cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Misguided Regulation of Cardiac Emergencies: The Rise of the IRB-Industrial Complex and the Increasing Risk to Cardiovascular Research and Our Patients.

> Good judgment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration. > > —President Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 1961 speech on the growing military-industrial complex. The increasing regulatory burden and cost of doing clinical trials in cardiac emergencies has greatly impacted the development of novel therapies resulting in increased morbidity and mortality of patients. A new regulatory framework is required. Over the past 2 decades, great progress has been made in the treatment of ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The development of regional systems of care for delivery of primary percutaneous coronary intervention,1 advances in pharmacotherapy and public education have significantly reduced the time to reperfusion. Although the rapid restoration of coronary blood flow is the most effective means of reducing infarct size and preserving left ventricular function, it is not without consequence as reperfusion may also be associated with further injury to the myocardium and vasculature. Reperfusion injury may increase infarct size to a degree that is similar to the initial ischemic insult2 by increasing myocyte cell death, activating apoptosis, and promoting endothelial dysfunction. Improvements in reducing ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury are urgently needed as this represent the largest remaining target available to reduce infarct size. This achievement could significantly improve patient’s quality of life and reduce the great expenditures associated with the development of congestive heart failure. Unfortunately, efforts at reducing I/R injury by methods successful in animal models have largely been unsuccessful in clinical trials.3 To date, clinical trials to limit reperfusion injury have targeted many areas including reactive oxygen species, reductions in calcium overload, inflammation, mitochondrial permeability transition pore to name just a few. The reasons for disappointing results in the majority of trials may include the frequently longer duration of ischemia and comorbidities in humans with STEMI compared with animals, the frequent inability …
Taxonomic and functional assessment of mesopredator diversity across an estuarine habitat mosaic

A long-standing rule in ecology is that structural complexity increases abundance and diversity of organisms, but this paradigm glosses over potential trait-specific benefits of habitat structure across different regional species pools. We tested this idea using multiple response variables emphasizing taxonomic and functional diversity in seagrass-vegetated, edge, and unvegetated habitats across three estuaries in Washington State (USA). We also used these variables in tandem to evaluate functional redundancy as a proxy for ecosystem resistance and resilience. The estuaries spanned a twofold range in richness of mesopredatory fishes and decapods. Increases in per-sample abundance with habitat structure were confined to three of seven functional groups, specifically those occupying the water column or directly associated with seagrass shoots. Consequently, seagrass reduced mesopredator diversity by reducing evenness. Habitats differed in mesopredator assemblages despite their spatial proximity (~3 m), supported by multivariate analyses performed at functional and taxonomic resolutions, but site differences were less apparent functionally than taxonomically. Functional redundancy did not differ by habitat, but increased with the richness of the regional species pool. Edge habitats were generally intermediate in community structure, per-sample abundance, and diversity between seagrass and unvegetated habitats. Structural complexity provided a trait-specific enhancement of abundance, and this pattern applied across species pools. Because seagrass benefits species with certain traits, management focused on the low-intertidal estuarine habitat mosaic, rather than a particular habitat type, and on places where redundancy is already low, best supports mesopredator diversity and function.
Reporting and methodological quality of meta-analyses in urological literature.

PURPOSE To assess the overall quality of published urological meta-analyses and identify predictive factors for high quality. MATERIALS AND METHODS We systematically searched PubMed to identify meta-analyses published from January 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2015 in 10 predetermined major paper-based urology journals. The characteristics of the included meta-analyses were collected, and their reporting and methodological qualities were assessed by the PRISMA checklist (27 items) and AMSTAR tool (11 items), respectively. Descriptive statistics were used for individual items as a measure of overall compliance, and PRISMA and AMSTAR scores were calculated as the sum of adequately reported domains. Logistic regression was used to identify predictive factors for high qualities. RESULTS A total of 183 meta-analyses were included. The mean PRISMA and AMSTAR scores were 22.74 ± 2.04 and 7.57 ± 1.41, respectively. PRISMA item 5, protocol and registration, items 15 and 22, risk of bias across studies, items 16 and 23, additional analysis had less than 50% adherence. AMSTAR item 1, "a priori" design, item 5, list of studies and item 10, publication bias had less than 50% adherence. Logistic regression analyses showed that funding support and "a priori" design were associated with superior reporting quality, following PRISMA guideline and "a priori" design were associated with superior methodological quality. CONCLUSIONS Reporting and methodological qualities of recently published meta-analyses in major paper-based urology journals are generally good. Further improvement could potentially be achieved by strictly adhering to PRISMA guideline and having "a priori" protocol.
Fault Diagnosis by Qualitative Trend Analysis of the Principal Components: Prospects and Some New Results

