cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Actor–Partner Effects of Male Couples Substance Use with Sex and Engagement in Condomless Anal Sex

Few studies have examined actor-partner effects about male couples' substance use with sex. Dyadic data from 361 male couples were used to examine these effects regarding engagement in condomless anal sex (CAS) by type of partner and substance. Couples with one or both partners reported using marijuana, amyl nitrates, party drugs, and/or stimulants with sex in their relationship was positively associated with them having had CAS. Actor-partner effects for stimulant use with sex with the main partner were associated with CAS with a casual MSM partner. Only an actor effect for stimulant use with sex with a casual MSM partner was associated with CAS with that partner type, and an actor effect for marijuana use with sex for both partner types was associated with CAS with both partner types. These findings illuminate the need for further inquiry about male couples' substance use with sex for HIV prevention.
Nondigestible Fructans Alter Gastrointestinal Barrier Function, Gene Expression, Histomorphology, and the Microbiota Profiles of Diet-Induced Obese C57BL/6J Mice

BACKGROUND Obesity is associated with compromised intestinal barrier function and shifts in gastrointestinal microbiota that may contribute to inflammation. Fiber provides benefits, but impacts of fiber type are not understood. OBJECTIVE We aimed to determine the impact of cellulose compared with fructans on the fecal microbiota and gastrointestinal physiology in obese mice. METHODS Eighteen-wk-old male diet-induced obese C57BL/6J mice (n = 6/group; 40.5 g) were fed high-fat diets (45% kcal fat) containing 5% cellulose (control), 10% cellulose, 10% short-chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOS), or 10% inulin for 4 wk. Cecal and colon tissues were collected to assess barrier function, histomorphology, and gene expression. Fecal DNA extracts were subjected to 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon-based Illumina MiSeq sequencing to assess microbiota. RESULTS Body weight gain was greater (P < 0.05) in scFOS-fed than in 10% cellulose-fed mice. Both groups of fructan-fed mice had greater (P < 0.05) cecal crypt depth (scFOS: 141 μm; inulin: 145 μm) than both groups of cellulose-fed mice (5% and 10%: 109 μm). Inulin-fed mice had greater (P < 0.05) cecal transmural resistance (101 Ω × cm(2)) than 5% cellulose-fed controls (45 Ω × cm(2)). Inulin-fed mice had lower (P < 0.05) colonic mRNA abundance of Ocln (0.41) and Mct1 (0.35) than those fed 10% cellulose (Ocln: 1.28; Mct1: 0.90). Fructan and cellulose groups had different UniFrac distances of fecal microbiota (P < 0.05) and α diversity, which demonstrated lower (P < 0.01) species richness in fructan-fed mice. Mice fed scFOS had greater (P < 0.05) Actinobacteria (15.9%) and Verrucomicrobia (Akkermansia) (17.0%) than 5% controls (Actinobacteria: 0.07%; Akkermansia: 0.08%). Relative abundance of Akkermansia was positively correlated (r = 0.56, P < 0.01) with cecal crypt depth. CONCLUSIONS Fructans markedly shifted gut microbiota and improved intestinal physiology in obese mice, but the mechanisms by which they affect gut integrity and inflammation in the obese are still unknown.
Possible Future Distribution and Abundance of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Ceratitis Capitata Wied) In the United States

An attempt is made to predict where the Mediterranean fruit fly may thrive in the United States and how serious it may be as a pest as based upon conditions where the fly now occurs
Chronic disease risk factors in vitamin/mineral supplement users and nonusers in a farm population.

Dietary, anthropometric, and chronic disease risk factors (CDRF) in vitamin/mineral supplement users (U) and non-users (NU) were measured in a farm population consisting of 162 subjects (46% females and 54% males; 20-79 years of age, mean age: 52 years). Subjects were white, except for two black males. Supplements were used by 62 subjects (38%); 47% of females and 31% of males used supplements; 43% of subjects over 50 years of age and 32% of subjects age 50 or under used supplements. Both dietary intake and energy expenditure were measured using 4-day records. Indices of adiposity included body weight, BMI, and estimated body fat. Total cholesterol (TC), high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), serum ferritin, hemoglobin, hematocrit, zinc, copper, and vitamin C were based on 12-hr fasting blood samples. Dietary intake (excluding supplements) for vitamin/mineral U was greater than NU for vitamin C (p = 0.006), thiamin (p = 0.01), riboflavin (p = 0.03), niacin (p = 0.02), folic acid (p = 0.001), vitami...
Abstract 3946: Stem cell protein piwil2 enhances nucleotide excision repair through regulating chromatin remodeling following DNA damage

