cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An in vitro study of the correlation between bubble distribution, acoustic emission, and cell damage by contrast ultrasound

The objective of this study was to investigate the influences of total exposure duration and pulse-to-pulse bubble distribution on contrast-mediated cell damage. Murine macrophage cells were grown as monolayers on thin polyester sheets. Contrast agent microbubbles were attached to these cells by incubation. Focused ultrasound exposures (P/sub r/= 2 MPa) were implemented at a frequency of 2.25 MHz with 46 cycle pulses and pulse repetition frequencies (PRF) of 1 kHz, 500 Hz, 100 Hz, and 10 Hz in a degassed water bath at 10 or 100 pulses. A 1 MHz receive transducer measured the scattered signal. The frequency spectrum was normalized to a control spectrum from linear scatterers. Photomicrographs were captured before, during, and after exposure at a frame rate of 2000 fps and a pixel resolution of 960 times 720. Results clearly show that cell death is increased, up to 60%, by increasing total exposure duration from 0 ms to 100 ms. There was an increasing difference in cell damage between a 10-pulse exposure and a 100-pulse exposure with increasing PRF. The greatest change in damage occurred at 1000 Hz PRF with a 53% increase between 10-pulse and 100-pulse exposures. For each pulse from 0 to 10, an overlay of the 2 mum bubble count with corresponding emission shows consistent behavior in its pulse-to-pulse changes, indicating a correlation between acoustic emission, bubble distribution, and cell damage.
Performance Monitoring and Cognitive Control in Individuals with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Literature suggests that individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) show subtle abnormalities in the cognitive control process of performance monitoring. The neural bases of performance monitoring can be measured using the error-related negaitivity (ERN) and post-error positivity (Pe) components of the scalp-recorded event-related potential (ERP). Thirty-six individuals with mTBI and 46 demographically similar controls completed a modified color-naming Stroop task while ERPs were recorded. Separate repeated-measures analyses of variance were used to examine the behavioral (response times [RT] and error rates) and ERP (ERN and Pe amplitudes) indices of performance monitoring. Both groups showed slower RTs and increased error rates on incongruent trials relative to congruent trials. Likewise, both groups showed more negative ERN and more positive Pe amplitude to error trials relative to correct trials. Notably, there were no significant main effects or interactions of group for behavioral and ERP measures. Subgroup and correlational analyses with post-concussive symptoms and indices of injury severity were also not significant. Findings suggest comparable performance to non-injured individuals in some aspects of cognitive control in this sample. Neuropsychological implications and comparison with other cognitive control component processes in individuals with TBI are provided.
Evaluation and scoring of radiotherapy treatment plans using an artificial neural network

Purpose : The objective of this work was to demonstrate the feasibility of using an artificial neural network to predict the clinical evaluation of radiotherapy treatment plans. Methods and Materials : Approximately 150 treatment plans were developed for 16 patients who received external-beam radiotherapy for soft-tissue sarcomas of the lower extremity. Plans were assigned a figure of merit by a radiation oncologist using a five-point rating scale. Plan scoring was performed by a single physician to ensure consistency in rating. Dose-volume information extracted from a training set of 511 treatment plans on 14 patients was correlated to the physician-generated figure of merit using an artificial neural network. The neural network was tested with a test set of 19 treatment plans on two patients whose plans were not used in the training of the neural net. Results : Physician scoring of treatment plans was consistent to within one point on the rating scale 88% of the time. The neural net reproduced the physician scores in the training set to within one point approximately 90% of the time. It reproduced the physician scores in the test set to within one point approximately 83% of the time. Conclusions : An artificial neural network can be trained to generate a score for a treatment plan that can be correlated to a clinically-based figure of merit. The accuracy of the neural net in scoring plans compares well with the reproducibility of the clinical scoring. The system of radiotherapy treatment plan evaluation using an artificial neural network demonstrates promise as a method for generating a clinically relevant figure of merit.
Viscosities and Sintering Rates of Composite Packings of Spheres

The effective sintering rates and viscosities of three-dimensional composite packings have been studied using a discrete numerical model. The packings consist of random mixtures of hard and soft spheres of the same size. With increasing substitution of hard particles for soft particles in the packing, the viscosity increases and the sintering rate decreases. This is particularly abrupt at well-defined rigidity thresholds where there is a transition from softlike to hardlike behavior. The site fraction of hard particles at which the transition occurs depends on the nature of the interaction between hard particles. When the contact between hard particles resists all six relative degrees of freedom (relative velocities and spins), the bonded case, the rigidity threshold coincides with the percolation threshold (site fraction ∼0.32). When the contact between hard particles resists only interpenetration, the sliding case, the threshold occurs at a site fraction of hard particles very close to unity. Results for the variation of effective properties with site fraction of hard particles are presented for these and other cases. These results can also be applied to the study of elastic percolating networks.
Surgical Treatment of Popliteal Venous Aneurysms

