cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measuring Beliefs about Suffering: Development of the Views of Suffering Scale

Efforts to measure religion have intensified, and many specific dimensions have been identified. However, although belief is a core dimension of all world religions, little attention has been given to assessment of religious beliefs. In particular, 1 essential set of religious beliefs, those concerning the reasons for human suffering, has remained virtually unexamined despite the potential clinical relevance of these beliefs. To fill the need for a measure of people's beliefs about suffering, we developed the Views of Suffering Scale (VOSS). Analyses identified factors related to traditional Christian teachings, unorthodox theistic beliefs, karma, and randomness. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability for VOSS subscale scores were good (αs and rs ≥ .70). Comparisons to measures of related constructs suggest that the VOSS scores demonstrate good convergent validity. One subscale score was modestly correlated with social desirability related to image management, and 7 were positively correlated to self-deceptive enhancement. These preliminary studies suggest that the VOSS differentiates religious perspectives on suffering among a sample of U.S. university students, though more research is needed to confirm its utility in diverse populations. The VOSS provides a valid way to measure individuals' beliefs about suffering, allowing for inquiry into the factors that lead to various beliefs about suffering and the roles of these beliefs in adjusting to stressful life events.
The Use of Play Expansions to Increase the Diversity and Complexity of Object Play in Young Children With Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to determine if an intervention consisting of contingently imitating play, modeling expansions of play actions, and describing play actions increased the diversity of object play in young children with disabilities. The multicomponent intervention was introduced in a multiple-probe design across three young children in their classrooms. Generalization probe sessions, using an untrained toy set, were conducted throughout baseline and intervention. Follow-up sessions were conducted approximately 1 month after completion of the intervention. All participants increased their performance of different actions and the complexity of their play with toys; however, the magnitude of effects varied across participants. In addition, all participants spoke more and used more different words at the end of intervention when compared to the end of baseline. Performance during generalization and maintenance assessments was variable. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Motivations, Barriers, and Behaviors Related to Obtaining and Discussing Family Health History: A Sex-Based Comparison Among Young Adults

Background: Genetic predisposition is a risk factor for many chronic diseases, yet little is known about the frequency in which college students seek out their family health history or with whom they communicate relevant information. Purpose: This study examines motivations and barriers associated with obtaining one’s family health history and discussing it with others. Methods: Data were analyzed from 625 college students using an internet-delivered questionnaire. Questions asked respondents about intentions and motivations to obtain and share family health history as well as barriers encountered in obtaining family health history. Responses were bifurcated by participants’ sex. Chi-squared and t statistics were used to identify response differences by sex. Results: Females were significantly more likely than males to be motivated to obtain their family health history, and more likely to have: shared their family health history with others; state they would share their family health history with others; and express a preference for sharing their family health history with a wider range of people. Discussion: Educational interventions and improved student health services could be effective mechanisms to increase college students’ knowledge, awareness, and perceived importance of obtaining their family health history.
What Is the Purpose of Research in Forensic Accounting

Hundreds of studies have been published in forensic accounting journals over the past 15 years on various topics using a variety of research methods. But the basic question has yet to be addressed – what is the purpose of research in forensic accounting? Forensic accounting and forensic accounting research do not exist in a vacuum. Ignoring the social context in which forensic accounting is situated leads to research that does not promote the purpose of forensic accounting research. To understand the purpose of research in forensic accounting, we need to understand forensic accounting as a social field. If the research methods used in forensic accounting research do not further the purpose of forensic accounting research then the usefulness of the research and its results are greatly diminished. We identify the purpose of forensic accounting research, and present conclusions and recommendations.
Understanding Ancient Interactions

Archaic State Interaction casts valuable new light on how extra-societal contacts may be implicated in processes of increasing social complexity. As the title makes clear, the contributors ground their discussions of interaction theory in the specific sequence of events dating to 3100-1000 BCE in that portion of the Mediterranean basin stretching from Italy to the Levantine Coast. Their goals, as stated clearly by Parkinson and Galaty in the introduction, are to consider how local social and economic changes, on the one hand, were related to: variations in the intensity of interactions occurring at differing spatial and temporal scales; changes in how, and by whom, such contacts were conducted; and, shifts in the routes these transactions followed. The result is less a consensus than a healthy, productive debate on these issues. The main points of contention concern: rates of socio-political change; how to translate patterns among static material remains into dynamic political and economic processes; whose interests drove and shaped the course of cross-border contacts; and what interpretive frameworks are best suited to modeling the latter interactions. With respect to the last point, a consistent theme running throughout the papers deals with the utility of world-systems theory (WST) in describing and understanding the developmental significance of inter-polity contacts.
Caregivers’ Concerns – Age-Group Issues on Workplace Violence

