cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A comparative study of Chinese and United States pre-service teachers’ perceptions about ethical issues in classroom assessment

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of pre-service teachers in the United States and China about ethics of classroom assessment practices. To investigate pre-service teachers’ perceptions, we developed 36 scenarios that described teachers’ actions or thoughts related to ethics and assessment practices. Participants were 173 pre-service teachers in the U.S. and 174 pre-service teachers in China. Overall, the perceptions of Chinese and American respondents were divided within countries on different scenarios. In addition, chi-square analyses contrasting Chinese responses with American responses indicated that the pre-service teachers had statistically significant differences in their opinions on 22 out of 36 scenarios, but only 13 had practical significance (effect size ≥ .3). Chinese and American pre-service teachers had similar perceptions on 14 scenarios. In some instances, respondents’ perceptions of the ethics of assessment practices depicted in the scenarios did not agree with the literature on classroom assessment. The findings offer insights for developing ethical guidelines in classroom assessment in both cultures. In addition, we recommend that cultural issues as related to ethics should be included in assessment courses for pre-service teachers.
Identifying Very Metal-Rich Stars with Low-Resolution Spectra: Finding Planet-Search Targets

We present empirical calibrations that estimate stellar metallicity, effective temperature and surface gravity as a function of Lick/IDS indices. These calibrations have been derived from a training set of 261 stars for which (1) high-precision measurements of [Fe/H], T_eff and log g have been made using spectral-synthesis analysis of HIRES spectra, and (2) Lick indices have also been measured. Our [Fe/H] calibration, which has precision 0.07 dex, has identified a number of bright (V < 9) metal-rich stars which are now being screened for hot Jupiter-type planets. Using the Yonsei-Yale stellar models, we show that the calibrations provide distance estimates accurate to 20% for nearby stars. This paper outlines the second tier of the screening of planet-search targets by the N2K Consortium, a project designed to identify the stars most likely to harbor extrasolar planets. Discoveries by the N2K Consortium include the transiting hot Saturn HD 149026 b (Sato et al. 2005, astro-ph/0507009) and HD 88133 b (Fischer et al. 2005). See Ammons et al. (2005, In Press) for a description of the first tier of N2K metallicity screening, calibrations using broadband photometry.
Perceptions of Workplace Spirituality Among Professionals and Executives

As a new century begins, it is becoming increasingly clear that workers are experiencing a fundamental change of business world values, a change of paradigms as radical as the Age of Information. Corporate America and its employees are responding to a call for a deeper sense of purpose, a more significant sense of faith, and a renewed commitment to spirituality. This paper reports research that focuses on the relationship among the 3 key stakeholders in this new emphasis on spirituality: individual, organization, and work unit. Significant correlations were found to exist among 3 factors of spirituality and among 11 variables that were submeasures of the factors.
Correlations and Differences between Uranium(VI) Arsonates and Phosphonates

Three new uranium arsonate compounds, UO2(C6H5)2As2O5(H2O) (UPhAs-1), UO2(HO3AsC6H4AsO3H)(H2O)·H2O (UPhAs-2), and UO2(HO3AsC6H4NH2)2·H2O (UPhAs-3) have been synthesized under mild hydrothermal conditions. UPhAs-1 is constructed from UO7 pentagonal bipyramids that are chelated by the pyroarsonate moiety, [PhAs(O2)OAs(O2)Ph]2–, forming chains of layered uranyl polyhedra. Two of the phenylarsonic acids are condensed in situ to form the fused tetrahedra of the pyroarsonate moiety through a metal-mediated, thermally induced condensation process. The structure of UPhAs-2 consists of UO7 pentagonal bipyramids that are chelated by phenylenediarsonate ligands, forming one-dimensional chains of uranyl polyhedra. UPhAs-3 consists of a rare UO6 tetragonally distorted octahedron (D4h) that is on a center of symmetry and linked to two pairs of adjacent 4-aminophenylarsonate ligands. This linear chain structure is networked through hydrogen bonds between the lattice water molecules and the −NH2 moiety. All three of thes...
Unique, Concentrically Laminated, Membranous Inclusions in Myofibers

Unusual and apparently previously undescribed subsarcolemmal aggregates of round and ovoid concentrically laminated periodic membranous inclusions associated with myofiber degeneration were observed by means of electron microscopy in skeletal muscles biopsies from three adults. No consistent clinical or laboratory findings were observed in these patients, although two had abnormal glucose tolerance with diminished insulin levels. The constellation of clinical and electron microscopic findings in these patients appeared distinct from those described in other myopathies. However, the nature, origin, significance, and specificity of these inclusion is at present uncertain. It is hoped that this polemic may be resolved by subsequent search and recording of similar structures.
Quantitative Evaluation of A First Year Seminar Program Relationships to Persistence and Academic Success

In the present study, we conducted a quantitative evaluation of a novel First Year Seminar (FYS) program with a coordinated curriculum implemented at a public, four-year university to assess its po...
Effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone on reticulo-endothelial storage.

