cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role Identities and Person Identities: Gender Identity, Mastery Identity, and Controlling One's Partner

This research explores the relationship between gender identity, the mastery identity, and control over one's partner in intimate relationships. While gender identity is viewed as a role identity, that is, an identity that is tied to the social structure, the mastery identity is conceptualized as a person identity, that is, an identity that is tied to the person. Using a sample of college-age dating couples, a simultaneous equation model is estimated to determine the relationship between a role identity and a person identity, and how these identities mutually influence control over one's partner in interaction.
Staining of plant materials cleared in NaOH.

Stains are listed which have proved suitable for staining the epidermis, mesophyll, and sclerenchyma and tracheary elements, respectively, of cleared leaf material of Mouriri and Linociera. Too rapid leaching is avoided by overstaining high in the dehydration series, destaining briefly in the same solvent, and moving through to xylene. Twenty to thirty minutes staining time is generally sufficient. Concentrations and solvents can be varied widely. If destained too much, the material can usually be replaced in the dye with no ill effects. A double stain schedule (Bonnett) of five to ten minutes in 1% Bismarck brown Y in 95% alcohol followed by one to two minutes in 1% fast green FCF in 100% alcohol may be advantageous for thin-walled cells in thick material. It may be preferable to treat thinner material with tannic-acid-iron-chloride followed by safranin (Foster). The effects of bleaches and clearing compounds other than NaOH on staining have not been investigated; however, Dr. Bonnett finds that lactic a...
Microstructure of Amine-Cured Epoxy Resins Studied by Positron Annihilation

We have applied the technique of positron annihilation lifetime(PAL) spectroslopy to study the nature and the characteristice of amine-cured epoxy resins. The PAL measurement give information a-bout the mean free volume hole size and the distribution of the free volume hole size for the resins. The effects of the different kinds and content of the curing agent on the mechanical properties and the free volume have been disscussed.
Principle of Series Compensation Protection Equipments Disposition and Setting in Shen-bao 500 kV Transmission Line

Combining with the application of fixed series capacitive compensation installation in Shen-bao 500 kV transmission and transformation project,this paper analyses the principle of series compensator protection disposition and setting,it provides the reference for the design and operation of similar series compensator protection.
Organizing Committee and Preface.

Thee symposium focused on combining human and machine inference. For unique events and data-poor problem, there is no substitute for human judgment. Even for data-rich problems, human input is needed to account for contextual factors. However, human are notorious for underestimating the uncertainty in their forecasts and even the most expert judgments exhibit well-known cognitive biases. The challenge is therefore to aggregate expert judgment such that it compensates for the human deficiencies. We hope that bringing researchers in this venue will provide meaningful discussions and further inspire interesting research in this direction.
Treatment of acute pancreatitis: Comparison of animal and human studies

In this review, we compared the outcome of 25 studies of experimentally induced pancreatitis in animals with 13 studies of human acute pancreatitis in which the same therapeutic agents were used (aprotinin, glucagon, 5-fluorouracil, somatostatin, peritoneal lavage). Whereas 81% of the animal studies had a positive outcome (improvement in survival), only 7.7% of the human studies showed a positive outcome on survival. Most animal studies suffered from a protocol in which treatment was not significantly delayed after induction of acute pancreatitis. Of the 12 human studies that showed no effect of treatment on survival, none had sufficient statistical power (1 - beta error) for the investigators to have confidence in the negative outcomes. This was due to the fact that the studies had too few patients or that the event rates in the untreated populations were too low. Only five of the human studies reported the complication rates of acute pancreatitis in patients who did not die of their disease. Treatment (by any agent) did not improve the complication rate in these studies, but only one of the five reports had sufficient statistical power for the investigators to have confidence in these negative results. Large multicenter studies with sufficient numbers of patients with severe pancreatitis (high mortality and complication rates) are needed to evaluate new therapies in this disease.
B-type natriuretic peptide level had reduced specificity for diagnosing heart failure in dyspnea with atrial fibrillation in the emergency department.

Source Citation Knudsen CW, Omland T, Clopton P, et al. Impact of atrial fibrillation on the diagnostic performance of B-type natriuretic peptide concentration in dyspneic patients: an analysis fro...
Diversity is the question, not the answer

Local diversity (within-sample or alpha diversity) is often implicated as a cause of success or failure of a microbial community. However, the relationships between diversity and emergent properties of a community, such as its stability, productivity or invasibility, are much more nuanced. I argue that diversity without context provides limited insights into the mechanisms underpinning community patterns. I provide examples from traditional and microbial ecology to discuss common complications and assumptions about within-sample diversity that may prevent us from digging deeper into the more specific mechanisms underpinning community outcomes. I suggest that measurement of diversity should serve as a starting point for further inquiry of ecological mechanisms rather than an 'answer' to community outcomes.
Framework and Scenarios of IWRM

