cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electronic medical record reminders and smoking cessation activities in primary care

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess electronic medical record (EMR) automatic reminder use in relation to smoking cessation activities among primary-care providers. Background Primary-care physicians are in the frontline of efforts to promote smoking cessation. Moreover, doctors' prescribing privileges give them additional tools to help patients successfully quit smoking. New EMR functions can provide automated reminders for physicians to counsel smokers and provide prescriptions to support quit attempts. Sample and methods Logit regression is used to analyze the 2012 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). Variables related to the EMR's clinical reminder capability, patient's smoking status, the provision of cessation counseling and the prescribing of drugs that support quitting are analyzed. Results For primary care visit documents, smoking status was recorded 77.7% of the time. Smoking cessation counseling was ordered/provided 16.4% of the time in physicians' offices using electronic reminders routinely compared to 9.1% in those lacking the functionality. Smoking cessation medication was ordered/prescribed for 3.7% of current smokers when reminders were routinely used versus 2.1% when no reminder was used. All the differences were statistically significant. Conclusions The presence of an EMR equipped with automated clinical reminders is a valuable resource in efforts to promote smoking cessation. Insurers, regulators, and organizations promulgating clinical guidelines should include the use of EMR technology as part of their programs.
Leaving the art-house: commerce and commodity in Borowczyk's controversial cinema

ABSTRACTThis article reviews the wave of recent critical re-appraisals of Walerian Borowczyk as an art-house auteur. As an attempt to undercut the critical impulse that privileges Borowczyk's early experimental work and the auteur approach, I focus on Borowczyk's sexploitation films, which are reviewed here in the context of commodity culture and the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s. Borowczyk's sexploitation output is analyzed as visual commentary on material culture and the changing consumer trends of late capitalism. Jean Baudrillard's The System of Objects provides the theoretical backdrop.
Replication fork convergence at termination: A multistep process

Termination of replication occurs when two forks converge, an important but understudied process. In PNAS, a report from the Courcelle group examines replication termination using deep-sequencing genomic profiling of replicating cells to obtain copy number information about head-on collision of replication forks in different genetic backgrounds (1). Mutations in the SbcC-SbcD (SbcCD) and ExoI nucleases of Escherichia coli result in overreplication of DNA at the terminal replication zone where forks converge, implying that extra DNA is made upon termination and these nucleases are needed to excise the extra DNA. Furthermore, mutational studies of the RecBCD helicase/nuclease reveal that it acts at a step after SbcCD/Exo1 action to complete the processing of overreplicated DNA generated by fork convergence. Overreplication upon termination in E. coli has been reported earlier, but the DNA structures produced, and subsequent processing steps are not well understood (2⇓–4). The report by Wendel et al. (1) demonstrates that termination of replication is a complex process orchestrated by many factors, and implies specific roles of the enzymes involved. Termination of replication, when two replication forks meet head-on, has the potential for deleterious consequences. For example, amplifications, resections leading to deletions, and other DNA rearrangements are associated with defective replication termination (1⇓⇓–4). Extensive studies have outlined the events that activate origins and advance replication forks in bacteria and eukaryotes (5, 6), but little is known about the replication termination process, possibly because termination does not occur at a defined sequence, making it difficult to study. The circular chromosome of E. coli has been an attractive model to study the termination process for two main reasons. First, E. coli has only one origin ( oriC ) that forms bidirectional forks that meet head-on roughly half way around the circular genome from the origin. Second, E. … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: odonnel{at}rockefeller.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
The Brief Assessment of Family Functioning Scale (BAFFS): a three-item version of the General Functioning Scale of the Family Assessment Device.

AbstractThe purpose of the present study is to compare results from the 12-item General Functioning Scale (GF-FAD) of the Family Assessment Device (FAD) to a three-item version, the Brief Assessment of Family Functioning Scale (BAFFS), designed to be used when brevity is especially important. We used principal components analysis of the GF-FAD, followed by multiple sample confirmatory factor analyses to test the robustness of the BAFFS in different samples. The BAFFS correlated highly with the GF-FAD, and demonstrated good concurrent validity with another measure of global marital functioning, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale-4 in a help-seeking sample. Like the 12-item version, the BAFFS moderately correlated with an objective, interview-based rating of family functioning, the McMaster Clinical Rating Scale. The BAFFS appears to serve as a good proxy for the GF-FAD when an ultra-brief family assessment measure is needed.Clinical or methodological significance of this article: This article introduces an ultra-...
Copeptin and Estimated Insulin Sensitivity in Adults With and Without Type 1 Diabetes: The CACTI Study.

