cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
THE POWER OF PERFORMANCE IN DEVELOPING PROBLEM SOLVING AND SELF ASSESSMENT ABILITIES

ABSTRACT Students of Alverno College develop problem solving as one of eight abilities they are required to demonstrate in order to graduate. They must also demonstrate self assessment ability as an important part and over‐riding outcome of their educational process. In ongoing studies, the research staff of the college found that students show increasing sophistication in their performance of these abilities and identify them as significant aspects of their education. Faculty contribute to their own developing educational theory and practice by analysing student performance and judging it by criteria they have articulated to describe expert performance. In requiring students to integrate self assessment into their problem solving process, faculty have found that students show increasing understanding of inter‐relationships of ability, content, and context. Students take responsibility for their learning as a dynamic, continuing process. They gradually internalise their practice of both problem solving an...
Comments on “linear systems revisited

Conley (1985) uses a modified Monte Carlo method to solve sys tems of simultaneous linear algebraic equations and linear pro gramming problems. We have used Conley's two sample prob lems to compare his proposed method with the classical methods of Gauss-Jordan elimination and the revised simplex algorithm. The classical methods are about three orders of magnitude faster; therefore, Conley's proposed method does not warrant serious consideration as a viable solution procedure.
Limited bandwidth recognition of collective behaviors in bio-inspired swarms

Models of swarming and modes of controlling them are numerous; however, to date swarm researchers have mostly ignored a fundamental problem that impedes scalable human interaction with large bio-inspired robot swarms, namely, how do you know what the swarm is doing if you can't observe every agent in the collective? We examine swarm models that exhibit multiple collective motion patterns from the same parameters. These multiple emergent behaviors provide increased expressivity, but at the cost of uncertainty about the swarm's actual behavior. Because bandwidth and time constraints limit the number of agents that can be observed in a swarm, it is desirable to be able to recognize and monitor the collective behavior of a swarm through limited samples from a small subset of agents. We present a novel framework for classifying the collective behavior of a bio-inspired robot swarm using locally-based approximations of a swarm's global features. We apply this framework to two bio-inspired models of swarming that exhibit a flock and torus behavior and a swarm, torus, and flock behavior, respectively. We present both a formal metric of expressivity and a classifier that leverages local agent-level features to accurately recognize these collective swarm behaviors while sampling from only a small number of agents.
Learning Storytelling: Storytelling to Learn Management Skills

Storytelling is much more than an effective method to teach students to use management concepts to make sense of real life experiences. Practice in storytelling builds students' "performance" and "learning" skills. In addition, story skill training may enhance management performance. The article includes practical advice on teaching storytelling skills, as well as on story writing and story interpretation skills. With practice, students do improve their performance as storytellers and enhance their chances for scripting a healthier, happier, and more terrific story for their work lives.
Contrast imaging with chirped excitation

Coded excitation has been successfully used in imaging to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and penetration depth. With a contrast agent, wideband signals have been hypothesized to increase the contrast-to-tissue ratio (CTR). However, nonlinear properties of contrast agents make decoding difficult when applying coded excitation to contrast imaging. We propose two chirped excitation methods to image contrast agents, with a mechanical index (MI) ranging from 0.05 to 0.34. In the single chirp method, one chirp is transmitted, followed by a clutter filter to reject tissue echoes, then a matched filter is used to recover range resolution. In the chirp sequence method, an increasing and decreasing chirp sequence is transmitted followed by subtraction of the compressed echoes to reject tissue echoes (assuming tissue is a linear scatterer at low MI). Ten independent acoustic experiments were performed to evaluate the CTR for chirp and tone burst insonation, with the same spatial peak temporal averaged intensity (ISPTA)A significant increase in CTR, ranging from 4 dB to 8 dB, is observed for chirped excitation as compared with tone burst insonation, at an ISPTA of 0.1 and 0.3 mW/cm2 (P les 5e-3). To achieve the same CTR of 15 dB, the spatial peak pulse averaged intensity (ISPPA) can be decreased by 6 dB for chirp insonation as compared with tone burst insonation (P < 1e-5). Additionally, an increase of more than 10 dB in tissue rejection ratio (TRR) is observed for a chirp sequence insonation compared to tone burst phase inversion for this set of parameters (P les 1e-9). Deconvolution of the linear microbubble response from the received echoes is proposed as a method to recover spatial resolution. The difference in the axial resolution resulting from chirp and three-cycle tone burst insonation is approximately 220 mum. The difference in the mainlobe width between experimental and predicted compressed echoes is less than 20%. The side-lobe amplitude is 9 dB to 16 dB below the mainlobe with a transmitted ISPTA from 0.1 to 6.6 mW/cm2
A novel mouse desmosomal cadherin family member, desmoglein 1γ

