cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modeling and analysis of hospital inpatient rescue process: A Markov chain approach

Improving patient safety is the top priority for hospital management. On the hospital floor, an inpatient may experience clinical deterioration during his/her stay. Quick and appropriate treatment from the nurse, physician, and rapid response team (RRT) is essential to rescue the patient. In this paper, we introduce an analytical method to model and analyze the hospital inpatient rescue (HIR) process. A continuous time Markov chain model is presented to characterize the patient status and analyze the transitions between different patient states, such as risk, non-risk, intervention by the care provider, or elevation to intensive care, etc. Closed formulas to calculate the probability of the patient staying in different states are developed for single patient case. An approximation method, referred to as the shared resource iteration (SRI) approach, is proposed to study the multiple patients scenario. It is shown that such an iteration is convergent and results in a high accuracy estimation of patient state probability. This method provides a quantitative tool to analyze the HIR process and investigate strategies to improve patient safety.
The Parent Opinion Questionnaire and Child Vignettes for Use with Abusive Parents: Assessment of Psychometric Properties

Psychometric properties of the Parent Opinion Questionnaire (POQ) and the Child Vignettes (CV) were examined. Participants included 78 abusive and 77 comparison mothers and fathers. Scores on the POQ were very low, and there were no differences between abusive and comparison parents on any of the six rationally-derived scales of the POQ or the full scale. Results of factor analysis and assessment of internal consistency did not support the six scales. Full scale scores were associated with parental psychopathology, parenting stress, self-reported discipline practices, and IQ, but were unrelated to observed parenting behavior. On the CV, abusive parents indicated more negative attributions and harsher intended punishment for children's aversive behavior than did comparison parents. Negative attribution ratings and intended punishment ratings on the CV were related to parental psychopathology and parenting stress; scores on intended punishment were related to parents' perceptions of their children's adjustment, self-reported disciplinary practices, and observed negative parenting behavior.
The electro-disintegration of few body systems revisited

Abstract Recent studies of the electro-disintegration of the few body systems at JLab have revived the field. Not only recoil momentum distributions have been determined in a single shot. But also they confirm that the diagrammatic approach, which I developed 25 years ago, is relevant to analyze them, provided that the nucleon–nucleon scattering amplitude, determined in the same energy range, is used. They provide us with a solid starting point to address the issue of the propagation of exotic components of hadrons in nuclear matter.
Customer and employee co-creation of radical service innovations

Purpose – The study demonstrates that firms can effectively involve customers in new service development (NSD) to create radically innovative, high-performing new services. Prior research found no effect of customer involvement on radicalness in NSD programs, but the current study provides evidence that customer involvement in the design stage of NSD projects can increase the radical innovativeness of a new service. Design/methodology/approach – Surveys from 160 firms captured information on the development process, participants and outcomes of recent service innovation projects. Direct effect and mediation hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings – Customer involvement in the NSD process increases the innovativeness of a new service when customers are involved in the design stage and when the influence is mediated by process complexity. Customer involvement in the development stage has no significant effect on service innovativeness. Process complexity also mediates the positiv...
A Conspiracy of Fishes, or, How We Learned to Stop Worrying About #GamerGate and Embrace Hegemonic Masculinity

Recently, the margins between gaming and feminism have become increasingly contentious (Salter & Blodgett, 2012). This article addresses a cultural moment where masculine gaming culture became aware of and began responding to feminist game scholars by analyzing GamerGate conspiracy documents and social media discussions related to the now infamous “DiGRA fishbowl.” Worries about the opacity of academic practices and a disparaging of feminist knowledge-making practices dominate these documents. By looking at these discussions and practices through the lens of conspiracy theories (Fenster, 2008; Hofstadter, 1952) and counterknowledge (Fiske, 1994) we consider the broader meaning of GamerGate's attention to academia.
The fate of homograft conduits in children with congenital heart disease: an angiographic study.

The use of homograft conduits in the repair of congenital heart disease is widelym accept. We reviewed the catherization and angiographic data from 20 patients with ho,ograft conduits. All conduits were to the pilmonary arteries. The age at operation was 4.7 ± 5.6 years (mean ± standard deviation) and at follow-up catheterization, 7.8± 6.7 years. At implantation, conduit cross-sectional area and Z value were 219 ± 96 mm 2 and 3.5 ± 1.8, respectively. At subsequent catheterization, the conduit diameters were measured in two projections at the shaft, 151 ± 92 mm 2 at the annulus, 108 ± 116 mm 2 at the valve opening, and 127 ± 84 mm 2 at the pulmonary artery insertion. The Z values were -0.9 ± 2.5, -0.9 ± 2.8, -3.8 ± 4.0, and -2.0 ± 3.4, respectively. The crosssectional areas and the Z values at the levels of measurement were significantly smaller than the corresponding values at implantation. The change in cross-sectional areas and Z values exceeded what would be expected from growth alone. These data indicate that there is a decrease, with time, in the functional lumen of homograft conduits, and this may have implications for follow-up strategy after implantation.
Multiple-source shortest paths in planar graphs

