cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identifying Children with Special Health Care Needs Using Medicaid Data in New York State Medicaid Managed Care.

Objective The ability to identify children with special health care needs (CSHCN) is crucial to evaluate disparities in the quality of health care for children in Medicaid Managed Care. We developed and assessed the accuracy of a new method to classify CSHCN. Data sources Secondary data analysis was conducted using NYS Medicaid administrative data and the Children with Chronic Conditions Screener (CCC Screener). Study design This study included 5,907 NYS Medicaid beneficiaries (17 years old or younger) whose parents completed the CCC Screener in 2014. Medicaid administrative data were used to create a risk score to assess the risk of special needs, and a cut point was identified to differentiate between children with versus without special needs. Diagnostic accuracy of the method was assessed using sensitivity and specificity analyses. Principal findings Applying the CCC Screener as the "gold standard," the risk score correctly classified the majority of CSHCN as positive (sensitivity = 75 percent) and the majority of the children without special needs as negative (specificity = 79 percent). This method demonstrated decent diagnostic ability (AUC = 0.77). Conclusions Our method can identify CSHCN in the NYS Medicaid Managed Care population and will help the State monitor the quality of care for this vulnerable population.
Amphiphile-Mediated Depalmitoylation of Proteins in Living Cells

Post-translational S-palmitoylation plays a central role in protein localization, trafficking, stability, aggregation, and cell signaling. Dysregulation of palmitoylation pathways in cells can alter protein function and is the cause of several diseases. Considering the biological and clinical importance of S-palmitoylation, tools for direct, in vivo modulation of this lipid modification would be extremely valuable. Here, we describe a method for the cleavage of native S-palmitoyl groups from proteins in living cells. Using a cell permeable, cysteine-functionalized amphiphile, we demonstrate the direct depalmitoylation of cellular proteins. We show that amphiphile-mediated depalmitoylation (AMD) can effectively cleave S-palmitoyl groups from the native GTPase HRas and successfully depalmitoylate mislocalized proteins in an infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (INCL) disease model. AMD enables direct and facile depalmitoylation of proteins in live cells and has potential therapeutic applications for diseases such as INCL, where native protein thioesterase activity is deficient.
Creation and Evaluation of a Food Animal Curriculum Roadmap for Veterinary Students at the University of Minnesota.

Less than 5% of US veterinary school graduates go on to practice predominantly food animal medicine, contributing to a serious shortage of veterinarians practicing in rural areas. Exposing students...
Warming interacts with inundation timing to influence the species composition of California vernal pool communities

Climate change has been associated with alterations in temperature and precipitation regimes. Increased temperatures can change the structure and function of aquatic communities through both biotic and abiotic interactions. Many warming experiments have been conducted in permanent freshwater systems, but few in temporary freshwater systems that are dependent on precipitation patterns. Temporary aquatic communities are influenced by hydro-regime characteristics such as the hydroperiod length, magnitude, frequency, and timing of inundation, which may interact with temperature changes. Here, we used mesocosms to test for the effects of warming and inundation timing on the community composition of California vernal pools. California vernal pools are temporary wetlands, which provide habitat for many endemic and endangered species during the aquatic phase. Total species abundance was higher in both warm and late inundation treatments, while higher species richness levels in late treatments were due to the rapid emergence and colonization of species compared to early treatments. Heating increased the abundance of ubiquitous passive and active dispersers, including mosquitos, but decreased the abundance of vernal pool endemic passive dispersers. We also found that significant interactive effects between warming and inundation timing led to differences in community composition. These findings suggest that vernal pool endemic passive disperser species may decline due to increased temperatures and later inundation; however, the extent of such risk will likely be influenced by species-specific life-history traits such as bet-hedging strategies. Conservation efforts should work to identify the species most at risk to a changing climate.
Stability of zero-energy Dirac touchings in the honeycomb Hofstadter problem

We study the band structure of electrons hopping on a honeycomb lattice with $p/q$ ($p,q$ are coprime integers) flux quanta through each elementary hexagon. In the nearest-neighbor hopping model the two bands that eventually form the $n=0$ Landau level have $2q$ zero-energy Dirac touchings. In this work we study the conditions needed for these Dirac points and their stability to various perturbations. We prove that these touchings and their locations are guaranteed by a combination of an antiunitary particle-hole symmetry and the lattice symmetries of the honeycomb structure. We also study the stability of the Dirac touchings to one-body perturbations that explicitly lower the symmetry.
Comparison of blood pressure measurements in the upper and lower extremities versus arterial blood pressure readings in children under general anesthesia.