The mouse desmogleins are members of the desmosomal cadherin superfamily, and are critical structural components of the desmosome. The genes encoding mouse desmogleins are tightly clustered within 600 kb of chromosome 18, within a desmosomal cadherin gene family also containing the three desmocollin genes. In this study, we have characterized a novel mouse desmoglein gene, highly homologous to both mouse and human Dsg1, designated desmoglein 1 gamma (Dsg1c). Dsg1 gamma shares 83% amino acid identity to the previously described mouse Dsg1, now designated as Dsg1 alpha, and 32% and 40% identity to mouse Dsg2 and 3, respectively. The Dsg1 gamma gene maps within the desmosomal gene cluster, between Dsc1 and Dsg1 alpha. Comparison of its exon-intron structure revealed a high level of evolutionary conservation with related family members. In contrast to Dsg1 alpha and Dsg3 whose expression is largely restricted to the skin, Dsg1 gamma is also expressed in the brain, skeletal muscle, and liver, among other tissues, and is thus more similar to Dsg2 in its tissue distribution. Interestingly, an orthologous Dsg1 gamma was not found in the human genome, suggesting that the desmosomal cadherin gene cluster contracted during mammalian evolution.
Molecular Evolution Using Intramolecular Acyl Migration on myo‐Inositol Benzoates with Thermodynamic and Kinetic Selectors

A molecular evolution model was successfully demonstrated by com- bining the intramolecular acyl migra- tion on inositol tribenzoates and boron selectors. The addition of boric acid to 12 members of DCL (dynamic combi- natorial library) induced the dramatic amplification of myo-I(2,4,6)Bz3 (1) with up to 94 % under thermodynamic (see Figure 1c) control while a portion of phenyl boronic acid caused two sig- nificant different distributions: under kinetic control, the pre-equilibrium of DCL shifted to induce the exclusive amplification of 1,4,6-tribenzoyl myo- inositol (7) with decrease of other members up to 82 % from the mixture (see Figure 2 b), and changed gradually to form 2,4,6-tribenzoyl myo-inositol (1) with up to 96 % under thermody- namic control (Figure 2 c).
Factors Associated With Attendance at a First Appointment After Discharge From a Psychiatric Hospital

A retrospective review of medical records of 158 patients who were discharged from a university-affiliated psychiatric hospital in the Midwest found that 29 patients (18 percent) did not attend their scheduled follow-up appointment. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that patients who were white, who lived in an urban county, and whose scheduled appointment was within two weeks of discharge were significantly more likely to attend their follow-up appointment. The study showed that patients who have an elevated risk of missing their follow-up appointment after hospital discharge can be prospectively identified. This information can be used to develop strategies for improving the likelihood that at-risk patients will receive follow-up care.
1-Stage Repair of Obliterative Distal Urethral Strictures With Buccal Graft Urethral Plate Reconstruction and Simultaneous Onlay Penile Skin Flap

Purpose: When penile skin is available, onlay flap reconstruction is an excellent choice for 1-stage repair of complex hypospadias and strictures involving the glans, fossa navicularis and penile urethra. When the urethra is deficient circumferentially, tube flaps are an option but there is a high failure rate. We report our 8-year experience with 1-stage reconstruction using a dorsal buccal mucosa graft to reconstruct the deficient urethral plate with repair completed using an onlay penile skin flap.Materials and Methods: A total of 12 patients with a mean age of 42.8 years (range 16 to 77) underwent dorsal buccal grafting with ventral skin flap repair. Buccal mucosa was quilted to the penile ventral corpora to reconstruct the dorsal urethral aspect. Most surgeries included buccal graft reconstruction of the glans and fossa navicularis. Onlay penile skin flap repair was then performed to complete the reconstruction.Results: All 12 patients were free of disabling chordee or urethral stricture disease at a...
Cloning of canine galactokinase (GALK1) and evaluation as a candidate gene for hereditary cataracts in Labrador retrievers

We identified a pedigree of Labrador retrievers (LR) that develop hereditary cataracts between 6 and 18 months of age. In humans, galactokinase deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by juvenile onset of cataracts.1 In order to evaluate GALK1 as a candidate gene, we cloned and sequenced the canine GALK1 gene and tested a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the gene for segregation with cataracts in the LR pedigree.
Network aware time management and event distribution

In this paper we discuss new synchronization algorithms for Parallel and Distributed Discrete Event Simulations (PDES) which exploit the capabilities and behavior of the underlying communications network. Previous work in this areas has assumed the network to be a Black Box which provides a one-to-one, reliable and in-order message passing paradigm. In our work, we utilize the Broadcast capability of the ubiquitous Ethernet for synchronization computations, and both unreliable and reliable protocols for message passing, to achieve more efficient communications between the participating systems.We describe two new algorithms for computation of a distributed snapshot of global reduction operations on monotonically increasing values. The algorithms require O(N) messages (where N is the number of systems participating in the snapshot) in the normal case. We specifically target the use of this algorithm for distributed discrete event simulations to determine a global lower bound on time-stamp (LBTS), but expect the algorithm has applicability outside the simulation community.
Molecular Targeting of Acid Ceramidase: Implications to Cancer Therapy

