cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Validation of an ‘endovascular-first’ approach to spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas: an intention-to-treat analysis

Background/objective Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (SDAVFs) require pretreatment angiography; embolization can be performed in the same session. To validate this approach, obliteration and morbidity rates of ‘endovascular-first’ (embolization and microsurgery in the case of embolization failures) must be compared with rates for ‘microsurgery-first’ (microsurgical ligation without attempted embolization) approaches. Methods We reviewed our institutional database (January 1998–October 2015) for SDAVFs, performing an intention-to-treat analysis comparing endovascular-first and microsurgery-first approaches. Results A total of 71 patients underwent surgical and/or endovascular treatment for SDAVFs. All SDAVFs were ultimately occluded. Of 35 patients under consideration for an endovascular-first approach, radicular artery anatomy or anterior spinal artery embolization risk precluded attempting embolization in seven cases (20%). Among 28 patients undergoing embolization, angiographic non-opacification of the fistula was noted in 18 (64%). Fourteen patients had obliteration with excellent casting of the draining vein (50%) and did not undergo surgery. There were no significant differences in total complications (9% vs 11%; p=1.0) or permanent complications (3% vs 4%; p=1.0) after attempted endovascular and surgical treatment. Based on an intention-to-treat analysis, there were no significant differences in total complications (11% vs 14%; p=1.0), permanent complications (6% vs 3%; p=0.61), or the symptomatic resolution/improvement rate (80% vs 78%; p=1.0) between endovascular-first and microsurgery-first groups. Conclusions Our results support attempted embolization of SDAVFs prior to consideration of microsurgery, allowing for a less invasive treatment option in the same session as diagnostic angiography.
Hydration effects on membrane structure probed by single molecule orientations.

Single molecule fluorescence measurements are used to probe the structural changes in glass-supported DPPC bilayers as a function of relative humidity (RH). Defocused polarized total internal refle...
Demonstration of high-order dispersion cancellation with an ultrahigh-efficiency sum-frequency correlator.

We demonstrate dispersion cancellation of entangled photons for arbitrary spectral orders, generalizing Franson cancellation typically considered in second order alone. Employing ultrafast coincidence detection based on sum-frequency generation in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide with a record-high pair conversion efficiency of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$, we verify cancellation of dispersion up to fifth order. Cancellation of odd-order phase is experimentally shown to require identical signal and idler dispersion coefficients, in contrast to even-order phase, which cancels with opposite signs. These results are especially important for future work on ultrabroadband biphotons.
Analysis of epidemic characteristics of Influenza from 2009 to 2011 in Xicheng District of Beijing

Objective: To analyze the data of influenza surveillance from 2009 to 2011 to understand the prevalence of influenza in Xicheng District,Beijing and provide the basis for influenza prevention and control.Methods: Quantitative PCR method was used to detect the virus nucleic acid of the throat swab specimens from two sentinel hospitals in Xicheng District.Results: In total 3748 specimens,A subtype positive was 754(20.12%)and B subtype positive was 441(11.77%).The positive rate of 2009 to 2010 was significantly higher than that of 2010 to 2011,in which change of B subtype was more significant,while small peaks of A(H3) subtype emerged in non-epidemic season.Conclusion: There were significant changes of the influenza prevalence between two years,due to appearance of the advantages of different types at different time,it is important to carry out annual monitoring of influenza.
Mental Health Situation analysis of 418 Drug Addicts in Compulsory Addiction Treatment Center with SDS and SAS

Objective To analyze the mental healthy situation and influence factors of 418 drug addicts in compulsory Addiction Treatment Center with SDS and SAS.Methods The mental healthy situation and influence factor of 418 drug addicts under compulsory rehabilitation in Simao and Jinhong city were analyzed by self-rating depression scale(SDS) and self-rating anxiety scale(SAS).Results SDS index is 0.57 ± 0.10 and SAS index is 52.32 ± 11.40.The main factors influencing depression include age,nation,income and medical treatment;and the major factors influencing anxiety are nation,education,medical treatment and attitude to Addiction Treatment Center.Conclusion Most drug addicts under compulsory rehabilitation suffered from depression and anxiety.It was suggested that appropriate medicine should be supplied to drug addicts and treated with psychological intervention.
Impact Evaluation of Training Natural Leaders during a Community-Led Total Sanitation Intervention: A Cluster-Randomized Field Trial in Ghana

We used a cluster-randomized field trial to evaluate training natural leaders (NLs) as an addition to a community-led total sanitation (CLTS) intervention in Ghana. NLs are motivated community members who influence their peers' behaviors during CLTS. The outcomes were latrine use and quality, which were assessed from surveys and direct observation. From October 2012, Plan International Ghana (Plan) implemented CLTS in 60 villages in three regions in Ghana. After 5 months, Plan trained eight NLs from a randomly selected half of the villages, then continued implementing CLTS in all villages for 12 more months. The NL training led to increased time spent on CLTS by community members, increased latrine construction, and a 19.9 percentage point reduction in open defecation (p < 0.001). The training had the largest impact in small, remote villages with low exposure to prior water and sanitation projects, and may be most effective in socially cohesive villages. For both interventions, latrines built during CLTS were less likely to be constructed of durable materials than pre-existing latrines, but were equally clean, and more often had handwashing materials. CLTS with NL training contributes to three parts of Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals: eliminating open defecation, expanding capacity-building, and strengthening community participation.
The Best of Times and the Worst of Times: Polarization and Presidential Success in Congress