Background Popliteal venous aneurysms (PVAs) are rare; however, they can lead to pulmonary emboli (PEs) and death. The purpose of this study was to review our institutional management of PVA. Methods All patients with PVA undergoing intervention in our institution were identified over a 15-year period (1998–2013). A retrospective review including clinical presentation, modality of diagnosis, surgical treatment, 30-day morbidity and mortality, and follow-up are reported. Results Five male and 3 female patients with PVA were identified. Mean age was 38.6 years (range, 14–65). Five patients presented with PE; 1 developed PE while on anticoagulation. Two presented with lower extremity pain. Two patients had PVA found incidentally. Diagnosis of PVA was made by duplex ultrasound (US) in 6 patients, physical examination confirmed with duplex US in 1 patient, and magnetic resonance imaging in 1 patient. Mean aneurysm size was 26 mm (range, 20–37). Four were saccular and 4 fusiform. Three PVAs contained thrombus, including 2 patients presenting with PE and 1 with calf pain. Five patients underwent aneurysmectomy with lateral venorrhaphy, and 3 patients had resection of the aneurysm with interposition vein graft. There were no operative or 30-day mortalities. Two patients with vein grafts had early postoperative complications; one developed a hematoma that required operative evacuation and one had thrombosis of the vein graft requiring thrombolysis. Mean follow-up was 26 months with 87.5% primary patency, 100% secondary patency, and no recurrences. Conclusions PVAs are rare, but can lead to significant morbidity and death. Based on this small group, aneurysmectomy with lateral venorrhaphy appears to have fewer complications compared with those treated with vein grafts. Overall, operative repair of PVA is safe and recommended in select patients with PVA.
Effect of Some Antibiotics and Furazolidone on Performance of Laying Chickens During Hot Weather

Abstract HEYWANG (1956, 1957, 1959) reported that egg production of apparently healthy trapnested White Leghorns, hatched in March, was stimulated during hot weather when their diet was supplemented with some of the antibiotics or arsanilic acid. The improvement in egg production during hot weather seemed to be greater among poor than among good layers; an improvement also occurred in egg production during cool or moderate weather in some of the experiments. The supplements had no appreciable effect on diet consumption, mortality, maintenance of bird weight, egg weight or hatchability of eggs. It seemed desirable to obtain information about the effect of the supplements on fall-hatched layers, and also about the effect on spring-hatched layers of several antibiotics and another supplement not fed in the previous experiments. PROCEDURE Each of the first five experiments was started in October or on the first day of November in successive years in the same pens…
Recurrent bilateral serous cystadenomas in a premenarchal girl: a case report and literature review.

Abstract Background Ovarian serous cystadenomas are rare in children. No case of recurrence after surgical resection in a premenarchal girl has been published. Case An 8-year-old presented with abdominal pain and ultrasound showed bilateral ovarian cystic masses with normal clinical and laboratory exam. Cystectomies were performed revealing serous cystadenomas. Ten months later, her pain returned and ultrasound showed new cysts. Persistence of cysts and symptoms required repeat surgery with the same pathology. Summary and conclusion Premenarchal girls with ovarian cystic masses require surgical intervention in cases of persistent symptoms, uncertain diagnosis, or concern for ovarian torsion. With reassuring imaging and tumor markers, conservation of the ovary can be achieved with cystectomy alone. Ultrasound follow-up is recommended after surgical resection until bimanual exam can be performed.
Limiting Constitutional Rights

The structure of constitutional rights in the United States and most other liberal democracies grants to legislatures a limited power to override constitutional rights. This limited power contrasts with an absolute one, as enshrined in section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and is also both general and non-interpretive in nature, unlike the substantive view of Congress's power under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. This override power tends to be obscured in the United States by the unique absence of express limits on rights and, thus, a textually mandated two stage process of rights adjudication. Indeed, this absence also helps to explain why the whole topic of limits on rights is strangely under-theorized in the United States. In this Article, I first highlight the existence and nature of the limited legislative power to override constitutional rights in the United States and elsewhere. I then present a normative justification of this power and the modern structure of rights as presumptive shields rather than peremptory trumps that underlies it. This case needs to be made because it is not obvious or self-evident that constitutional rights should be overridable by legislatures in the face of their conflicting public policy objectives. In presenting this case, I also aim to respond to the highly influential, but largely unanswered, antibalancing critique in constitutional law. Specifically, I offer a democratic justification -- that, at least when certain constitutional criteria are satisfied, legislatures should be empowered to promote public policies that conflict with entrenched rights for democratic reasons. My justification in turn has important consequences for how courts should go about their task of reviewing exercises of this power.My specification and defense of the limited legislative override power also provide fresh perspective on two other vigorous debates in contemporary constitutional theory. First, both opponents and proponents of judicial review have overlooked the important role that this near-universal power plays in rendering modern systems of judicial review less vulnerable to democratic critiques. Second, this power represents an alternative form of popular constitutionalism that does not challenge - indeed is entirely consistent with -- the interpretive supremacy of the U.S. Supreme Court and other constitutional courts.
Chromosomal aneuploidy, mosaicism and eugenics.