Increasingly recognized as bioactive molecules, sphingolipids have been studied in a variety of disease models. The impact of sphingolipids on cancer research facilitated the entry of sphingolipid analogues and enzyme modulators into clinical trials. Owing to its ability to regulate two bioactive sphingolipids, ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate, acid ceramidase (AC) emerges as an attractive target for drug development within the sphingolipid metabolic pathway. Indeed, there is extensive evidence supporting a pivotal role for AC in lipid metabolism and cancer biology. In this article, we review the current knowledge of the biochemical properties of AC, its relevance to tumor promotion, and its molecular targeting approaches.
Embedding Perceptual Metrics in Rate Control Algorithms

In this paper, we describe a perceptually-motivated rate control algorithm for variable bit rate (VBR) speech coding. Unlike the existing rate selection strategies that are based on statistical metrics, the proposed method employs a perceptual loudness (PL) measure. The VBR speech standard TIA IS-127 enhanced variable rate codec (EVRC) has been chosen as the test-bed for evaluating the performance of the PL-based rate selection strategy relative to three other existing methods. In particular, the comparative study includes the following rate determination algorithms: voice activity detection, speech frame energy-thresholding, and phonetic segmentation. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed PL-based RDA compares well against other rate selection techniques in terms of average bitrate and speech quality
Small-Bowel Imaging: Pitfalls in Computed Tomography Enterography/Enteroclysis

Computed tomography enterography (CTEG) is a focused CT scan examination of the small intestine that combines the advantages of isotropic, thin-section multiplanar CT; the large volumes of neutral-density oral contrast; and rapid administration of intravenous contrast. Oral contrast agents such as 0.1% barium, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and methylcellulose contain additives that inhibit fluid reabsorption and allow maximal bowel distention. Intravenous contrast is injected at the “enteric phase” (about 45 s) to provide maximum wall enhancement against the neutral-density lumen (0–30 HU) [1]. Pharmacological manipulation to interrupt small-bowel spasm and encourage gastric emptying is commonly used, including glucagon and metoclopramide, respectively. The indications for CTEG include Crohn’s disease and other enteritides, obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB), detection of intestinal masses, and sprue. A prospective blinded comparison of CTEG with wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) using clinical consensus as the gold-standard found similar sensitivities (82 vs. 83%) for active small-bowel Crohn’s disease, but CTEG was far more specific than WCE (89 vs. 53%).
Health communication research in the digital age: A systematic review

There has been an increased interest in the use of information technology for health and health care delivery. This systematic review examines patterns and trends of research pertaining to the intersection between technology and health communication, determines where gaps exist within the current body of literature, and provides future directions for researchers and practitioners. Drawn from three major databases, a sample of peer-reviewed journal articles (n = 348) published from 2008 to 2012 was coded in terms of research focus, health concern, technology, research method, and research agenda development. The most investigated subject in the literature was online health information, including search, dissemination, and evaluation, followed by telemedicine/electronic medical records, social support, provider–patient relationship, and health intervention. Health literacy, technology access, public health emergency preparedness/response, and health policy advocacy were examined less often. The most studied...
An Innovative Approach to Legal Education and the Founding of the University of California, Irvine School of Law

Can American legal education be reformed? Since the inception of the modern, American law school in the late nineteenth century, analysts have claimed that there is a "crisis" in legal education and called for reform. Indeed, one might argue that "crisis" and "reform" have themselves been institutionalized in American legal education.Housed in large, research-oriented universities, the fundamental tension in elite legal education, like the tension in all professional education, revolves around the theory-practice conundrum: while the vast majority of students come to learn the practice of law, faculty are committed to thinking and writing about law’s meaning and role in society. The institutionalization of a full-time, academic professoriate further contributes to the second-class status of practice.Against this backdrop, in 2010, the School of Law at the University of California, Irvine admitted its inaugural class of students. With the leadership of Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, the founding faculty have developed an innovative curriculum for this and all subsequent cohorts. The School’s website explains, "[u]nlike most law schools, we will infuse each of a law student’s three years with hands-on experiential learning. Our students will learn by doing, performing the tasks of lawyers under the close supervision of some of the best professors in the country". At UCI School of Law, the goals are (1) to balance the teaching of theory and practice and (2) to be ranked among the top law schools in the United States.Despite the fact that the Law School begins with a clean slate, it nonetheless faces institutional pressures to conform to the taken-for-granted emphases of American legal education; these institutional pressures toward conformity include, for example, the dominant markers of prestige among elite law schools, the practical demands of accreditation, the mechanisms of social control posed by national reporting on rankings as well as the budgetary constraints posed by the allocation of resources and personnel. In this paper we describe the School of Law’s innovative game plan for legal education in the context of broader developments in American legal education and speculate on the question, what are the chances for success?
Evidence for nonuniform permafrost degradation after fire in boreal landscapes