For better or for worse, presidents receive much of the credit and much of the blame for their legislative success in Congress. Indeed, much has been written about the correlates of presidential success in Congress. In this article, we test the proposition that presidential success in Congress is mainly a function of context and the context of presidential interactions with Congress has changed over the past 50 years. Specifically, it is both the best of times and worst of times for presidential relations with the legislative branch. It is increasingly the case that because of partisan polarization in Washington, presidents can be quite successful, if they command a majority. However, if they face a divided government gridlock is the result and overcoming that gridlock has gotten to be more difficult over time.
Programming and Runtime Support to Blaze FPGA Accelerator Deployment at Datacenter Scale

With the end of CPU core scaling due to dark silicon limitations, customized accelerators on FPGAs have gained increased attention in modern datacenters due to their lower power, high performance and energy efficiency. Evidenced by Microsoft's FPGA deployment in its Bing search engine and Intel's 16.7 billion acquisition of Altera, integrating FPGAs into datacenters is considered one of the most promising approaches to sustain future datacenter growth. However, it is quite challenging for existing big data computing systems---like Apache Spark and Hadoop---to access the performance and energy benefits of FPGA accelerators. In this paper we design and implement Blaze to provide programming and runtime support for enabling easy and efficient deployments of FPGA accelerators in datacenters. In particular, Blaze abstracts FPGA accelerators as a service (FaaS) and provides a set of clean programming APIs for big data processing applications to easily utilize those accelerators. Our Blaze runtime implements an FaaS framework to efficiently share FPGA accelerators among multiple heterogeneous threads on a single node, and extends Hadoop YARN with accelerator-centric scheduling to efficiently share them among multiple computing tasks in the cluster. Experimental results using four representative big data applications demonstrate that Blaze greatly reduces the programming efforts to access FPGA accelerators in systems like Apache Spark and YARN, and improves the system throughput by 1.7× to 3× (and energy efficiency by 1.5× to 2.7×) compared to a conventional CPU-only cluster.
Functional Characteristics of the Gut Microbiome in C57BL/6 Mice Differentially Susceptible to Plasmodium yoelii.

C57BL/6 mice are widely used for in vivo studies of immune function and metabolism in mammals. In a previous study, it was observed that when C57BL/6 mice purchased from different vendors were infected with Plasmodium yoelii, a causative agent of murine malaria, they exhibited both differential immune responses and significantly different parasite burdens: these patterns were reproducible when gut contents were transplanted into gnotobiotic mice. To gain insight into the mechanism of resistance, we removed whole ceca from mice purchased from two vendors, Taconic Biosciences (low parasitemia) and Charles River Laboratories (high parasitemia), to determine the combined host and microflora metabolome and metatranscriptome. With the exception of two Charles River samples, we observed ≥ 90% similarity in overall bacterial gene expression within vendors and ≤ 80% similarity between vendors. In total 32 bacterial genes were differentially expressed in Charles River mice (p-value < 0.05) relative to the mice purchased from Taconic. Included among these, fliC, ureABC, and 6 members of the nuo gene family were overrepresented in microbiomes susceptible to more severe malaria. Moreover, 38 mouse genes were differentially expressed in these purported genetically identical mice. Differentially expressed genes included basigin, a cell surface receptor required for Plasmodium falciparum invasion of red blood cells. Differences in metabolite pools were detected, though their relevance to malaria infection, microbial community activity, or host response is not yet understood. Our data have provided new targets that may connect gut microbial activity to malaria resistance and susceptibility phenotypes in the C57BL/6 model organism.
Review suggests direct pulp capping with MTA more effective than calcium hydroxide

PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, and the Web of Knowledge. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or retrospective non-randomised trials (RNTs) of direct pulp capping in patients comparing mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) with calcium hydroxide (CH) were considered. Two reviewers independently abstracted data. Risk of bias for the RCTs was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and RNTs were assessed according to the methodological index for non-randomised studies. Different study designs were analysed separately. Thirteen studies were included, ten of which were RCTs. Meta-analysis demonstrated a significantly higher success rate for MTA compared with the CH-capped groups. For RCT studies (2 studies, 405 teeth): OR = 2.26; (95% CI, 1.33–3.85; P = .003) and for RNTs (3 studies – 526 teeth): OR = 2.88; (95% CI, 1.86–4.44; P < .00001). Nine studies (325 teeth) compared the inflammatory response with MTA showing significantly less inflammation compared with CH samples (OR = 4.56; 95% CI, 2.65 7.83; P < .00001). Nine studies (325 teeth) compared dentine bridge formation with a higher percentage of calcified dentin bridge formation in the MTA than CH-capped groups (OR = 3.56; 95% CI, 1.89 6.70; P < .0001). MTA has a higher success rate and results in less pulpal inflammatory response and more predictable hard dentin bridge formation than CH. MTA appears to be a suitable replacement of CH used for direct pulp capping.
Global higher education trends and national policies: access, privatization, and internationalization in Argentina

