scale linearly with beam charge. Additionally, from a recent analysis by Barov et al., it has been concluded that for an infinitesimally short beam, the energy loss is indeed predicted to scale linearly with beam charge for arbitrarily large beam charge. This scaling is predicted to hold despite the onset of a relativistic, nonlinear response by the plasma, when the number of beam particles occupying a cubic plasma skin depth exceeds that of plasma electrons within the same volume. This paper is intended to explore the deviations from linear energy loss using 2D particle-in-cell simulations that arise in the case of experimentally relevant finite length beams. The peak accelerating field in the plasma wave excited behind the finite-length beam is also examined, with the artifact of wave spiking adding to the apparent persistence of linear scaling of the peak field amplitude into the nonlinear regime. At large enough normalized charge, the linear scaling of both decelerating and accelerating fields collapses, with serious consequences for plasma wave excitation efficiency. Using the results of parametric particle-in-cell studies, the implications of these results for observing severe deviations from linear scaling in present and planned experiments are discussed.
Reputation for cooperation: contingent benefits in alliance activity

We model the two-firm alliance as an iterated prisoners' dilemma game with an exit option and test several theoretical predictions in experimental studies regarding the effect of reputation information. Following the literature, we hypothesize that reputation benefits cooperation; however, our experimental results instead show that reputation decreases cooperation. A contingency explains this result while remaining consistent with the general proposition of reputation as beneficial in games of incomplete information. Implications include a recommendation for when to invest in reputation and whether the lemon's market story is applicable to alliance-related inefficiencies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Corporate Governance In The Lodging Industry: Special Case Of The Service Industry

This paper examines the corporate governance structure of publicly traded hospitality firms and determines whether the governance structure selected by these firms is consistent with minimizing monitoring and bonding costs dictated by the complexity of the business models. There is strong evidence that complex firms had larger board of directors, more outside board members, a greater fraction of CEO pay being variable, and more frequent occurrence of CEO/Chairman duality than simple firms. The results also present evidence of a positive relationship between firms that have the appropriate governance structures and the profitability and valuation of the firm.
Histone deacetylase inhibitors activate p73 to target chronic lymphocytic leukemia

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 14-18, 2007; Los Angeles, CA 4085 Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by quiescent cell populations that display enhanced survival. Therefore, therapeutic approaches that target replicating DNA are ineffective against this disease. CLL is also driven by high levels of expression of anti-apoptotic proteins and lack of a functional p53. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACI) have emerged as promising chemotherapeutic agents and appear to display strong tumor selectivity with low toxicity to normal tissues. Although in Phase I clinical trials, the mechanisms by which HDACI induce cytotoxicity are largely unknown. The therapeutic effects of HDACI’s may be mediated through modulation of chromatin structure and transcriptional activation of key apoptotic regulators by means of changes in the acetylation status of nucleosomal histones or by maintaining direct acetylation of non histone proteins. Exposure of primary CLL cells from 21 individuals to LBH589 resulted in an E2F1-independent increase in the levels of p73, a pro-apoptotic member of the p53 family, even in samples which lacked functional p53 (n=9). Increases in p73 were associated with an increase in the levels of acetylation on the protein, an action that stimulates its activity as a transcription factor. Exposure to LBH589 also resulted in an increased association between p73 and the transcriptional co-activator YAP (Yes associated protein). The association of p73 with YAP results in a stabilization of p73 levels and selectively directs the transcriptional activity p73 towards target genes that are proapoptotic. Correspondingly, p73 induction was associated with increases in the transcript and protein levels of the proapoptotic Bcl-2 family member PUMA. PUMA interacts with Mcl-1 following drug exposure, likely negating the antiapoptotic properties of Mcl-1, leading to the release of Bax and triggering cell death. Accordingly, there was a sharp decline in mitochondrial-membrane permeability, an event associated with release of pro-apoptogenic factors that lead to the cleavage dependent activation of caspase-9. Activation of caspase-9 was followed by the induction of cell death in CLL samples, subsequent to HDAC-inhibition. Thus, our data indicates that LBH589 acts independently of p53 to induce p73 which functions in place of p53 to activate PUMA-mediated cell death in primary CLL cells. The above mechanism of action underscores the utility of HDAC inhibitors for the therapy of replicationally quiescent CLL cells.
The Latent Characteristics That Structure Autocratic Rule

