cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exercise Capacity and Mortality in Black and White Men

Background—Exercise capacity is inversely related to mortality risk in healthy individuals and those with cardiovascular diseases. This evidence is based largely on white populations, with little information available for blacks. Methods and Results—We assessed the association between exercise capacity and mortality in black (n6749; age, 5811 years) and white (n8911; age, 6011 years) male veterans with and without cardiovascular disease who successfully completed a treadmill exercise test at the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in Washington, DC, and Palo Alto, Calif. Fitness categories were based on peak metabolic equivalents (METs) achieved. Subjects were followed up for all-cause mortality for 7.55.3 years. Among clinical and exercise test variables, exercise capacity was the strongest predictor of risk for mortality. The adjusted risk was reduced by 13% for every 1-MET increase in exercise capacity (hazard ratio, 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.86 to 0.88; P0.001). Compared with those who achieved 5 METs, the mortality risk was 50% lower for those with an exercise capacity of 7.1 to 10 METs (hazard ratio, 0.51; 95% confidence interval, 0.47 to 0.56; P0.001) and 70% lower for those achieving 10 METs (hazard ratio, 0.31; 95% confidence interval, 0.26 to 0.36; P0.001). The findings were similar for those with and without cardiovascular disease and for both races. Conclusions—Exercise capacity is a strong predictor of all-cause mortality in blacks and whites. The relationship was inverse and graded, with a similar impact on mortality outcomes for both blacks and whites. (Circulation. 2008;117: 614-622.)
Using Formal Verification and Robotic Evolution Techniques to Find Contradictions in Laws Concerning Police Rules of Engagement

There are thousands of laws and regulations in the United States, ranging from the local to the state to the federal level. The sheer number of laws increases the probability that some of these laws may contradict each other. In recent years in the City of Portland, many controversial instances of police officers using force have occurred. In this project we used formal verification and robot programming techniques to validate and find contradictions in laws that govern police use of force. We constructed a model of police officers and bystanders in a robot "game" using the NuSMV software and development language. Temporal logic, which uses a subset of modal logic, along with predicate calculus is used to produce a computational logic tree, which simulates all possibilities in the model. Robot movement is used to model state evolution. We inserted statutes and case law into our model to dictate the behaviors of the actors, in the process developing a formal method of translating laws into operational predicate modal logic clauses. Finally, we run a process to check through the computation tree to find contradictions. Our final results found several contradictions, some of them obvious enough to be used as argument in real court cases, and suggest the legal code should be seriously cleaned up so as to prevent confusion and uncertainty. Our work also suggests that formal verification techniques can be applied to drug laws, tax laws, and other legal venues.
Paris visual académie as first prototype profession : Rethinking the sociology of professions

Visual academies were unique social formations in the ancien regime, so distinctive that they are best studied as prototype professions. Alone among academies, they were responsible for offering instruction. Alone among educational institutions, they linked liberal instruction to occupational practice. Alone among ‘learned’ occupations, they accommodated an irreducible manual component. The visual Academie in Paris in particular established literally the first ‘graduate school’ in any field of activity and admitted students on the basis of anonymously scored student competitions. Equivalent activities will not begin to emerge in medicine or law until the mid-19th century. Our historical case, in short, calls into question the received orthodoxy regarding the time and place of the first professionalism projects. Instead of focusing on 19th-century Britain, we are now considering mid-17th-century France and thereby preparing the way for a new start in the sociology of professions.
Enhancing Content Visibility in Institutional Repositories: Overview of Factors that Affect Digital Resources Discoverability

Poster presented at the 2013 International iConference. This poster discusses factors that affect digital resource discoverability and digital curation activities that enhance the visibility of an institutional repository (IR) in an ever-changing digital landscape.
Time-dependent oxygen isotopic effects of CO self shielding across the solar protoplanetary disk

Abstract Optically thin surfaces of the solar circumstellar disk were likely sites for generating 16 O isotope variability in the early Solar System. Astrochemical reaction network calculations predict that a robust feature of these photoactive horizons of the disk was conversion of CO gas to 16 O-poor (high Δ 17 O) H 2 O ice on a timescale of 10 5 yr. Within several AU of the central star ultraviolet fluxes were too great for the oxygen isotopic effects of CO photodissociation to be sequestered in H 2 O, meaning that the CO self shielding oxygen isotopic effect was an outer disk phenomenon. Calculations depicting transport in the circumstellar disk suggest that CO photodissociation at disk surfaces triggered a wave of high-Δ 17 O H 2 O that passed from surface regions through the outer disk and into the rocky planet-forming region on a timescale of 10 5 to 10 6 yr.
Cultural perceptions: The missing element in the implementation of ICT in developing countries