Abstract Qualitative trend analysis (QTA) is a data-driven semi-quantitative technique that has been used for process monitoring and fault detection and diagnosis (FDD). Though QTA provides quick and accurate diagnosis - the increase in computational complexity of QTA with the increase in the number of sensors used for diagnosis - may prohibit its real-time application for very large-scale plants. In most of the chemical plants, the measurements are highly redundant and this redundancy can be exploited by performing principal component analysis (PCA) on the measured data. In this paper, we present a PCA-QTA technique for fault diagnosis (FD) in large-scale plants. Essentially, QTA is applied on the principal components rather than on the sensor data. The proposed approach is tested on the Tennessee Eastman (TE) process. The reduction in computational complexity in trend-extraction is about 40%. This reduction in computational complexity is expected to increase considerably for larger processes.
Steric and Solvation Effects on Polymerization Kinetics, Dormancy, and Tacticity of Zr-Salan Catalysts

1-Hexene polymerization using four zirconium-based amine bis(phenolate) catalysts, Zr[2-R-4-tBu-ONNO]Bn2 (where R = methyl (1), ethyl (2), isopropyl (3), and tert-butyl (4)), was examined to establish the effect of ligand sterics on kinetics and stereocontrol of olefin polymerization. For each catalyst, a rich data set was obtained including monomer consumption, molecular weight evolution, end-group analysis, and active site counts. A set of reaction specific rate constants was determined for catalysts 2–4. In addition to the standard elementary reaction steps of initiation, propagation, mis-insertion, and chain transfer, these catalysts undergo isomerization leading to dormancy. This isomerization is particularly prominent in bromobenzene and for less sterically hindered complexes. Across the series 2–4, ligand steric properties have a systematic effect on both insertion and chain transfer rate constants. This relationship was rationalized using the Sterimol steric parameters. The rates of propagation an...
Surface passivation and aging of InGaAs/InP heterojunction phototransistors

We report the effect of different surface treatment and passivation techniques on the stability of InGaAs/InP heterojunction phototransistors (HPTs). An In0.53Ga0.47As surface passivated with aqueous ammonium sulfide ((NH4)2S), aluminum oxide (Al2O3) grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD), and their combination is evaluated by using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). All samples were kept in the air ambient, and their performances were periodically measured to investigate their long-term stability. Raman spectroscopy revealed that the peak intensity of the GaAs-like longitudinal optical phonon of all passivated samples is decreased compared with that of the control sample. This is attributable to the diminution of the carriers near the passivated surfaces, which was proven by extracted surface potential (Vs). The Vs of all passivated samples was decreased to less than half of that for the control sample. XPS evaluation of As3d spectra showed that arsenic oxides (As2O3 and As2O5) on the surfaces of the samples can be removed by passivation. However, both Raman and XPS spectra show that the (NH4)2S passivated sample reverts back over time and will resemble the untreated control sample. When capped with ALD-grown Al2O3, passivated samples irrespective of the pretreatment show no degradation over the measured time of 4 weeks. Similar conclusions are made from our experimental measurement of the performance of differently passivated HPTs. The ALD-grown Al2O3 passivated devices show an improved optical gain at low optical powers and long-term stability.
Interplay of self-esteem, emotion regulation, and parenting in young adolescents' friendship jealousy

Abstract Unwarranted friendship jealousy can create friendship and broader peer difficulties for adolescents. This study expands earlier research on the role of self-esteem in friendship jealousy by considering emotion regulation skill and parental use of psychological control as intersecting factors. 72 young adolescents completed questionnaires on themselves, their friendships, and their family experiences. As predicted, poor self-esteem related to friendship jealousy but only when adolescents were poorly-equipped to deal with strong emotions. Adolescents from homes with psychologically-controlling mothers were also prone to jealousy, evidently because psychological control and broader warmth in the relationship compromised offspring's self-esteem. One consequence of psychological control for offspring may be friendship difficulties related to insecurity over a partner's commitment and exaggeration of the risk posed by rivals.
Mechanisms of drug resistance in AML.

The acute myelogenous leukemias (AML) are diverse in their clinical presentation, molecular, biological and immunological characteristics, and response to therapies. They encompass a wide spectrum of clinical features, developing slowly from myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or presenting with dramatic clinical features without prior warning, such as high circulating blast count resulting in leucostastis and bleeding, coagulopathies, cutaneous and organ infiltration, sepsis due to neutropenia, and anemia. Morphological classification was initially codified in the French-American-British (FAB) system1 and was recently modified in the World Health Organization (WHO) system.2 The leukemic transformation is believed to occur at an early stem cell level, based on the ability of CD34+38-leukemic cells to repopulate NOD/scid mice3 with the exception of acute promyelocytic leukemias (APL) that probably originate in CD34-33+cells. However, leukemic cells were recently reported to reside in the pre-CD34 “side-population” (SP) cell population,4 suggesting an even more primitive cell of origin
Seroconversion rate among health care workers exposed to HIV-contaminated body fluids: The University of Pittsburgh 13-year experience