Research on autocratic regimes in comparative politics and international relations has burgeoned in the past two decades, and often uses categorical typologies of autocratic regimes to distinguish among different types of dictatorships. Building on advances in methods for estimating the latent dimensions of democracy, this paper uses historical data on 30 features of autocracies to estimate the latent dimensions of autocratic rule. We identify three time-varying dimensions of autocracy that correspond to the ideal types proposed in the authoritarian literature: party dominance, military rule, and personalism. We show that the dimensions of autocratic rule are orthogonal to commonly-used measures of democracy-autocracy; compare these dimensions to existing typologies of autocratic regimes; and propose how this information can be structured as clusters. We show that while party dominance and military rule can be measured using existing data sets, the new time-varying measure of personalism is unique.
Mozart: A Life. By Paul Johnson. (New York, NY: Viking Penguin, 2013. Pp. 164. $25.95.)

The author, a distinguished biographer of subjects ranging from George Washington to Napoleon, Darwin, and Churchill, now turns his attention to Mozart. The result is a highly personal book as he s...
An integrated miRNA functional screening and target validation method for organ morphogenesis

The relative ease of identifying microRNAs and their increasing recognition as important regulators of organogenesis motivate the development of methods to efficiently assess microRNA function during organ morphogenesis. In this context, embryonic organ explants provide a reliable and reproducible system that recapitulates some of the important early morphogenetic processes during organ development. Here we present a method to target microRNA function in explanted mouse embryonic organs. Our method combines the use of peptide-based nanoparticles to transfect specific microRNA inhibitors or activators into embryonic organ explants, with a microRNA pulldown assay that allows direct identification of microRNA targets. This method provides effective assessment of microRNA function during organ morphogenesis, allows prioritization of multiple microRNAs in parallel for subsequent genetic approaches, and can be applied to a variety of embryonic organs.
Clay Particles Destabilize Engineered Nanoparticles in Aqueous Environments

Given the ubiquity of natural clay minerals, the most likely interaction of nanoparticles released into an aquatic environment will be with suspended clay minerals. Thus, the transport of engineered nanoparticles in the subsurface and the water column will most likely be altered by their interaction with these minerals. We studied the interactions of two of the most produced nanoparticles, Ag and TiO(2), and montmorillonite to determine how heteroaggregation can alter the stability of nanoparticle/clay mineral mixtures. Since at low pH montmorillonite has a negatively charged basal plane and positively charged edges, its interaction with these nanoparticles at different pH lead to unusual behaviors. There are six different interactions for each clay-nanoparticle pair. At pH values below the IEP of montmorillonite edge site, montmorillonite reduced the stability of both negatively charged Ag and positively charged TiO(2) nanoparticles. Surprisingly this enhanced coagulation only occurs within an intermediate ionic strength range. The spillover of the montmorillonite basal plane electric double layer to the montmorillonite edge may screen the electrostatic attraction between Ag and the montmorillonite edge at low ionic strength, whereas a repulsion between TiO(2) and montmorillonite face sites may restabilize the mixture.
A Vibrational Investigation of Crystal Nucleation and Growth from a Physically Confined and Supercooled Liquid

Temperature dependent Raman measurements were conducted on bulk and the confined 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 nm porous silica. Two bands at 23 and 190 cm−1 were chosen to evaluate the structure and the melting and freezing transitions of the confined TNT in pores. The results show that the solid phase TNT confined in larger pores (dp > 5 nm) forms conventional solid TNT structure, while the TNT restricted in small pores has no freezing and melting transition characteristics. The results also suggest that the freezing transition of the confined TNT starts at the pore center and the confined TNT maintains its interconnectivity during the freezing transition.
Some Thoughts on the Implementation of the Credit System

The credit system is a teaching administration system which evaluates students’ academic performance on a credit basis. It is urgent that universities and colleges in our country should make a careful study of its connotations and features as well as the conditions for implementing it in order to build a credit system which is adaptable to the real situation in China.
The management of vesicoureteral reflux in the pediatric neurogenic bladder.