While integrated water resources management is often explained in different ways, a theory of it is emerging to explain how management tools apply to issues and scenarios that involve diverse categories of users facing scenarios of water handling and management of water-related services and infrastructure. The theory can be expressed through variables that include the levels and scales at which water issues occur and the management functions that are applied. The scenarios involve combinations of variables in contextual situations, and they range across issues such as policy planning, operations assessment, and conflict management. In addition to scale, management function is also important in defining scenarios. For example, a water issue might occur at a watershed scale, and the required management function could be conflict management.
Does Weather Matter? The Effect of Weather Patterns and Temporal Factors on Pediatric Orthopedic Trauma Volume

Objectives: Orthopaedists often speculate how weather and school schedule may influence pediatric orthopedic trauma volume, but few studies have examined this. This study aims to determine: how do weather patterns, day, month, season and public school schedule influence the daily frequency of pediatric orthopedic trauma consults and admissions? Methods: With IRB approval, orthopedic trauma data from a level 1 pediatric trauma center, including number of daily orthopedic trauma consults and admissions, were collected from July 2009 to March 2012. Historical weather data (high temperatures, precipitation and hours of daylight), along with local public school schedule data were collected for the same time period. Univariate and multivariate regression models were used to show the average number of orthopedic trauma consults and admissions as a function of weather and temporal variables. Results: High temperature, precipitation, month and day of the week significantly affected the number of daily consults and admissions. The number of consults and admissions increased by 1% for each degree increase in temperature (p=0.001 and p<0.001, respectively), and decreased by 21% for each inch of precipitation (p<0.001, p=0.006). Daily consults on snowy days decreased by an additional 16% compared to days with no precipitation. November had the lowest daily consult and admission rate, while September had the highest. Daily consult rate was lowest on Wednesdays and highest on Saturdays. Holiday schedule was not independently significant. Conclusion: Pediatric orthopedic trauma consultations and admissions are highly linked to temperature and precipitation, as well as day of the week and time of year.
Exploiting Competitive Planner Performance

To date, no one planner has demonstrated clearly superior performance. Although researchers have hypothesized that this should be the case, no one has performed a large study to test its limits. In this research, we tested performance of a set of planners to determine which is best on what types of problems. The study included six planners and over 200 problems. We found that performance, as measured by number of problems solved and computation time, varied with no one planner solving all the problems or being consistently fastest. Analysis of the data also showed that most planners either fail or succeed quickly and that performance depends at least in part on some easily observable problem/domain features. Based on these results, we implemented a meta-planner that interleaves execution of six planners on a problem until one of them solves it. The control strategy for ordering the planners and allocating time is derived from the performance study data. We found that our meta-planner is able to solve more problems than any single planner, but at the expense of computation time.
PFIS-V: Modeling Foraging Behavior in the Presence of Variants

Foraging among similar variants of the same artifact is a common activity, but computational models of Information Foraging Theory (IFT) have not been developed to take such variants into account. Without being able to computationally predict people's foraging behavior with variants, our ability to harness the theory in practical ways--such as building and systematically assessing tools for people who forage different variants of an artifact--is limited. Therefore, in this paper, we introduce a new predictive model, PFIS-V, that builds upon PFIS3, the most recent of the PFIS family of modeling IFT in programming situations. Our empirical results show that PFIS-V is up to 25% more accurate than PFIS3 in predicting where a forager will navigate in a variationed information space.
Stress and Verbal Originality in Sensory Deprivation

No relationship was found between degree of stress experienced by 14 sensory deprivation Ss and changes in verbal orgiinality. The consideration of previous research and of a pilot study indicates that a curvilinear function may accurately describe the correlation between originality and a greater range of stress levels.
Hereditary Renal Diseases

Hereditary kidney disease comprises approximately 10% of adults and nearly all children who require renal replacement therapy. Technologic advances have improved our ability to perform genetic diagnosis and enhanced our understanding of renal and syndromic diseases. In this article, we review the genetics of renal diseases, including common monogenic diseases such as polycystic kidney disease, Alport syndrome, and Fabry disease, as well as complex disorders such as congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract. We provide the nephrologist with a general strategy to approach hereditary disorders, which includes a discussion of commonly used genetic tests, a guide to genetic counseling, and reproductive options such as prenatal diagnosis or pre-implantation genetic diagnosis for at-risk couples. Finally, we review pregnancy outcomes in certain renal diseases.
Artful Coalitions: Challenging Adverse Adolescent Experiences

ART CLASSES ARE OFTEN SITES FOR STUDENTS WITH ACADEMIC, SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND/OR BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS. Some school administrators and counselors recognize the benefits of art education and place st...
Some Advances in the Design of Survey Experiments

This article calls attention to some designs in survey experiments that give new leverage in hypothesis testing and validation. The premise of this review is the modesty of survey experiments—modes...
An Approach for Testing the Extract-Transform-Load Process in Data Warehouse Systems

The Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) process in data warehousing involves extracting data from source databases, transforming it into a form suitable for research and analysis, and loading it into a data warehouse. ETL processes can use complex transformations involving sources and targets that use different schemas, databases, and technologies, which make ETL implementations fault-prone. In this paper, we present an approach for validating ETL processes using automated balancing tests that check for various types of discrepancies between the source and target data. We formalize three categories of properties, namely, completeness, consistency, and syntactic validity that must be checked during testing. Our approach uses the rules provided in the ETL specifications to generate source-to-target mappings, from which balancing test assertions are generated for each property. We evaluated the approach on a real-world health data warehouse project and revealed 11 previously undetected faults. Using mutation analysis, we demonstrated that our auto-generated assertions can detect faults in the data inside the target data warehouse.
What Do We Need to Know? Techniques for Recording Platform State

In deciding whether to trust a platform, it is desirable to learn about its current state. In this section, we discuss why code identity is a crucial piece of platform state and how to measure it (Section 2.1). We then consider additional dynamic properties that may be of interest, e.g., whether the running code respects information-flow control (Section 2.2). Finally, we argue that establishing code identity is a more fundamental property than establishing any of the other dynamic properties discussed (Section 2.3). Unfortunately, the security offered by many of these techniques is still brittle, as we discuss in Section 12.
Diversity and Race-Neutrality

The most important, elusive, and misunderstood aspect of federal affirmative action jurisprudence is the requirement of "serious consideration." Before commencing or continuing race-conscious, non-remedial affirmative action plans, public institutions, including colleges and universities, must apply "serious, good faith consideration" to workable race-neutral alternatives (RNAs). This requires not only that less racially intrusive alternatives be unavailable, but also that institutions establish this unavailability through a largely undefined process of "serious consideration." The measure one should use to establish this (un)availability remains unknown. In higher education, since RNAs typically tout diversity, it is easy to assume that they should be measured against their ability to increase the representation of previously underrepresented student racial and ethnic groups. In fact, such measures raise serious constitutional problems to the extent that they indicate that the actual goal of the RNA's is racial balancing. This Essay argues that, because the only legally viable purpose for non-remedial race-conscious admissions practices are "the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body," only direct measures of those educational benefits are proper for "serious consideration." In other words, RNAs must be evaluated against their ability to raise actual educational achievement.
Evaluation of salt tolerance in rice genotypes by multiple agronomic parameters

The lack of an effective evaluation method for salt tolerance in the screening process is one of the reasons for limited success in conventional salt tolerance breeding. This study was designed to identify useful agronomic parameters for evaluation of salt tolerance and to evaluate genotypes by multiple agronomic parameters for salt tolerance at different growth stages. Twelve genotypes were grown in a greenhouse in sand and irrigated with nutrient solutions of control and treatments amended with NaCl and CaCl2 (5:1 molar concentration) at 4.4 and 8.2 dS m-1 electrical conductivity. Wide genotypic differences in relative salt tolerance based on seedling growth were identified. The duration of reproductive growth between panicle initiation and anthesis was either reduced or increased by salinity, but the response was not strictly correlated with relative salt tolerance in seed yield among genotypes. Wide genotypic differences in relative salt tolerance based on spikelet and tiller numbers were identified. Few genotypic differences were identified for fertility and kernel weight. Spikelet and tiller numbers contributed most of the variation to seed yield among parameters investigated. When genotypes were ranked for salt tolerance based on the means of multiple parameters, dramatic changes of salt tolerance at early and seed maturity stages were observed in two genotypes, GZ5291-7-1-2 and GZ178. IR63731-1-1-4-3-2 was identified with a favourable combination of salt tolerance at early seedling and seed maturity stages. Cluster group ranking of genotypes based on multiple agronomic characters can be applied in salt tolerance breeding to evaluate salt tolerance and may have great advantage over conventional methods.
Intrinsically smart structural composites

Smart structures are important because of their relevance to hazard mitigation, structural vibration control, structural health monitoring, transportation engineering and thermal control. Research on smart structures has emphasized the incorporation of various devices in a structure for providing sensing, energy dissipation, actuation, control or other functions. Research on smart composites has emphasized the incorporation of a smart material in a matrix material for enhancing smartness or durability. Research on smart materials has emphasized the study of materials (e.g., piezoelectric materials) used for making the devices. However, relatively little attention has been given to the development of structural materials (e.g., concrete and composites) that are inherently able to provide some of the smart functions, so that the need for embedded or attached devices is reduced or eliminated, thereby lowering cost, enhancing durability, increasing the smart volume and minimizing mechanical property degradation (which usually occurs in the case of embedded devices).
Mechanism of shear thickening in suspensions of rigid spheres in Boger fluids. Part II: Suspensions at finite concentration