Abstract Objectives Copeptin, a surrogate marker for vasopressin, is elevated in participants with insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes. Whereas adults with type 1 diabetes also demonstrate elevated copeptin concentrations and IR compared to controls without diabetes, the relationship between copeptin and IR in type 1 diabetes is unclear. Methods Participants with (n=209) and without (n=244) type 1 diabetes in the Coronary Artery Calcification in Type 1 Diabetes (CACTI) study were assessed for serum copeptin, vitals, estimated glomerular filtration rate, urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio, glycated hemoglobin and lipid panels. Estimated insulin sensitivity (eIS) was calculated by validated equations in participants with and without type 1 diabetes. The relationships among copeptin, IR, waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) were examined with unadjusted and adjusted linear regression models. Results Copeptin was correlated with eIS (R=–0.17, R2=0.029), WC (R=0.16, R2=0.026) and BMI (R=0.22, R2=0.048) for type 1 diabetes and with eIS (R=–0.37, R2=0.14), WC (R=0.40, R2=0.16) and BMI (R=0.25, R2=0.063) in non-type 1 diabetes. In multivariable analysis, copeptin correlated with total cholesterol (beta±SE: −0.12±0.04, p=0.008) and low-density lipoprotein (beta±SE: −0.11±0.04, p=0.01) in type 1 diabetes. In non-type 1 diabetes, copeptin was associated with WC (beta±SE: 0.14±0.04, p=0.0024), BMI (beta±SE: 0.13±0.04, p=0.007) and eIS (beta±SE: −0.14±0.04, p=0.0013). Conclusions Copeptin does not correlate with markers of IR in type 1 diabetes but strongly correlates in non-type 1 diabetes. Thus, elevated vasopressin activity and IR appear to be independent risk factors for vascular complications in type 1 diabetes.
Exploiting platform motion for passive source localization with a co-prime sampled large aperture array

Co-prime array geometries have received a great deal of attention due to their ability to discriminate O(MN) sources with only O(M + N) sensors. This has been demonstrated both theoretically and in simulation. However, there are many practical limitations that make it difficult to realize the enhanced degrees of freedom when applying co-prime geometries to real acoustic data taken on a horizontal line array. For instance, co-prime sampling leads to grating lobes that can obscure lower signal-to-noise-ratio acoustic signals making them difficult to detect. In this work, a synthetic aperture (SA) method is presented for filling in holes and increasing redundancy in the difference co-array by exploiting array motion. The SA method is applied to acoustic data collected off the Southeastern shore of Florida on a fixed large aperture horizontal array. Array motion is simulated by taking a co-prime sampled subarray and virtually moving it along the horizontal aperture of the fixed array. It is demonstrated that SA processing on real acoustic data results in reduced side-lobe and grating lobe levels compared to that of the physical co-prime aperture.
Introduction to Modeling of Hydrogeologic Systems Using Fuzzy Differential Equations

The many simultaneously occurring processes in unsaturated-saturated heterogeneous soils and fractured rocks can cause field observations to become imprecise and incomplete. As a result, field observations can become inconsistent with deterministic and stochastic mathematical models used for predictions. The performance of a system that includes soil, rock, and a monitoring network can become uncertain because of vagueness or “fuzziness,” which is inherent in the system behavior, rather than being purely random. Fuzzy systems modeling, already widely used in such fields as engineering, physics, chemistry, and biology, is expected to become useful in simulating hydrogeologic system behavior. After presenting a hydrogeologic system as a fuzzy system, we derive a fuzzy-logic form of Darcy’s equation. Based on this equation, a fuzzy logic form of the parabolic-type partial differential equations is derived. The elliptic-type (Laplace equation) and the parabolic-type (Richards equation) partial differential equations were approximated using fuzzy variables and solved using the basic principles of fuzzy arithmetic. The results of fuzzy systems modeling are then compared with those obtained using deterministic models. The application of fuzzy ordinary and partial differential equations to various earth sciences problems, such as flow and transport in the subsurface, is an emerging area of research.
Peripheral stimulation for treatment of trigeminal postherpetic neuralgia and trigeminal posttraumatic neuropathic pain: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: Trigeminal neuropathic pain (TNP) after facial trauma or herpes zoster infection is often refractory to treatment. Peripheral nerve stimulation has been used to treat occipital neuralgia; however, efficacy in controlling facial TNP or postherpetic neuralgia is unknown. A retrospective case series of patients who underwent subcutaneous placement of stimulating electrodes for treatment of V 1 or V 2 TNP secondary to herpeti8c infection or facial trauma is presented. METHODS: Ten patients received implanted subcutaneous pulse generators and quadripolar electrodes for peripheral stimulation of the trigeminal nerve supraorbital or infraorbital branches. Long-term treatment results were determined by retrospective review of medical records (1998-2003) and by independent observes interviewing patients using a standard questionnaire. Surgical complication rate, preoperative symptom duration, degree of pain relief, preoperative and postoperative work status, postoperative changes in medication usage, and overall degree of therapy satisfaction were assessed. Mean follow-up was 26.6 ± 4.7 months. RESULTS: Peripheral nerve stimulation provided at least 50% pain relief in 70% of patients with TNP or postherpetic neuralgia. Medication use declined in 70% of patients, and 80% indicated that they were mostly or completely satisfied with treatment overall. There were no treatment failures (<50% pain relief and a lack of decrease in medication use) in the posttraumatic group, and two fallures (50%) occurred in the postherpetic group. The complication rate requiring reoperation was 30%. CONCLUSION: Peripheral nerve stimulation of the supraorbital or infraorbital branches of the trigeminal nerve is an effective method for relief of TNP after facial trauma or herpetic infection. A prospective trial using this novel approach to treat these disorders is thus warranted.
Optimal solution of the local delivery problem through minimum K-trees