Background The studies enumerating the risk of HIV transmission to health care workers (HCWs) as 0.3% after percutaneous exposure to HIV-positive blood, and 0.09% after a mucous membrane exposure, are weakened by dated literature. Our study aims to demonstrate the seroconversion rate after exposure to HIV-contaminated body fluids in a major academic center in the United States. Methods A prospectively maintained database of reported occupational injuries occurring between 2002 and 2015 at an academic medical center was analyzed. Data collected included the type of injury, injured body part, type of fluid, contamination of sharps, involvement of resident physicians, use of postexposure prophylaxis, and patients' HIV, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus status. Results A total of 266 cases were included in the study. Most exposures were caused by percutaneous injuries (52.6%), followed by 43.2% mucocutaneous injuries. Of the injuries, 52.6% were to the hand and 33.5% to the face and neck. Blood exposure accounted for 64.3% of all cases. Of the patients, 21.1% received postexposure prophylaxis. None of the HCWs exposed to HIV-contaminated body fluids seroconverted (seroconversion rate, 0%). Conclusions HIV does not seem to be as easily transmitted by needlestick, laceration, or splash injuries as previously surmised. Further large-scale and multicenter studies are needed for a more accurate estimation of the risk of transmission of HIV in U.S. health care workers.
Utility of quantitative apparent diffusion coefficient measurements and normalized apparent diffusion coefficient ratios in the diagnosis of clinically significant peripheral zone prostate cancer.

Objective:The aim of this study is to evaluate the utility of quantitative apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements and normalized ADC ratios in multiparametric MRI for the diagnosis of cl...
Immunodetection of Choriogonadotropin-Like Antigen in Bacteria Isolated from Cancer Patients

As early as 1948, Virginia (Wuerthele-Caspe) Livingston and her associates have published a series of papers describing a pleomorphic, acid-fast bacterium which they isolated from cancer tissues and body fluids of patients with malignant neoplasms. Livingston and Alexander-Jackson (1970) published a full description of the organism(s) and proposed the name Progenitor cryptocides as a new taxon within the Actinomycetales. They reported that this bacterium crossreacts antigenically with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, with which it shares the property of acid fastness.
Hermitian Geometry and Kählerian Geometry

Let M be a complex manifold of dimension m. M is called hermitian if an hermitian structure H is given in its tangent bundle T(M). With the local coordinates z1,…, zm a natural frame field is given by $$ {S_i} = \frac{\partial }{{\partial {z^i}}},\;l \mathbin{\lower.3ex\hbox{$\buildrel<\over{\smash{\scriptstyle=}\vphantom{_x}}$}} i,j,k,l \mathbin{\lower.3ex\hbox{$\buildrel<\over{\smash{\scriptstyle=}\vphantom{_x}}$}} m $$ (7.1) and this frame is holomorphic. Let $$ {h_{ik}} = H\left( {\frac{\partial }{{\partial {z^i}}},\frac{\partial }{{\partial {z^k}}}} \right) = {\bar h_{ki}} $$ (7.2) Then the matrix $$ H = {}^t\bar H = \left( {{h_{ik}}} \right) $$ (7.3) is positive definite hermitian.
Safety Analysis of Access Zone Design for Managed Toll Lanes on Freeways

AbstractOn freeways, managed lanes (MLs) have emerged as an effective dynamic traffic management strategy. MLs have been successfully implemented as an important facility in improving traffic mobil...
Accurate Passive Rotational Alignment of Multi-Core Fibre with Double-D-Shape Cladding on V Groove

We demonstrate precise passive rotational alignment of multi-core fibres (MCFs) with double-D-shape cladding on V-groove arrey. Eight MCFs were simultaneously aligned with small rotational misalignments, and achieved the insertion losses of < 0.5 dB in 16 outer cores.
Risk Management as a Strategic Driver for a Large Archive

Archives are faced with fast-paced changes in the world in which they operate. In particular, innovation in digital technology have transformed the way people access and retrieve information. In vi...
Bounds on Dimension Reduction in the Nuclear Norm

For all n ≥ 1, we give an explicit construction of m × m matrices A1, …, An with m = 2⌊n∕2⌋ such that for any d and d × d matrices \(A^{\prime }_1,\ldots ,A^{\prime }_n\) that satisfy $$\displaystyle \|A^{\prime }_i-A^{\prime }_j\|{ }_{\scriptstyle {\mathsf {S}}_1} \,\leq \, \|A_i-A_j\|{ }_{\scriptstyle {\mathsf {S}}_1}\,\leq \, (1+\delta ) \|A^{\prime }_i-A^{\prime }_j\|{ }_{\scriptstyle {\mathsf {S}}_1} $$ for all i, j ∈{1, …, n} and small enough δ = O(n−c), where c > 0 is a universal constant, it must be the case that d ≥ 2⌊n∕2⌋−1. This stands in contrast to the metric theory of commutative lp spaces, as it is known that for any p ≥ 1, any n points in lp embed exactly in \(\ell _p^d\) for d = n(n − 1)∕2.
Plasma Assisted Cooling of Hot Surfaces on Hypersonic Vehicles

