cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Facial-width-to-height ratio predicts perceptions of integrity in males

Abstract People rapidly make attributions of others' personality, cognitive abilities, and intentions based on facial appearance alone, which in turn, can have consequential outcomes. One objective measure of facial structure, the facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR), has been linked to perceptions of trustworthiness such that wider-faced men are perceived as less trustworthy than narrower-faced men. In the current study we aimed to extend our understanding of this finding by exploring how fWHR relates to three key components of perceived trustworthiness: perceived ability, perceived benevolence, and perceived integrity. We found that narrower-faced individuals were more often perceived as possessing greater integrity than wider-faced individuals, whereas neither narrower nor wider-faced individuals were perceived as possessing greater ability or benevolence. These findings have implications for research on perceived trustworthiness, facial appearance and impression management.
Refractory Acute Kidney Injury Secondary to Hypothyroid-Induced Myopathy: A Contemporary Case Report

This is a case report elucidating how severe hypothyroid-induced myopathy can lead to refractory kidney injury, unmanageable by standard medical and hemodialysis interventions. A 70-year-old female with extensive medical comorbidities including adult onset hypothyroidism, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and normal baseline renal function presented with shortness of breath, myalgias, edema, and facial swelling. The patient was found to have a thyroid-stimulating hormone of 169.8 uIU/mL, creatine phosphokinase of 42,670 U/L, blood urea nitrogen of 70 mg/dL, a creatinine of 12.1 mg/dL, and glomerular filtration rate of 3 mL/min/1.73 m 2 . She was initiated on aggressive intravenous isotonic rehydration, along with intensive intravenous thyroid hormone replacement therapy and hydrocortisone treatment as well. Her renal status failed to improve adequately and she was started on sodium bicarbonate for urinary alkalinization. With the preceding interventions deemed medically futile for renal amelioration, the patient was started on acute hemodialysis. Over the course of 2 weeks and six hemodialysis treatments, the patient’s renal status failed to improve. The patient finally refused any further hemodialysis or medical interventions seeing that her kidneys failed to respond to treatment, and her clinical prognosis remained poor. This case report illustrates how severe symptomatic hypothyroidism can induce rhabdomyolysis leading to intractable kidney failure, unmanageable by standard medical therapy and hemodialysis. J Med Cases. 2017;8(1):8-10 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc2699w
Phone-delivered mindfulness training to promote medication adherence and reduce sexual risk behavior among persons living with HIV: Design and methods.

Abstract Introduction Two-thirds of people living with HIV (PLWH) show sub-optimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and one-third engages in risky sex. Both non-adherence and risky sex have been associated with emotional distress and impulsivity. To allay distress and lessen impulsivity, mindfulness training (MT) can be helpful. In this trial, we will investigate the utility of phone-delivered MT for PWLH. The primary outcomes comprise feasibility and acceptability of phone-delivery; secondary outcomes are estimates of efficacy of MT on adherence to ART and safer sexual practices as well as on their hypothesized antecedents. Methods/design Fifty participants will be enrolled in this parallel-group randomized clinical trial (RCT). Outpatients recruited from an HIV treatment clinic will be randomized (1:1 ratio) to either MT or to an attention-control intervention; both interventions will be administered during 8 weekly phone calls. ART adherence (self-reported measure and unannounced phone pill counts), sexual behavior (self-reports and biomarkers), mindfulness, depression, stress, and impulsivity will be measured at baseline, post-intervention, and 3 months post-intervention. Conclusions MT has great potential to help PLWH to manage stress, depressive symptoms, and impulsivity. Positive changes in these antecedents are expected to improve safer sex practices and ART adherence. If results from this exploratory trial support our hypotheses, we will conduct a large RCT to test (a) the efficacy of MT on ART adherence and safer sex practices and (b) the hypothesis that improved ART adherence and safer sex will reduce viral load, and decrease the incidence of sexually transmitted infections, respectively.
Reducing liberal red blood cell transfusions at an academic medical center.

BACKGROUND Educational and computerized interventions have been shown to reduce red blood cell (RBC) transfusion rates, yet controversy remains surrounding the optimal strategy needed to achieve sustained reductions in liberal transfusions. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of clinician decision support (CDS) along with targeted education on liberal RBC utilization to four high-utilizing service lines compared with no education to control service lines across an academic medical center. Clinical data along with associated hemoglobin levels at the time of all transfusion orders between April 2014 and December 2015 were obtained via retrospective chart review. The primary outcome was the change in the rate of liberal RBC transfusion orders (defined as any RBC transfusion when the hemoglobin level is >7.0 g/dL). Secondary outcomes included the annual projected reduction in the number of transfusions and the associated decrease in cost due to these changes as well as length of stay (LOS) and death index. These measures were compared between the 12 months prior to the initiative and the 9-month postintervention period. RESULTS Liberal RBC utilization decreased from 13.4 to 10.0 units per 100 patient discharges (p = 0.002) across the institution, resulting in a projected 12-month savings of $720,360. The mean LOS and the death index did not differ significantly in the postintervention period. CONCLUSION Targeted education combined with the incorporation of CDS at the time of order entry resulted in significant reductions in the incidence of liberal RBC utilization without adversely impacting inpatient care, whereas control service lines exposed only to CDS had no change in transfusion habits.
Risk Preference: Empirical Evidence and Its Implications for Capital Budgeting

