cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chlorhexidine Showers are Associated With a Reduction in Surgical Site Infection Following Spine Surgery: An Analysis of 4266 Consecutive Surgeries.

Background Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common complication following spinal surgery. Prevention is critical to maintaining safe patient care and reducing additional costs associated with treatment. Objective To determine the efficacy of preoperative chlorhexidine (CHG) showers on SSI rates following fusion and nonfusion spine surgery. Methods A mandatory preoperative CHG shower protocol was implemented at our institution in November 2013. A cohort comparison of 4266 consecutive patients assessed differences in SSI rates for the pre- and postimplementation periods. Subgroup analysis was performed on the type of spinal surgery (eg, fusion vs nonfusion). Data represent all spine surgeries performed between April 2012 and April 2016. Results The overall mean SSI rate was 0.4%. There was no significant difference between the pre- (0.7%) and postimplementation periods (0.2%; P = .08). Subgroup analysis stratified by procedure type showed that the SSI rate for the nonfusion patients was significantly lower in the post- (0.1%) than the preimplementation group (0.7%; P = .02). There was no significant difference between SSI rates for the pre- (0.8%) and postimplementation groups (0.3%) for the fusion cohort (P = .21). In multivariate analysis, the implementation of preoperative CHG showers were associated with significantly decreased odds of SSI (odds ratio = 0.15, 95% confidence interval [0.03-0.55], P Conclusion This is the largest study investigating the efficacy of preoperative CHG showers on SSI following spinal surgery. In adjusted multivariate analysis, CHG showering was associated with a significant decrease in SSI following spinal surgery.
Hierarchical-Caching Based Statistical QoS Provisioning Over 5G Multimedia Big-Data Mobile Wireless Networks

As one of essential techniques to support the multimedia transmissions over the fifth generation (5G) mobile wireless networks, the statistical quality of service (QoS) provisioning has been proved to be effective in statistically guaranteeing time sensitive video transmission over time-varying wireless channels. But, how to efficiently design and implement statistical QoS provisioning enabled wireless network remains as the open challenging problem. To overcome these challenges, in this paper we propose the hierarchical-caching architecture to efficiently implement the statistical QoS guarantees in 5G wireless networks, which cooperatively caches the popular multimedia data contents at different wireless network caching tiers, efficiently trading the widely available storage resources for precious wireless bandwidth resources. However, the hierarchical caching scheme imposes the multi-hop wireless link statistical delay-bounded QoS provisioning problem when the requested multimedia data contents are fetched across tiers. In particular, we develop two hierarchical caching schemes to adaptively cache the delay bounded multimedia data contents: (1) caching in mobile users, which yields the single-hop wireless transmission and (2) caching in routers, which yields the tandem two-hop wireless transmission. To maximize the average effective capacity when cached data contents dynamically switch between these two schemes, we apply the Markov chain model to derive the optimal departure rates for data contents leaving cacheable mobile users and routers, respectively. U sing these two departure rates, we develop the optimal caching schemes in terms of the probability distribution of how long to cache the data contents and the probability of where to cache the data contents. Finally, we evaluate and validate these two optimized caching schemes through numerical analyses.
O3BNN: an out-of-order architecture for high-performance binarized neural network inference with fine-grained pruning

Binarized Neural Networks (BNN) have drawn tremendous attention due to significantly reduced computational complexity and memory demand. They have especially shown great potential in cost- and power-restricted domains, such as IoT and smart edge-devices, where reaching a certain accuracy bar is often sufficient, and real-time is highly desired. In this work, we demonstrate that the highly-condensed BNN model can be shrunk significantly further by dynamically pruning irregular redundant edges. Based on two new observations on BNN-specific properties, an out-of-order (OoO) architecture - O3BNN, can curtail edge evaluation in cases where the binary output of a neuron can be determined early. Similar to Instruction-Level-Parallelism (ILP), these fine-grained, irregular, runtime pruning opportunities are traditionally presumed to be difficult to exploit. We evaluate our design on an FPGA platform using three well-known networks, including VggNet-16, AlexNet for ImageNet, and a VGG-like network for Cifar-10. Results show that the out-of-order approach can prune 27%, 16%, and 42% of the operations for the three networks respectively, without any accuracy loss, leading to at least 1.7×, 1.5×, and 2.1× speedups over state-of-the-art BNN implementations on FPGA/GPU/CPU. Since the approach is inference runtime pruning, no retraining or fine-tuning is needed. We demonstrate the design on an FPGA platform; however, this is only for showcasing the method: the approach does not rely on any FPGA-specific features and can thus be adopted by other devices as well.
Effective computation of traces, determinants, and ζ-functions for Sturm–Liouville operators