Electron transpiration cooling (ETC) is a proposed thermal management approach for the leading edges of hypersonic vehicles that utilizes thermionic emission to emit electrons to carry heat away from the surface. A modeling approach for assessing ETC in a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) framework and is evaluated using previously completed experiments. The modeling approach is presented includes developing boundary conditions to account for space-charge-limited emission to accurately determine the level of electron emission from the surface. The effectiveness of ETC for multiple test cases are investigated including sharp leading edges and blunt bodies. For each of these test cases, ETC affects the surface properties, most notably the surface temperature, suggesting that ETC occurs for bodies in thermally intense, ionized flows, no matter the shape of the leading edge. An approximate approach is also presented to assess ETC in an ionized flow and compares its cooling power to radiative cooling.
Simultaneous electrophysiological recording and self-powered biosignal monitoring using epidermal, nanotexturized, triboelectronic devices

The fabrication of multifunctional epidermal electronic devices capable of efficiently reading electrophysiological signals and converting low-amplitude mechanical signals into electric outputs promises to pave the way towards the development of self-powered wearable sensors, smart consumer electronics, and human-machine interfaces. This article describes the scalable and cost-effective fabrication of epidermal, nanotexturized, triboelectronic devices (EnTDs). EnTDs can be conformably worn on the skin and efficiently monitor electrophysiological signals, temperature, and hydration levels. EnTDs, while measuring electrophysiological signals, can also convert imperceptible time-variant body motions into electrical signals using a nanotexturized triboelectric layer, enabling the self-powered monitoring of respiration, swallowing, and arterial pulse. These results suggest the potential of EnTDs as a new class of multifunctional skin-like sensors for biomedical monitoring and self-powered sensing applications.
Cross-Jurisdictional Data to Care: Lessons Learned in New York State and Florida.

Background Data-to-Care (D2C) programming is an important strategy in locating and relinking persons with HIV who are not in care (NIC), back to care. However, Health Department D2C programs have found a large proportion of individuals who seem NIC are living outside of their jurisdiction. Jurisdictions are limited in ability to cross-communicate regarding such individuals. Setting Two D2C programs [New York State (NYS) and Florida (FL)] funded through the Partnerships-for-Care Demonstration Project, partnered to conduct a feasibility pilot project to test cross-jurisdictional D2C reciprocity. Methods Jurisdictions made efforts to set up infrastructure for cross-jurisdictional D2C, and NYS worked to identify persons reported in NYS presumed in need of linkage/relinkage efforts in FL using 3 years of NYS D2C program outcomes. Results One hundred forty NYS NIC individuals were presumed to need linkage/relinkage efforts in FL. However, case dispositions for these individuals were not able to be advanced beyond determining HIV care status due to 4 critical challenges: (1) Local legal and regulatory permissibility for sharing identifiable HIV surveillance information outside of a specific jurisdiction varies; (2) Electronic infrastructure in place does not support public health follow-up of individuals who are not within a jurisdiction's HIV surveillance system; (3) An individual's verifiable current residence is not easily attained; and (4) Roles, responsibilities, and case prioritization within each state, and across jurisdictions vary and require clear delineation. Conclusions Although programmatic challenges during this D2C feasibility pilot project were unsurmountable for NYS and FL, potential solutions presented may facilitate broader national cross-jurisdictional D2C reciprocity.
Enabling the Electric Future of Mobility: Robotic Automation for Electric Vehicle Battery Assembly

Consumer demand for Electric Vehicles (EVs) is increasing due to improving performance and affordability. However, EV manufacturers are struggling to meet this rise in demand. A key bottleneck is supply from a nascent EV battery supply chain that is new and developing. In this paper, we propose robotic work cell design for fast and reliable assembly of EV battery modules, at scale, to reduce this demand-supply gap.
Doping-dependent correlation effects in (Sr 1 -x La x ) 3 Ir 2 O 7

Author(s): Affeldt, G; Hogan, T; Denlinger, JD; Vishwanath, A; Wilson, SD; Lanzara, A | Abstract: We have measured the signatures of electronic energy scales and their doping evolution in the band structure of (Sr1-xLax)3Ir2O7 using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. While band splittings and positions corresponding to the bilayer splitting and spin-orbit coupling undergo only small changes, the Mott gap and effective mass of both the lower Hubbard band and conduction band exhibit strong variations with doping. These changes correspond to similar observations in the cuprate superconductors, and are likely connected to the changing effective Coulomb interaction upon addition of itinerant carriers.
Online Monitoring Method for a DC-Link Capacitor in an AC/DC/AC Converter