Given the widely recognized importance of culture for the successful implementation of information and communication technology (ICT), this study explored the cultural perceptions of high school EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers in Syria toward ICT. Using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, the study sought to determine the teachers’ overall perceptions of ICT as influenced by their national culture and school culture(s). The findings point to a notable conservatism in participants’ perception of ICT in education and society at large. Teachers were mainly concerned about the morally damaging effect of ICT, its inattentiveness to their cultural and language needs, and its growing primacy at the expense of other societal needs. Hence, participants urged for the creation of local computers and software that would better serve Syrian identity and culture. The implications of the findings are discussed.
Prevention of Drowning in Infants, Children, and Adolescents

Drowning is a leading cause of injury-related death in children. In 2000, more than 1400 US children younger than 20 years drowned. Most (91%) of these deaths were unintentional and were not related to boating. For each drowning death, it is estimated that at least 1 to 4 children suffer a serious nonfatal submersion event, many of which leave children with permanent disabilities. Environmental strategies, such as installation of 4-sided fences around swimming pools, and behavioral strategies, such as increased supervision of children while around water, are needed to prevent these tragedies.
Modeling the functional role of SA node-atrial interdigitation

Recent immunohistochemical studies in which atrial and sino-atrial (SA) node tissue from the guinea-pig heart has been labeled differentially with fluorescent markers show that fine strands of atrial tissue penetrate into, and interdigitate with SA node cells in the primary pacemaker region. Computational models of the SA node-atrial network were implemented on the parallel CM-5 supercomputer and used to investigate the functional role of this interdigitation. Simulation results show that interdigitation of SA node and atrium reduces electrotonic loading effects of the atrium on the node, and improves reliability of conduction of the nodal pacemaker potential into the surrounding, highly coupled atrium. >
Stress and coping in wildland firefighting dispatchers

Objective: To gain a better understanding of the stressors faced by wildland firefighting dispatchers and how they cope with it. Design: Qualitative method of phenomenology. Setting: Dispatch centers around the western United States. Subjects: Subjects were recruited via e-mail solicitation. Only currently employed wildland firefighting dispatchers with extensive dispatching experience were selected. Dispatchers included in this study were employed at the local (3), geographic (4), or national level (4). Eleven dispatchers in total were interviewed, six females and five males. Average experience level as a dispatcher was 14.2 years. Interventions: In-person interviews. Results: Three broad categories of stressors were revealed: balancing personal and professional lives, contending with job-related issues, and dealing with issues related to control. Four coping strategies also emerged: taking time off, exercising, providing a service to firefighters, and receiving support from others. Conclusions: In general, a complex and at times even a paradoxical relationship between the dispatchers interviewed and stress was noted. In other words, while subjects felt that the stressors experienced as a dispatcher had the ability to negatively affect their performance, they also believed that stress was beneficial at times. Future research is recommended to further our understanding of workplace stressors for wildland fire dispatchers, and how they cope with them.
Out of the darkness.

New DoH guidelines make informed, willing consent a vital issue in children's services. Priscilla Alderson points out the benefits in terms of quality care and shows how managers can help patients and professionals to overcome obstacles.
Educational Interventions for Middle School Students to Improve the Perception of Nursing as a Future Career Choice

Medical University of South Carolina • Charleston, SC • (843) 792-4724 Acknowledgements Hanahan Middle School Katie Evans, Teacher, Alicia Jowers, Teacher, Robin Rogers, Principal Berkeley County School District Gwen Scarborough, Learning Coordinator, Karen P. Whitley, Chief Academic Officer Medical University of South Carolina Kahlil A. Demonbreun, RNC-OB, MSN, WHNP-BC, ANP-BC, Doctor of Nursing Practice Student Microburst Learning Ann Brown, Chief Operating Officer, Rebecca Bazzle, Creative Director, Brittany Elliott, Julie Sharpe Supported in part by funding from Sigma Theta Tau Gamma Omicron at Large chapter Contact Information Robin Evans Matutina, PhD(c), BSN, RN-BC, CPNTM, CPON®, Doctoral Student matutinr@musc.edu Online (PhD) Doctoral Program 99 Jonathan Lucas Street, MSC 160, Charleston, SC 29425-9640 educAtionAl interventions for middle school students to improve the perception of nursing As A future cAreer choice Robin E. Matutina, PhD (c), RN-BC, CPNTM, CPON®, Teresa Kelechi, PhD, GCNS-BC, CWCN, FAAN, Martina Mueller, Ph.D. Carolyn H. Jenkins, DrPH, APRN, BC-ADM, RD, CDE, RNC, FAAN, Jordy Johnson, BA, MBA, Ed.D, SPHR College of Nursing, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
Genetics of Polycystic Ovarian Disease

PCOD, and particularly hyperthecosis, can occur as an inherited disorder (17,127,160, 238,335,435,568,609,918,922,985). At the present time the frequency of PCOD occurring as a genetic disorder is not known. Givens studied the incidence of oligomenorrhea and/or hirsutism in 48 sibships of 18 families having one or more member with diagnosed PCOD (324,325). Twenty-eight of 48 sibships had maternal transmission only and the incidence of oligomenorrhea and/or hirsutism was 47%. The 28 sibships had 93 females, 39 of whom had oligomenorrhea and/or hirsutism (an incidence of 42%). Paternal transmission was noted in 15 sibships and the incidence of oligomenorrhea and/or hirsutism was 41 of 47 females, an inci-dence of 87%. Five sibships had both paternal and maternal transmission and the incidence was 90% (9 of 10 sibships). These data suggest X-linked dominant inheritance but do not exclude autosomal dominant inheritance.
FLORAL SEX ALLOCATION IN SEQUENTIALLY BLOOMING PLANTS.