Abstract The principal aim in this paper is to develop an effective and unified approach to the computation of traces of resolvents (and resolvent differences), Fredholm determinants, ζ - functions, and ζ -function regularized determinants associated with linear operators in a Hilbert space. In particular, we detail the connection between Fredholm and ζ -function regularized determinants. Concrete applications of our formalism to general (i.e., three-coefficient) regular Sturm–Liouville operators on bounded intervals with various (separated and coupled) boundary conditions, and Schrodinger operators on a half-line, are provided and further illustrated with an array of examples.
Femininity Perceptions of Cross-ethnic Forenames: A Comparative Analysis of Latina and European American Women

ABSTRACTResearch shows a tendency to ascribe high importance to the gender associations of a forename. To examine community-specific conceptions of gender as well as how groups position themselves ...
Evaluating Policy Effects in the Treatment of Lumbar Fusion

Procedure rates and costs for lumbar fusion are increasing, especially for age-related pathology such as spondylolisthesis. The high cost and wide geographic variation makes fusion a common target for state and national payment reforms. The effects of such policy are best understood by summarizing state and national discharge databases, such as the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) and select State Inpatient Databases (SID) made available by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which include diagnosis and procedure codes. Specific state and insurer programs have halted reimbursement for less certain indications, resulting in decreased utilization and costs. Other initiatives have gone as far as profiling individual surgeons and denying reimbursement to surgeons who they believe provide low-quality care. At a national level, Medicare has attempted to guide practice patterns through their bundled payment programs, even though early findings for spinal fusion suggest that these reforms do not appear to have meaningful impacts on utilization or reimbursement. Other factors, including published evidence, public pressure, and legal investigations, can impact utilization in spine surgery, exemplified by the decrease in use of bone morphogenetic protein-2 following FDA public health notification and deep scrutiny. Quantifying the value of spine surgery requires assessing quality as well as incidence and cost. However, ascertaining meaningful quality measures through the collection of patient-reported outcomes has proven challenging and difficult to fairly compare between hospitals and providers. Modifying patterns of reimbursement and analyzing of the effects of these policies are necessary steps toward improving the value of spinal care.
High-efficiency electrochemical hydrodeoxygenation of bio-phenols to hydrocarbon fuels by a superacid-noble metal particle dual-catalyst system

Electrocatalytic hydrogenation (ECH) provides a “green” route to upgrade oxygenated bio-oil under mild conditions, but is still challenged with the issues of low working current density ( 99% for many chemicals) and high working current density (up to 800 mA cm−2) in the hydrogenation of model bio-oil compounds. More importantly, efficient deoxygenation to alkanes, often thought to be very difficult in conventional ECH, was achieved in the aqueous electrolysis. The dual-catalyst system consists of a suspended noble-metal catalyst and soluble polyoxometalate (POM). The theoretical calculations indicate that the POM functions as a superacid, changing the common hydrogenation route to a carbocation mechanism and resulting in effective electrolytic deoxygenation of oxygenates. Because no current flows through the catalyst, even a non-conductive catalyst can be used, which provides a great opportunity for extension to general applications.
Tunable traveling wave properties in one-dimensional chains composed from hollow cylinders: From compression to rarefaction waves