Abstract The issue of workplace violence (WPV) around the world can be characterized as workplace terrorism. The health care industry is the most important industry that manages, promotes and ensures wellness of its people. Therefore, issues concerning its caregivers should not be underemphasized. The whole world is fighting seriously to eliminate terrorism, so reduction and elimination of WPV in the healthcare industry should be a major concern to everyone. This study investigates the age group among long term care facilities’ nurses and Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)’s that have experienced WPV most during the performance of their duties. Eighty caregivers from three facilities in Greensboro, North Carolina participated in the study. Caregivers were grouped into four age-group categories. Group one was nurses and CNA's from the age of 18 – 25 years old, group two from 26 - 35, group three from 36 – 45, and group four from 46 and above. Thirty-two of the participants fall into age group four, 19 falls into age group three, 20 into age group two and 9 into age group one. Every participant has a minimum of seven years and maximum of ten years’ work experience in long-term facility. Participants were predominantly Black or African-American and Caucasian. Results revealed that 78% of the nurses and CNAs in group one have experienced WVP, followed by group three 70%, and group four 63%. A statically significant difference was found in the number of nurses and CNAs that falls in age group three and group one (t= 2.014, df = 45; p = 0.019) and (t=2.12; df = 16; p = 0.017) respectively. The findings from this study could help identify the age groups that are predominantly exposed to WPV and how WPV training should be designed differently for the age groups.
Operative treatment of femoral neck fractures in patients between the ages of fifteen and fifty years.

Background: There is a paucity of data on the treatment of femoral neck fractures in young patients. The purpose of the present study was to review the results and complications associated with the treatment of femoral neck fractures with internal fixation in a large consecutive series of young patients. Methods: Between 1975 and 2000, eighty-three femoral neck fractures in eighty-two consecutive patients who were between fifteen and fifty years old were treated with internal fixation at our institution. Two patients died, and eight were lost to follow-up. Seventy-three fractures were followed until union, until conversion to hip arthroplasty, or for a minimum of two years; the mean duration of follow-up was 6.6 years. Fifty-one of the seventy-three fractures were displaced, and twenty-two were nondisplaced. The results and complications of treatment were retrospectively reviewed, and the effects of fracture displacement, reduction quality, and capsular decompression on outcome were evaluated. Function was assessed by evaluating pain, walking capacity, and the need for gait aids. The mean duration of follow-up for the fifty-seven patients (fifty-eight fractures) who had not undergone early conversion to arthroplasty was 8.1 years. Results: Fifty-three (73%) of the seventy-three fractures healed after one operation and were associated with no evidence of osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Osteonecrosis developed in association with seventeen fractures (23%), and a nonunion developed in association with six (8%). Four of the six nonunions later healed after a secondary procedure. At the time of the final follow-up, thirteen patients had had a conversion to a total hip arthroplasty because of osteonecrosis (eleven), nonunion (one), or both (one). Five (9.8%) of the fifty-one displaced fractures were associated with the development of nonunion, and fourteen (27%) were associated with the development of osteonecrosis. Three (14%) of the twenty-two nondisplaced fractures were associated with the development of osteonecrosis, and one (4.5%) was associated with the development of nonunion. Eleven (24%) of the forty-six displaced fractures with a good to excellent reduction were associated with the development of osteonecrosis, and two (4%) were associated with the development of nonunion. Four of the five displaced fractures with a fair or poor reduction were associated with the development of osteonecrosis, nonunion, or both. Conclusions: The ten-year survival rate of the native femoral head free of conversion to total hip arthroplasty was 85%. Osteonecrosis was the main reason for conversion to total hip arthroplasty, but not all patients with osteonecrosis required further surgery. The results of treatment were influenced by fracture displacement and the quality of reduction. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic study, Level IV (case series [no, or historical, control group]). See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
The Generalized Jordan Canonical Form

(1970). The Generalized Jordan Canonical Form. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 77, No. 4, pp. 392-395.
Contribution toward a Monograph of the Scatopsidae (Diptera) Part Ii, the Genera Rhegmoclemina Enderlein, Parascatopse N. G., and a New Species of Rhegmoclema

In the course of this study three hitherto undescribed species were discovered in the material lent to me by the U.S. National Museum. These species from Florida, Mississippi and southern California form a natural group closely related to Rhegmoclema Enderlein considered in the preceding paper in this series (Cook, 1955) and Rhegmoclemina Enderlein discussed in the present paper. This group will be herein described as a new genus, Parascalopse. The close relationship of these three genera is evident from the following characteristics shared by the included species examined: 1. Maxillary palpi short and somewhat ovpid in form. 2. Vein Cu2 bearing at least a few macrosetae (one exception, R. abmptinervis (Duda)). 3. Vein Cu2 with two right angled bends along its course. 4. Some species in each genus with 12 antennal segments. 5. Pedicel of haltere without macrosetae. 6. Females with 8 pairs of abdominal spiracles. 7. Female terminalia with but a single pair of appendages (probably cerci) articulated to tergite 8 or fused to tergite 8; in the latter case tergite 8 longitudinally divided and the tergite and cerci simulating the cerci and appearing to articulate to segment 7 ( Rhegmoclema ).
Simulation of Rock Displacement in Tunnel Excavation Based on Probability Integrating Model

