cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of relationships in understanding telecommuter satisfaction

Relationships are fundamental to organizational functioning, yet as telecommuting and other forms of virtual work become increasingly popular, research has not yet focused on how the virtual context might alter relationships so as to impact important work outcomes. This study therefore examines the role relationships play in mediating the link between the extent of telecommuting and job satisfaction. In doing so three fundamental types of relationships maintained by employees are investigated—those with managers, coworkers, and family. Regression analysis of field data from 294 telecommuting employees in a large telecommunications company revealed the anticipated inverted U-shaped relationship, mediated by leader-member exchange quality, team-member exchange quality, and work-family conflict. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Rattling loose of thread connected steels in percussive rock drilling

A common practice to uncouple drill steels in percussive rock drilling is by rattling. Rattling is primarily a continuation of a drilling process without the rotation of the drill steels. By examining the forces which exist at the contacting threads between two drill steels and a coupling, it is shown that normal thread loads in tightly coupled steels and coupling systems always produce a loosening torque. The loosening torque is opposed by circumferential friction torques developed at the thread interface and at the drill steels' interface. Using a theory developed by Goodier for loosening of threaded fasteners by vibration, it is shown how tensile forces generated by rattling can overcome the friction torques to provide a mechanism for uncoupling the drill steels. A sequence of events during rattling loose of multiple steels is postulated, and conditions which facilitate the loosening process are discussed. Repeated pushing and pulling tests of manually torqued-up steels and couplings in a tensile testing machine for four commonly used steels confirms that tensile forces generated during rattling are indeed responsible for rattling loose. Complete loosening was achieved for all four steels tested under various combinations of an initial tightening torque and the cyclic tensile load, andmore » the total number of load cycles required for a complete loosening were determined. Test results also show that loosening due to compressive forces generated during rattling should be very small. The dependence of rattling loose on the helix angle and the static thread efficiency of the thread form is discussed.« less
TIGER2 with solvent energy averaging (TIGER2A): An accelerated sampling method for large molecular systems with explicit representation of solvent.

The recently developed “temperature intervals with global exchange of replicas” (TIGER2) accelerated sampling method is found to have inaccuracies when applied to systems with explicit solvation. This inaccuracy is due to the energy fluctuations of the solvent, which cause the sampling method to be less sensitive to the energy fluctuations of the solute. In the present work, the problem of the TIGER2 method is addressed in detail and a modification to the sampling method is introduced to correct this problem. The modified method is called “TIGER2 with solvent energy averaging,” or TIGER2A. This new method overcomes the sampling problem with the TIGER2 algorithm and is able to closely approximate Boltzmann-weighted sampling of molecular systems with explicit solvation. The difference in performance between the TIGER2 and TIGER2A methods is demonstrated by comparing them against analytical results for simple one-dimensional models, against replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) simulations for sampling the conformation of alanine dipeptide and the folding behavior of (AAQAA)3 peptide in aqueous solution, and by comparing their performance in sampling the behavior of hen egg–white lysozyme in aqueous solution. The new TIGER2A method solves the problem caused by solvent energy fluctuations in TIGER2 while maintaining the two important characteristics of TIGER2, i.e., (1) using multiple replicas sampled at different temperature levels to help systems efficiently escape from local potential energy minima and (2) enabling the number of replicas used for a simulation to be independent of the size of the molecular system, thus providing an accelerated sampling method that can be used to efficiently sample systems considered too large for the application of conventional temperature REMD.
New Developments in Gallium Nitride and the Impact on Power Electronics

Wide bandgap III-nitride semiconductor materials possess superior material properties as compared to silicon, GaAs and other III-V compound materials. Recent achievements in gallium nitride (GaN) technology for optoelectronics have resulted in ultra-bright blue light emitting diodes and lasers, ultraviolet emitters, and solar-blind optical detectors. In the electronic area, drastic improvement of microwave device performance has been achieved, yielding record high power densities of 20-30 W/mm. Novel applications of these materials in high-power electronics for switching, energy conversion and control are just emerging. This paper provides an overview of the state-of-the-art III-nitride wide bandgap technologies and it explores power electronic applications while illustrating the enormous potential that GaN based devices have for overcoming the major challenges of power electronics in the 21st century. The paper discusses the unique material and device properties of GaN-based semiconductors that make them promising for high-power, high-temperature applications. These include high electron mobility and saturation velocity, high sheet carrier concentration at heterojunction interfaces, high breakdown voltages, and low thermal impedance (when grown over SiC or bulk AIN substrates). The chemical inertness and radiation hardness of nitrides are other key properties. As applied to power electronics, the Ill-Nitride technology allows for high-power switching with sub-microsecond and nano-second switching times. The paper will present the innovations that further improve the performance of high-power DC-DC converters, switches and other building blocks. These include novel insulated gate HFET design that significantly expands the allowable input voltage amplitude, further increases the device peak currents, and most importantly, tremendously improves the large-signal stability and reliability. Insulated gate switching devices have been shown to operate at up to 300 degC with no noticeable parameter degradation. Novel monolithic integrated circuits of high-power switches and DC-DC converters and their performance parameters will be presented. The paper also discusses the major challenges associated with modern GaN technology and work in progress to overcome them
Radiofrequency ablation: effect of surrounding tissue composition on coagulation necrosis in a canine tumor model.