Abstract We report a hollow cylindrical granular system supporting highly tunable compression and rarefaction waves by varying particle thickness ratios. Soliton-like and mitigating waves are observed in the proposed granular chain with strain hardening and softening contact behaviors, respectively. Moreover, validated finite element (FE) models describing the contact behaviors and wave dynamics are adopted and specific relation between the contact behavior (i.e., nonlinear exponent) and geometric parameter (i.e., thickness ratio) is analyzed. The tunability of a one-dimensional hollow cylindrical granular chain by carrying out parametric studies for governing factors is demonstrated, including the impact velocity, impactor-to-particle mass ratio, particle thickness ratio, and particle number. An optimal impact mitigating efficiency can be obtained within a quite short chain, which is exceedingly favorable for the design and construction of impact mitigation systems. Results provide a novel design and methodology for various wave tuning and mitigation purposes.
Associations of Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Television Viewing with Life Expectancy Cancer-Free at Age 50: The ARIC Study

Background: Physical activity has been associated with longer chronic disease–free life expectancy, but specific cancer types have not been investigated. We examined whether leisure-time moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (LTPA) and television (TV) viewing were associated with life expectancy cancer-free. Methods: We included 14,508 participants without a cancer history from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. We used multistate survival models to separately examine associations of LTPA (no LTPA, Results: Compared with no LTPA, participants who engaged in LTPA ≥median had a greater life expectancy cancer-free from colorectal [men-2.2 years (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.7–2.7), women-2.3 years (95% CI, 1.7–2.8)], lung [men-2.1 years (95% CI, 1.5–2.6), women-2.1 years (95% CI, 1.6–2.7)], prostate [1.5 years (95% CI, 0.8–2.2)], and postmenopausal breast cancer [2.4 years (95% CI, 1.4–3.3)]. Compared with watching TV often/very often, participants who seldom/never watched TV had a greater colorectal, lung, and postmenopausal breast cancer-free life expectancy of ∼1 year. Conclusions: Participating in LTPA was associated with longer life expectancy cancer-free from colorectal, lung, prostate, and postmenopausal breast cancer. Viewing less TV was associated with more years lived cancer-free from colorectal, lung, and postmenopausal breast cancer. Impact: Increasing physical activity and reducing TV viewing may extend the number of years lived cancer-free.
Abstract PO-063: Regulatory T cells regulate fibroblast differentiation during pancreatic carcinogenesis

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is characterized by an extensive fibrotic stroma, which includes vascular elements, infiltrating immune cells, extracellular matrix and a large number of fibroblasts. The tumor microenvironment as a whole has been believed to be immunosuppressive. However, how different cell populations within the stroma contribute to the establishment of the immunosuppression is not fully understood. We sought to investigate the crosstalk between cancer cells, fibroblasts and immune cells within pancreatic cancer with the goal to identify novel targets for PDA treatment. Targeting regulatory T cell (Treg), which acts to suppress immune responses, is considered as one potential approach to relieve the immunosuppression of pancreatic cancer. However, we previously showed that Treg depletion in a genetically engineered mouse model of pancreatic cancer (KC;Foxp3DTR) failed to relieve immunosuppression and led to accelerated tumor progression. We discovered that Treg depletion reprogramed the fibroblast population, with loss of tumor-restraining, smooth muscle actin-expressing fibroblasts. Conversely, Treg depletion resulted in differentiation of inflammatory fibroblast subsets with an increase in chemokines Ccl3, Ccl6, and Ccl8. To fully understand the contribution of Tregs to pancreatic carcinogenesis, we performed single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) with Pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) from KC mouse and Treg depleted PanIN lesions from KC;Foxp3DTR mouse. scRNA-seq allows us to address cell type identification and heterogeneity of cell responses by unsupervised clustering, which uncovered dramatic differences in several stromal cell populations including fibroblast, CD4 T cell and macrophage subsets between the KC and KC;Foxp3DTR pancreata. We have expanded list of genes that are regulated in tumor associated fibroblasts upon Treg depletion through scRNA-seq. For example, Il33 was one of down-regulated genes in fibroblasts upon Treg depletion. We also obtained potential ligands/receptors interactions between tumor cells, fibroblasts and immune cells through interactome analysis. Our data describe an unexpected crosstalk between Tregs and fibroblasts and point to new mechanisms regulating fibroblast differentiation in pancreatic cancer. Citation Format: Yaqing Zhang, Katelyn L. Donahue, Wei Yan, Zeribe C. Nwosu, Kristee L. Brown, Sion Yang, Howard C. Crawford, Costas A. Lyssiotis, Timothy L. Frankel, Filip Bednar, Marina Pasca di Magliano. Regulatory T cells regulate fibroblast differentiation during pancreatic carcinogenesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2020 Sep 29-30. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(22 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-063.
Tsunami evacuation risk assessment and probabilistic sensitivity analysis using augmented sample-based approach