The piwi family gene, which are defined by conserved PAZ and Piwi domains, play important roles in stem cell self-renewal, RNA silencing, and translational regulation in various organisms. Three piwi homologs have been identified in the mouse genome. Amongst these, mili (piwil2) protein expression appears to be associated with tumorigenesis as evidenced by the facts that piwil2 stably expresses in pre-cancerous stem cells and also appears at variable levels in different human and animal tumor cell lines. Based on our preliminary data showing that piwil2 is induced in normal cultured human fibroblasts in vitro by physical and chemical genotoxic agents, we hypothesized that piwil2 might function in DNA damage response. Here, we demonstrated that mammalian cells lacking piwil2 are hypersensitive to cisplatin and UV irradiation. In addition, nucleotide excision repair (NER) efficiency is significantly decreased in the absence of piwil2 as assessed by the removal of cisplatin-induced intra-strand cross-links (Pt-GG) and UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) from genomic DNA. Although quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated higher transcript levels of various NER proteins in piwil2 knockout mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs), the Western blotting did not show an obvious difference in the NER protein levels between mili+/+ and mili−/− MEFs. Since piwil2 is believed to orchestrate chromatin remodeling, we reasoned that low NER efficiency in mili−/− MEFs may result from disrupted chromatin remodeling in response to UV or cisplatin induced DNA damage. Thus, chromatin relaxation and histone acetylation was analyzed in these MEFs following treatment with UV or cisplatin. MEFs lacking piwil2 showed less sensitivity to micrococcal nuclease (MNase) digestion compared with piwil2-proficient MEFs, indicating a compact chromatin structure in these cells. Moreover, in contrast to mili+/+ MEFs, mili−/− MEFs exhibited decreased acetylated Histone H3 upon both UV and cisplatin treatment. This decrease could be blocked by histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition indicating that piwil2 may function in damage-induced chromatin remodeling via inhibiting the HDAC activity. In summary, our data suggests that piwli2 can participate in the NER through regulating chromatin relaxation which could be a pivotal factor in genotoxin-induced tumorigenesis as well as efficacy of cancer therapeutics. (Supported by NIH grants CA93413, ES2388 and ES12991 to AAW). Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 because the presenter was unable to attend. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3946.
Correlation of proton irradiation induced threshold voltage shifts to deep level traps in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

The impact of proton irradiation on the threshold voltage (VT) of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures is systematically investigated to enhance the understanding of a primary component of the degradation of irradiated high electron mobility transistors. The value of VT was found to increase monotonically as a function of 1.8 MeV proton fluence in a sub-linear manner reaching 0.63 V at a fluence of 1 × 1014 cm−2. Silvaco Atlas simulations of VT shifts caused by GaN buffer traps using experimentally measured introduction rates, and energy levels closely match the experimental results. Different buffer designs lead to different VT dependences on proton irradiation, confirming that deep, acceptor-like defects in the GaN buffer are primarily responsible for the observed VT shifts. The proton irradiation induced VT shifts are found to depend on the barrier thickness in a linear fashion; thus, scaling the barrier thickness could be an effective way to reduce such degradation.
Western Total Factor Productivity and Economic Growth Empirical Analysis——Based on DEA Model Nonparametric Malmquist Productivity Index Approach

In this paper,DEA models Malmquist productivity index of non-parameter method,calculates the western region between 2000-2009,the trend of total factor productivity,the results show that: the Western Development Strategy decades, total factor productivity growth for the region's economy growth,while total factor productivity growth is mainly due to technological progress,technical efficiency and scale efficiency played hinder the role of total factor productivity growth.
Aryl Group Transfer from Tetraarylborato Anions to an Electrophilic Dicopper(I) Center and Mixed-Valence μ-Aryl Dicopper(I,II) Complexes.

The synthesis of discrete, cationic binuclear μ-aryl dicopper complexes [Cu2(μ-η1:η1-Ar)DPFN]X (Ar = C6H5, 3,5-(CF3)2C6H3, and C6F5; DPFN = 2,7-bis(fluoro-di(2-pyridyl)methyl)-1,8-naphthyridine; X = BAr4– and NTf2–; Tf = SO2CF3) was achieved by treatment of a dicopper complex [Cu2(μ-η1:η1-NCCH3)DPFN]X2 (X = PF6– and NTf2–) with tetraarylborates. Structural characterization revealed symmetrically bridging aryl groups, and 1H NMR spectroscopy evidenced the same structure in solution at 24 °C. Electrochemical investigation of the resulting arylcopper complexes uncovered reversible redox events that led to the synthesis and isolation of a rare mixed-valence organocopper complex [Cu2(μ-η1:η1-Ph)DPFN](NTf2)2 in high yield. The solid-state structure of the mixed-valence μ-phenyl complex exhibits inequivalent copper centers, despite a short Cu···Cu distance. Electronic and variable-temperature electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy of the mixed-valence μ-phenyl complex suggest that the degree of spin locali...
Present Status of the Fundamental Constants