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of surrounding tissue type on coagulation necrosis from radiofrequency (RF) ablation in a homogeneous animal tumor model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty canine venereal sarcomas were implanted in three tissue sites (subcutaneous, kidney, and lung) in 13 mildly immunosuppressed dogs. Five of 25 tumors, which were 19 mm ± 3 (mean ± SD) in diameter, were allocated to each of five groups: (a) subcutaneous tumors, (b) kidney tumors, (c) lung tumors with blood flow, and (d) subcutaneous and (e) renal tumors without blood flow, which was achieved by sacrificing the animal to eliminate tumor perfusion. A sixth group comprised larger subcutaneous tumors (mean diameter, 46 mm ± 4) that were also treated. RF ablation was performed with a 1-cm tip and 5 minutes of ablation at 90°C ± 1. Impedance, temperature, and resultant coagulation diameter were recorded and compared. Data were analyzed statistically, including one-way analysis of variance to determine the effect of tissue conductiv...
A direct-reading arithmetic unit for nondestructive assay of nuclear materials

Abstract For nuclear assay applications involving the generic calibration function [( k 1 A - k 2 B )/ T ]− k 3 , a new method of evaluating this function directly by simple circuitry as the data are received is described, together with detailed results of a prototype unit constructed for use with the “enrichment meter” used in passive gamma assay.
Peak Experiences in Childhooda: An Exploratory Study

In the quarter century since Abraham Maslow's death in 1970, his concept of peak experience has remained important to personality theory and such applied fields as counseling, psychotherapy, and education. However, it is little known that Maslow became interested in the topic of childhood peak experiences at the end of his life. In this exploratory study, Maslow's biographer conducted oral and written interviews-phenomenologically based-with more than 250 adult men and women who could recall enduring "peak" episodes experienced before age 14. The results were supportive of Maslow's hypothesis that even young children are capable of peak moments of lasting impact. After presenting an overview of Maslow's general approach to peak experiences, a typology (with specific examples) is presented of nine distinct categories of childhood epiphanies, including uplifting experiences in places of scenic grandeur, near-death or crisis episodes, spontaneous moments of bliss, and unforgettable dreams. Directions for fut...
Explaining Abolition: Contradiction, Adaptation, and Challenge in Cuban Slave Society, 1860–1886

In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, as slavery was disappearing elsewhere in the New World, slave-based plantation production of sugar in Cuba reached remarkable heights of technological sophistication and output. In 1868 Cuba produced 720,250 metric tons of sugar, more than 40 percent of the cane sugar reaching the world market in that year. Yet just as production reached these levels, the abolition of slavery in Cuba was initiated, beginning a process of slave emancipation that was to last nearly twenty years. Yet just as production reached these levels, the abolition of slavery in Cuba was initiated, beginning a process of slave emancipation that was to last nearly twenty years. This concurrence of events raises the question, What was the relationship between slavery and the development of sugar production, and why did emancipation in Cuba take place when and as it did?
Precocial hindlimbs and altricial forelimbs: partitioning ontogenetic strategies in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)

Precocial development, in which juveniles are relatively mature at hatching or birth, is more common among vertebrates than altricial development, and is likely to be the basal condition. Altricial development characterizes many birds and mammals and is generally viewed as an alternate strategy, promoting fast growth rates, short developmental periods and relatively poor locomotor performance prior to attaining adult size. Many aquatic birds such as Anseriformes (ducks, geese and swans), Charadriformes (gulls and terns) and Gruiformes (rails) undergo distinctive developmental trajectories, in that hatchlings are able to run and swim the day they hatch, yet they do not begin to fly until fully grown. We hypothesized that there should be tradeoffs in apportioning bone and muscle mass to the hindlimb and forelimb that could account for these patterns in locomotor behavior within the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). Growth of the musculoskeletal system in the forelimbs and hindlimbs was measured and compared with maximal aquatic and terrestrial sprint speeds and aerial descent rates throughout the 2-month-long mallard ontogenetic period. At 30 days post hatching, when body mass is 50% of adult values, hindlimb muscle mass averages 90% and forelimb muscle mass averages 10% of adult values; similarly, bone growth (length and width) in the hindlimbs and forelimbs averages 90 and 60% of adult values, respectively. The attainment of mallard locomotor performance parallels the morphological maturation of forelimb and hindlimb morphometrics - hindlimb performance initiates just after hatching at a relatively high level (~50% adult values) and gradually improves throughout the first month of development, while forelimb performance is relatively non-existent at hatching (~10% adult values), experiencing delayed and dramatic improvement in function, and maturing at the time of fledging. This divergence in ontogenetic strategy between locomotor modules could allow developing Anseriformes to inhabit aquatic, predator-reduced refuges without relying on flight for juvenile escape. Furthermore, by freeing the forelimbs from locomotor demand early in ontogeny, Anseriformes may bypass the potential canalization (i.e. retention) of juvenile form present within their precocial hindlimbs, to dramatically depart in forelimb form and function in the adult.
Cutting Back After a Heart Attack: An Overview