The steady shear rheology of nondilute suspensions of noncolloidal, rigid spheres in highly elastic, constant viscosity fluids is studied via numerical simulation using three-dimensional, finite-volume methods and via experiments using cone-and-plate measurements. In the numerical study, we use an immersed boundary method to simulate an ensemble of particles as a function of time until they achieve steady average bulk properties, and the simulations include fully resolved particle-scale hydrodynamics and fluid stresses. The simulations show that for low volume fraction, nondilute suspensions, the viscosity thickens at high shear and this effect can be fully determined by considering a single particle’s interactions with the suspending fluid. In fact, we show that experimentally measured viscosities of suspensions up to ϕ∼0.25, where ϕ is the volume fraction of particles, can be characterized by a shift factor that determines the zero-shear viscosity and a master curve that describes the viscosity thickeni...
Cruel jokes and normative competence

Some moral responsibility theorists think that certain agents (like psychopaths) can be morally responsible—and morally criticizable—for their actions and attitudes even though they lack any competence in grasping or responding to moral norms (a blindness to moral reasons that is typically called “normative incompetence” or, more accurately, “moral incompetence”). In this essay, I provide a new argument against these theorists by exploring the intersection between two normative domains, the funny and the moral. There are, it turns out, interesting and significant ways that properties from each domain bear on reasons to respond in the other, and so there are interesting and significant ways in which people’s responses to cruel jokes or insult humor may be criticizable. I then survey various personality and psychological impairments that seem to undercut criticizability in this intersecting domain. Learning about these people and their impairments yields a wealth of information about what true normative competence actually requires, as well as why competence of the specifically moral variety really is required for moral criticizability.
Importance of effective teaching in robot motor skill learning

It is generally accepted in the field of human-robot interaction (HRI) that the role of a human teacher is critical for robot environmental adaptation. As such, the ability of a robot to adapt in a novel environment is based on the capabilities of the human teacher. In this paper, we propose a metric for robots to evaluate the quality of a human teacher. We illustrate a scenario where the Sawyer Robotic Arm must learn to grasp a cup according to the demonstration ofa good and a bad human teacher.
When the Doctor-Patient Divide Is a Chasm

For an important group of patients, the divide between themselves and their healthcare team is a chasm. These patients are variously identified in different parts of the literature, as “complex,” as “deprived,” or as “trauma victims.” Their expectations of their doctors and their doctors’ expectations of how patients should behave can be wildly at odds. Doctors and other health professionals commonly make assumptions about the ability of these patients to be active parts of their healthcare plans. Even doctors and health professionals who are interested in partnership are likely to adjust their approaches to their care, using behaviors that are less patient-centered rather than more so. For their part, these patients are less likely to trust their relationship with the members of their healthcare team and to be less confident in their own ability to improve their health states. Their likelihood of adhering to a medical regimen is correlated with their experience of the caring and support coming from their healthcare providers. Trauma informed care (TIC) can provide guideposts needed to develop a pathway to partnership and healing for these patients and their healthcare teams.
Analytical validation of the Target Selector ctDNA platform featuring single copy detection sensitivity for clinically actionable EGFR, BRAF, and KRAS mutations.

Background Personalized medicine requires accurate molecular profiling for targeted therapy decisions. Insufficient tissue yield or tumor heterogeneity frequently limits the correct tissue biomarker determination. As a noninvasive complement to traditional tissue biopsies, liquid biopsies detect and track cancer driver mutations from biofluids (e.g., blood, urine). Here we present the analytical validation of Target Selector™ ctDNA assays capable of single mutant DNA copy detection. Methods The Target Selector ctDNA assay applies a patented Switch-Blocker technology to suppress amplification of background (wild-type) WT alleles, while allowing specific amplification of very low frequency mutant alleles. In contrast to allele specific enrichment technologies like ddPCR, one Switch-Blocker inhibits amplification of a DNA target up to 15 bp in length (e.g., one Switch-Blocker covers all KRAS exon 2, codon 12 and 13 variants). Target enrichment is achieved through a quantitative PCR reaction; subsequent DNA sequencing confirms mutation identity. Analytical validation with cancer cell line DNA was conducted by three independent operators using five instruments across five days. Results A total of 3086 samples were tested on EGFR, BRAF and KRAS Target Selector ctDNA assays, with EGFR WT as a reference. All assays showed >99% analytical sensitivity and specificity. Single mutant copy detection is confirmed by experimental data and theoretical estimates. In the presence of 14000 WT DNA copies, limits of detection were: EGFR Del19, 0.01%; EGFR L858R, 0.02%; EGFR T790M, 0.01%; BRAF V600E, 0.01%; KRAS G12C, 0.02%. Inter- and intra-assay analyses showed r2>0.94, suggesting consistent performance among operational variables. Healthy donor samples (100 tests) showed clinical specificity at >99%. Finally, Target Selector clinical experience data of >2200 patient samples is consistent with published tissue mutation prevalence. Conclusions Highly sensitive Target Selector ctDNA assays with single mutant copy detection and limit of detection at 0.02% or better enable accurate molecular profiling vital for disease management.
THE RELIABILITY OF THE STAR EXCURSION BALANCE TEST AND LOWER QUARTER Y-BALANCE TEST IN HEALTHY ADULTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW.

