cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Myelofibrosis biology and contemporary management.

Myelofibrosis is an enigmatic myeloproliferative neoplasm, despite noteworthy strides in understanding its genetic underpinnings. Driver mutations involving JAK2, CALR or MPL in 90% of patients mediate constitutive JAK-STAT signaling which, in concert with epigenetic alterations (ASXL1, DNMT3A, SRSF2, EZH2, IDH1/2 mutations), play a fundamental role in disease pathogenesis. Aberrant immature megakaryocytes are a quintessential feature, exhibiting reduced GATA1 protein expression and secreting a plethora of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1 s, TGF-s), growth factors (b-FGF, PDGF, VEGF) in addition to extra cellular matrix components (fibronectin, laminin, collagens). The ensuing disrupted interactions amongst the megakaryocytes, osteoblasts, endothelium, stromal cells and myofibroblasts within the bone marrow culminate in the development of fibrosis and osteosclerosis. Presently, prognostic assessment tools for primary myelofibrosis (PMF) are centered on genetics, with incorporation of cytogenetic and molecular information into the mutation-enhanced (MIPSS 70-plus version 2.0) and genetically-inspired (GIPSS) prognostic scoring systems. Both models illustrate substantial clinical heterogeneity in PMF and serve as the crux for risk-adapted therapeutic decisions. A major challenge remains the dearth of disease-modifying drugs, whereas allogeneic transplant offers the chance of long-term remission for some patients. Our review serves to synopsise current appreciation of the pathogenesis of myelofibrosis together with emerging management strategies.
Cardiothoracic Patients with Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis: Pneumonia Rates Following Injection Laryngoplasty.

Objective:Recurrent laryngeal nerve injury is a potential complication of cardiothoracic surgery and cause of unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP). Injection laryngoplasty (IL) is an intervention...
Impact of hospital acquired infections on post-transplant one year mortality in pediatric bone marrow transplant patients.

Objective Children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) are prone to infections, especially when hospitalized for the transplant or additional medical care. These infections are perceived to increase patient's mortality risk, but data are lacking. We conducted this study to assess the burden and the impact of hospital acquired infections (HAI) on mortality risk among pediatric HSCT patients. Methods This retrospective study included 169 patients that received allogeneic HSCT between January 1 2011 and July 6 2017 at Children's National Hospital, a tertiary referral center. Clinical and laboratory data were reviewed for 1 year after transplant to determine HAI and survival status. The HAI incident rates stratified by bloodstream, respiratory, and gastrointestinal infections were then compared between deceased patients and survivors. Results Including transplant, 169 patients sustained 499 hospital admissions for total of 10,523 patient days and 112 HAI episodes, resulting in a HAI rate of 10.6 per 1,000 patient-days. Within 1-year after transplant, 38 (22%) patient died, 30 (17.5%) with nonrelapse-related causes. Unadjusted univariate analysis revealed mortality correlated with cell source (p=0.035), donor type (p = 0.002), respiratory viral infections (P = .015), and central line associated blood stream infection (CLABSIs; P Conclusions In light of the high frequency of multiple factors contributing to mortality we are unable to determine the degree HAI contributed mortality. However, our findings suggest preventing CLABSIs and respiratory adenovirus infections are crucial to improve the 1-year survival among pediatric HSCT patients.
Brain Volume Fractions in Mammals in Relation to Behavior in Carnivores, Primates, Ungulates, and Rodents.

The volume fraction (VF) of a given brain region, or the proper mass, ought to reflect the importance of that region in the life of a given species. This study sought to examine the VF of various brain regions across 61 different species of mammals to discern if there were regularities or differences among mammalian orders. We examined the brains of carnivores ( n = 17), ungulates ( n = 8), rodents ( n = 7), primates ( n = 11), and other mammals ( n = 18) from the online collections at the National Museum of Health and Medicine. We measured and obtained the VF of several brain regions: the striatum, thalamus, neocortex, cerebellum, hippocampus, and piriform area. We refined our analyses by using phylogenetic size correction, yielding the corrected (c)VF. Our groups showed marked differences in gross brain architecture. Primates and carnivores were divergent in some measures, particularly the cVF of the striatum, even though their overall brain size range was roughly the same. Rodents predictably had relatively large cVFs of subcortical structures due to the fact that their neocortical cVF was smaller, particularly when compared to primates. Not so predictably, rodents had the largest cerebellar cVF, and there were marked discrepancies in cerebellar data across groups. Ungulates had a larger piriform area than primates, perhaps due to their olfactory processing abilities. We provide interpretations of our results in the light of the comparative behavioral and neuroanatomical literature.
Weighted Caputo Fractional Iyengar Type Inequalities

Here we present weighted fractional Iyengar type inequalities with respect to \(L_{p}\) norms, with \(1\le p\le \infty \). Our employed fractional calculus is of Caputo type defined with respect to another function. Our results provide quantitative estimates for the approximation of the Lebesgue-Stieljes integral of a function, based on its values over a finite set of points including at the endpoints of its interval of definition. Our method relies on the right and left generalized fractional Taylor’s formulae. The iterated generalized fractional derivatives case is also studied. We give applications at the end. See also [3].
A peptide encoded within a 5' untranslated region promotes pain sensitization in mice.