An effective method for online monitoring of a DC-link capacitor’s capacitance (C) is proposed in this paper. By injecting an AC voltage into the DC-link, the AC current and voltage components in the DC-link capacitor are generated. By applying the appropriate theoretical analysis, a mathematical model can be developed. As the proposed method only requires estimating the parameters from the input voltage and current, there will be no need to install additional capacitor current sensors, which are usually difficult to install and would be of extra cost. Thus, the proposed method is easy to implement in practice. The simulation and experimental results are provided in this paper to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Performance Analysis of rotated-QPSK in Physical-Layer Network Coding

Two wireless nodes outside each others radio range can communicate via a node in between, known as a relay node. A relay node may be a simple repeater or a fully functional entity depending upon the deployment scenario. In a two-way relay communication (TWRC), Physical-Layer network coding (PNC) exploits the superimposed nature of electromagnetic waves at the relay node to improve the throughput performance. Synchronization of information from two end users is critical when exchanging information via a relay node. Traditionally in PNC, modulation constellations sent from the two end users are chosen to be the same. In this paper, we investigate the performance of a PNC-based TWRC system in a Rayleigh fading scenario when the modulation constellation of one end user is rotated with respect to the modulation constellation at the other end user. The analysis shows that the rotated-QPSK gives distinct decision regions when the modulation constellation of QPSK and rotated-QPSK are superimposed, unlike the traditional (QPSK)(QPSK) transmission. Simulation results for the symbol error rate (SER) at the relay node shows the loss in performance of (QPSK)-(rotated-QPSK) scheme compared to the (QPSK)(QPSK) scheme due to phase rotation.
A Case for Feedforward Control with Feedback Trim to Mitigate Time Transfer Attacks

We propose a new clock synchronization architecture for systems under time transfer attacks. Facilitated by a feedforward control with feedback trim--based clock adjustment, coupled with packet filtering and frequency shaping techniques, our proposed architecture bounds the clock errors in the presence of a powerful network attacker capable of attacking packets between a master and a client. A key advantage is consistent measurements, timely coordination, and synchronized actuation in distributed systems. In contrast, current time synchronization architectures behave poorly under attacks due to assumptions that the network is benign and delays are symmetric. The usage of feedback controllers aggravates poor performance. We provide an architecture that is indifferent to delays and eases the integration to traditional protocols. We implement a delay attack--resistant precision time protocol and validate the results on a hardware-supported testbed.
Building a Successful, Socially-Distanced Family Medicine Clerkship in the COVID Crisis

Introduction In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many family medicine clerkships across the United States are scrambling to provide meaningful medical education in a new clinical environment. Most medical schools have paused or severely limited the direct patient care that has been the core educational requirement of the clinical clerkships. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a curricular model that meets the family medicine clerkship learning objectives via telemedicine clinical instruction. Methods We created a clerkship where all clinical encounters took place by phone or video visits. Students were required to have telemedicine encounters with at least 20 patients over a 4-week clerkship. We also created a telemedicine illness script-writing assignment to prepare students and faculty for these encounters. We evaluated our curriculum by surveying participating students and faculty members. Results Student surveys revealed that all learning objectives were met during the telemedicine clerkship experience. Students felt they made a difference during the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty felt that the medical students were helpful and that they were able to provide meaningful clinical instruction. Conclusion Our study reveals that a family medicine clerkship can be successfully delivered using telemedicine and remote learning techniques. Senior medical students are a valuable resource and can have a meaningful clinical impact while learning more about family medicine. If social distancing precautions continue, this model can be used by other clerkships to continue medical education and provide medical care.
Enhanced CO2 capture using organic acid structure modified waste eggshell derived CaO sorbent

Abstract In this study, the waste eggshell has been utilised to synthesise structure modified CaO using organic acids and employed for CO2 capture in the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) based systems. Different characterisation techniques were used such as XRD, SEM/EDS, XRF, N2 sorption-desorption (BET) and TGA to investigate the suitability for CO2 adsorption. The modified CaO using organic acids showed high surface area, easy upgradation of pore structure makes the CaO a suitable sorbent for CO2 capturing as an economical sorbent. Three of the organic acid modified sorbent achieved the highest conversion and stability over a period of 20 cycles. Citric acid modified sorbent (CaO CA-10%) obtained a CO2 uptake of 0.38 g CO2/g sorbent (CaO conversion of 55%) that was highest among the acid used whereas in term of stability malic acid modified sorbent (CaO MA-10%) has the lowest average decay rate of 4.43 mg CO2/cycle as compared to various acids used in this work. It is concluded that modified surface structure by employment of organic acids lead to the reduction of sintering and led towards better sorbents performance towards CO2 capturing for multiple cycles.
Illicit Trade and Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

Research purpose. Growth of illicit trade has markedly increased and caused damage to a multitude of economic, socio-economic and environmental outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of Hofstede’s country cultural dimensions on the attitudes towards illicit trade and the political will to counter the crime across countries.
Can Greentree University Adopt Holistic Admissions Practices and Still Maintain Status as an Elite Institution