Background Dynamic balance is often an important criterion used during lower extremity musculoskeletal injury prediction, prevention, and rehabilitation processes. Methods to assess lower extremity dynamic balance include the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) and Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test (YBT). Due to the importance of dynamic balance it is imperative to establish reliable quantification techniques.
Classical Quantum Optimization with Neural Network Quantum States.

The classical simulation of quantum systems typically requires exponential resources. Recently, the introduction of a machine learning-based wavefunction ansatz has led to the ability to solve the quantum many-body problem in regimes that had previously been intractable for existing exact numerical methods. Here, we demonstrate the utility of the variational representation of quantum states based on artificial neural networks for performing quantum optimization. We show empirically that this methodology achieves high approximation ratio solutions with polynomial classical computing resources for a range of instances of the Maximum Cut (MaxCut) problem whose solutions have been encoded into the ground state of quantum many-body systems up to and including 256 qubits.
Exposure to air pollutants and the gut microbiota: a potential link between exposure, obesity, and type 2 diabetes

Work has shown that increased exposure to air pollutants independently contributes to obesity and type 2 diabetes risk, yet the exact mechanisms underlying these associations have not been fully characterized. The current review summarizes recent findings regarding the impact of inhaled and ingested air pollutants on the gut microbiota. Animal and human studies provide evidence that air pollutants, such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and ozone, have the potential to alter the gut microbiota. Further, studies suggest that such exposure-induced alterations to the gut microbiota may contribute to increased risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes through inflammatory pathways. Future work is needed to fully understand the complex interactions between air pollution, the gut microbiome, and human health. Additionally, advanced sequencing methods for gut microbiome research present unique opportunities to study the underlying pathways that link increased air pollution exposure with obesity and type 2 diabetes risk.
ESTIMATION OF MOOSE PARTURITION DATES IN COLORADO: INCORPORATING IMPERFECT DETECTIONS

Researchers and managers use productivity surveys to evaluate moose populations for harvest and population management purposes, yet such surveys are prone to bias. We incorporated detection probability estimates (p) into spring and summer ground surveys to reduce the influence of observer bias on the estimation of moose parturition dates in Colorado. In our study, the cumulative parturition probability for moose was 0.50 by May 19, and the probability of parturition exceeded 0.9 by May 27. Timing of moose calf parturition in Colorado appears synchronous with parturition in more northern latitudes. Our results can be used to plan ground surveys in a manner that will reduce bias stemming from unobservable and yet-born calves.
Epidemiological risk factors and the geographical distribution of eight Mycobacterium species

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmental bacterium that may cause and/or compound respiratory diseases in humans. There are over a hundred NTM species with varying pathogenicity’s Therefore, it is necessary to characterize the populations at risk for each species. Demographic (age, sex, and state of residence) and microbiological data from 2014 were extracted from Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio disease surveillance systems. NTM species with > 50 reports were included in the analysis. Patient sex, age, and incidence rates were generated for each of the following NTM species: M. abscessus, M. avium complex (MAC), M. chelonae, M. fortuitum, M. gordonae, M. kansasii, M. mucogenicum, and M. peregrinum. Analysis by sex showed that M. chelonae,M. fortuitum, M. gordonae,and M. kansasii had significantly higher rates in males than females. Age was not associated with patient rates for several specific NTM species e.g., M. chelonae. Mississippi had the highest patient’ rates for M. avium, M. gordonae, M. kansasii, and M. chelonae. Ohio had the highest patient’ rates for M. abscessus, M. mucogenicum, and M. peregrinum. The highest patient’s rate for M. fortuitum was observed in Missouri. This study showed that NTM infection occurred more frequently in males. The highest rates were observed in Mississippi for most of the NTMs studied. Age was not a strong risk factor for some of the NTM species.
Improving Hierarchical Condition Category Coding by Family Medicine Residents Using a Web-Based, Interactive Module