Purpose To compare invasive blood pressure (IBP) readings obtained from an arterial cannula with non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) measurements from oscillometric cuffs on the upper and lower extremities of infants and children under general anesthesia. Patients and methods Patients under 10 years of age were enrolled in our study if they were to receive general anesthesia with planned placement of a radial arterial cannula. At 5 mins intervals, IBP was measured using a fluid-coupled pressure transducer and NIBP was measured with two oscillometers with appropriately sized cuffs placed on the upper arm and lower leg, for 10 readings per patient. Results The study enrolled 18 boys and 12 girls, ranging in age from 0 to 8 years. Across 300 data points, the absolute difference between the arm and invasive mean arterial pressure (MAP) measurements was 7±7 mmHg (range: 0-52 mmHg). The absolute difference between the leg and invasive MAP measurements was 8±8 mmHg (range: 0-52 mmHg). Although both non-invasive measurement sites demonstrated frequent deviation from invasive measurement, large deviations were more common when BP was measured at the leg (81 of 298 observations (27%) deviating by >10 mmHg) compared to the arm (60 of 300 observations (20%) deviating by >10 mmHg). Conclusion The frequency of clinically significant NIBP deviation in children under general anesthesia supports the importance of IBP monitoring when hemodynamic fluctuations are likely and would be particularly detrimental. NIBP measured at the lower leg is more likely to result in clinically significant deviation from invasively measured MAP than NIBP values obtained from an upper arm.
Dietary and Physical Activity Behaviors in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome per the New International Evidence-Based Guideline.

Lifestyle modifications are recommended as first-line therapy in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, usual dietary and physical activity (PA) behaviors of women with PCOS remain uncertain, likely owing to controversy in diagnostic criteria. Our objective was to contrast the usual dietary and PA behaviors of women with PCOS (n = 80) diagnosed by the 2018 International Evidence-based Guideline for the Assessment and Management of PCOS to that of controls (n = 44). Study outcomes were dietary intake, diet quality (Healthy Eating Index-2015), and PA (questionnaire, waist-worn accelerometers). Women with PCOS met the acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges for carbohydrate, fat, and protein, but did not meet the recommended dietary reference intakes for vitamin D (mean (95% confidence interval); 6 (5–7) μg/d), vitamin B9 (275 (252–298) μg/d), total fiber (24 (22–26) g/d), or sodium (4.0 (3.6–4.4) g/d). Women with PCOS also met the US recommendations for PA. No differences were detected in dietary intake, diet quality, or PA levels between groups (p ≥ 0.11). In conclusion, women with and without PCOS have comparable dietary and PA behaviors. A lack of unique targets for dietary or PA interventions supports the position of the new guideline to foster healthy lifestyle recommendations for the management of PCOS.
Formulation of a triple combination gemcitabine plus romidepsin + cisplatin regimen to efficaciously and safely control triple-negative breast cancer tumor development.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive, lethal, and heterogeneous subtype of breast cancers, tending to have lower 5-year survival rates than other BC subtypes in response to conventional chemotherapies. This study’s aim was to identify advanced regimens to effectively control TNBC tumor development. We investigated the combination of the DNA synthesis inhibitor gemcitabine, the DNA-damaging agent cisplatin, and the histone deacetylase inhibitor romidepsin to control a variety of breast cells in vitro. We studied the toxicity of drug doses and administration schedules to determine tolerable combination regimens in immune-deficient nude and -competent BALB/c mice. We then studied the efficacy of tolerable regimens in controlling TNBC cell-derived xenograft development in nude mice. By reducing clinically equivalent doses of each agent in combination, we formulated tolerable regimens in animals. We verified that the tolerable triple combination gemcitabine plus romidepsin + cisplatin regimen more efficacious than double combination regimens in controlling xenograft tumor development in nude mice. A triple combination of gemcitabine + romidepsin + cisplatin synergistically induced death of the TNBC M.D. Anderson-Metastatic Breast cancer (MDA-MB) 231 and MDA-MB468, as well as Michigan Cancer Foundation (MCF) 7, MCF10A, and MCF10A-Ras cells. Cell death induced by gemcitabine + romidepsin + cisplatin was in a reactive oxygen species-dependent manner. Considering the high costs for developing a new anticancer agent, we used the FDA-approved drugs gemcitabine, romidepsin (is approved for T-cell lymphoma and is under clinical trial for TNBC), and cisplatin to economically formulate an efficacious and safe combination regimen. The highly efficacious gemcitabine plus romidepsin + cisplatin regimen should be poised for efficient translation into clinical trials, ultimately contributing to reduced mortality and improved quality of life for TNBC patients.
Crime and crime prevention

Abstract This chapter discusses violence on college and university campuses and the preventative strategies that can help drastically reduce the levels of crime on campuses. In particular, the interaction of campus security is detailed.
Assessing the Reliability of Reported Medical History in Older Adults.