AbstractAn integrated method of management has been used in 29 children with neurogenic bladders and vesicoureteral reflux. Radiological followup reveals that resolution or improvement of reflux occurred in 48 per cent of the renal units managed by close observation only, 48 per cent managed by intermittent catheterization, 75 per cent managed by vesicostomies and 100 per cent in which the ureters were reimplanted. As in the non-neurogenic bladder successful management of reflux and prevention of upper tract deterioration can be achieved by conservative management as well as by ureteroneocystostomy, A protocol of management is outlined.
Is Innocence Irrelevant? Collateral Attack on Criminal Judgments

Legal history has many instances where a remedy initially serving a felt need has expanded bit by bit, without much thought being given to any single step, until it has assumed an aspect so different from its origin as to demand reappraisal-agonizing or not. That, in my view, is what has happened with respect to collateral attack on criminal convictions. After trial, conviction, sentence, appeal, affirmance, and denial of certiorari by the Supreme Court, in proceedings where the defendant had the assistance of counsel at every step, the criminal process, in Winston Churchill's phrase, has not reached the end, or even the beginning of the end, but only the end of the beginning. Any murmur of dissatisfaction with this situation provokes immediate incantation of the Great Writ, with the inevitable initial capitals, often accompanied by a suggestion that the objector is the sort of person who would cheerfully desecrate the Ark of the Covenant. My thesis is that, with a few important exceptions, convictions should be subject to collateral attack only when the prisoner supplements his constitutional plea with a colorable claim of innocence. If there be fear that merely listening to such a proposal may contaminate, let me attempt to establish respectability by quoting two statements of Mr. Justice Black:
SU-F-I-49: Vendor-Independent, Model-Based Iterative Reconstruction On a Rotating Grid with Coordinate-Descent Optimization for CT Imaging Investigations

Purpose: Iterative reconstruction methods show promise for improving image quality and lowering the dose in helical CT. We aim to develop a novel model-based reconstruction method that offers potential for dose reduction with reasonable computation speed and storage requirements for vendor-independent reconstruction from clinical data on a normal desktop computer. Methods: In 2012, Xu proposed reconstructing on rotating slices to exploit helical symmetry and reduce the storage requirements for the CT system matrix. Inspired by this concept, we have developed a novel reconstruction method incorporating the stored-system-matrix approach together with iterative coordinate-descent (ICD) optimization. A penalized-least-squares objective function with a quadratic penalty term is solved analytically voxel-by-voxel, sequentially iterating along the axial direction first, followed by the transaxial direction. 8 in-plane (transaxial) neighbors are used for the ICD algorithm. The forward problem is modeled via a unique approach that combines the principle of Joseph's method with trilinear B-spline interpolation to enable accurate reconstruction with low storage requirements. Iterations are accelerated with multi-CPU OpenMP libraries. For preliminary evaluations, we reconstructed (1) a simulated 3D ellipse phantom and (2) an ACR accreditation phantom dataset exported from a clinical scanner (Definition AS, Siemens Healthcare). Image quality was evaluated in the resolution module. Results: Image quality was excellent for the ellipse phantom. For the ACR phantom, image quality was comparable to clinical reconstructions and reconstructions using open-source FreeCT_wFBP software. Also, we did not observe any deleterious impact associated with the utilization of rotating slices. The system matrix storage requirement was only 4.5GB, and reconstruction time was 50 seconds per iteration. Conclusion: Our reconstruction method shows potential for furthering research in low-dose helical CT, in particular as part of our ongoing development of an acquisition/reconstruction pipeline for generating images under a wide range of conditions. Our algorithm will be made available open-source as “FreeCT_ICD”. NIH U01 CA181156; Disclosures (McNitt-Gray): Institutional research agreement, Siemens Healthcare; Past recipient, research grant support, Siemens Healthcare; Consultant, Toshiba America Medical Systems; Consultant, Samsung Electronics
Permissive hypotensive resuscitation - An evolving concept in trauma

Trauma fluid resuscitation continues to be a hotly debated issue. There is overwhelming experimental evidence to suggest that administration of resuscitation fluids is not entirely innocuous. Aggressive intravenous crystalloid administration in the presence of uncontrolled hemorrhage promotes continued bleeding and increases mortality. However this is countered by concerns that avoidance of fluids in the resuscitative phase may lead to tissue hypoperfusion, organ failure and death prior to control of bleeding. It may also have a deleterious effect on neurologic outcome in patients with TBI as well as increase the number of unnecessary operations. Currently there is no clear cut universal consensus pertaining to the optimal resuscitation strategy in trauma patients. However most prudent trauma surgeons propose, that a policy of judicious fluid administration to maintain the MAP in the 60-80 mmHg range is advisable and appropriate. Fluid resuscitation in trauma should be considered a double edged sword (too much too early or too little too late!). It should not be considered definitive therapy; as in a number of trauma patients it is only a temporizing measure, until surgical control of bleeding can be achieved.
Space—Time Poisson Models