Background and objectives The proper documentation of Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) codes is essential for risk-adjusted reimbursement, chart accuracy, and clinical communication within primary care, but represents a significant training gap in resident education. Our goal was to improve the understanding and confidence level of family medicine residents with HCC coding during outpatient primary care visits. Methods We developed and distributed a web-based, interactive module to family medicine residents at our academic institution. We assessed module impact through pre- and postsurveys focusing on knowledge, confidence, and experience with HCC coding. Results Twenty-eight of 48 preeducation surveys were returned (response rate of 58%), including 16 junior (PGY-1-2) and 12 senior (PGY-3-4) residents. A majority of residents answered each HCC knowledge question correctly. Median baseline confidence with HCC coding for all respondents was 4 (interquartile range [IQR]: 2, 6; scale 0-10; 10=most confident): senior residents 6 (IQR: 5, 7) versus junior residents 2 (IQR: 2, 4). Forty-six percent of respondents noted some previous education on HCC codes, including 75% of senior vs 25% of junior residents. Twenty-six residents completed the educational module. Posttest surveys (n=5, response rate: 19%) demonstrated median confidence of 7 (IQR: 4, 8.5). Conclusions Family medicine residents displayed a high degree of knowledge but low confidence with HCC coding. Posteducation surveys suggest the possibility of a positive impact of our e-module, though further intervention roll out and data collection are needed to evaluate this effect.
Jail and overdose: assessing the community impact of incarceration on overdose.

Background and aims Incarceration produces a specific public health threat for drug overdose, and correctional settings do not offer medication for opioid use disorder. This study examined the overall impact of jail incarceration on overdose, the specific hazard for those booked on a syringe-related charge, and the proportion of all overdose decedents in the community who were in the jail prior to death. Design A cohort study of fatal overdose outcomes among a sample of individuals booked into and released from jail between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019. Setting Marion County, Indiana, United States of America PARTICIPANTS: All individuals released from one county jail between January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017 and decedents who died within the county from an accidental fatal overdose between January 2017 and December 2019. Measurements Using information on all jail booking events, including charge type, over a 5-year period (January 2015 through December 2019), we looked at the hazard of accidental fatal overdose post-release, controlling for age, sex, and race. Findings Of all overdose deaths in the county, 21% (n = 237) had been in the county jail within 2 years prior to their death. Each prior booking increased the hazard of mortality by approximately 20% [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.21, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.15, 1.28], while presence of syringe charge at most recent booking prior to release more than tripled the hazard of mortality [HR = 3.55, 95% CI = 2.55, 4.93]. Conclusions In Marion County, Indiana, USA, there appears to be an association between increased risk of fatal drug overdose and both syringe-related arrests and repeat jail bookings.
PIC Simulations of a Dielectric Slow-Wave Structure for a W-Band TWT

We are exploring the amplification of W-band electromagnetic radiation using a dielectric-loaded Traveling Wave Tube (TWT) by employing several particle-in-cell (PIC) codes to perform these studies. We are seeking to replicate recent results obtained by the Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL 's) dielectric-loaded TWT design [1] consisting of a solid circular electron beam, 26 kV, 100-mA and 0.185 mm beam radius, surrounded with dielectric material, $\varepsilon_{\mathrm{r}}=13.5$ , and coupled to a $\text{TM}_{01}$ electromagnetic wave with input power 100 W at a frequency 94 GHz. NRL uses a new large-signal code for dielectric-loaded TWT simulations, which is a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) formulation in a 2-D cylindrical coordinate system. In our case, we have opted for PIC simulations in a 3-D Cartesian coordinate system. Currently, PIC simulations of the dielectric-loaded TWT have been performed with and without an injected electron beam, as well as with and without an injected seed electromagnetic wave. Modeling has been completed and initial simulations of a dielectric-loaded TWT driven externally by an injected electromagnetic wave in the $\text{TM}_{01}$ mode have been performed.
Rate of Recovery of Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction in a Real-World Population of Patients Receiving a Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator

Background: This study aimed to investigate the rate of early improvement in ejection fraction (EF) within 21 - 60 days among patients with cardiomyopathy who were provided with a wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD). Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients who received a WCD at our institution to determine the rate of improvement in left ventricular EF (LVEF) to ? 35-40%. Among 990 patients who received a WCD during the study period, 101 had an echocardiogram performed during the subsequent 21 - 60 days. Patients were stratified according to their initial EF, as well as age, gender, number of heart failure medications, and ischemic vs. nonischemic cardiomyopathy. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the influence of these variables on the subsequent improvement in EF. Results: There were 39 patients who had improvement in their EF to ? 35-40%. The only significant predictor of EF recovery was the initial EF. There was a direct correlation between initial EF category and the likelihood of improvement in EF. For every unit increase in initial EF category, the odds of improvement increased 1.73 times (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22 - 2.45). Age (P = 0.20), gender (P = 0.10), ischemic cardiomyopathy (P = 0.40), and number of heart failure medications at the time of WCD placement (P = 0.26) were not significant predictors of improved LVEF. Conclusions: This study showed a rate of improvement in EF to ? 35-40% of 39% within 21 - 60 days of placement of a WCD among patients with both ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathy. The only significant clinical predictor of EF improvement was initial EF. Cardiol Res. 2021;000(000):000-000 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/cr1325
Element-free Galerkin method in pulsed eddy currents