Fire can be a significant driver of permafrost change in boreal landscapes, altering the availability of soil carbon and nutrients that have important implications for future climate and ecological succession. However, not all landscapes are equally susceptible to fire-induced change. As fire frequency is expected to increase in the high latitudes, methods to understand the vulnerability and resilience of different landscapes to permafrost degradation are needed. We present a combination of multiscale remote sensing, geophysical, and field observations that reveal details of both near-surface ( 1 m) impacts of fire on permafrost. Along 11 transects that span burned-unburned boundaries in different landscape settings within interior Alaska, subsurface electrical resistivity and nuclear magnetic resonance data indicate locations where permafrost appears to be resilient to disturbance from fire, areas where warm permafrost conditions exist that may be most vulnerable to future change, and also areas where permafrost has thawed. High-resolution geophysical data corroborate remote sensing interpretations of near-surface permafrost and also add new high-fidelity details of spatial heterogeneity that extend from the shallow subsurface to depths of about 10 m. Results show that postfire impacts on permafrost can be variable and depend on multiple factors such as fire severity, soil texture, soil moisture, and time since fire.
Parahydrogen induced polarization of 1-(13)C-phospholactate-d(2) for biomedical imaging with >30,000,000-fold NMR signal enhancement in water.

The synthetic protocol for preparation of 1-13C-phosphoenolpyruvate-d2, precursor for parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP) of 1-13C-phospholactate-d2, is reported. 13C nuclear spin polarization of 1-13C-phospholactate-d2 was increased by >30,000,000-fold (5.75 mT) in water. The reported 13C polarization level approaching unity (>15.6%), long lifetime of 13C hyperpolarized 1-13C-phospholactate-d2 (58 ± 4 s versus 36 ± 2 s for nondeuterated form at 47.5 mT), and large production quantities (52 μmoles in 3 mL) in aqueous medium make this compound useful as a potential contrast agent for the molecular imaging of metabolism and other applications.
Reflective Fourier ptychography(Conference Presentation)

The abstract is not available © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A Bayesian approach for probabilistic streamline computation in uncertain flows

Streamline-based techniques play an important role in visualizing and analyzing uncertain steady vector fields. It is a challenging problem to generate accurate streamlines in uncertain vector fields due to the global uncertainty transportation. In this work, we present a novel probabilistic method for streamline computation on uncertain steady vector fields using a Bayesian framework. In our framework, a streamline is modeled as a state space model which captures the spatial coherence of integration steps and uncertainty in local distributions using the conditional prior density and the likelihood function. To approximate the posterior distribution for all the possible traces originating from a given seed position, a set of weighted samples are iteratively updated from which streamlines with higher likelihood can be derived. We qualitatively and quantitatively compare our method with alternative methods on different types of flow field data sets. Our method can generate possible streamlines with higher certainty and hence more accurate flow traces.
Patterns for Teaching Software in Classroom.

This paper presents pedagogical patterns for the general context of teaching software concepts in classroom settings. These patterns are targeted at people who teach other people, whether in industry or at universities. The patterns are presented in Alexandrian Form, in conformance with the patterns of the Pedagogical Patterns Project. Four pedagogical patterns have been identified: SHOW IT RUNNING, SHOW PROGRAMMING, MAKE IT THEIR PROBLEM and MAKE THEM MAKE IT THEIR PROBLEM.
Morphometrics of the Paleocene coccolith genera Cruciplacolithus, Chiasmolithus, and Sullivania: a complex evolutionary history

Investigation of the evolution of calcareous nannoplankton is hindered by the extremely small size (5-10 μm) of their fossils. We introduce new technology, a scanning electron microscope connected to an image analysis system (SEM-IAS), which allows this field to be explored as never before. This system enables a host of morphocharacters to be measured and included in studies of phylogeny and evolutionary dynamics. We have applied the SEM-IAS to study the evolution of Paleocene coccolith genera Cruciplacolithus, Chiasmolithus, and Sullivania. A variety of detailed measurements have been made on over 4000 coccoliths from Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 384 in the temperate North Atlantic and Ocean Drilling Program Site 690 in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica. Our results indicate no simple relationships between morphocharacters, the shapes of all three genera are both complex and highly variable. Although most morphocharacters possess little phylogenetic significance, the areas of different shield cycles show gradual divergence between Chiasmolithus and Sullivania through the Paleocene. Change of most other morphocharacters occurs at variable rates and reversals in trends are common. Minimal correlation exists between the trends and oscillatory shape changes observed at the two sites. We conclude that these trends and oscillations represent local, transitory ecophenotypic variation of the complex form. There is little stasis in the ten-million-year record studied.
Measurement of the branching ratio for Upsilon "--> micro micro.