This chapter covers space—time Poisson models for queueing networks, spatial service or storage systems, and particle systems. Such a model describes the collective movement of units or customers in space and time, where the units enter the system according to a Poisson space—time process and then move about independently of each other. Because of these properties, the evolution of the system can be formulated by certain “random transformations” of Poisson point processes in space and time. We characterize these transformations and then use them in a variety of models. An important example is a network with time-dependent Poisson arrival process and infinite-server nodes with general service times.
Effects of stereotypical media representations of American Indians on implicit and explicit bias: The power of Pocahontas

According to cultivation theory, people learn information about the world from exposure to media and according to social cognitive theory, we learn how to interact with our social environment through observation of others. Together, these provide an explanation for why stereotypical media portrayals might increase biased attitudes. However, no research has examined the connection between media portrayals and biased attitudes for American Inidans, a group who are only represented in .2-.4% of American media (Fryberg, Markus, Oyserman, & Stone, 2008). The purpose of this study is to assess the role of stereotypical media portrayals of American Indians on both explicit and implicit attitudes and examine the potential mediating impact of both motivation to respond without prejudice and awareness of White privilege on these relationships. In this study participants were randomly assigned to watch either a series of videos with stereotypical representations of American Indians or a series of control videos. Measures of explicitly biased attitudes (modern racism and colorblind racial attitudes), implicitly biased attitudes, awareness of White privilege, and motivations to respond without prejudice (both internal and external) were assessed pre and post-test. Results from three separate hierarchical regression analyses suggest that media does impact modern racist attitudes towards American Indians, but not general colorblind racial attitudes nor implicit attitudes towards American Indians. Importantly, this relationship between media portrayals and modern racist attitudes is moderated by one’s awareness of White privilege such that higher awareness of White privilege only led to less endorsement of modern racist attitudes towards American Indians when not presented with stereotypical portrayals of American Indians. There were no differences between those low and high on awareness when stereotypical media portrayals were present. Implications and limitations are discussed.
Nieve de agosto y otros poemas de Daniel Thomas Morán

RESUMEN: Bajo el titulo de Nieve de Agosto y Otros Poemas, la poeta peruana Mariela Dreyfus, nos introduce a la poesia de Daniel Thomas Moran, nacido en New York en el ano de 1957 PALABRAS CLAVES: Cotidianeidad, mirada, memoria, coloquial ABSTRACT Titled as August Snow and Other Poems, Peruvian poet Mariela Dreyfus introduces us to the poetry of Daniel Thomas Moran, who was born in New York in 1957. KEYWORDS: Everyday, look, memory, colloquial
Confessions of a Black Feminist Academic Pornographer

This essay explores how black feminists working in the area of sexuality and visual culture necessarily face serious questions about what it means to present images of black women’s sexuality. Examining 1980s porn star Jeannie Pepper’s career, the author argues that black women’s representations in pornography reveal the complex politics of black women’s sexual politics and feminism, and the stakes of respectability and objectification. Looking at the ways in which Pepper understood her work, and her pride in her performances—including a 1986 tour of Europe that was captured for a Players Magazine photo spread—the author suggests that black porn stars often embrace a politics of illicit eroticism in which they mobilize black sexual subjectivity for their own ambitions and needs, pushing against the prevailing stigmas that render them illicit objects of desire.
Methods of Analysis of Dendritic Cell-Derived Exosome-Shuttle MicroRNA and Its Horizontal Propagation Between Dendritic Cells

Exosomes are extremely small (<100 nm) membrane vesicles, generated in the endocytic compartment that are released to the extracellular milieu by living cells. Although the biological function of exosomes in vivo remains unclear, they seem to function as mechanisms of cell-to-cell communication for horizontal transfer of proteins, antigens, prions, morphogens, mRNA, and noncoding regulatory RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs) (also known as exosome-shuttle miRNAs). Dendritic cells (DCs), the most potent professional antigen-presenting leukocytes of the immune system, release relatively high levels of exosomes and also interact with free exosomes present in the extracellular space. Therefore, DCs constitute a good model for the analysis of exosome-shuttle miRNAs and their horizontal propagation between cells. This chapter provides basic protocols for purification of exosomes released by mouse bone marrow-derived DCs, analysis of their miRNA content, and assessment of the function of exosome-shuttle miRNAs, once they are transferred to target/acceptor DCs.
Auditory, Somatosensory and Visual Evoked Potentials in the Diagnosis of Neuropathology: Recording Considerations and Normative Data