For the overlying-rock displacement caused by tunnel excavation, the traditional model can well predict the maximum deformation, but it can not study and analyze the rock sinking process.Through the stochastic process simulation for the overlying-rock displacement caused by tunnel excavation, the probability integrating model based on the stochastic medium theory is builtto simulate the rock displacementin the process of tunnel excavation,and the law of the layered transfer of the rock displacement in tunnel excavation is shown. Simultaneously, combining with the observation data of a pumped storage powerstation in Jiangsu,the parameters of the probability integrating model are estimated by the traditional model. The rock sinking process simulated here has a certain reference value to explain the rock displacement in the process of tunnel excavation.
Methylphosphate cap structure in small RNAs reduces the affinity of RNAs to La protein

La protein is an abundant 47-kDa phosphoprotein found mostly in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells with a small fraction present in the cytoplasm. Nascent RNA transcripts synthesized by RNA polymerase III are known to be associated with La protein. This binding has been shown to occur to the 3' end of RNA via RNA recognition motifs and to the 5' triphosphate via the Walker A motif of the La protein. In this study, we developed an in vitro immunoprecipitation assay to quantitate the 5' ppp-dependent binding of small RNAs to the human La protein. Using this assay, we found that oligonucleotides five bases or longer bind to the human La protein in a 5' ppp-dependent manner; pppG did not bind to La protein in this assay. In addition, CH 3 pppN cap structure present on the 5' ends of U6 and B2 small RNAs reduced the ability of these RNAs to bind the human La protein. These data show that Walker motif in the human La protein can bind to short RNAs containing 5' ppp and removal of 5' ppp from RNAs, or modification of 5' pppN to CH 3 pppN or m 7 GpppN, significantly reduces the ability of small RNAs to bind the human La protein. These data suggest that one of the functions of methylphosphate cap structure in U6 snRNA and B2 RNAs is possibly to reduce the affinity of these RNAs to La protein.
Playing ‘catch up’ with blended learning: performance impacts of augmenting classroom instruction with online learning

This study examines the efficacy of blended learning – an approach that combines in-class and online methods in a way that leverages the strengths of both – using a field experiment spanning 16 weeks. An information-processing model of learning suggests that learners will weigh the cost of information accessibility against its value in ways that will impact their interactions with the available information sources, which will consequently affect learning outcomes. Results of our study suggest that such an assessment did indeed occur and that it impacted learning performance. Specifically, our results support the idea that providing high-value content in both settings – the classroom rich, yet high cost and online efficient, yet low cost, enhances performance. The largest gains in performance were seen by those who used the blended learning system the most, with the lowest gains by those who did not use the system at all i.e. the control group.
Output and employment with wage and price speculation

This chapter considers the possibility that economic units have incomplete information regarding the spatial dispersion of wages and prices. Section 7.1 sketches an analytical framework, which produces such a spatial dispersion. Section 7.2 analyzes how incomplete information about this dispersion on the part of households generates speculative behavior in the determination of labor supply and consumption demand. Section 7.3 analyzes how such speculative household behavior affects the determination of output and employment. Section 7.4 considers speculative behavior on the part of firms. The framework of wage and price speculation In the basic model of chapter 1, changes in aggregate demand produced, say, by a change in the nominal money stock have no effect on either output, employment, the real wage rate, or the real values of other endogenous variables. This conclusion required two important assumptions. One of these assumptions was that exchange took place only under general-market-clearing conditions. The analysis in chapter 2 revealed how output and employment do depend on aggregate demand if exchange takes place when either wages or prices are not equal to their general-market-clearing values. The second important assumption of the basic model, which we have maintained until now, was that all economic units correctly perceive, pay, and receive the same wage rates and output prices. The purpose of the present chapter is to examine the implications of relaxing this second assumption. Specifically, we now assume that economic units have incomplete information regarding the relevant alternatives – that is, the wages and prices – which they face.
Coded Source Imaging for Neutrons and X-Rays

X-ray and neutron imaging techniques are powerful tools applied to a wide array of problems, like fuel cells imaging, residual stress analysis and detection of flaws in materials. These modern applications are increasingly demanding of high performing imaging devices. Coded source imaging (CSI) is a method applied both to X-ray and neutron imaging. It consists of a source composed of a pattern of many point-like sources. We present a description of the image formation process with coded sources, via encoding and decoding of data. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the CSI imager system is discussed, as well as its resolution and field-of-view. CSI is here presented in a formalism that allows a transposition to coded aperture imaging (CAI). The implications of the relationship of the two techniques in the design of a CSI system are addressed.
Detection of Terpene Compounds from Hops in American Lager Beer1