Chromosomal aneuploidy in individuals is very frequent, and is generally a sporadic occurrence. Some aneuploidies seem to be familial, however; that is, parents may have more than one aneuploid child, or they may come from families in which an agglomeration of aneuploidies is distributed over several generations. Since, in such instances, parents often seek eugenic counsel to learn their chances of having aneuploid children, four types of familial aneuploidy and their recurrence risks are described. Special emphasis is given to the more important types of familial interchange, for which the recurrence risks can be calculated with fair accuracy. Familial mosaicism, a rare and puzzling genetic entity with which aneuploidy seems definitely correlated, is discussed.
Self-reported discharge instruction adherence among different racial groups seen in the emergency department.

Objectives To compare emergency department (ED) discharge instructions adherence rates and barriers faced by white, black, and Hispanic patients.
Imaging Cellular Proliferation in Prostate Cancer with Positron Emission Tomography.

Prostate cancer remains a major public health problem worldwide. Imaging plays an important role in the assessment of disease at all its clinical phases, including staging, restaging after definitive therapy, evaluation of therapy response, and prognostication. Positron emission tomography with a number of biologically targeted radiotracers has been demonstrated to have potential diagnostic and prognostic utility in the various clinical phases of this prevalent disease. Given the remarkable biological heterogeneity of prostate cancer, one major unmet clinical need that remains is the non-invasive imaging-based characterization of prostate tumors. Accurate tumor characterization allows for image-targeted biopsy and focal therapy as well as facilitates objective assessment of therapy effect. PET in conjunction with radiotracers that track the thymidine salvage pathway of DNA synthesis may be helpful to fulfill this necessity. We review briefly the preclinical and pilot clinical experience with the two major cellular proliferation radiotracers, [18F]-3’-deoxy-3’-fluorothymidine and [18F]-2’-fluoro-5-methyl-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyluracil in prostate cancer.
Men and grief: A review of research

The subject of men's grief has rarely been addressed in the literature. This paper discusses the grieving process and reviews the literature for cultural and gender variation in grieving. Research ...
Dihydrogen catalysis: a degradation mechanism for N2-fixation intermediates.

Molecular hydrogen plays multiple roles in activation of nitrogen. Among others, it inhibits the overall process of N2-reduction catalyzed by nitrogenase enzyme. The H2-assisted dehydrogenation and the H-atom transfer reactions (called dihydrogen catalysis, DHC) are suggested as possible mechanisms for the degradation and removal of potential intermediates formed during the reduction of nitrogen. Several iron-organic model reactions associated with the core stereospecific reaction (cis-N2H2 + H2 → N2 + H2 + H2) are examined using a comprehensive density functional theory and ab initio analysis of the corresponding potential energy surfaces. A variety of energetically feasible decomposition pathways are identified for the DHC-oxidation of iron-bound [NxHy]-species. A liberated diazene intermediate (HN═NH) is suggested to interact in situ with two proximal hydridic H-atoms of an activated (hydrided) Fe-catalyst to produce N2 and H2 with a low or even no activation barrier. The majority of identified pathway...
Curiosity and Contamination

R. A. Kerr's News Focus Story (“In the hunt for the red planet's dirtiest secret,” 31 August, p. [1032][1]) covers some of the obstacles that the Sample Analyses at Mars (SAM) instrument on the Curiosity rover faces with respect to the detection of organic compounds on Mars. However, other than
Graphic Presentations of Church Attendance Using General Social Survey Data

Les auteurs montrent l'utilite des images en trois dimensions pour decrire la stabilite et les changement d'attitude a propos de la frequentation des eglises chez les catholiques et les protestants. En utilisant les donnees de l'enquete de la General Social Survey (1972-1991), ils ont calcule une fonction de regression qui leur a permis d'etablir des graphiques en trois dimensions. Ils ont ensuite analyse la frequentation sur une periode donnee. Dans un second temps, ils affirment que l'âge et non la periode constitue un phenomene persistant pour rendre compte de la frequentation. Enfin, ils expliquent comment les images 3-D sont des points de depart pour l'analyse statistique
Crop load management does not consistently improve crop value of 'Sweetheart'/'Mazzard' sweet cherry trees