ABSTRACT Translational regulation permeates neuronal function. Nociceptors are sensory neurons responsible for the detection of harmful stimuli. Changes in their activity, termed plasticity, are intimately linked to the persistence of pain. Although inhibitors of protein synthesis robustly attenuate pain-associated behavior, the underlying targets that support plasticity are largely unknown. Here, we examine the contribution of protein synthesis in regions of RNA annotated as noncoding. Based on analyses of previously reported ribosome profiling data, we provide evidence for widespread translation in noncoding transcripts and regulatory regions of mRNAs. We identify an increase in ribosome occupancy in the 5' untranslated regions of the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP/Calca). We validate the existence of an upstream open reading frame (uORF) using a series of reporter assays. Fusion of the uORF to a luciferase reporter revealed active translation in dorsal root ganglion neurons after nucleofection. Injection of the peptide corresponding to the calcitonin gene-related peptide-encoded uORF resulted in pain-associated behavioral responses in vivo and nociceptor sensitization in vitro. An inhibitor of heterotrimeric G protein signaling blocks both effects. Collectively, the data suggest pervasive translation in regions of the transcriptome annotated as noncoding in dorsal root ganglion neurons and identify a specific uORF-encoded peptide that promotes pain sensitization through GPCR signaling.
Modernizing and Activating Beccaria's Proportionality

Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) offered a progressive view of punishment centered on a law-based proportionality for fair and effective crime prevention. Moderation of severity was placed in the hands of legislators and in the laws. Political proportionality, which eschews moderation of severity, dominates modern crime prevention. Current preferences for legal decision-making reflects generalized disproportionality applicable to all offenders. The limits of legislative and politicized proportionality necessitate modifying Beccaria’s proportionality to modern contexts, and the principle and concept of specific proportionality offer a viable alternative. Contextualization, inquiry, and intra-legal engagement underpin discretion-based specific proportionality. Modernizing proportionality, while presenting some challenges, offers significant benefits to society.
Acute nontraumatic subdural hematoma from ruptured accessory meningeal artery pseudoaneurysm.

Background Cerebral angiography including internal and external carotid artery injections is crucial in young patients with a spontaneous subdural hematoma. Case description We present the first reported case of an accessory meningeal artery aneurysm in a 46-year-old male with a history of hypertension that led to a spontaneous nontraumatic acute subdural hematoma. A PubMed review of the literature was performed using a keyword search to identify cases examining nontraumatic spontaneous intracranial hematomas related to meningeal artery aneurysms. The literature review summarizes all published reports of middle meningeal artery aneurysms resulting in nontraumatic acute intracranial bleeds. The patient underwent successful coiling of the accessory meningeal artery. Conclusion We propose endovascular treatment for accessory meningeal artery aneurysms and emphasize the utility of angiography of internal and external carotid arteries in a patient with an unexplained intracranial hematoma.
Superior sensing performance of two-dimensional ruthenium carbide (2D-RuC) in detection of NO, NO2 and NH3 gas molecules

Abstract In this work, for the first time, we report the enhanced adsorption of nitrogen-containing gas (NCG) molecules such as NO, NO2 and NH3 on two-dimensional ruthenium carbide (2D-RuC). Density functional theory calculations are performed to analyze the electronic properties, charge transfer, work function, recovery time and sensitivity. The computed physisorption energies for NO, NO2 and NH3 molecules are −1.718 eV, −1.480 eV and −0.895 eV respectively. Electronic property analysis reveals that 2D-RuC exhibits metallic character in the presence of adsorbed molecules, which is suitable for a good sensing performance. From the Bader charge analysis, we found that significant amount of charge is transferred from NO (0.210 e) and NO2 (0.413 e) molecules to the 2D-RuC sheet; whereas, charge transfer from the surface to the NH3 molecule is observed (−0.195 e). We also noticed significant changes in the work function of 2D-RuC after the adsorption of NCGs which indicates the high sensitivity and selectivity of this 2D material. The computed temperature-dependent desorption time of the NH3 molecule from the 2D-RuC sheet is much shorter (in the order of seconds) than other molecules. The results indicate that 2D-RuC is an excellent material for the design of reusable NH3 sensor devices.
Phenotypic Proximity: Colorism and Intraracial Discrimination among Blacks in the United States and Brazil, 1928 to 1988:

The level of colorism that developed among blacks in the United States (U.S.) and Brazil, during the 20th century, gave rise to intense altitudes of intraracial discrimination. This distinct form o...
Subacromial Balloon Spacer versus Partial Repair for Massive Rotator Cuff Tears: A Prospective, Randomized, Multi-center Trial:

Objectives:Despite various treatment options, the successful management of irreparable, massive rotator cuff tears (MRCTs) remains challenging. Implantation of a biodegradable subacromial balloon s...
Globalisation, Education and Policy Reforms in Latin America

The chapter argues that concerned educators as public intellectuals are ideally suited to carry out the research, service activities, and teaching that contribute to an understanding of the global forces that impact economies and education systems internationally. Combined with critical analysis of current worldwide trends in economic and education policies is the need to stimulate the imaginations of teachers, students, and policy makers with reference to alternative and preferable futures consistent with ideals of democratic citizenship, both locally and globally. It is argued that globalisation can and does work in ways that often are catastrophic in nature, creating feelings of powerlessness at local and national levels. At the same time, there is ample evidence that transnational social movements can counter the negative forces of globalisation and create conditions for a more just future for all. Thus, educators have a role to play in the liberal education of teachers and the generations of students they will influence. They also have a role to play more broadly with public education in imparting global perspectives and an understanding of the major international forces that have an impact on our communities and daily lives.
Named Entity Recognition in Unstructured Medical Text Documents

Physicians provide expert opinion to legal courts on the medical state of patients, including determining if a patient is likely to have permanent or non-permanent injuries or ailments. An independent medical examination (IME) report summarizes a physicians medical opinion about a patients health status based on the physicians expertise. IME reports contain private and sensitive information (Personally Identifiable Information or PII) that needs to be removed or randomly encoded before further research work can be conducted. In our study the IME is an orthopedic surgeon from a private practice in the United States. The goal of this research is to perform named entity recognition (NER) to identify and subsequently remove/encode PII information from IME reports prepared by the physician. We apply the NER toolkits of OpenNLP and spaCy, two freely available natural language processing platforms, and compare their precision, recall, and f-measure performance at identifying five categories of PII across trials of randomly selected IME reports using each models common default parameters. We find that both platforms achieve high performance (f-measure > 0.9) at de-identification and that a spaCy model trained with a 70-30 train-test data split is most performant.
Nonlinear Cylindrical and Torsional Waves in Hyperelastic Materials

This chapter is devoted to cylindrical and torsional waves and is divided into three parts. Both waves have the common feature that they are traditionally described by cylindrical coordinates.
Naturally occurring trypsin inhibitors.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the following naturally occurring trypsin inhibitors: (1) pancreatic inhibitor of Kunitz and Northrop, (2) a second inhibitor from pancreas crystallized by Kazal, Spicer, and Brahinsky, (3) soybean inhibitor, (4) colostrum inhibitor, (5) lima bean inhibitor, (6) ovomucoid, (7) blood plasma inhibitor, and (8) inhibitor from Ascaris. The naturally occurring trypsin inhibitors have been discussed in regard to their mode of action and properties. In the case of preparation of pancreatic inhibitor of Kunitz and Northrop, fresh pancreas is treated by the procedure of Kunitz and Northrop, through the stage of crystallization of the α-chymotrypsinogen. The mother liquor is then treated as described in the chapter on trypsinogen and trypsin through the stage of crystallization of trypsin. The mother liquor from the crystallization of trypsin is referred to as filtrate E. A second inhibitor from pancreas crystallized by Kazal, Spicer, and Brahinsky, is extracted from pancreas together with crude insulin and remains in solution after insulin is precipitated from an acid 15% NaCl brine. To obtain sufficient quantities of the starting material, several tons of pancreas must be extracted.
From polyps to politics: using a coral reef living laboratory in a politics of sustainability course

Teaching Global Environmental Politics faces several challenges to meet student learning objectives. For one, the interdisciplinary nature of global environmental politics requires significant knowledge of environmental issues, as well as political science, economics, business, and science. Often students feel uncomfortable with the science undergirding the environmental issues, especially since a majority of the students are not science majors. Two, students struggle with making the various connections between the environmental issues themselves, e.g., how deforestation contributes to global warming. Three, students encounter problems taking the concepts and theories learned in the readings and applying them to case studies. To address these challenges and improve student learning, a faculty-student team integrated a coral reef living laboratory into a Politics of Sustainability course which focuses on Global Environmental Politics. This article provides empirical evidence of improved student learning outcomes by using pre/post assessment tools, student surveys, and faculty journals.
THE TWO-SECTOR VON THÜNEN ORIGINAL MARGINAL PRODUCTIVITY MODEL OF CAPITAL; AND BEYOND: Two-sector Model of Scalar Capital

This article considers a two-sector model of scalar capital from the perspectives of smoothly differentiable neoclassical technologies and also non-differentiable technologies based on discrete alternative Leontief–Sraffa techniques. The analysis shows that in these Thunen-like scenarios without joint production the real wage and the interest rate are necessarily in an inverse Ricardian tradeoff. This complements the findings of Samuelson and Etula (2006, Japan and the World Economy, 18, pp. 331–356) and completes the analysis of single homogeneous scalar capital.
Ultraviolet observations of tau/4/ Serpentis /M5 IIb - IIIa/