Since the completion of the authors’ 1973 least-squares adjustment of the fundamental constants [1], and its subsequent adoption for international use by the CODATA Task Group on Fundamental Constants and the 8th CODATA General Assembly [2], several relevant experiments and theoretical calculations have been completed. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the effect of some of these results, and in as far as possible, the effect of the most important new experiments and calculations reported at this Conference, on the recommended output values of our 1973 least-squares adjustment. It should be emphasized, however, that it is not our intention here to carry out a new adjustment nor to present an updated list of recommended values. Rather, we wish only to identify and examine the areas of major change which have occurred since 1973.
De novo sequencing of peptides

Publisher Summary De novo sequencing involves deducing a peptide's sequence purely from mass spectral fragmentation data. There are roughly two ways to view the relationship between de novo sequencing and database search algorithms. First is complementary, and the second is alternative. Approaches that emphasize the complementary relationship between de novo sequences and database searches treat de novo sequences as a means to enhance the quality and reliability of database searches. Regimes originating from this approach utilize the spectra to derive one or more highly reliable sequence tags. These tags guide the database matching process, and since they ostensibly represent the most prominent and reliable features of the spectra, the tags also impart a higher degree of confidence to the database results. De novo sequencing approaches also differ according to the way in which they determine the fragment type (y or b) and score the sequence information. These differences in approach tend to generate great differences between de novo sequences obtained even from the same spectra. There are two principal approaches to the implementation of partial de novo sequencing called the global and local paradigms.
Backward-wave nonlinear-optical microchip

The possibility of creation of remotely all-optically controlled microchip is described based on coherent nonlinear-optical energy exchange between ordinary and backward electromagnetic waves in negative-index metamaterials.
The Effect of Exercise, Fatigue, and Exhaustion on the Electrical Potential of the Brain Cortex and Threshold of the Knee Jerk

(1938). The Effect of Exercise, Fatigue, and Exhaustion on the Electrical Potential of the Brain Cortex and Threshold of the Knee Jerk. Research Quarterly. American Association for Health and Physical Education: Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 45-53.
Applying the systolic blood pressure intervention trial results to older adults.

The Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT; ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01206062) was stopped early because of significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease in participants randomized to a systolic blood pressure target of 120 mmHg (intensive) than in those randomized to 140 mmHg (standard). The cardiovascular outcome benefit was also identified in subjects aged 75 and older assigned to the intensive arm—34% lower than in the standard arm—in addition to 33% lower all-cause mortality at 3.14 years of follow-up. These beneficial outcomes held in older participants characterized as frail or with impaired gait speed. This article addresses several questions that need to be considered in applying the SPRINT results to the clinical care of older adults: Why are the SPRINT results discordant from those of epidemiological studies? Do the SPRINT findings generalize to the frail, older adults that I care for? Were there more adverse events in the intensive treatment group? What about cognitive and kidney outcomes? What are future considerations, and how low should we go?
Stability of peridynamic correspondence material models and their particle discretizations

Abstract Peridynamic correspondence material models provide a way to combine a material model from the local theory with the inherent capabilities of peridynamics to model long-range forces and fracture. However, correspondence models in a typical particle discretization suffer from zero-energy mode instability. These instabilities are shown here to be an aspect of material stability. A stability condition is derived for state-based materials starting from the requirement of potential energy minimization. It is shown that all correspondence materials fail this stability condition due to zero-energy deformation modes of the family. To eliminate these modes, a term is added to the correspondence strain energy density that resists deviations from a uniform deformation. The resulting material model satisfies the stability condition while effectively leaving the stress tensor unchanged. Computational examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the modified material model in avoiding zero-energy mode instability in a peridynamic particle code.
HIV-1 unmasks the plasticity of innate lymphoid cells

Pharmaceuticals that suppress HIV-1 viremia preserve CD4+ T cells and prevent AIDS. Nonetheless, HIV-1 infected people taking these drugs have chronic inflammation attributable to persistent disruption of intestinal barrier function with increased rates of cardiovascular mortality. To better understand the etiology of this inflammation we examined the effect of HIV-1 infection on innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). These innate immune counterparts of T cells lack clonotypic antigen receptors, classify according to signature transcription factors and cytokines, and maintain homeostasis in inflamed tissues. Based on the precedent in mice, human ILCs have been defined, in part, by the IL-7Rα, CD127. Here we report that the vast majority of type 1 and 3 ILCs in human adult and placental cord blood are in fact CD127-, as are colon lamina propria ILC1s and many ILC3s. Among ILCs, CD127-ILC1s were the major producer of inflammatory cytokines. In contrast to CD127+ILC3s, CD127-ILC3s did not produce IL-22, a cytokine that maintains epithelial barrier function. In HIV-1+ people taking antivirals that preserve CD4+ T cells, CD127-ILC1s and all homeostatic cytokine-producing CD127+ILCs were depleted from blood and colon. Common γ-chain cytokines that are reported to be elevated in response to HIV-1 infection caused JAK3-dependent downregulation of CD127 and converted CD127-ILC1s into NK cells with heightened cytolytic activity. Consistent with the recent report that human blood CD117+ILCs give rise to both ILC1s and NK cells, pseudotemporal clustering of transcriptomes from thousands of individual cells identified a developmental trajectory from CD127-ILC1s to memory NK cells that was defined by WNT-transcription factor TCF7. WNT inhibition prevented the cytokine-induced transition of CD127-ILC1 cells into memory NK cells. In HIV-1+ people, effector NK cells and TCF7+ memory NK cells were elevated, concomitant with reduction in CD127-ILC1s. These studies describe previously overlooked human ILC subsets that are significant in number and function, identify profound abnormalities in homeostatic ILCs that likely contribute to ongoing inflammation in HIV-1 infection despite control of viremia, provide explanation for increased memory NK cells in HIV-1 infection, and reveal functional plasticity of ILCs.
Microstructural evolution during transient liquid-phase bonding in a Ni-base superalloy/sapphire fiber composite