In plants whose flowers develop in a sequence, different flowers may exhibit temporal variation in pollen donation and receipt such that the fitness contributions through male and female functions can vary among flowers. Dichogamy, or directional pollinator movements within inflorescences, can create situations where flowers in different stages in the sequence may differ in the numbers of flowers in the female stage available as potential mates. We present an evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) analysis of the resource allocations expected in different flowers in hermaphroditic plants when the mating environments vary among flowers. This introduces a modular element into sex-allocation models. Our analysis shows that such variation in the mating environments of flowers can select for differences in sex allocation between flowers. When male and female fertilities are nonlinear functions of the allo- cations, variation in resource availability can also select for variation in sex allocation among flowers. The influence of dichogamy and pollinator directionality on floral sex allocation is discussed, and the empirical evidence supporting the predictions derived from the model is briefly reviewed. The implications of our results for the evolution of andromonoecy and monoecy are discussed.
Relationship between urbanization and CO2 emissions depends on income level and policy

We investigate empirically how national-level CO2 emissions are affected by urbanization and environmental policy. We use statistical modeling to explore panel data on annual CO2 emissions from 80 countries for the period 1983-2005. Random- and fixed-effects models indicate that, on the global average, the urbanization-emission elasticity value is 0.95 (i.e., a 1% increase in urbanization correlates with a 0.95% increase in emissions). Several regions display a statistically significant, positive elasticity for fixed- and random-effects models: lower-income Europe, India and the Sub-Continent, Latin America, and Africa. Using two proxies for environmental policy/outcomes (ratification status for the Kyoto Protocol; the Yale Environmental Performance Index), we find that in countries with stronger environmental policy/outcomes, urbanization has a more beneficial (or, a less negative) impact on emissions. Specifically, elasticity values are -1.1 (0.21) for higher-income (lower-income) countries with strong environmental policy, versus 0.65 (1.3) for higher-income (lower-income) countries with weak environmental policies. Our finding that the urbanization-emissions elasticity may depend on the strength of a country's environmental policy, not just marginal increases in income, is in contrast to the idea of universal urban scaling laws that can ignore local context. Most global population growth in the coming decades is expected to occur in urban areas of lower-income countries, which underscores the importance of these findings.
Efficiency of the Performance Incentive Mechanism of Open-end Fund based on Investor's Sentiment

We apply the behavioral finance theory to resolve the adverse selection problem of open-end fund.By setting up principal-agent model,we study the reasons of the efficiency loss of incentive mechanism based on performance,and announce the effects of investors' sentiment on incentive efficiency.The result shows that on one hand the efficiency loss is due to investors giving up good money managers by mistake;on the other hand,the efficiency loss is due to investors accepting bad money managers by mistake.The incentive efficiency loss decreases when investors are influenced by the optimistic sentiment.The incentive efficiency loss increases when investors are influenced by the pessimistic sentiment.The conclusion provides new ideas and countermeasures for explaining real practices and dealing with the conflict between investors and money managers.
Study on the Structure and Function of the Distribution Network System Containing Micro-Grid

Distribu ted power generation and micro-grid technology result in a fundamental change in the traditional distribution network structure.This paper presents a three-level system structure consistent of distribution system,micro grid and smart meters,and sets up a system model to study the function,control system and protection configuration in the new distribution network,focusing on the control and protection strategy between the levels,and thereby puts forward some advanced applications based on the system.The study in this paper provides a theoretical reference in the accession of distributed generation with high penetrations.
Towards a computational model of narrative visualization

The task of narrative visualization has been the subject of increasing interest in recent years. Much like data visualization, narrative visualization offers users an informative and aesthetically pleasing perspective on "story data." Automatically creating visual representations of narratives poses significant computational challenges due to the complex affective and causal elements, among other things, that must be realized in visualizations. In addition, narratives that are composed by novice writers pose additional challenges due to the disfluencies stemming from ungrammatical text. In this paper, we introduce the NARRATIVE THEATRE, a narrative visualization system under development in our laboratory that generates narrative visualizations from middle school writers' text. The NARRATIVE THEATRE consists of a rich writing interface, a robust natural language processor, a narrative reasoner, and a storyboard generator. We discuss design issues bearing on narrative visualization, introduce the NARRATIVE THEATRE, and describe narrative corpora that have been collected to study narrative visualization. We conclude with a discussion of a narrative visualization research agenda.
Pills for Pigs: Just Say No.