Summary1. Storage of PVP, or of a derivative of PVP, was observed in mice after 12-24 injections of a 3.5% solution. The extent of storage appeared to depend on the mouse strain. 2. Simultaneous administration of PVP and sulfonated azo dyes led to renal excretion of dye; and to a decrease in reticuloendothelial dye storage. 3. PVP administered after dye was given resulted in elution of dye from reticulo-endothelial tissues. 4. PVP administered prior to dye injection prevented storage of dye. 5. On the basis of these findings, an attempt was made to evaluate biologic properties of PVP.
Synthesis, Purification, and Characterization of Single Helix Membrane Peptides and Proteins for NMR Spectroscopy

Membrane proteins function as receptors, channels, transporters, and enzymes. These proteins are generally difficult to express and purify in a functional form due to the hydrophobic nature of their membrane spanning sequences. Studies on membrane proteins with a single membrane spanning helix have been particularly challenging. Single-pass membrane proteins will often form dimers or higher order oligomers in cell membranes as a result of sequence motifs that mediate specific transmembrane helix interactions. Understanding the structural basis for helix association provides insights into how these proteins function. Nevertheless, nonspecific association or aggregation of hydrophobic membrane spanning sequences can occur when isolated transmembrane domains are reconstituted into membrane bilayers or solubilized into detergent micelles for structural studies by solid-state or solution NMR spectroscopy. Here, we outline the methods used to synthesize, purify, and characterize single transmembrane segments for structural studies. Two synthetic strategies are discussed. The first strategy is to express hydrophobic peptides as protein chimera attached to the maltose binding protein. The second strategy is by direct chemical synthesis. Purification is carried out by several complementary chromatography methods. The peptides are solubilized in detergent for solution NMR studies or reconstituted into model membranes for solid-state NMR studies. We describe the methods used to characterize the reconstitution of these systems prior to NMR structural studies to establish if there is nonspecific aggregation.
Clinical Artifacts as a Treasure Map to Navigate Handoff Complexity

Why is handoff communication such an important and difficult issue to tackle in healthcare? First, let’s look at why it is important. Poor teamwork and communication are associated with patient safety errors, inefficient use of resources, and excessive lengths of stay [15, 24, 27, 40, 51]. These are all critical foci of any quality and safety initiatives and are increasingly important in the context of Accountable Care Organizations and payment reform. Transitions of care are a time of heightened vulnerability to errors and delays in care [9, 37, 38].
Abstract P207: What is More Important in Cardiologists' Decision Making Around Implantable-Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD), Mortality Data or Patient Preferences?

Introduction: The Institute of Medicine has identified ‘patient-centeredness’ as one of the six pillars of quality health care. Because ICD therapy is associated with important complications after implantation and because ICD shocks may influence quality of life, patient-preferences for this therapy are of paramount importance. The objective of this study was to determine cardiologists9 thoughts on the relative importance of patient preferences for ICD therapy. Methods: A total of 1210 members of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) from a national sample of 10,080 responded to a survey regarding physician attitudes and recommendations towards ICDs. There were no differences between responders and non-responders with respect to physician demographics. The survey contained a list of factors including patient9s preference and mortality data and asked: “To what extent does each of the following factors affect your recommendations regarding ICDs for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death?” with responses on a 5 point Likert scale ranging from “not at all” to “a great deal.” A total of 1124 respondents were used in the analysis after excluding pediatric cardiologists and cardiologists not implanting/referring ICDs in the past 12 months. Respondents were divided into two groups, one rating mortality data higher than patient preferences and another rating patient preferences equal to or greater than mortality data. Pearson9s Chi-squared test of association was used to determine general associations. Results: Mortality data were considered more important than patient preferences by 628 (56%) ACC members. Physicians rating mortality data as more important than patient preferences were more likely to assert that ICDs make patients live longer (96.3% vs 93.7%, P=0.0440) but also more likely to disagree that ICDs decrease a patient9s quality of life (51.6% vs. 40.2%, P=0,0001) or that the financial costs of ICDs are not worth the benefit (75.6% vs 63.6 %, P Conclusions: Approximately half of the respondents in this survey rated patient preferences lower than mortality data. These respondents tended to have more positive attitudes towards ICDs. The effect of these attitudes on the overall ‘patient-centeredness’ of care calls for further study.
National Bird, directed by Sonia Kennebeck

No one is fool enough to choose war instead of peace – in peace sons bury fathers, but in war fathers bury sons. (Herodotus, The Histories, Book I, Chapter 87; Herodotus 2003)The day I commissioned...
Wide-field interferometric measurement of a nonstationary complex coherence function