Given an n-node planar graph with nonnegative edge-lengths, our algorithm takes O(n log n) time to construct a data structure that supports queries of the following form in O(log n) time: given a destination node t on the boundary of the infinite face, and given a start node s anywhere, find the s-to-t distance.
Mining the Web for C\C++ code with perl

The Web represents one of the largest repositories of information ever compiled by mankind and as such search techniques are essential to navigating its depths and returning pertinent information. Typically the search techniques employed in search engines such as Google entail the use of keywords in which Web pages containing the specified keywords are sought out and then ranked using an algorithm such as PageRank. While keywords are suitable for many search tasks, certain types of data cannot be readily searched using keywords alone. Regular expression based pattern matching allows for enhanced search capability in that it allows for a textual pattern to be specified and matching to be performed against the pattern. Regular expressions have been developed that allow for the identification of common C\C++ code structures such a loops, conditionals and functions. These regular expressions are then integrated into a Perl program that performs a keyword based search of the Yahoo Search engine and used to extract any code elements that match those patterns. Thus an algorithm or programming technique can be specified with keywords, the Yahoo search used to identify Web pages pertinent to those keywords, and the regular expressions used to identify and extract any C\C++ code found in the resultant Web pages. Application of this technique would likely be of great benefit towards creating specialized search capabilities for software developers.
3T3-L1 Adipocytes and Rat Adipose Tissue Have a High Capacity for Taurine Synthesis by the Cysteine Dioxygenase/Cysteinesulfinate Decarboxylase and Cysteamine Dioxygenase Pathways

Taurine is the most abundant free amino acid in the body and is synthesized in mammals by 2 pathways. Taurine is synthesized either from the oxidation of cysteine via cysteine dioxygenase (CDO), which generates cysteinesulfinate that is decarboxylated by cysteinesulfinic acid decarboxylase (CSAD), or from the oxidation of cysteamine by cysteamine (2-aminoethanethiol) dioxygenase (ADO). Both pathways generate hypotaurine, which is oxidized to taurine. To determine whether these pathways for taurine synthesis are present in the adipocyte, we studied 3T3-L1 cells during their adipogenic conversion and fat from rats fed diets with varied sulfur-amino acid content. CDO, CSAD, and ADO protein levels increased during adipogenic differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells and all of these enzymes were significantly increased when cells achieved a mature adipocyte phenotype. Furthermore, these changes were accompanied by an increased hypotaurine and taurine production, particularly when cells were treated with cysteine or cysteamine. CDO mRNA levels also responded robustly to cysteine or cysteamine treatment in adipocytes but not in undifferentiated 3T3-L1 cells. Furthermore, CDO protein and activity were greater in adipose tissue from rats fed a high protein or cystine-supplemented low protein (LP) diet than in adipose tissue from rats fed a LP diet. Overall, our results demonstrate that CDO is regulated at both the level of enzyme abundance and the level of mRNA in mature adipocytes.
Factors associated with amount of use and benefits obtained by users of a statewide educational telecomputing network

This study was designed to identify factors that best predicted the amount and perceived benefits of network use. A 70-item electronic mail survey measured five categories of variables: personal attributes, environmental characteristics, perceived media characteristics, usage, and outcomes. It was returned by 66% of a random sample of 300 network users. Respondents were active network users with high levels of teaching tenure, schooling, and computer experience, and convenient access to equipment needed to use the Internet. Outcomes reported for network use mainly centered around professional development activities, whereas personal and instructional outcomes were less frequently reported. Multiple regression equations predicted 28% of amount of use, 46% of variety of uses, 45% of professional benefits, 16% of personal gratifications, and 25% of instructional outcomes. Socially oriented factors appeared repeatedly in these equations. Social integration with a community of users entered all but one of the equations, social presence contributed to the prediction of each type of outcome, and number of contacts regularly reached via the network was associated with both amount and variety of use. These findings suggested that network facilitators should implement strategies to increase interactions among potential and current network users and to enhance perceptions of the systems' social presence.
Topography of the cristae membrane as elucidated by a new inhibitor, trifluorofurylbutanedione.