Abstract Tsunami evacuation is an effective way to save lives from the near-field earthquake-induced tsunami. To accurately assess tsunami evacuation risk, various uncertainties in evacuation need to be considered. For risk mitigation, it is also important to identify critical parameters (or risk factors) that contribute more to the evacuation risk to guide more effective tsunami evacuation. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis can be used for the latter. However, both risk assessment and sensitivity analysis require a large number of model evaluations and entail significant computational challenges, especially for the expensive evacuation model. This paper proposes an efficient augmented sample-based approach to address the above challenges. It only requires one set of samples/simulations (hence the high efficiency) to estimate the evacuation risk and calculate the sensitivity measures for all uncertain parameters. The approach is applied to estimate the tsunami evacuation risk for Seaside, Oregon, where a novel agent-based tsunami evacuation model is used to simulate the evacuation process more realistically. Various uncertainties in the evacuation process are explicitly quantified by properly selected probability distribution models. Besides the evacuation risk, critical risk factors are identified using probabilistic sensitivity analysis. The results provide important insights on tsunami evacuation and critical information for guiding effective evacuation risk mitigation.
National Identity and National Interests of the Russian Elites, 2012-2016

Since the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, Russian-Western relations have experienced rapid deterioration, as exhibited by mounting ideological resentments, new Cold War-style rhetoric flowing from both sides, increasing geopolitical confrontation, and greater potential risks associated with future military escalation. The West's growing anxiety over Russia's revised geopolitical ambitions to redraw spheres of influence, on the one hand, and Russia's retaliatory policies, on the other, exacerbates the importance of the study of factors affecting the perception of national interests by Russian elites. This paper offers a conceptual model which links the effects of national identity and the perceptions of both the scope and vector of national interests. The concept of national identity in this study is comprised of such factors as Patriotism, Nationalism, Militarism, External, Internal and Historical Other. The conceptual model is tested using the Bayesian Structural Equation Model by drawing the data from the Survey of Russian Elites: 1993-2016.
TH-CD-210-02: Advances in SPECT, SPECT/CT and PET/CT for Cardiology

There have been significant recent advances in SPECT/CT and PET/CT for Oncology and Cardiology. In oncologic imaging, some commercial SPECT/CT systems now output quantitative uptake values; calibration and calculation of these quantitative uptake values will be discussed. Advances in PET detector design and PET data acquisition modes that have implemented in commercial PET/CT systems will be presented. Innovations in iterative reconstruction of SPECT/CT and PET/CT will also be described. In cardiac imaging, novel collimator designs, such as multi-pinhole and locally focusing collimators arranged in geometries that are optimized for cardiac imaging have been implemented to reduce imaging time and radiation dose. These new collimators have been coupled with solid-state photon detectors. The new SPECT scanners demonstrate up to a 7-fold increase in photon sensitivity and up to 2 times improvement in image resolution. Although PET scanners are used primarily for oncological imaging, cardiac imaging can benefit from the improved PET sensitivity of 3D systems without inter-plane septa and implementation of the time-of-flight reconstruction. Additionally, all major PET vendors now implement resolution recovery techniques. These new methods improve image contrast, image resolution, and reduce image noise for cardiac imaging. New quantification techniques have been proposed for analysis of cardiac SPECT and PET images. These include direct change analysis, motion-frozen analysis, hybrid quantification of SPECT and anatomical CT angiography data, and integration of several quantitative parameters in composite scores. Learning Objectives: 1. To discuss clinical implementation of commercial quantitative SPECT/CT systems 2. To describe advances in PET detector design and data acquisition 3. To report on innovations in iterative reconstruction of SPECT/CT and PET/CT 1. 4 Describe novel hardware designed for cardiac SPECT 4. Understand how recent hardware advances in PET/CT are relevant to cardiology 5. Describe new software techniques for quantification of cardiac SPECT and PET
Utilization of cardiac troponin assays in adult and pediatric populations: Guideline recommendations vs. reality.