The local delivery problem has been extensively studied and is a classic in the field of vehicle routing and scheduling. This talk will describe a recently developed optimization algorithm for this problem which exploits a connection between the local delivery problem and minimum K-trees. I will first set the stage for this discussion by reviewing the enormous activity in the vehicle routing area that has occured during the last decade in both academia and industry. I will focus in particular on projects in which I have been involved at Air Products and Chemicals, DuPont and Exxon that produced implemented routing models and algorithms with significant economic benefits. Altough all of these algorithms are heuristics (as has been the focus of almost all past research in this area), I will indicate why the time is now ripe to consider optimization approaches.
Cell-Specific Expression of a Multifunctional Protein Kinase in Primate Thalamic Relay Neurons

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the cell-specific expression of a multifunctional protein kinase in primate thalamic relay neurons. It discusses the study in which in situ hybridization histochemistry is carried out on sections from monkey brains, using complementary RNA probes that recognize mRNAs coding for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) and the alpha subunit of type II calcium-calmodulin dependent protein kinase (CAM II kinase-α). The results show a complementarity of expression for the two genes. There is specific expression of one or other gene in certain populations of neurons and, where cell populations are mixed, the evidence of cell counts and size estimates is that the two are also expressed in separate sub-populations. Overall CAM II kinase-αappears to be expressed by cells that use excitatory amino acid transmitters. In the thalamus, where relay neurons, which in all nuclei except the principal layers of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus, express CAM II kinase-α, the enzyme can play a role in long-term facilitation of synaptic transmission.
San Antonio and Fruitvale

Oakland, California's history is replete with notable contributions and accomplishments: architectural, political, literary, and economic, among others. From a thriving and bustling city in the 1930s and 1940s when it was the fastest growing industrial city on the west coast, Oakland stumbled into decades of decline, its magnificent architecture towering over abandoned streets, boarded-up shops, and scarce pedestrians. The city has struggled for years to revive and thrive. However, even as residents lament the city's economic decline, the crime rates, and the failure of one plan or another to rejuvenate the city, they point proudly to what they consider Oakland's most enduring asset: its racial and ethnic diversity. "It has been said that Oakland is the most integrated city anywhere," boasts the Oakland Unified School District annual report (1993). "According to the 1990 census, the population of Oakland is composed of at least 82 language and ethnic groups." Many residents hope that this asset, unlike others, will in fact be preserved and that its diversity does not fall victim to the economic vagaries that have ravaged the city. By identifying the factors responsible for promoting or undermining Oakland's diversity, it may be possible to ensure that it will remain an asset rather than become a liability. This article represents a preliminary attempt to identify those factors through an examination of the experience of the city's two most diverse community development districts: San Antonio and Fruitvale.
Understanding the Propensity for Chronic Sinusitis in Patients on Immunosuppressive Therapy.

BACKGROUND Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a frequently observed condition in patients with immunodeficiency secondary to immunosuppressive medications. The histologic features of CRS among patients undergoing immunosuppressive treatment have yet to be determined and may have important implications on understanding the pathophysiology of the disease process. METHODS A structured histopathology report was utilized to analyze sinus tissue removed during functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). Histopathology variables, Lund-Mackay score (LMS), and sinonasal outcome test 22 scores were compared among patients with CRS on immunosuppressive therapy (CRSi), CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) patients, and CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) patients. RESULTS Fifteen CRSi, 36 CRSwNP, and 56 CRSsNP patients undergoing FESS were analyzed. Compared to CRSsNP, CRSi patients exhibited a trend toward increased moderate-severe inflammation (66.7% vs 42.1%, P < .080), increased neutrophil infiltrate (40.0% vs 24.6%, P < .192), and decreased fibrosis (26.7% vs 43.9%, P < .182). Compared to CRSwNP, CRSi patients demonstrated decreased fibrosis (26.7% vs 66.7%, P < .010), decreased eosinophil aggregates (13.3% vs 44.4%, P < .032), and a trend toward fewer eosinophils per high-power field (46.7% vs 66.7%, P < .154). CRSi cases had significantly lower mean LMS (8.20 ± 4.30 vs 12.78 ± 6.56, P < .017) compared to CRSwNP. CONCLUSION CRSi patients exhibit histopathology and disease severity more similar to CRSsNP with trends toward increased neutrophilia and reduced fibrosis. In the appropriate clinical context, discontinuing or changing a patient's immunosuppressive regimen may be a valid treatment option in patients with CRSi. This study provides initial insight into understanding the propensity for chronic sinusitis in patients undergoing immunosuppressive treatment which may have implications on disease management.
Relations among language comprehension, oral counting, and numeral knowledge of ethnic and racial minority young children from low-income communities