Background Age-associated increases in medical complexity, frailty, and cognitive impairment may compromise reliable reporting of medical history. Objective To evaluate the influence of increasing age and cognitive impairment on concordance between reported history of stroke and cerebral infarction, and reported history of diabetes and elevated hemoglobinA1c in community-dwelling older adults. Methods The association between participant-specific factors and accurate reporting of cerebral infarction or diabetes was evaluated using multivariable logistic regression in 1,401 participants enrolled in longitudinal studies of memory and aging, including 425 participants with dementia (30.3%). Stroke and diabetes were selected as index variables as gold standard measures of both were obtained in all participants: magnetic resonance neuroimaging for cerebral infarcts and hemoglobinA1c (≥6.5%) for diabetes. Results Concordance between reported history of stroke and imaging-confirmed cerebral infarction was low (sensitivity: 17.4%, 8/46; specificity: 97.9%, 799/816). Small infarcts were strongly associated with inaccurate reporting (OR = 265.8; 95% CI: 86.2, 819.4), suggesting that occult/silent infarcts contributed to discordant reporting. Reporting accuracy was higher concerning diabetes (sensitivity: 83.5%, 147/176; specificity: 96.2%, 1100/1143). A history of hypertension (OR = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.3, 4.2), higher hemoglobinA1c (OR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.5, 2.4), and hemoglobinA1c compatible with impaired glucose tolerance (OR = 3.1; 95% CI 1.8, 5.3) associated with increased odds of discordant reporting. Cognitive impairment and increased age were not independently associated with reliable reporting. Conclusion Factors beyond advancing age and cognitive impairment appear to drive discordance in reported medical history in older participants. Objective testing for cerebral infarcts or diabetes should be performed when relevant to diagnostic or therapeutic decisions in clinical and research settings.
Terahertz Electromagnetically Induced Transparency in Cesium Atoms

We outline a proposal to realize Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) with the potential to store Terahertz (THz) optical pulses in Cesium atoms. Such a system, when experimentally realized, has a potential to make Quantum Communication possible with THz signals.
Telehealth in Pediatric Gastroenterology Can Be a Sustainable Long-Term Option: A Single-Center Experience.

None: Telehealth has been a well-established system of care delivery at Kaiser Permanente Northwest Pediatric Gastroenterology since before the COVID-19 era, where 54% of our completed pediatric gastroenterology encounters in the past year were virtual visits. Although it was previously limited in its use across the majority of health care in the US, telehealth is now a widely accepted system in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this unprecedented rapid expansion of telehealth within both new and established telehealth systems is not without challenges or quality concerns. In this report, we present our single-center experience from the past year where virtual care was already an integral part of our clinical practice in pediatric gastroenterology and review satisfaction data and quality measures from the COVID-19 era where our existing telehealth system expanded to nearly exclusive virtual care.
Research on the Application of Big Data Statistics in the Field of Economic Management

In the context of continuous social and economic development, the integration of statistics and economic management has been strengthened. Big data statistical technology has found economic development laws from many data, and its effect in macroeconomic analysis is extremely high. This article focuses on the application of big data statistical methods and existing problems in the field of economic management and proposes corresponding countermeasures.
ICA assisted FTIλDN controller for AGC performance enrichment of interconnected reheat thermal power systems

In the incessantly growing size and structure of the modern power system having different load demand uncertainties, the use of intelligent, proficient and robust automatic generation control (AGC) strategy is indispensable to deliver decent superiority of power supply to the consumers. This research presents a fuzzy-tilt-fractional order integral-filtered derivative (FTIλDN) controller as a novel control tool to improve AGC recital of multi-area interconnected power systems (PSs). The imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA) is employed to optimize the FTIλDN controller parameters. To boost FTIλDN controller performance, asymmetrically spaced membership functions (MFs) are utilized, where MFs adjoining to zero are meant for fine-tuning and MFs far of zero are used for coarse-tuning. Firstly, a well adopted linear 2-area reheat thermal PS (RTPS) is explored critically and then to signify the virtue and scalability of the approach, the analysis is conducted on a 5-area unequal RTPS comprising deadband and generation rate constraint nonlinearities. The supremacy of the approach is established by contrasting the results with ICA/bacterial foraging optimization algorithm optimized FTIDN and various existing controllers. Investigation of results affirms the better performance of FTIλDN over other controllers regarding minutest error criteria and undershoot/overshoot/settling time of frequency/tie-line power deviations at disturbances. Additionally, robustness analysis validates the robust conduct of FTIλDN controller under variations of parameters, load disturbances and in the incident of temporary/permanent tie-line outage. At last, a real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation test is performed to authenticate the viability and effectiveness of the method for practical applications.
Perturbation-based balance assessment: Examining reactive balance control in older adults with mild cognitive impairments.