Ultraviolet observations of the late giant τ4 Ser = HD 139216 (M5 IIb — IIIa) were obtained with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) in the 1200 to 3200 A spectral range. Our data reveal strong Mg II resonance doublet emission that in high dispersion exhibits reversed asymmetric h and k line profile emission. High dispersion spectra of a number of K and M giants and supergiants obtained by Stencel and Mullan (1980) show similar emission profiles in the h and k lines that they attribute to a combination of interstellar and circumstellar absorption. Analysis of our data in context with recent ground-based observations of this M giant suggests that it most likely ejected material from its surface forming a low excitation expanding circumstellar shell. The tentative identification of Fe II emission in low and high spectral resolution also argues for a low extitation shell that surrounds τ4 Ser. Low dispersion UV spectra obtained with IUE of the Mira variable R Aquilae exhibit similar spectral properties when compared to the low resolution spectrum of τ4 Ser and suggests that a moderate excitation shell is also associated with long period variables. Our UV spectral observations and analysis are described below.
Shunt Fascicles in the Gastric Myenteric Plexus in Five Species

Thick nerve bundles, called shunt fascicles, lie in the myenteric plexus of the stomach in guinea pig, rabbit, cat, opossum, and cynomolgus monkey. They enter the stomach at the cardia, either as extensions of the esophageal myenteric plexus or of vagal branches to the caudal esophagus, and radiate toward the greater curvature. They bypass ganglia in the oral part of the stomach but give off branches to ganglia in more caudal parts. They are more abundant in the gastric fundus and body than in the antrum; they are infrequent along the greater curvature of the antrum. About 4% of the fibers they contain are myelinated. Arterioles and venules follow shunt fascicles and give rise to peri f ascicular capillary networks. Shunt fascicles are prominent in the cat, opossum, and monkey; they are short, thin, and sparse in the rabbit and guinea pig. They do not appear to be extensions of the direct vagal branches to the stomach but may be special nerve pathways from the esophagus to parts of the stomach.
Impact of a computerized clinical decision support system on reducing inappropriate antimicrobial use: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Many hospitals utilize antimicrobial management teams (AMTs) to improve patient care. However, most function with minimal computer support. We evaluated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a computerized clinical decision support system for the management of antimicrobial utilization. Design: A randomized controlled trial in adult inpatients between May 10 and August 3, 2004. Antimicrobial utilization was managed by an existing AMT using the system in the intervention arm and without the system in the control arm. The system was developed to alert the AMT of potentially inadequate antimicrobial therapy. Measurements: Outcomes assessed were hospital antimicrobial expenditures, mortality, length of hospitalization, and time spent managing antimicrobial utilization. Results: The AMT intervened on 359 (16%) of 2,237 patients in the intervention arm and 180 (8%) of 2,270 in the control arm, while spending approximately one hour less each day on the intervention arm. Hospital antimicrobial expenditures were $285,812 in the intervention arm and $370,006 in the control arm, for a savings of $84,194 (23%), or $37.64 per patient. No significant difference was observed in mortality (3.26% vs. 2.95%, p = 0.55) or length of hospitalization (3.84 vs. 3.99 days, p = 0.38). Conclusion: Use of the system facilitated the management of antimicrobial utilization by allowing the AMT to intervene on more patients receiving inadequate antimicrobial therapy and to achieve substantial time and cost savings for the hospital. This is the first study that demonstrates in a patient-randomized controlled trial that computerized clinical decision support systems can improve existing antimicrobial management programs.
Perceived Preparedness and Knowledge of Substance Abuse Among Recent MSW Graduates: Advanced Standing Revisited

The granting of advanced standing status to bachelor of social work (BSW) students, exempting them from foundation study in master of social work (MSW) programs, has been controversial. The authors examined differences between recent MSW graduates who had received (n = 87) and not received (n = 124) advanced standing status regarding their perceived preparedness and perceived knowledge to work with substance abuse issues. No statistically significant differences in mean scores were found. However, mean scores for both groups were moderate to low. Implications for substance abuse education and advanced standing in social work education are discussed.
Food preferences and reported frequencies of food consumption as predictors of current diet in young women

Background: Self-reported food preferences and frequencies of food consumption have served as proxy measures of the current diet in consumer research and in nutritional epidemiology studies, respectively. Objective: The objective was to determine whether food preferences and food-frequency scores are associated variables that are predictive of nutrient intakes. Design: College-age women (n = 87) completed a 98-item food-frequency questionnaire and rated preferences for many of the same foods on a 9-point category scale. Estimated intakes of fat, fiber, and vitamin C were obtained by using 3-d food records. Results: For virtually all item pairs tested, food preferences and reported frequencies of consumption of the same foods were significantly correlated with each other. The median Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.40 (range: -0.04 to 0.62). Correlations improved when foods were aggregated into factor-based food groups. The slope of the relation between food preferences and frequency of consumption varied with food category. Both food preferences and food frequencies predicted dietary outcomes. Fat consumption was predicted equally well by either approach in a multiple regression model. Intakes of fiber and vitamin C were better predicted by food-frequency scores than by stated preferences for vegetables and fruit. Conclusions: Reported frequencies of food consumption, the core of the food-frequency approach, were associated with food likes and dislikes. Food preferences were a predictor of dietary intakes and may provide an alternative to the food-frequency approach for dietary intake assessment.
Interrater reliability of craniosacral rate measurements and their relationship with subjects' and examiners' heart and respiratory rate measurements