Abstract This study examined the relationship between language comprehension (receptive, expressive) and numeracy skills (oral counting, number identification, number relations) in a longitudinal sample of ethnic and racial minority (Black = 86%; Latino = 14%) children from low-income communities. Participants were n = 79 children between 1.42 to 3.42 years when early language skills were assessed, and between 4.5 to 6.33 years when school-age language and numeracy skills were assessed. Results indicated strong correlations between language and numeracy skills, independent of age and sex. Components of language comprehension were shown to positively predict numeracy outcomes. The results of subsequent mediation analyses revealed that language comprehension was indirectly related to number identification and number relations through oral counting. The findings are consistent with the perspective that linguistic skills serve as a pathway for the development of numeracy skills. This study adds to the literature by demonstrating the importance of general language comprehension measured in the first few years of life for school-age numeracy skills with a sample of children living in poverty. Implications for early childhood education and future research regarding cross-domain learning and development are discussed.
Efeito de diferentes proporções de moinha de café na composição de substratos alternativos para produção de mudas de pepino

One of the main factors related to the quality of edible vegetable seedlings is the type of substrate used. The growth variables of cucumber seedlings grown on alternative substrates to the commercial substrate, having increasing levels of coffee drying residues (chaff). The experiment was conducted under a completely randomized design with six treatments and ten replications, where: T1: commercial substrate (CS); T2: 0% chaff (CH) + 40% carbonized rice husk (CRH) + 15% coconut fiber (CF) + 5% eggshell (ES) + 40% CS; T3: 10% CH + 40% CRH + 15% CF + 5% ES + 30% CS; T4: 20% CH + 40% CRH + 15% CF + 5% ES + 20% CS; T5: 30% CH + 40% CRH + 15% CF + 5% ES + 10% CS; T6: 40% CH + 40% CRH + 15% CF + 5% ES + 0% CS. The variables evaluated were electrical conductivity of substrates, dry mass of the root system and the aerial part, seedling height, stem diameter and number of leaves. Increasing proportions of chaff also increase the electrical conductivity of the substrate. Proportions around 15 to 20% of chaff in the composition of the substrate present the highest values of stem diameter, dry mass of the root system and of the aerial part. Proportions up to 30% of the substrate constituted by 40% rice husk, 15% coconut fiber, 5% egg husk and 10% commercial substrate can also be used without loss in the growth variables of cucumber seedlings.
Who receives naloxone from emergency medical services? Characteristics of calls and recent trends

Background: With the rapid rise in opioid overdose-related deaths, state policy makers have expanded policies to increase the use of naloxone by emergency medical services (EMS). However, little is known about changes in EMS naloxone administration in the context of continued worsening of the opioid crisis and efforts to increase use of naloxone. This study examines trends in patient demographics and EMS response characteristics over time and by county urbanicity. Methods: We used data from the 2013-2016 National EMS Information System to examine trends in patient demographics and EMS response characteristics for 911-initiated incidents that resulted in EMS naloxone administration. We also assessed temporal, regional, and urban-rural variation in per capita rates of EMS naloxone administrations compared with per capita rates of opioid-related overdose deaths. Results: From 2013 to 2016, naloxone administrations increasingly involved young adults and occurred in public settings. Particularly in urban counties, there were modest but significant increases in the percentage of individuals who refused subsequent treatment, were treated and released, and received multiple administrations of naloxone before and after arrival of EMS personnel. Over the 4-year period, EMS naloxone administrations per capita increased at a faster rate than opioid-related overdose deaths across urban, suburban, and rural counties. Although national rates of naloxone administration were consistently higher in suburban counties, these trends varied across U.S. Census Regions, with the highest rates of suburban administration occurring in the South. Conclusions: Naloxone administration rates increased more quickly than opioid deaths across all levels of county urbanicity, but increases in the percentage of individuals requiring multiple doses and refusing subsequent care require further attention.
Applicability of SSTDR Analysis of Complex Loads

Spread spectrum time domain reflectometry (SSTDR) can be used to measure complex impedances in live electrical systems by evaluating the shape and magnitude of the reflected signature. A range of capacitors or inductors can be identified, but above and below this range, they cannot be distinguished from open or short circuits. This range depends on the frequency band of the reflectometry system and characteristic impedance of the transmission line. This can be used to characterize changes in complex impedance for the purpose of fault detection in complex loads, such as PV panels and systems.
Setting the stage: The initial immune response to blood-stage parasites