Spatial coherence function (SCF) is a complex function of two spatial coordinates that, in general, carries more information than the bare intensity distribution. A fast and quantitatively accurate measurement of the SCF is extremely important for a range of applications in optical sensing and imaging. Here, we demonstrate an efficient two-step procedure for measuring the full-field complex coherence function. The measurement relies on an optimized design of a wavefront shearing interferometer capable of characterizing spatially inhomogeneous fields over an extended angular domain. The measurement precision is confirmed by the excellent agreement with a numerical estimation based on Fresnel calculations. We demonstrate that the sensitivity and the measurement range afforded by our instrument permits us to reliably describe the differences in the complex coherence functions that are due to subtle modifications in the shape, position, and orientation of radiation sources.
Efficient estimation in partially linear single‐index models for longitudinal data

In this paper, we consider the estimation of both the parameters and the nonparametric link function in partially linear single‐index models for longitudinal data that may be unbalanced. In particular, a new three‐stage approach is proposed to estimate the nonparametric link function using marginal kernel regression and the parametric components with generalized estimating equations. The resulting estimators properly account for the within‐subject correlation. We show that the parameter estimators are asymptotically semiparametrically efficient. We also show that the asymptotic variance of the link function estimator is minimized when the working error covariance matrices are correctly specified. The new estimators are more efficient than estimators in the existing literature. These asymptotic results are obtained without assuming normality. The finite‐sample performance of the proposed method is demonstrated by simulation studies. In addition, two real‐data examples are analyzed to illustrate the methodology.
Critical Discourse Studies and/in communication: theories, methodologies, and pedagogies at the intersections

In this introductory essay, we interrogate the relationship between Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) and communication studies, ultimately arguing for a firmer cross-fertilization between the two. ...
Cervical traction. Review of literature and treatment guidelines

This article is a review of the literature on cervical traction. The various mechanical factors most relevant to cervical traction are organized and discussed. The factors presented are 1) neck position, 2) traction force, 3) duration of traction, 4) angle of pull, and 5) position of the patient. Treatment guidelines are suggested based on interpretation of the literature.
Perspectives About the Precarious Situation of the Undocumented Worker in the U.S. and Possible Solutions in Public International Law (Perspectiva Sobre La Situacion Precaria Del Trabajador Indocumentado En Los Estados Unidos Y Posibles Soluciones En El Derecho Internacional Publico)

The Supreme Court decision in Hoffman Plastic Compounds v. National Labor Relations Board resolved the conflict between two laws of the United States: the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA") and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1996 ("IRCA). The Court decided in Hoffman that the awarding of back pay to undocumented workers was improper as violative of IRCA. The Court established that even if the employer committed an unfair labor practice under the NLRA, the aggrieved undocumented worker was not entitled to back pay. Thus, immigration public policy rather than labor law, prevailed. This decision shows that the undocumented worker in the United States lives in a precarious and vulnerable situation, subject to exploitation. International law regimes may be able to address the undocumented worker's precarious situation. Both the International Labor Organization, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have issued pronouncements about the Hoffman Plastic Compounds case, finding that the protections for undocumented workers in the U.S. workplace are inadequate. The article points to one more harbinger of hope in the area of public international law for undocumented workers: the Convention on the Protection of the Right of All Migrant Workers. While the U.S. has not ratified this convention yet, it has been called upon to do so by the Special Rapporteur for the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers, so as to afford the protections of that convention to the undocumented workers in the United States.
Challenges in Community-Based Head and Neck Cancer Prevention Programs

The most promising opportunities for improving both prevention and early detection of cancers of the oral cavity and oropharynx lie in community-based programs to promote routine risk assessment and counseling and regular oral examinations in at-risk populations. The communities in which interventions are needed include both the at-risk populations themselves and also the clinicians who deliver health care to them. The former are generally not well informed about either risks or early detection, and the latter are neither adequately trained nor sufficiently attentive to the need for early detection in their patients. This chapter describes community-based intervention programming in practical terms. It identifies barriers to prevention and early detection, and describes community-based intervention strategies that are designed to overcome those barriers. Many of the challenges are not unique to oral cancers. These include general problems of adherence to practice recommendations for prevention and early detection of various diseases. Such problems are associated with lack of awareness, lack of access to adequate care, and conflicting priorities. Some other challenges are somewhat unique to oral cancers: relatively low concern for oral health as opposed to systemic health, limited access to oral health services, multiple signs and symptoms associated with oral cancers (many of which mimic other ailments such as infections), and associations between oral cancer incidence and patient risk profiles that compound access issues and lead to numerous other health care problems or co-morbidities which may either take precedence or simply mask the presence of oral cancers.
Teacher educators as reformers: competing agendas