Summary The oxidation of ferrocyanide in ETP from beef heart mitochondria is insensitive to inhibition by antimycin A but partially sensitive to 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-furyl)-1,3-butanedione. This inhibitor appears to inhibit electron transport at locations of non-heme iron proteins. Succinate based ferricyanide reduction in electron transport particles and mitochondria is strongly inhibited by antimycin and is inhibited by cytochrome c in mitochondria. These findings suggest the location of the ferro/ferricyanide sites, supposedly non-heme iron III and cytochrome c 1 , on the M-side of the cristae.
A technique to determine total shear stress and polymer stress profiles in drag reduced boundary layer flows

Two methods of recovering the entire total shear stress profile from incomplete velocity data in turbulent boundary layers are presented and validated for both DNS simulations and experimental measurements. The first method, an exponential–polynomial curve fit, recovers the whole total shear stress profile using the data from the outer part of the boundary layer (y/δ>0.3). However, while performing well, this curve fit is sensitive to the quality of the data. The second method, a new (1−y/δ) weighted straight line fit, which is very simple and accurate, has been applied to current experiments of drag reduction in zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layers with and without polymer injection. The total shear stress profile obtained from this fit is used to estimate the contribution of the polymer stress to the total shear stress. It shows that the polymer stress is significant only in the inner part of the boundary layer and the magnitude of the polymer stress is not always proportional to the drag reduction.
New World, New Germs: The Role of European Expansion in the Development of Germ Theory

Whenever cultures meet, exchange is inevitable. There will be exchanges of goods, of languages, of cultures, and of disease. The epidemics and pandemics sparked by European expansion in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were devastating but ultimately encouraged scholars to think critically about disease and its origins. By examining the language and ideas of first-hand accounts of plague, scurvy, syphilis, and smallpox, the evolution of European theories of disease can be traced from the Justinian Plague of 560 AD to the London Plague of 1625 AD. Examining the impact that the European voyages of discovery had on theories of disease shows that expansionism served to catalyze the development of our modern germ theory.
Radiation-induced cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers in solution: 3. The influence of monomer and solvent concentrations on the rate of polymerization of ethyl vinyl ether in ether solvent

Abstract The influence of the monomer concentration on the rate of propagation of the radiation-induced polymerization of super-dry ethyl vinyl ether has been examined in detail in two ether solvents, diethyl ether and diglyme, chosen for their different dielectric constants and their different abilities to solvate ions. Estimations of the rate of initiation and of the rate of termination have made possible the evaluation of the rate constants of polymerization. Very similar values were obtained in both ethers. Experiments were also performed in benzene-diglyme and diglyme-methylene chloride mixtures. The results are in good agreement with the previous studies, made in benzene and methylene dichloride, and confirm the important role of the solvation of the free propagating species concerning the reactivities observed in the radiation-induced polymerization of EVE in solution.
Capacity of multiple-antenna systems with both receiver and transmitter channel state information

The capacity of multiple-antenna systems operating in Rayleigh flat fading is considered under the assumptions that channel state information (CSI) is available at both transmitter and receiver, and that the transmitter is subjected to an average power constraint. First, the capacity of such systems is derived for the special case of multiple transmit antennas and a single receive antenna. The optimal power-allocation scheme for such a system is shown to be a water-filling algorithm, and the corresponding capacity is seen to be the same as that of a system having multiple receive antennas (with a single transmitter antenna) whose outputs are combined via maximal ratio combining. A suboptimal adaptive transmission technique that transmits only over the antenna having the best channel is also proposed for this special case. It is shown that the capacity of such a system under the proposed suboptimal adaptive transmission scheme is the same as the capacity of a system having multiple receiver antennas (with a single transmitter antenna) combined via selection combining. Next, the capacity of a general system of multiple transmitter and receiver antennas is derived together with an equation that determines the cutoff value for such a system. The optimal power allocation scheme for such a multiple-antenna system is given by a matrix water-filling algorithm. In order to eliminate the need for cumbersome numerical techniques in solving the cutoff equation, approximate expressions for the cutoff transmission value are also provided. It is shown that, compared to the case in which there is only receiver CSI, large capacity gains are available with optimal power and rate adaptation schemes. The increased capacity is shown to come at the price of channel outage, and bounds are derived for this outage probability.
National Vaccine Advisory Committee 2008 Vaccine Financing Recommendations: Different Point of View

The US system for immunizing children involves a complex mixture of private- and public-sector roles and responsibilities. By most measures, the immunization program has been successful, having introduced a number of new vaccines and expanded the use of existing vaccines during this decade, so that the current immunization schedule protects infants, children, and adolescents from 16 infectious diseases. A universal recommendation establishes a medical standard that should be available to all children. However, emerging evidence indicates that substantial numbers of children do not receive new vaccines or the receipt of vaccines is delayed because of increased costs. Mechanisms in the public and private sectors to finance vaccines have become strained to the point that ad hoc prioritization of vaccine implementation is occurring throughout the United States, particularly for those with private insurance.1 This has led some to advocate for explicit prioritization of vaccines on the basis of the type of health insurance the child has.2 However, vaccine prioritization segregates children on the basis of insurance status and other issues … Address correspondence to Jon S. Abramson, MD, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157. E-mail: jabrams{at}wfubmc.edu
Design, Manufacturing, and Testing of Single-Carbon-Nanotube-Based Infrared Sensors