Individuals growing up in malaria endemic areas gradually develop protection against clinical malaria and passive transfer experiments in humans have demonstrated that this protection is mediated i...
Memory at your feet: Modeling the agency of past trails

Abstract Landscape archaeologists rely on the use of least-cost paths to explore and reconstruct movement patterns in the past. An important factor seldom incorporated in these studies is the possibility of earlier paths influencing later ones. This is due, in no small part, to the inability of current least-cost path algorithms to incorporate such an effect in an efficient manner. Once the effect of earlier paths is considered, the order in which sites, or other features, are connected is likely to play an important role in the resulting network. In this paper, a simple Python network simulation package (NetSim) is presented. This package, includes a new accumulated cost surface algorithm, influence weighted distance transform or IWDT, that allows the effect of previous paths to affect later paths when reconstructing possible least-cost paths networks among various locations. The simulation is illustrated using a simple case study from island of Mallorca, where the range of possible networks between different types of Talayotic (Iron Age) sites are explored.
The unacceptable status quo: malnutrition challenges of the developed and developing world

Abstract Malnutrition has huge costs associated with it and the global economic costs range from USD 2 to USD 3 trillion annually. Non-economic costs involved are real but are not estimable. Globally, malnutrition is responsible for one in every five deaths. Different forms of malnutrition affect almost all the countries, irrespective of their economic status, geographic location, levels of food security, and population growth. As high as 11% of the global population is undernourished and most of them live in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The developed world is mainly grappling with overnutrition burden. On the other hand, many developing nations are dealing with the triple burden of malnutrition. Addressing all of these challenges across regions requires a multi-pronged strategy that should span across disciplines and sectors. It calls for innovations and interventions across agriculture, health, educational and environmental domains besides encouraging behavioral changes among the vulnerable populations.
An assessment of statistical methods for non-independent data in ecological meta-analyses: Reply.

In ecological meta-analyses, nonindependence among observed effect sizes from the same source paper is common. If not accounted for, nonindependence can seriously undermine inferences. We compared the performance of four meta-analysis methods that attempt to address such nonindependence and the standard random-effect model that ignores nonindependence. We simulated data with various types of within-paper nonindependence, and assessed the standard deviation of the estimated mean effect size and Type I error rate of each method. Although all four methods performed substantially better than the standard random-effects model that assumes independence, there were differences in performance among the methods. A two-step method that first summarizes the multiple observed effect sizes per paper using a weighted mean and then analyzes the reduced data in a standard random-effects model, and a robust variance estimation method performed consistently well. A hierarchical model with both random paper and study effects gave precise estimates but had a higher Type I error rates, possibly reflecting limitations of currently available meta-analysis software. Overall, we advocate the use of the two-step method with a weighted paper mean and the robust variance estimation method as reliable ways to handle within-paper nonindependence in ecological meta-analyses.
Radiofrequency catheter ablation for supraventricular tachycardia in a paediatric population: characteristics of tachycardia mechanisms in a subpopulation with early onset.

Background: In children, the first episode of supraventricular tachycardia occurs at various ages. The aim of this study is to describe age-specific tachycardia mechanisms, clinical findings, and outcome in a contemporary cohort of paediatric patients with supraventricular tachycardia. Methods: Retrospective analysis of 531 consecutive patients with structurally normal hearts under the age of 18 years who underwent invasive electrophysiological study for supraventricular tachycardia. The study population was divided into two groups, early-onset group (n = 57) and late-onset group (n = 474), according to the age of the occurrence of the first tachycardia before or after the age of 12 months. Results: Accessory pathway-mediated tachycardia was more common (82.5 versus 50.1%, p < 0.001) and the proportion of left-sided accessory pathways was more pronounced (74.5 versus 53.7%, p = 0.01) in the early-onset group than in the late-onset group. The antegrade and retrograde refractory periods of the accessory pathways were similar in both groups, but pre-excitation was more common in the early-onset group (50.9 versus 31.9%, p = 0.007). Typical atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia was more common (36.7 versus 7.0%, p < 0.001) in the late-onset group. There was no difference among the two groups regarding overall outcome. Conclusion: Accessory pathway-mediated re-entrant tachycardia is the most common mechanism of recurrent supraventricular tachycardia in infants with structurally normal hearts who are later referred to an electrophysiological study. These pathways often cause pre-excitation and tend to be located on the left side whereas their refractory period is not different from that of patients with late-onset tachycardia.
Telecoaching to Support Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports in Rural Schools.

Schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS) is a three-tiered framework for preventing and addressing challenging behavior and improving school climate. SWPBIS requires ongoing...
Smart manufacturing: A sustainable energy perspective

Abstract Increasing global energy use, the depletion of fossil fuel reserves, and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their use motivate the discovery of other sources of energy with a view on sustainability. One promising example is renewable energy, but its implementation is not without challenges. This chapter presents two potential visions for overcoming these challenges: microgrids and combined renewable energy and chemical production. Specifically, the discussion in this chapter provides an insight into the features and potential implementation of these systems as it pertains to sustainable manufacturing of energy and chemical. Conceptually, these systems offer the flexibility to take full advantage of renewable energy resources while mitigating the associated challenges, primarily the intermittency of renewable availability and its effect on utilities. Mathematical optimization is discussed extensively as the backbone of designing and operating these systems to maximize their efficacy and economic viability, as well as that of incorporating renewables as a whole.
"Identity Negotiation and Alien Residency": Caribbean-American "In-Betweenity" in Elizabeth Nunez's "Anna In Between, Boundaries," and "Not for Everyday Use"

In her memoir, Not for Everyday Use (2014), and her novel Anna in Between (2009) and its sequel, Boundaries (2011), Elizabeth Nunez explores the nature of the migrant experience for first generation Afro-Caribbean immigrants to the USA. With specific reference to the use of language, characterization, history, imagery, and the interweaving of history, she analyzes the complexities of that reality as they attempt to adjust to a host locale (USA) that has had, from its inception, a very contentious relationship with blackness that fragments potential solidarity of blackness. Extrapolating from the lives her protagonists as filtered through the prism of her own migrant journey, Nunez sees them as existing in a permanent state of liminality from which there is no escape. Despite the finality of the act of migration, Caribbean-Americanlives are forever in a state of flux over which they can exert only limited control. Migration promises freedom and yet denies its full efflorescence; it offers the excitement of choice but only provides the exercise of it remains within the confines of fixed circumferences; it encourages belonging, yet castigates the complacency that belonging engenders. This paper will show that Nunez clearly represents the Afro-Caribbean immigrant life in America as uneasy existence in unsafe space, yet sends a firm message that the disillusionment of that reality is more palatable than the idea of return. The state of in-betweenity, therefore, while not static in essential nature, is as permanent and unavoidable as is the act of migration itself. In order to feel more at ease the migrant must quickly learn the balancing act of becoming yet never being; the migrant must come to appreciate the complex dance between commonality and contestation even within a diaspora of shared African origin.
Percent Increase in Left Ventricular Stroke Work Index and Right Ventricular Stroke Work Index after Milrinone Infusion Predicts Escalation of Therapy and Mortality

Purpose We hypothesized that changes in biventricular function would approximate myocardial reserve and predict outcomes. Methods We reviewed 178 patients undergoing right heart catheterization and milrinone loading at our center between January 2013 and January 2019. Percent increase in left ventricular stroke work index (piLVSWI) was calculated as 100 * (left ventricular stroke work index after infusion - left ventricular stroke work index before infusion)/left ventricular stroke work index before infusion, and percent increase in right ventricular stroke work index (piRVSWI) was calculated as 100 * (right ventricular stroke work index after infusion - right ventricular stroke work index before infusion)/right ventricular stroke work index before infusion. Cutpoints were determined by ROC analysis, and patients were stratified as follows: (1) High piLVSWI, High piRVSWI; (2) High piLVSWI, Low piRVSWI; (3) Low piLVSWI, High piRVSWI; and (4) Low piLVSWI, Low piRVSWI. Cox regression analyses were performed to determine association with escalation of therapy, defined as left ventricular assist device implantation, heart transplantation, or death. Results Cutpoints of 18.9% and 17.5% were determined for piLVSWI and piRVSWI, respectively. Low piLVSWI, High piRVSWI was associated with escalation of therapy or death at 30-days (HR 3.78, 95% CI 1.41 - 10.17, p = 0.0084). Multivariate analysis identified Low piLVSWI, High piRVSWI as a predictor of escalation of therapy or death at one-year (HR 1.96, 95% CI 1.02 - 3.78, p = 0.043). Grouping patients according to whether they possessed Low piLVSWI, High piRVSWI revealed a greater hazard for the endpoint at 30-days and one-year (HR 2.98, 95% CI 1.41 - 6.28, p = 0.004; HR 1.79, 95% CI 1.0002 - 3.2, p Conclusion Change in biventricular function after milrinone infusion, particularly Low piLVSWI, High piRVSWI, may prognosticate worse clinical outcomes at 30-days and one-year.
Distributed Stabilization of Interconnected Multiagent Systems using Structurally Nonsymmetric Control Layers

Abstract Recently, graph theoretic distributed protocols have been introduced for the stabilization of interconnected multiagent systems with separate agent and control layers. For the case of unstable local agent dynamics, the existing results focus on only the matched interconnections. Further, except for a multiagent system of first- and second-order agents, the existing results are limited to the structurally symmetric control layers based on the undirected communication among controllers. We aim to relax these restrictions for multiagent systems with partially known unmatched or matched interconnections. We propose two step-by-step procedures to design robust distributed stabilization gains for the candidate nonsymmetric control layers in the presence of agent- and multiagent system-level modeling uncertainties. Combined with an optimal control formulation, we develop a matrix algebraic approach for the unmatched scenario and a Lyapunov-based approach for the matched case. In each case, we prove that all state trajectories of the two-layer interconnected multiagent system exponentially converge to the origin. We examine the feasibility of the proposed ideas in simulation.
Exploring Generative Models with Middle School Students