Analytical data for identification of three terpenoid compounds attributed to hops in American lager beer are presented. Glass capillary-column gas chromatography and computor analysis of mass spectrometric data were employed to facilitate identification of linalool, a-terpineol, and myrcene. Concentrations of each were estimated from gas chromatographic data, and this indicated that linalool should have the greatest influence of beer flavor since its concentration appeared to exceed that of its odor threshold of 6 ppb in water.
Thermal Stability of Enterotoxins in Food

Biological and serological properties of staphylococcal enterotoxins exhibit remarkable thermal stability. The slope of the thermal destruction curve (z value) for enterotoxin A or D is 27–28 C and it is 32 C for enterotoxin B regardless of the initial concentration of enterotoxin, the heating medium, or the assay system used to detect the enterotoxin. Thermal stability of enterotoxins is influenced by the nature of the food, pH, presence of NaCl, etc., and the type of enterotoxin; enterotoxin A is relatively more stable to heat at pH 6.0 (or higher) than at pH 4.5–5.5. Enterotoxin D is relatively more stable at pH 4.5–5.5 than at pH 6.0 or greater. Heat treatments commonly used in food processing, that is pasteurization (72 C for 15 sec) or ultrahigh temperature heating (290 F for 9 sec) in a “Spiratherm” Unit of Fluid whole milk, or smoking and heating of cured sausage to 70–100 C, or heating of Cheddar cheese to 70–90 C, are not effective for complete destruction (to levels below detection by the micro...
Low-Initial-Modulus Biodegradable Polyurethane Elastomers for Soft Tissue Regeneration

The mechanical match between synthetic scaffold and host tissue remains challenging in tissue regeneration. The elastic soft tissues exhibit low initial moduli with a J-shaped tensile curve. Suitable synthetic polymer scaffolds require low initial modulus and elasticity. To achieve these requirements, random copolymers poly(δ-valerolactone-co-e-caprolactone) (PVCL) and hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) were combined into a triblock copolymer, PVCL–PEG–PVCL, which was used as a soft segment to synthesize a family of biodegradable elastomeric polyurethanes (PU) with low initial moduli. The triblock copolymers were varied in chemical components, molecular weights, and hydrophilicities. The mechanical properties of polyurethanes in dry and wet states can be tuned by altering the molecular weights and hydrophilicities of the soft segments. Increasing the length of either PVCL or PEG in the soft segments reduced initial moduli of the polyurethane films and scaffolds in dry and wet states. The polymer film...
Myxoma Virus dsRNA Binding Protein M029 Inhibits the Type I IFN-Induced Antiviral State in a Highly Species-Specific Fashion.

Myxoma virus (MYXV) is Leporipoxvirus that possesses a specific rabbit‐restricted host tropism but exhibits a much broader cellular host range in cultured cells. MYXV is able to efficiently block all aspects of the type I interferon (IFN)‐induced antiviral state in rabbit cells, partially in human cells and very poorly in mouse cells. The mechanism(s) of this species‐specific inhibition of type I IFN‐induced antiviral state is not well understood. Here we demonstrate that MYXV encoded protein M029, a truncated relative of the vaccinia virus (VACV) E3 double‐stranded RNA (dsRNA) binding protein that inhibits protein kinase R (PKR), can also antagonize the type I IFN‐induced antiviral state in a highly species‐specific manner. In cells pre‐treated with type I IFN prior to infection, MYXV exploits M029 to overcome the induced antiviral state completely in rabbit cells, partially in human cells, but not at all in mouse cells. However, in cells pre‐infected with MYXV, IFN‐induced signaling is fully inhibited even in the absence of M029 in cells from all three species, suggesting that other MYXV protein(s) apart from M029 block IFN signaling in a speciesindependent manner. We also show that the antiviral state induced in rabbit, human or mouse cells by type I IFN can inhibit M029‐knockout MYXV even when PKR is genetically knocked‐out, suggesting that M029 targets other host proteins for this antiviral state inhibition. Thus, the MYXV dsRNA binding protein M029 not only antagonizes PKR from multiple species but also blocks the type I IFN antiviral state independently of PKR in a highly species‐specific fashion.
“Stay or Leave”: Predictors of Relationship Dissolution in Emerging Adulthood

Traditionally, studies of romantic relationship dissolution in emerging adulthood have only examined predictors of relationship dissolution within the next few months to a year. The present study e...
Institutional Review Boards