Background Older adults with mild cognitive impairment (OAwMCI) present subtle balance and gait deficits along with subjective memory decline. Although these presentations might not affect activities of daily living (ADLs), they attribute to a two-folded increase in falls. While changes occurring in volitional balance control during ADLs have been extensively examined among OAwMCI, reactive balance control, required to recover from external perturbations, has received little attention. Therefore, this study examined reactive balance control in OAwMCI compared to their healthy counterparts. Methods Fifteen older adults with mild cognitive impairment (OAwMCI), fifteen cognitively intact older adults (CIOA) (>55 years), and fifteen young adults (18-30 years) were exposed to stance perturbations at three different intensities. Behavioral outcomes postural COM state stability, step length, step initiation, and step execution were computed. Results Postural COM state stability was the lowest in OAwMCI compared to CIOA and young adults, and it deteriorated at higher perturbation intensities (P < 0.001). Step length was the lowest among OAwMCI and was significantly different from young adults (P < 0.001) but not from CIOA. Unlike OAwMCI, CIOA and young adults increased their step length at higher perturbation intensities (P < 0.001). OAwMCI showed longer recovery step initiation times and shorter execution times compared to CIOA and young adults at higher perturbation intensities (P < 0.001). Conclusion OAwMCI exhibit exacerbated reactive instability and are unable to modulate their responses as the threat to balance control altered. Thus, they are at a significantly higher risk of falls than their healthy counterparts.
The impact of a high-fat diet on physical activity and dopamine neurochemistry in the striatum is sex and strain dependent in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice.

BACKGROUND Obesity has been linked to behavioral and biochemical changes, such as reduced physical activity, dysregulated dopamine metabolism, and gene expression alterations in the brain. The impact of a continuous high-fat diet and resulting state of obesity may vary depending on sex and genetics. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a high-fat diet on physical activity, gene expression in the striatum, and dopamine neurochemistry using male and female mice from different strains as a model to examine sex and strain influences on dopamine-mediated behavior and neurobiology. METHODS Male and female mice from the C57BL/6J (B6J) and DBA/2J (D2J) strains were randomly assigned a control low-fat diet with 10% kcal fat or a high-fat diet with 60% kcal fat for 16 weeks. We assessed ambulation and habituation using the open field test; dopamine release and reuptake using ex-vivo fast scan cyclic voltammetry; and striatal mRNA expression of dopamine receptor D2, alpha synuclein, and tyrosine hydroxylase. RESULTS Mice fed a high-fat diet exhibited reduced motor activity, but only obese B6J male mice displayed reduced habituation. Dopamine clearance in the dorsal striatum was reduced only in obese D2J mice, while dopamine clearance in the nucleus accumbens core was reduced only in male obese D2J mice. Striatal dopamine receptor D2 gene expression was upregulated exclusively in obese male B6J mice. CONCLUSION Our study provides evidence for important sex and strain influences on the impact of a high-fat diet and obesity-induced behavior alterations and neurobiology dysregulation in the striatum.
Romanticism, maternity, and the body politic

In Romanticism, Maternity, and the Body Politic, Julie Kipp examines Romantic writers' treatments of motherhood and maternal bodies in the context of the legal, medical, educational and socioeconomic debates about motherhood so popular during the period. She argues that these discussions turned the physical processes associated with mothering into matters of national importance. The privately shared space signified by the womb or the maternal breast were made public by the widespread interest in the workings of the maternal body. These private spaces evidenced for writers of the period the radical exposure of mother and child to one another - for good or ill. Kipp's primary concern is to underline the ways that writers used representations of mother-child bonds as ways of naturalizing, endorsing and critiquing Enlightenment constructions of interpersonal and intercultural relations. This fascinating literary and cultural study will appeal to all scholars of Romanticism.
Exploring the Intersections of Religion and Spirituality with Race-Ethnicity and Gender in Counseling

This chapter is based on multicultural counseling principles (Sue & Sue, Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice. Wiley, 2008), on spiritual competencies (Savage & Armstrong, Developing competency in spiritual and religious aspects of counseling. In: Handbook of multicultural counseling competencies. Wiley, 2010) and the work of Cole (American Psychologist, 64(3): 170–180, 2009), and on intersectionality. Zinnbauer and Pargament (Journal of Counseling and Development, 78: 162–171, 2000) suggested that there are four worldviews that mental health professionals may hold towards religious beliefs and values in counseling. The two positions that are most compatible for working with R/S issues are the constructivist who sees beliefs as socially constructed by the individual and the pluralist who recognizes a spiritual absolute with multiple interpretations. The least compatible positions are the rejectionist who is antagonistic towards religion and the exclusivist who believes in absolute religious beliefs, i.e., that his or her belief is the only right way.
Law and Order in Buffalo Bill's Country: Legal Culture and Community on the Great Plains 1867–1910

Review of: "Law and Order in Buffalo Bill's Country: Legal Culture and Community on the Great Plains, 1867–1910," by Mark R. Ellis.
Summary Characterization of Kames the Man

If now we may draw together into a more unified picture than was possible in our piecemeal presentation thus far, our impressions of Kames the man and his varied interests and activities, and round them out with the views taken of him by a number of his contemporaries who knew him best, a remarkable picture, no less impressive, perhaps, than the portrait of him by the painter Martin reproduced as a frontispiece to this volume, emerges. A summary interpretation and evaluation of his historical role will be attempted in a final chapter in Part II of this study.
Spoke-LBP and ring-LBP: New texture features for tissue classification