The author discusses the approach of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent the overuse of drugs such as antibiotics in food animals that promote animal growth. The author mentions that the move by the agency which is to use sales data from drug developers to analyse whether its guidelines is effective were inadequate due to department's reliance on the data.
A Republic of Law

The rule of law is a valuable human achievement. It is valuable not only instrumentally, but also for its own sake as a significant aspect of social justice. Only in a society that enjoys the rule of law is it possible for people to regard one another as fellow free citizens; no one the master of anyone else. Nevertheless, the rule of law is poorly understood. In this book, Frank Lovett develops a rigorous conception of the rule of law that is grounded in legal positivism, and offers a civic republican argument for its value in terms of freedom from domination. Bridging persistent methodological gaps that divide legal philosophy, social science, and political theory, Lovett demonstrates how insights from all three can be united in a single powerful theory. This book will appeal to anyone interested in the rule of law, including scholars, legal officials, and policy-makers.
Enabling an Open Data Ecosystem for the Neurosciences

As the pace and complexity of neuroscience data grow, an open data ecosystem must develop and grow with it to allow neuroscientists the ability to reach for new heights of discovery. However, the problems and complexities of neuroscience data sharing must first be addressed. Among the challenges facing data sharing in neuroscience, the problem of incentives, discoverability, and sustainability may be the most pressing. We here describe these problems and provide potential future solutions to help cultivate an ecosystem for data sharing.
Unresectable malignancy and bowel obstruction in the acute care surgery patient

Patients with incurable cancer who develop malignant bowel obstruction (MBO) represent a challenge for acute care surgeons. Most of these patients have a poor prognosis and limited survival. Surgical management, in carefully selected patients, may increase survival, alleviate symptoms, and reduce reobstruction. However, any procedures in this setting should be recognized as palliative and management decisions for these patients should be guided by the patient’s personal goals for treatment. Diagnostic work-up, including laboratory and radiographic studies and a thorough history and physical exam, will inform the surgeon as to the potential treatment options. Ultimately, determination of the appropriate surgical approach is made intra-operatively. Management of this difficult clinical scenario requires complex decision making and sophisticated clinical judgment, both inside and outside the operating room.
Human Papillomavirus-Related Malignancies in the Setting of Posttransplantation Immunosuppression.

Context.— The use of immunosuppression to avoid allograft rejection within the host creates the opportunity for unchecked development of malignancy in the posttransplantation setting. These maligna...
The New Lung Cancer TNM Classification: Review and Clinical Implications

Lung cancer remains the number one cause of cancer-related mortality in the Western world. Its staging is the cornerstone for both prognosis and treatment guidance. A unified and universally accepted staging system is also essential to standardize nomenclature for international comparisons of clinical trials. The UICC 7th edition of the TNM classification system is undoubtedly a major improvement in our scientific basis for the staging of lung cancer, supported by a large international database and subject to thorough internal and external validation process. Some limitations are deeply related to the retrospective nature of the data collection and will hopefully be overcome with the new prospective data set developed by the IASLC to inform changes to the eighth TNM. In this chapter, we will review the modifications to the T, N, and M descriptors, as well as the group stages, and we will discuss its clinical implications, strengths, and limitations.
Visualization of the boundary solutions of high dimensional pareto front from a decision maker's perspective

For the last couple of years, the development of many-objective optimization problems opened new avenues of research in the evolutionary multi-objective optimization domain. There are already a number of algorithms to solve such problems, now the next challenge is to interpret the results produced by those algorithms. In this paper, we propose an alternative way to visualize high-dimensional Pareto fronts where the goal is to present the Pareto front in terms of a decision maker's perspective. A decision maker is more interested in the different aspects of the end results instead of the convergence and spread of a Pareto front solutions. They are interested in Pareto-optimal solutions that offer the most trade-off. They are also interested to know the boundary solutions of a Pareto front. In this paper, we present a way to visualize the Pareto front in high dimension by keeping those criteria in mind.
Transient Sound Field Structure in Stratified Fluids

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the structure of arbitrary sound fields with finite energy in stratified fluids. The principal results of the analysis imply that each such field is a sum of a free component, which behaves for large times like a diverging spherical wave, and a guided component which is approximately localized in regions |y - yj| < hj where c(y) has minima and propagates outward in horizontal planes like a diverging cylindrical wave.
Lexical entrainment of real users in the let's go spoken dialog system.