The effect of crop load level on vegetative growth, fruit growth, yield, fruit quality, surface pitting, crop value and return bloom was studied over a 2-year period on 9and 10-year-old ‘Sweetheart’/‘Mazzard’ sweet cherry (Prunus avium) trees. In early spring, whole-tree crop loads were adjusted to two different levels by removal of reproductive buds (either 50% or all but one) from spurs and compared with an unthinned control. In 2009, heavy crop loads of unthinned trees reduced fruit size by 30 days after full bloom (DAFB). At harvest, fruit diameter of thinned treatments was increased 22% and 27% compared with unthinned fruit. Fruit quality attributes [soluble solids concentration (SS), fruit firmness, and total acids (TA)] were significantly greater for thinned treatments. Thinned treatment yields were reduced 40% to 54% relative to unthinned trees, with greater percentages of fruit in large size classes. Despite significantly fewer fruit per tree, moderately thinned trees had a higher estimated crop value ($142 per tree) than unthinned trees ($125 per tree). Crop value was lowest for the heavily thinned treatment ($107 per tree), reflecting overthinning. In 2010, shoot growth was negatively related to crop load level. Fruit growth of unthinned trees was not significantly affected by higher fruit density until 89 DAFB. Yield of 2010 unthinned trees was 87% of 2009, while thinned tree yields were similar between years. Improved fruit quality and greater percentages of large fruit were observed for thinned treatments in 2010; however, crop value was highest for unthinned trees ($190 per tree), even though 18% of the fruit were too small for fresh market sale. Surface pitting was unaffected by crop load level in either year. Return bloom (flowers per reproductive bud and reproductive buds per spur) was significantly, negatively related to the prior season’s crop load in 2010 and 2011. In the current sweet cherry pricing structure, higher crop value is associated with large volumes of medium-sized fruit. Thinning to manage crop load of low-medium density, productive ‘Sweetheart’/‘Mazzard’ trees will not be an annual requirement, though in heavy fruit set years crop load management will improve crop value.
Survey on the Status of Human Resources at the Railway CDCs,2010

Objective To understand the status of human resources at the railway CDCs,so as to provide basis for strengthening the emergency response ability for infectious diseases and improving the human resources distribution. Methods Analysis was made on the education background,professional titles of employees in 30 railway CDCs and their distribution. Results Of 30 railway CDCs surveyed,masters accounted for 0.93%,bachelors accounted for 29.97%,college accounted for 32.03%,the technical secondary school diploma accounted for 23.45%,those without record of formal diploma accounted for 13.62%;senior professional titles accounted for 1.18%,the secondary senior titles accounted for 7.29%,junior titles accounted for 39.11%,primary titles accounted for 39.73%,no titles accounted for 12.66%. Conclusion The main education backgrounds of CDC employees are university,undergraduate and secondary technical school degrees,the titles are mainly intermediate and primary,it is necessary to improve the current status of the CDC human resources in the railway system.
Monitoring results of overweight and obesity among primary and middle school students in Changping district of Beijing 2009-2010

[Objective]To analyze the distribution of overweight and obesity among primary and middle school students in Changping district of Beijing during 2009-2010,provide the evidence for developing the control measures of overweight and obesity among students. [Methods]According to the Body mass index reference norm for screening overweight and obesity in Chinese children and adolescents,the health data of primary and middle school students in Changping district during 2009-2010 were analyzed. [Results]The BMI of primary and middle school students in Changping district was(19.3±4.3) kg/m2.The detection rates of overweight(8.9%) and obesity(4.6%) increased with increasing age.The detection rates of overweight and obesity in urban students were higher than those in rural students,the detection rates in boys was higher than those in girls,and all differences were significant(P0.01). [Conclusion]It is very urgent that more attention should be paid on lower grades in primary school,and the keys of intervention are senior boys in urban areas.
The U.S. Medicaid reform: the current state and policy implications for low-income population.

Medicaid is the health care program that is financed jointly by the federal and state governments. Many states are seeking ways to contain the increased budgetary strain that has resulted from the increases in Medicaid spending. For many states, managed care has been viewed as the means to hold down costs for some of the population served by Medicaid. This article examines the origins and status of Medicaid and the options available to extend coverage to the low-income population.
Does mammographic density modify the characteristics of the breast cancer

e12057Background: Increased mammographic density (MD) has been shown to be an independent risk factor for breast cancer. Women with dense breast as determined by a diagnostic mammogram are at 1.8 t...
Segmental noun/verb phonotactic differences are productive too

Not all statistical patterns in a speaker’s lexicon are acquired productively , and it has been proposed that distinguishing between those patterns that are productive and those that are not serves as a source of evidence for the existence of learning biases in the grammar (Becker et al. 2011). A cross-linguistic survey of categorical noun/verb phonotactic differences finds that most of them involve prosodic patterns, such as stress or tone, not segmental ones—but does this typological asymmetry actually result from a learning bias against segmental noun/verb differences? English provides a testing ground for this question, as the lexicon has statistical differences between noun and verb phonotactics involving not only stress, a prosodic property, but also fricative voicing and vowel backness, which are segmental properties. A nonce-word noun/verb categorization experiment finds that adult English speakers apply all three patterns productively, even the segmental ones. Moreover, evidence for productive knowledge is found even when the effect of existing morphological alternations (such as the stress alternation seen in permit N/ permit V) is controlled for. These results contribute to a growing body of evidence that gaps in language typology do not necessarily correspond to patterns that are unlearnable.
26 – Human Immunodeficiency Virus and AIDS in Women