Abstract Objectives We hypothesized significant gaps remained for cardiac troponin (cTn) utilization in the United States, despite an emerging evidence base and guideline recommendations. We tested this hypothesis and investigated differences and trends between the use of cTn in adult versus pediatric hospitals. Design and methods Individuals were identified by a targeted distribution through personal contact and professional society email lists. Participants completed an online survey (Qualtrics) from 07/15/13 to 07/26/13. The 31-item questionnaire used skipped logic and collected data about the respondent and their institutional cTn clinical practices. Data tabulation and analysis were conducted using Qualtrics and Microsoft Excel. Results A total of 159 unique laboratories responded to the survey, representing primarily adult (81%) versus pediatric (19%) institutions. 59% of laboratories utilize the guideline recommended 99th percentile as the upper reference limit (URL) for cTn, with large variability in reporting practices among users of the same assay. 73% of laboratories reported simultaneous ordering of other cardiac biomarkers with cTn, a majority which included CK-MB. Interpretive comments were used with cTn in 71 laboratories with a significant amount of heterogeneity. Pediatric hospitals reported a lower frequency of cTn orders and were less likely to consider elevated cTn a critical value. Conclusions Gaps in current utilization and reporting of cTn exist, along with practices inconsistent with clinical guideline recommendations. Implementation of the 99th percentile and serial sampling protocols will be critical to adoption of high-sensitivity cTn assays. Differences in chest pain etiology are the most likely reason for the notable differences between cTn use in adults versus pediatric hospitals.
Interaction between nitric oxide and oxygen radicals in regulation of tubuloglomerular feedback

NADPH oxidase, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and cyclooxygenase are oxidases that are expressed in the juxtaglomerular apparatus (JGA) or blood vessels and can generate oxygen radicals (O 2 ) during partial reduction of molecular oxygen. O 2 interacts rapidly and irreversibly with nitric oxide (NO) to yield peroxynitrite (ONOO - ), thereby restricting the half-life, diffusion distance and bioactivity of NO in tissues. NO generated by a neuronal (n) NOS isoform that is heavily expressed in macula densa (MD) cells, is generated during NaCI reabsorption at the MD and blunts the expression of the tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) response. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that O 2 - formed in the JGA of the normal rat limits NO signalling. Tempol is a membrane-permeable superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic. Maximal TGF responses were assessed from the fall in proximal stop flow pressure during orthograde perfusion of artificial tubular fluid (ATF) into the loop of Henle. Microperfusion of tempol (10 -4 M) into the efferent arteriole (EA) of Wistar-Kyoto rats blunted maximal TGF response (8.2 ± 0.4 vs. 6.4 ± 0.4 mmHg; n = 8; P < 0.05). Graded doses of the NO donor compound, S-nitroso-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP; 10 -7 -10 -4 M) microperfused into the lumen of the MD produces graded buffering of TGF During EA microperfusion of tempol responses to luminal SNAP at 10 -6 M and greater were enhanced significantly (P < 0.05 or <0.01). In conclusion, O 2 - generated in the JGA can be metabolized by a membrane-permeable SOD mimetic. O 2 enhances the basal TGF response and limits NO signalling from the macula densa. Therefore, O 2 and NO interact in the JGA to modulate the TGF response.
Effect of evaporative deposition angle on anisotropy in Co-MgF 2 nanocomposite soft magnetic materials

In this paper, we report strong anisotropy found in films deposited by co-evaporation of Co and MgF/sub 2/ with no magnetic field applied during deposition. M-H loop was measured in perpendicular direction of the sample, deposited without a magnetic field applied during deposition and TEM image of the sample also obtained.
Attack, solution and verification for shared authorisation data in TCG TPM

The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is a hardware chip designed to enable computers to achieve greater security. Proof of possession of authorisation values known as authdata is required by user processes in order to use TPM keys. If a group of users are to be authorised to use a key, then the authdata for the key may be shared among them. We show that sharing authdata between users allows a TPM impersonation attack, which enables an attacker to completely usurp the secure storage of the TPM. The TPM has a notion of encrypted transport session, but it does not fully solve the problem we identify. We propose a new authorisation protocol for the TPM, which we call Session Key Authorisation Protocol (SKAP). It generalises and replaces the existing authorisation protocols (OIAP and OSAP). It allows authdata to be shared without the possibility of the impersonation attack, and it solves some other problems associated with OIAP and OSAP. We analyse the old and the new protocols using ProVerif. Authentication and secrecy properties (which fail for the old protocols) are proved to hold of SKAP.
Leadership & Character at the United States Air Force Academy