This paper examines the lexical entrainment of real users in the Let’s Go spoken dialog system. First it presents a study of the presence of entrainment in a year of human-transcribed dialogs, by using a linear regression model, and concludes that users adapt their vocabulary to the system’s. This is followed by a study of the effect of changing the system vocabulary on the distribution of words used by the callers. The latter analysis provides strong evidence for the presence of lexical entrainment between users and spoken dialog systems.
Methodist Worship: Mediating the Wesleyan Liturgical Heritage

What makes Methodist worship "Methodist" or "Wesleyan?" How do Methodists evaluate emerging forms of worship in light of their own liturgical heritage? This book considers these questions by bringing to light the work and significance of three Methodist liturgists who have until now received precious little scholarly focus: Thomas O. Summers (1812-1882), Nolan B. Harmon (1892-1993), and James F. White (1932-2004). Exploring each one’s contribution to the Methodist movement, it evaluates their continuing legacies as scholars and practitioners of Methodist worship. Importantly, the work of all these men occurred during times of cultural change, which gave rise to new ways of worship within the landscape of American Methodism. Addressing them in chronological order, this study shows how each figure enacted liturgical reform and renewal by drawing from the liturgical textual tradition inherited directly from John Wesley’s Sunday Service of the Methodist in North America as well as the hymnody of Charles Wesley. It also demonstrates how they sought to inculturate the Wesleyan liturgical tradition in the midst of these significant changes. Evaluating historic and emerging trends in Methodist liturgical praxis, this is a book that will be of great interest to scholars of Methodism, the History of Religion, Liturgical Studies and Theology.
Beyond Societal Language: The Development of the Deaf Person

The social sciences cannot lay claim to astonishing discoveries in the sense in which natural sciences constantly enlarge society’s knowledge with new physical and biological understanding. Even so-called revolutionary insights, such as those of Marx or Freud, do not quite have the stamp of utter newness. Not only is it possible to point to the forerunners, albeit in the writings of philosophers or poets, but, what is even more remarkable, once accepted in the culture, the new insights become a part of common knowledge, understandable to any educated person.
Disturbance affects biotic community composition at desert wind farms

Context The global benefits of increased renewable energy production may come at a cost to local biotic communities and even regional ecosystems. Wind energy developments, in particular, are known to cause bird and bat mortalities, and to fragment habitat for terrestrial vertebrates within developed project areas. Effects on species sensitive to wind turbines (and increased prevalence of species tolerant to this disturbance) might alter community-level patterns of occurrence, with potentially detrimental changes to wildlife habitat and ecosystem health. Aims The present study assessed whether wind energy developments produced downstream ecological costs. Specifically, community composition and diversity were compared between wind farms and nearby areas without energy development. Methods Traditional diversity measures and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) were used to map ecological dissimilarity across four wind farms and five reference (control) areas in Southern California, USA. Key results Wind farms had more noise and road disturbance than sites without turbine installations. Noise and disturbance were correlated with reduced plant richness, particularly for endemic plant species and, conversely, with increased non-native plant richness. Animal communities at wind farms were less diverse, with fewer species and lower evenness relative to reference areas with minor or no disturbances. Wind farms had fewer rare and unique species and, for some species of avian predators, encounter rates were lower at wind farms. Conclusions Renewable wind energy may indeed cause shifts in local communities. Although wind farms still supported many of the same species found in natural areas, suggesting that renewable wind energy facilities can provide useable habitat for some wildlife, these communities were also less rich and diverse. Implications Non-native species were more prevalent at wind farms, which may then facilitate further invasions into surrounding habitats. In addition, reduced overall plant and predator diversity at wind farms, and lower encounter rates for specific taxa (particular birds), may significantly affect community structure and function.
Psychopathy and Perception of Vulnerability to Criminal Victimization.

This study replicates and extends prior research indicating that individuals with elevated psychopathic traits are better able to identify vulnerability to criminal victimization. Specifically, the...
Clicks as discourse markers in Peninsular Spanish

Abstract The research on clicks in Spanish has been surprisingly scarce. Using a data corpus of 764 clicks produced by 20 speakers from Spain, we approach clicks as discourse markers that execute up to five different functions. Since clicks themselves do not possess any core semantic meaning, their contribution to the discourse depends solely on their placement and the contextual features with which they occur. In addition to an analysis of their functions, we report on several elements present in the contiguous pre- and post-click environment, including pauses, fillers and prolonged syllables. The results indicate significant findings regarding how click functions relate to certain elements in the click environment.
A Literature Review on Machine Learning Based Medical Information Retrieval Systems

As many fields progress with the assistance of cognitive computing, the field of health care is also adapting, providing many benefits to all users. However, advancements in this area are hindered by several challenges such as the void between user queries and the knowledge base, query mismatches, and range of domain knowledge in users. In this paper, we present existing methodologies as well as look into existing real-life applications that are used in the medical field today. We also look into specific challenges and techniques that can be used to overcome these barriers, specifically related to cognitive computing in the medical domain. Future information retrieval (IR) models that can be tailored specifically for medically intensive applications which can handle large amounts of data are explored as well. The purpose of this paper is to give the reader an in-depth understanding of artificial intelligence being used in the medical field today, as well as future possibilities in the domain.
Multi-generational Analysis and Manipulation of Chromosomes in a Polyploid Cyanobacterium