ABSTRACTThe literature on education and globalization states that patterns of higher education systems tend toward international convergence, and that trends such as massification, privatization and internationalization are observable in nations with different degrees of development around the world. Neo-institutionalism and world systems theory differ on whether focus should be given to international convergence or domestic adaptation. Studies addressing historical and contextual dimensions of policy diffusion are relevant as they will further specify the nature of the extranational effects on national policies. The case of Argentina’s national higher education policy is particularly relevant to this literature due to political and academic traditions that have inhibited the diffusion of many global trends into the country. This study offers a comparative historical analysis of the issues that have been prioritized in Argentina’s higher education policy over three decades (1983–2015), the strategies empl...
GUT ANATOMY AND MORPHOLOGY | Development of Fish Gut

The fish digestive system develops primarily from endoderm and mesoderm cells. These are specified before gastrulation at the blastoderm margin and then migrate to the midline. Few endodermal cells are specified and undergo high rates of proliferation. The intestine is the first to become histologically recognizable, followed by the pharynx and esophagus. Maturation of epithelial, mesenchymal, and enteric neurons occurs during the second half of embryogenesis. Pancreas and liver develop during the second half of embryogenesis. Specification of cells that contribute to each of the digestive organs occurs during early somite stages. In this article, zebrafish are used as a model and molecular pathways involved in digestive development are described.
Virtual tour environment of Cuba's national school of art

Abstract. Innovative technologies have enabled new opportunities for collecting, analyzing, and sharing information about cultural heritage sites. Through a combination of two of these technologies, spherical imaging and virtual tour environment, we preliminarily documented one of Cuba’s National Schools of Art, the National Ballet School.The Ballet School is one of the five National Art Schools built in Havana, Cuba after the revolution. Due to changes in the political climate, construction was halted on the schools before completion. The Ballet School in particular was partially completed but never used for the intended purpose. Over the years, the surrounding vegetation and environment have started to overtake the buildings; damages such as missing bricks, corroded rebar, and broken tie bars can be seen. We created a virtual tour through the Ballet School which highlights key satellite classrooms and the main domed performance spaces. Scenes of the virtual tour were captured utilizing the Ricoh Theta S spherical imaging camera and processed with Kolor Panotour virtual environment software. Different forms of data can be included in this environment in order to provide a user with pertinent information. Image galleries, hyperlinks to websites, videos, PDFs, and links to databases can be embedded within the scene and interacted with by a user. By including this information within the virtual tour, a user can better understand how the site was constructed as well as the existing types of damage. The results of this work are recommendations for how a site can be preliminarily documented and information can be initially organized and shared.
Developmental Pathways from Parental Socioeconomic Status to Adolescent Substance Use: Alternative and Complementary Reinforcement

Although lower socioeconomic status has been linked to increased youth substance use, much less research has determined potential mechanisms explaining the association. The current longitudinal study tested whether alternative (i.e., pleasure gained from activities without any concurrent use of substances) and complementary (i.e., pleasure gained from activities in tandem with substance use) reinforcement mediate the link between lower socioeconomic status and youth substance use. Further, we tested whether alternative and complementary reinforcement and youth substance use gradually unfold over time and then intersect with one another in a cascading manner. Potential sex differences are also examined. Data were drawn from a longitudinal survey of substance use and mental health among high school students in Los Angeles. Data collection involved four semiannual assessment waves beginning in fall 2013 (N = 3395; M baseline age = 14.1; 47% Hispanic, 16.2% Asian, 16.1% multiethnic, 15.7% White, and 5% Black; 53.4% female). The results from a negative binomial path model suggested that lower parental socioeconomic status (i.e., lower parental education) was significantly related to an increased number of substances used by youth. The final path model revealed that the inverse association was statistically mediated by adolescents’ diminished engagement in pleasurable substance-free activities (i.e., alternative reinforcers) and elevated engagement in pleasurable activities paired with substance use (i.e., complementary reinforcers). The direct effect of lower parental education on adolescent substance use was not statistically significant after accounting for the hypothesized mediating mechanisms. No sex differences were detected. Increasing access to and engagement in pleasant activities of high quality that do not need a reinforcement enhancer, such as substances, may be useful in interrupting the link between lower parental socioeconomic status and youth substance use.
Mediastinal thyroid tissue within a lung tumor: case report