Recent advances have led to an increased ability to use initial components of the human auditory (AEP) and visual (VEP) evoked potential as a neurophysiological probe for the detection of CNS disorders (for reviews see e.g., Starr et al., 1978; Halliday, 1978). These advances were quickly followed by a successful search for subcortical portions of the somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) which could be applied similarly to neurological problems (Matthews et al., 1974; Cracco and Cracco, 1976; Jones, 1977; Hume and Cant, 1978). For purposes of differential diagnosis and better localization of lesions it will often be desirable to record EPs to the three modalities of stimulation. A few studies have already appeared using combinations of EPs (e.g., Mastaglia et al., 1976; Stockard and Sharbrough, 1978). The need thus arises for a review of the problems involved in combining AEP, SEP and VEP recording in a test which can be carried out in a single recording session. This paper will consider recording conditions and available normative data in such a clinical context. In referring to electrode location the subscripts c and i will denote locations contralateral and ipsilateral to the side of stimulation. All components are labelled by their polarity and approximate peak latency; AEP components P2-P9 correspond to waves I-VII as usually described.
Transdermal delivery of combined hormonal contraception: a review of the current literature

The transdermal patch provides an effective and convenient option for hormonal contraception. The patch currently on the US market contains 150 µg norelgestromin and 35 µg ethinylestradiol (EE). The 20 cm2 patch is applied once weekly for 3 weeks, followed by a patch-free week, for a 21-7 cycle. Typical failure rates are similar to that of combined oral contraceptives (COCs). Transdermal delivery results in less peaks and troughs of estrogen, but a higher total estrogen exposure compared with COCs. Though studies show mixed results, the risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) is about twice as high with the patch as with COCs; however, the absolute risk of VTE remains low. The side effect profile is similar to that of COCs, with slightly higher rates of breast tenderness plus a unique adverse effect of application site reactions. Two new patches have been developed, one containing gestodene and EE in Europe and another containing levonorgestrel and EE. Overall, the patch provides an alternative to COCs for women who want autonomy and the benefit of not needing to take a pill daily, with similar efficacy and tolerability.
Embryonal carcinoma presenting as a calcified solitary testicular mass on ultrasound

A 24-year-old man presented with a 2-week history of a painless right testicular mass; ultrasound demonstrated a dense, solitary calcified mass. The patient elected observation after further workup showed no evidence of metastasis.A repeat ultrasound 3 months later showed interval growth and the patient underwent right radical orchiectomy. Pathology was consistent with pure embryonal carcinoma of the testis. Calcified testicular masses are typically benign but do carry a differential of spermatic granuloma, large-cell calcifying Sertoli cell tumour, trauma, tuberculosis, filariasis, calcified Leydig cell tumour and burned-out testicular tumour.To our knowledge, this is the first case report of pure embryonal carcinoma presenting as a solitary calcified testicular mass.
Outpatient Visits Before Ambulatory Care-Sensitive Hospitalization of Children Receiving Medicaid.

Abstract Objectives Hospitalizations for ambulatory care–sensitive conditions (ACSC) are measured to indicate health care system quality, with the premise that fewer hospitalizations would occur with better preceding outpatient care. Our objectives were to identify outpatient care received in the 7 days preceding acute pediatric hospitalizations and to compare receipt of outpatient care by hospitalization type (ACSC vs non-ACSC). Methods This retrospective observational study used a 10-state database of Medicaid claims to identify outpatient visits within 7 days before acute unplanned hospitalization for children aged 0 to 17 years. We used logistic regression to assess the relationship between hospitalization type and occurrence of a preceding outpatient clinic visit, controlling for patient age, race/ethnicity, type of Medicaid, and complex chronic conditions. Results Of 254,902 hospitalizations, 28.6% had a preceding outpatient visit. Thirty-five percent of hospitalizations were for ACSC. A greater percentage of ACSC versus non-ACSC hospitalizations had a preceding outpatient visit (31.1% vs 27.3%, P Conclusions Although receipt of outpatient care was modestly higher in children hospitalized with an ACSC, most hospitalized children did not receive preceding outpatient care. Further investigation is needed to assess why such a large proportion of children do not receive outpatient care before acute unplanned hospitalization, especially for ACSC.
An efficient Bayesian data-worth analysis using a multilevel Monte Carlo method