Finance is a subject that must inevitably deal with decisions that involve choices from risky alternatives in a wide variety of settings—for example, choices of investment portfolios or selections of capital assets. In order to develop normative and predictive models for choice problems such as these, assumptions about the risk preference of individual decision makers have been necessary. The traditional assumption made about risk preference is that individuals are uniformly risk averse. In its strongest form, the assumption of risk aversion has been translated into the proposition that individuals choose between risky alternatives on the basis of mean and variance (or semivariance) and that individuals are averse to risk as measured by variance (or semivariance). In a weaker form, the assumption of risk aversion implies that the utility function of individuals is concave in terminal wealth.
Introduction to Special Section on Teaching Modern Asian History

This provides an introduction to the four articles in the special section on Teaching Modern Asian History.
Why are most phospholipidosis inducers also hERG blockers

Recent reports have noted that a number of compounds that block the human Ether-a-go-go related gene (hERG) ion channel also induce phospholipidosis (PLD). To explore a hypothesis explaining why most PLD inducers are also hERG inhibitors, a modeling approach was undertaken with data sets comprised of 4096 compounds assayed for hERG inhibition and 5490 compounds assayed for PLD induction. To eliminate the chemical domain effect, a filtered data set of 567 compounds tested in quantitative high-throughput screening (qHTS) format for both hERG inhibition and PLD induction was constructed. Partial least squares (PLS) modeling followed by 3D-SDAR mapping of the most frequently occurring bins and projection on to the chemical structure suggested that both adverse effects are driven by similar structural features, namely two aromatic rings and an amino group forming a three-center toxicophore. Non-parametric U-tests performed on the original 3D-SDAR bins indicated that the distance between the two aromatic rings is the main factor determining the differences in activity; at distances of up to about 5.5 A, a phospholipidotic compound would also inhibit hERG, while at longer distances, a sharp reduction of the PLD-inducing potential leaves only a well-pronounced hERG blocking effect. The hERG activity itself diminishes after the distance between the centroids of the two aromatic rings exceeds 12.5 A. Further comparison of the two toxicophores revealed that the almost identical aromatic rings to amino group distances play no significant role in distinguishing between PLD and hERG activity. The hypothesis that the PLD toxicophore appears to be a subset of the hERG toxicophore explains why about 80% of all phospholipidotic chemicals (the remaining 20% are thought to act via a different mechanism) also inhibit the hERG ion channel. These models were further validated in large-scale qHTS assays testing 1085 chemicals for their PLD-inducing potential and 1570 compounds for hERG inhibition. After removal of the modeling and experimental inconclusive compounds, the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.92 for the PLD model and 0.87 for the hERG model. Due to the exceptional ability of these models to recognize safe compounds (negative predictive values of 0.99 for PLD and 0.94 for hERG were achieved), their use in regulatory settings might be particularly useful.
Introduction: The Problem of Integrating Classroom Management into the Lives of Those Learning to Teach

The book’s introduction highlights the lack of classroom management courses in teacher preparation programs, why classroom management is not taught in many programs, the importance of classroom management in teacher preparation programs, and challenges of integrating classroom management coursework into teacher preparation programs. The chapter then frames the book’s central research questions: 1) What types of concerns do pre-service teachers have about classroom management, and why do they have these concerns? 2) What kind of impact does classroom management coursework have on pre-service teachers’ ability to implement classroom management strategies and on creating positive learning environments in their classrooms? 3) How can teacher educators effectively integrate classroom management coursework—in terms of curriculum, organization, and instruction—into their existing methods courses?
Analysis of aptamer discovery and technology