The authors present an interesting case of a patient with a lung mass who underwent a mediastinoscopy. Biopsy revealed thyroid tissue in a section of mediastinal lymph nodes, with chronic lymphadenitis. The patent was subsequently found to have squamous carcinoma of the lung. A thyroid scan demonstrated the patient's aberrant thyroid tissue in the mediastinum. This is particularly interesting since the patient had prior administration of iodine contrast and that iodine-123(/sup 123/I) was utilized for thyroid imaging. The use of thyroid imaging for the detection of ectopic thyroid tissue has been well documented.
The $${\mathcal {A}}$$A-Truncated $$K$$K-Moment Problem

Let $${\mathcal {A}}\subseteq {\mathbb {N}}^n$$A⊆Nn be a finite set, and $$K\subseteq {\mathbb {R}}^n$$K⊆Rn be a compact semialgebraic set. An $${\mathcal {A}}$$A-truncated multisequence ($${\mathcal {A}}$$A-tms) is a vector $$y=(y_{\alpha })$$y=(y?) indexed by elements in $${\mathcal {A}}$$A. The $${\mathcal {A}}$$A-truncated $$K$$K-moment problem ($${\mathcal {A}}$$A-TKMP) concerns whether or not a given $${\mathcal {A}}$$A-tms $$y$$y admits a $$K$$K-measure $$\mu $$μ, i.e., $$\mu $$μ is a nonnegative Borel measure supported in $$K$$K such that $$y_\alpha = \int _K x^\alpha \mathtt {d}\mu $$y?=?Kx?dμ for all $$\alpha \in {\mathcal {A}}$$??A. This paper proposes a numerical algorithm for solving $${\mathcal {A}}$$A-TKMPs. It aims at finding a flat extension of $$y$$y by solving a hierarchy of semidefinite relaxations $$\{(\mathtt {SDR})_k\}_{k=1}^\infty $${(SDR)k}k=1? for a moment optimization problem, whose objective $$R$$R is generated in a certain randomized way. If $$y$$y admits no $$K$$K-measures and $${\mathbb {R}}[x]_{{\mathcal {A}}}$$R[x]A is $$K$$K-full (there exists $$p \in {\mathbb {R}}[x]_{{\mathcal {A}}}$$p?R[x]A that is positive on $$K$$K), then $$(\mathtt {SDR})_k$$(SDR)k is infeasible for all $$k$$k big enough, which gives a certificate for the nonexistence of representing measures. If $$y$$y admits a $$K$$K-measure, then for almost all generated $$R$$R, this algorithm has the following properties: i) we can asymptotically get a flat extension of $$y$$y by solving the hierarchy $$\{(\mathtt {SDR})_k\}_{k=1}^\infty $${(SDR)k}k=1?; ii) under a general condition that is almost sufficient and necessary, we can get a flat extension of $$y$$y by solving $$(\mathtt {SDR})_k$$(SDR)k for some $$k$$k; iii) the obtained flat extensions admit a $$r$$r-atomic $$K$$K-measure with $$r\le |{\mathcal {A}}|$$r≤|A|. The decomposition problems for completely positive matrices and sums of even powers of real linear forms, and the standard truncated $$K$$K-moment problems, are special cases of $${\mathcal {A}}$$A-TKMPs. They can be solved numerically by this algorithm.
Extrapolation in the Normal Direction

In the last chapter we constructed signed distance functions by following characteristics that flow outward from the interface. Similar techniques can be used to propagate information in the direction of these characteristics. For example, $$ {S_t} + \overrightarrow N \cdot \nabla S = 0 $$ (8.1) is a Hamilton-Jacobi equation (in S) that extrapolates S normal to the interface, i.e. so that S is constant on rays normal to the interface. Since \( H\left( {\nabla S} \right) = \overrightarrow N \cdot \nabla S \), we can solve this equation with the techniques presented in Chapter 5 using H 1 = n1, H 2 = n2, and H 3 = n 3 .
Consensus of Star Tree Hypergraphs

Popular methods for forming the consensus of several hypergraphs of a given type (e.g., hierarchies, weak hierarchies) place a cluster in the output if it appears sufficiently often among the input hypergraphs. The simplest type of tree hypergraph is one whose clusters are subtrees of a star. This paper considers the possibility of forming consensus by simply counting the frequency of occurances of clusters for star hypergraphs.
Chemical Liquid Deposition (CLD)-Modified Fe-ZSM-5 for Enhanced Activity and Resistance to C3H6 Poisoning in Selective Catalytic Reduction with NH3 (NH3-SCR)

Hydrocarbon fouling can deactivate the catalyst in the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) with NH3 of NO. We use a simple chemical liquid deposition technique to dope a shell layer of SiO2. The results show that it acts as a protective layer against C3H6 while providing abundant Lewis acid sites. which compensate for the relatively less Fe-active sites and therefore contribute to higher overall SCR activities and better resistance to C3H6 poisoning. Moreover, the C3H6 has been found to have promotional effects on SCR at a lower temperature (150 °C), because of the additional SCR reaction with C3H6.
Abstract WP287: Differences in Outcome and Cost Between Patients Admitted to Intensive Care versus the Neuroscience Unit Post Neuroendovascular Procedure