Abstract Improving the understanding of subsurface systems and thus reducing prediction uncertainty requires collection of data. As the collection of subsurface data is costly, it is important that the data collection scheme is cost-effective. Design of a cost-effective data collection scheme, i.e., data-worth analysis, requires quantifying model parameter, prediction, and both current and potential data uncertainties. Assessment of these uncertainties in large-scale stochastic subsurface hydrological model simulations using standard Monte Carlo (MC) sampling or surrogate modeling is extremely computationally intensive, sometimes even infeasible. In this work, we propose an efficient Bayesian data-worth analysis using a multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC) method. Compared to the standard MC that requires a significantly large number of high-fidelity model executions to achieve a prescribed accuracy in estimating expectations, the MLMC can substantially reduce computational costs using multifidelity approximations. Since the Bayesian data-worth analysis involves a great deal of expectation estimation, the cost saving of the MLMC in the assessment can be outstanding. While the proposed MLMC-based data-worth analysis is broadly applicable, we use it for a highly heterogeneous two-phase subsurface flow simulation to select an optimal candidate data set that gives the largest uncertainty reduction in predicting mass flow rates at four production wells. The choices made by the MLMC estimation are validated by the actual measurements of the potential data, and consistent with the standard MC estimation. But compared to the standard MC, the MLMC greatly reduces the computational costs.
Adapting Evidence-Based Teen Pregnancy Programs to Be LGBT-Inclusive: Lessons Learned:

Context. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth show higher rates of sexual risk behaviors than heterosexual and cisgender youth; yet, most school-based sexual health education is lar...
How moisture content affects the performance of a liquid piston air compressor/expander

Abstract For a compressed air energy storage (CAES) system to be competitive for the electrical grid, the air compressor/expander must be capable of high pressure, efficient and power dense. However, there is a trade-off between efficiency and power density mediated by heat transfer. This trade-off can be mitigated in a liquid (water) piston air-compressor/expander with enhanced heat transfer. However, in the past, dry air has been assumed in the design and analysis of the compression/expansion process. This paper investigates the effect of moisture on the compression efficiency and power. Evaporation and condensation of water play contradictory roles – while evaporation absorbs latent heat enhancing cooling, the tiny water droplets that form as water condenses also increase the apparent heat capacity. To investigate the effect of moisture, a 0-D numerical model that takes into account the water evaporation/condensation and water droplets has been developed, assuming equilibrium phase change. The 0-D model is also extended to a 1-D model to investigate the spatial effect. To increase computational efficiency, a uniform pressure in the 1-D deformable model is assumed. Results show that inclusion of moisture improves the efficiency-power trade-off minimally at lower flow rates, high efficiency cases, and more significantly at higher flow rates, lower efficiency cases. This effect is the same regardless of whether air is assumed to be an ideal gas or a real gas. The improvement is primarily attributed to the increase in apparent heat capacity due to the increased propensity of water to evaporate. While the 1-D model does capture the spatial effect, the 0-D model is found to be sufficiently accurate in predicting the efficiency and power density of the compressor.
MRI feature tracking strain is prognostic for all-cause mortality in AL amyloidosis.

AbstractObjectives: Cardiac involvement is a major determinate of mortality in light chain (AL) amyloidosis. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) feature tracking (FT) strain is a new method for measuring myocardial strain. This study retrospectively evaluated the association of MRI FT strain with all-cause mortality in AL amyloidosis.Materials and methods: Seventy-six patients with newly diagnosed AL amyloidosis underwent cardiac MRI. 75 had images suitable for MRI FT strain analysis. MRI delayed enhancement, morphologic and functional evaluation, cardiac biomarker staging and transthoracic echocardiography were also performed. Subjects’ charts were reviewed for all-cause mortality. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to evaluate survival in univariate and multivariate analysis.Results: There were 52 deaths. Median follow-up of surviving patients was 1.7 years. In univariate analysis, global radial (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 0.95, p <.01), circumferential (HR = 1.09, p < .01) and longitudinal (HR = ...
Retentive strength and marginal discrepancies of a ceramic-reinforced calcium phosphate luting agent: An in vitro pilot study.