ABSTRACTMost of today’s reforms of initial teacher education programs, policies, and practices have positioned teachers and teacher educators as the objects, rather than the agents of reform. In contrast, this article focuses on teacher educators as reformers by analyzing three approaches to reform that are initiated, developed, and promoted by teacher educators themselves: entrepreneurial reform, managerial reform, and democratic reform. The article concentrates primarily on teacher educators as reformers in the US, but also includes examples from other countries. For each approach, the article considers: who the teacher educator reformers are and how they are positioned; how they construct the 'problem' of teacher education; what reforms they advocate as the 'solution'; and, how these are related to larger policy and political agendas. The article argues that this kind of analysis is critical to understanding the current discourse of reform and the competing agendas that dominate the politics of teacher...
Improving the U.S. Guest Worker System Through Tax and Social Welfare Reform

This paper examines the shortcomings of present tax and social welfare treatment of unskilled temporary workers in the United States. Uncovering systematic overtaxation and undersupport for migrant workers' financial stability, the paper then explores the effect of these policies on immigration outcomes. Informed by empirical research on migration decision-making, this paper argues that current tax and social welfare policies create disincentives for return migration by exacerbating financial insecurity, a main driver of migration in the first place. Further, systematic exclusion from tax benefits and social welfare protection violates migrant workers' internationally recognized right to equal treatment under the law. I present evidence that supporting migrant workers' financial stability, in part by promoting remitting to and saving in home countries, would improve incentives for return migration while simultaneously protecting migrants' rights and dignity. Although a guest worker policy regime that incentivizes return migration while simultaneously respecting migrants' rights has proven elusive, policymakers need not prioritize one goal at the expense of the other. I propose policies that correct the flaws of the current system through targeted tax incentives and provision of social welfare benefits in home countries.
Digital Innovation and Organizational Genetics: The Case of Web APIs and Mashups

Rapid and pervasive digitalization of products and services stimulates unbounded innovations on the Internet at a pace we never seen before. The creation of mashup by mixing and combining various w...
Thin Perforator Flaps for Reconstruction of the Lower Extremity

Thin flaps, a modification of traditional flaps that minimize the need for debulking and revision, offer unique advantages in the field of lower limb reconstruction. Advances in the field of microsurgery have made this streamlined method of reconstruction a viable solution for soft tissue coverage in patients with both trauma and nonhealing wounds. Better understanding of anatomy has allowed for flap harvest above the fascia level and the Scarpal plane. These modifications allow for flap transfer with thicknesses more comparable to the native anatomy of the lower leg, ankle, and foot. Flap survival is comparable to traditional techniques with greater potential for improved patient-centered outcomes.
Freehand C2 Pedicle Screw Placement: Surgical Anatomy and Operative Technique

We present a surgical video demonstrating the anatomy and technique of freehand C2 pedicle screw placement using a cadaveric specimen and 3-dimensional simulation software. C2 pedicle screws have been shown to augment cervical constructs and provide increased biomechanical stability compared with pars screws due to the increased length and bony purchase of pedicle screws within the pedicle and vertebral body.1 The presence of vertebral artery variations within the transverse foramen may preclude pedicle screw placement, and these should be identified on preoperative imaging. The C2 pedicle can be directly palpated at the time of screw placement, which aids screw placement in cases of deformity or trauma. A freehand technique without the use of computed tomography scan guidance or intraoperative fluoroscopy decreases radiation exposure for the operator and patient and has been shown to be safe for patient-related outcomes.2-5 Complete exposure of the C2 posterior elements is key to identifying the pedicle. The trajectory is based on direct visualization of the medial and superior pedicle borders to avoid lateral or inferior breaches into the transverse foramen. A curved probe is used for access into the vertebral body, respecting the outer cortical walls of the pedicle. The intraosseous position is confirmed with a ball-tipped probe. Fluoroscopy should be performed after screw placement to confirm proper position. By accomplishing proper exposure and understanding the anatomy of the C2 pedicle, the placement of C2 pedicle screws using a freehand technique is a safe and efficient technique for high cervical fixation.
Driver Distraction: A Naturalistic Observation of Secondary Behaviors with the Use of Driver Assistance Systems

This report describes the naturalistic observation of secondary behaviors performed by 66 drivers who took part in the Automotive Collision Avoidance System Field Operational Test (ACAS FOT). The ACAS FOT included two driver assistance systems, adaptive cruise control (ACC) and forward collision warning (FCW). Each driver participated in both baseline (no driver assistance systems for one week) and treatment conditions (both ACC and FCW available for 3 weeks). The method employed was to sub-sample video data, and code drivers’ secondary behaviors using 4 s video clips of the driver, collected every 5 minutes. Eight-hundred and ninety video clips were reviewed and coded while participants drove manually, with conventional cruise control, ACC, and FCW. The results show that drivers who took part in the field test were no more likely to engage in secondary behaviors when driving with ACC and FCW in comparison to manual control. When the driver assistance systems became available to the participants, there was an increase in the number of conversations drivers had with passengers, probably related to the driver explaining the novel ACAS system to passengers. The results have important implications in that, at least for the duration of exposure examined, they counter the concern often raised that driver assistance systems will promote driver distraction, lapses in attention or modification in perceived risk.
Evaluation of electric field and charge on bio-substrates induced by nanosecond pulsed helium plasma jet