As a 1-D nanostructural material, carbon nanotube (CNT) has attracted lot of attention and has been used to build various nanoelectronic devices due to its unique electronic properties. In this paper, a reliable and efficient nanomanufacturing process was developed for building single-CNT-based nanodevices by depositing the CNTs on the substrate surface and then aligning them to bridge the electrode gap using the atomic force microscopy (AFM) based nanomanipulation. With this technology, single CNT-based IR sensors have been fabricated for investigating CNT's electronic and photonic properties. The fabrication of single-CNT-based IR sensors demonstrated the reliability and efficiency of the nanomanufacturing process. Experimental tests on single-multiwalled-CNT-based IR sensors have shown much larger photocurrent and quantum efficiency than other reported studies. It has also been shown that a high signal to dark current ratio can be accomplished by single-walled-CNT (SWNT) based IR sensors. Moreover, the testing of SWNT-bundle-based IR sensors verified that the performance of CNT bundle/film-based nanoelectronic devices was limited by the mixing of semiconducting CNTs and metallic CNTs, as well as the unstable CNT-CNT junctions in a CNT bundle or network.
Surface curvature effects on element characteristics in large, finite, conformal cylindrical dipole arrays

For realizing a low-sidelobe conformal phased antenna array using the techniques in D. Chatterjee and R.G. Plumb (1996), the array mutual coupling needs to be considered, with emphasis on location of the "blind spots". Therefore, the purpose of the results presented here is to furnish the reference solution for array scan element pattern including mutual coupling. The results would thus be relevant for the elements in the central region of a large, finite cylindrical dipole array. The array edge elements can be analyzed separately, using the uniform theory of diffraction, i.e., UTD Green's functions (P.H. Pathak, 1988). This is computationally efficient for large convex surfaces (L. Josefsson and P. Persson, 2006).
The yolk stalk sign: evidence of death in small embryos without heartbeats.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the positive predictive value for confirming early embryonic death in the clinical sonographic scenario wherein an embryo is identified without a visible heartbeat; the embryonic crown-rump length (CRL) is 5 mm or less; and the embryo is not immediately adjacent to the yolk sac. METHODS A retrospective study of 882 first-trimester sonograms was performed among women who had an intrauterine pregnancy of uncertain viability based on 1 or more sonographic findings (eg, no visible heartbeat in an embryo with a CRL of < or =5 mm). Eight hundred six cases met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS Among the cohort of 806 cases, 520 (64.5%) had an identifiable embryo. One hundred fifty-nine of these embryos had no demonstrable heartbeat and a CRL of 5 mm or less. The CRLs of these embryos ranged from 1.7 to 5.4 mm. This cohort's sonograms were reviewed to determine whether there was a separation between the embryo and yolk sac. Twenty-one cases were discovered. Recall that as a retrospective study, no specific effort was made to show this finding. Thus, a computation of the sensitivity of this finding would result in an underestimate of indeterminate magnitude. All of these cases were subsequently proven to be failed pregnancies. CONCLUSIONS The positive predictive value of the "yolk stalk sign" in determining early pregnancy failure for an embryo with a CRL of 5 mm or less and no visible heartbeat was 100% in this cohort.
Validation in dogs of a rapid digital angiographic technique to measure relative coronary blood flow during routine cardiac catheterization

Abstract Assessment of the functional significance of anatomically defined coronary stenoses has been hampered by the lack of clinically applicable techniques of measuring coronary blood flow or flow ratios. A digital angiographic technique is reported that allows rapid analysis of relative regional coronary blood flow during routine cardiac catheterization. This technique was validated in dogs by comparing digital flow ratio estimates with electromagnetic-flow (EMF) ratio measurements. Fourteen open-chest dogs had EMF probes placed on the proximal left anterior descending artery before selective coronary angiography. Electrocardiographically gated images were acquired directly by a digital radiographic system during both baseline blood flow and either contrast or papaverine-induced hyperemia. Dual-parameter functional images were generated using color and intensity coding to represent contrast arrival time and contrast density, respectively. For analysis, myocardial areas of interest were created over the distal perfusion bed of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Mean contrast density/appearance time ( CD AT ) values were computer calculated as the mean density divided by the mean arrival time for each. Coronary flow reserve was determined as the ratio of the CD AT value for a hyperemic image divided by the CD AT value for the corresponding baseline image. CD AT ratios correlated well (r = 0.92) with actual EMF ratios ( CD AT Ratio = 0.90 EMF Ratio + 0.12, n = 48 ratios). Reproducibility was ± 13%. Interobserver (r = 0.99) and intraobserver (r = 0.98) variability was excellent. Thus, rapid, accurate and reproducible estimates of relative regional coronary blood flow are possible using digital radiography.
Association mapping and genomic prediction for resistance to sudden death syndrome in early maturing soybean germplasm

