cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of grain boundaries and defects on anisotropic magnon transport in textured S r 14 C u 24 O 41

The strong spin-spin exchange interaction in some low-dimensional magnetic materials can give rise to a high group velocity and thermal conductivity contribution from magnons. One example is the incommensurate layered compounds (Sr,Ca,La)14Cu24O41. The effects of grain boundaries and defects on quasi-one-dimensional magnon transport in these compounds are not well understood. Here we report the microstructures and anisotropic thermal transport properties of textured Sr14Cu24O41, which are prepared by solid-state reaction followed by spark plasma sintering. Transmission electron microscopy clearly reveals nano-layered grains and the presence of dislocations and planar defects. The thermal conductivity contribution and mean free paths of magnons in the textured samples are evaluated with the use of a kinetic model for one-dimensional magnon transport, and found to be suppressed significantly as compared to single crystals at low temperatures. The experimental results can be explained by a one-dimensional magnon-defect scattering model, provided that the magnon-grain boundary scattering mean free path in the anisotropic magnetic structure is smaller than the average length of these nano-layers along the c axis. The finding suggests low transmission coefficients for magnons across grain boundaries.
History of Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents, the Development of Biosimilars, and the Future of Anemia Treatment in Nephrology

Background: Exogenous replacement of erythropoietin (EPO) by recombinant human EPO has been considered a standard of care for the treatment of anemia in patients
Electroantennogram response of two western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) adult populations to corn and soybean volatiles.

The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, has adapted to crop rotation in parts of Illinois and Indiana with females now laying eggs in soybean, Glycine max L., fields in addition to corn, Zea mays L., fields. The electroantennogram (EAG) responses of females from the rotation-adapted population (Illinois) were not significantly different than the EAG responses of females from the ‘normal’ population (Missouri) for any of nine individual volatile treatments evaluated except to (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal. However, females from the rotation-adapted population had nominally greater EAG responses than females from the ‘normal’ population for eight of nine treatments. This difference was significant when volatile treatments were combined to analyze the main effect of corn rootworm populations. Differences between populations were consistent across volatile treatments, and the volatile treatments × populations interaction was not significant for the analyses of data from females or males. The...
Trends in food insecurity for adults with cardiometabolic disease in the United States: 2005-2012

Background Food insecurity, the uncertain ability to access adequate food, can limit adherence to dietary measures needed to prevent and manage cardiometabolic conditions. However, little is known about temporal trends in food insecurity among those with diet-sensitive cardiometabolic conditions. Methods We used data from the Continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005–2012, analyzed in 2015–2016, to calculate trends in age-standardized rates of food insecurity for those with and without the following diet-sensitive cardiometabolic conditions: diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, and obesity. Results 21,196 NHANES participants were included from 4 waves (4,408 in 2005–2006, 5,607 in 2007–2008, 5,934 in 2009–2010, and 5,247 in 2011–2012). 56.2% had at least one cardiometabolic condition, 24.4% had 2 or more, and 8.5% had 3 or more. The overall age-standardized rate of food insecurity doubled during the study period, from 9.06% in 2005–2006 to 10.82% in 2007–2008 to 15.22% in 2009–2010 to 18.33% in 2011–2012 (p for trend < .001). The average annual percentage change in food insecurity for those with a cardiometabolic condition during the study period was 13.0% (95% CI 7.5% to 18.6%), compared with 5.8% (95% CI 1.8% to 10.0%) for those without a cardiometabolic condition, (parallelism test p = .13). Comparing those with and without the condition, age-standardized rates of food insecurity were greater in participants with diabetes (19.5% vs. 11.5%, p < .0001), hypertension (14.1% vs. 11.1%, p = .0003), coronary heart disease (20.5% vs. 11.9%, p < .001), congestive heart failure (18.4% vs. 12.1%, p = .004), and obesity (14.3% vs. 11.1%, p < .001). Conclusions Food insecurity doubled to historic highs from 2005–2012, particularly affecting those with diet-sensitive cardiometabolic conditions. Since adherence to specific dietary recommendations is a foundation of the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic disease, these results have important implications for clinical management and public health.
Triarylmethyl-based biradical as a superoxide probe.