Background and Purpose. The evaluation of craniosacral motion is an approach used by physical therapists and other health professionals to assess the causes of pain and dysfunction, but evidence for the existence of this motion is lacking and the reproducibility of the results of this palpatory technique has not been studied. This study examined the interexaminer reliability of craniosacral rate and the relationships among craniosacral rate and subjects' and examiners' heart and respiratory rates. Subjects. Participants were 12 children and adults with histories of physical trauma, surgery, or learning disabilities. Three physical therapists with expertise in craniosacral therapy were the examiners. Methods. One of three nurses recorded heart and respiratory rates of both subject and examiner. The examiner then palpated the subject to determine craniosacral rate and reported the findings to the nurse. Each subject was examined by each of the three examiners. Results. Reliability was estimated using a repeated-measures analysis of variance and the intraclass correlation coefficient (2,1). Significant differences among examiners and the scatter plot of rates showed lack of agreement among examiners. The ICC was −.02. The correlations between subject craniosacral rate and subject and examiner heart and respiratory rates were analyzed with Pearson correlation coefficients and were low and not statistically significant. Discussion and Conclusions. Measurements of craniosacral motion did not appear to be related to measurements of heart and respiratory rates, and therapists were not able to measure it reliably. Measurement error may be sufficiently large to render many clinical decisions potentially erroneous. Further studies are needed to verify whether craniosacral motion exists, examine the interpretations of craniosacral assessment, determine the reliability of all aspects of the assessment, and examine whether craniosacral therapy is an effective treatment.
Observation of miRNA Gene Expression in Zebrafish Embryos by In Situ Hybridization to MicroRNA Primary Transcripts

Abstract MicroRNAs (miRNAs) add a previously unexpected layer to the post-transcriptional regulation of protein production. Although locked nucleic acids (LNAs) reveal the distribution of mature miRNAs by in situ hybridization (ISH) experiments in zebrafish and other organisms, high cost has restricted their use. Further, LNA probes designed to recognize mature miRNAs do not distinguish expression patterns of two miRNA genes that produce the same mature miRNA sequence. Riboprobes are substantially less expensive than LNAs, but have not been used to detect miRNA gene expression because they do not bind with high affinity to the short, 22-nucleotide-long mature miRNAs. To solve these problems, we capitalized on the fact that miRNAs are initially transcribed into long primary transcripts (pri-mRNAs). We show here that conventional digoxigenin-labeled riboprobes can bind to primary miRNA transcripts in zebrafish embryos. We tested intergenic and intronic miRNAs (miR-10d, miR-21, miR-27a, miR-126a, miR-126b, m...
Formation of 2-ketogluconate from glucose by a cell-free preparation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Abstract A cell-free preparation from P.aeruginosa will convert glucose and gluconic acid to 2-ketogluconic acid with the utilization of 1 μmole 0 2 and 0.5 μmole O 2 /μmole substrate respectively. 2-Ketogluconate is not utilized by the juice and this compound can be identified from the reaction mixtures. Glucose 6-phosphate is not an intermediate in this conversion although hexokinase and gluconokinase are present. The Embden-Meyerhof enzyme aldolase is also present in this cell-free preparation. This system may serve as a convenient source of labeled 2-keto-gluconate from labeled glucose.
Teaching Antiracism in Counselor Training: Reflections on a Course

This article provides a descriptive review of an antiracism course taught within a counseling and development program. Adopting a reflective stance, the article presents the rationale for antiracism training, describes the course structure and content, and includes personal reflections from students and the instructor. Este articulo proporciona una critica descriptiva de un curso de antiracismo que se enseno dentro de un programa de consejeria y desarrollo. Adoptando una postura de reflexion, el articulo presenta los fundamentos para la formacion en antiracismo, describe la estructura del curso y su contenido e incluye ademas reflexiones personales de los estudiantes y el profesor.
Dielectric properties of apples in the range 0.1–100 kHz