Rapid advancements in endovascular technologies over the past decade have increased the number of patients successfully treated with this minimally invasive technique. Consequently, utilization of hospital resources and costs has both risen. A process change at our institution allowed neuroendovascular patients hemodynamically stable and extubated to be admitted directly to the neuroscience unit (NSU) as opposed to the intensive care unit (ICU). The NSU nursing staff is specifically trained to care for neuroendovascular intervention patients and some hold advanced certification in stroke or neurosciences. This study is the first to our knowledge that compares post-operative complications and costs between groups admitted to the ICU versus the NSU after neuroendovascular treatment. Retrospective chart review of elective and emergent neuroendovascular procedures requiring inpatient admission from 01/01/2013- 06/01/2017 was conducted. Procedures included for review were carotid artery stenting, intracranial ...
Investigation of Checkerboard Metasufaces on Flexible Curvilinear Structure for RCS Reduction

Checkerboard metasurface is implemented on flexible curvilinear structure to investigate its performance for reducing radar cross section (RCS) of such structures. The flexible checkerboard metasurface is shaped to two different radii of cylindrical curvature for the investigation. Metasurface is evaluated under normal incidence for both polarizations (i.e. HH and VV polarizations). Simulation results are also compared with measurements of a fabricated prototype and good agreement is obtained.
Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Runtime and Operating Systems for Supercomputers

The 2nd ROSS workshop, a full-day meeting at the ICS 2012 conference in Venice, focuses on issues related to runtime and operating systems in large-scale supercomputers. This year, the workshop received 15 high-quality submissions by 52 authors from 5 different countries. Only 10 papers could be accepted after a rigorous review process.
Screening Children at Risk for Retinoblastoma

A panel of members of the American Association of Ophthalmic Oncologists and Pathologists (AAOOP) with support from the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) was convened. Consensus statement from the panel recommended dedicated ophthalmic screening for all children at risk for retinoblastoma above the population risk. Risk stratification including genetic testing and counseling serves as the basis for screening of children at elevated risk for development of retinoblastoma. Frequency of examinations is adjusted on the basis of expected risk for RB1 mutation. Examination schedules are stratified on the basis of high-, intermediate-, and low-risk children. Children at high risk for retinoblastoma require more frequent screening, which may preferentially be examinations under anesthesia.
Comparison of Imported European and US Infant Formulas: Labeling, Nutrient and Safety Concerns

ABSTRACTObjective:Infant formula in the United States is highly regulated. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has reported concerns over the use of non-Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-registered imported infant formulas. The purpose of this study is to identify Internet purchased and recomm
Symmetric-group decomposition of SU( N ) group-theory constraints on four-, five-, and six-point color-ordered amplitudes at all loop orders

Color-ordered amplitudes for the scattering of n particles in the adjoint representation of SU(N ) gauge theory satisfy constraints that arise from group theory alone. These constraints break into subsets associated with irreducible representations of the symmetric group S n, which allows them to be presented in a compact and natural way. Using an iterative approach, we derive the constraints for six-point amplitudes at all loop orders, extending earlier results for n = 4 and n = 5. We then decompose the four-, five-, and six-point group-theory constraints into their irreducible S n subspaces. We comment briefly on higher-point two-loop amplitudes.
Evaluation and Documentation of Supplemental Oxygen Requirements is Rarely Performed in Patients Hospitalized With COPD.

Rationale: Patients hospitalized with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who require supplemental oxygen (O2) are at increased risk of hospital readmissions. There is a paucity of information regarding quality of evaluation and documentation regarding the need for supplemental O2 in this population. Objective: To determine the extent to which evaluation and documentation regarding the need for supplemental O2 occurs prior to hospital discharge in patients with COPD. Methods: We conducted a two-center retrospective cohort study of hospitalized adults with a physician diagnosis of COPD. We reviewed electronic health records to ascertain whether patients underwent evaluation beyond rest oximetry documenting hypoxemia and if there was adequate documentation of supplemental O2 requirements prior to discharge. Results: Of 526 patients hospitalized with a primary or secondary discharge diagnosis of COPD, 335 patients (mean age 69 years, 78% with diagnosis of COPD exacerbation) met eligibility criteria. Overall, 1 in 5 (22%, 73/335) hospitalized patients with COPD had an evaluation beyond rest oximetry for supplemental O2 requirements during admission. Adequate documentation of supplemental O2 requirements occurred in even fewer patients (16%, 54/335). Both evaluation (26% versus 5%, p=0.002) and documentation (19% versus 4%, p=0.001) of supplemental O2 requirements were more common in patients hospitalized for a COPD exacerbation compared to those hospitalized with COPD but without an exacerbation. Conclusions: Evaluation and documentation of supplemental O2 requirements beyond rest oximetry occur infrequently in patients hospitalized with COPD.
Bioinformatics Analysis of Metabolomics Data Unveils Association of Metabolic Signatures with Methylation in Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer (BC) contributes the highest global cancer mortality in women. BC tumors are highly heterogeneous, so subtyping by cell-surface markers is inadequate. Omics-driven tumor stratificatio...
Applications of high-speed digital pulse acquisition and software-defined electronics (SDE) in advanced nuclear teaching laboratories