This paper proposes a texture feature which is applied on human breast Optical Coherence Microscopy (OCM) images to classify different types of breast tissues. Inspired by local binary pattern (LBP) texture features, a new variant of LBP feature, block based LBP (BLBP) is proposed. Instead of representing intensity differences between neighbors and a center pixel, BLBP feature extracts the intensity differences among certain blocks of the neighborhood around a pixel. Two different ways are proposed to organize the blocks: the spokes and the rings. By integrating spoke BLBP with ring BLBP features, very high classification accuracy is achieved using a neural network classifier. In one of our experiments which classifies 4310 OCM images into five tissue types, the classification accuracy increased from 81.7% to 92.4% when new features are used instead of the traditional LBP feature. In another experiment which classifies 46 large field OCM images as either benign or containing tumor, a classification accuracy of 91.3% is reached by using multi-scale BLBP features.
New optimization techniques for power system generation scheduling

Generation scheduling in restructured electric power systems is critical to maintain the stability and security of a power system and economical operation of the electricity market. However, new generation scheduling problems (GSPs) are emerging under critical or new circumstances, such as generator starting sequence and black-start (BS) generator installation problems in power system restoration (PSR), and generation operational planning considering carbon dioxide (CO2) emission regulation. This dissertation proposes new optimization techniques to investigate these new GSPs that do not fall into the traditional categories. Resilience and efficient recovery are critical and desirable features for electric power systems. Smart grid technologies are expected to enable a grid to be restored from major outages efficiently and safely. As a result, power system restoration is increasingly important for system planning and operation. In this dissertation, the optimal generator start-up strategy is developed to provide the starting sequence of all BS or non-black-start (NBS) generating units to maximize the overall system generation capability. Then, based on the developed method to estimate the total restoration time and system generation capability, the optimal installation strategy of blackstart capabilities is proposed for system planners to develop the restoration plan and achieve an efficient restoration process. Therefore, a new decision support tool for system restoration has been developed to assist system restoration planners and operators to restore generation and transmission systems in an on-line environment. This tool is able to accommodate rapidly changing system conditions in order to avoid catastrophic outages.
EUV Studies of Solar System Objects: A Status Report

EUV studies have contributed substantially to our understanding of the physical and chemical properties the Sun, planets, and their satellites. Although the spectroscopic data set is limited to Venera 11/12, Voyager 1/2, Astro 1/2, EUVE, Galileo, and a handful of sounding rocket experiments, these data have provided important insights regarding the atmospheres and surfaces of several planets and satellites to the point where rudimentary comparative planetology can be conducted. In this paper we highlight some of these results.
Antimutator Mutants in Bacteriophage T4 and Escherichia coli

Antimutators are mutant strains that have reduced mutation rates compared to the corresponding wild-type strain. Their existence, along with mutator mutants that have higher mutation rates compared to the wild-type strain, are powerful evidence that mutation rates are genetically controlled. Compared to mutator mutants, antimutators have a very distinguishing property. Because they prevent normally occurring mutations, they, uniquely, are capable of providing insight into the mechanisms of spontaneous mutations. In this review, antimutator mutants are discussed in bacteriophage T4 and the bacterium Escherichia coli, with regard to their properties, possible mechanisms, and implications for the sources of spontaneous mutations in these two organisms.
Visual Culture Archaeology: A Criti/Politi/cal Methodology of Image and Identity

This study argues the efficacy of the liberatory cultural work of a visual culture archaeology that reveals a political and critical identity, resistant to domination, authoring social change and its own agency through multiple and incommensurable positions. Built on Foucauldian premises, visual culture archaeology is developed as a methodology for discursive un-naming and renaming and emerges from the inherence and attenuation of inscripted meanings in the reinterpretation of identity during a postmodern confluence of ideas and images. The hybridized representation of the African American in Western visual culture has been unique in the effort by some to define us over significant periods as less than human, less than American, or less than statistically significant in the purpose to maintain an unequal relation of economic and political power. This article continues the author's effort to establish the efficacy of a poststructural and poetic aesthetic in qualitative research writing.
Miniaturization of analytical systems.

Miniaturization has been a long-term trend in clinical diagnostics instrumentation. Now a range of new technologies, including micromachining and molecular self-assembly, are providing the means for further size reduction of analyzers to devices with micro- to nanometer dimensions and submicroliter volumes. Many analytical techniques (e.g., mass spectrometry and electrophoresis) have been successfully implemented on microchips made from silicon, glass, or plastic. The new impetus for miniaturization stems from the perceived benefits of faster, easier, less costly, and more convenient analyses and by the needs of the pharmaceutical industry for microscale, massively parallel drug discovery assays. Perfecting a user-friendly interface between a human and a microchip and determining the realistic lower limit for sample volume are key issues in the future implementation of these devices. Resolution of these issues will be important for the long-term success of microminiature analyzers; in the meantime, the scope, diversity, and rate of progress in the development of these devices promises products in the near future.
Function estimation via wavelets for data with long-range dependence