Capacitance and conductance spectra are measured between 100 Hz and 100 kHz for three varieties of apple. Analysis of the spectra for several types of electrode material indicates that electrode effects may be neglected for frequencies above 1 kHz. Power-law responses are observed withC∼f−0.3 for the capacitance andGa.c.∼f+0.9 for the a.c. conductance. Activation energies were found to be of the order of 0.05–0.15 eV for the three apple varieties and found to be frequency dependent. Comparison is made with an apple in which the cellular structure has been damaged by freezing. Freezing produced a significant increase in the high-frequency activation energy for conductance and a decrease in the power-law exponent to +0.3 for a.c. conductance. It is suggested that the dielectric properties result from a combination of relatively free ionic diffusion in the extracellular medium and the hopping of counterions along trap sites on the cell wall.
Evaluation of the Revised Faces Pain Scale, Verbal Descriptor Scale, Numeric Rating Scale, and Iowa Pain Thermometer in Older Minority Adults

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of selected pain intensity scales including the Faces Pain Scale Revised (FPS-R), Verbal Descriptor Scale (VDS), Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and Iowa Pain Thermometer (IPT) with a cognitively impaired minority sample. A descriptive correlational design was used, and a convenience sample of 68 participants, admitted to acute care facilities in the South, with an average Mini Mental Status Exam score of 23 comprised the sample. Thirty-two percent of the participants were males, and 68% were females. The majority (74%) of the sample consisted of African-American participants with the exception that 16% were Hispanic and 10% were Asian. An overwhelming majority of participants were able to use all of the tools. Concurrent validity was supported with correlations ranging from 0.56 to 0.90. The lowest correlations were found between the FPS-R and the other scales, suggesting that the FPS-R may be measuring a broader construct incorporating pain. Test-retest reliability was supported with coefficients ranging from 0.77 to 0.89. In terms of pain scale preference, the Numeric Rating Scale (33%) was the preferred scale in the cognitively intact group and the FPS-R (54%) was the preferred scale in the cognitively impaired group. When race and cognitive status were considered, African-Americans and Hispanics preferred the FPS-R. Severely, moderately, and mildly impaired participants also preferred the FPS-R. The findings of this study support the use of these scales with older cognitively impaired minority adults.
Infrared absorption in bulk amorphous As

We report the room-temperature infrared absorption spectrum of bulk $a\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{As}$. The spectrum shows strong features in two well-separated spectral regions, near 230 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ and between 150 and 110 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ The absorption in $a\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{As}$ is compared with absorption reported previously for $a\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{Se}$ and $a\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{Ge}$. The absorption in all three elemental amorphous materials corresponds to structure in the vibrational density of states and is discussed in terms of a structural model that is based on the atomic coordination and resultant short-range order.
Activity disruption and depressive symptoms in women living with metastatic breast cancer.

Women with breast cancer are at increased risk of depression, and women with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, who face the likelihood of a foreshortened future, may be particularly at risk for poor mental health (Caplette-Gingras & Savard, 2008). The activity restriction model posits that stressors result in depressive symptoms to the extent that they interfere with one’s normal social and recreational activities (Williamson & Shaffer, 2000), and a recent meta-analysis of 32 studies revealed a strong relationship (mean r = .45) between activity restriction and depressive symptoms in medical patients (Mausbach et al., 2011). Although activity restriction has been correlated with depressive symptoms in women with early stage breast cancer (Williamson, 2000), this association has not been examined in women with Stage IV cancer. Because a Stage IV diagnosis often results in a progressive loss of functional abilities and roles, activity disruption and concomitant depression may be particularly profound among women with metastatic disease. With few exceptions, the activity restriction literature has been limited by cross-sectional study design. In one study of mixed cancer outpatients, activity disruption predicted depressive symptoms 8 months later (Williamson & Schulz, 1995), as the activity restriction model suggests. In another, heightened distress predicted activity disruption six months later, but activity disruption did not predict distress (Carver, Lehman, & Antoni, 2003). These longitudinal relationships warrant study in the context of Stage IV cancer, in which there may be greater variability in the course of both activity disruption and distress than in early stage disease. Finally, depression is a heterogeneous condition and may include lack of enjoyment of life, sadness, and somatic and interpersonal symptoms. Whether associations with activity disruption vary across these subsets of symptoms has not been tested. Examining longitudinal relationships with specific symptoms of depression could inform theories of depression in the context of cancer as well as the development and delivery of interventions. The goal of the current analyses was to examine longitudinal relationships between illness-related disruption of social and recreational activities and self-reported symptoms of depression in a sample of women living with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. We hypothesized a reciprocal relationship, such that activity disruption at study entry would predict increases in depressive symptoms three months later and that depressive symptoms at study entry would predict subsequent increases in activity restriction. In exploratory analyses, we also examined whether these longitudinal relationships differed across the different subsets of depressive symptoms.
49.2: Rotating‐Wheel Braille Display for Continuous Refreshable Braille

Refreshable Braille provides a critical path to display accessibility. High cost and reliability issues severely limit the market for existing Braille displays. A novel wheel-based design addresses reliability issues, and provides continuous Braille text with many-fold reduction in cost.
Cerebellar hemorrhage on magnetic resonance imaging in preterm newborns associated with abnormal neurologic outcome.