Sudden death syndrome (SDS), caused by Fusarium virguliforme, has spread to northern soybean growing regions in the US causing significant yield losses. The objectives of this study were to identify loci underlying variation in plant responses to SDS through association mapping (AM) and to assess prediction accuracy of genomic selection (GS) in a panel of early maturing soybean germplasm. A set of 282 soybean breeding lines was selected from the University of Minnesota soybean breeding program and then genotyped using a genome-wide panel of 1536 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers. Four resistance traits, root lesion severity (RLS), foliar symptom severity (FSS), root retention (RR), and dry matter reduction (DMR), were evaluated using soil inoculation in the greenhouse. AM identified significant peaks in genomic regions of known SDS resistance quantitative trait loci cqSDS001, cqRfs4, and SDS11-2. Additionally, two novel loci, one on chromosome 3 and another on chromosome 18, were tentatively identified. A ninefold cross-validation scheme was used to assess the prediction accuracy of GS for SDS resistance. The prediction accuracy of single-trait GS (ST-GS) was 0.64 for RLS, but less than 0.30 for RR, DMR, and FSS. Compared to ST-GS, none of multi-trait GS (MT-GS) models significantly improved the prediction accuracy due to weak correlations between the four traits. This study suggests both AM and GS hold promise for implementation in genetic improvement of SDS resistance in existing soybean breeding programs.
Subgoal identification and error analysis in problem solving

Quantitative problem solving is the major ingredient of core pre-engineering physics courses. The analysis of problem-solving behaviors in these courses can provide an important source of information not only about how students approach problems in general, but how their performance might be enhanced through the development and assessment of instructional innovations. We have focused on the electromagnetics portion of our introductory physics sequence. This course has a failure rate exceeding 30%. Thus, any system for enhancing problem solving in this difficult course will significantly impact many students. A principal barrier to successful problem solving is lack of generalization, i.e. the ability to transfer knowledge and skills from one problem to another and to recognize classes of problems. The common tendency is to treat each problem as a separate entity to be approached by rigid application of memorized formulae, or simply by trial and error. Seemingly small changes in requirements or conditions can be met with bafflement. We have approached problem solving in two interlocked ways. One is the systematic analysis and classification of errors that students make when attempting standard problems in quizzes and exams. The second consists of breaking problems down into a sequence of subgoals. The results show that students often improperly identify both the correct operational equations and the appropriate subgoals required for solution. Our analysis is used to teach students more effective problem-solving strategies with a computerized tutorial.
The linear R&D project selection problem: an alternative to net present value

An alternative to the net present value (NPV) formulation of the objective in problems involving choice between cash flows over time is presented. This approach is illustrated in an R&D project selection problem. It is shown that the NPV formulation is a special case of optimizing a multiattribute value function. This special case requires restrictive assumptions about the decision-maker's preferences over time. The authors suggest instead that multiobjective linear programming methods be used to produce a set of nondominated solutions. This methodology is analytically tractable and requires no assumptions about the decision-maker's time preferences. >
New Air Force Requirements for Structural Safety, Durability, and Life Management

The past five years have seen significant changes in the Air Force philosophy and approach in achieving structural safety and durability in military aircraft. These changes have been motivated by problems of high cost, late system development programs, with a high level of in-service structural maintenance and modification costs (poor durability) and, in some cases, less than desired fracture resistance (poor damage tolerance/safety). The problem area has been attacked along a number of avenues; one major thrust has been a thorough examination and revision of the structural design and test specifications, the MIL-A-8860 series. In this paper, certain aspects of the overall problem are discussed; an overview of the pre-1969/70 Air Force approach is presented, along with its short-comings; and, finally, significant aspects of current policy are listed, giving comparisons with the old requirements.
A New Series of Proton/Charge Transfer Molecules: Synthesis and Spectral Studies of 2-(5-Aryl-1-carbomethoxy-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)phenols

. The carbomethoxyhydrazone of 2′-hydroxyacetophenone was trilithiated with excess lithium diisopropylamide and C-acylated with a variety of benzoate esters followed by acid cyclization of the intermediates to 2-(5-aryl-l-car-bomethoxy-lHpyrazol-3-yl)phenols [3-(2-hydroxyphen-yl)-lH-pyrazoles]. The products were characterized by Fourier transform-IR, lH NMR, 13C NMR, UV-visible absorption and fluorescence. All the derivatives in n -heptane have an absorption maximum at ˜304 nm and an extremely weak (φr= 10 4) fluorescence with maxima in the range of 335–460 nm. The broad range of fluorescence maxima and fluorescence quantum yields is attributed to varying contributions of charge transfer that are dependent on both the identity of the substituent and solvent polarity. A phenomenally large Stokes-shifted fluorescence maximum at 620 nm was observed for 2-(l-car-bomethoxy-5-[4-dimethylaminophenyl]-lff-pyrazol-3-y1)phenol in n-heptane and attributed to excited-state intramolecular proton transfer. As a result, competitive excited-state proton/charge transfer properties have been observed in the pyrazoles studied, of which the spectral properties can be fine tuned by substituent as well as solvent effects.
The Non-Null Distribution of the Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient

Abstract An empirical study of the distribution of the Spearman rank correlation coefficient under certain general assumptions demonstrates that its distribution is better approximated by using the T-transformation and the t-distribution than by using the z-transformation and the normal distribution. Furthermore, use of the T-transformation facilitates calculation of critical values for tests, confidence intervals and the power of tests.
Emerging diseases - what veterinarians need to know

The recent increase in emerging diseases can be attributed to a number of factors, all of which relate to some form of alteration in the way etiologic agents move around. Some of these factors responsible for altered agent trafficking include actual transport to a susceptible population or new species, environmental disruption that facilitates exchange of microbes, and a husbandry change that promotes new ways for microbes to move around. Given the exponential growth of the human population and all the attendant implications, including the mobility of this population, the ecological disruption that is accompanying the overall increase, and the necessity of exploring new agricultural technologies to feed a burgeoning population, it is a certainty that altered agent trafficking will not only continue but will undoubtedly increase. Veterinarians should be aware of the role they will be expected to play in this field. In recent years, emerging diseases have been the sub- ject of several scientific forums in human medicine 9,29,41 and have captured the fascination of the general public through best-selling books, 19,24,48 feature articles in ma- jor magazines, 8,30 television documentaries, and a pop- ular movie. Veterinarians could benefit from having some familiarity with these events because the same factors that portend for an increase in human disease also forecast a similar vision for animal disease. Failure to recognize this potential could result in delayed and inadequate responses and an inability to capitalize on opportunities for protecting or promoting animal health. Also, because most of the emerging diseases of humans are Zoonotic, veterinarians should be playing a pivotal role in characterizat ion and control of these agents.
Biased assimilation, homophily, and the dynamics of polarization

Are we as a society getting more polarized, and if so, why? We try to answer this question through a model of opinion formation. Empirical studies have shown that homophily results in polarization. However, we show that DeGroot's well-known model of opinion formation based on repeated averaging can never be polarizing, even if individuals are arbitrarily homophilous. We generalize DeGroot's model to account for a phenomenon well-known in social psychology as biased assimilation: when presented with mixed or inconclusive evidence on a complex issue, individuals draw undue support for their initial position thereby arriving at a more extreme opinion. We show that in a simple model of homophilous networks, our biased opinion formation process results in either polarization, persistent disagreement or consensus depending on how biased individuals are. In other words, homophily alone, without biased assimilation, is not sufficient to polarize society. Quite interestingly, biased assimilation also provides insight into the following related question: do internet based recommender algorithms that show us personalized content contribute to polarization? We make a connection between biased assimilation and the polarizing effects of some random-walk based recommender algorithms that are similar in spirit to some commonly used recommender algorithms.
Interaction of the conserved oligomeric Golgi complex with t-SNARE Syntaxin5a/Sed5 enhances intra-Golgi SNARE complex stability

Tethering factors mediate initial interaction of transport vesicles with target membranes. Soluble N-ethylmaleimide–sensitive fusion protein attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) enable consequent docking and membrane fusion. We demonstrate that the vesicle tether conserved oligomeric Golgi (COG) complex colocalizes and coimmunoprecipitates with intra-Golgi SNARE molecules. In yeast cells, the COG complex preferentially interacts with the SNARE complexes containing yeast Golgi target (t)-SNARE Sed5p. In mammalian cells, hCog4p and hCog6p interact with Syntaxin5a, the mammalian homologue of Sed5p. Moreover, fluorescence resonance energy transfer reveals an in vivo interaction between Syntaxin5a and the COG complex. Knockdown of the mammalian COG complex decreases Golgi SNARE mobility, produces an accumulation of free Syntaxin5, and decreases the steady-state levels of the intra-Golgi SNARE complex. Finally, overexpression of the hCog4p N-terminal Syntaxin5a-binding domain destabilizes intra-Golgi SNARE complexes, disrupting the Golgi. These data suggest that the COG complex orchestrates vesicular trafficking similarly in yeast and mammalian cells by binding to the t-SNARE Syntaxin5a/Sed5p and enhancing the stability of intra-Golgi SNARE complexes.
Assistive Technology Training at the Pre-Service Level: A National Snapshot of Teacher Preparation Programs