Aptamers are nucleic acid molecules that mimic antibodies by folding into complex 3D shapes that bind to specific targets. Although some aptamers exist naturally as the ligand-binding elements of riboswitches, most are generated in vitro and can be tailored for a specific target. Relative to antibodies, aptamers benefit from their ease of generation, low production cost, low batch-to-batch variability, reversible folding properties and low immunogenicity. However, the true value of aptamers lies in the simplicity by which these molecules can be engineered into sensors, actuators and other devices that are often central to emerging technologies. This Review examines changing trends in aptamer technology by analysing the first quarter century of aptamer data that is available in the scientific literature (1990–2015). We highlight specific examples that showcase the use of aptamers in key applications, discuss challenges that have impeded the success of aptamers in practical applications, provide suggestions for choosing chemical modifications that can lead to enhanced activity or stability, and propose standards for the characterization of aptamers in the scientific literature. Aptamers are nucleic acid molecules that can be evolved to bind to specific molecular targets and have found applications in technologies such as sensors and actuators. This Review provides a critical analysis of the first 25 years of aptamer research.
Intracompartmental Versus Extracompartmental Transposition of the Extensor Pollicis Longus for Treating Thumb-in-Palm Deformity: A Biomechanical Comparison

Purpose Transecting the extensor pollicis longus (EPL) tendon and rerouting it through the first extensor compartment is an established technique for treating thumb-in-palm deformity (TIPD). An alternative technique that approximates the trajectory of the first extensor compartment without violating the compartment or transecting the EPL tendon can be accomplished by creating an artificial sheath from the extensor retinaculum to radialize the tendon glide path. This study compares this extracompartmental (EC) EPL transposition to the established, intracompartmental (IC) transposition by evaluating, in a cadaver model, the extent of thumb extension in both techniques. Methods Eighteen fresh-frozen cadaveric hands were each tested under 3 different conditions: EPL in situ (baseline); EPL rerouted above the first extensor compartment (EC); and EPL rerouted through the first extensor compartment (IC). A controlled traction of 10 N was applied to the EPL under each condition. The range of thumb extension with respect to the fixed index finger was recorded utilizing infrared reflective markers and digital video capture. Results The mean extension of the thumb with the EPL tendon in situ was 16.7°. The mean extension of the thumb was 22.0° with the EC transposition versus 25.0° with the IC technique. The measured thumb extension in both the EC and the IC techniques were found to be similar because both EPL transpositions yielded a significant difference in thumb extension when compared with baseline. Conclusions This biomechanical model demonstrates that radial transposition of the EPL tendon enhances extension of the thumb regardless of whether the tendon is routed through, or superficial to, the first extensor compartment. Clinical relevance A novel technique, the EC EPL transposition, offers a similar enhancement in measured thumb extension as the already-described IC EPL transposition.
Pyroelectric energy conversion with large energy and power density in relaxor ferroelectric thin films.

The need for efficient energy utilization is driving research into ways to harvest ubiquitous waste heat. Here, we explore pyroelectric energy conversion from low-grade thermal sources that exploits strong field- and temperature-induced polarization susceptibilities in the relaxor ferroelectric 0.68Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.32PbTiO3. Electric-field-driven enhancement of the pyroelectric response (as large as −550 μC m−2 K−1) and suppression of the dielectric response (by 72%) yield substantial figures of merit for pyroelectric energy conversion. Field- and temperature-dependent pyroelectric measurements highlight the role of polarization rotation and field-induced polarization in mediating these effects. Solid-state, thin-film devices that convert low-grade heat into electrical energy are demonstrated using pyroelectric Ericsson cycles, and optimized to yield maximum energy density, power density and efficiency of 1.06 J cm−3, 526 W cm−3 and 19% of Carnot, respectively; the highest values reported to date and equivalent to the performance of a thermoelectric with an effective ZT ≈ 1.16 for a temperature change of 10 K. Our findings suggest that pyroelectric devices may be competitive with thermoelectric devices for low-grade thermal harvesting. Pyroelectric energy conversion in a thin-film relaxor ferroelectric is studied under an electric field, resulting in high energy and power densities. Performance is equivalent to a ZT = 1.16 thermoelectric, competitive for low-grade thermal harvesting.
Every Twelfth Shopper: Who Shoplifts and Why?:

The characteristics and motivations of adult shoplifters are documented in a survey of shoppers. Results indicated that shoplifting was related to economic and social stresses, depression, perceive...
Kepler Motion Viewed from Either Focus

In the first chapter we analyzed a Babylonian planetary text and saw that the Late-Babylonian astronomers had shaped arithmetic into a powerful tool for addressing astronomical problems. In contrast, the Greek planetary models, qualitative as well as quantitative, employed geometrical models with moving parts and a knowledge of how to combine velocities. We call such models cinematical, for cinematics is the branch of mathematics concerned with motion but without regard to masses and forces. Finally, dynamics—the study of the behavior of a system of masses in terms of the forces that act upon them—was created in its useful form by Isaac Newton (1642–1727). In his Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), usually called the Principia (1687), he formulated the basic rules of dynamics and successfully applied them to a variety of physical problems, among them that posed by the solar system.
Abstract 3122: Delays in Warfarin Reversal following Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Population-Based Study