Transient-liquid-phase (TLP) bonding was used to fabricate a Haynes 230 Ni-base superalloy/sapphire fiber composite for high-temperature applications. Boron was used as a melting-point depressant for the Ni, to aid superalloy infiltration of the fibers. Preliminary study of the composite indicated an incomplete TLP bonding cycle. Therefore, microstructural and microchemical analyses were carried out to determine the TLP bonding mechanism. It was found that the TLP process did not occur under local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions at the solid/liquid interfaces, contrary to the primary assumption of conventional models, so a modified model for TLP bonding is proposed. The main differences between the proposed and the conventional models are: (a) the concentration of the melting-point depressant increases with time during isothermal solidification, (b) extensive boride segregation at γ grain boundaries and boride precipitation occurs within γ grains adjacent to the interlayer in the initial composite assembly, (c) because of the relatively high boron concentration in the interlayer, the TLP bonding cycle was incomplete, resulting in residual-liquid borides. To achieve ideal TLP bonding, four modifications are recommended: (i) use less boron, (ii) use finer sapphire fibers, (iii) create smaller initial grain sizes in the γ matrix and (iv) increase the homogenization time.
A Product Development Architecture with an Engineering Execution Representation of the Development Process

Successful development projects share common characteristics and attributes documented in project management curriculums and professional societies. This report gives tribute to those common elements as well as advancements in Systems Engineering to provide guidelines for system life cycle processes and activities.
Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction and Cardiovascular Risk in Obese Patients.

Abstract Background Besides body mass index (BMI), other discriminators of cardiovascular risk are needed in obese patients, who may or may not undergo consideration for bariatric surgery. Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD), defined as impaired coronary flow reserve (CFR) in the absence of flow-limiting coronary artery disease, identifies patients at risk for adverse events independently of traditional risk factors. Objectives The study sought to investigate the relationship among obesity, CMD, and adverse outcomes. Methods Consecutive patients undergoing evaluation for coronary artery disease with cardiac stress positron emission tomography demonstrating normal perfusion (N = 827) were followed for median 5.6 years for events, including death and hospitalization for myocardial infarction or heart failure. Results An inverted independent J-shaped relationship was observed between BMI and CFR, such that in obese patients CFR decreased linearly with increasing BMI (adjusted p Conclusions In patients referred for testing, CMD was independently associated with elevated BMI and adverse outcomes, and was a better discriminator of risk than BMI and traditional risk factors. CFR may facilitate management of obese patients beyond currently used markers of risk.
The 100 Most-Cited Reports About Craniopharyngioma.

Objective Our objective was to identify the 100 most-cited research reports on craniopharyngiomas. Methods The Thomson Reuters Web of Science service was queried for the years 1900 to 2017 without language restrictions. The articles were sorted in descending order of the number of times they had been cited by other studies, and all titles and abstracts were screened to identify the research areas of the top 100 reports. The number of citations per year was calculated. Results We identified the 100 most-cited articles on craniopharyngioma, which, collectively, had been cited 20,994 times at the time of our report. The top cited report had been cited 718 times, with an average of 144 citations annually since publication. The oldest article had been published in 1969 and the most recent in 2013; the most prolific decade was the 2000s, with 38 of the included articles published during that period. Thirty-two unique journals contributed to the 100 articles, with the Journal of Neurosurgery contributing most of the articles (n = 31). The most common country of article origin was the United States (n = 49), followed by United Kingdom (n = 12), Germany (n = 10), and Italy (n = 6). Conclusions The present study identified the 100 most-cited research articles in craniopharyngioma. These results highlight the multidisciplinary and multimodal nature of craniopharyngioma management. Recognition of important historical contributions to this field could guide future investigations.
Love Marriage or Arranged Marriage? Choice, Rights, and Empowerment for Educated Muslim Women from Rural and Low-Income Pakistani Communities.

ABSTRACTUsing ethnographic data collected with Muslim women teachers from rural and low-income communities in Pakistan, this article shows how empowerment for these educated women meant access to d...
Effect of Penalty Minute Rule Change on Injuries and Game Disqualification Penalties in High School Ice Hockey.