The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act mandates that every student with an Individualized Education Program be considered for assistive technology (AT). As a result, future special educators need to have the knowledge and skills regarding AT. In this article, the authors report findings from a national study of special education teacher preparation programs using archival document analysis on the current practice of AT course delivery for the preparation of special educators. Findings indicate that AT training at the pre-service level may not be adequately addressed. Approximately one third of undergraduate special teacher licensure programs, 28% of initial postbaccalaureate licensure programs, and less than 25% of master'sdegree programs require AT coursework. In addition, licensure in severe and moderate disabilities requires an AT course more frequently than other types of certification programs. The findings have important implications for future practices in special education teacher prepa...
Travertine: Successful and Unsuccessful Performance, Preconceived Notions, and Mischaracterizations

Travertine is a beige-colored stone with unique color variations, veining, and cavities that many architects worldwide find attractive. The word travertine was derived from an old Roman name for the town of Tivoli (Tibur) in Italy where large deposits of travertine exist. The ancient name for the stone was Lapis Tiburtinus (Tibur Stone) which later evolved into the word travertine. Travertine is a sedimentary rock that began as limestone. Underground water heated by the earth’s core dissolved the limestone and brought it along with other minerals to the earth’s surface to form mud beds. In time, these mud beds of limestone and other minerals cooled and crystallized into solid travertine. This cooling process caused the small unique cavities and open channels in travertine to develop and the minerals created the unique color variations and veining in travertine. Travertine has been successfully used in buildings for thousands of years. The Coliseum in Rome is among the larger buildings in the world that was constructed largely with travertine. However, the inherent small cavities, open channels, and veining in the stone that many architects find attractive are viewed by some people as cavities where water can collect and potentially cause deterioration of the stone due to freezing of this water. This preconceived notion has led to avoidance of the use of travertine in some buildings. While this condition has locally occurred with certain uses of travertine, it has not occurred on a systematic scale, and properly designed, constructed, and maintained travertine elements on buildings have performed successfully. Travertine is a form of limestone and is sometimes classified as travertine limestone because it is composed principally of calcium carbonate. However, sometimes it is commercially classified as travertine marble because it can be polished. This commercial classification of travertine as marble has sometimes led to confusion in the design of travertine on buildings because geologically travertine is a form of limestone and is not marble. This paper describes the successful and unsuccessful uses of travertine on buildings, and provides guidance on how to successfully design travertine on buildings. This paper also provides information that will help to clear up the preconceived notions and mischaracterizations of travertine.
Efficient and Accurate Bulk Parameterizations of Air Sea Fluxes for Use in General Circulation Models

Abstract Efficient and computationally inexpensive simple bulk formulas that include the effects of dynamic stability are developed to provide wind stress, and latent and sensible heat fluxes at the air–sea interface in general circulation models (GCMs). In these formulas the exchange coefficients for momentum and heat (i.e., wind stress drag coefficient, and latent and sensible heat flux coefficients, respectively) have a simple polynomial dependence on wind speed and a linear dependence on the air–sea temperature difference that are derived from a statistical analysis of global monthly climatologies according to wind speed and air–sea temperature difference intervals. Using surface meteorological observations from a central Arabian Sea mooring, these formulas are shown to yield air–sea fluxes on daily timescales that are highly accurate relative to those obtained with the standard algorithm used by the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE), where the ...
Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression co-occurrence: Structural relations among disorder constructs and trait and symptom dimensions.

Objectives Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) in response to trauma co-occur at high rates. A better understanding of the nature of this co-occurrence is critical to developing an accurate conceptualization of the disorders. This study examined structural relations among the PTSD and MDD constructs and trait and symptom dimensions within the framework of the integrative hierarchical model of anxiety and depression. Design Study participants completed clinician-rated and self-report measures during a pre-treatment assessment. Methods The sample consisted of 200 treatment-seeking individuals with a primary DSM-IV PTSD diagnosis. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the relationship between the constructs. Results The trait negative affect/neuroticism construct had a direct effect on both PTSD and MDD. The trait positive affect/extraversion construct had a unique, negative direct effect on MDD, and PTSD had a unique, direct effect on the physical concerns symptoms construct. An alternative model with the PTSD and MDD constructs combined into an overall general traumatic stress construct produced a decrement in model fit. Conclusions These findings provide a clearer understanding of the relationship between co-occurring PTSD and MDD as disorders with shared trait negative affect/neuroticism contributing to the overlap between them and unique trait positive affect/extraversion and physical concerns differentiating them. Therefore, PTSD and MDD in response to trauma may be best represented as two distinct, yet strongly related constructs. Practitioner points In assessing individuals who have been exposed to trauma, practitioners should recognize that co-occurring PTSD and MDD appears to be best represented as two distinct, yet strongly related constructs. Negative affect may be the shared vulnerability directly influencing both PTSD and MDD; however, in the presence of both PTSD and MDD, low positive affect appears to be more specifically related to MDD and fear of physical sensations to PTSD, which is information that could be used by practitioners in the determination of treatment approach. Overall, these findings are clinically relevant in that they may inform assessment, treatment planning, and ultimately diagnostic classification.
I-Love-Q anisotropically: Universal relations for compact stars with scalar pressure anisotropy