Using the CUSB-II detector at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring, we have measured B\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\mu}, the branching fraction into muons, of the \ensuremath{\Upsilon}'' meson. We find ${\mathit{B}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\mu}}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\mu}}}$(\ensuremath{\Upsilon}'')=(1.53\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.33\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.21)%, from which the \ensuremath{\Upsilon}'' total decay width is 25.5\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5.0 keV. From this result we obtain ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}_{\mathrm{s}}$=0.${170}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}0.012}^{+0.015}$, ${\ensuremath{\Lambda}}_{\mathrm{MS}\mathrm{\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}}{=148}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}39}^{+56}}$ MeV. (MS\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{} denotes the modified minimal-subtraction scheme).
Japanese Investment Policy toward the Third World

Japan’s foreign investment policy has been an important pillar supporting its overall policy toward the Third World. As early as the mid-1970s, Ozawa recognised that ‘overseas production is now emerging as an integral part of both Japan’s economic growth and strategy and her foreign economic policy’.1 Tokyo has actively promoted foreign investment as a means of securing or reinforcing its existing trade power over strategic Third World markets, raw materials, energy sources, infrastructure and industries. The greater the amount of Japanese investments in a particular country, the greater the potential to use those investments to influence that country’s political elite to grant even greater economic concessions, which inevitably enhances Japan’s political power to extract even more economic power.
A magnetically driven PDMS micropump with microball valves

We present a novel robust PDMS membrane micropump with two one-way microball valves for biomedical applications. The actuating membrane is driven by magnetic force of two miniature permanent magnets. The micropump consists of two PDMS layers, one holding the microball valves and actuating chamber and the second holding the top magnet and covering the chamber and microvalves. A simple approach is used to fabricate a high performance microball valve using an embedded Teflon/sup /spl trade// microtube. A small DC motor (6mm in diameter and 15mm in length) with two permanent magnetic discs (NdFeB) mounted on its shaft is used to actuate the membrane-mounted magnet. This configuration yields a large pumping rate with very low power consumption. Maximum pumping rate of 260/spl mu/L/min was achieved at the input power of 21mW, the highest pumping rate reported in the literature for micropumps at such power consumption.
Spectral characterization of tissues in high spectral and spatial resolution MR images: Implications for a classification-based synthetic CT algorithm.

Purpose To characterize the spectral parameters of tissues with high spectral and spatial resolution magnetic resonance images to be used as a foundation for a classification-based synthetic CT algorithm. Methods A phantom was constructed consisting of a section of fresh beef leg with bone embedded in 1% agarose gel. The high spectral and spatial (HiSS) resolution MR imaging sequence used had 1.0 mm in-plane resolution and 11.1 Hz spectral resolution. This sequence was used to image the phantom and one patient. Post-processing was performed off-line with IDL and included Fourier transformation of the time-domain data, labeling of fat and water peaks, and fitting the magnitude spectra with Lorentzian functions. Images of the peak height and peak integral of both the water and fat resonances were generated and analyzed. Several regions-of-interest (ROIs) were identified in phantom: bone marrow, cortical bone, adipose tissue, muscle, agar gel, and air; in the patient, no agar gel was present but an ROI of saline in the bladder was analyzed. All spectra were normalized by the noise within each voxel; thus, all parameters are reported in terms of signal-to-noise (SNR). The distributions of tissue spectral parameters were analyzed and scatterplots generated. Water peak height in cortical bone was compared to air using a nonparametric t-test. Composition of the various ROIs in terms of water, fat, or fat and water was also reported. Results In phantom, the scatterplot of peak height (water versus fat) showed good separation of bone marrow and adipose tissue. Water versus fat integral scatterplot showed better separation of muscle and cortical bone than the peak height scatterplot. In the patient data, the distributions of water and fat peak heights were similar to that in phantom, with more overlap of bone marrow and cortical bone than observed in phantom. The relationship between bone marrow and cortical bone for peak integral was better separated than those of peak heights in the patient data. For both the phantom and patient, there was a significant amount of overlap in spectral parameters of cortical bone versus air. Conclusion These results show promising results for utilizing HiSS imaging in a classification-based synthetic CT algorithm. Cortical bone and air overlap was expected due to the short T2* of bone; reducing early echo times would improve the SNR in bone and image data from these early echoes could help differentiate these tissue types. Further studies need to be done with the goal of better separation of air and bone, and to extend the concept to volumetric imaging before it can be clinically applied.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Pediatric Readmissions for Common Chronic Conditions