AbstractSuperoxide radical represents one of the most biologically relevant reactive oxygen species involved in numerous physiological and pathophysiological processes. Superoxide measurement through the decay of an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal of a triarylmethyl (TAM) radical possesses the advantage of a high selectivity and relatively high rate constant of TAM reaction with the superoxide. Hereby we report a straightforward synthesis and characterization of a tam-tam biradical showing a high reactivity with superoxide (second-order rate constant, (6.7±0.2)×103 M−1 s−1) enabling the measurement of superoxide radical by following the increase of a sharp EPR signal associated with the formation of a TAM-quinone methide monoradical product.
Evaluation of Pitting Corrosion With Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) for Alumina/Aluminum Alloy Composites

The pitting susceptibility of monolithic aluminum 6061 alloy and alumina/aluminum alloy composites has been analyzed by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and subsequent comparison with their polarization scans. The composites consisting of 0.10 and 0.15 volume fraction of alumina particles (VFAP) and the monolith as cylindrical electrodes were rotated at 1500 rpm while immersed in NaCl solution. The passive currents of the composites were greater than that of the monolith as per the polarization scans. The impedance spectra were acquired at constant potential increments along the passive region up to the pitting potential. The impedance spectra represented by semicircles on a Nyquist plot acquired above the pitting potential collapsed underneath the spectra obtained in the passive region near the corrosion potential for the monolithic alloy and composites. The impedance spectra modeled with a simplified equivalent circuit indicate that the effective capacitance for the composites is greater than that of the monolithic alloy.
Strategic effort allocation in online innovation tournaments

Abstract Online innovation tournaments, such as those hosted by crowdsourcing platforms (e.g., Kaggle), have been widely adopted by firms to evolve creative solutions to various problems. Solvers compete in these tournaments to earn rewards. In such competitive environments, it is imperative that solvers provide creative solutions with minimum effort. This article explores the factors that influence the solvers’ effort allocation decisions in a dynamic tournament setting. Specifically, comprehensive time variant data of teams that participated in crowdsourcing competitions on Kaggle were analyzed to gain insight into how solvers continually formulate strategies in light of performance feedback obtained through interim ranking. The results suggest that solvers strategically allocate their efforts throughout the contest to dynamically optimize their payoffs through balancing the probability of winning and the cost of expending effort. In particular, solvers tend to increase their efforts toward the end of tournaments or when they get closer to winning positions. Furthermore, our findings indicate that a last-minute surge in effort is more prevalent among high-skill solvers than in those with lower skill levels. In addition to providing insights that may help solvers develop strategies to improve their performance, the study has implications for the design of online crowdsourcing platforms, particularly in terms of incentivizing solvers to put forth their best effort.
Guardians of the ERAD Galaxy.

The endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) pathway facilitates the disposal of terminally misfolded proteins in the early secretory pathway yet spares folding intermediates from being destroyed. Zhang et al. report on a protein complex that acts as a guardian to protect these folding intermediates from being targeted for ERAD.
Other Views (Commentary on “Antihypertensive Therapy: Beta-Blockers and Diuretics”)

(2000). Other Views (Commentary on “Antihypertensive Therapy: Beta-Blockers and Diuretics”) Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings: Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 131-136.
Abstract 2248: Dynamic changes in transposon expression and epigenetic regulators detected during early breast cancer transition to malignancy

Introduction: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. In 2017, about 315,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, with approximately 63,000 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the earliest form of breast cancer. Little is known as to why some patients diagnosed with atypia and DCIS remain cancer-free while others progresses to invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Hypothesis: While mutagenic role of transposonable elements (TEs) in cancer is known, we test the novel role of long terminal repeat (LTR) TEs as potential drivers promoting cell de-differentiation during early stages of breast cancer. Objective: To identify molecular signatures driving cell fate decisions at atypia and DCIS to transformation, we investigated expression of TEs in atypia, DCIS and IDC. Methods: We created a TE Enrichment Set Analysis (TESA) to identify TEs in RNA sequencing datasets across four stages of breast cancer, normal atypia, DCIS, IDC (n= 8-23 samples per stage). Results: After quality control steps to remove outliers, TEs, compared to genes, exhibit substantially less variation in their expression because the first principal component accounted for over 80% expression variation compared to 20% in transcript expression variation (p 0.10). Six general patterns of TE expression were identified using k-means clustering algorithm. In general, the majority of TEs were upregulated during atypia or DCIS stages or both stages. To identify potential molecular mechanisms of TE de-repression, which induce LTR expression during atypia and DCIS, we measured the correlation between specific LTRs, including HERV-H, HERV-K, LTR7Y, and expression of epigenetic regulators, TETs, DNMTs, and TRIM28/KAP1 across all four stages. As expected, normal tissue has positive and negative correlations between LTRs and epigenetic regulators, however, at atypia there was a loss of some negative correlations and at DCIS all negative correlations between LTRs and DNMTS were lost (p Citation Format: Isaac D. Raplee, Alexei Evsikov, Caralina Marin de Evsikova. Dynamic changes in transposon expression and epigenetic regulators detected during early breast cancer transition to malignancy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2248.
Characterization of feed intake patterns during lactation in commercial swine herds