Non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma jets are of interest to various biomedical applications including bacterial inactivation, surface modification and sterilization, wound healing and tumor apoptosis. The electric field and charge near the bio-substrates were considered important agents influencing the plasma-induced biomedical effects due to the possible electroporation and chemical processes. This work investigated the charges and electric field in the bio-substrates with the plasma jet impinging on the substrate. Ultrapure water, PBS (phosphate buffered saline) solution and pig skin were used as the substrates. The plasma jet was based on a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) configuration, powered by 180 ns, 6 kV pulses at 1 kHz and with helium flow of 985 sccm (standard cubic centimeters per minute). The charges delivered to the substrates are evaluated by jet current and compared. There is an optimal gap distance of 5mm for water and 10mm for PBS solution and pig skin. Pig skin consumes the most energy. The electrical field is evaluated by measuring the potential difference in water, which shows that there exists electric field remaining after plasma jet strikes on the water surface. Applying higher voltage can get higher electric field in water.
Dynamic Real-Time Pricing Structure for Electric Vehicle Charging Considering Stochastic Microgrids Energy Management System

Managing electric vehicles charging activities during times when the electrical grid is congested is a challenging task. In this work, we propose a fair, real-time, demand-influenced dynamic pricing structure to accurately allocate more fairness to the billing strategy to reflect updated energy prices during real-time operation of the microgrids. This pricing structure is composed of two pricing fractions; retail energy price that follows time-of-use (ToU) rates, and congested energy price that is allocated solely for billing EVs charging events during congested timeslots. The proposed methodology is implemented in a hierarchal multi-agent architecture with a stochastic energy management system that aims to provide a cost-efficient microgrid operation. The inputs to the optimization problem are day-ahead PV forecast as well as stochastic EVs energy levels and connectivity times prediction models based on a discrete-time Markov chain. Moreover, a predictive model of daily load demand is also presented based on adaptive Artificial Neural Network (ANN). We develop these models based on historical data for Miami Dade County, South Florida. Through numerical simulations, we attest that the proposed pricing structure achieves significant energy prices reduction when compared with results from previous well-established pricing policies.
Rapid destruction of sarin surrogates by gas phase reactions with focus on diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP)

Abstract Rapid destruction of stockpiles of sarin and other chemical weapon agents (CWA) requires understanding and quantitative description of the relevant chemical reactions. Rapid reactions at elevated temperatures are of particular interest for prompt agent defeat scenarios. Diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP) is a sarin surrogate particularly well suited to model sarin thermal decomposition and is often used in experiments. This article is a review of different experimental methods addressing decomposition of gasified DIMP, respective results and their interpretations. Major early decomposition products are propene, methylphosphonic acid, methyl(oxo)phosphoniumolate, and isopropanol. Early computational work using available kinetic data for fluorine and the phosphorus-fluorine bond predicted the decomposition under incineration conditions. Experiments using an isothermal flow reactor operated at 700–800 K were used to model DIMP decomposition as unimolecular reaction with results that were consistent with the earlier theoretical work. Decomposition in dynamic environments was studied using DIMP supported on rapidly heated substrates. The results showed different decomposition products and product sequences forming at different heating rates, suggesting the need for revised reaction kinetics. However, species quantification in such experiments is difficult because of inherent large temperature gradients. Plasma produced in a corona discharge was also reported to lead to rapid DIMP decomposition at low temperatures. Decomposition products were distinct from those observed at high temperatures. Shock tube experiments may be well suited to study decomposition of organophosphorus compounds like DIMP following their rapid heating in diverse environments. However, presently, only sarin surrogates other than DIMP have been investigated, and no intermediate reaction products, important for developing a validated mechanism, could be detected.
Pediatric Resident Engagement With an Online Critical Care Curriculum During the Intensive Care Rotation.