Compared with the conventional finite element method that relies on an underlying mesh and element-node connectivity to describe the geometry, meshless method shows its advantage in mesh simplification, tight crack representation and re-meshing process. An effective numerical implementation of the meshless method uses the Galerkin technique and is referred to as the element-free Galerkin (EFG) method. In this paper, the EFG method is applied to a field of electromagnetic computation, namely, simulation of pulsed eddy current testing. The model is validated against analytical solutions.
Template estimation in ultra-wideband radio

The short duration of transmitted pulses in ultra-wideband (UWB) impulse radio enables fine time resolution in the receiver and therefore the opportunity to take great advantage of multipath diversity. However, unlike narrowband channels, many UWB channels are frequency selective even if the channel consists of only a single path, significantly altering the shape of the pulse. In this paper we present a least squares approach to finding a suitable correlation template in a UWB receiver based on our knowledge of the transmitted waveform and some properties of the channel. It is shown that the template increases energy capture in the receiver when compared to a template with the same shape as the transmitted pulse, and is more resistant to narrowband interference than a transmitted reference system.
An Arbitrage Perspective of the Purpose and Structure of Financial Markets

From a structural point of view, all financial markets, whether for equities, bonds, currencies, or commodities, are the same. They all have distinct primary issuers and secondary traders. They all have spot, forward, and option vehicles. They all have two types of traders—hedgers and speculators—with two different trading motives. And in all markets, the primary trading strategy driving most of activity is relative risk arbitrage, whose goal is to earn reward for taking on exposure to secondary risk factors while eliminating primary directional risks through static or dynamic hedging. Keywords: spot markets; forward markets; contingent claims; relative-value arbitrage; pure arbitrage; speculation; hedging; risk sharing; cash-and-carry
Understanding Risk‐Taking Behavior: Insights from Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary developmental psychology posits that natural selection has operated across the lifespan, but especially in childhood, shaping psychological mechanisms that foster survival during the early years of life and also preparing children for life as adults. The tenets of evolutionary developmental psychology are briefly reviewed, along with a summary of life-history theory. Differential susceptibility theory and biological sensitivity to context theory are also outlined and applied to mental health. Adolescent risk-taking behavior is then examined from an evolutionary developmental perspective, assessing the independent contributions of environmental harshness and unpredictability in early childhood to later psychological functioning. Keywords: life-history theory; parenting; environmental predictability; harshness; risk taking; development; evolution; evolutionary developmental psychology; biological sensitivity to context; bullying
Characterization of an Unusual New Agrobacterium tumefaciens Strain from Chrysanthemum morifolium Ram

Abstract We characterized five isolates of Agrobacterium tumefaciens from naturally occurring galls on Chrysanthemum morifolium. The isolates are similar, possibly identical, members of a single strain of A. tumefaciens that we designate Chry5. The strain is a biotype I, as indicated by its response to both newly described and traditional biotype tests. Chry5 produces tumors on at least 10 plant species. It is unusual in its ability to form efficiently large tumors on soybean (Glycine max), a species normally refractory to transformation. Chry5 is unable to utilize octopine or mannopine as a carbon source. Although Chry5 can catabolize a single isomer each of nopaline and succinamopine, it differs from other known nopaline and succinamopine strains in its insensitivity to agrocin 84. This pattern of opine catabolism is unique among Agrobacterium strains examined to date. All five isolates of Chry5 contain at least two plasmids, one of which shares homology with pTiB6.
Mercury in foods

Abstract: Mercury (Hg) in foods can elicit a variety of toxic effects in humans. High levels of exposure to inorganic mercury are known to cause kidney and liver failure, while much lower levels of exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) are associated with a variety of long-term neurodevelopmental deficits in children and may impair cardiovascular health in adults. Low absorption of inorganic mercury from foods by humans means that MeHg is the primary form of concern. Virtually all (~ 99%) of the MeHg exposure in the typical North American diet is from fish and shellfish (for consumers of these products) because most of the mercury found in other foods is present as inorganic Hg at relatively low concentrations (
Introduction of automated systems to evaluate touch-pressure, vibration, and thermal cutaneous sensation in man.

Systems for automatic assessment of cutaneous touch-pressure, vibratory, and thermal sensation have been developed. These systems use stimuli which are quantified and reproducible, a two-alternative forced-choice technique, and programmed steps to test, score, and report. If normal responses from series of healthy persons have been measured, percentile values specific for test, site, age, and sex can be determined. Abnormality, as in neurological disease, can then be defined as the response which has a value greater than that of the 95th (or other) percentile. These systems may be used to detect and validate abnormalities of sensation in neurological disease and in persons at risk from new medications or from industrial toxins, and to monitor worsening or improvement of sensation in follow-up of a patient or in evaluation of therapeutic regimens.
The Nature of Macular Damage in Glaucoma as Revealed by Averaging Optical Coherence Tomography Data

Purpose To better understand the nature of glaucomatous damage, especially to the macula, the inner retinal thickness maps obtained with frequency domain optical coherence tomography (fdOCT) were averaged.
Learning the communication of intent prior to physical collaboration