Increasingly, health workers are concerned with the alteration of complex and deeply embedded behaviors; essential to these tasks is an understanding of the other's situation as he or she views it. This study took the perspective of the patient, inductively generating a conceptual formulation to explain and understand life after a heart attack. The basic problem of minimizing losses under conditions of uncertainty and unknown parameters of action is confronted. Resolution is achieved through "cutting back," which has three major stages: (1) immobiliza tion, characterized by explaining and estimating the damage; (2) resumption, in which patients frgure the complex calculus of the new situation to determine what they must cut back, what they should cut back, and what they will and will not cut back; and (3) new normal, when the major work is that of adjusting to the permanent changes wrought by the heart attack experience which affect identity. Exploratory diagnosis of complex health education problems thro...
Distributed power allocation in multi-user multi-channel cellular relay networks

In this paper, we consider the amplify-and-forward relaying transmission in the downlink of a multi-channel cellular network with one base station and multiple relay-destination pairs. Spatial reuse of the relaying slot by allowing simultaneous transmissions from the relays is adopted to avoid the spectral loss incurred by the half-duplex relays. The relays are modeled as rational agents engaging in a non-cooperative game. In order to maximize its individual rate, each relay node iteratively allocates its power across different subchannels based on local information, while treating the signals from the other users as additive noise. First, we propose a distributed algorithm based on best response that is applicable in any signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) regions. Then, by focusing on the low SINR region, we propose a modified iterative water-filling algorithm. The existence of Nash equilibrium (NE) is guaranteed and the sufficient condition to reach a NE iteratively is determined. Next, we consider medium to high SINR regions and propose a distributed algorithm based on the sub-optimal response, which can be shown to reduce to the classic Gaussian interference channel model, for which analytical sufficient conditions for the convergence to the unique NE can be readily obtained. Finally, we extend the analysis to a general network topology wherein the users having different channel conditions coexist. The results show that, in low SINR regions, the proposed modified iterative water-filling algorithm yields a higher average sum rate than two simplified algorithms, i.e., the equal power allocation scheme and the conventional time-division based protocol, while in medium to high SINR regions, the sub-optimal-response based algorithm outperforms these two simplified algorithms in terms of the average sum rate
Consumer's Value Judgments: How Business Travelers As Evaluate Luxury-hotel Services

The broad goal of this study was to learn about the service-evaluation process used by business executives who are luxury-hotel customers. The specific focus was on consumers' assessments based on what they value, rather than trying to measure customer satisfaction. Specifically, the study used a conjoint-analysis approach to investigate the trade-offs that luxury hotel customers from Singapore are willing to make between physical environment and personal service. The results suggest that, overall, the physical environment may play a prominent role in determining customers' value perceptions of luxury hotels, more so than highly personalized services (such as butler service and personal recognition by the hotel's employees). Moreover, when scenarios contrasted a luxury hotel's physical environment against its service components, business travelers rated pleasant, functional spaces significantly higher than elevated levels of personalized service. This indicates that a full range of marketing and organizat...
Enhanced Interaction Between Renovascular α2-Adrenoceptors and Angiotensin II Receptors in Genetic Hypertension

In spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), hypertension is mediated in part by an enhanced renovascular response to angiotensin (Ang) II. Pertussis toxin normalizes renovascular responses to Ang II and lowers blood pressure in SHR, suggesting a role for altered G i signaling in the enhanced renovascular response to Ang II in SHR. To further investigate this hypothesis, we measured reductions in renal blood flow and increases in renovascular resistance in response to intrarenal infusions of Ang II in the presence and absence of coactivation of α 2 -adrenoceptors (ie, receptors selectively coupled to G i ) with UK 14,304 in adrenalectomized, renal-denervated, captopril-pretreated SHR and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. In SHR, but not Wistar-Kyoto rats, UK 14,304 markedly enhanced renovascular responses to Ang II and vasopressin. However, UK 14,304 did not enhance renovascular responses to methoxamine (α 1 -adrenoceptor agonist) in either strain. In uninephrectomized, normotensive Sprague-Dawley animals and in Sprague-Dawley rats with nongenetic hypertension induced by uninephrectomy, chronic administration of deoxycorticosterone acetate, and 1% saline as drinking water, UK 14,304 had little or no effect on renovascular responses to Ang II. In SHR, intrarenal infusions of U73122, a phospholipase C/D inhibitor, blocked the enhancement of renovascular responses to Ang II by UK 14,304. We conclude that activation of α 2 -adrenoceptors selectively enhances renovascular responses to Ang II and vasopressin in vivo in animals with genetic hypertensive but not in normotensive animals or animals with acquired hypertension. These results suggest that in SHR, there is a genetically mediated enhanced cross talk between the G i signal transduction pathway and signal transduction pathways activated by Ang II and vasopressin, but not methoxamine, and involving phospholipase C and/or D.
Test–retest reliability of pulse amplitude tonometry measures of vascular endothelial function: Implications for clinical trial design:

Endothelial dysfunction is an important outcome for assessing vascular health in intervention studies. However, reliability of the standard non-invasive method (flow-mediated dilation) is a significant challenge for clinical applications and multicenter trials. We evaluated the repeatability of pulse amplitude tonometry (PAT) to measure change in pulse wave amplitude during reactive hyperemia (Itamar Medical Ltd, Caesarea, Israel). Twenty healthy adults completed two PAT tests (mean interval = 19.5 days) under standardized conditions. PAT-derived measures of endothelial function (reactive hyperemia index, RHI) and arterial stiffness (augmentation index, AI) showed strong repeatability (intra-class correlations = 0.74 and 0.83, respectively). To guide future research, we also analyzed sample size requirements for a range of effect sizes. A crossover design powered at 0.90 requires 28 participants to detect a 15% change in RHI. Our study is the first to show that PAT measurements are repeatable in adults over an interval greater than 1 week.
Dynamic null steering in an ultrawideband time-steered array antenna.

We develop a method for forming squint-free wideband nulls in the antenna pattern of an ultrawideband array antenna. The technique uses an optical dispersive-prism beam former to provide time-delayed microwave signals to each antenna element for forming a squint-free main beam. The amplitude-modulated optical carrier is propagated through a set of optical links. Each link feeds an array element and includes an amount of dispersion proportional to element position. Tuning the wavelength of the optical carrier controls the microwave signal’s arrival-time delay gradient across the array. A dispersive-prism tapped delay-line microwave filter is used to frequency shape a nulling signal. The wideband nulls do not significantly distort the main beam and are steered independently of the main beam. The technique is applied to sidelobe nulling for a transmitter and for jammer suppression for a receiver array.
Bottom influence on the estimation of chlorophyll concentration in water from remotely sensed data

Abstract Remote sensing algorithms that provide for the computation of chlorophyll concentration in surface waters are an important tool for the synoptic mapping of ocean optics and primary productivity. The remote sensing of chlorophyll concentration in Case 1 coastal waters ( waters whose optics are primarily controlled by biologic content) could present a problem due to the presence of the bottom itself and the possible contribution of bottom reflected light to the upwelling light stream ultimately ‘ seen’ by a remote sensor. The present work analyzes the impact on the estimation of chlorophyll concentration when a bottom is present. Multiple plots are used to exhibit and quantify the effects the presence of a bottom and bottom reflected light have on chlorophyll computation algorithms. Further, a new water type definition is proposed and threshold optical depths are calculated that provide values at which the presence of a benthic interface and bottom reflected light no longer contribute to the remote...
Recent Developments in Partially Observed Control

Recent robustness and reduction results for partially observed stochastic control problems by V. Benes, and by R. Rishel & K. Helmes will be reviewed and applications will be discussed. Specifically, it will be shown that for certain linear quadratic problems with non-Gaussian disturbances a separation principle holds and the optimal control will be derived. It turns out that for such problems only the solution of a Ricatti equation and a particular and natural martingale on the observations need to be computed.
Turbulence model developments at ICOMP

Some recent model developments at ICOMP, NASA Lewis Research Center are briefly described. The discussion covers a wilde range of models from Reynoldsstress algebraic equation models to Reynolds-stress transport equation models. Some validations and applications performed by ICOMP researchers are presented for each models described in this paper.
Surgical Lengthening of the Humerus: Case Report and Review

Summary This article reviews 12 cases of humeral lengthening accomplished by transverse midshaft osteotomy and gradual distraction by an external fixator attached to two half pins in the proximal and two half pins in the distal humeral fragments. Six cases were treated by second-stage (application plate, screws, and bone graft with removal of apparatus) and third-stage (removal of plate and screws) procedures. In the other six cases, the external apparatus was allowed to remain in place until the humerus united. There were few complications. There were no nonunions, delayed unions, malunions, or late fractures.
Epidemiology of Malnutrition in the Elderly

Weight loss among geriatric patients is not unusual. In fact, 30–50% of nursing-home residents have substandard body weight, substandard mid-arm muscle circumference, and low serum albumin levels [1] [8]. The incidence of weight loss has been reported to be 5–15% in the elderly community overall [9]. Morley and Kraenzle [10] found that among 156 nursing home residents, 15–21% had weight loss of 5 lbs. or more over 3–6 months.
Metacarpal Cortical Bone Area Predicts Tooth Loss in Men.