Abstract Statement of problem Information on the properties of a relatively new luting agent with a unique formulation (ceramic-reinforced calcium phosphate) is limited. Purpose The purpose of this in vitro study was to compare the retentive strengths and marginal discrepancies of a ceramic-reinforced calcium phosphate luting agent (CM) with a self-adhesive resin luting agent (RX) and to determine and compare the mode of failure of dislodged cemented copings. Material and methods Forty extracted human molar teeth were prepared to receive zirconia copings. After cementation, the specimens were divided into 4 subgroups (n=10): CM A (axial loading), CM OA (off-axis loading), RX A (axial loading), and RX OA (off-axis loading). For each subgroup, 9 of the specimens received experimental treatment (thermocycling and dynamic loading), and the tenth received no experimental treatment. Eight copings were pulled off in a universal testing machine (MTS Insight; MTS). The ninth specimen was treated experimentally but was not pull tested. The marginal discrepancy and the dentin interface of the specimens that were not pull tested were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersion spectroscopy. The mode of failure of the dislodged copings was also subjectively evaluated. Results The mean retentive strengths were 5.92 MPa for CM A, 5.81 MPa for CM OA, 5.75 MPa for RX A, and 5.69 MPa for RX OA. The marginal discrepancy recorded for both CM and RX ranged from 30 to 45 μm, (mean, 36 ±4.6 μm). Energy dispersion spectroscopy analysis showed the presence of calcium, phosphorus, silicon, and aluminum for the CM marginal discrepancy and the presence of aluminum in the dentinal tubules adjacent to the CM. Calcium and phosphorus were detected in lesser amounts adjacent to the RX marginal discrepancy. The mode of failure for CM was primarily adhesive to the tooth preparation, and, for RX, the failure mode was predominantly adhesive to the coping. Conclusions CM had statistically significantly higher mean retentive strength compared with RX. Subgroups loaded axially had statistically significantly higher retentive strengths compared with those loaded off axis.
BioCreative/OHNLP Challenge 2018

The application of Natural Language Processing (NLP) methods and resources to clinical and biomedical text has received growing attention over the past years, but progress has been limited by difficulties to access shared tools and resources, partially caused by patient privacy and data confidentiality constraints. Efforts to increase sharing and interoperability of the few existing resources are needed to facilitate the progress observed in the general NLP domain. Leveraging our research in corpus analysis and de-identification research, we have created multiple synthetic data sets for a couple of NLP tasks based on real clinical sentences. We are organizing a challenge workshop to promote community efforts towards the advancement in clinical NLP. The challenge workshop will have two tasks: 1) Family History Information Extraction; and 2) Clinical Semantic Textual Similarity.
Current Management Strategies for Autonomic Dysreflexia

Autonomic dysreflexia (AD) is an acute, imbalanced autonomic response to noxious or visceral stimuli in patients with a spinal cord injury (SCI) above T6. In this review, we provide the clinician with an overview of the prevention, diagnosis, and management of AD. Practice patterns of physicians that manage AD are shifting. Many practitioners are moving away from use of nifedipine and towards alternate pharmacologic therapies, namely nitrates and analgesics. Additionally, through better awareness of common triggers of AD, anesthetics have helped to prevent many cases of AD that may have previously occurred. Many pharmacologic interventions are available to the practicing physician; however, more important is a knowledge and understanding of common triggers to avoid as prevention is key.
Invasion dynamics: interactions between the European Green Crab Carcinus maenas and the Asian Shore Crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus

As ecosystems are increasingly inhabited by multiple invasive species, interactions among exotic species have the potential to negatively impact native communities and habitats, often in counterintuitive ways. In rocky intertidal habitats along southern New England, the recently introduced Asian Shore Crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus, has been implicated in the displacement of the more established invasive European Green Crab, Carcinus maenas. We coupled faunal sampling with two field experiments to examine whether H. sanguineus is also displacing C. maenas in the Gulf of Maine. First, we investigated natural recruitment of the two species across an elevation gradient, using cage exclusion units to manipulate predator access. Excluding H. sanguineus adults significantly increased the density of C. maenas recruits, but not conspecific recruit density. Next, to simulate the transition that occurred from pre-invasion to the establishment of H. sanguineus, we conducted a predator inclusion experiment manipulating the density of adult H. sanguineus to examine the effects on C. maenas and conspecific recruit densities. In contrast to the previous experiment, we found that the density of H. sanguineus included in cages negatively affected conspecific recruit density but had no effect on C. maenas recruit density. We hypothesize that juxtaposing results from the two experiments may be a consequence of the considerably greater abundance of C. maenas recruits relative to H. sanguineus recruits during the first experiment. Our work highlights the importance of considering the multitude of factors that influence competitive and intraguild predation interactions, including density-dependent effects, ontogeny and life history characteristics.
Robotic Understanding of Scene Contents and Spatial Constraints

The aim of this paper is to create a model which is able to be used to accurately identify objects as well as spacial relationships in a dynamic environment. This paper proposed methods to train a deep learning model which recognizes unique objects and positions of key items in an environment. The model requires a low amount of images compared to others and also can recognize multiple objects in the same frame due to the utilization of region proposal networks. Methods are also discussed to find the position of recognized objects which can be used for picking up recognized items with a robotic arm. The system utilizes logic operations to be able to deduct how different objects relate to each other in regard to their placement from one another based off of the localization technique. The paper discusses how to create spacial relationships specifically.
One-Pot Electrochemical Nickel-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Sp2-Sp3 Cross-Coupling.

A one-pot electrochemical nickel-catalyzed decarboxylative sp2–sp3 cross-coupling reaction has been developed using redox-active esters prepared in situ from alkyl carboxylates and N-hydroxyphthalimide tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate (PITU). This undivided cell one-pot method enables C–C bond formation using inexpensive, benchtop-stable reagents with isolated yields up to 95% with good functional group tolerance, which includes nitrile, ketone, ester, alkene and selectivity over other aromatic halogens.
LOW RATE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVENTIVE MEDICAL THERAPY FOR NON-OBSTRUCTIVE CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE FOUND ON CORONARY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY PERFORMED IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

The SCOT-HEART trial recently showed that the use of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) was associated with lower rates of cardiovascular death or nonfatal myocardial infarction compared to standard care. This was attributed to increased use of
Managerial Reintegration in the Workplace: A Restorative Justice Approach

Researchers have begun to examine the reintegration of employees in the aftermath of workplace transgressions. However, little is currently known about workplace reintegration when the offender is ...
Educational Value of YouTube Surgical Videos of Pediatric Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Pyeloplasty: A Qualitative Assessment.

Introduction: Surgeons and residents report using videos to prepare for procedures, with a preference for open access resources, specifically YouTube. The educational quality of online videos is uncertain. Videos are uploaded without quality assessment, and ranked by popularity. This study aims to better characterize the available pediatric robotic pyeloplasty videos on YouTube, and assess for conformity to LAParoscopic surgery Video Educational GuidelineS (LAP-VEGaS). Methods: The most viewed videos of "pediatric robotic pyeloplasty" on YouTube were reviewed for baseline characteristics, educational content, inclusion of critical domains of the procedure (positioning, ports, exposure, ureteral mobilization, renal pelvis dissection, hitch stitch, spatulation, and anastomosis), and conformity to LAP-VEGaS. Results: Once ranked by views, 23 videos met inclusion criteria. Views per video ranged from 40 to 15,664 (mean of 1912). The two oldest videos were uploaded in 2009, and had the highest number of views. Audio and written educational content accompanied videos, 22% and 48% of the time, respectively. United States and India were the most common countries of origin. Only six videos contained all critical steps of the procedure. No videos contained all 16 points of the LAP-VEGaS essential checklist (mean 7.6), and most videos neglected preoperative information and outcomes. Percentage conformity was 48% overall (range for each video was 25%-81%). The most viewed videos were not associated with higher conformity to LAP-VEGaS. Conclusions: Despite studies demonstrating preferences for YouTube videos as an educational tool, and pyeloplasty being the most commonly performed pediatric robotic procedure, there are currently few high value educational videos available on YouTube. Videos often lack important procedure domains, and demonstrate low conformity to LAP-VEGaS guidelines. This demonstrates an opportunity to improve the educational quality and value of open access videos, starting by adopting established video reporting guidelines.