Publisher Summary Research involving human subjects, even if they may benefit directly from participation, is a different kind of enterprise from the routine practice of medicine. In research, physician/researchers' goals include not only the welfare of individual subjects, but also gathering of the scientific data for application in the future. Therefore, our society has granted a conditional privilege to perform research with human subjects; the condition is that the research must be scientifically sound and conducted in a manner that protects the rights and safeguards the welfare of the participants. The current U.S. system for protecting human research subjects, including the role of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), is undergoing serious evaluation. This chapter focuses on the development of U.S. federal regulations concerning research involving human subjects and the roles and responsibilities of IRBs. The IRB system is well developed but ever evolving. Successful evolution of the system depends on learning from the past, understanding current and future needs, and applying the knowledge to implement meaningful improvements. Researchers, research participants and institutions, and others, particularly the American people, who bear the burdens of research and to whom the benefits accrue, all have a stake in the process.
Structural biology of the DJ-1 superfamily

The DJ-1 (also called the DJ-1/PfpI, ThiJ/PfpI, or DJ-1/ThiJ/PfpI) superfamily is a structural and functional diverse group of proteins that are present in most organisms. Many of these proteins remain poorly characterized at the biochemical level, but include some known chaperones, proteases, and various stress response proteins that remain mechanistically mysterious. This chapter outlines what is known from a structural perspective about the cellular and biochemical functions of many of these proteins from distinct clades of the superfamily in several organisms. In humans, DJ-1 appears to function primarily as a redox-responsive protein that may act as a sensor for imbalances in cellular redox state. Because mutations in human DJ-1 cause certain types of heritable Parkinson’s disease, the role of oxidative posttranslational modifications and pathogenic mutations in human DJ-1 is emphasized in the latter sections of this chapter.
Design and fabrication of cascaded dichromate gelatin holographic filters for spectrum-splitting PV systems

The technique of designing, optimizing, and fabricating broadband volume transmission holograms using dichromate gelatin (DCG) is summarized for solar spectrum-splitting applications. The spectrum-splitting photovoltaic (PV) system uses a series of single-bandgap PV cells that have different spectral conversion efficiency properties to more fully utilize the solar spectrum. In such a system, one or more high-performance optical filters are usually required to split the solar spectrum and efficiently send them to the corresponding PV cells. An ideal spectral filter should have a rectangular shape with sharp transition wavelengths. A methodology of designing and modeling a transmission DCG hologram using coupled wave analysis for different PV bandgap combinations is described. To achieve a broad diffraction bandwidth and sharp cutoff wavelength, a cascaded structure of multiple thick holograms is described. A search algorithm is then developed to optimize both single- and two-layer cascaded holographic spectrum-splitting elements for the best bandgap combinations of two- and three-junction spectrum-splitting photovoltaic (SSPV) systems illuminated under the AM1.5 solar spectrum. The power conversion efficiencies of the optimized systems are found to be 42.56% and 48.41%, respectively, using the detailed balance method, and show an improvement compared with a tandem multijunction system. A fabrication method for cascaded DCG holographic filters is also described and used to prototype the optimized filter for the three-junction SSPV system.
Endoscopic Treatments of GERD.

Endoscopic therapies for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are minimally invasive techniques which fill the gap between the medical therapy with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and surgical fundoplication. The main endoscopic therapies currently available in the USA are transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF) using EsophyX device or less commonly, Medigus Ultrasonic Surgical Endostapler, and radiofrequency energy delivery to lower esophageal sphincter using Stretta device. Our aim was to examine the available evidence for these therapies. Consistent evidence for subjective improvement is available for fundoplication using EsophyX and Stretta, but improvement in objective parameters for GERD is not seen or evaluated in all the studies. There is a reduction in long-term efficacy seen with TIF and also to a lesser extent with Stretta. Endoscopic therapies do not replace surgical fundoplication and therefore are useful in patients with breakthrough symptoms on PPI such as regurgitation or those reluctant to take long-term PPI. An ideal patient is one who has symptoms and objective evidence of GERD such as abnormal pH study or erosive esophagitis without any significant anatomic distortion such as a hiatal hernia. Since these are endoluminal procedures, they do not address the hiatal hernia reduction or repair of crural defect. Adequate training in the technique and careful patient selection are essential prior to embarking on these procedures.
Ultraviolet-assisted cold poling of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 films

This paper discusses the advantages of a room-temperature poling procedure during exposure to ultraviolet light for Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) films. The results of these experiments include the following: for 1.7-µm-thick chemical solution-deposited PZT films, the saturation photocurrent density after a 10 min white light exposure (190–1900 nm) (no DC bias field applied) increased up to 0.066 µA/cm2 with increasing Cr thickness of top electrode in Cr/Pt bilayer electrodes. Furthermore, the d33,f piezoelectric coefficients for UV-poled samples were 40 and 20% higher than those achieved from field-only poling at either room temperature or 150 °C. Additionally, the development of an internal bias field and pinching were investigated in major and minor polarization–electric field loops. It was found that ultraviolet illumination during the poling process produced photoinduced charge carriers that became trapped by local defects and/or grain boundaries in the films.
Student learning and sense-making from video lectures