When performing physical collaboration tasks, like packing a picnic basket together, humans communicate strongly and often subtly via multiple channels like gaze, speech, gestures, movement and posture. Understanding and participating in this communication enables us to predict a physical action rather than react to it, producing seamless collaboration. In this paper, we automatically learn key discriminative features that predict the intent to handover an object using machine learning techniques. We train and test our algorithm on multi-channel vision and pose data collected from an extensive user study in an instrumented kitchen. Our algorithm outputs a tree of possibilities, automatically encoding various types of pre-handover communication. A surprising outcome is that mutual gaze and inter-personal distance, often cited as being key for interaction, were not key discriminative features. Finally, we discuss the immediate and future impact of this work for human-robot interaction.
The radiative capture of heavy ions

Abstract The process of radiative capture of heavy ions was successfully observed for the first time by means of the high-energy γ-radiation produced in the reactions 7 Li( 16 O, γ) 23 Na, 11 B( 12 C, γ) 23 Na, 6 Li( 16 O, γ) 22 Na, 12 C( 12 C, γ) 24 Mg, 12 C( 16 O, γ) 28 Si and 16 O( 16 O, γ) 32 S. The 7 Li( 16 O, γ) 23 Na reaction was studied at θ = 90° for E x = 23−29 MeV. A resonance-like structure was observed peaking at E x = 25.4 MeV with a c.m. width of 0.67±0.20 MeV ( d σ/ d Ω peak = 192±58 nb/sr ) . An angular distribution of the peak cross section can be fitted by 1−(0.21±0.03) P 1 or 1−(0.15±0.10) P 2 . Possible explanations of this behavior are discussed. The 11 B( 12 C, γ) 23 Na reaction was studied at θ = 90° for E x = 23 − 27 MeV. Only weak structure was observed. For the remaining reactions, uniformly low yields were observed with typical maximum cross sections of the order of d σ/ d Ω = 30 nb/sr for bombarding energies close to the respective Coulomb barriers. Particle spectra were measured for 7 Li+ 16 O reactions emitting p, d, t or α-particles corresponding to E x = 24.6−27.2 MeV. Weak structure found in the various excitation curves is suggestive of compound nucleus formation in the reaction.
Quantitative immunochemical fecal occult blood tests: is it time to go back to the future?

Immunochemical fecal occult blood tests (I-FOBTs) provide a superior alternative to the standard guaiac-based tests. Levi and coworkers show that the I-FOBT is more sensitive and specific than the ...
Assembly/Disassembly Systems: An Efficient Decomposition Algorithm for Tree-Structured Networks

Abstract Assembly/Disassembly Networks are networks of queues in which assembly or disassembly (often called join or fork) take place. This paper describes and analyzes a class of these systems in which machines are unreliable, buffers are finite, machines perform operations whenever none of their upstream buffers are empty and none of their downstream buffers are full, and the network structure is a tree These systems are difficult to evaluate because of their large state spaces and because they cannot be decomposed exactly. An efficient approximate decomposition method for the evaluation of performance measures is presented. This decomposition approach is based on such system characteristics as conservation of flow. Comparison with simulation results indicate that it is accurate.
Epidermal Cell Production of Thymocyte Activating Factor (ETAF)

Since epidermal Langerhans cells share many of the surface marker characteristics and functions of cells of the monocyte-macrophage series, we sought to determine whether Langerhans cells, like macrophages, produce Interleukin 1 (IL-1), formerly called lymphocyte activating factor. Heterogenous suspensions of murine epidermal cells were cultured for 3days with or without various stimulants and their cell-free supernatants were tested for IL-1 activity in a thymocyte proliferation assay. Significant augmentation of lectin induced thymocyte proliferation was produced by the supernatants of these cultures. However, when epidermal cells were depleted of Langerhans cells by treating with anti-Ia anti-serum and complement, the supernatants still produced significant augmentation. As the augmenting activity was due to a factor found in the supernatants of epidermal cell suspensions devoid of Langerhans cells the factor is called Epidermal Cell Thymocyte Activating Factor (ETAF). ETAF was produced by unstimulated epidermal cells, but significantly more was produced by epidermal cells that were incubated with phorbol myristic acetate, a low molecular weight tumor promoting agent or muramyl dipeptide, the synthetic analog of the cell wall of mycobacterium smegmatis. ETAF production was reduced by X-irradiation and was completely abolished when protein synthesis was inhibited. The molecular weight of this factor was approximately 15,000 dalton, which is similar to the molecular weight of macrophage derived IL-1; its heat stability and pH stability were similar to that of IL-1. ETAF, like IL-1 also enhanced lymphocyte production of Interleukin 2 (IL-2). The data indicate that epidermal cells, devoid of Langerhans cells, are capable of producing factors with IL-1 like activity and may thereby modulate immune responses locally in the skin and perhaps systemically.