This study created and used a data-base containing 25,719 farrowing and 19,393 subsequent litter records abstracted from the PigCHAMP records of 30 commercial farms and daily feed intake records of 25,040 of these lactating sows. Each lactation feed record was categorized into one of six patterns: RAPID, rapid increase in feed intake following farrowing; MAJOR, major drop in feed intake during lactation; MINOR, minor drop; LLL, low feed intake throughout lactation; LHH, low feed intake during the first week then increasing for the remainder of lactation; and GRADUAL, gradual increase in feed intake throughout lactation. At the herd level, patterns RAPID, MAJOR, MINOR, LLL, LHH, and GRADUAL were observed in 22.8%, 32.9%, 27.8%, 1.0%, 8%, and 14.7% of sows, respectively. On a sow basis, across all feed intake records of all farms, patterns RAPID, MAJOR, MINOR, LLL, LHH, and GRADUAL were observed at frequencies of 17.8%, 38.3%, 25.8%, 1.2%, 1.5%, and 15.4%, respectively. Using logistic regression, the risk factors affecting the occurrence of MAJOR and MINOR patterns were lower parity, thicker backfat, higher room temperature, and greater feed intake during early lactation. Average daily feed intake and the day of peak intake were 5.2 (1.4 SD) kg/sow and 12.6 (4.6 SD) d after farrowing. Regression coefficients of factors affecting ADFI derived from multiple regression analyses were 247 g for parity, 9 g for weaning litter weight (kg), -13 g for room temperature (degree C), 62 g for lactation length (d), and -.4 g for energy density (kcal/kg). This study demonstrated substantial individual sow and farm variation in overall feed intake and pattern of feed intake during lactation. It also identified key risk factors (i.e., parity, lactation length, room temperature, weaning litter weights, energy density) for ADFI and pattern of feed intake on commercial farms.
Assessing Accuracy in Nurse Activated Stroke Codes in the Emergency Department (P5.253)

Objective: We sought to elucidate the clinical characteristics of inappropriately activated stroke codes at our institution. Background: Rapid recognition of stroke symptoms and stroke team activation are critical steps in the stroke code process. In December 2014 the activation system in our emergency department was shifted from physician-activated to triage nurse-driven. Nurses were instructed to activate stroke codes for any patient who fit the BE-FAST criteria (balance, eyes, face, arm, speech, and time) and was within 12 hours from last known well (LKW). Afterward, notification nearly doubled and more patients received intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular therapy. However, higher activation rates increase the possibility of inappropriate stroke codes, and unnecessary mobilization of the stroke team may lead to team burnout and poor resource utilization. Design/Methods: We reviewed 150 randomly selected stroke codes who presented to our institution’s emergency department from December 2014 to present; demographic and clinical information was obtained. We defined inappropriately activated stroke code patients as those whose symptom onset was >12 hours and whose presentation did not fit into the BE-FAST criteria. Results: Age range was 22–98 years. Twenty-seven patients’ LKW was >12 hours (18%). Thirty patients (20%) did not fit the BE-FAST criteria; of these, syncope and confusion were the most common presenting symptoms. Eight patients (5%) received thrombolysis; none had endovascular intervention. Thirty-nine patients (26%) had a diagnosis of stroke (30 ischemic, 2 hemorrhagic, 7 transient ischemic attack). Twenty-five patients (16%) had isolated, non-specific numbness and were not given thrombolysis. Mean NIH stroke scale was 3.2 (median 1) for all patients. The most common alternative diagnosis was seizure (16 patients); others included encephalopathy and migraine. Conclusions: Nurse stroke code activation can have a positive impact on acute stroke triage. Future education should focus on confirming an accurate LKW time and clinical specifics of BE-FAST criteria to reduce inappropriate stroke code activation. Disclosure: Dr. Miller has nothing to disclose. Dr. Forman has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lynch has nothing to disclose. Dr. Song has nothing to disclose. Dr. Dafer has nothing to disclose. Dr. Osteraas has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cherian has nothing to disclose. Dr. Conners has nothing to disclose.
"Nondetected": The Politics of Measurement of Asbestos in Talc, 1971-1976.

The recent lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson have raised the issue of what and when talcum powder manufacturers knew about the presence of asbestos in their products and what they did or did not d...
Coupling of the liquid sampling-atmospheric pressure glow discharge (LS-APGD) ionization source with a commercial triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer

While the LS-APGD microplasma has shown potential as an ionization source for elemental/isotopic/molecular species analysis, up to this point it has been used almost exclusively in conjunction with trapping-type mass analyzers. To this end, the LS-APGD has been coupled to a standard ThermoScientific TSQ Quantum Access MAX triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. This instrument is capable of affecting numerous MS/MS techniques as well as scanning for low mass elements which are not typically permitted in trapping-type MS instruments. The TSQ differs appreciably in how it may be implemented in tandem mass spectrometry versus triple quadrupoles becoming common in ICP-MS. For example, fragmentation methods such as collision-induced dissociation (CID) in Q2 and in-source CID can be affected to reduced background spectral contributions and remediate molecular interferences. With this new coupling, a thorough multi-parametric evaluation was necessary. This evaluation was performed by optimizing the analyte responses and signal-to-background ratios for Rb, Ag, Tl, and U as test elements. With the optimized conditions set, parent ion, product ion, and neutral loss scan methods were explored to observe the types of species being formed by the LS-APGD. While the primary impetus for using the triple quadrupole analyzer was to allow for detailed fundamental studies, LODs for the test elements were determined simultaneously, ranging from 0.99 to 38 ng mL−1 for 50 μL injections (i.e., 0.05–2 ng absolute mass).
Use of an influence diagram and fuzzy probability for evaluating accident management in a boiling water reactor

A new approach is presented for evaluating the uncertainties inherent in severe accident management strategies. At first, this analysis considers accident management as a decision problem (i.e., applying a strategy compared with do nothing) and uses an influence diagram. To evaluate imprecise node probabilities in the influence diagram, the analysis introduces the concept of a fuzzy probability. When fuzzy logic is applied, fuzzy probabilities are easily propagated to obtain results. In addition, the results obtained provide not only information similar to the classical approach, which uses point-estimate values, but also additional information regarding the impact of using imprecise input data. As an illustrative example, the proposed methodology is applied to the evaluation of the drywell flooding strategy for a long-term station blackout sequence at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant. The results show that the drywell flooding strategy is beneficial for preventing reactor vessel breach. It is also effective for reducing the probability of containment failure for both liner melt-through and late overpressurization. Even though uncertainty exists in the results, flooding is preferred to do nothing when evaluated in terms of two risk measures: early and late fatalities.
Decrease in the frequency of treatment for patent ductus arteriosus after implementation of consensus guidelines: a 15-year experience.

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) management varies widely among neonatologists. Lack of institution-specific evidence-based guidelines for therapeutic closure of PDA. Quality improvement project among infants <30 weeks gestational age (GA) designed to determine whether the odds of therapy for closing the PDA, adjusted for GA, decreased after implementing evidence-based guidelines. Implementation of guidelines with conservative approach to PDA management. The frequency of PDA treatment decreased from 446/1125 (40%) in Epoch 1 to 96/482 (20%) in Epoch 2. PDA treatment was more frequent in neonates 23–26 weeks GA than those of 27–29 weeks GA (43% vs. 28%, respectively). Among 542 infants receiving indomethacin for PDA, 25% had subsequent ligation; the odds of ligation after indomethacin were lower in neonates 27–29 weeks GA and decreased during Epoch 2. The frequency of medical and surgical treatment for therapeutic closure of PDA decreased after implementing evidence-based treatment guidelines.
Giant Tricuspid Valve Fibroelastoma Incidentally Diagnosed During Routine Stress Testing.

Abstract Papillary fibroelastomas (PFEs) are the most common valvular tumor, typically occurring on left-sided valves. We describe the evaluation and treatment of a giant tricuspid PFE in a healthy 43-year-old police officer who was referred for evaluation of frequent premature ventricular contractions during job-related treadmill stress testing. (Level of Difficulty: Beginner.)
Body Mass Index Screening in Knee Arthroscopy: An Analysis Using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Database

Purpose To analyze patients undergoing knee arthroscopy stratified by body mass index (BMI) and assess the tradeoffs in complications avoided versus access to care that occur when instituting BMI eligibility criteria. Methods The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database was used to identify patients who underwent knee arthroscopy from 2015 to 2016. Patients were categorized by BMI, and differences in complication rates between BMI categories were assessed. The positive predictive value (PPV) was calculated for various BMI cutoffs, with further analysis performed to identify the number of surgeries that would be denied to avoid a single complication. Results There were 44,153 knee arthroscopy cases identified and an overall complication rate of 1.7%. There was no significant difference found in major complication rate between those with a BMI >40 kg/m2 and those with a BMI Conclusion In patients undergoing knee arthroscopy, this study failed to detect a significant increased risk of major complications associated with having a BMI >40. The institution of BMI eligibility cutoffs would result in low PPVs and a high number of denials for surgery that would otherwise be complication free. Level of Evidence Level IV, retrospective cohort-based database study.
The asymmetric effects of school facilities on academic achievement: Evidence from Texas bond votes

Exploiting quasi-experimental variation in levels of capital funding, we provide new evidence on the asymmetric effects of investments in educational facilities on academic achievement. We merge da...
Higher Crystalloid Volume During Initial Pediatric Trauma Resuscitation is Associated With Mortality.

