Statistical Testing of Random Number Generators and Their Improvement Using Randomness Extraction.

Random number generators (RNGs) are notoriously challenging to build and test, especially for cryptographic applications. While statistical tests cannot definitively guarantee an RNG's output quality, they are a powerful verification tool and the only universally applicable testing method. In this work, we design, implement, and present various post-processing methods, using randomness extractors, to improve the RNG output quality and compare them through statistical testing.

Concentrated Economic Disadvantage Predicts Resource Utilization After Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Background: The Index of Concentration at the Extremes (ICE), a measure of geographic socioeconomic polarization, predicts several health outcomes but has not been evaluated concerning total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This study evaluates ICE as a predictor of post-TKA resource utilization.

Methods: Using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's New York State database from 2016 to 2017, we retrospectively evaluated 57,426 patients ≥50 years undergoing primary TKA.

Introduction of a Novel Sequential Approach to the Ponte Osteotomy to Minimize Spinal Canal Exposure.

Ponte osteotomy is an increasingly popular technique for multiplanar correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Prior cadaveric studies have suggested that sequential posterior spinal releases increase spinal flexibility. Here we introduce a novel technique involving a sequential approach to the Ponte osteotomy that minimizes spinal canal exposure.

Total Joint Arthroplasty in the Morbidly Obese: How Body Mass Index ≥40 Influences Patient Retention, Treatment Decisions, and Treatment Outcomes.

Background: The United States is in an obesity epidemic. Obesity has multiple common comorbid conditions, including lower extremity arthritis. We sought to examine the course of treatment for a population with body mass index (BMI) ≥40 kg/m and osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip or knee.

Loneliness in Older Adults Living with HIV.

We conducted a cross-sectional study among HIV-positive adults age ≥ 50 in San Francisco to evaluate the frequency of loneliness, characteristics of those who reported loneliness, and the association of loneliness with functional impairment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Participants (N = 356) were predominately male (85%); 57% were white; median age was 56. 58% reported any loneliness symptoms with 24% reporting mild, 22% moderate and 12% severe loneliness.

Geriatric Assessments and Association With VACS Index Among HIV-Infected Older Adults in San Francisco.

Objectives: To perform geriatric assessments in older HIV-infected adults in San Francisco and examine the association with age and the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) index scores.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 2012 to 2014 among HIV-infected patients ≥50 years at 2 San Francisco-based HIV clinics. We evaluated 4 health domains: (1) physical health and function (activities of daily living), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), falls, gait speed, (2) social support (physical and perceived support, loneliness), (3) mental health (depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder) and cognition, and (4) behavioral and general health (antiretroviral adherence and quality of life).