Introduction: Warfarin anticoagulation worsens outcomes following intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), in part by increasing risk of hematoma expansion. Prompt reversal of warfarin anticoagulation is therefore imperative. We documented patterns of anticoagulant reversal following ICH in a large, population-based stroke study. Methods: As part of the Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Hemorrhagic Stroke Study, we identified all patients who presented with an ICH to an emergency room in the five-county Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region from July 2008 through December 2009. Patients from outside the five-county region were excluded. We recorded all INRs, medications used to reverse coagulopathy, and mortality. For patients with warfarin-associated ICH and initial INR > 1.4, we determined the time from presentation to initiation of warfarin reversal and time to achievement of INR ≤ 1.4. We also compared times to warfarin reversal in centers with and without emergency medicine residency training programs (“academic” vs. “community” hospitals). Results: There were 403 cases of ICH identified at 13 local hospitals, including 67 cases of warfarin-associated ICH. After exclusion of patients with INR Conclusions: Reversal of coagulopathy was significantly delayed in our population, with a median time of > 3 hours from ED arrival to initiation of FFP. Only 31 of 53 analyzed cases had documented reversal of INR to ≤ 1.4, and this took a median of 11 hours. Improvements in time to warfarin reversal via streamlined systems or alternative medications such as prothrombin complex concentrates may improve patient outcomes.
Health Information Technology: Transforming Chronic Disease Management and Care Transitions

Adoption of health information technology (HIT) is a key effort in improving care delivery, reducing costs of health care, and improving the quality of health care. Evidence from electronic health record (EHR) use suggests that HIT will play a significant role in transforming primary care practices and chronic disease management. This article shows that EHRs and HIT can be used effectively to manage chronic diseases, that HIT can facilitate communication and reduce efforts related to transitions in care, and that HIT can improve patient safety by increasing the information available to providers and patients, improving disease management and safety.
Team Adaptation to Complex Clinical Situations: The Case of VTE Prophylaxis in Hospitalized Patients

Intensive care units (ICUs) are complex environments, which rely on teams in order to coordinate patient care. Venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is a major concern for ICU patients, who are frequently immobile. VTE prophylaxis (prevention) occurs throughout different stages of a patient’s stay in the ICU, which range in levels of complexity. The objective of this study is to use social network analysis to understand team adaptation in response to different levels of complexity in the VTE prophylaxis process. The more complex stages of VTE prophylaxis involve more people, more team activities, more team interactions, and more two-way communication compared to the less complex stages. Social network analysis can be used to understand team adaptation to these different levels of complexity in a patient’s ICU care.
The Circadian tau Mutation in Casein Kinase 1 Is Part of a Larger Domain That Can Be Mutated to Shorten Circadian Period

Drosophila Double-time (DBT) phosphorylates the circadian protein Period (PER). The period-altering mutation tau, identified in hamster casein kinase I (CKIe) and created in Drosophila DBT, has been shown to shorten the circadian period in flies, as it does in hamsters. Since CKI often phosphorylates downstream of previously phosphorylated residues and the tau amino acid binds a negatively charged ion in X-ray crystal structures, this amino acid has been suggested to contribute to a phosphate recognition site for the substrate. Alternatively, the tau amino acid may affect a nuclear localization signal (NLS) with which it interacts. We mutated the residues that were close to or part of the phosphate recognition site or NLS. Flies expressing DBT with mutations of amino acids close to or part of either of these motifs produced a shortening of period, suggesting that a domain, including the phosphate recognition site or the NLS, can be mutated to produce the short period phenotype. Mutation of residues affecting internally placed residues produced a longer period, suggesting that a specific domain on the surface of the kinase might generate an interaction with a substrate or regulator, with short periods produced when the interaction is disrupted.
Metabolic syndrome marker profile in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma HCC.

e22255 Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been known to be associated with HCC; however, the biomarkers of this syndrome have not been adequately profiled. Adipokine expression profile alter...
Optimized oxygen deprived low temperature sputtered WO3 thin films for crystalline structures.

We report a detailed analysis on the effects of processing parameters for sputtered tungsten tri oxide (WO3) thin films that alters its structural, electrical and vibrational states drastically. The research aims to understand the fundamental aspects on the use of sputtered WO3 films to improve film quality deploying short interval annealing and relatively lower temperatures with oxygen deprived environment for sensitive substrates. Structural analysis indicates that films deposited at room temperature or substrate temperatures at or below 400oC with low oxygen partial pressure are amorphous. Crystallization of the films were observed with distinct Raman peaks when the films were annealed at 300oC or above using rapid thermal annealing for 10 minutes. Films revealed monoclinic phases of WO3 with the presence of W-O-W stretching, bending and lattice vibrational modes in the Raman spectra. Interestingly, change of transport behavior from insulating to semiconducting were observed for as deposited films on post annealing. Annealed films revealed stoichiometric WO3 phases with no external defects detected. The present study adopts a route to intercalate WO3 in variety of applications from electrochromic coloration to a crystalline thin film for electronic devices sensitive to higher temperatures and gas flow in the sputtering system.
Schutz’s Theory of Jurisprudence