Background:Recent efforts have focused on eliminating dangerous hits in ice hockey. Fair play rule changes have successfully reduced injury risk but have not been widely implemented.Purpose:To dete...
A Wideband Cascaded Skew Planar Wheel Antenna for RF Energy Harvesting

This paper presents the design and measurement of a novel cascaded skew planar wheel (SPW) antenna that harvests radio frequency (RF) energy from ambient Wi-Fi to energize a low power temperature sensor. The proposed novel circularly polarized quasi-isotropic antenna incorporates two cascaded SPW antennas of varying scale, spaced apart by $\lambda /8$. This design results in a simulated gain of 4.76 dB, a 1.1 dB increase from the conventional skew planar antenna, and a 35% increase in the measured −10 dB bandwidth. The antenna was then integrated into an Internet of Things (IoT) system to power a temperature sensor. Using the cascaded SPW in the system significantly improves the DC voltage generated at the output of the charge pump by up to 60% depending on the input RF power received.
What does it take to Teach K12 Computer Science?: Exploring Teachers' Attitudes Towards Teaching CS K12 in Georgia

Currently, the state of Georgia requires a CS teacher endorsement (or the passing of the CS GACE exam) to teach middle/high school computer science in public schools. However, issues such as the cost of a CS endorsement and a lack of incentives to take the endorsement may undermine the long-term efforts to establish high-quality K12 CS education in the state. This may negatively affect the broadening of CS participation efforts in the state (47% of the population in GA belongs to a minority group). In this poster, we will present preliminary results of a survey conducted with more than 200 K-12 teachers across the state of Georgia in which we explore the attitudes towards teaching K12 computer science in the state. Our goal with the collection of the data is to understand better what it would take to become a long-term CS teacher in the state.
Does Mental Health Differ by Alcohol Use in Elderly Male Veterans

Introduction: With limited research for mental health and alcohol use among veterans in the general population and none for elderly male veterans only, the purpose is to assess whether mental health differs by alcohol use in elderly male veterans in the general population. Method: This cross-sectional analysis uses 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data for male veterans aged 65 and older in general population samples from Florida (n = 1,700), Maryland (n = 1,060), New York (n = 552), and Washington (n = 1,031). Multiple logistic regression by state assessed the relationship between mental health and alcohol use, after controlling for health-related, demographic, and socioeconomic factors. Results: Across states, most participants reported good mental health (80%-84%) and more than half reported drinking (53%-63%). Adjusted results indicated that mental health did not differ by alcohol use in any state; however, it was related to physical health and activity limitations across states. Conclusion: Overall, alcohol use was not related to mental health in elderly male veterans in the general population; however, physical health status and activity limitations were. Practitioners should always screen for alcohol use and should automatically screen for mental health, physical health, and activity limitations when symptoms present for any and assess concurrent treatment and management strategies.
Quality of life, hypothalamic obesity, and sexual function in adulthood two decades after primary gross-total resection for childhood craniopharyngioma

All treatments for childhood craniopharyngioma are associated with complications that potentially affect quality of life. This study was designed to investigate the impact of gross total resection on long-term quality of life and sexual functioning in adulthood. Adults treated with primary gross total resection for childhood craniopharyngioma and ≥ 10 years of follow-up were included in this retrospective cohort study. The Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire Version 2 (SF-36v2), Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) sexual functioning survey, and a sociodemographic/health questionnaire were administered. Twenty-two subjects with a median length of follow-up of 19 years (range 12–30) completed the questionnaires. Fifty-five percent reported excellent or very good general health. There was no significant difference of the mean SF-36v2 score between the patient cohort and the normal population. Twenty-two percent of females and 54% of males reported at least “a little of a problem” in one or more areas of sexual functioning, similar to the normal population. The proportion of sexually active individuals was decreased in this cohort. The median BMI of the participants was 29.5 (range 22.1–50.0 kg/m2). Preoperative hypothalamic involvement correlated with a significantly higher BMI, although the proportion of participants with class 3 obesity (BMI ≥ 40) did not differ significantly from that of the general population (9% and 7%, respectively). Young adults with gross total resection of childhood craniopharyngioma report similar quality of life and sexual functioning compared to the general population, but appear to be less sexually active. Hypothalamic involvement on preoperative imaging was associated with a higher BMI in long-term follow-up.
Latency Control for Distributed Machine Vision at the Edge Through Approximate Computing

Multicamera based Deep Learning vision applications subscribe to the Edge computing paradigm due to stringent latency requirements. However, guaranteeing latency in the wireless communication links between the cameras nodes and the Edge server is challenging, especially in the cheap and easily available unlicensed bands due to the interference from other camera nodes in the system, and from external sources. In this paper, we show how approximate computation techniques can be used to design a latency controller that uses multiple video frame image quality control knobs to simultaneously satisfy latency and accuracy requirements for machine vision applications involving object detection, and human pose estimation. Our experimental results on an Edge test bed indicate that the controller is able to correct for up to 164% degradation in latency due to interference within a settling time of under 1.15 s.
The Effect of a Mathematics-Science Curriculum Integration Project