The military has a distinctive national reputation for the competence and personal and professional character of its leaders. The vision and mission of the Air Force Academy substantively support sustaining this reputation by developing leaders of character prepared to lead the nation. To execute its mission, this Academy carefully combines the teaching of leadership and character with practice, and promotes a synergy between education and practice and the domains of leadership and character across a 47-month experience. This requires a deliberate effort across mission elements, with this joint effort serving identified institutional outcomes that require both strong character and leadership competencies. The processes involved in leadership and character development are described.
Price policy and returns to soil conservation in semi-arid Kenya

This paper develops an approach that uses relatively easily-available data to examine empirically how policy-induced price changes affect the incentives of farmers in developing countries to adopt soil conservation measures. The model shows that there is no simple relationship between price distortions created by government policies and farmers' incentives to adopt conservation measures. Policy-induced price changes could lead to either more or less conservation, depending on site-specific conditions. Data from a semi-arid region in Kenya are used to illustrate the magnitude and direction of changes in price policy on returns to terracing and to show how results are affected by the nature of the conservation technology. In the study area, higher commodity prices increase incentives to adopt conservation measures on steep slopes, but lower them on shallower slopes. If terraces were to require more land to be taken out of production than assumed in the calculations, higher commodity prices would tend to discourage farmers from adopting them.
The Dimensions of the Hospitality Industry: An Introduction

(1994). The Dimensions of the Hospitality Industry: An Introduction. Hospitality & Tourism Educator: Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 81-81.
Jury Decision Making

The jury is generally a competent decision making body, rendering decisions that vary appropriately with the strength of evidence. Researchers have studied juries through mathematical modeling, using social psychological theory, and using explanation-based models to understand the deliberation and individual juror decision-making processes. In addition, researchers have examined how jurors evaluate individual pieces of evidence, finding that they may inaccurately evaluate evidence or can be influenced by extraevidentiary factors in decision making. Reforming the structure of the jury to increase their impartiality or aid their memories may help improve the quality of the jury's decision. Keywords: group processes; judgment and decision-making; social influence; social judgment; decision making
Photoionization efficiency studies of some simple inorganic molecules

High resolution (0.14 8 FWHM) photoionization efficiency (PIE) data for HgClg have been obtained in the region 730-1100 X using an oven-type supersonic beam source. The ionization energies of the spin-orbit states and were determined to be 11.380+0.003 and 11.505±0.003 eV, respectively. The major fragment ions observed in the region 600-1300 X are HgCl*, Hg^ and Cl^ having appearance energies of £ 11.041, 12.594+0.018, and 16.721±0.032 eV, respectively. The latter value allows the calculation of the bond dissociation energy for HgCl to be 21.1+2.2 kcal/mol. This study further revealed members of autoionizing Rydberg series converging to the ^0^.5^2 ^^^+3/2 ±1/2 states of 16.715+0.003 and 18.65 eV, respectively, which exhibit highly asymmetric Beutler-Fano line profiles. The comparison of the PIE curve for Hg^ from Hg and those for HgClg and its fragments unambiguously shows that autoionizing Rydberg series resolved in this study can be assigned to transitions [(5d)^° -+ C(5d)®0gW»TTg'» =0^5/2] "P and CfSd)^» [(5d)90g2ay ^^u^^g* ^0+3/2 +1/2^ np, n > 6, which are mainly associated with the mercury atom in HgClg.
Middle school-aged child enjoyment of food tastings predicted interest in nutrition education on osteoporosis prevention.