Trained and long employed by day as a lawyer, Alfred Schutz held that jurisprudence is a cultural science, more specifically a social science, and, like pure economics, an advanced theoretical one at that. Like his teacher Hans Kelson, he furthermore held that a basic norm determines what law is. Lawyers are experts and interact with legislators, the courts, the police and legal interpretation involves ideal types of institutionalized standard degrees of anonymity and concreteness.
Mapping out the future of green-chemistry education

Each generation of chemists asks themselves how they can best prepare the next generation of chemists. How can we provide aspiring chemists with the knowledge and skills they need to flourish in the global economy? What research and mentoring opportunities can we offer? How can we help students build their professional networks? But above and beyond these questions, we also need to ask: How can we instill in the next generation the skills and tools they need to practice chemistry in a green and sustainable way? In 2014, the ACS Green Chemistry Institute (ACS GCI) began mapping out the future of green chemistry education through its green chemistry education road map project. This project has articulated an aspirational vision for green chemistry education: “Chemistry education that equips and inspires chemists to solve the grand challenges of sustainability.” This vision aligns with the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs), whose achievement
Enzymatic Approaches to O-Glycoside Introduction: Glycosyltransferases

Glycosyltransferases that catalyze glycosylation reactions in a highly regio- and stereo-selective manner have proven to be important tools for preparative and large-scale synthesis of biologically and medicinally important glycans and glycoconjugates. A number of glycosyltransferases from various sources (mammalian, bacterial, and viral) and their mutants with or without sugar nucleotide biosynthetic enzymes have been widely used in the synthesis. Different synthetic strategies have been developed, including one-pot multi-enzyme (OPME), sugar nucleotide recycling, immobilized carbohydrate biosynthetic enzymes, solid phase synthesis, and cell-based systems. The trans-glycosidase and revsersible glycosylation activities of glycosyltransferases have also been explored. Glycosylation catalyzed by glycosyltransferases and their mutants will continue to play important roles in producing diverse glycan structures for elucidating their biological functions and developing carbohydrate-based therapeutics.
To impute or not to impute, and how? A review of poverty‐estimation methods in the absence of consumption data

Motivation A major challenge with poverty measurement is that household consumption (or income) data are often unavailable or not comparable across survey rounds. Furthermore, panel data are even rarer, thus making it difficult—if not impossible—to track the dynamics of these households’ movements into or out of poverty in different periods. Purpose We review imputation methods that have been employed to provide poverty estimates in such data‐scarce contexts. We provide a concise and introductory synthesis, which focuses on intuition and nuanced practical insights rather than technical details. Approach and methods We start first with each method’s motivation, a brief description, some recent application examples, and the remaining challenges. This format offers a self‐contained treatment and facilitates comparison between the various methods and highlight their nuanced differences. Findings The growing demand for more frequent and accurate poverty estimates is not satisfied by current data availability, at least in the short run. Imputation methods offer a promising solution and have received increasing attention. This review helps remedy the dearth of research analysing how to bridge the gap between typical development practitioners and the latest advances in the field. Policy Implications Poverty‐imputation methods offer several policy‐relevant advantages, including In the immediate term (when micro‐survey data are unavailable for all countries). Survey costs or implementation pose challenges. Back‐casting consumption from a more recent survey for better comparison with older surveys. Bypassing thorny issues of obtaining appropriate intertemporal/intraregional price deflators. Furthermore, poverty‐imputation methods can also be used in other fields.
Ancient origins of allosteric activation in a Ser-Thr kinase

A myriad of cellular events are regulated by allostery; therefore, evolution of this process is of fundamental interest. Here, we use ancestral sequence reconstruction to resurrect ancestors of two colocalizing proteins, Aurora A kinase and its allosteric activator TPX2 (targeting protein for Xklp2), to experimentally characterize the evolutionary path of allosteric activation. Autophosphorylation of the activation loop is the most ancient activation mechanism; it is fully developed in the oldest kinase ancestor and has remained stable over 1 billion years of evolution. As the microtubule-associated protein TPX2 appeared, efficient kinase binding to TPX2 evolved, likely owing to increased fitness by virtue of colocalization. Subsequently, TPX2-mediated allosteric kinase regulation gradually evolved. Surprisingly, evolution of this regulation is encoded in the kinase and did not arise by a dominating mechanism of coevolution.
Co-location Pattern Mining of Geosocial Data to Characterize Urban Functional Spaces