AbstractThe Mathematics and Science Collaborative Project is an action research effort between the University of New Hampshire and four middle- and junior high schools in the Durham, NH area designed to develop integrated mathematics and science curriculum materials. The original goals of the project focused on school-university collaboration and team effectiveness among mathematics and science teachers at each site, in order to produce long-term sustained reform in mathematics and science teaching. In this paper, we describe the transformation of the original description of the Mathematics and Science Collaborative Project as its participants and leaders tried to balance the demands of an externally funded project with the practitioners' need to control the project's content and process. The story is told as four “fables” from the perspectives of the four university collaborators who found that they had to significantly adjust their thinking and actions as the project progressed.
Relational Factors Influencing Parents’ Engagement in Special Education for High School Youth With Emotional/Behavioral Problems:

This study examined the relational factors influencing school engagement for parents of high school youth with emotional/behavioral disorders. Fourteen parents of high school students (12 mothers, ...
GX-means: A model-based divide and merge algorithm for geospatial image clustering

Abstract One of the practical issues in clustering is the specification of the appropriate number of clusters, which is not obvious when analyzing geospatial datasets, partly because they are huge (both in size and spatial extent) and high dimensional. In this paper we present a computationally effcient model-based split and merge clustering algorithm that incrementally finds model parameters and the number of clusters. Additionally, we attempt to provide insights into this problem and other data mining challenges that are encountered when clustering geospatial data. The basic algorithm we present is similar to the G-means and X-means algorithms; however, our proposed approach avoids certain limitations of these well-known clustering algorithms that are pertinent when dealing with geospatial data. We compare the performance of our approach with the G-means and X-means algorithms. Experimental evaluation on simulated data and on multispectral and hyperspectral remotely sensed image data demonstrates the effectiveness of our algorithm.
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Biological Signature DCISionRT Use for DCIS Treatment.

Abstract Background Currently it remains difficult to identify patients most likely to benefit from radiotherapy (RT) for ductal carcinoma-in-situ (DCIS), thus leading to wide variation in practice patterns. The genomic risk assessment tool DCISionRT (PreludeDX) has been validated to prognosticate recurrence risk and predict RT benefit. We aimed to study the cost-effectiveness analysis comparing DCIS treatments based on DCISionRT testing to traditional clinicopathologic risk factors. Patients and Methods A Markov state transition model was constructed to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing breast-conserving surgery with or without RT using DCISionRT testing vs. traditional clinicopathologic risk factors. Clinical parameters were obtained from clinical trial data and cross-validation studies. Cost data were based on 2019 Medicare reimbursement. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated as incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained comparing DCIS treatments using DCISionRT testing to traditional clinicopathologic risk factors and evaluated with a willingness-to-pay threshold of US$100,000 per QALY gained. To account for uncertainty, 1-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. Results Base case analysis showed that DCIS management using DCISionRT testing was a cost-effective strategy, resulting in an ICER of $74,331 per QALY gained compared to clinicopathology-based treatment. Model results were sensitive to a variation of the proportion of genomic-high, low-risk patients receiving RT in DCISionRT testing strategy, and changes in DCISionRT testing cost. Conclusion DCISionRT testing could potentially be a cost-effective strategy compared to traditional decision making for DCIS treatments, optimizing RT benefit based on an accurate recurrence risk assessment.
The role of development programs in enhancing organizational capacity of National Paralympic Committees: a case study of the Road to the Games program

Rationale/Purpose: This study examines the role of elite sport development programs in the capacity building process of disability sport organizations. Design/Methodology/Approach: An instrumental ...
SU-E-T-147: Beam Specific Planning Target Volumes Incorporating 4DCT for Pencil Beam Scanning Proton Therapy of Thoracic Tumors

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine whether organ sparing and target coverage can be simultaneously maintained for pencil beam scanning (PBS) proton therapy treatment of thoracic tumors in the presence of motion, stopping power uncertainties and patient setup variations. Methods: Ten consecutive patients that were previously treated with proton therapy to 66.6/1.8 Gy (RBE) using double scattering (DS) were replanned with PBS. Minimum and maximum intensity images from 4DCT were used to introduce flexible smearing in the determination of the beam specific PTV (BSPTV). Datasets from eight 4DCT phases, using ±3% uncertainty in stopping power, and ±3 mm uncertainty in patient setup in each direction were used to create 8*12*10=960 PBS plans for the evaluation of ten patients. Plans were normalized to provide identical coverage between DS and PBS. Results: The average lung V20, V5, and mean doses were reduced from 29.0%, 35.0%, and 16.4 Gy with DS to 24.6%, 30.6%, and 14.1 Gy with PBS, respectively. The average heart V30 and V45 were reduced from 10.4% and 7.5% in DS to 8.1% and 5.4% for PBS, respectively. Furthermore, the maximum spinal cord, esophagus and heart dose were decreased from 37.1 Gy, 71.7 Gy and 69.2 Gy with DS to 31.3 Gy, 67.9 Gy and 64.6 Gy with PBS. The conformity index (CI), homogeneity index (HI), and global maximal dose were improved from 3.2, 0.08, 77.4 Gy with DS to 2.8, 0.04 and 72.1 Gy with PBS. All differences are statistically significant, with p values <0.05, with the exception of the heart V45 (p= 0.146). Conclusion: PBS with BSPTV achieves better organ sparing and improves target coverage using a repainting method for the treatment of thoracic tumors. Incorporating motion-related uncertainties is essential This work was supported by the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command under Contract Agreement No. DAMD17-W81XWH-07-2-0121 and W81XWH-09-2-0174.
Childcare Crisis: How Parents Can Persevere During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The Family and Medical Leave Act, enacted in 1993, created workplace protections and granted twelve weeks of leave to working families—but without pay. It should guarantee twelve weeks of paid family and sick leave.
Globalizing Patient Capital: The Political Economy of Chinese Finance in the Americas