There is a new generation of high-speed programmable pulse digitizers available now from several vendors at modest cost. These digitizers in tandem with on-board or post-processing software combine to produce a Software-Defined Electronics (SDE) system that can be effectively used in several advanced physics teaching lab experiments. In particular, as we will demonstrate, they are particularly well suited for nuclear-physics related experiments, often replacing many analog electronics modules. Appropriate on-board SDE can generate full or partial integrals of the pulses, pulse-shape characterization (PSD) data, coincidence signal indication, fast timing, or other information. Likewise, external PC-based SDE post-processing software can readily be developed and applied by undergraduate students or instructors using one of several different software languages available: matlab, python, LabVIEW, root, basic, etc. As demonstrated here, an SDE-based system is a cost-effective substitute for many dedicated NIM or CAMAC electronics modules as this requires only a single digitizer module and a computer. A single digitizer with SDE is easily adapted for use in many different experiments. Applications of various high- and low-speed digitizers with SDE for many other types of physics teaching lab experiments will also be discussed.
Education for the Practice of Precision Medicine in PCCSM: Creating Tomorrow’s Workforce

The priorities of personalized medicine have become widely accepted after the personalized medicine acts in 2008 and 2010, but these priorities have only been superficially realized. Some of this is due to lack of structured education in the fields of precision medicine and genomics for physicians. In order for physicians to be able to understand, accept, and apply the concepts of personalized medicine, new paradigms in medical education are required. We employ a 5-why approach to explore the gaps in education and acceptance in the field of personalized medicine.
Reconceptualizing public engagement by land-grant university scientists.

Those in the Rose et al. (1) study share a common land-grant heritage and the charter and obligations it carries. As faculty members in tenure track, they also are incentivized by similar rewards and constraints. Accordingly, their perceptions can provide insight into ways that these institutions can better honor their ancestral missions while also enhancing community engagement by those with the skill, temperament, interest, and expert knowledge needed to make a contribution worthy of their effort. Although land-grant institutions are “steeped in founding traditions of public service and impact” (1), commitment to these goals has waxed and waned. “In Wisconsin the university is as close to the intelligent farmer as his pig-pen or his tool-house,” noted Lincoln Steffans (2) in 1909. He added that, “to the worker, the university … is as much his as his union is his or his favorite saloon.” But, nine decades later, under the title Returning to Our Roots, a report of the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities would contend that “we have lost sight of our institutional mission to address the contemporary multidisciplinary problems of the real world” (3). The currency of that Commission’s 1999 call to make engagement “a central part of institutional mission” (3) should heighten concern about the findings that many land-grant faculty members who engage in public communication “feel unsupported” and relatively few see public engagement as important to their colleagues (1). If unaddressed, these perceptions may undercut initiatives such as the Public Impact Research one, of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), designed to “build new knowledge and engage with stakeholders to identify and address societal issues” (4). As the APLU effort rolls out, it might be useful to remind ourselves of the roots to which the Kellogg report refers, among … [↵][1]1Email: kathleen.jamieson{at}asc.upenn.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
A retrospective study on prephase therapy prior to definitive multiagent chemotherapy in aggressive lymphomas

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and Burkitt lymphoma (BL) are aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHLs) that evolve rapidly and are fatal if untreated [1]. While the majority of patients are ...
Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis in children.

Abstract The clinical and biochemical effects of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis in 20 children and of hemodialysis in 16 children were compared over a 2 1/2-year Period. Statistically significant differences between the treatment groups included higher hematocrit, higher serum carbon dioxide and cholesterol levels, larger intake of calories and protein, and lower systolic blood pressure and rates of transfusion in the patients receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. These patients had more complications than the patients receiving hemodialysis, but hospitalization rates in the two groups were similar. The cost of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis was $19,600 per patient-year; the cost of hemodialysis was $54,300 per patient-year. There were four treatment failures with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and one with hemodialysis. Patients treated with both forms of dialysis preferred continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. We conclude that continuous ambulatory pe...
Intertextual Variation in Old and Middle English

The existence of word order differences between individual authors in Old and Middle English is well known. Nevertheless, many empirical investigations of earlier English word order have focused on...
Nanowire Impregnated Poly-dimethyl Siloxane for Flexible, Thermally Conductive Fan-Out Wafer-Level Packaging

FlexTrateTM, a flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) platform based on fan-out wafer level packaging (FOWLP) has demonstrated low die shift by using room temperature cured poly-dimethyl siloxane (PDMS) as a molding compound. In this paper, we investigate the enhancement of the thermal conductivity in PDMS used in the FlexTrateTM process to allow for better thermal management via microwave welding of commercially available copper nanowires dispersed in an uncured PDMS matrix, followed by a standard curing process. We also evaluate the thermal stability of PDMS, necessary if FlexTrateTM assemblies are to be used in conjunction with commonly used solder reflow processes, and show that PDMS is stable at standard reflow temperatures. Thermal conductivity enhancement using the microwave welding process is shown to be minimal, with a peak enhancement of ~40%.
Exploring Relative Preferences for HIV Service Features Using Discrete Choice Experiments: a Synthetic Review.