Spatial Co-location Pattern (SCP) mining continues to play a critical role in understanding the morphology of urban functional spaces of world cities. It requires a large amount of fine-granular data and computing efficiency to handle the combinatorial explosion of co-location patterns. To this end, this work has two main contributions - i) We showcase a novel approach to perform SCP mining to characterize intra-city scale structure of urban functionality or co-located activity patterns using geosocial Points-of-Interest (POI) vector data. ii) We present a generalized and optimized parallel/distributed SCP mining algorithm implemented on a Hadoop MapReduce system and demonstrate the utility of our approach using the city of Berlin (Germany) as an example. The SCPs tend to vary across Berlin’s municipal boroughs and at different spatial scales. Our findings on Berlin’s functional structure conform to existing urban geography models. Such a data-driven exploration of massive urban POIs using distributed computing is first of its kind and can help better understand the changing dynamics of urban functionality, as well as physical, and social network structure around the world.
Single-electron charging effects in insulating wires.

We present measurements or the transport properties or 0.75-μm-long, narrow, insulating indium oxide wires and rings. These devices have no apparent tunnel barriers, yet they exhibit erects similar to those round in series arrays or very-small-capacitance tunnel junctions: highly nonlinear I-V characteristics and a zero-bias conductance which is periodic in a voltage applied by means or a lateral gate. These erects are due to the influence or single-electron charging on transport through localized states in the insulating regime
Lattice simulations of the strange quark mass and Fritzsch texture

A number of numerical simulations of lattice gauge theory have indicated a low mass of strange quark in 100 MeV range at the scale of μ=2 GeV. In the unquenched case, which is improved over the simulation in the quenched approximation by the inclusion of u and d sea quark effects, one sees a further downward trend. Here the fermion mass spectrum of the Fritzsch texture is recalculated. In a single step supersymmetric GUT with MX∼1016 GeV such values of the strange quark mass can be obtained for low values of tanβ. Experimental numbers mpolet=173±6 GeV and 4.1<mb(mb)<4.4 GeV are used in this study. Since the scenario is supersymmetric, gaugino loop diagrams contribute to the masses in addition to usual tree level Yukawa contributions. Upper bound of the mixing parameter Vcb is taken at 0.045.
Femoral-popliteal peripheral artery disease: From symptom presentation to management and treatment controversies.

Abstract Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a common condition with increasing prevalence domestically and worldwide. Patients with PAD have a poor prognosis, as PAD is associated with high rates of myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and cardiovascular disease death. The primary symptom of PAD, claudication, significantly reduces quality of life and functional status and is associated with depression. In addition to several advances in medications for PAD over the last decade, endovascular device therapy has seen a significant breakthrough in the form of paclitaxel-coated devices (PCDs), which significantly reduce rates of restenosis relative to non-PCDs, a finding which has been demonstrated in numerous randomized clinical trials. After their introduction to the market in 2012 (paclitaxel-eluting stents) and 2014 (paclitaxel-coated balloons) their use surged as they replaced non-PCDs and were designated the first-line endovascular therapy by society guidelines. This trend was abruptly reversed, however, after a meta-analysis of summary-level data was published in December of 2018 that reported an elevated mortality associated with PCDs compared with non-PCDs 2–5 years after treatment. This meta-analysis has been criticized for considerable methodological flaws. The Food and Drug Administration conducted a review and concluded that insufficient data existed to make a definitive statement regarding the safety of PCDs. They called for restriction of the use of PCDs to the highest-risk patient populations. At the same time, the FDA deemed pursuing new RCTs to better evaluate PCDs unfeasible due to the high numbers of patients and long follow-up time that would be required. In this setting, real-world data emerged as a powerful source of information for the evaluation of PCDs. Real-world data offers advantages over randomized-controlled trials including expeditious access to and analysis of data and the availability of large numbers of patients. Several retrospective observational studies demonstrate no difference in long-term all-cause mortality in patients treated with PCDs relative to those treated with non-PCDs. This paclitaxel controversy has illustrated the critical role that real-world data is assuming in long-term safety monitoring of medical devices.
Personal Involvement of U.S. Vietnam Veterans in Harming Civilians and Prisoners: The Roles of Antisocial Predispositions and Combat Situations:

Our previous research with U.S. Vietnam veterans focused on war-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We used data from a clinically diagnosed subsample of 254 men from the 1986–1988 Nation...
A Robotic Device to Enhance Nursing Home Provider Telepresence during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic presents significant challenges to face-to-face communication with people residing in post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) settings. Telemedicine is an alternative, but facility staff may be over-burdened with the management of the equipment. Here we introduce the use of a mobile HIPPA-compliant telepresence robot (MTR) to bridge this barrier which may be beneficial to reimagine options for PALTC in the future.
Probabilistic clustering and quantitative analysis of white matter fiber tracts