Objective To compare the timing and magnitude of variation of pediatric readmission rates across race/ethnicity for selected chronic conditions: asthma, diabetes, seizures, migraines, and depression. Study design Retrospective analysis of hospitalizations at 48 children's hospitals in the 2013 Pediatric Health Information System database for children (ages 0-18 years) admitted for asthma (n = 36 910), seizure (n = 35 361), diabetes (n = 12 468), migraine (n = 5882), and depression (n = 5132). Generalized linear models with a random effect for hospital were used to compare the likelihood of readmission by patients' race/ethnicity, adjusting for severity of illness, age, payer, and medical complexity. Adjusted readmission rates were calculated by week over 1 year. Results Significant variation in adjusted readmission rates by race/ethnicity existed for conditions aside from depression. Disparities for diabetes and asthma emerged at 3 and 4 weeks, respectively; they remained divergent up to 1 year with the highest 1-year readmission rates in non-Hispanic blacks vs other race/ethnicities (diabetes: 21.7% vs 13.4%, P Conclusions Readmission disparities behave differently across chronic conditions. They emerge more quickly after discharge for children hospitalized with asthma or diabetes than for seizures or migraines. The highest readmission rates were not consistently observed for 1 particular race/ethnicity. Study findings can impact pediatric chronic disease management to improve care for children with these conditions.
R K anomalies and simplified limits on Z ′ models at the LHC

The LHCb Collaboration has recently reported a $2.5\ensuremath{\sigma}$ discrepancy with respect to the predicted value in a test of lepton universality in the ratio ${R}_{{K}^{*}}=\mathrm{BR}(B\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{K}^{*}{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}})/\mathrm{BR}(B\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{K}^{*}{e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}})$. Coupled with an earlier observation of a similar anomaly in ${R}_{K}$, this has generated significant excitement. A number of new physics scenarios have been proposed to explain the anomaly. In this work we consider simplified limits on ${Z}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ models from ATLAS and CMS searches for new resonances in dilepton and dijet modes, and we use the simplified limits variable $\ensuremath{\zeta}$ to correlate the results of the resonance and B-decay experiments. By examining minimal ${Z}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ models that can accommodate the observed LHCb results, we show that the high-mass resonance search results are beginning to be sensitive to these models and that future results will be more informative.
Crowdsourced App Review Manipulation

With the rapid adoption of smartphones worldwide and the reliance on app marketplaces to discover new apps, these marketplaces are critical for connecting users with apps. And yet, the user reviews and ratings on these marketplaces may be strategically targeted by app developers. We investigate the use of crowdsourcing platforms to manipulate app reviews. We find that (i) apps targeted by crowdsourcing platforms are rated significantly higher on average than other apps; (ii) the reviews themselves arrive in bursts; (iii) app reviewers tend to repeat themselves by relying on some standard repeated text; and (iv) apps by the same developer tend to share a more similar language model: if one app has been targeted, it is likely that many of the other apps from the same developer have also been targeted.
The influence of soil resources and plant traits on invasion and restoration in a subtropical woodland

It has been shown in some cases that nitrogen (N) addition to soil will increase abundance of plant invaders because many invaders have traits that promote rapid growth in response to high resource supply. Similarly, it has been suggested, and sometimes shown, that decreasing soil N via carbon (C) additions can facilitate native species recovery. Yet all species are unlikely to respond to resource supply in the same way. We asked how soil nutrients and competition affect native and exotic woody species in a restoration experiment where we added N or C, and crossed soil manipulation with the manipulation of dominant exotic grass abundance in a Hawaiian subtropical woodland. We related changes in survival and growth of outplanted individuals to native/exotic status and plant traits. As a group, N-fixers showed reduced survival compared to non-fixers in response to added N, with Morella faya (exotic) and Acacia koa (native) having dramatic negative responses. Among non-fixers, species with greater foliar %N had more positive survival responses to increasing soil N. Specific leaf area was not predictive of responses to nutrients or competition. In general, responses to carbon addition were weak, although reducing competition from existing exotic grasses was beneficial for all outplanted species, with N-fixers showing the most positive response. We conclude that commonly used restoration strategies to clear exotic species or lower soil resources with C addition will most greatly benefit N-fixing species, which themselves may be unwanted invaders. Thus statements about the influence of increased soil N on invasions should be carefully dissected by considering the traits (such as N-fixation status) of the regional species pool.
An on-demand compressed sensing approach for spatial monitoring of correlated big data using multi-contours in dense wireless sensor network