The relationship between bone mineral density and tooth loss in men is unclear. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to determine if relative metacarpal bone area (MCA) predicts tooth los...
Mosquitoes of field and forest: the scale of habitat segregation in a diverse mosquito assemblage

Knowledge of the distribution of arthropod vectors across a landscape is important in determining the risk for vector-borne disease. This has been well explored for ticks, but not for mosquitoes, despite their importance in the transmission of a variety of pathogens. This study examined the importance of habitat, habitat edges, and the scale at which mosquito abundance and diversity vary in a rural landscape by trapping along transects from grassland areas into forest patches. Significant patterns of vector diversity and distinct mosquito assemblages across habitats were found. The scale of individual species' responses to habitat edges was often dramatic, with several species rarely straying even 10 m from the edge. The present results suggest blood-seeking mosquito species are faithful to certain habitats, which has consequences for patterns of vector diversity and risk for pathogen transmission. This implies that analysts of risk for pathogen transmission and foci of control, and developers of land management strategies should assess habitat at a finer scale than previously considered.
Predictors of the Use of Specific Critical Care Therapies in Patients With Metastatic Cancer

OBJECTIVE Understanding which factors are associated with the use of critical care therapies (CCTs) can help with clinical decision-making and goals of care discussion. The goal of this study was to describe the predictors of CCT use (eg, mechanical ventilation, tracheostomy, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube, total parenteral nutrition, acute use of dialysis) in hospitalized patients with metastatic cancer. METHODS We used the 2010 California State Inpatient Databases sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to identify all hospitalizations with a diagnosis of metastatic cancer (patients aged ≥18 years). We examined the predictors of any CCT use (and invasive mechanical ventilation [IMV] use), stratified by do-not-resuscitate (DNR) status, using multivariable logistic regression models. RESULTS We identified 99,085 hospitalizations involving patients with metastatic cancer; 9.4% received any CCTs and 4.7% received IMV. Predictors of CCT use in the no-DNR group included principal diagnosis of infections (vs cancer-related), greater burden of comorbidities, and presence of weight loss. Predictors of CCT use in the DNR group were similar, but also included non-white races. Liver disease was also a predictor of IMV use in the no-DNR group. Patients with metastatic lung cancer (vs breast and genitourinary) with no DNR were more likely to receive CCT (and IMV). CONCLUSIONS Higher burden of comorbidities, weight loss, liver disease, lung cancer subtype, and diagnosis of infections were associated with higher odds of receiving CCTs or IMV. These findings may help clinicians determine in whom to prioritize discussions around goals of care, especially in the group without a DNR status.
Introducing a Third Dimension in Information Systems Design: The Case for Incentive Alignment

Prior research has generated considerable knowledge on information systems design from software engineering and user-acceptance perspectives. As organizational processes are increasingly embedded within information systems, one of the key considerations of many business processes — organizational incentives — should become an important dimension of any information systems design and evaluation, which we categorize as the third dimension: incentive alignment. Incentive issues have become important in many IS areas, including distributed decision support systems (DSS), knowledge management, and e-business supply chain coordination. In this paper we outline why incentives are important in each of these areas and specify requirements for designing incentive-aligned information systems. We identify and define important unresolved problems along the incentive-alignment dimension of information systems and present a research agenda to address them.
Ezrin activation by LOK phosphorylation involves a PIP2-dependent wedge mechanism

How cells specify morphologically distinct plasma membrane domains is poorly understood. Prior work has shown that restriction of microvilli to the apical aspect of epithelial cells requires the localized activation of the membrane-F-actin linking protein ezrin. Using an in vitro system, we now define a multi-step process whereby the kinase LOK specifically phosphorylates ezrin to activate it. Binding of PIP2 to ezrin induces a conformational change permitting the insertion of the LOK C-terminal domain to wedge apart the membrane and F-actin-binding domains of ezrin. The N-terminal LOK kinase domain can then access a site 40 residues distal from the consensus sequence that collectively direct phosphorylation of the appropriate threonine residue. We suggest that this elaborate mechanism ensures that ezrin is only phosphorylated at the plasma membrane, and with high specificity by the apically localized kinase LOK.
Relation of Intracranial Stenosis and Elevated Carotid Intimal Medial Thickness in Black Caribbean Ischemic Stroke Patients (P03.187)