Applications of generative models such as Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) have made their way to social media platforms that children frequently interact with. While GANs are associated with ethical implications pertaining to children, such as the generation of Deepfakes, there are negligible efforts to educate middle school children about generative AI. In this work, we present a generative models learning trajectory (LT), educational materials, and interactive activities for young learners with a focus on GANs, creation and application of machine-generated media, and its ethical implications. The activities were deployed in four online workshops with 72 students (grades 5-9). We found that these materials enabled children to gain an understanding of what generative models are, their technical components and potential applications, and benefits and harms, while reflecting on their ethical implications. Learning from our findings, we propose an improved learning trajectory for complex socio-technical systems.
Misactivation detection and user identification in smart home speakers using traffic flow features

The advancement in Internet of Things (IoT) technology has transformed our daily lifestyle. Particularly, voice assistants such as Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant are commonly deployed in households. These voice assistants enable users to interact with other devices in a smart home ecosystem. In this paper, we focus on two security issues that arise with the use of smart speakers, and present network flow fingerprinting methods to mitigate their impact. First, we concentrate on the misactivation of smart speakers in which spoken words unintentionally activate the device. This may lead to private user conversations being recorded and sent to the cloud without the user even noticing. To prevent such misactivation, we explore locality-sensitive hash-based machine learning approaches. Our evaluation results with the network traffic of four different smart speakers show that the proposed approach can achieve an area under the curve (i. e., AUC) of 93% to 99%. Secondly, we explore whether the voice commands of the device owner can be distinguished from other individuals based on the generated network traffic fingerprint without any analysis of the actual sound wave. Evaluation results with five different user voices show that we can achieve an average AUC of 72% to 81% by ensembling multiple machine learning models.
The Planning Fallacy: Consumers’ Unrealistically Optimistic Marketplace Expectations

Consumers often hold confident beliefs that their marketplace activities will proceed exactly as planned, although in the past, such expectations have proven overly optimistic (Buehler, Griffin, and Ross 1994). How often have we stopped by a retail outlet intending to pick up only one or two specific items, only to be enticed to stay in the retail environment longer than we had planned? Even with years of practical experience, consumers are often overly optimistic when making their plans. Researchers have designated this the "Planning Fallacy" (Kahneman and Tversky 1979). It suggests that consumers may be fully aware of past planning errors, yet still be doomed to repeat them. Little previous research has considered the importance of individuals’ tendencies to be too optimistic when planning for shopping activities. The present manuscript discusses the Planning Fallacy Syndrome and its potential influence upon consumers’ planning processes.
Reflections on Curricular Change

Within any national perspective, curricular change may be viewed as evolutionary, with curricula evolving in ways responsive to the surrounding political and intellectual environments. There is, however, less global coherence than any intra-national perspective might suggest. Historical and political contexts matter, just as ecological niches do in evolutionary biology. This chapter begins with a meta-level discussion describing the consequential nature of (typically national) values, goals, and cultural context and traditions as shapers of curricula. It then proceeds with a discussion of curricular trends in the United States over the past decades, and thumbnail descriptions of changes in the Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany, France, China, and Japan. A concluding discussion reflects on the diversity of curricular directions worldwide, and suggests some ways in which we can profit from it.
Shape-Based Retrieval of Heart Sounds for Disease Similarity Detection

Retrieval of similar heart sounds from a sound database has applications in physician training, diagnostic screening, and decision support. In this paper, we exploit a visual rendering of heart sounds and model the morphological variations of audio envelopes through a constrained non-rigid translation transform. Similar heart sounds are then retrieved by recovering the corresponding alignment transform using a variant of shape-based dynamic time warping. Results of similar heart sound retrieval are demonstrated for various diseases on a large database of heart sounds.
Flash photolysis of visual pigments in solution—II: The effect of preparation on the observed kinetics

Abstract Digitonin extracts of visual pigment from (a) fresh retinas, (b) sucrose-floated rod outer segments, and (c) alum-treated rod outer segments from cattle (A 1 ), frog ( R. pipiens , A 1 ), and sunfish ( Lepomis punctatus , A 2 ) were studied by the method of flash photolysis at temperatures above 0°C. Time-resolved difference spectra (msec resolution) were constructed. The temperature dependence for MII formation was also studied. In all cases studied, the more extensive the preparation procedure, the slower was the sequence of intermediates traversed. This increase in thermal stability was reflected by large increases in both the half-time of formation of MII and the Arrhenius activation energy. It is suggested that some structural (catalytic?) moiety might be affected by the preparation procedure. The sequence of intermediates through MII is analogous for all preparations.
Transdifferentiated hepatocytes in rat pancreas.