Aligning HIV treatment services with patient preferences can promote long-term engagement. A rising number of studies solicit such preferences using discrete choice experiments, but have not been systematically reviewed to seek generalizable insights. Using a systematic search, we identified eleven choice experiments evaluating preferences for HIV treatment services published between 2004 and 2020. Across settings, the strongest preference was for nice, patient-centered providers, for which participants were willing to trade considerable amounts of time, money, and travel distance. In low- and middle-income countries, participants also preferred collecting antiretroviral therapy (ART) less frequently than 1 monthly, but showed no strong preference for 3-compared with 6-month refill frequency. Facility waiting times and travel distances were also important but were frequently outranked by stronger preferences. Health facility–based services were preferred to community- or home-based services, but this preference varied by setting. In high-income countries, the availability of unscheduled appointments was highly valued. Stigma was rarely explored and costs were a ubiquitous driver of preferences. While present improvement efforts have focused on designs to enhance access (reduced waiting time, travel distance, and ART refill frequency), few initiatives focus on the patient-provider interaction, which represents a promising critical area for inquiry and investment. If HIV programs hope to truly deliver patient-centered care, they will need to incorporate patient preferences into service delivery strategies. Discrete choice experiments can not only inform such strategies but also contribute to prioritization efforts for policy-making decisions.
Parent Ethical Concerns About Patient Feedback Measures to Improve Pediatric Clinical Care.

There are limited studies evaluating parental willingness to complete patient feedback measures to improve pediatric clinical care. Parents were randomly assigned to read a vignette that varied by ...
Atom-by-Atom Evolution of the Same Ligand-Protected Au 21 , Au 22 , Au 22 Cd 1 , and Au 24 Nanocluster Series.

Atom-by-atom manipulation on metal nanoclusters (NCs) has long been desired, as the resulting series of NCs can provide insightful understanding of how a single atom affects the structure and properties as well as the evolution with size. Here, we report crystallizations of Au22(SAdm)16 and Au22Cd1(SAdm)16 (SAdm = adamantanethiolate) which link up with Au21(SAdm)15 and Au24(SAdm)16 NCs and form an atom-by-atom evolving series protected by the same ligand. Structurally, Au22(SAdm)16 has an Au3(SAdm)4 surface motif which is longer than the Au2(SAdm)3 on Au21(SAdm)15, whereas Au22Cd1(SAdm)16 lacks one staple Au atom compared to Au24(SAdm)16 and thus the surface structure is reconstructed. A single Cd atom triggers the structural transition from Au22 with a 10-atom bioctahedral kernel to Au22Cd1 with a 13-atom cuboctahedral kernel, and correspondingly, the optical properties are dramatically changed. The photoexcited carrier lifetime demonstrates that the optical properties and excited state relaxation are highly sensitive at the single atom level. By contrast, little change in both ionization potential and electron affinity is found in this series of NCs by theoretical calculations, indicating the electronic properties are independent of adding a single atom in this series. The work provides a paradigm that the NCs with continuous metal atom numbers are accessible and crystallizable when meticulously designed, and the optical properties are more affected at the single atom level than the electronic properties.
Strategic Asset Allocation for Endowment Funds

An endowment fund serves as a permanent source of capital to support a specific mission. It has, in the case of a university, dual goals of providing current financial support to the university and preserving long-term purchasing power to ensure that support continues in perpetuity. This article explores a methodology for constructing strategic asset allocation for endowment funds in the context of these competing long-term investment goals. TOPICS:Long-term/retirement investing, foundations & endowments, portfolio construction Key Findings ▪ In constructing a strategic asset allocation for an endowment, a traditional mean-variance optimization framework alone does not provide sufficient context to generate comprehensive forward-looking analysis. However, adding additional measures such as maximizing the probability of achieving investment goals or minimizing relevant downside distress measures over the long term can improve the analysis. ▪ A typical endowment’s asset allocation, with an equity orientation and tilt toward alternative asset classes, nearly maximizes the probability of achieving the dual long-term investment goals of meeting a spending rate target while preserving real capital, as well as minimizes endowment-specific downside risk measures. ▪ Optimal portfolio choices are dependent on underlying return expectations across asset classes. Although expected returns are typically the highest for private investments, there are limits to investing in private asset classes, including an endowment’s liquidity requirements and ability to access the best-performing managers.
Predicting Real-Time Locational Marginal Prices: A GAN-Based Approach

Electricity market participants rely on data-driven methods using public market data to predict locational marginal prices (LMPs) and determine optimal bidding strategies, since they cannot access confidential power system models and operating details. In this paper, system-wide heterogeneous public market data are organized into a 3-dimensional (3D) tensor, which can store their spatio-temporal correlations. A generative adversarial network (GAN)-based approach is proposed to predict real-time locational marginal prices (RTLMPs) by learning the spatio-temporal correlations stored in the historical market data tensor. An autoregressive moving average (ARMA) calibration method is adopted to improve the prediction accuracy. Case studies using public market data from Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) demonstrate that the proposed method is able to learn spatio-temporal correlations among RTLMPs and perform accurate RTLMP prediction.
Ocular Dominance, Accommodation, and the Interocular Suppression of Blur in Monovision