OBJECTIVE: There is a significant relationship of increased mean MCA velocity and CIMT in CB with ischemic stroke. BACKGROUND: In Caribbean blacks (CBs) stroke population the rate of intracranial atherosclerosis has been found to be 12-fold higher than that of extracranial atherosclerosis. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a generalized marker of vascular disease. This study investigates the direct association of CIMT and intracranial stenosis in CB ischemic stroke population. DESIGN/METHODS: A pilot, retrospective study was performed to compare the clinical and radiological information of patients presenting with acute stroke symptoms in a community in July through March 2012. Increased mean MCA velocity of symptomatic patients (defined > 80cm/sec) was measured by transcranial doppler. CIMT (increased defined > 0.1cm) was measured on B-mode ultrasound. CIMT was measured blinded to MCA velocities. Univariate analysis by Chi-square (Fisher test) and multivariate analysis by binary logistic regression were performed with SPSS. RESULTS: Of 47 patients, 27 (57%) patients were diagnosed with anterior circulation stroke; mean age 65 years +/- 13.69 (range 28 - 88); 34% male. There was a significant association of increased MCA mean velocity and elevated CIMT [x2 = 3.939, p = 0.026]. Hypercholesterolemia was significantly associated with increased MCA velocity [x2 = 5.639, p = 0.026]. Factors associated with elevated CIMT were a history of hypercholesterolemia [x2 = 5.805, p = 0.012] and hypertension [x2 = 6.810, p = 0.043]. Logistic regression was performed on history of hypercholesterolemia and elevated CIMT with increased MCA mean velocity failed to reveal independent effects. CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary results suggest that increased MCA velocity is independent elevated CIMT, a biomarker for atherosclerosis, in anterior circulation ischemic stroke in CBs. History of hypercholesterolemia appears to be an important risk factor in atherosclerosis in CBs. This data suggests further prospective studies of MCA stenosis mechanisms in CBs are warranted. Disclosure: Dr. Law has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hao has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rojas-Soto has nothing to disclose. Dr. Yu has nothing to disclose. Dr. Baird has received personal compensation for activities as a speaker at the International Conference on Intracranial Atherosclerosis.
Determining the effectiveness of alternative seating systems for students with attention difficulties: A systematic review

ABSTRACTA student’s ability to attend in the classroom is an important factor in determining academic success. This systematic review examined the effects of an alternative seating system on improving attention in students with attention difficulties. Databases searched included CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO, OTSeeker, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. Articles were critically appraised using a format based on the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Evidence-Based Literature Review Project. The results of this review suggest that the use of alternative seating devices generally improves attention for students with attention difficulty.
Social Media: A “Reunion” of Angry (and Not So Angry) White Working-Class Men and Women

In this chapter, the reader gets to hear other voices from that time and place via comments from Social Media. No names or other identifying information are used, and all comments have been somewhat altered, combined, and summarized to guarantee anonymity. Some former City Line residents from my era seem to be angry (usually about the economy and those “others” who now occupy the streets where they grew up). Others, however, do not seem so angry. In fact, some seem to have positive memories of that time and place (another recent self-published book of 12 stories by Crockett (Hope Beyond All Hope: New York Stories. Vision Press, 2015) highlights some of the injuries I talk about, though in a humorous way). Some of the women are angry because that time and place did not allow them to become who they could have become professionally. Meanwhile, the reader will hear some former residents say they long for a time when the legendary John Gotti and other organized crime members lived in the area and kept the neighborhood “safe.” Explanations for these attitudes will be offered at the end of the chapter.
Axon Guidance: Building Pathways with Molecular Cues in Vertebrate Sensory Systems

In this article, we briefly review the axon guidance molecules that work in concert to orchestrate the pathfinding processes that lead to the formation of sensory systems. We focus on the visual and the olfactory systems, outline key axon guidance processes along the pathways from periphery to the brain, and summarize current understandings of molecular cues that regulate the guidance decisions at these major pathfinding steps. A general scheme is emerging: long-range chemoattractive molecules guide the overall direction of axon growth, while the major pathways are determined by a combination of attractive and repulsive cues that result in the formation of narrow permissive channels through which the axons can navigate. Within the target area, sensory neurons form topographic maps. These maps are guided first roughly by molecular gradients, and are then refined by neuronal activity dependent axon sorting.
An investigation into online videos as a source of safety hazard reports.

Abstract Introduction: Despite the advantages of video-based product reviews relative to text-based reviews in detecting possible safety hazard issues, video-based product reviews have received no attention in prior literature. This study focuses on online video-based product reviews as possible sources to detect safety hazards. Methods: We use two common text mining methods – sentiment and smoke words – to detect safety issues mentioned in videos on the world's most popular video sharing platform, YouTube. Results: 15,402 product review videos from YouTube were identified as containing either negative sentiment or smoke words, and were carefully manually viewed to verify whether hazards were indeed mentioned. 496 true safety issues (3.2%) were found. Out of 9,453 videos that contained smoke words, 322 (3.4%) mentioned safety issues, vs. only 174 (2.9%) of the 5,949 videos with negative sentiment words. Only 1% of randomly-selected videos mentioned safety hazards. Conclusions: Comparing the number of videos with true safety issues that contain sentiment words vs. smoke words in their title or description, we show that smoke words are a more accurate predictor of safety hazards in video-based product reviews than sentiment words. This research also discovers words that are indicative of true hazards versus false positives in online video-based product reviews. Practical applications: The smoke words lists and word sub-groups generated in this paper can be used by manufacturers and consumer product safety organizations to more efficiently identify product safety issues from online videos. This project also provides realistic baselines for resource estimates for future projects that aim to discover safety issues from online videos or reviews.
Volunteering in Your Community: Think Globally, Act Locally