China's overseas financing is a distinct form of patient capital that marshals the country's vast domestic resources to create commercial opportunities internationally. Its long-term risk tolerance and lack of policy conditionality has allowed developing economies to sidestep the fiscal austerity tendencies of Western markets and multilaterals. Employing statistical tests and extensive field research across China and Latin America, Stephen Kaplan finds that China's patient capital endows national governments with more room to maneuver in formulating domestic policies. The author goes on to evaluate the potential costs of Chinese financing, raising the question of how Chinese lenders will react to developing nation's ongoing struggles with debt and dependency. By disaggregating the structure of international finance, Globalizing Patient Capital has significant implications for the rise of China in Latin America, offering new insights about globalization and showing the costs and benefits of state versus market approaches to development.
Multi-period corporate default prediction with stochastic covariates☆

We provide maximum likelihood estimators of term structures of conditional probabilities of bankruptcy over relatively long time horizons, incorporating the dynamics of firm-specific and macroeconomic covariates. We find evidence in the U.S. industrial machinery and instruments sector, based on over 28,000 firm-quarters of data spanning 1971 to 2001, of significant dependence of the level and shape of the term structure of conditional future bankruptcy probabilities on a firm’s distance to default (a volatility-adjusted measure of leverage) and on U.S. personal income growth, among other covariates. Variation in a firm’s distance to default has a greater relative effect on the term structure of future failure hazard rates than does a comparatively sized change in U.S. personal income growth, especially at dates more than a year into the future.
Chapter 13 Response of the Proton Motive Force to the Pulse of an Electrogenic Proton Pump

Publisher Summary An electrogenic proton pump builds up a “proton motive force” (PMF= -Δμ μ+ ) by two distinct contributions. First, the direct or primary contribution resulting from the forced movement of H + ions through the barrier, ahead of the electroneutralizing passive ion flows, and leads to the separation of charges and, by charging the capacity of the membrane, to an electric potential difference (PD). Second, the indirect or secondary contribution, which involves the electroneutral movement of ions, to build up concentration gradients, often associated with a membrane diffusion PD. As the primary contribution does not require appreciable net transport of ions, it is almost exclusively electric and therefore appears rapidly after the pump is turned on, and disappears just as quickly when the pump is turned off. The secondary contribution, on the other hand, requires the expenditure and storage of osmotic work and therefore appears much more slowly after the start of the pump; and its decay after stopping the pump is delayed. This chapter discusses that the full rise of proton motive force (PMF) is largely determined by the much slower generation of a H + gradient by the electroneutral secondary contribution. Whereas present calculations confirm this, they also show that with a different model, in which not the pumping rate but the affinity of the driving reaction is to remain constant during pumping activity, the rapid initial rise of the PD may under certain conditions reach a value, which comes close to the final PMF.
Community of Practice as a Foundation for Great Teaching

At the heart of each scholar is a maverick, one who stands outside the tidy order of things to think critically. Independence and freedom of thought are essential for scholars to do their work. Independence defines the way scholars teach. Learning to teach by means of a solo effort produces a relatively wide variance in student evaluations and satisfaction. The cost as instructors learn, by trial-and-error, can be large. A faculty of solo artists is likely to be virtually invisible to students and possibly to each other: faculty meetings are sparsely attended; instructors work at home; when on the premises, they work behind closed doors. Perhaps, they just show up to teach and then depart. Junior and senior faculty members occupy separate worlds, probably bridged only by research interests. In such a world, other people just get in the way and distract one. Consider an alternative: the teaching task is a community effort that knits individuals together. It requires some coordination and collaboration, and offers a medium in which instructors can learn their craft from each other. It is less well-known. I write to explore what it is to teach under the alternate view, the community paradigm.
Atmospheric observations inform CO2 flux responses to enviroclimatic drivers