Abstract Background Historically, aggressive fluid resuscitation has been a cornerstone of management of hemorrhagic shock in pediatrics. Adult data suggest this strategy may be harmful. We sought to determine whether aggressive fluid resuscitation within the first hour of presentation to the emergency department in pediatric patients with trauma is associated with worse clinical outcomes. Materials and methods We performed a retrospective cohort study from 2012 to 2017 at a single pediatric level 1 trauma center. We defined three patient cohorts: ≤ 20 cc/kg (reference), 20-40 (20.01 to 39.99) cc/kg, and ≥40 cc/kg of intravenous fluid (IVF) given in the first in-hospital hour. Covariates included age, injury severity score, shock index (adjusted for age), and mechanism of injury and were adjusted for with multivariable regression. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Results A total of 1479 consecutive injured children were eligible for inclusion. One hundred ninety-four patients were excluded for missing IVF data, aged ≥16 y, having primary burns, or arriving pulseless. A total of 1285 patients met inclusion criteria (mean age 8.1 ± 5.5 y, male 64.5%). Higher rates of IVF administration were associated with mortality for both the 20-40 cc/kg (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.96; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-8.55; P = 0.045) and ≥40 cc/kg groups (aOR 6.26; 95% CI 1.79-21.83; P = 0.004). The ≥40 cc/kg group was associated with increased pediatric intensive care unit length of stay (aOR 2.20; 95% CI: 1.05-4.61; P = 0.036) and increased need for mechanical ventilation (aOR 3.79; 95% CI 1.62-8.87; P = 0.002). Conclusions Greater than one 20 cc/kg IVF bolus in the first emergency department hour was associated with mortality with a dose-response relationship, even after adjusting for injury severity and initial hemodynamics. These results encourage further investigation into initial resuscitation strategies for injured children.
Turn-by-turn route guidance does not impair route learning

Turn-by-turn GPS guidance is useful when the navigator is uncertain about the correct route. Although route guidance is convenient, it comes at a spatial cognitive cost. Compared to unguided navigation, route guidance leads to poorer knowledge of the traversed environment. However, past research has not tested the effects of route guidance on route retracing, which is an important learning goal in many situations. Participants drove a pre-defined route in a driving simulator. All participants initially followed turn-by-turn directions twice (Experiment 1) or once (Experiment 2). Those in the Study condition continued to follow route guidance during two subsequent traversals, whereas those in the Test condition relied on memory and received corrective feedback. Following a 48-hr delay, participants completed a final test in which they retraced the route without guidance. Learning condition did not influence final test performance, indicating that route knowledge is unaffected by repeatedly following route guidance.
Introducing a Bariatric Surgery Program at a Large Urban Safety Net Medical Center Serving a Primarily Hispanic Patient Population

Few bariatric surgery programs exist at safety net hospitals which often serve patients of diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. A bariatric surgery program was developed at a large urban safety net medical center serving a primarily Hispanic population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate safety, feasibility, and first-year outcomes to pave the way for other safety net bariatric programs. The bariatric surgery program was started at a safety net hospital located in a neighborhood with over twice the national poverty rate. A retrospective review was performed for patient demographics, comorbidities, preoperative diet and exercise habits, perioperative outcomes, and 1-year outcomes including percent total weight lost (%TWL) and comorbidity reduction. A total of 153 patients underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy from May 2017 through December 2019. The average preoperative BMI was 47.9kg/m2, and 54% of patients had diabetes. The 1-year follow-up rate was 94%. There were no mortalities and low complication rates. The average 1-year %TWL was 22.8%. Hypertension and diabetes medications decreased in 52% and 55% of patients, respectively. The proportion of diabetic patients with postoperative HbA1c <6.0% was 49%. This is one of the first reports on the outcomes of a bariatric surgery program at a safety net hospital. This analysis demonstrates feasibility and safety, with no mortalities, low complication rates, and acceptable %TWL and comorbidity improvement. More work is needed to investigate the impacts of race, culture, and socioeconomic factors on bariatric outcomes in this population.
1571P COVID-19 positivity rates in patients with an active cancer diagnosis in the University of California Cancer Consortium

Background: The impact of active cancer on susceptibility to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains controversial. This study leverages the infrastructure across the University of California (UC) Cancer Consortium, pooling electronic health record (EHR) data to assess the relationship between active cancer diagnoses (n=151,392) and COVID-19 positivity. Methods: In this cohort study, patients with COVID-19 test results and active cancer diagnoses were identified from the UC Health System COVID Research Data Set (CORDS). This data set collects COVID-19 test results from the 5 academic medical centers in the UC Health System and their NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. COVID-19 test results were identified by Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC). Active cancer was defined as an EHR-based malignant diagnosis within 9 months of testing, irrespective of active therapy. Total daily positivity rates were aggregated, and overall rates were compared across patients with and without active cancer using the Pearson’s Chi-squared test. Results: We identified 1,032,588 COVID-19 tests from March 3, 2020 to April 15, 2021, with 151,392 tests (14.7%) associated with an active cancer diagnosis. Monthly trends in positivity rates throughout the pandemic were similar between patients with and without cancer (Table). Overall positivity was lower in patients with active cancer (2.0% versus 4.4%;p<0.001). This was consistent across individual UC sites. [Formula presented] Conclusions: COVID-19 positivity rates were not increased for individuals with active cancer diagnoses in the UC Cancer Consortium. A lower positivity rate amongst cancer patients may be due to demographic, behavioral, occupational or environmental factors, as well as greater asymptomatic testing of cancer patients at some UC sites. Interactions with local prevalence and patient and cancer characteristics will be presented. Legal entity responsible for the study: The authors. Funding: Has not received any funding. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
A Role for Semantic Web Technologies in Patient Record Data Collection