Choose a community volunteer experience that best suits your desire to help individuals or organizations, your professional goals, and your current skills and knowledge. There are many potential benefits of volunteering in your community, including gaining cross-cultural skills, finding inspiration and personal satisfaction, learning about diverse groups of people, improving your medical skills and knowledge, helping decide about future goals or career plans. An individual in any stage of his or her career can find opportunities to volunteer. Opportunities for involvement range from small local organizations to established large national and international organizations.
The Contemporary Problem of Philosophy and Philosophy’s Career

As we have noted above, the first half of The Philosophy of Living Experience forms a lengthy and complex introduction to the remainder of the work. Our purpose in this chapter is to sketch out and explicate that introductory material so as to show how it guides the reader toward, and prepares him to accept, the critiques of Marx and Mach and the exposition of “the philosophy of living experience” which follows. The title of our chapter reflects its simple thesis. We submit that, in his brief initial essays and in the three chapters which follow them, Bogdanov established the criteria according to which “the philosophy of living experience” would be formulated. Inasmuch as the first half of the work is introductory to the chapters on Marx and Mach as well, we submit that these criteria were also intended to form the basis for Bogdanov’s criticism.
Logic as an Approach to Philosophy

Ever since Aristotle’s Organon, logic has been recognized as an independent field of investigation. It is not the widest domain even so, for that description belongs to the ontological domain. Ontology has its own categories, one of which is possibility, and logic may be described as a subdomain of the domain of possibility, the one characterized (as we shall see) by the property of indissoluble asymmetric connectedness.
Quasi-Distributed Temperature Sensing Using Type-II Fiber Bragg Gratings in Sapphire Optical Fiber to Temperatures up to 1300°C

A sapphire optical fiber, with an internal cladding and an array of type-II Bragg gratings inscribed into it, was tested to temperatures up to 1300°C. The sapphire fiber was interrogated with an optical frequency domain reflectometer, using the Bragg gratings in the fiber as simply “enhanced Rayleigh scatter.” The sapphire fiber was able to produce consistent temperature measurements up to 1300°C. Above 1000°C, small oscillations appeared in the measured temperature, which we believe were a consequence of vibrational strains on the fiber that were due to air currents within the furnace. A calibration was added to the optical frequency domain reflectometer that assumed a linear relationship between the fiber temperature and fiber length. We used this calibration to correlate phase shifts that were measured using the optical frequency domain reflectometer to temperatures that were measured using a B-type thermocouple. This calibration could be improved to increase the accuracy of the temperature measurements.
Performance Measures for Characterizing Regional Congestion using Aggregated Multi-Year Probe Vehicle Data:

Probe vehicle speed data has become an important data source for evaluating the congestion performance of highways and arterial roads. Pre-defined spatially located segments known as traffic messag...
Effects of ethanol, methyl tert-butyl ether and gasoline-hydrogen blend on performance parameters and HC emission at Wankel engine

This study focuses on determining the effects of gasoline, ethanol, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and a gasoline–hydrogen mixture (G98H2) on engine performance and hydrocarbon (HC) emission for a ...
Two-Dimensional Chemiresistive Covalent Organic Framework with High Intrinsic Conductivity

This paper describes the synthesis of a novel intrinsically conductive two-dimensional (2D) covalent organic framework (COF) through the aromatic annulation of 2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24-octa-aminophthalocyanine nickel(II) and pyrene-4,5,9,10-tetraone. The intrinsic bulk conductivity of the COF material (termed COF-DC-8) reached 2.51 × 10-3 S/m, and increased by 3 orders of magnitude with I2 doping. Electronic calculations revealed an anisotropic band structure, with the possibility for significant contribution from out-of-plane charge-transport to the intrinsic bulk conductivity. Upon integration into chemiresistive devices, this conductive COF showed excellent responses to various reducing and oxidizing gases, including NH3, H2S, NO, and NO2, with parts-per-billion (ppb) limits of detection (for NH3 = 70 ppb, for H2S = 204 ppb, for NO = 5 ppb, and for NO2 = 16 ppb based on 1.5 min exposure). Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies suggested that the chemiresistive response of the COF-DC-8 involves charge transfer interactions between the analyte and nickelphthalocyanine component of the framework.
Use of short message service for monitoring Zika-related behaviors in four Latin American countries: lessons learned from the field.