Traditionally., large amounts of anisometropia are considered an obstacle for normal binocular vision, and clinicians strive to equate the visual acuity in the two eyes with optimal refractive correction. Anisometropia could depress binocular measures of visual acuity if the blurred image of the ametropic eye reduced the contrast of the eye with less ametropia. Anisometropic blur also produces a marked elevation of the stereoscopic depth threshold, which is considerably greater than the threshold elevation produced by equal blurring of the two ocular images (Lit, 1968; Peters, 1969; Ong and Burley., 1972; Levy and Glick, 1974; Goodwin and Romano, 1985; Lovasik and Szymkiw, 1985; Schor and Heckmann, 1989). Finally., anisometropia presents an ambiguous stimulus to accommodation whenever the test target is proximal to the unequal far points of the two eyes.
Preference-based group scheduling

Traditional group scheduling applications often treat users’ availability as binary: free or busy. This is an unrealistic representation because not all times are equally free or busy. The inflexibility makes it difficult to find times with which everyone is truly satisfied. We present an online group scheduling approach by which users indicate four-tier preferences for meeting times on a calendar, which dynamically adjusts to provide instant feedback and suggests optimal meeting times for all participants. Our prototype is geared toward college students and the scheduling is done through a democratic and open negotiation process where everyone’s preference is heard. Students who evaluated the prototype thought that the scheduling process was more efficient than the widely-used e-mail scheduling among college students, which is largely based on binary availability.
SYNCHRONIZED DIVISION OF AVIAN PLEUROPNEUMONIA-LIKE ORGANISMS

Kelton, William H. (University of Massachusetts, Amherst). Synchronized division of avian pleuropneumonia-like organisms. J. Bacteriol. 83:948-955. 1962.-Evidence indicates that phosphate-buffered 0.85% saline (pH 7.0) is toxic when used for diluting cultures of pleuropneumonia-like organisms (PPLO). A technique for picking single PPLO colonies and streaking on agar medium is described. Growth curves of eight strains of PPLO of avian origin are described. Strain S-6 showed a typical growth curve. The other strains presented the lag and logarithmic phases of growth, followed by a rapid decline in viable numbers and peaks of growth later. Additional studies showed that growth was logarithmic in young cultures of all strains. Synchronization of division of two avian strains of PPLO appeared to have been induced by starvation for horse serum. Studies of small populations of PPLO were also made. The results of these experiments, along with the logarithmic growth, favor binary fission as the mode of reproduction.
Carrying Capacity and the Comprehensive Plan: Establishing and Defending Limits to Growth

Natural and built resources have finite capacItles for assimilating growth and associated impacts. The use of analytical tools such as carrying capacity analyses is recommended to assess the cumulative impact of land development upon these resources. Once carrying capacity thresholds have been established, local governments should apply appropriate regulatory controls to ensure that capacities are not exceeded. The application of carrying capacity tools is suggested in all jurisdictions, including states that do not mandate the preparation of comprehensive plans. The adoption of carrying capacity regulations may trigger a regulatory takings analysis. Adoption of legislative actions to preserve carrying capacity limitations, however, are generally entitled to a presumption of validity. This is contrasted with the use of adjudicative permits to assess assimilative capacity thresholds. While adjudicative permits allow for aggressive review of development in relation to cumulative impacts, their ad hoc nature demands precise application by local governments.
PlanetSeer: internet path failure monitoring and characterization in wide-area services

Detecting network path anomalies generally requires examining large volumes of traffic data to find misbehavior. We observe that wide-area services, such as peer-to-peer systems and content distribution networks, exhibit large traffic volumes, spread over large numbers of geographically-dispersed endpoints. This makes them ideal candidates for observing wide-area network behavior. Specifically, we can combine passive monitoring of wide-area traffic to detect anomalous network behavior, with active probes from multiple nodes to quantify and characterize the scope of these anomalies. This approach provides several advantages over other techniques: (1) we obtain more complete and finer-grained views of failures since the wide-area nodes already provide geographically diverse vantage points; (2) we incur limited additional measurement cost since most active probing is initiated when passive monitoring detects oddities; and (3) we detect failures at a much higher rate than other researchers have reported since the services provide large volumes of traffic to sample. This paper shows how to exploit this combination of wide-area traffic, passive monitoring, and active probing, to both understand path anomalies and to provide optimization opportunities for the host service.
The Asexual Life

EVOLUTION OF SEXBdelloid rotifers, which are their own class comprising four families and about 350 species, are the only organism strongly suspected to have made a go of celibacy for the long haul. If so, then the bdelloids are the perfect organism on which to test theories of sexual advantage ([see main text][1]). [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/281/5385/1980