Business Process Management Systems (BPMS) are a component of the stack of Web standards that comprise Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). Such systems are representative of the architectural framework of modern information systems built in an enterprise intranet and are in contrast to systems built for deployment on the larger World Wide Web. The REST architectural style is an emerging style for building loosely coupled systems based purely on the native HTTP protocol. It is a coordinated set of architectural constraints with a goal to minimize latency, maximize the independence and scalability of distributed components, and facilitate the use of intermediary processors.Within the development community for distributed, Web-based systems, there has been a debate regarding themerits of both approaches. In some cases, there are legitimate concerns about the differences in both architectural styles. In other cases, the contention seems to be based on concerns that are marginal at best. In this chapter, we will attempt to contribute to this debate by focusing on a specific, deployed use case that emphasizes the role of the Semantic Web, a simple Web application architecture that leverages the use of declarative XML processing, and the needs of a workflow system. The use case involves orchestrating a work process associated with the data entry of structured patient record content into a research registry at the Cleveland Clinic’s Clinical Investigation department in the Heart and Vascular Institute.
A History of Modern Iran: The Islamic Republic

Revolutions invariably produce stronger states. De Tocqueville We need to strengthen our state. Only Marxists want the state to wither away. Hojjat al-Islam Rafsanjani THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION (1977–79) There has been much speculation on whether the revolution could have been prevented if only this or that had been done: if the shah had been more resolute in crushing or reconciling the opposition; if he had not been suffering from cancer; if his forceful advisors had still been alive; if he had spent less on high-tech weaponry and more on crowd control gear; if his generals had shown a semblance of esprit de corps ; if human rights organizations had not pestered him; if the CIA had continued to monitor the country closely after the 1950s; if the White House had ignored self-censoring diplomats and heeded the dire warning of skeptic academics; and if, in the final stages, Washington had been more consistent either in fully supporting him or in trying to reach out to Khomeini. Immediately after the debacle, Washington grappled with the question “Who lost Iran?” Some blamed President Carter, some the CIA, some the shah, some his generals. Such speculation, however, is as meaningless as whether the Titanic would have sunk if the deckchairs had been arranged differently. The revolution erupted not because of this or that last-minute political mistake. It erupted like a volcano because of the overwhelming pressures that had built up over the decades deep in the bowels of Iranian society.
Primary-Backup Protocols: Lower Bounds and Optimal Implementations

We present a precise specification of the primary-backup approach. Then, for a variety of different failure models we prove lower bounds on the degree of replication, failover time, and worst-case blocking time for client requests. Finally, we outline primary-backup protocols and indicate which of our lower bounds are tight.
Stochastic power control for nonlinear multiuser receivers in cellular radio networks

A cellular radio network is considered where the base station in each cell employs a linear or decision feedback multiuser receiver. A decentralized power control algorithm based on the stochastic approximation method is proposed that seeks to minimize the total transmit power while ensuring that all the users of the network achieve their quality-of-service (QoS) objective. The main technical result of this paper is that for the general class of linear and decision feedback receivers, the proposed algorithm converges in the mean-square sense to the optimal powers when the target SIRs are feasible. The feasibility region is in general much larger for well-designed multiuser receivers, particularly for nonlinear receivers that employ decision feedback detection, than it is for the linear single-user receiver. A numerical example of a bandwidth efficient 6-cell 60-user CDMA network with a total spreading gain of 20 is included.
Paper on food banks does not justify a link to party politics

Your recent Editor’s Choice singles out David Cameron as “flummoxed” by questions about food banks in the leaders’ interviews.1 You then imply “a link between the current government’s austerity policies and food insecurity” when introducing Loopstra and colleagues’ paper.2 This paper shows that food bank establishment and activity correlates with markers of economic hardship and previous local food bank activity. The evidence …
Preparation of Cyclobutenone

3-Oxocyclobutanecarboxylic acid Mercury (II) oxide red Bromine 3-Bromocyclobutanone Tri-n-butylamine Cyclobutenone Deuterated chloroform Keywords: Cyclobutenone; Toxicity; Storage; Diels-Alder reactions; Safety; Waste disposal
Market-Based Reforms in Health Care Are Both Practical and Morally Sound