A novel framework for joint clustering and point-by-point mapping of white matter fiber pathways is presented. Accurate clustering of the trajectories into fiber bundles requires point correspondence determined along the fiber pathways. This knowledge is also crucial for any tract-oriented quantitative analysis. We employ an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm to cluster the trajectories in a Gamma mixture model context. The result of clustering is the probabilistic assignment of the fiber trajectories to each cluster, an estimate of the cluster parameters, and point correspondences along the trajectories. Point-by-point correspondence of the trajectories within a bundle is obtained by constructing a distance map and a label map from each cluster center at every iteration of the EM algorithm. This offers a time-efficient alternative to pairwise curve matching of all trajectories with respect to each cluster center. Probabilistic assignment of the trajectories to clusters is controlled by imposing a minimum threshold on the membership probabilities, to remove outliers in a principled way. The presented results confirm the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed framework for quantitative analysis of diffusion tensor MRI.
The participation of a ferredoxin of clostridium nigrificans in sulfite reduction

Abstract Clostridium nigrificans , a thermophilic sulfate-reducing bacterium ( Campbell et al ., 1957 ), reduces inorganic sulfate to hydrogen sulfide by a dissimilatory pathway involving adenosine-5'-phosphosulfate as the active intermediate compound ( Peck, 1959 ; Ishimoto and Fujimoto, 1959 ). The electron transport system operating in this reductive process was not established for C. nigrificans . Previous attempts, in this laboratory, to isolate a ferredoxin from this organism were unsuccessful ( Akagi, 1964 ). The failure to detect ferredoxin-activity was not due to the absence of the carrier but rather, was primarily due to the method of assay employed. In this communication evidence for the presence of a ferredoxin in C. nigrificans and a brief description of some of its properties are presented.
Malignant neoplasia in the endometrium: A ten-year experience in private practice☆

Abstract A study has been conducted of approximately 70 patients with adenocarcinoma of the endometrium treated by one physician in private practice over a 10 year period. Special attention has been given to the high preponderance of endocrine stigmas found among patients in this series. Accompanying tables show the incidence of diabetes, aberrations of weight and stature, concurrent breast discase, and other glandular irregularities. Two patients had chromophobe adenoma of the pituitary. The value of endometrial biopsy as a means of immediate diagnosis is stressed. The treatment of carcinoma of the corpus uteri includes 2 preoperative radium implantations by the Heyman packing method, followed by total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Individual considerations, such as age, obesity, or heart disease often necessitate modifications. Improved dosimetry has made possible precise measurements of the amount of radiation delivered to a given area. Dosages are calculated showing the results obtained when optimal radiation was employed. Although insufficient time has elapsed for 5 year results in the entire series, a tentative evaluation is made from studying the pathologic reports following operation. The prognostic significance of the presence or absence of residual tumor in the uterus is discussed.
Using MIMO feedback control to enforce policies for interrelated metrics with application to the Apache Web server

Policy-based management provides a means for IT systems to operate according to business needs. Unfortunately, there is often an "impedance mismatch" between the policies administrators want and the controls they are given. Consider the Apache Web server. Administrators want to control CPU and memory utilizations, but this must be done indirectly by manipulating tuning parameters such as MaxClients and KeepAlive. There has been much interest in using feedback control to bridge the impedance mismatch. However, these efforts have focused on a single metric that is manipulated by a single control and hence have not considered interactions between controls such as those that are common in computing systems. This paper shows how multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) control theory can be used to enforce policies for interrelated metrics. MIMO is used both to model the target system, Apache in our case, and to design feedback controllers. The MIMO model captures the interactions between KA and MC, and can be used to identify infeasible metric policies. In addition, MIMO control techniques can provide considerable benefit in handling trade-offs between speed of metric convergence and sensitivity to random fluctuations while enforcing the desired policies.
Binding of protegrin-1 to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cepacia.

Background Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cepacia infections of cystic fibrosis patients' lungs are often resistant to conventional antibiotic therapy. Protegrins are antimicrobial peptides with potent activity against many bacteria, including P. aeruginosa. The present study evaluates the correlation between protegrin-1 (PG-1) sensitivity/resistance and protegrin binding in P. aeruginosa and B. cepacia.
Robust multi-sensor fusion for micro aerial vehicle navigation in GPS-degraded/denied environments

State estimation for Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) is challenging because sensing instrumentation carried on-board is severely limited by weight and power constraints. In addition, their use close to and inside structures and vegetation means that GPS signals can be degraded or all together absent. Here we present a navigation system suited for use on MAVs that seamlessly fuses any combination of GPS, visual odometry, inertial measurements, and/or barometric pressure. We focus on robustness against real-world conditions and evaluate performance in challenging field experiments. Results demonstrate that the proposed approach is effective at providing a consistent state estimate even during multiple sensor failures and can be used for mapping, planning, and control.
The Relationship Between Teacher Performance Evaluation Scores and Student Achievement: Evidence From Cincinnati