While ‘flipped’ classrooms have been heralded as a valuable tool for student learning, little is known about the process by which students learn from the out-of-class resources. This study investig...
From the Wave Equation to Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics

The multiscale models for complex chemical systems constitute a powerful computational tool to describe biomolecular structure and dynamics, including enzymatic reactions. Here, the development of this method is presented as a miraculous chain of events, involving astoundingly lucky encounters of brilliant minds such as Planck, Schrodinger, Pauling, Karplus, Levitt, and Warshel.
CAPACITANCE MATRIX METHODS - A BRIEF SURVEY

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the capacitance matrix methods (CMM). The CMM allow for the extension of the techniques to arbitrary bounded regions. The solution is obtained as a low rank modification of the solution on a rectangle in which the arbitrary region is imbedded. Extensive numerical experiments have been carried out on different computers ranging from CDC 7600 to DEC 10. The presentation is limited to problems with no discretization error; however, experiments with other smooth solutions and with solutions generated randomly show only minor differences in the rate of convergence.
Mathematical models for explaining the emergence of specialization in performing tasks: Research Articles

In an evolving community consisting of many individuals, it is often the case that the individuals tend, over time, to become more specialized in performing the tasks necessary for survival and growth of the community as a whole. The contribution in this work is a collection of linear and nonlinear mathematical models that provide insights as to when and why functional specialization emerges in general, rather than specific, settings. The results from these models, which are based on an evolutionary approach, apply to communities in which individuals allocate their time in the best interest of the community as a whole. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 10:37–48, 2004
"Red Flag" Evaluation Yield in Irritable Bowel Syndrome

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is based on clinical criteria. Further diagnostic testing is advised for certain "red flag" alarm or warning signs. AIM: This investigation was designed to examine the yield of testing for "red flags". METHODS: Consecutive patients who were prospectively evaluated and met the ROME III criteria for IBS were reviewed for "red flags" which included: 1) rectal bleeding, 2) iron-deficiency anemia (IDA), 3) weight loss, 4) family history of colon cancer, 5) fever, and 6) age of onset after age 50. The evaluations were reviewed for type of testing and findings. Subjects with nocturnal symptoms and fecal soiling, although not traditional warning signs, were also reviewed. RESULTS: There were 200 patients who met the IBS criteria; 139 (70%) had a "red flag" alarm symptom or sign. Diarrhea predominant-IBS (D-IBS) was seen in 105, constipation predominant-IBS (C-IBS) in 57, alternating, mixed, or pain predominant-IBS in 38. There were 30 men and 170 women. Testing was not often performed in this setting and, when done, the yield was low with few clinically significant diagnostic findings. CONCLUSION: There was a high prevalence of "red flag" symptoms or signs in the prospectively evaluated IBS cohort, but a low frequency of diagnostic testing directed at the investigation of these symptoms or signs. Further systematic study may show that the yield for testing in IBS is low even when "red flags" prompt diagnostic testing.
Decidual cells from women with preeclampsia exhibit inadequate decidualization and reduced sFlt1 suppression.

Abstract Uterine stromal cell decidualization of maternal tissue is essential for implantation of and local adaptation to the fetal allograft, as well as growth and maintenance of the placenta in healthy pregnancies. Maternal defects in decidualization have been suggested as a possible driver of preeclampsia. Preeclampsia (PE) pregnancies demonstrate shallow implantation, inadequate spiral artery remodeling, and elevated levels of the anti-angiogenic protein, sFlt1. To test whether stromal cells (DSCs) isolated from PE placentas exhibit inadequate re-decidualization and increased expression of sFlt1, DSCs from normotensive (NT-DSCs) and PE (PE-DSCs) placentas were treated for 8 days (D8) with cAMP to induce decidualization and levels of decidualization markers (PRL, IGFBP1, VEGF) and sFlt1 were measured at day 0 (D0), D8, and after reversal of treatment. NT-DSCs achieved statistically significant elevations in PRL and IFGBP1 expression (25.72 [5.78–50.04], p = 0.0008 and 92.09 [1.79–543.10], p = 0.005). PE-DSCs increased PRL and IFGBP1 expression to 6.15 [2.30–10.73] (p = 0.18) and 8.67 [1.64–376.10] (p = 0.04). NT-DSCs reduced sFlt1 expression at D8 to 0.25 [0.17–0.49] (p = 0.0021) compared to 0.31 [0.25–0.82] (p = 0.087) in PE-DSCs. These results show that, when induced to decidualize, PE-DSCs fail to increase expression of decidualization markers to levels achieved by NT-DSCs. sFlt1 expression is higher in PE-DSCs during decidualization, suggesting inadequate suppression during the crucial implantation period. These defects at the maternal fetal interface may lead to the failed spiral artery modification, decreased placental invasion of the uterus, and elevated circulating sFlt1 levels seen in PE pathology.
Cooperative H2 Activation across a Metal–Metal Multiple Bond and Hydrogenation Reactions Catalyzed by a Zr/Co Heterobimetallic Complex