Objective To investigate the relationship between cerebellar hemorrhage in preterm infants seen on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but not on ultrasonography, and neurodevelopmental outcome. Study design Images from a cohort study of MRI in preterm newborns were reviewed for cerebellar hemorrhage. The children were assessed at a mean age of 4.8 years with neurologic examination and developmental testing using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Third Edition. Results Cerebellar hemorrhage was detected on both ultrasonography and MRI in 3 of the 131 preterm newborns evaluated, whereas smaller hemorrhages were seen only on MRI in 10 newborns (total incidence, 10%). Adjusting for gestational age at birth, intraventricular hemorrhage, and white matter injury, cerebellar hemorrhage detectable solely by MRI was associated with a 5-fold increased odds of abnormal neurologic examination compared with newborns without cerebellar hemorrhage (outcome data in 74%). No association with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Third Edition score was found. Conclusions Cerebellar hemorrhage is not uncommon in preterm newborns. Although associated with neurologic abnormalities, hemorrhage seen only on MRI is associated with much more optimistic outcomes than that visible on ultrasonography.
SHEPPACK: a Fortran 95 package for interpolation using the modified Shepard algorithm

Scattered data interpolation and approximation problems arise in many applications. Shepard's method for constructing global interpolants by blending local interpolants using locally-supported weight functions usually creates reasonable approximations. This paper describes SHEPPACK, a Fortran 95 package containing five versions of the modified Shepard algorithm. These five versions include quadratic (TOMS Algorithm 660, 661, and 798), cubic (TOMS Algorithm 790), and linear variations of the original Shepard algorithm. The main goal of SHEPPACK is to provide users with a single consistent package consisting of all existing polynomial variations of Shepard's algorithm. The algorithms target data of different dimensions. The linear Shepard algorithm is the only algorithm in the package that is applicable to arbitrary dimensional data. The motivation is to enable researchers to experiment with different algorithms using their data and select one (or more) that is best suited to their needs, and to support interpolation for sparse, high dimensional data sets.
Emission of terahertz-frequency electromagnetic radiation from bulk Ga x In 1 − x As crystals

We report an experimental study of femtosecond optically excited emission of terahertz frequency electromagnetic radiation from ${\text{Ga}}_{x}{\text{In}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\text{As}$ bulk crystals with alloy composition in the range between $0lxl0.65$. The terahertz-emission mechanisms in bulk ${\text{Ga}}_{x}{\text{In}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\text{As}$ were studied as a function of carrier mobility, carrier concentrations, band gap as well as polycrystal grain size. Our experiments and analysis demonstrate that optical rectification is the dominant terahertz-emission mechanism for ${\text{Ga}}_{x}{\text{In}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\text{As}$ with $0.01\ensuremath{\le}x\ensuremath{\le}0.43$ while surface-field acceleration is dominant for ${\text{Ga}}_{x}{\text{In}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\text{As}$ with $0.43\ensuremath{\le}x\ensuremath{\le}0.64$. The magnitude of terahertz emission due to optical rectification is a function of the polycrystal grain size of the ${\text{Ga}}_{x}{\text{In}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\text{As}$ samples. Terahertz emission from ${\text{Ga}}_{x}{\text{In}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\text{As}$ due to optical rectification is due to a ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{(2)}$ nonlinear optical process. Overall, terahertz emission from ${\text{Ga}}_{x}{\text{In}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\text{As}$ is maximized for $x\ensuremath{\approx}0.1--0.3$.
Global analysis of marchuk's model in a case of weak immune system

Some special cases of Marchuk's simplest model of an infectious disease are considered. We assume that damage to the target organ is not too large so a paralysis effect is neglected and the model reduces to three ordinary differential equations with time delay. The initial condition corresponds to a healthy organism infected by some dose of an antigen at time 0. It is proved that if the immune system is weak and the antigen reproduction rate is large, then the end of every infection is lethal. This means that the antigen concentration increases to infinity in time. The same is true if the antigen reproduction rate is small but the initial dose of antigen is sufficiently large.
Decay constants of heavy-light pseudoscalars: Results at β = 6.3☆

A lattice calculation of the pseudoscalar decay constant for heavy-light mesons is reported. Emphasis is placed on preliminary results obtained using wall-source propagators at {beta} = 6.3. The previously-observed discrepancy between the static and conventional approaches appears to be much reduced.
What's Missing from the National Agenda for School Reform? Teacher Professionalism and Local Initiative.