ABSTRACT Faithful inheritance of genetic material from one generation to the next is an essential process for all life on earth. Much of what is known about microbial DNA replication and inheritance has been learned from a small number of bacterial species that share many common traits. Whether these pathways are conserved across the great diversity of the microbiome remains unclear. To address this question, we studied chromosome dynamics in a polyploid photosynthetic bacteria using single cell, time-lapse microscopy over multi-generation lineages in conjunction with inducible CRISPR-interference and fluorescent chromosome labeling. With this method we demonstrated the long-term consequences of manipulating parameters such as cell growth, cell division, and DNA replication and segregation on chromosome regulation in a polyploid bacterial species. We find that these bacteria are surprisingly resilient to chromosome disruption resulting in continued cell growth when DNA replication is inhibited and even in the complete absence of chromosomes.
Twenty-four Hour Subjective and Pharmacological Effects of Ad Libitum Electronic and Combustible Cigarette Use among Dual Users.

Author(s): Harvanko, Arit M; St Helen, Gideon; Nardone, Natalie; Addo, Newton; Benowitz, Neal L | Abstract: Background and aimsRelative pharmacological effects of e-cigarettes and cigarettes during 24nhours of ad-libitum use have not been described. In this study, 24-hour blood plasma nicotine concentrations and 48-hour subjective effects with use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes were measured among dual users.DesignTwo-arm within-subject cross-over design with preferred e-cigarette or cigarette ad-libitum use over 48nhours.SettingHospital research ward in San Francisco, California, USA.ParticipantsThirty-six healthy dual users of e-cigarettes and cigarettes (nn=n8, 25% females).MeasurementsTwenty-four-hour blood plasma nicotine and cotinine concentrations and 48-hour self-reported nicotine withdrawal symptoms and rewarding effects.FindingsAnalyses used analysis of variance (ANOVA)-based mixed models with order of product (e-cigarette or cigarette) and product type (combustible cigarette or type of e-cigarette) as fixed effects, and subject as a repeated effect. During a 24-hour period, e-cigarettes produced lower nicotine exposure than cigarettes for the majority of users, although 25% received more nicotine from e-cigarettes, which was predicted by more frequent e-cigarette use or greater dependence. Compared to cigarette smoking, nicotine exposure for variable-power tank users was similar, while cig-a-like (t(30) n=n2.71, Pn=n0.011, dn=n0.745) and fixed-power tank users (t(30) n=n3.37, Pn=n0.002, dn=n0.993) were exposed to less nicotine. Cigarettes were rated higher than e-cigarettes on some desirable subjective effects (e.g. psychological reward, t(322) n=n7.24 Pnln0.001, dn=n0.432), but withdrawal symptom reduction was comparable. No differences were found between e-cigarette types, but Bayes factors indicate that these measures were insensitive.ConclusionsDuring a 24-hour period in a hospital setting in the United States, nicotine exposure for dual users of e-cigarettes and cigarettes was similar when using cigarettes or variable-power tank devices only but was lower for those using cig-a-like or fixed-power devices only. Despite lower nicotine levels, all types of e-cigarette were effective in preventing withdrawal symptoms. E-cigarettes were rated less rewarding than cigarettes.
Five-Level and Seven-Level DCMI fed to IPMSM

This paper presents the simulation analysis of five-level and seven-level diode clamped multilevel inverter used for high power applications. A simple modulation technique similar to Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation (SVPWM) is proposed Carrier Based SVPWM (CBSVPWM), that can be designed with less complexity. The drive used is Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (IPMSM), which can be used in applications like Electric Traction and Hybrid Electric Vehicles. The drive is controlled by a vector control method called Field Oriented Control (FOC) for closed-loop operation. Speed-torque characteristics with different load variations are studied with five-level and seven-level inverters fed to IPMSM drive. Voltage and current THD is also analyzed for better high power application of the inverters.
Calibrate and Prune: Improving Reliability of Lottery Tickets Through Prediction Calibration

The hypothesis that sub-network initializations (lottery) exist within the initializations of over-parameterized networks, which when trained in isolation produce highly generalizable models, has led to crucial insights into network initialization and has enabled efficient inferencing. Supervised models with uncalibrated confidences tend to be overconfident even when making wrong prediction. In this paper, for the first time, we study how explicit confidence calibration in the over-parameterized network impacts the quality of the resulting lottery tickets. More specifically, we incorporate a suite of calibration strategies, ranging from mixup regularization, variance-weighted confidence calibration to the newly proposed likelihood-based calibration and normalized bin assignment strategies. Furthermore, we explore different combinations of architectures and datasets, and make a number of key findings about the role of confidence calibration. Our empirical studies reveal that including calibration mechanisms consistently lead to more effective lottery tickets, in terms of accuracy as well as empirical calibration metrics, even when retrained using data with challenging distribution shifts with respect to the source dataset.
Surgery clerkship offers greater entrustment of medical students with supervised procedures than other clerkships