In the quest for active and selective catalysts featuring nonprecious metals, bimetallic cooperativity poses a unique opportunity to promote catalytic reactions and influence selectivity. While exa...
Lead alters intracellular protein signaling and suppresses pro-inflammatory activation in TLR4 and IFNR-stimulated murine RAW 264.7 cells, in vitro

Lead (Pb) is a persistent environmental pollutant that has a structure and charge similar to many ions, such as calcium, that are essential for normal cellular function. Pb may compete with calcium for protein binding sites and inhibit signaling pathways within the cell affecting many organ systems including the immune system. The aim of the current study was to assess whether the calcium/calmodulin pathway is a principal target of environmentally relevant Pb during pro-inflammatory activation in a RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line. RAW 264.7 cells were cultured with 5 μM Pb(NO3)2, LPS, rIFNγ, or LPS+rIFNγ for 12, 24, or 48 hr. Intracellular protein signaling and multiple functional endpoints were investigated to determine Pb-mediated effects on macrophage function. Western blot analysis revealed that Pb initially modulated nuclear localization of NFκB p65 and cytoplasmic phosphorylation of CaMKIV accompanied by increased phosphorylation of STAT1β at 24 hr. Macrophage proliferation was significantly decreased at 12 hr in the presence of Pb, while nitric oxide (NO) was significantly reduced at 12 and 24 hr. Cells cultured with Pb for 12, 24, or 48 hr exhibited altered cytokine levels after specific stimuli activation. Our findings are in agreement with previous reports suggesting that macrophage pro-inflammatory responses are significantly modulated by Pb. Further, Pb-induced phosphorylation of CaMKIV (pCaMKIV), observed in the present study, may be a contributing factor in metal-induced autophagy noted in our previous study with this same cell line.
Exploring Parent Use of Early STEM Media to Inform Design for Children

This paper explores how parents identify and use science and math media to engage their preschool children in informal science and math learning. Through an interview study, we examine parental beliefs about media's role in their preschool-aged children's science and math learning. We report how parents approach finding and incorporating different forms of media into their child's informal learning and conclude with a discussion of design implications for creating educational media for preschool-aged children.
“I Don’t Want My Child to Get Vaccines”

In this chapter, we explore a case involving vaccine refusal. The case emphasizes the struggle between individual autonomy in medical decision-making and the protection of public health. At the conclusion of the case discussion, learners will be able to apply the best interest standard and harm principle for surrogate decision-making; analyze the relationships between medicine, ethics, law, and culture; and describe the healthcare practitioner’s legal and ethical responsibilities when patients and families decline to follow medical advice.
Ideology and the Retreat From Personhood

AbstractIn this paper I make two primary arguments. First, I argue that what makes totalitarian regimes distinctive and leads to their hyper-repressive atmosphere is ideology. Such regimes are tota...
Impact of age on outcomes following endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis

Background Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common condition that affects people of all ages and negatively impacts quality of life. The goal of this study was to identify differences in outcomes by age following endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) for CRS utilizing 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) scores. Methods Data from 1252 adult CRS patients electing to undergo ESS (2007-2018) were collected retrospectively. The median age of 50 years was used to divide the data into 2 groups for comparison of the impact of age on SNOT-22 scores at 0, 3, and 6 months after surgery. Changes in SNOT-22 scores were analyzed using a mixed models analysis. Results After adjusting for gender, race, polyp status, and number of prior ESSs, patients younger than 50 years had a higher mean pre-ESS SNOT-22 score (44.0) compared to those of at least 50 years of age (38.9). Among patients younger than 50 years, SNOT-22 scores declined by 20.7 points at 3 months post-ESS and 16.1 points at 6 months post-ESS. The rate of change between the dichotomized age groups was not significantly different at 3 and 6 months post-ESS (p = 0.7952 and p = 0.1057, respectively). Conclusion Both age groups showed significant and durable improvement in SNOT-22 scores after ESS. Patients younger than 50 years of age have higher pre-ESS SNOT-22 scores, but converge to the same SNOT-22 scores by 3 months post-ESS. The rate of change of SNOT-22 scores is not different between those younger than 50 years and those of at least 50 years.
Case 1: Sudden Bilateral Lower Extremity Weakness and Urinary Incontinence in a 13-year-old Girl.