A novel on-demand, adaptive compressed sensing approach is proposed and discussed for spatial monitoring of correlated massive data in dense wireless sensor field. The spatial monitoring is based on collecting the sensor observations of a subset of sensors that their reading is in Δ margin of a set of contour levels. The contour level set is adaptively updated in order to reduce the mean square error of reconstruction of the spatial distribution. The reconstruction error and the number of involved sensing nodes as cost are used to compare the proposed approach with spatial monitoring using equally spaced contour levels.
Validating a Machine Learning Algorithm to Predict 30-Day Re-Admissions in Patients With Heart Failure: Protocol for a Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Big data solutions, particularly machine learning predictive algorithms, have demonstrated the ability to unlock value from data in real time in many settings outside of health care. Rapid growth in electronic medical record adoption and the shift from a volume-based to a value-based reimbursement structure in the US health care system has spurred investments in machine learning solutions. Machine learning methods can be used to build flexible, customized, and automated predictive models to optimize resource allocation and improve the efficiency and quality of health care. However, these models are prone to the problems of overfitting, confounding, and decay in predictive performance over time. It is, therefore, necessary to evaluate machine learning–based predictive models in an independent dataset before they can be adopted in the clinical practice. In this paper, we describe the protocol for independent, prospective validation of a machine learning–based model trained to predict the risk of 30-day re-admission in patients with heart failure. Objective: This study aims to prospectively validate a machine learning–based predictive model for inpatient admissions in patients with heart failure by comparing its predictions of risk for 30-day re-admissions against outcomes observed prospectively in an independent patient cohort. Methods: All adult patients with heart failure who are discharged alive from an inpatient admission will be prospectively monitored for 30-day re-admissions through reports generated by the electronic medical record system. Of these, patients who are part of the training dataset will be excluded to avoid information leakage to the algorithm. An expected sample size of 1228 index admissions will be required to observe a minimum of 100 30-day re-admission events. Deidentified structured and unstructured data will be fed to the algorithm, and its prediction will be recorded. The overall model performance will be assessed using the concordance statistic. Furthermore, multiple discrimination thresholds for screening high-risk patients will be evaluated according to the sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and estimated cost savings to our health care system. Results: The project received funding in April 2017 and data collection began in June 2017. Enrollment was completed in July 2017. Data analysis is currently underway, and the first results are expected to be submitted for publication in October 2018. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to prospectively evaluate a predictive machine learning algorithm in a real-world setting. Findings from this study will help to measure the robustness of predictions made by machine learning algorithms and set a realistic benchmark for expectations of gains that can be made through its application to health care. Registered Report Identifier: RR1-10.2196/9466
Effects of Tropical Storm Agnes on the Suspended Solids of the Northern Chesapeake Bay

In the upper reaches of the northern Chesapeake Bay there are two distinctive distributions of suspended sediment and associated patterns of sediment transport. During the spring freshet, the Susquehanna River overpowers the characteristic net non-tidal estuarine circulation in the upper 20–30 km of the estuary and the net flow and sediment transport are seaward at all depths. Generally the hulk — probably 70 to 75 percent — of each year’s supply of new fluvial sediment is introduced during the spring freshet when both river flow and concentration of suspended sediment are normally highest. The marked decrease seaward of the concentration of suspended solids in the upper bay reveals the close link, during the freshet, between the suspended sediment population and the principal “ultimate” source of fluvial sediment—the Susquehanna river.
Do anxiety traits predict subjective short-term outcomes following prolapse repair surgery?

Studies conducted in orthopedic surgery have suggested that patients with anxiety have less symptomatic improvement following surgery than those without. We hypothesized for this study that patients with anxiety traits experience less symptomatic improvement following pelvic organ prolapse surgery than patients without. All patients presenting for prolapse repair surgery were offered enrollment in this prospective cohort study. Prior to surgery, subjects were asked to complete the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory 20. Subjects were also asked to list up to five goals related to the outcome of surgery for goal-attainment scaling. At the 6–8-week postoperative visit, subjects were asked to repeat the STAI and PFDI questionnaires and respond to the single question tool assessing Patient Global Impression of Improvement. Subjects were also asked to rate on a Visual Assessment Scale how well preoperative goals were met. All three questionnaires were repeated at >12 weeks following surgery. A total of 32 patients with anxiety trait and 58 without were recruited. Preoperatively, the mean STAI-T was 45.0 (± 7.2.) and 27.7 (± 4.9) for subjects with and without anxiety; PFDI 20 scores were 96.1 (± 48.8) and 94.7 (± 57.5), respectively. At 12+ weeks postoperatively, the mean PFDI-20 for subjects with anxiety was 31.3 (± 20.9) and 30.3 (± 27.9) (p = 0.22) for those without. We did not find the anxiety trait to be a predictor of subjective outcomes following pelvic organ prolapse surgery.
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy in early stage uterine papillary serous and clear-cell carcinoma: A National Cancer Data Base study.