Background: Effective response to widespread epidemics relies in part on rapidly changing information from affected communities as individuals react to emergency response efforts. The short message service (SMS) approach was used to monitor knowledge, prevention, and behavior during an outbreak of Zika cases in Honduras, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala in 2017. SMS methods supported collection of monitoring data at a time of heightened reliance on communication via mobile phones, and when the use of phones for epidemic-related communication was amplified. SMS methods were used to collect monitoring data on knowledge of Zika risk and prevention, and behaviors to prevent Zika infection. Methods: Serial SMS surveys were conducted over a seven-month period to capture changing community perceptions of risk and behaviors to prevent Zika during the epidemic. This article discusses the development of the SMS surveys, from planning and designing tools to collecting the data, and the unique experiences encountered during survey implementation. Results: Special considerations for the effective use of SMS for data collection are described, including market penetration of mobile phones, predominant phone types in use, preparation of communities and the target audience, options for tailoring questionnaires to the available technology, relationships with telecommunication companies, and supporting participants’ ability to complete questionnaires. The article discusses issues related to the development of the questionnaires, context-specific challenges before and during implementation of the surveys, and creative strategies to overcome barriers. Lessons learned, and recommendations to increase opportunities for a successful SMS survey, are included. Conclusions: Understanding the social and economic context of mobile phone use in the target area and careful crafting of SMS questionnaires can produce useful data that may rival information captured through other approaches, such as Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) surveys. Despite the challenges experienced, there is room for more consistent and widespread use of SMS for data collection in Latin America.
Association Between Parental Educational Attainment and Youth Outcomes and Role of Race/Ethnicity.

Importance The concept of minorities’ diminished returns refers to the smaller protective effects of educational attainment for racial and ethnic minority groups compared with those for majority groups. Objective To explore racial and ethnic differences in the associations between parental educational attainment and youth outcomes among US adolescents. Design, Setting, and Participants A cross-sectional study was performed of 10 619 youth aged 12 to 17 years who were participants at wave 1 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study, a nationally representative survey, in 2013. Data analysis was performed from August to October 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures The dependent variables were youth tobacco dependence, aggression, school performance, psychological distress, and chronic medical conditions. The independent variable was parental educational attainment. Age and sex of the adolescents and marital status of the parents were the covariates. Race and ethnicity were the moderating variables. Logistic regression was used for data analysis. Results Among the participants, 5412 (51.0%) were aged 12 to 15 years, and 5207 (49.0%) were aged 16 to 17 years; 5480 (51.7%) were male. For non-Hispanic white youth, as parental educational attainment increased, there were stepwise reductions in the prevalence of tobacco dependence (13.2% vs 6.9% vs 2.7%), aggression (37.9% vs 34.8% vs 26.1%), low grade point average (84.2% vs 75.6% vs 53.3%), and chronic medical conditions (51.7% vs 50.8% vs 43.9%), but there was not such a trend for psychological distress (43.7% vs 48.6% vs 41.0%). Interactions were significant between Hispanic ethnicity and parental education on tobacco dependence (OR, 3.37 [95% CI, 2.00-5.69] for high school graduation; OR, 5.40 [95% CI, 2.52-11.56] for college graduation;P Conclusions and Relevance Although high parental educational attainment is associated with better outcomes for youth, this association is systemically less significant for Hispanic and black than non-Hispanic white youth. The result is an increased health risk in youth from middle class black and Hispanic families. Given the systemic pattern for outcomes across domains, the diminishing returns of parental educational attainment may be due to upstream social processes that hinder ethnic minority families from translating their capital and human resources into health outcomes.
Reconciling Physics and Biology

For his entire life, Einstein retained a steadfast commitment to determinism. He believed that there is an objective reality that can be observed and accurately measured. If there was sufficient understanding and measuring capacity, any of the apparent indeterminacies of quantum mechanics would eventually be shown to be deterministic (Landsman 2009). His contemporary, the brilliant astronomer, mathematician, and physicist, Arthur Eddington, supposed differently. He had concluded that beyond any conceivable measuring, there is both more and less to any physical object. He sensed that the actual natural state always remains hidden within indeterminate variables (Durham 2003). Certainly, quantum theory points toward indeterminism, as it is underpinned by Heisenberg Uncertainty (the exact position and the exact speed of an object cannot be known simultaneously) and the Born Rule (an essential law within quantum mechanics giving the probability that a measurement on a quantum system will yield a given result) (Landsman 2009). Based on these within any quantum system, the outcome of any event is probabilistic and uncertain. When the Nobel Prize winners, Prigogine and Monod, attempted to scale these principles to biological systems, they argued for indeterminism (Prigogine and Stengers 1997; Merlin 2015). It is proposed that when biology is properly considered in the context of informational ambiguity and cell–cell communication across levels, there can be a productive unification of biology and quantum physics.