In this paper I argue that the free-market provision of health care is both practical and morally sound, and is superior in both respects to its provision by the State. The State provision of health care will be inefficient compared to its free-market alternative. It will thus provide less health care to persons for the same amount of expenditure, and so save fewer lives and alleviate less suffering for two reasons: state actors have no incentive to husband their resources effectively, and that in a non-market setting, special interest groups can capture resources through lobbying, perverting them away from their efficient allocation. Given these considerations of efficiency a utilitarian should morally prefer the free-market provision of health care to its State-based rival. Furthermore, even if one is not a utilitarian, the free-market provision of health care will be more morally sound than its State-based alternative because it will likely better respect the autonomy of persons, and will better refrain from imposing values upon persons. With these points in hand, I address two prominent objections to a free market system of health care.
Understanding the Relationship Between Perfectionism and Achievement Motivation in Gifted College Students

This study is a slice of an overarching research investigation of perfectionism in gifted college students. Utilizing a qualitative interview design, this study examined how gifted college students scoring high on 1 of 2 different dimensions of perfectionism (socially prescribed or self-oriented) perceived their achievement motivation. Findings indicated that, for the socially prescribed perfectionists, an underlying motive to avoid failure influenced their achievement goals and behaviors. Based on this motive, they set both performance-avoidance and performance-approach goals and tended toward procrastination in their work. In contrast, an underlying motive to achieve influenced the achievement goals and behaviors of the self-oriented perfectionists. These participants set both mastery and performance approach goals. They developed a strong work ethic, and they were motivated to seek out challenges. Implications of these findings are suggested, and recommendations for parents and educators working with g...
Morphometric Analysis of Hippocampal Shape in Mild Cognitive Impairment: An Imaging Genetics Study

A computational framework is presented for surface based morphometry to localize shape changes between groups of 3D objects. It employs the spherical harmonic (SPHARM) method for surface modeling and random field theory (RFT) for statistical inference. Several new components are introduced to overcome previous limitations: (1) a general linear model is used to facilitate controlling for covariates; (2) a new SPHARM registration method SHREC is proposed to better align SPHARM models; and (3) an estimated smoothness is used in RFT-based analysis to obtain more accurate results. This framework is applied in a mild cognitive impairment (MCI) study to examine hippocampal shape changes related to diagnostic and genetic conditions. Several interesting findings from our analyses suggest combining imaging phenotypes and genetic profiles has the potential to elucidate biological pathways for better understanding MCI and Alzheimer's disease.
Short echo time proton spectroscopy of human brain using a gradient head coil

Abstract Short echo time, single voxel localized proton spectroscopy was accomplished using a stimulated echo (STEAM) sequence running on a Siemens 1.5-T system with a head coil incorporating the Z and Y gradients. Spectra from the temporal lobe, the cerebellum and mid brain were acquired from a group of normal volunteers using the following parameters: voxel size = 8 ml, TE = 22 msec, 512 signal averages and TR = 1.7 sec. STEAM spectra acquired with the small diameter gradients showed significantly fewer artifacts at short TE, allowing the observation of glutamate/glutamine, GABA, taurine, and inositol in addition to the prominent resonance of choline, creatine/phosphocreatine and N -actylaspartate (NAA). The levels of chlorine, creatine and NAA were found to be significantly different in the three regions of the brain examined.
Utricular ablation and dysequilibrium in squirrel monkeys.

The body equilibrium compensation profile (degree of dysequilibrium, direction of falls, etc.) after unilateral utricular nerve section was investigated in squirrel monkeys. Severe dysequilibrium was observed after this procedure without exception. Complete equilibrium compensation took place three weeks to one month postoperatively. The difference in equilibrium function after unilateral utricular nerve section and saccular macula ablation in the squirrel monkey was clearly demonstrated.
Uncertainty estimates for electron probe X-ray microanalysis measurements.

It has been over 60 years since Castaing (Castaing, R. Application of Electron Probes to Local Chemical and Crystallographic Analysis. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Paris, Paris, France, 1951; translated by P. Duwez and D. Wittry, California Institute of Technology, 1955) introduced the technique of electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPMA), yet the community remains unable to quantify some of the largest terms in the technique’s uncertainty budget. Historically, the EPMA community has assigned uncertainties to its measurements which reflect the measurement precision portion of the uncertainty budget and omitted terms related to the measurement accuracy. Yet, in many cases, the precision represents only a small fraction of the total budget. This paper addresses this shortcoming by considering two significant sources of uncertainty in the quantitative matrix correction models—the mass absorption coefficient, [μ/ρ], and the backscatter coefficient, η. Understanding the influence of these sources provides insi...
Heart failure after myocardial infarction: clinical presentation and survival.