Traditionally, processes with long-range dependence have been mathematically awkward to manipulate. This has made the solution of many of the classical signal processing problems involving these processes rather difficult. For a fractional Gaussian noise model, we derive asymptotics for minimax risks and show that wavelet estimates can achieve minimax over a wide range of spaces. This article also establishes a wavelet-vaguelette decomposition (WVD) to decorrelate fractional Gaussian noise.
Troops to Teachers Update: Changing, but Still Pleasing Principals With High Teaching Quality

Prior research on Troops to Teachers (TTT) affirms that TTTs are effective instructors likely to work in high-poverty, high-minority schools, teach high-demand subjects, use research-based instructional and classroom management practices linked with student achievement, and plan to stay in the profession. A nonexperimental, mixed method design incorporating quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis was used. A total of 4,157 TTT completers and 517 administrators responded to surveys. The 2012-2013 follow-up study finds that TTTs are meeting most—but not all—the same high benchmarks. In addition, 92% of principals rate their TTTs as well-prepared to meet the needs of diverse learners in varied learning environments.
Facility Fence-Line Monitoring Using Passive Samplers

ABSTRACT In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) executed a year-long field study at a refinery in Corpus Christi, TX, to evaluate the use of passive diffusive sampling technology for assessing time-averaged benzene concentrations at the facility fence line. The purpose of the study was to investigate the implementation viability and performance of this type of monitoring in a real-world setting as part of EPA's fence-line measurement research program. The study utilized 14-day, time-integrated Carbopack X samplers deployed at 18 locations on the fence line and at two nearby air monitoring sites equipped with automated gas chromatographs. The average fence-line benzene concentration during the study was 1075 parts per trillion by volume (pptv) with a standard deviation of 1935 pptv. For a 6-month period during which wind direction was uniform, the mean concentration value for a group of downwind sites exceeded the mean value of a similar upwind group by 1710 pptv. Mean value differences fo...
Fatal Neonatal Stroke From a Prenatal Cardiac Thrombus

Despite careful investigation, the etiology of many perinatal arterial strokes is unknown. We report on a 5-day-old boy with a cardiac thrombus of prenatal origin resulting in a fatal postnatal stroke. The thrombus was discovered only at autopsy, challenging the assumption of a placental source of embolus in perinatal strokes in the absence of macroscopic and microscopic examination of the heart.
Activation of the Wnt pathway in non small cell lung cancer: evidence of dishevelled overexpression

Non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and worldwide. Unfortunately, standard therapies remain inadequate. An increased understanding of the molecular biology of lung cancer biology is required to develop more effective new therapies. In this report, we show that the Wnt pathway is activated through Dishevelled (Dvl) overexpression in NSCLC. Analysis of freshly resected tumors and lung cancer cell lines demonstrate that Dvl-3, a critical mediator of Wnt signaling, is overexpressed. Specifically, Dvl-3 was overexpressed significantly in 75% of fresh NSCLC microdissected samples compared to control paired matched normal lung samples. To evaluate the biological significance of Wnt signaling and, in particular, Dvl function in lung cancer, we transfected siRNA (designed to inhibit selectively human Dvl-1, -2, and -3), to the NSCLC cell line H1703, which is known to have β-catenin-mediated Tcf-dependent transcriptional activity. Here, we demonstrate that Dvl-specific siRNA treatment in H1703 decreases significantly Dvl and β-catenin expression, resulting in reduction of Tcf-dependent transcriptional activity, and, importantly, growth inhibition. Taken together, these data support the novel hypothesis that Dvl overexpression is critical to Wnt signaling activation and cell growth in NSCLC.
Automating post-silicon debugging and repair

Modern IC designs have reached unparalleled levels of complexity, resulting in more and more bugs discovered after design tape-out However, so far only very few EDA tools for post-silicon debugging have been reported in the literature. In this work we develop a methodology and new algorithms to automate this debugging process. Key innovations in our technique include support for the physical constraints specific to post-silicon debugging and the ability to repair functional errors through subtle modifications of an existing layout. In addition, our proposed post-silicon debugging methodology (FogClear) can repair some electrical errors while preserving functional correctness. Thus, by automating this traditionally manual debugging process, our contributions promise to reduce engineers' debugging effort. As our empirical results show, we can automatically repair more than 70% of our benchmark designs.
Ferrite: Cementite crystallography in pearlite

The interlamellar crystallography of pearlite in iron-carbon alloys is examined in Fe-0.8C and Fe-0.81C-12Mn steels with attention given to the Bagaryatsky, Pitsch-Petch, and Isaichev orientation relationships and their related atomic habit planes. A survey of the overall literature reveals confusion about the crystallographic uniqueness in these orientation relationships. The present article focuses on this uniqueness and on habit planes between the pearlitic ferrite and cementite, from which the crystallography of ferrous pearlite orientation relationships is proposed to emanate. Techniques to characterize and identify orientation relationships unambiguously are developed. Habit planes are shown to be consistently obtained, even during curvature, with all deviations accommodated by microscopic steps.
Maintenance oral nifedipine for preterm labor: a randomized clinical trial.