Objectives Residents are often assigned online learning materials as part of blended learning models, superimposed on other patient care and learning demands. Data that describe the time patterns of when residents interact with online learning materials during the ICU rotation are lacking. We describe resident engagement with assigned online curricula related to time of day and ICU clinical schedules, using website activity data. Design Prospective cohort study examining curriculum completion data and cross-referencing timestamps for pre- and posttest attempts with resident schedules to determine the hours that they accessed the curriculum and whether or not they were scheduled for clinical duty. Residents at each site were cohorted based on two differing clinical schedules-extended duration (>24 hr) versus shorter (maximum 16 hr) shifts. Setting Two large academic children's hospitals. Subjects Pediatric residents rotating in the PICU from July 2013 to June 2017. Interventions None. Measurements and main results One-hundred and fifty-seven pediatric residents participated in the study. The majority of residents (106/157; 68%) completed the curriculum, with no statistically significant association between overall curriculum completion and schedule cohort at either site. Residents made more test attempts at nighttime between 6 PM and 6 AM (1,824/2,828; 64%) regardless of whether they were scheduled for clinical duty. Approximately two thirds of test attempts (1,785/2,828; 63%) occurred when residents were not scheduled to work, regardless of time of day. Forty-two percent of all test attempts (1,199/2,828) occurred between 6 PM and 6 AM while off-duty, with 12% (342/2,828) occurring between midnight and 6 AM. Conclusions Residents rotating in the ICU completed online learning materials mainly during nighttime and off-duty hours, including usage between midnight and 6 AM while off-duty. Increasing nighttime and off-duty workload may have implications for educational design and trainee wellness, particularly during busy, acute clinical rotations, and warrants further examination.
Demographics in general surgery programs: Relationship between female faculty and proportion of female residents

Abstract Introduction We hypothesized that general surgery programs with more female faculty and leadership may be associated with more female residents. Methods The Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database Access system (FREIDA) was assessed for chair gender, program director gender, percentage of female faculty, and percentage of female residents at general surgery residency programs. Programs were stratified by type: university-based (UB), community-based/university-affiliated (UA) and community-based (CB). Results 304 general surgery programs reported a mean of 38.4% female residents which did not differ by program type. Chairs were more likely female in UB programs (12.8%) versus 5.5% in UA and CB programs (p = 0.05). There were more female faculty at UB programs (23.3%) versus UA (21.7%) and CB (17.4%) (p = 0.04). Chair (p = 0.21), program director (p = 0.98) and faculty gender proportion (p = 0.40) was not associated with female resident complement. Conclusions In general surgery programs, faculty and leadership gender composition was not associated with proportion of female residents.
Noninvasive Fetal Electrocardiography: Models, Technologies, and Algorithms

The fetal electrocardiogram (fECG) was first recorded from the maternal abdominal surface in the early 1900s. During the past 50 years, the most advanced electronics technologies and signal processing algorithms have been used to convert noninvasive fetal electrocardiography into a reliable technology for fetal cardiac monitoring. In this chapter, the major signal processing techniques, which have been developed for the modeling, extraction, and analysis of the fECG from noninvasive maternal abdominal recordings, are reviewed and compared with one another in detail. The major topics of the chapter include (1) the electrophysiology of the fECG from the signal processing viewpoint, (2) the mathematical model of the maternal volume conduction media and the waveform models of the fECG acquired from body surface leads, (3) the signal acquisition requirements, (4) model-based techniques for fECG noise and interference cancellation, including adaptive filters and semi-blind source separation techniques, and (5) recent algorithmic advances for fetal motion tracking and online fECG extraction from few number of channels.
The importance of data structure and nonlinearities in estimating climate impacts on outdoor recreation

Credible empirical estimation of the economic impacts of climate change is dependent on data structure (e.g., cross sectional, panel) and the functional relationship between weather data and behavioral outcomes. We show here how these modeling decisions lead to significantly different results when estimating the effects of weather and simulating the potential welfare impacts of climate change on outdoor recreation. Using participation data from 1.6 million households in the United States from 2004 to 2009, we estimate the impact of temperature and precipitation on participation decisions for marine shoreline recreational fishing. Results from linear models suggest temperature positively impacts participation and, by implication, climate change is likely to improve welfare associated with outdoor recreation in all regions of our study area. Conversely, nonlinear specifications suggest more days with extreme heat reduce participation and lead to significant declines in welfare under future climate scenarios. Differences in the treatment of how weather enters recreation participation decisions change both the sign and magnitude of welfare effects by nearly $1 billion annually. Differences in data structure, however, only affect the magnitude of welfare impacts but not the sign. Disaggregation of welfare estimates suggests warmer baseline climates are more susceptible to these choices. Our results demonstrate the critical nature of modeling decisions about data structure and the use of weather data to assess the future impacts of climate change, especially with nonmarket goods where value is related to environmental quality such as outdoor recreation.
Burnt topics in operating systems

Research necessarily involves success and failure, but we rarely hear about ideas that didn't work out. This panel will showcase examples of such ideas, led by those who pursued them and saw them fail. The hope is for the community to reflect on formerly "hot" research ideas and why seemingly good ideas sometimes don't work out. An activity during the panel will engage community members to share their own hard lessons learned.
A New Era of Global Disease Emergence: The International Response to Nipah Encephalitis Virus

Since the culmination of SARS in 2003, the world has been awakened to the surreptitious and often fatal reality of viral emergence on a global scale. The WHO, as the leading governing body in global public health, has recognized the need for heightened surveillance of emerging pathogens. The Nipah Encephalitis virus, a lethal zoonotic paramyxovirus, has been identified as a source of potential pandemic disease and thus a threat to the health security of the international community as a whole. An interdisciplinary, multi-lateral approach is needed to understand the changing nature of this deadly pathogen from a microbiological to societal level, and in concert, prepare for a possible public health emergency of international concern.
Martensitic transformation in superlattices of two non-transforming metals