Despite legal challenges, universities are increasingly using holistic admissions practices to accomplish affirmative action and increased student diversity. The admissions committee of the college...
Underutilization of Needle Biopsy Before Breast Surgery: A Measure of Low-Value Care

Breast core needle biopsy (CNB) can obviate the need for breast surgery in patients with an unknown breast lesion; however, variation in compliance with this guideline may represent a disparity in health care and a surrogate measure of unnecessary surgery. We evaluated variation in breast CNB rates prior to initial breast cancer surgery. We performed a retrospective analysis using Medicare claims from 2015 to 2017 to evaluate the proportion of patients who received a CNB within 6 months prior to initial breast cancer surgery. Outlier practice pattern was defined as a preoperative CNB rate ≤ 70%. Logistic regression was used to evaluate surgeon characteristics associated with outlier practice pattern. We identified 108,935 female patients who underwent initial breast cancer surgery performed by 3229 surgeons from July 2015 to June 2017. The mean CNB rate was 86.7%. A total of 7.7% of surgeons had a CNB performed prior to initial breast surgery ≤ 70% of the time, and 2.0% had a CNB performed ≤ 50% of the time. Outlier breast surgeons were associated with practicing in a micropolitan area (odds ratio [OR] 1.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.29–2.73), in the South (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.20–2.84) or West region (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.11–2.86), > 20 years in practice (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.09–2.11), and low breast cancer surgery volume (< 30 cases in the study period; OR 4.03, 95% CI 2.75–5.90). Marked variation exists in whether a breast core biopsy is performed prior to initial breast surgery, which may represent unnecessary surgery on individual patients. Providing surgeon-specific feedback on guideline compliance may reduce unwarranted variation.
Viral Nephropathies, Adding SARS-CoV-2 to the List

Viral infections in the immunocompetent host can cause both acute and chronic kidney disease either as a direct damage to the infected kidney cells or as a consequence of systemic immune responses that impact kidney function. Since identifying these entities in the 1970s and 80s, major breakthroughs in the understanding of the viral mechanisms have occurred. Viruses have evolved mechanisms to hijack signaling pathways of infected cells to evade antiviral immune responses by the host. Over time, the clinical presentations and management of these diseases have evolved along with our in-depth understanding of the various pathophysiological mechanisms causing these conditions. Similarly, both at the cellular and systemic levels, the host has evolved mechanisms to counter viral subversion strategies for mutual survival. Since the start of the current COVID-19 pandemic, numerous cases of acute kidney injury have been reported in the literature with various possible pathophysiological mechanisms. In this review, we summarize lessons learned from prior viral pandemics related to viral mechanisms utilized in the pathogenesis of numerous renal manifestations to attempt to utilize this knowledge in predicting post-COVID-19 kidney disease.
2^5 Years of Model Checking

Model Checking is an automatic verification technique for large state transition systems. It was originally developed for reasoning about finite-state concurrent systems. The technique has been used successfully to debug complex computer hardware, communication protocols, and software. It is beginning to be used for analyzing cyber-physical, biological, and financial systems as well. The major challenge for the technique is a phenomenon called the State Explosion Problem. This issue is impossible to avoid in the worst case; but, by using sophisticated data structures and clever search algorithms, it is now possible to verify state transition systems with an astronomical number of states. In this paper, we will briefly review the development of Model Checking over the past 32 years, with an emphasis on model checking stochastic hybrid systems.
Design Considerations of Small-Animal CT Systems

This chapter focuses on the ability of small-animal CT to provide information about molecular species and their spatial distribution in tissues. Over the past several decades radionuclide imaging methods have been the mainstay of in vivo molecular imaging by virtue of the variety of biologically active molecules that can be labeled with a radioactive marker. CT image data has been used to provide both attenuation correction of the SPECT and PET images as well as provide the anatomic localization of the radionuclide accumulation. This important contribution of CT to molecular imaging is presented in those chapters directly addressing the radionuclide imaging approaches. Although, the presence of higher atomic weight atomic labels (e.g., iodine) of biologically active tracer molecules can be conveyed by conventional X-ray attenuation-based imaging methods (in milli-molar concentrations as compared to pico-molar concentrations by radionuclide methods), molecular species can be conveyed by non-attenuating aspects of X-ray interaction with matter by virtue of their molecular bonds that are characteristic of polymeric molecules. These non-attenuating X-ray imaging methods are now starting to emerge from the feasibility demonstrations and hence will be explored in some depth in this chapter.
Validation of animal and laboratory methods in digestibility research