In 1981, the idea that AIDS would become an epidemic in women and children as well as in men would have been met with skepticism. In fact, throughout the world, regardless of a nation's resources, the mode of HIV acquisition is shifting to heterosexual transmission and the distribution of AIDS is moving to underserved populations. Worldwide, 40% of AIDS cases are in women, and it is expected that AIDS cases in women will soon exceed those in men. For industrialized nations, the advent of effective antiretroviral therapies has led to greatly reduced progression of HIV to AIDS, and for the first time since the emergence of AIDS, deaths, both in men and in women, are declining. Despite these remarkable advances, large disparities in access to therapies and prevention services exist, even in wealthy nations. For wealthy nations, challenges lie in encouraging HIV testing among persons at risk for HIV, ensuring appropriate and early antiretroviral therapy for all infected persons, and continuing to apply effective primary prevention strategies among people at greatest risk for HIV. Particular challenges lie in educating women about how their risk for HIV depends in part on their partners' risks, and about the effectiveness of various prevention strategies in ensuring women access to health care and in encouraging them to seek it.
Assessing the performance of Watson for oncology, a decision support system, using actual contemporary clinical cases.

8023 Background: IBM Watson for Oncology (WFO), trained by Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK), is a cognitive computing system designed to assist medical oncologists making treatment decisions for indi...
ULK1-Hsp90-Cdc37 and AMPK: Novel Insight Into the Regulation of Mitophagy

Abstract 987 Autophagy plays an important role in maintaining mitochondrial integrity, directing lysosome-mediated destruction of cellular cargo, including damaged or dysfunctional mitochondria. Flux through the autophagy pathway is rapidly induced to promote survival in response to metabolic or proteotoxic stress resulting from exposure to noxious environmental cues, such as starvation, hypoxia or heat stress and likely contributes to the increase in mitochondrial turnover observed under each of these conditions. Dysregulation of this process has been linked to the pathogenesis of diseases, including anemia, diabetes, neurodegeneration and cancer. Atg1 is a serine-threonine kinase that directs the autophagy machinery to appropriate cargo in responses to changes in the availability of carbon and nitrogen in yeast. Ulk1, one of the mammalian homologues of Atg1, is required for starvation-induced autophagy and clearance of mitochondria in terminally differentiating erythroid cells. The function of Ulk1 is also regulated by AMP dependent Kinase (AMPK)-mediated phosphorylation, however, the precise molecular consequence of this post-translational modification has not been explored. Our preliminary findings indicate that AMPK phosphorylates Ulk1 during red blood cell maturation and in response to mitochondrial uncoupling, and that this phosphorylation is critical for mitochondrial clearance. Therefore, we sought to use these systems to explore the mechanism by which AMPK phosphorylation regulates Ulk1 function. We previously demonstrated that the stability and kinase activity of Ulk1 depends on its physical interaction with Hsp90 and the kinase-specific co-chaperone, Cdc37. Hsp90 is an abundant chaperone that directs the maturation and activation of a restricted group of metastable proteins, typically kinases and signaling molecules, and orchestrates a broad response to cellular stress. Here, we demonstrate that AMPK phosphorylation of Ulk1 does not affect Ulk1 kinase activity, but instead promotes its release from Hsp90 and its localization to damaged mitochondria. Preliminary studies indicate that the serine-proline rich domain of Ulk1, which contains at least 4 residues that are phosphorylated by AMPK, is an intrinsically disordered domain. We hypothesize that phosphorylation of Ulk1 by AMPK stabilizes a predicted alpha-helical structure within this domain and contributes to release of Hsp90. These findings are important because they provide significant insight into the regulation and function of Ulk1, a protein involved in mitochondrial turnover during red blood cell maturation and in proliferating cells. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
A depth-of-interaction PET detector using mutual gain-equalized silicon photomultiplier

We developed a prototype high resolution, high efficiency depth-encoding detector for PET applications based on dual-ended readout of LYSO array with two silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). Flood images, energy resolution, and depth-of-interaction (DOI) resolution were measured for a LYSO array - 0.7 mm in crystal pitch and 10 mm in thickness - with four unpolished parallel sides. Flood images were obtained such that individual crystal element in the array is resolved. The energy resolution of the entire array was measured to be 33%, while individual crystal pixel elements utilizing the signal from both sides ranged from 23.3% to 27%. By applying a mutual-gain equalization method, a DOI resolution of 2 mm for the crystal array was obtained in the experiments while simulations indicate ∼1 mm DOI resolution could possibly be achieved. The experimental DOI resolution can be further improved by obtaining revised detector supporting electronics with better energy resolutions. This study provides a detailed detector calibration and DOI response characterization of the dual-ended readout SiPM-based PET detectors, which will be important in the design and calibration of a PET scanner in the future.
Non-Uniform Signaling Based LDPC Coded Modulation for High-Speed Optical Transport Networks