Abstract Background Medical student procedural participation is increasingly limited, creating concerns over poor preparation for internship. Inadequate experiences may also compromise patient safety. This study explores variances in procedural entrustment of medical students between core clerkships during the first clinical year. Methods Students completing their first clinical year were surveyed on procedure participation. Holistic entrustment decisions are complex, thus participation was used as an objective proxy for entrustment. Results 138 students responded (66% response rate); 89% (123/138) wished they had performed more procedures. Students had higher participation rates during procedural clerkships (surgery, obstetrics/gynecology). Entrustment was highest during surgery, and lowest during pediatrics. Surgery gave statistically significantly higher entrustment for subcuticular suturing (compared to obstetrics/gynecology) and nasogastric tube removal (compared to internal medicine). Entrustment was generally inversely proportional to procedure complexity within each specialty. Conclusions Students encounter higher entrustment during procedural clerkships, especially surgery. Targeted areas for increased procedural involvement can be identified in all specialties.
Extensive Pneumorrhachis After Spontaneous Pneumomediastinum.

Background Pneumorrhachis is the presence of air within the spinal canal and is most often traumatic or iatrogenic in etiology. Rarely, a small amount of pneumorrhachis can be seen with spontaneous pneumomediastinum. Here we describe a case of asymptomatic longitudinally extensive pneumorrhachis associated with spontaneous pneumomediastinum. Case Description A man in his mid-20s presented to the hospital with subcutaneous emphysema after a choking episode. On imaging of his neck and chest he was noted to have extensive pneumorrhachis with anterior displacement of the spinal cord. Out of concern for further accumulation of air, he was monitored in an intensive care setting for 48 hours but remained asymptomatic. He was discharged home after ruling out esophageal rupture as a cause for his pneumomediastinum. On follow-up 1 month after discharge he was doing well without symptoms. Conclusions In cases of spontaneous pneumomediastinum, air can be entrained within the spinal canal. Special attention should be paid to any patient with pneumomediastinum with neurologic symptoms, as this could be due to pneumorrhachis.
Inter-annual home range fidelity of wild and ranched white-tailed deer in Florida: implications for epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus and bluetongue virus intervention

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) and bluetongue virus (BTV) are vector-borne orbiviruses affecting ranched and wild white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in North America. Currently, limited data exist on EHDV and BTV transmission dynamics in ranched and wild herds. To identify long-term site-specific EHDV and BTV intervention strategies (e.g., integrated pest or animal husbandry management), it is important to understand inter-annual home range fidelity (site fidelity). This study examined inter-annual site fidelity of ranched and wild deer in FL, USA. We estimated and compared inter-annual site fidelity of individual ranched and wild deer during the EHDV and BTV transmission season (May 1–October 31) for two consecutive years. GPS collars were attached to 11 wild and 4 ranched animals. Inter-annual site fidelity was calculated using the overlap function in the continuous-time movement modeling (ctmm) package in R, which estimates a Bhattacharyya coefficient (BC) between years. BC values range from 0 to 1, with values closer to 1 representing high degrees of overlap (site fidelity) between annual home ranges. The mean BC overlap was 0.876 (± 0.056 SE) and 0.831 (± 0.108 SE) for wild and ranched animals, respectively. We observed high levels of inter-annual site fidelity for 10 of 11 wild deer and 3 of 4 ranched deer. High inter-annual home range fidelity suggests EHDV and BTV intervention strategies, such as food plot (wild, ranches) or feeder (ranches) movements, or exclusion fencing to reduce deer time in vector habitat, may have multi-year impacts.
Democracy and scientific expertise: illusions of political and epistemic inclusion

Realizing the ideal of democracy requires political inclusion for citizens. A legitimate democracy must give citizens the opportunity to express their attitudes about the relative attractions of different policies, and access to political mechanisms through which they can be counted and heard. Actual governance often aims not at accurate belief, but at nonepistemic factors like achieving and maintaining institutional stability, creating the feeling of government legitimacy among citizens, or managing access to influence on policy decision-making. I examine the traditional relationship between inclusiveness and accuracy, and illustrate this connection by discussing empirical work on how group decision-making can improve accuracy. I also advance a Generic Epistemic Principle that any evidence-based decision-making procedures must embrace. Focusing on policy-making, I then measure the distance between these standards and the ones actually implemented in U.S. political settings. Psychological research on individual and group decision-making is a source of normative assessment for existing policy judgment, but it neither rationalizes nor legitimates the actual and typical processes used in U.S. institutions of political decision making. To establish this point, I focus on one characteristic government institution—the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology—that displays deliberative processes at odds with the sciences they advocate, and with the Generic Epistemic Principle. I explain this discouraging condition in terms of several inveterate factors in U.S. politics: a limitlessly money-driven and endless campaigning process that effectively forces elected representatives to align themselves with money and vote strategically, the use of procedural arrangements known to make people feel politically included when they are not, and the unresponsiveness of a majoritarian (vs. consensus) democracy.
PLATAEA ON THE PYRE: ANAXAGORAS A 44 AND THUCYDIDES 2.77