In this article, I present the results of an analysis of the relationship between teacher evaluation scores and student achievement on district and state tests in reading, mathematics, and science in a large Midwestern U.S. school district. Within a value-added framework, I correlated the difference between predicted and actual student achievement in science, mathematics, and reading for students in Grades 3 through 8 with teacher evaluation ratings. Small to moderate positive correlationships were found for most grades in each subject tested. When these correlationships were combined across grades within subjects, the average correlationships were. 27 for science,. 32 for reading, and. 43 for mathematics. These results show that scores from a rigorous teacher evaluation system can be substantially related to student achievement and provide criterion-related validity evidence for the use of the performance evaluation scores as the basis for a performance-based pay system or other decisions with consequenc...
Thesauros in Crackable Pottery

UT we have this treasure in earthen vessels. . . ."1 What is this "treasure ?" And to relate this titanic question to my job (this is sometimes naive): What are my responsibilities as a "BI" to or in behalf of this "treasure ?" The question is sufficiently difficult by itself. But there is another. What should be my understanding of and responsibility to the "earthen vessels?" My first thought had been to entitle this paper "The 'BI' in NABI." This will always be a live question to me. Yet the woeful inadequacies of my accomplishments in the role of "BI" make it grotesque that I should ever presume to arrogate to myself the other two letters of our honorific acrostic. To be faced with our professional tetragrammaton is actively embarrassing-a "confrontation" of Barthian magnitude. My second thought had been to pinpoint the question "geographically" and call it "Entering the Classroom." The plan would have been to accost our hypothetical "BI" as he was just about to enter the "arena" and find out what preparation he was told to have, and, what his plans (and dreams) were. Then two events transpired to shuffle the elements of my cerebrations. The first was a conversation with a freshman boy. We had read, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase, both that which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel; that they may continue many days.!
Pendular states and spectra of oriented linear molecules.

Recent experiments have demonstrated the feasibility of orienting rotationally cooled polar molecules in an electric field. The anisotropy of the Stark effect allows molecules in low rotational states to be trapped in ``pendular states,'' confined to librate over a limited angular range about the field direction. We present calculations exhibiting the nature of these pendular states for a linear molecule and characteristic features of infrared and microwave spectra which become observable in strong fields.
Hope and Despair: Southern Black Women Educators across Pre- and Post-Civil Rights Cohorts Theorize about Their Activism.

Framed by theoretical perspectives on Black Feminist Thought, the life course, and the Generation X/Hip-Hop generation, I present findings from a subset of 10 Black women educators in Birmingham, Alabama who participated in a larger life story project. The participants, who came of age professionally across the pre- and post-civil rights movement (CRM), describe divergent and convergent social and historical contexts that shaped their professionalization, as well as their relationships with and perceptions of Black students and parents. Participants across generation theorize that teaching and leading are activist practices in their own right, which entail clandestine support and silent protest, intergenerational bridge-building, and debunking the myth of Black inferiority. Post-CRM educators, in particular, expressed ambivalence about their urban students’ futures. I conclude that multigenerational perspectives should figure more prominently in the scholarship on Black education in the US South. This emp...
Elastic constants of Cu/Nb superlattices

Abstract Brillouin scattering has been performed on Cu/Nb metal superlattices with a multipass tandem interferometer. Behavior similar to that reported by Kueny et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett., 48, 166 (1982)] has been observed for the Rayleigh wave dispersion with bilayer periodicity. Multiple guided acoustic waves have been observed and their dispersion measured in order to obtain the variation in the c44 and c33 elastic constants with bilayer thickness.
The decline in murine splenic PHA and LPS responsiveness following serial transplantation of young and old bone marrow cells

Abstract An analysis was made of the ability of bone marrow cells derived from young (6 months) or old (28 months) murine (A × C57BL/6) donors to differentiate to B and T lymphocytes following serial bone marrow cell transplantations into groups of young syngeneic lethally irradiated recipients. Both number and mitogenic responsiveness of spenic B and T lymphocytes were recorded for recipients of young or old bone marrow cells 9 months following each serial transplant. The data suggests that lymphopoietic stem cells senesce in a manner analogous to that predicted by the clonal succession model of ageing.
Elements of social science engagement in information infrastructure design

Drawing on three cases of information infrastructure building projects with social science participants, we identify four elements which have structured the engagements. The elements we identify are (i) the temporal initiation of social science engagement with the project; (ii) the level of development of the infrastructure at engagement, (iii) the project's participatory model for social science, and; (iv) social scientist's structured relations to project participants.