Different non-uniform (probability shaping) signaling schemes are introduced in this invited paper. By transmitting symbols with different probabilities, energy efficiency (shaping gain) of traditional schemes can be improved. With constellation points selected according to Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, ultimate shaping gain of 1.53dB can be achieved.
Power coordinates: a geometric construction of barycentric coordinates on convex polytopes

We present a full geometric parameterization of generalized barycentric coordinates on convex polytopes. We show that these continuous and non-negative coefficients ensuring linear precision can be efficiently and exactly computed through a power diagram of the polytope's vertices and the evaluation point. In particular, we point out that well-known explicit coordinates such as Wachspress, Discrete Harmonic, Voronoi, or Mean Value correspond to simple choices of power weights. We also present examples of new barycentric coordinates, and discuss possible extensions such as power coordinates for non-convex polygons and smooth shapes.
Dietary Change Interventions for Undergraduate Populations: Systematic Review and Recommendations

ABSTRACTBackground: Research demonstrates a decline in healthy eating behaviors during transitional years at university, potentially leading to weight gain and establishing maladaptive dietary habits. Purpose: This systematic review assessed the efficacy of previous nutrition interventions for undergraduates, evaluating design and implementation. Methods: Boolean phrases searched were “nutrition OR healthy eating,” “undergraduate*,” “pilot study OR intervention*,” and “college OR university.” Articles were included if they were peer-reviewed, published in the last 10 years, and described complete interventions targeting undergraduates that included dietary behavior change, or the intention for change, as an outcome. Results: Of the 10 programs examined, only 4 showed significant increases in fruit and vegetable consumption, 1 showed an increase in fruit purchase, and 1 resulted in an increase in fruit consumption. The majority of interventions (n = 7) simultaneously targeted other health behaviors, and on...
Empirically Valid Rules for Ill-Defined Domains

Ill-defined domains such as writing and design pose challenges for automatic assessment and feedback. There is little agreement about the standards for assessing student work nor are there clear domain principles that can be used for automatic feedback and guidance. While researchers have shown some success with automatic guidance through apriori rules and weak-theory structuring these methods are not guaranteed widespread acceptance nor is it clear that the lessons will transfer out of the tutoring context into realworld practice. In this paper we report on data mining work designed to empirically validate a-priori rules with an exploratory dataset in the domain of argument diagramming and scientific writing. We show that it is possible to identify diagram rules that correlate with student performance but that direct correlations can often run counter to expert assumptions and thus require deeper analysis.
William Pickles Lecture. Primary and specialty care interfaces: the imperative of disease continuity.

THE increasing complexity of the challenges of medical practice demands new modes of organising practice. Both the processes of diagnosis and of clinical management are becoming more challenging as a result of ageing (and hence more prevalent biological deterioration) of populations, increasing co-morbidity (as a result, in part, of more effective treatment and, hence, longer survival of people with more problems), increasing iatrogenesis (as a result of more invasive treatment modalities), and increasing recognition of the myriad influences on health (and, hence, of myriad alternatives for prevention and management of ill health).1 Many countries, as well as the World Health Organisation, have recently adopted the strategy of improving primary care as a response to the challenges of improving the quality of care while minimising rapidly increasing costs. However, the burden of meeting these mounting challenges cannot be shouldered by primary care alone. Whereas health services in general have been responsible for a substantial proportion of the increase in life expectancy in the last half century,2 at least one-third of this is solely attributable to primary care (Bunker et al, unpublished data, 2003). The additional degree to which primary care (particularly in an increasingly specialised medical environment) has contributed, through its referral patterns, to the overall positive effect of health services is unclear. How much are the benefits of health services attributable to the relationship between primary care and specialty care? There is little information that addresses this question or, even, that considers the way in which the relationship should be envisaged. Little attention (at least in Anglophone countries) has been devoted to developing either consensus-based or evidence-based guidelines for referral from primary care to specialty care and, in fact, the need for evidence on relative degrees of benefit does not appear to have been recognised. This paper provides a general framework for starting a process of rationalisation, and some preliminary evidence that could inform strategies to proceeding further. The data come primarily from national samples in the United States (US) — the better organisation of general practice in the United Kingdom (UK) may be associated with far better communication between primary care physicians and other specialists in the UK. Nevertheless, the data presented herein raise questions that are more generally applicable in all countries, and the US data provide a basis for crosscountry comparisons.
Cognitive Subscore Trajectory Prediction in Alzheimer's Disease.

Accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) entails clinical evaluation of multiple cognition metrics and biomarkers. Metrics such as the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale - Cognitive test (ADAS-cog) comprise multiple subscores that quantify different aspects of a patient's cognitive state such as learning, memory, and language production/comprehension. Although computer-aided diagnostic techniques for classification of a patient's current disease state exist, they provide little insight into the relationship between changes in brain structure and different aspects of a patient's cognitive state that occur over time in AD. We have developed a Convolutional Neural Network architecture that can concurrently predict the trajectories of the 13 subscores comprised by a subject's ADAS-cog examination results from a current minimally preprocessed structural MRI scan up to 36 months from image acquisition time without resorting to manual feature extraction. Mean performance metrics are within range of those of existing techniques that require manual feature selection and are limited to predicting aggregate scores.
Pediatric cancer risk in association with birth defects: A systematic review.

Background Many epidemiological studies have examined associations between birth defects (BDs) and pediatric malignancy over the past several decades. Our objective was to conduct a systematic literature review of studies reporting on this association. Methods We used librarian-designed searches of the PubMed Medline and Embase databases to identify primary research articles on pediatric neoplasms and BDs. English language articles from PubMed and Embase up to 10/12/2015, and in PubMed up to 5/12/2017 following an updated search, were eligible for inclusion if they reported primary epidemiological research results on associations between BDs and pediatric malignancies. Two reviewers coded each article based on the title and abstract to identify eligible articles that were abstracted using a structured form. Additional articles were identified through reference lists and other sources. Results were synthesized for pediatric cancers overall and for nine major pediatric cancer subtypes. Results A total of 14,778 article citations were identified, of which 80 met inclusion criteria. Pediatric cancer risk was increased in most studies in association with BDs overall with some notable specific findings, including increased risks for CNS tumors in association with CNS abnormalities and positive associations between rib anomalies and several pediatric cancer types. Conclusions Some children born with BDs may be at increased risk for specific pediatric malignancy types. This work provides a foundation for future investigations that are needed to clarify specific BD types predisposing toward malignancy and possible underlying causes of both BDs and malignancy.
Latino Mothers’ Responsiveness and Bilingual Language Development in Young Children From 24 Months to 36 Months

This longitudinal study examined the role maternal responsiveness had on shaping Spanish and English language development in bilingual 2-year-old children. Eight im/migrant Latino mother–child dyads (age: time 1: M = 23.25 months, SD = 3.34; time 2: M = 30.13 months, SD = 4.14; time 3: M = 35.13, SD = 4.34) were observed and assessed at three time points. Regression and linear mixed modeling were used in order to assess which maternal responsive behaviors impacted Spanish and English language outcomes. Results indicated joint topic focus as being overwhelmingly impactful across times 2 and times 3 in both languages. Prohibition negatively influenced English outcomes at times 2 and times 3. Interestingly, focus shift had a positive impact on English outcomes at time 2. This work sheds light on the similarities and differences between cultures and the need for further research surrounding this population.
Emerging Adults and Changing Values: Religion and Morality During Emerging Adulthood

Morality and religion are core factors that influence the behaviors of emerging adults. Studies have found despite decreased levels of religious engagement in emerging adulthood, religion continues to be an important factor that influences behavior during emerging adulthood. The roles of religion and morality as components of emerging adults’ developing worldview are explored, and the role of religion and morality in influencing risky and dangerous behaviors is presented.
Criteria for Evaluation of Biological Literature

Most of the research on biological effects of microwave/radiofrequency (MW/RF) energies has been done with small rodents having coefficients of heat absorption, field concentration effects, body surface areas, and thermoregulatory mechanisms significantly different from those of man. Even closely related species can differ widely in their responses. The literature is replete with “anomalous” reactions. Thus, results of exposure of common laboratory animals cannot be readily extrapolated to man unless a comparative biology approach and some form of “scaling” among different animal species, and from animal to man, is used in an appropriate manner to obtain quantitatively valid extrapolation relationships from the observed data.
Genetic and physiological evidence for the production of N-acyl homoserine lactones by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae and other fluorescent plant pathogenic Pseudomonas species