The author argues that the many recent reports on schools signify a renewed emphasis on social Darwinism. In noting that the reports are numerous and calls for reform vehement, Noblit suggests that the emerging agenda is neither starting nor new. By characterizing this reform agenda as both inappropriate and impotent, Noblit argues that the concepts of quality and excellence are misconceived, as are the means and actors needed to create excellence. Noblit concludes by developing an alternative reform agenda based on teacher professionalism and local initiative.
Exploring iterative and parallel human computation processes

Services like Amazon's Mechanical Turk have opened the door for exploration of processes that outsource computation to humans. These human computation processes hold tremendous potential to solve a variety of problems in novel and interesting ways. However, we are only just beginning to understand how to design such processes. This paper explores two basic approaches: one where workers work alone in parallel and one where workers iteratively build on each other's work. We present a series of experiments exploring tradeoffs between each approach in several problem domains: writing, brainstorming, and transcription. In each of our experiments, iteration increases the average quality of responses. The increase is statistically significant in writing and brainstorming. However, in brainstorming and transcription, it is not clear that iteration is the best overall approach, in part because both of these tasks benefit from a high variability of responses, which is more prevalent in the parallel process. Also, poor guesses in the transcription task can lead subsequent workers astray.
Effects of the spatial frequency of test and reference stimuli on stereo-thresholds

Abstract The perceived depth of adjacent regions of stereoscopic stimuli may be influenced, in part, by differences in the spatial frequency composition of adjacent stimuli. Consequently, it would be predicted that, if the test and reference stimuli differ in their spatial frequency composition, depth discrimination thresholds should be asymmetric about the retinal disparity of the reference stimulus. We measured depth discrimination thresholds with test and reference stimuli that differed by up to 2 octaves in their spatial frequency composition. Stereothresholds decreased as a function of spatial frequency to about 2–4 c/deg and were then constant. However, in contrast to the predicted effects, our results show that, for the range of spatial frequencies used, differences of up to 2 octaves in spatial frequency, between test and reference stimuli, do not affect depth discrimination thresholds.
The effect of segmental order on fricative labeling by children and adults.

We examined whether children modify their perceptual weighting strategies for speech on the basis of the order of segments within a syllable, as adults do. To this end, fricative-vowel (FV) and vowel-fricative (VF) syllables were constructed with synthetic noises from an /∫/-to-/s/ continuum combined with natural /a/ and /u / portions with transitions appropriate for a preceding or a following /∫/ or /s/. Stimuli were played in their original order to adults and children (ages of 7 and 5 years) in Experiment 1 and in reversed order in Experiment 2. The results for adults and, to a lesser extent, those for 7-year-olds replicated earlier results showing that adults assign different perceptual weights to acoustic properties, depending on segmental order. In contrast, results for 5-year-olds suggested that these listeners applied the same strategies during fricative labeling, regardless of segmental order. Thus, the flexibility to modify perceptual weighting strategies for speech according to segmental order apparently emerges with experience.
An Efficiency-Enhanced Auto-Reconfigurable 2 $\times$ /3 $\times$ SC Charge Pump for Transcutaneous Power Transmission

An auto-reconfigurable 2×/3× switched-capacitor charge pump (SC-CP) for transcutaneous power transmission is presented in this paper. The proposed SC-CP can automatically configure its own voltage conversion ratio according to different input voltages by using the adaptive control circuitry such that the DC/DC regulator can maintain high power efficiencies under coupling variations. In addition, a dynamic dead-time control scheme and a minimum capacitance selection strategy are developed to improve the power efficiency of the proposed SC-CP through minimizing the shoot-through current and maximizing its average output voltage, respectively. Implemented in a standard 0.35-μm n-well CMOS process, the proposed SC-CP achieves peak power efficiencies of 95% (2 ×) and 92% (3 ×). The quiescent current consumption of the charge pump has been reduced by 1.6 times (2 ×) and 2.3 times (3 ×) with the dynamic dead-time control. The power efficiency of the DC/DC regulator with the proposed SC-CP is also improved by > 25%, compared to that using the conventional 3×SC-CP, when the input voltage varies from 1.6 V to 2.4 V.
APPLYING OPTIMAL FORAGING THEORY TO ASSESS NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY RATIOS FOR ANTS

Although the availability of food resources affects a wide range of ecological and evolutionary processes, its role in generating patterns in natural systems remains largely unresolved. Elucidating the importance of resource availability should be made easier by the development of techniques that can measure the amount of resources that are accessible to a consumer, rather than simply the abundance of resources in the environment. In this study, I develop a behavioral assay for inferring the ratio of nutrients available to organisms in the field. The assay involves measuring the responses of foragers to nutrient solutions. These responses are used to determine the mean effective concentration, or ED50, of a nutrient, defined as the concentration that is rejected in 50% of trials. Because ED50 provides a measure of the quality of a depletable patch at which a consumer would quit foraging, it is analogous to the giving-up density (GUD), a common tool in ecological research. Here, I use ED50s to estimate the...
On the exact space complexity of sketching and streaming small norms

We settle the 1-pass space complexity of (1 ± e)-approximating the Lp norm, for real p with 1 ≤ p ≤ 2, of a length-n vector updated in a length-m stream with updates to its coordinates. We assume the updates are integers in the range [--M, M]. In particular, we show the space required is Θ(e-2 log(mM) + log log(ns)) bits. Our result also holds for 0