Abstract Objective: This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of maintenance oral nifedipine in patients initially treated with intravenous magnesium sulfate for preterm labor. Study Design: Patients with a diagnosis of preterm labor between 24 and 33.9 weeks' gestation were randomly assigned to receive either maintenance tocolytic therapy with oral nifedipine (20 mg every 4-6 hours) or no treatment (control) after discontinuation of magnesium tocolysis. Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes were evaluated. A sample size of 50 patients was required to detect a 10-day difference in mean time gained (β = .2, α = .05). Statistical analyses were based on intent to treat. The t , χ 2 , and Fisher exact tests were performed. Results: Seventy-four patients were randomly assigned to receive either oral nifedipine (n = 37) or no treatment (n = 37). There were no statistically significant differences in age, race, parity, preterm delivery risk factors, enrollment gestational age, results of cervical examination, delivery gestational age, time gained, or neonatal complications between the groups. Delivery gestational age (mean ± SD) was 35.4 ± 3.2 weeks for patients randomly assigned to receive nifedipine and 35.3 ± 3.2 weeks for patients who received no treatment ( P = .9). Time gained during pregnancy was 37 ± 23.9 days in the nifedipine group and 32.8 ± 20.4 days in the control group ( P = .4). Conclusion: Maintenance therapy with oral nifedipine does not significantly prolong pregnancy in patients initially treated with intravenous magnesium sulfate for preterm labor. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1999;181:822-7.)
Perceived susceptibility to pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease among pregnant and nonpregnant adolescents.

This study of urban adolescent females investigated predictors of perceived susceptibility to single and dual sexual outcomes (pregnancy only sexually transmitted disease [STD] only pregnancy and STDs). Thirty percent of participants felt susceptible to dual sexual outcomes. We developed a predictive model of perceived susceptibility to pregnancy/STDs from sexual risk-behavior sexual consequences (e.g. recent pregnancy and STD) relationship cognitive psychological and personal factors. Dual pregnancy and STD susceptibility was associated with more than one sexual partner in the past year no hormonal contraception use inconsistent condom use not being pregnant and White race. In contrast pregnancy-only susceptibility was associated with only hormonal contraceptive use and not being pregnant. Finally STD susceptibility was associated with more than one sexual partner in the past year no hormonal contraceptive use and low self-esteem. We must understand how individuals perceive their susceptibility to complex combinations of reproductive health outcomes (e.g. pregnancy and STDs) to design interventions to increase condom and contraceptive use among adolescent females. (authors)
The beam-loading admittance of gridless klystron gaps

Expressions for the beam-loading conductance for an electron beam have been derived in Branch and Vlasov. This paper shows that the beam-loading susceptance is the Hilbert transform of the conductance. The expressions for the admittance of the ideal gridded gap and the gridless gap are then derived. In particular, curves of G/G 0 and B/G 0 are presented for gridless gaps with different gap lengths and with different beam sizes.
EDEM: intelligent agents for collecting usage data and increasing user involvement in development

Expectation-Driven Event Monitoring (EDEM) provides developers with a platform for creating software agents to collect usage data and increase user involvement in the development of interactive systems. EDEM collects information that is currently lost regarding actual usage of applications to promote improved usability and a more empirically grounded design process.
Ground-state energy of Heisenberg antiferromagnet for spins s=(1/2 and s=1 in d=1 and 2 dimensions.

A simple real-space renormalization method yields the ground-state energy of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet. We find the ground-state energy per spin for $s=\frac{1}{2}$ (-0.4438 in 1D, -0.6723 in 2D) and $s=1$ (-1.388 in 1D and -1.907 in 2D) to three-figure accuracy, using properties of relatively small odd-numbered clusters. Our results provide reasonable proof for long-range order in the ground state of the $s=\frac{1}{2}$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet in 2D.
Shock Waves in Transonic Channel Flows at Moderate Reynolds Numbers

The behavior of shock waves in transonic channel flows with varying Reynolds and Prandtl numbers is examined using analytical and numerical methods. It is shown that the location of the sonic line within the structure of a shock wave is independent of the Reynolds number and is coincident with the location of the corresponding discontinuous wave in the limit as the Reynolds number tends to infinity. Also, in a numerical solution, truncation errors and artificial viscosity produce a smeared shock wave similar to that found in a flow at a moderate Reynolds number. Thus, these results lend support to the commonly accepted supposition that the position of the sonic line within the structure of a numerical shock wave can be adopted as the location of the corresponding shock wave in inviscid flow.
The Ocean Drilling Program: Results From The Third Year Of Field Operations

The Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) recently completed its first 18 cruises (3 years) by addressing important scientific problems in the regions of the Bahamas,Iberian margin, Norwegian Sea, Baffin Bay, Labrador Sea, Kane Fracture Zone,, Tyrrhenian Sea, Northwest African margin, Barbados forearc, Galapagos, Peru margin, Weddell Sea, Sub-Antarctic South Atlantic Ocean, Mascarene Plateau, Bengal Fan, Indus Fan, Oman margin, Owen Ridge and Southwest Indian Ridge. During this period, the ship's drilling systems as well as the shipboard scientific laboratory complex have undergone a thorough testing, with modification made as required. Beginning in the fall of 1988, following a series of drilling cruises in the Indian Ocean, Joides Resolution will embark on a 2 year campaign of drilling in the western and central Pacific Ocean. Many of ODP's scientific and technical objectives have been addressed during the initial 18 cruises. For example, high-latitude drilling, initiated in the northern polar latitudes in 1985 (Leg 104 Norwegian Sea; Leg 105 Labrador Sea/Baffin Bay) continued in 1987 in the southern polar latitudes of the Weddel Sea and the sub-Antarctic South Atlantic Ocean (Legs 113 and 114). Another important thrust requiring a major commitment in engineering development has been in drilling holes in zero-age crust in regions with little or no sediment cover (Legs 106, 109 and 118). This paper focuses on ODP's third year of scientific operations and discusses areas of future studies.
Mitochondrial DNA mutations and diabetes: another step toward individualized medicine.

The article by Guillausseau and colleagues in this issue confirms that the diabetes phenotype in maternally inherited diabetes and deafness is quite different from that in other known forms of diab...
Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy of suspected pancreatic cancer.

Endoscopic ultrasonography–guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy may be valuable in the evaluation of a pancreatic mass when results on other biopsy methods are negative but pancreatic cancer is sus...
A note on relative entropy

The quantum-mechanical concept of relative entropy is discussed from an information-theoretic point of view. We show that not all definitions found in the recent literature are equally suitable for the purpose of statistical inference by entropy maximization.
Digestibility and cell-wall components of alfalfa following selection for divergent herbage lignin concentration

Breeding schemes to improve alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) forage quality based on total herbage chemical composition can result in altered morphology. Additionally, cell-wall composition of plant parts also may be altered. This study investigated the effects of divergent selection for lignin concentration in total herbage of alfalfa on concentration of cell-wall components and digestibility of stems. Two groups of alfalfa previously derived from herbage-based selection were studied. Group 1 consisted of six two-parent Syn-2 lines randomly selected from ‘Saranac-AR’ for high (HL) or low (LL) acid-detergent lignin (ADL) concentration in the total herbage. Group 2 had 11 HL and 13 LL lines produced from crossing pairs of parents of the Group 1 lines. Neutral-detergent fiber (NDF) concentration in stem bases was 4 and 3% greater in HL lines than in LL lines in Group 1 and 2, respectively. Likewise, herbage NDF concentration was 8% greater in HL than in LL lines of Group 1 and 4% greater in Group 2. There were no differences between divergent lines in NDF concentration of stem tops. Lignin concentration in cell walls of Group 1 was 8 and 6% greater in LL lines than in HL lines in stem tops and stem bases, respectively. In Group 2, the LL lines had 2% greater cell-wall lignin concentration than HL lines in both stem fractions. Total-herbage NDF concentration correlated more closely with leaf-to-stem ratio of entire plants (r = − 0.96 and −0.78 for Group 1 and 2, respectively) than with stem length and maturity. Thus, herbage-based selection for improved nutritive quality of alfalfa results in complex changes in stem cellwall component concentrations in addition to large morphological changes. Contribution of the USDA-ARS Iowa Cluster program of the U.S. Dairy Forage Res. Ctr. and Iowa State Univ. Journal Paper no. 13237 of the Iowa Agric, and Economic Exp. Stn., Project no. 2709.
Continuous-time segmentation networks

Segmentation is a basic problem in computer vision. The tiny-tanh network, a continuous-time network that segments scenes based upon intensity, motion, or depth is introduced. The tiny- tanh algorithm maps naturally to analog circuitry since it was inspired by previous experiments with analog VLSI segmentation hardware. A convex Lyapunov energy is utilized so that the system does not get stuck in local minima. No annealing algorithms of any kind are necessary- -a sharp contrast to previous software/hardware solutions of this problem.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Loan Commitments and the Debt Overhang Problem

The debt overhang problem is shown to arise in the context of an entrepreneurial project that requires a sequence of investments financed by an outside lender. The entrepreneur, not internalizing losses accruing to the lender which financed the initial investments, may inefficiently cancel the project and instead pursue an outside opportunity. It is shown that loan commitments (contracts that allow the entrepreneur to borrow a variable amount at a set interest rate in return for a fixed fee) are the optimal financial contracts in this setting, strictly dominating standard debt. The existence of the fixed fee allows loan commitments to set a relatively low interest rate, improving the entrepreneur's incentives to continue the project. The paper specifies the optimal contract fully, derives robust comparative statics properties (using an extension of Milgrom and Roberts (1994)), and extends the results to more realistic settings (e.g., allowing the market risk-free rate to be stochastic).
Primary Paratesticular Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma derives from primitive neural crest cells and is the most frequent extracranial solid tumor of childhood. The most common site of primary tumor is the abdomen (65% of cases), followed by the thorax (15%), neck (15%) and pelvis (5%). We report a rare case of primary intrascrotal neuroblastoma.