Understanding the response of the terrestrial biospheric carbon cycle to variability in enviroclimatic drivers is critical for predicting climate-carbon interactions. Here we apply an atmospheric-inversion-based framework to assess the relationships between the spatiotemporal patterns of net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) and those of enviroclimatic drivers. We show that those relationships can be directly observed at 1° × 1° 3-hourly resolution from atmospheric CO2 measurements for four of seven large biomes in North America, namely, (i) boreal forests and taiga; (ii) temperate coniferous forests; (iii) temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands; and (iv) temperate broadleaf and mixed forests. We find that shortwave radiation plays a dominant role during the growing season over all four biomes. Specific humidity and precipitation also play key roles and are associated with decreased CO2 uptake (or increased release). The explanatory power of specific humidity is especially strong during transition seasons, while that of precipitation appears during both the growing and dormant seasons. We further find that the ability of four prototypical terrestrial biospheric models (TBMs) to represent the spatiotemporal variability of NEE improves as the influence of radiation becomes more dominant, implying that TBMs have a better skill in representing the impact of radiation relative to other drivers. Even so, we show that TBMs underestimate the strength of the relationship to radiation and do not fully capture its seasonality. Furthermore, the TBMs appear to misrepresent the relationship to precipitation and specific humidity at the examined scales, with relationships that are not consistent in terms of sign, seasonality, or significance relative to observations. More broadly, we demonstrate the feasibility of directly probing relationships between NEE and enviroclimatic drivers at scales with no direct measurements of NEE, opening the door to the study of emergent processes across scales and to the evaluation of their scaling within TBMs.
Superstructure optimization of the olefin separation process

Abstract The olefin separation process involves handling a feed stream with a number of hydrocarbon components. The objective of this process is to separate each of these components at minimum cost. We consider a superstructure optimization for the olefin separation system that consitts of several technologies for the separation task units and compressors, pumps, valves, heaters, coolers, heat exchangers. We model the major discrete decisions for the separation system as a generalized disjunctive programming (GDP) problem. The objective function is to minimize the annualized investment cost of the separation units and the utility cost. The GDP problem is reformulated as an MINLP problem, which is solved with the Outer Approximation (OA) algorithm that is available in DICOPT++/GAMS. The solution approach for the superstructure optimization is discussed and numerical results of an example are presented.
Teaching Language through Movement

(1978). Teaching Language through Movement. Journal of Physical Education and Recreation: Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 77-77.
Experiences with CoralCDN: a five-year operational view

CoralCDN is a self-organizing web content distribution network (CDN). Publishing through CoralCDN is as simple as making a small change to a URL's hostname; a decentralized DNS layer transparently directs browsers to nearby participating cache nodes, which in turn cooperate to minimize load on the origin webserver. CoralCDN has been publicly available on PlanetLab since March 2004, accounting for the majority of its bandwidth and serving requests for several million users (client IPs) per day. This paper describes CoralCDN's usage scenarios and a number of experiences drawn from its multi-year deployment. These lessons range from the specific to the general, touching on the Web (APIs, naming, and security), CDNs (robustness and resource management), and virtualized hosting (visibility and control). We identify design aspects and changes that helped CoralCDN succeed, yet also those that proved wrong for its current environment.
From “National Style” to “Rationalized Construction”

From “National Style” to “Rationalized Construction”: Mass-Produced Housing, Style, and Architectural Discourse in the East German Journal Deutsche Architektur , 1956–1964 examines architectural critique of housing and style as it unfolded in the East German journal Deutsche Architektur (German architecture) from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s. Through an analysis of articles published in the journal as well as primary source documents, Emily Pugh investigates the reception of newly built housing developments in East Germany by a group of influential socialist architects, historians, and critics who were then writing for Deutsche Architektur . Pugh highlights individual architects’ attempts to subvert or resist the control of state and party authorities and considers how these individuals’ efforts might have influenced the development of the East German building economy. She also argues that these architects’ understanding of architectural modernism differed from that of their counterparts in the Cold War West, having been influenced by political and economic circumstances specific to East Germany.
Who uses self-care books, advice nurses, and computers for health information?

Objectives: While evaluating the effect of a community-wide informational intervention, this study explored access, health, and demographic factors related to the use of medical reference books, telephone advice nurses, and computers for health information. Methods: A random sample of households in the intervention city (Boise, Idaho) and two control cities were surveyed about their use of health information in 1996. Shortly thereafter, the Healthwise Communities Project (HCP) distributed health information to all Boise residents. A follow-up survey was conducted in 1998. Overall, 5,909 surveys were completed for a 54% response rate. Results: The HCP intervention was associated with statistically significant increases in the use of medical reference books and telephone advice nurses. The increased use of computers for health information was marginally significant. Few access, health, or demographic factors were consistently associated with using the different resources, except that people with depression used more of all three information resources, and income was not a significant predictor. Conclusion: Providing free health information led to an increase in use, but access, health, and demographic factors were also important determinants. In particular, poor health status and presence of a chronic illness were associated with health information use. These results suggest that healthy consumers are less interested in health information, and it may take other incentives to motivate them to learn about prevention and healthy behaviors.