1. Raymond Cai, MD* 2. Vikram Bhise, MD† 1. *Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 2. †Department Neurology and Pediatrics, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ I spent a week with medical students and family medicine residents in northeast Africa earlier this year. There, bright, clinically astute trainees at a major university use Pediatrics in Review as a core foundation of their pediatric curriculum. Wherever you are in the world this month, may these Index of Suspicion cases help you advance your knowledge and practice of pediatrics. Philip R. Fischer, MD Associate Editor, Index of Suspicion A 13-year-old girl presented to the emergency department with acute onset of lower extremity weakness. She first awoke with dizziness but soon developed severe back pain, bilateral lower extremity pain and numbness, slurred speech, and inability to move her lower extremities or ambulate. She reports having a 2-day history of headaches and back pain. Due to worsening of her symptoms, she went to an urgent care center the previous day. A rapid viral test showed she was influenza positive, and she took 2 doses of oseltamivir before admission. The patient had an upper respiratory tract infection approximately 2 to 3 weeks ago. In the emergency department, the patient is unable to void spontaneously despite being able to at home, and a urinary catheter is placed. On physical examination her vital signs are as follows: temperature, 98.6°F (37.0°C); heart rate, 77 beats/min; respiratory rate, 20 breaths/min; and blood pressure, 119/74 mm Hg. Her BMI was within the 75th to 85th percentile. Her lower extremities bilaterally had 1/5 strength, diminished sensation to pinprick and temperature, and 0/5 patellar reflexes. She also had a 0/5 right Achilles reflex but a 1/5 …
Glycosylation of natriuretic peptides in obese heart failure: mechanistic insights.

Natriuretic peptides (NPs) are cardiac derived hormones that are secreted in response to increased wall stress, stretching of the myocardium, volume overload, and angiotensin II stimulation. The principal circulating NPs, atrial and B-type NP (ANP and BNP respectively) are released as precursor molecules (proANP and proBNP) which are processed to active components ANP and BNP, and inactive amino-terminal fragments NT-proANP and NT-proBNP (1).
On Rhodes’s failure to appreciate the connections between common morality theory and professional biomedical ethics

Two positions that Rosamund Rhodes puts forward are the proper starting point for this commentary: 1. Medical ethics based on the common morality that uses a body of abstract principles or rules are not ‘an adequate and appropriate guide for physicians’ actions’. 2. We need, but do not have, a true professional medical ethics for physicians, which must be ‘distinctly different’ from ethics based on common morality. I will argue that both positions are mistaken. Rhodes does not analyse what she means by a professional ‘medical ethics’ and does not supply content for what she calls ‘medical professionalism’. ‘Common morality‘ is also not given a precise meaning. However, I set aside these problems of conceptual clarity and concentrate on a paradigm case of professional ethics for physicians (and others) in interactions with patients. My example is The Belmont Report. Belmont is almost certainly a document that, in the USA, has for four decades been highly influential on physicians, especially physicians engaged in clinical research. It is not merely research ethics. In full satisfaction of the American Board of Medical Specialties’ ‘definition of medical professionalism’, The Belmont Report puts forward a system of ethical principles showing that physicians and other health professionals must conduct research in the service of the public interest and the well-being of patient–subjects. The Belmont Report also satisfies the earlier delineated conditions of medical professionalism in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s ‘Physician Charter’, which are stated in terms of the ‘fundamental principles’ of the primacy of patient welfare, patient autonomy and social justice.1 ,1–3 Belmont more than satisfies these conditions of medical professionalism. Indeed Belmont may well be the source of the principles …
How Effectively Train Large-Scale Machine Learning Models?

The stochastic gradient method (SGM) is widely used as an optimization tool in many machine learning applications including support vector machines (SVM)s, logistic regression, graphical models and deep learning. SGM computes the estimates of the gradient from a single randomly chosen sample in each iteration. Therefore, applying a stochastic gradient method for large-scale machine learning problems can be computationally efficient. In this work, we focus on generating generalization bounds for a randomized algorithm such as Random Fourier features learned with stochastic gradient descent algorithm. Our findings are based on a mutual relationship between the generalization error of an algorithm and its stability properties. The stability of an algorithm is measured by the generalization error regarding the absolute difference between the testing and the training error. Overall, an algorithm is called stable if by changing any single training data point the training error varies slightly. In this work, we measured the stability of stochastic gradient method (SGM) for learning an approximated Fourier primal support vector machine. In particular, under certain regularity assumptions, we showed that a randomized algorithm such as Random Fourier feature where is trained by a stochastic gradient method (SGM) with few iterations has vanishing generalization error. Therefore, the iterative optimization algorithm can stop long before its convergence to reduce computational cost. We empirically verified the theoretical findings for different parameters using several data sets.
Mont Pèlerin 1947

This paper is the first draft of the first substantive chapter of volume 2 of my biography with Hansjoerg Klausinger of F. A. Hayek. It looks at the first meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society.
(3) Day-Night Activity Rhythms in Children Admitted to the Pediatric ICU for Non-Surgical Diagnoses

Background: Sleep is an important part of healthy brain development in children. Sleep disturbances in critically ill children may increase the risk of delirium and impact their short and long-term recovery. Data on sleep-wake patterns in children with medical diagnoses are limited. Actigraphy can provide a continuous, long-term and quantitative method of monitoring activity levels and …