Experimentation in research explores new ideas and helps gain new knowledge which includes treatment observations, laboratory analyses, statistical analyses, and interpretation of the data. The use of appropriate methodology plays an important role in high quality research as it helps yield accurate, reliable and repeatable data. The same components can be analyzed by multiple methods due to the accumulation of approved methods. In this thesis two methodologies have evaluated to make suggestions based on time, budget, and resource availability. Currently there are several accepted methods for the drying of animal excreta; however some methods have been reported to negatively impact the nutrient composition more than other methods. Therefore, one objective of this thesis was to evaluate nutrient and energy losses due to drying method on feces, urine, and poultry excreta. Twelve individually penned growing pigs were fed one of three diets and 16 pens of 10 growing broilers were fed one of four diets that differed in nutrient composition. Feces, urine, and excreta that varied in nutrient composition were collected after 7 d of diet adaptation. Samples were dried using one of four methods: UD-undried, FD-freeze dried, OD55-oven dried at 55°C for 48 h, or OD100-oven dried at 100°C for 48 h, after which DM, GE, N, C, and S were determined. There were no differences among drying methods except FD excreta had a greater S concentration than OD (P < 0.10). Covariates are auxiliary variables used in the statistical covariance analysis to limit variation for accurately calculating the least squares means. Digestibility research has shown limited use of covariates because the benefits are unknown. Therefore, the second objective of this thesis was to determine an appropriate covariate for digestibility experiments to limit variation that may affect treatment observations. Seventy two barrows were randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments for Phase-1 (P1;
Generalized Total Variation: Tying the Knots

This letter formulates a convex generalized total variation functional for the estimation of discontinuous piecewise linear signals from corrupted data. The method is based on (1) promoting pairwise group sparsity of the second derivative signal and (2) decoupling the principle knot parameters so they can be separately weighted. The proposed method refines the recent approach by Ongie and Jacob.
Digital equivalence of biological neural AND-gate, OR-gate and MIN-Gate

Article discussing the digital equivalence of biological neural AND-gate, OR-gate and MIN-gate.
Polyglot Bureaucracies: Nonprofit Advocacy to Create Inclusive City Governments

This article examines the role of immigrant-serving nonprofit organizations in making city bureaucracies more accommodating of immigrants' needs. Scholarship highlights the importance of bureaucrats' professional norms and agencies' inclusive missions in this process of “immigrant bureaucratic incorporation,” but this article shows that these factors are not always sufficient to explain it. Case study material of campaigns to make government multilingual in New York City and San Francisco, two cities with immigrant-friendly orientations, shows that constant pressure from nonprofit organizations on legislative and administrative officials was required to make city agencies and their services accessible to limited English proficient immigrants.
Schimke immune-osseous dysplasia: A case report

Schimke immune-osseous dysplasia (SIOD) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by spondylo-epiphyseal dysplasia (SED), progressive renal insufficiency beginning as steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) and defective cellular immunity. This article reports a case from Egypt with a mild form of SIOD. A 14.5-year-old male patient presented with disproportionate short stature, SRNS (focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis), laboratory evidence of cellular immune deficiency and radiologic characteristics of SED. He died at the age of 16.5 years with bone marrow failure and severe pneumonia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of SIOD to be reported from Egypt.
Cold compaction of water ice

[1] Hydrostatic compaction of granulated water ice was measured in laboratory experiments at temperatures 77 K to 120 K. We performed step-wise hydrostatic pressurization tests on 5 samples to maximum pressures P of 150 MPa, using relatively tight (0.18–0.25 mm) and broad (0.25–2.0 mm) starting grain-size distributions. Compaction change of volume is highly nonlinear in P, typical for brittle, granular materials. No time-dependent creep occurred on the lab time scale. Significant residual porosity (∼0.10) remains even at highest P. Examination by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals a random configuration of fractures and broad distribution of grain sizes, again consistent with brittle behavior. Residual porosity appears as smaller, well-supported micropores between ice fragments. Over the interior pressures found in smaller midsize icy satellites and Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs), substantial porosity can be sustained over solar system history in the absence of significant heating and resultant sintering.
Identifying evaluation considerations for the recovery and restoration from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill: An initial appraisal of stakeholder concerns and values

Understanding what can be achieved and what should be avoided by environmental management decisions requires an understanding of values, or what is cared about in a decision. Decision analysis provides tools and processes for constructing objectives that transparently reflect the values being considered in environmental management decisions. The present study demonstrates parts of the initial decision analysis steps for identifying a decision context and constructing objectives for the recovery and long-term restoration of the Gulf of Mexico following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. From a review of multiple reports, including those developed by policy makers and nongovernmental organizations, a preliminary structuring of concerns and considerations into objectives was derived to highlight features of importance in the recovery from the spill and long-term restoration. The fundamental objectives constructed for the long-term restoration context reflect broader concerns regarding well-being and quality of life. When developed through stakeholder engagement processes, clarifying objectives can potentially 1) lend insight into the values that can be affected, 2) meaningfully include stakeholders in the decision-making process, 3) enhance transparency and communication, and 4) develop high-impact management strategies reflecting broad public interests. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2015;11:502–513. Published 2015 SETAC. This article is a US government work and is in the public domain in the United States of America.
Dietary intake of soy genistein is associated with lung function in patients with asthma