A number of studies have shown that the coherent integration of a second non-transforming phase in martensitic materials results in unprecedented thermo-mechanical properties. We demonstrate the possibility of martensitic transformation by epitaxially combining two non-transforming materials, Mg (hexagonal closed packed) and MgLi (body centered cubic). Density functional theory calculations predict that MgLi/Mg superlattices undergo a transformation crystallographically equivalent to MgSc alloys and can be expected to result in finite temperature shape memory behavior. We predict the zero-temperature energy of the martensite phase to be 9.3 meV/atom lower than austenite for a 50–50 at. % MgLi/Mg nanolaminate, which is expected to result in a martensitic transformation temperature of approximately 150 K. This energy difference can be tuned between 4.9 and 18.1 meV/atom by varying the fraction of the pure Mg phase in the superlattice, potentially enabling the transformation from cryogenic to room and higher temperatures. While Li diffusion might limit the applications of the systems proposed, this work opens the door to a new approach to create martensitic materials.
Detection of Circulating and Tissue Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells (MDSC) by Flow Cytometry.

Flow cytometry allows the multiparameter analysis of heterogeneous cell populations and is an essential tool for detecting and characterizing different cell populations from peripheral blood and dissociated tissues. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are a heterogeneous and plastic group of myeloid precursors with immune-suppressive capacity, which are a characteristic feature of chronic inflammation, such as cancer. The optimal measurement of MDSC levels could be used as a biomarker for clinicians for prognosis and/or management and for researchers to track and understand the role of MDSC in different pathological diseases.The criteria for defining MDSC include phenotypic surface markers, but ideally should also include the functional immunosuppressive effect on T cells, and, if possible, assessing the main biochemical and molecular features. Two major functional mechanisms to suppress T cell responses are the production of arginase-1 and reactive oxygen species (ROS) molecules. Here is presented a nine-parameter seven-color flow cytometric assay to identify and quantify MDSC from both peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and dissociated tissue (e.g., tumor) by using fluorescence-tagged antibodies against surface markers. Also, the intracellular levels of arginase-1 and superoxide (O2-) content were performed to potentially distinguish their functional status.
Age Structure of Moose ( Alces alces ) Killed by Gray Wolves ( Canis lupus ) in Northeastern Minnesota, 1967–2011

The ages of 77 adult Moose ( Alces alces ) killed by Gray Wolves ( Canis lupus ) during the period 1967–2011 in northeastern Minnesota were significantly older than those of a sample of 17,585 Moose killed by hunters in nearby Ontario. Our findings support those of earlier studies of protected Moose populations in national parks that found that Gray Wolves tend to kill disproportionately more older Moose.
Chapter 2 The Application of Supercomputers to Chemometrics

Abstract The improvements in speed and memory of computers has made applications of chemo-metric methods routine with many procedures easily accomplished using microcomputers. What problems are sufficiently large and complex that the largest and most powerful computers are needed? One major class of problems is those methods based on sampling strategies. These methods include robust regression, bootstrapping, jackknifing, and cluster analysis of very large data sets. Parallel supercomputing systems are particularly well suited to this type of problem since each processor can be used to independently analyze a sample so that multiple samples can be examined simultaneously. Examples of these problems will be presented along with measures of the improvement in computer throughput resulting from the parallelization of the problem.
An exploration of social interaction and vocabulary appropriation among advanced adult ESL learners engaged in a threaded discussion forum

A threaded discussion forum has been used in fully online or blended courses at institutions of higher education in the United States. However, how advanced adult ESL learners interact with peers collaboratively to complete assigned tasks is still uninvestigated. The aim of this study was to investigate social interaction emerging in a threaded discussion forum, particularly when adult ESL learners were assigned to argue about controversial issues. This study also investigated learners’ word appropriation strategies when encountering unknown words during task engagement. Grounded in sociocultural theory, the study was conducted to investigate how adult ESL learners could benefit from postings by more capable peers and use text-based communication as thinking devices (Harasim, 1990; Lotman, 1988; 1990; vanLier, 2000; Warschauer, 1997; Wells, 2000) to complete the assigned tasks. The investigation regarding social interaction focused on three aspects: 1) the roles of expert and novice emerging during task engagement; 2) the functions of the postings composed to sustain arguments; and 3) multiple voices emerging in arguments for meaning construction. Lotman’s (1988) notion of functional dualism of texts, Wertsch’s (1998; 2000) notion of interaction in social space, and Bakhtin’s (1979) notion of awareness of otherness were employed to analyze how multiple voices in texts illustrated the process of how participants borrowed, adopted, and transformed other voices into voices of their own. The participants in the study were assigned to read two controversial articles about assisted suicide and the mandatory school uniform policy and then were divided into two groups to argue for or against the assigned topics. They were instructed to fill in a preand a post-task vocabulary knowledge scale to indicate their vocabulary knowledge from the assigned readings. After a preliminary analysis of the preand post-task vocabulary knowledge scale as well as posted messages, the researcher conducted post-task interviews with individual participants to clarify questions arising during the preliminary analysis. Results of the study suggested that during task engagement the roles of expert and novice fluctuated, depending upon different circumstances. Individual participants were able to 1) initiate threads to start arguments; 2) provide arguments to transform the developing discussion into a new direction; and 3) embed words identified as unknown in
A Cognitive Model of Concept Learning with a Flexible Internal Representation System