Certain physical quantities that characterize neutron stars and quark stars (e.g. their mass, spin angular momentum, and quadrupole moment) have recently been found to be interrelated in a manner that is approximately insensitive to their internal structure. Such approximately universal relations are useful to break degeneracies in data analysis and model selection for future radio, x-ray, and gravitational wave observations. Although the pressure inside compact stars is most likely nearly isotropic, certain scenarios have been put forth that suggest otherwise, for example due to magnetic fields or phase transitions in their interior. We investigate here whether pressure anisotropy affects the approximate universal relations and, if so, whether it prevents their use in future astrophysical observations. We achieve this by numerically constructing slowly rotating and tidally deformed, anisotropic, compact stars in general relativity to third order in stellar rotation relative to the mass shedding limit. We adopt simple models for pressure anisotropy where the matter stress-energy tensor is diagonal for a spherically symmetric spacetime but the tangential pressure differs from the radial one. We find that the equation-of-state variation increases as one increases the amount of anisotropy, but within the anisotropy range studied in this paper (motivated from anisotropy due to crystallization of the core and pion condensation), anisotropy affects the universal relations only weakly. The relations become less universal by a factor of 1.5--3 relative to the isotropic case when anisotropy is maximal, but even then they remain approximately universal to 10%. We find evidence that this increase in variability is strongly correlated to an increase in the eccentricity variation of isodensity contours, which provides further support for the emergent approximate symmetry explanation of universality. Whether one can use universal relations in actual observations ultimately depends on the currently unknown amount of anisotropy inside stars, but within the range studied in this paper, anisotropy does not prevent the use of universal relations in gravitational wave astrophysics or in experimental relativity. We provide an explicit example of the latter by simulating a binary pulsar/gravitational wave test of dynamical Chern--Simons gravity with anisotropic neutron stars. The increase in variability of the universal relations due to pressure anisotropy could affect their use in future x-ray observations of hot spots on rotating compact stars. Given expected observational uncertainties, however, the relations remain sufficiently universal for use in such observations if the anisotropic modifications to the moment of inertia and the quadrupole moment are less than 10% of their isotropic values.
Gas Exchange in the Loggerhead Sea Turtle Caretta Caretta

Pulmonary CO diffusion capacity (DL CO ), lung volume (VL), oxygen uptake (V o 2 ) and pulmonary blood flow (QL) were measured simultaneously in the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta (Linnaeus) (8–11 kg) using a gas rebreathing technique (syringe pump ventilation). Calculated DL CO and V o 2 values in the loggerhead turtle are approximately twice those of non-varanid reptiles and about 25 % of values for resting mammals. Evidence based on an estimated lung-capillary O 2 gradient, δP o 2 , shows that only a small driving gradient is required for O 2 conductance across the loggerhead turtle lung. Pulmonary blood flow values are high compared to those for other reptiles; on the basis of the Fick principle, this implies a substantial blood convection requirement. Differences in oxygen transport mechanisms between the loggerhead sea turtle and other highly aerobic but terrestrial reptiles may result from divergent lung structures and breathing patterns. In sea turtles, the coupling of respiration with locomotory behaviour is one factor that may limit aerobic performance. Since sea turtles have only intermittent access to air, they are required to load both arterial and venous blood with O 2 before submerging
Cropping frequency and area response to climate variability can exceed yield response

About 70% of agricultural output variance due to climate in Mato Grosso, Brazil was determined by changes in cropping frequency and/or changes in cropping area rather than yield (the most common climate impact indicator), a study now shows. The sensitivity of agricultural output to climate change has often been estimated by modelling crop yields under climate change scenarios or with statistical analysis of the impacts of year-to-year climatic variability on crop yields1,2. However, the area of cropland and the number of crops harvested per growing season (cropping frequency) both also affect agricultural output and both also show sensitivity to climate variability and change3,4,5,6,7,8,9. We model the change in agricultural output associated with the response of crop yield, crop frequency and crop area to year-to-year climate variability in Mato Grosso (MT), Brazil, a key agricultural region. Roughly 70% of the change in agricultural output caused by climate was determined by changes in frequency and/or changes in area. Hot and wet conditions were associated with the largest losses and cool and dry conditions with the largest gains. All frequency and area effects had the same sign as total effects, but this was not always the case for yield effects. A focus on yields alone may therefore bias assessments of the vulnerability of agriculture to climate change. Efforts to reduce climate impacts to agriculture should seek to limit production losses not only from crop yield, but also from changes in cropland area and cropping frequency.