Publisher Summary A specialized exocrine pancreatic cell can transform into a different phenotypic cell—the hepatocyte. Although in an adult animal the pancreatic and liver cells are functionally and morphologically different, both organs arise from gut endoderm, thus, sharing a common ancestry. Under proper conditions, repressed liver-specific genes in pancreatic cells are probably derepressed. The way in which such dormant genes are activated is not clear. Although some carcinogens, such as N -methyl- N -nitroso- guanidine, were shown to induce transdifferentiation, the possibility that 4-HAQO-induced genetic alterations may lead to hepatocyte conversion, when subjected to the added stress of copper depletion and repletion, can be excluded in view of the recent observation that a simple copper depletion-repletion regimen can lead to the development of pancreatic hepatocytes. The stability of a differentiated cell could be due to various molecular mechanisms such as DNA methylation, chromatin structure, DNA protein interactions, and DNA rearrangements. Modification of any of these could initiate transdifferentiation. By utilizing a variety of molecular techniques, it is possible to analyze the control mechanisms of tissue-specific gene regulation in pancreatic hepatocytes. Studies with transdifferentiated hepatocytes may be expected to yield considerable new information about the mechanism(s) of cell differentiation and the attendant transcriptional controls.
Re-examination of sea lamprey control policies for the St. Marys River: Completion of an adaptive management cycle

The St. Marys River (SMR) historically has been a major producer of sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) in the Laurentian Great Lakes. In the early 2000s, a decision analysis (DA) project was conduct...
Efficient Constructions of Composable Commitments and Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Canetti et al. [7] recently proposed a new framework -- termed Generalized Universal Composability(GUC) -- for properly analyzing concurrent execution of cryptographic protocols in the presence of a global setup, and constructed the first known GUC-secure implementations of commitment (GUCC) and zero-knowledge (GUC ZK), which suffice to implement any two-party or multi-party functionality under several natural and relatively mild setup assumptions. Unfortunately, the feasibility results of [7] used rather inefficient constructions. In this paper, we dramatically improve the efficiency of (adaptively-secure) GUCC and GUC ZK assuming data erasures are allowed. Namely, using the same minimal setup assumptions as those used by [7], we build a direct and efficient constant-round GUC ZK for Rfrom any "dense" i¾?-protocol [21] for R. As a corollary, we get a semi-efficient construction from any Σ-protocol for R(without doing the Cook-Levin reduction), and a very efficient GUC ZK for proving knowledge of a discrete log representation. the first constant-rate(and constant-round) GUCC scheme. Additionally, we show how to properly model a random oracle in the GUC framework without losing deniability, which is one of the attractive features of the GUC framework. In particular, by adding the random oracle to the setup assumptions used by [7], we build the first two-round (which we show is optimal), deniable, straight-line extractable and simulatable ZK proof for any NP relation R.
Pore structure evolution in silica gel during aging/drying II. Effect of pore fluids

A two-step acid-base-catalyzed silica gel has been aged in a series of alcohol and water baths and some chemical and physical structures of the gel were measured using several techniques (low-field NMR, 29Si and 13C MAS-NMR, IR, Raman, nitrogen adsorption) on gels in wet and dry states. When the gel was placed in alcohol, the surface area increased as a result of esterification and depolymerization to 1500–2000 m2/g in the wet state which then decreased to 1000 m2/g after drying. In water, hydrolysis and condensation decreased surface area to 1000 m2/g (wet) and 500 m2/g (dry). This process was reversible. Alcohol-aging led to small pore size distributions (in much shorter times than previous studies of aging in the gel's mother liquor, ∼ 90% ethanol, 10% H2O). Surface areas calculated from 29Si MAS-NMR-derived Q distributions were in good agreement with adsorption-derived values for the samples dried from alcohol but water-dried samples appeared to contain some surface area which was inaccessible to adsorbing nitrogen after drying. These results indicate that the pore structure of silica gels may be dramatically altered during the aging process and that their wet gel features may be preserved (at least partially) upon drying.
Why you tryna silence her body?: The role of education in shaping the black female body

Artistic expression is a vessel to define, refine, understand and become. Poetry and dance are tongues and instinctive expressions of my thoughts, feelings, and analyses. Thus, my embodiment, challenges and responses to social inequities often merge in these forms. Yet, artistic expression can be seen as trivial when used as method to illustrate social inequities. Drawing on the works of feminists of color, I offer poetry and dance as a queered performance to name and resist my embodiment of racism, sexism, and heteropatriarchy. Using these methods with my body as the site of struggle and potential, this piece talks back to standards of analysis and demands accountability be taken for the marking, sculpting and appraisal of my black female body.