In the human mind, high-order knowledge is categorically organized, yet the nature of its internal representation system is not well understood. While it has been traditionally considered that there is a single innate representation system in our mind, recent studies suggest that the representational system is a dynamic, capable of adjusting a representation scheme to meet situational characteristics. In the present paper, we introduce a new cognitive modeling framework accounting for the flexibility in representing high-order category knowledge. Our modeling framework flexibly learns to adjust its internal knowledge representation scheme using a meta-heuristic optimization method. It also accounts for the multi-objective and the multi-notion natures of human learning, both of which are indicated as very important but often overlooked characteristics of human cognition.
Nonmedical Prescription Opioid Use and Use Disorders Among Adults Aged 18 Through 64 Years in the United States, 2003-2013

Importance Since 1999, the United States has experienced increases in morbidity and mortality associated with nonmedical use of prescription opioids. Objective To assess national trends in and characteristics of nonmedical prescription opioid use and use disorders and the national trend in related mortality. Design, Setting, and Participants Prevalence of nonmedical use and use disorders and related risk factors were based on data from 472 200 persons aged 18 through 64 years who participated in the 2003-2013 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. Mortality was based on the 2003-2013 National Vital Statistics System’s Multiple Cause of Death Files. Exposures Prevalence of nonmedical use of prescription opioids. Main Outcomes and Measures Nonmedical prescription opioid use and use disorders. Results Among adults aged 18 through 64 years, the prevalence of nonmedical use of prescription opioids decreased from 5.4% (95% CI, 5.08%-5.70%) in 2003 to 4.9% (95% CI, 4.58%-5.22%) in 2013 (absolute difference, −0.5%; 95% CI, −0.11% to −0.89%), but the prevalence of prescription opioid use disorders increased from 0.6% (95% CI, 0.54%-0.76%) in 2003 to 0.9% (95% CI, 0.75%-1.01%) in 2013 (absolute difference, 0.3%; 95% CI, 0.03%-0.43%). The 12-month prevalence of high-frequency use (≥200 days) also increased from 0.3% (95% CI, 0.19%-0.35%) in 2003 to 0.4% (95% CI, 0.31%-0.48%) in 2013 (absolute difference, 0.1%; 95% CI, 0.01%-0.29%). Mortality assessed by drug overdose death rates involving prescription opioids increased from 4.5 per 100 000 (95% CI, 4.42-4.61) in 2003 to 7.8 per 100 000 (95% CI, 7.64-7.89) in 2013 (absolute difference, 3.3; 95% CI, 3.09-3.41) among adults aged 18 through 64 years. The mean number of days of nonmedical use of prescription opioids increased from 2.1 (95% CI, 1.83-2.37) in 2003 to 2.6 (95% CI, 2.27-2.85) in 2013 (absolute difference, 0.5, 95% CI, 0.05-0.86). The model-adjusted prevalence of having prescription opioid use disorders among nonmedical users increased to 15.7% (95% CI, 13.87%-17.67%) in 2010, 16.1% (95% CI, 14.36%-17.99%) in 2011, 17.0% (95% CI, 15.07%-19.12%) in 2012, and 16.9% (95% CI, 14.95%-19.03%) in 2013 from 12.7% (95% CI, 11.04%-14.53%) in 2003. Conclusions and Relevance During the 2003-2013 years, among adults aged 18 through 64 years, the percentage of nonmedical use of prescription opioids decreased. In contrast, the prevalence of prescription opioid use disorders, frequency of use, and related mortality increased.
Effect of crowding and litter size on several behaviors of white rats.

Rats from litters of 4, 7, or 11 were placed 1, 2, 3, or 4/cage till 60 days old. Litters of four were less active in an activity wheel than litters of 7 and 11 (p < .05) and females were more active than males (p < .01). Neither cage density nor litter size affected time to begin eating. Although main effects were not demonstrated in a brightness discrimination, there was a cage × sex interaction. Males housed 1/cage were slower to learn than multiply caged Ss. Possible interpretations are facilitative effects of crowding, increased incentive value of food due to home-cage competition for food, or increased activity need generated by crowded living conditions.