5590Background: Adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) and radiotherapy (RT) are often part of management of early stage uterine papillary serous (UPSC) and clear cell carcinoma (UCC), though their benefit rem...
Success of Bolus Gastric Feeding After Fundoplication Among Children Who Require Preoperative Jejunal Feeding

Abstract Purpose: Management of complicated reflux in infants and children is controversial. Jejunal feedings are used when reflux complications occur with gastric feeds. We sought to determine how...
Price formation model with zero-Neumann boundary condition

This paper concerns the mathematical analysis of a mathematical model for price formation. We take a large number of rational buyers and vendors in the market who are trading the same good into con...
Parity Progression and the Kinship Network

Demographers have long been interested in parity, the number of children a person has ever produced. Explicit recognition of parity opens the door to analyzing the kinship network. This chapter first examines kinship ties in models that vary both the level of fertility and the pattern of parity progression in order to quantify the influence of parity progression on the number of kin. We then re-examine the American experience over the 1917 to 2005–2010 period to see how fertility levels, family sizes, and number of kin have changed over time. The end of the Baby Boom in the mid-1960s marked a watershed, a Sibsize Transition, ending the era of large families and reshaping the American kinship network.
DeepSDN: Connecting the Dots Towards Self-driving Networks

The cloud data centers are going through an unprecedented growth from past few years. In an era of real-time video streaming, on-demand gaming, door-step e-commerce services, and highly inter-connected social networks, cost-effective service models, adaptive resources provisioning and upfront applications availability contribute significantly towards such a stellar growth. However, there are many challenges that must be addressed in a systematic manner to meet the requirements of increasingly demanding current and upcoming applications of the cloud computing paradigm. Optimum resources management, instant response time, interoperability among a diverse set of emerging technologies and innovative applications are a few of these challenges. On the other hand, the recent trend in softwarization of networks, particularly enabled by network function virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN) principles, provides immense opportunities to better utilize the network resources by programmable abstractions with an efficient control and management techniques. Furthermore, machine learning based solutions are gaining prominence in resource optimization problems and autonomous systems. Therefore, in this paper, we strive to connect the dots by state-of-the-art methodologies in networking and machine learning domains and utilize these developments to grapple with the challenges of the cloud-based systems. We propose DeepSDN, an SDN-based solution that harnesses existing machine learning techniques to move a step closer towards self-driving networks. The comparative results obtained from an experimental testbed corroborates effectiveness of our approach and suggest a way forward towards autonomous network management.
Private Wells and Rural Health: Groundwater Contaminants of Emerging Concern

Approximately 12% of the population in the US and Canada rely on federally unregulated private wells, which are common in rural areas and may be susceptible to microbiological and chemical contamination. This review identifies and summarizes recent findings on contaminants of emerging concern in well water across the US and Canada. Private well water quality modeling is complicated by the substantial variability in contamination sources, well construction, well depth, and the hydrogeology of the environment surrounding the well. Temporal variation in contaminant levels in wells suggests the need for monitoring efforts with greater spatial and temporal coverage. More extensive private well monitoring will help identify wells at greater risk of contamination, and in turn, public health efforts can focus on education and outreach to improve monitoring, maintaining, and treating private wells in these communities. Community interventions need to be coupled with stricter regulations and financing mechanisms that can support and protect private well owners.
Function and Caregiver Support Associated With Readmissions During Home Health for Individuals With Dementia.

Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the association between mobility, self-care, cognition, and caregiver support and 30-day potentially preventable readmissions (PPR) for individuals with dementia. Design This retrospective study derived data from 100% national Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data files from July 1, 2013, through June 1, 2015. Participants Criteria from the Home Health Claims-Based Rehospitalization Measure and the Potentially Preventable 30-Day Post Discharge Readmission Measure for the Home Health Quality Reporting Program were used to identify a cohort of 118,171 Medicare beneficiaries. Main Outcome Measure The 30-day PPR rates with associated 95% CIs were calculated for each patient characteristic. Multilevel logistic regression was used to study the relationship between mobility, self-care, caregiver support, and cognition domains and 30-day PPR during home health, adjusting for patient demographics and clinical characteristics. Results The overall rate of 30-day PPR was 7.6%. In the fully adjusted models, patients who were most dependent in mobility (odds ratio [OR], 1.59; 95% CI, 1.47-1.71) and self-care (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.61-1.87) had higher odds for 30-day PPR. Patients with unmet caregiving needs had 1.11 (95% CI, 1.05-1.17) higher odds for 30-day PPR than patients whose caregiving needs were met. Patients with cognitive impairment had 1.23 (95% CI, 1.16-1.30) higher odds of readmission than those with minimal to no cognitive impairment. Conclusions Decreased independence in mobility and self-care tasks, unmet caregiver needs, and impaired cognitive processing at admission to home health are associated with risk of 30-day PPR during home health for individuals with dementia. Our findings indicate that deficits in mobility and self-care tasks have the greatest effect on the risk for PPR.
“You’re Not an Island”: A Middle Grades Language Arts Teacher’s Changed Perceptions in ESL and Content Teachers’ Collaboration

Building on previous studies of ESL and content teachers’ collaboration, this qualitative case study relied on Davies and Harre’s positioning theory as a theoretical lens to examine the influences ...
Employing Conductive Metal-Organic Frameworks for Voltammetric Detection of Neurochemicals.

This paper describes the first implementation of an array of two-dimensional (2D) layered conductive metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as drop-casted film electrodes that facilitate voltammetric dete...