N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) function as cell density (quorum) sensing signals and regulate diverse metabolic processes in several gram negative bacteria. We report that strains of Pseudomonas syringae pvs. syringae (Pss), tabaci and tomato as well as P. corrugata and P. savastanoi produce difussible AHLs that activate the lux operons of Vibrio fischeri or the tra::lacZ fusion of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. In Pss strain B3A, AHL production occurs in cell density dependent manner. Nucleotide sequence and genetic complementation data revealed the presence of ahlIPss, a luxI homolog within the Ahl+ DNA of Pss strain B3A. The $$ahlI_{Pss}^ + $$ DNA expresses in AHL-deficient strains of P. fluorescens and E. carotovora subsp. carotovora (Ecc), and restores extracellular enzyme production and pathogenicity in the Ecc strain. The derivatives of Pss strains B3A and 301D carrying chromosomal ahlI::lacZ do not produce AHL, but like their wild type parents, produce extracellular protease and the phytotoxin syringomycin as well as elicit the hypersensitive reaction in tobacco leaves. While these strains also produce a basal level of β-galactosidase activity, the expression of ahlI::lacZ is substantially stimulated in the presence of multiple copies of the $$ahlI_{Pss}^ + $$ DNA or by the addition of cell-free spent cultures containing AHL. The activation of β-galactosidase production occurs with spent cultures of some, but not all Pseudomonas strains which produce AHL as indicated by the Lux and tra::lacZ assays. Pss strains deficient in the global regulatory genes, gacA or lemA, produce very low levels of AHL. Since inactivation of ahlIPss eliminates AHL production and since Ahl+ Pseudomonas strains carry the homolog of ahlIPss, we conclude that ahlIPss specifies a key step in AHL biosynthesis and it has been conserved in many plant pathogenic pseudomonads.
On Gentzen’s Structural Completeness Proof

In his very first publication, Gentzen introduced the structural rules of thinning and cut on sequents. He did not consider rules for logical operators. Gentzen provided a most interesting ‘structural completeness proof’, which it is the concern of this study to explain and clarify. We provide an improved (because more detailed) proof of Gentzen’s completeness result. Then we reflect on the self-imposed limitations of this, Gentzen’s earliest sequent-setting, and explore how his approach might have been generalized, even in the absence of logical operators, so as to cover cases involving sequents with empty antecedent or succedent, and logical consequences of infinite sets of sequents.
Children’s Rights and the Circle of Caring

In considering the morality of public policy, including child protection policy, one must go beyond the logic of the content underlying moral judgments. It is at least as important to discuss the breadth of the circle of care—the scope of application of norms of human dignity, as illustrated by human rights law. In essence, we must exercise due care in determining not only what human decency demands but also to whom the Golden Rule applies. This point was vividly illustrated by the Trump administration’s barbaric policy of separation of parents and children as a deterrent to illegal immigration to the United States. In building more sensible and sensitive child protection policy, we must remain vigilant in affirming the humanity of children in general and, in particular, those who live in exceptionally difficult circumstances or whose families are in groups especially vulnerable to injustice.
Monitoring & Mitigation of Delayed Voltage Recovery using {\mu}PMU Measurements with Reduced Distribution System Model

This paper proposes a new method to monitor and mitigate fault induced delayed voltage recovery (FIDVR) phenomenon in distribution systems using {\mu}PMU measurements in conjunction with a Reduced Distribution System Model (RDSM). The recovery time estimated from a dynamic analysis of the FIDVR is used to monitor its behavior and a linear optimization is formulated to control air conditioner loads and DER reactive power injection to mitigate the FIDVR severity. The RDSM is made up of several sub-models, each of which is analogous to the Composite Load Model (CLM) with selected parameters. The linear formulation in combination with the RDSM reduces the computation time, enabling online execution. Simulated {\mu}PMU measurements from the IEEE 37 node distribution system connected to the IEEE 9 bus system under various fault scenarios are used to evaluate the proposed methodology. The resulting mitigation schemes are validated using combined transmission-distribution system simulations, thereby demonstrating that {\mu}PMU measurements along with the RDSM enable FIDVR mitigation by optimal control of reactive power injection from DERs with minimal load disconnection
Addressing Disaster Exposure Measurement Issues With Latent Class Analysis

Disaster exposure can put survivors at greater risk for subsequent mental health (MH) problems. Within the field of disaster MH research, it is important to understand how the choice of analytic approaches and their implicit assumptions may affect results when using a disaster exposure measure. We compared different analytic strategies for quantifying disaster exposure and included a new analytic approach, latent class analysis (LCA), in a sample of parents and youth. Following exposure to multiple floods in Texas, a sample of 555 parents and 486 youth were recruited. Parents were predominantly female (70.9%) and White (60.8%). Parents were asked to have their oldest child between the ages of 10 and 19 years old participate (M = 13.74 years, SD = 2.57; 52.9% male). Participants completed measures on disaster exposure, posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety. The LCA revealed four patterns of exposure in both parents and youth: high exposure (15.5% parent, 9.5% child), moderate exposure (19.8% parent, 28.2% child), community exposure (45.9% parent, 34.4% child), and low exposure (18.8% parent, 27.8% child). In terms of MH, there were similarities across analytic approaches, but the LCA highlighted a threshold effect, with the high exposure class doing worse than all others, d = 1.12. These results have important implications in understanding the different exposure experiences of survivors and the linkage to MH outcomes. The findings are also informative in the development and use of screening tools used in postdisaster contexts in determining who may or may not need MH services.