To determine if micronutrient intake is associated with asthma severity, we administered the Block food frequency questionnaire to participants in a randomized clinical trial of the safety of influenza vaccine for asthmatics. The nutrition substudy included 1033 participants, aged 12-75. Intake of antioxidant vitamins, soy isoflavones, total fruits and vegetables, fats, and fiber was compared with asthma severity at baseline [forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), peak expiratory flow rate (PEF), asthma symptoms] and the rate of asthma exacerbations during the 2 weeks following influenza vaccination. The only nutrient that had a consistent association with asthma severity was genistein, a soy isoflavone. None of the nutrients evaluated were related to asthma exacerbation rate when adjusted for known confounders. The FEV1 in genistein consumers of at least 250 microg/1000 Kcal/day was 82.1% predicted, 79.9% predicted for those who consumed between 1 and 249 microg/1000 kcal, and 76.2% predicted in genistein nonconsumers (p=0.006); the PEF was 82.7% predicted, 80.8% predicted, and 78.3% predicted, respectively (p=0.009). There were no differences in the Asthma Symptom Utility Index (ASUI). We could not account for these results based on differences in demographics, body mass index, or consumption of other nutrients. Thus, increasing consumption of genistein is associated with better lung function in patients with asthma. Further studies are needed to determine whether dietary supplementation with genistein can reduce asthma severity.
Coherence and maximum likelihood multiple receiver signal detection

Maximum likelihood detection is applied to a multiple receiver signal detection case. Independent complex Gaussian signal and noise samples are assumed. At low signal-to-noise ratios, this results in the maximum eigenvalue of the coherence matrix as the detection statistic.
Public policy and part-time employment

What are the policy implications of these findings? One thing is clear: Recently employers have avoided hiring full-time employees. With the dramatic slowing in the growth of full-time jobs has come a rise in the relative importance of part-time employment, particularly of the involuntary kind. The root cause of this phenomenon is suggested by the history of the past two decades, which contain periods of both extremely weak and very strong full-time job growth. The pattern is obvious: When there is strong full-time job growth, involuntary part-time work fades in importance. One other pattern is also evident: The periods of relatively weak full-time job growth and increasing importance of involuntary part-time employment are also times of growth in levels of income taxation and the volume of governmental regulation. By contrast, the period of very pronounced growth in full-time employment and reduced incidence of involuntary part-time work is characterized by lowered income tax rates and the relaxing of governmental regulations. From the policy standpoint, it appears that if involuntary part-time work is a problem, the most direct way to deal with it is to return to the economic policies of the 1981–1989 era that generated such remarkable overall job growth in the American economy.
The cytokine-prostaglandin cascade in fever production: fact or fancy?

Abstract (1) The classical view of the genesis of infectious fevers is that they develop in sequential steps, starting with the production by peripheral mononuclear phagocytes activated by the infectious noxa (i.e., the invading pathogens and/or their products, e.g., bacterial endotoxic lipopolysaccharides (LPS)) of pyrogenic cytokines, principally tumor necrosis factor- α , interleukin(IL)-1 β and IL-6, the release of these cytokines into the bloodstream, their transport to targets accessible from blood (e.g., cerebral microvessels, the organum vasculosum laminae terminalis ) in close proximity to the ventromedial preoptic area (VMPO, the presumptive brain site of the febrigenic controller), and the consequent generation of stimulatory signals directed to the VMPO. An alternative view is that the message of the pyrogenic cytokines elaborated in the periphery is conveyed to the VMPO via a neural rather than a humoral pathway. In both views, cyclooxygenase (COX)-2-dependent prostaglandin (PG) E 2 is considered to be the proximal fever mediator induced in the VMPO by these cytokines, modulating the activity of thermosensitive neurons contained in this region and effecting the development of fever. (2) However, peripheral cytokines are not consistently detectable in febrile illnesses, and it was recently reported that neither circulating LPS nor cytokine levels are increased at the onset of robust fevers induced in rats by subcutaneous injections of replicating Escherichia coli . (3) And it was reported long ago that the intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of PGE 2 did not evoke fever in newborn lambs and goats although these animals responded normally to the intravenous injection of LPS, and that the icv-injection of synthetic PGE 2 antagonists that prevented the febrile response of rabbits to icv-injected PGE 2 did not inhibit that to a simultaneously injected endogenous pyrogen. (4) Other, more recent data indicate that the pyrogenic chemokine macrophage inflammatory protein-1 β produces fever independently of PGE 2 . (5) We found recently that the febrile response of adult guinea pigs to intravenously injected LPS is initiated significantly before the appearance of cytokines in the blood and, moreover, is evoked and sustainable in the absence of preoptic PGE 2 . (6) What is amiss? Are the contradictory data fallacious or should the conventional wisdom be revisited? This issue is considered in this article and an explanation suggested for these disparate findings.