Objectives: To characterize the presentation and outcome of patients with heart failure (HF) after myocardial infarction (MI) according to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and test the hypothesis that the outcome of HF did not change over time. Background: Little is known about the presentation and outcome of HF post-MI and how these may have changed over time. Methods: Using the Rochester Epidemiology Project, all residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota who experienced an incident MI between 1979 and 1998 were identified; MI and HF were validated using standardized criteria. Subjects were followed through their community medical record. Results: Between 1979 and 1998, 1915 patients with incident MI and no prior history of HF were identified. Of these, 791(41%) experienced new onset HF as defined by Framingham criteria during 6.6±5.0 years of follow-up. Forty-seven percent were men, mean age was 73±12 years. Forty-four percent had impaired LVEF, 18% preserved LVEF and 38% had no LVEF measurement within 60 days after the HF event. Median survival after HF onset was 4 years and at 5 years after HF onset, only 45% were alive. Older age, male sex, comorbidity, hypertension and no LVEF assessment were associated with increased risk of death, however, patients with impaired LVEF had the worst outcome. Over time, survival did not improve (HR for year: 1.00; 95% CI 0.99, 1.02; P=0.919) even after adjustment for baseline characteristics. Conclusion: In this geographically defined cohort of patients with MI, new onset HF after the MI was frequent. When measured, LVEF was most frequently reduced, consistent with systolic heart failure. Mortality was high and did not decline over time and death was independently associated with male sex, older age, hypertension and comorbidity. It also differed according to LVEF, which was inconsistently ascertained in this setting, potentially representing practice opportunities.
Comparison of a 3-D DEM simulation with MRI data

This paper presents a comparison of a granular material studied experimentally and numerically. Simple shear tests were performed inside the magnetic core of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment. Spherical pharmaceutical pills were used as the granular material, with each pill's centre location determined by MRI. These centre locations in the initial assembly were then used as the initial configuration in the numerical simulation using the discrete element method. The contact properties between pharmaceutical pills used in the numerical simulation were obtained experimentally. The numerical predication was compared with experimental data at both macroscopic and microscopic levels. Good agreement was found at both levels. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reliability analysis of a shipboard electrical power distribution system based on breaker-and-a-half topology

The frequency and duration of service interruptions to equipment loads in an electric ship due to component failures in several shipboard electrical distribution systems are modeled using Markov simulations. A comparison is made between a distribution system based on ring bus topology and several distribution systems based on breaker-and-a-half topology. Systems based on breaker-and-a-half topology are found to be more reliable overall in terms of equipment availability for a given configuration of loads within the distribution system.
Professionalism and Caring for Medicaid Patients — The 5% Commitment?

Refusing to care for poor, vulnerable patients seems incompatible with the core professional principle that physicians should put the patient's interest first. Could we ask all physicians to commit to including at least 5% Medicaid enrollees among their patients?
Organizing Workers in the Space between Unions: Union-Centric Labor Revitalization and the Role of Community-Based Organizations

Labor scholars tend to treat unions as the movement’s constitutive organizational form. This practice excludes the movement-building efforts of community-based labor groups operating outside of the collective bargaining framework. This article examines the ‘union-centric’ character of sociological work on the contemporary US labor movement and explores the impact it has on analyses of its revitalization. Drawing on a case-study of the Garment Worker Center in Los Angeles, I show that community-based labor organizations mobilizing workers in the space between unions can play an important role in labor’s renewal. I argue that broadening the way we conceptualize the labor movement, reconsidering who its members are, and including a wider range of organizational forms will strengthen analyses of labor’s revitalization.
A data-mining approach to discover patterns of window opening and closing behavior in offices

Understanding the relationship between occupant behaviors and building energy consumption is one of the most effective ways to bridge the gap between predicted and actual energy consumption in buildings. However effective methodologies to remove the impact of other variables on building energy consumption and isolate the leverage of the human factor precisely are still poorly investigated. Moreover, the effectiveness of statistical and data mining approaches in finding meaningful correlations in data is largely undiscussed in literature. This study develops a framework combining statistical analysis with two data-mining techniques, cluster analysis and association rules mining, to identify valid window operational patterns in measured data. Analyses are performed on a data set with measured indoor and outdoor physical parameters and human interaction with operable windows in 16 offices. Logistic regression was first used to identify factors influencing window opening and closing behavior. Clustering procedures were employed to obtain distinct behavioral patterns, including motivational, opening duration, interactivity and window position patterns. Finally the clustered patterns constituted a base for association rules segmenting the window opening behaviors into two archetypal office user profiles for which different natural ventilation strategies as well as robust building design recommendations that may be appropriate. Moreover, discerned working user profiles represent more accurate input to building energy modeling programs, to investigate the impacts of typical window opening behavior scenarios on energy use, thermal comfort and productivity in office buildings.