The army along with Xerxes passed through Boeotia. It burned the cities of the Thespians, which they had abandoned in favour of the Peloponnese, and Plataea as well … The army burned Thespiae and Plataea after learning from the Thebans that they had not medized. (Hdt. 8.50.2)
Using a Mobile Phone App to Analyze the Relationship Between Planned and Performed Physical Activity in University Students: Observational Study.

Background: The relationship between intention and behavior has been well researched, but most studies fail to capture dynamic, time-varying contextual factors. Ecological momentary assessment through mobile phone technology is an innovative method for collecting data in real time, including time-use data. However, only a limited number of studies have examined day-level plans to be physically active and subsequent physical activity behavior using real-time time-use data to better understand this relationship. Objective: This study aims to examine whether plans to be physically active (recorded in advance on an electronic calendar) were associated with objectively assessed physical activity (accelerometry), to identify activities that replaced planned periods of physical activity by using the mobile app Life in a Day (LIAD), and to test the feasibility and acceptability of LIAD for collecting real-time time-use data. Methods: The study included 48 university students who were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 protocols, which were defined by 1, 3, or 5 days of data collection. Participants were asked to record their planned activities on a Google Calendar and were provided with mobile phones with LIAD to complete time-use entries in real time for a set of categories (eg, exercise or sports, eating or cooking, school, or personal care). Participants were instructed to wear an accelerometer on their nondominant wrist during the protocol period. A total of 144 days of protocol data were collected from the 48 participants. Results: Protocol data for 123 days were eligible for analysis. A Fisher exact test showed a statistically significant association between plans and physical activity behavior (P=.02). The congruence between plans and behavior was fair (Cohen κ=0.220; 95% CI 0.028-0.411). Most participants did not plan to be active, which occurred on 75.6% (93/123) of days. Of these 93 days, no physical activity occurred on 76 (81.7%) days, whereas some physical activity occurred on 17 (18.3%) days. On the remaining 24.4% (30/123) of days, some physical activity was planned. Of these 30 days, no physical activity occurred on 18 (60%) days, whereas some physical activity occurred on 12 (40%) days. LIAD data indicated that activities related to screen time most often replaced planned physical activity, whereas unplanned physical activity was often related to active transport. Feasibility analyses indicated little difficulty in using LIAD, and there were no significant differences in feasibility by protocol length. Conclusions: Consistent with previous literature, physical activity plans and physical activity behaviors were linked, but not strongly linked. LIAD offers insight into the relationship between plans and behavior, highlighting the importance of active transport for physical activity and the influence of screen-related behaviors on insufficient physical activity. LIAD is a feasible and practical method for collecting time-use data in real time.
Gender and racial disparities in lung transplantation in the United States

BACKGROUND Lung transplant (LT) allocation utilizes a scoring system to prioritize patients, although data evaluating the access by gender and race remains limited. The study objective was to determine whether gender and racial disparities exist in patients listed for LT. METHODS This was a retrospective analysis using the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network database of patients listed for a LT from 1984 until 2019. Nominal multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate LT allocation by gender, race, and primary lung disease. Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed to compare rates of mortality over time. RESULTS Sixty thousand eight hundred and forty-seven patients were listed between February 1984 and September 2019. Males comprised the majority of listed and transplanted patients at 51.7% and 55.8% respectively. In the LAS era, the median waiting list time for transplanted males was 43 days (interquartile range [IQR] 13-126), and females waited a median of 80 days (IQR 24-233) (p < .001). Persons of White race accounted for 82.6% and 84.3% of listed and transplanted patients respectively. Logistic regression analysis found that in the LAS era, males had an increased odds for LT allocation (OR 1.19, CI 1.12-1.27, p < .001) compared to females, and persons of White race (OR 1.23, CI 1.16-1.32, p < .001) compared to all other races combined. CONCLUSIONS The majority of listed and transplanted patients in the United States were males and persons of White race. Also, being a male or person of White race had an outcome favoring lung transplant allocation compared to an appropriately matched person of another gender or race.
Three Stories on the Importance of Putting It on the Back Burner

In the time of COVID, it is hard not to think about Boccaccio’s Decameron, a collection of tales told by a group of young men and women who escaped the Black Death that was ravaging Florence by sheltering themselves at a secluded villa. In fact, in July of 2020, The New York Times Magazine published “The Decameron Project”, a collection of 30 short stories of contemporary authors.