BACKGROUND: NEEDs for Bones (NFB), based on the Health Belief Model, is a 4-lesson osteoporosis-prevention curriculum for 11- to 14-year-olds. This study examined the relationship between enjoyment of food tastings and interest in NFB. METHODS: NFB was administered by teachers as part of standard practice and evaluated after the fourth lesson using a 21-item survey. Significant clustering of students within classrooms required use of random-intercept multilevel ordinal regression models in SAS proc GLIMMIX, with students nested within classrooms. Analyses considered tasting experience, eating attitudes, sex, grade, and cohort. RESULTS: Students (N = 1619; 50% girls) participated from 85 fourth to eighth grade classrooms (47% sixth grade and 31% seventh grade) in 16 Pennsylvania SNAP-Ed eligible schools over 2 academic years. For all foods tasted, students who did not enjoy the food tasting were less interested in the lesson than students who did enjoy the food tasting (all p < .001); refried beans (odds ratio [OR] = 0.30), soy milk (OR = 0.55), cranapple juice (OR = 0.51), sunflower kernels (OR = 0.48), and Swiss cheese (OR = 0.49). The relationship persisted net of covariates.
Use of data envelopment analysis for product recovery

The latest enhancements in industrial technologies, especially the ones in electronics industry, have provided organizations with the ability to manufacture faster and more economical products. This fact, coupled with the growing interest and demand for the latest technology, have led electronic equipment manufacturers to start producing "hightech" and "personalized" products at an increasing rate. This has led to a high rate of obsolescence for electronic products worldwide, even though the majority of these "obsolete" products still function. In this paper, we investigate a product recovery facility where the end-of-life (EOL) products are taken back from the last users and are brought into the facility for processing. We assume that there are multiple types of EOL products and that a combination of these can be disassembled to provide for a sufficient number of demanded components and materials. We then present a data envelopment analysis (DEA) algorithm to determine the number and types of the EOL products that will be required to fulfill the demand. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the functionality of the methodology.© (2004) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Experimental hepatomas: dehydrogenation of reduced pyridine nucleotides by the D-T diaphorase.

SummaryMajor differences were observed in the dehydrogenation of reduced pyridine nucleotides when experimental transplantable hepatomas were compared with livers of control animals and livers of tumor-bearing animals. The enzymatic activity of the D-T diaphorase was increased almost fivefold in the hepatomas. The same increase in enzymatic activity was observed in one slowly growing and one rapidly growing Morris hepatoma. The possible functional significance of these findings is discussed.
Two proposed general configurations for bacterial cell wall peptidoglycans shown by space-filling molecular models.

Bacterial cell wall peptidoglycans are built from unbranched β-(1 → 4)-linked glycan chains composed of alternately repeating units of N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid residues, with peptide side chains attached to the muramic acid residues. The glycan chains are interconnected by peptide bonds formed between the peptide side chains. Through the use of three-dimensional molecular models, two configurations of the glycan strands and the peptide side chains are described, which by their constancy of form reflect the fundamental constancies of the covalent structures. Each of these two models will accommodate any chemical modification that has been observed in bacteria without change in the configuration of the peptide backbone. Some alterations in the chemical structure, which have been sought in bacteria, but not found, would not be tolerated by the models. In these models, glycan strands are parallel, with their lengths and widths predominantly in the plane of the cell wall. The cross-bridging portions of the peptide side chains are at right angles to the glycan strand, in a separate, parallel plane. A compact model is presented in which the peptide side chain is closely appressed to the glycan strand and is stabilized by three hydrogen bonds per disaccharide–peptide subunit. In a second model, the peptide side chain is raised away from the glycan strand in an entirely extended configuration. The compact and extended forms are interconvertible. The thickness of a sheet of peptidoglycan would be from 10.6 to 11.1 A for the compact model, and 19.1 A for the extended model.
Britain and the supergun

The controversy over the case of the Iraqui “Supergun” project, and over the possible role of British firms in supplying parts for its construction, was major news in 1990, and again in the year and a half following the Gulf War. It led to considerable new coverage, and to an investigation by a Department of Trade and Industry committee into the conduct of industrial firms, and of the officials who monitor arms-related exports. While many have concluded that the supergun affair primarily reflected administrative overload or incompetence, and while the official investigation took a narrow view of the major issues involved, closer scrutiny shows complex dealings among governments, businesses, and well-connected individuals. A full understanding of the supergun affair is only now beginning to emerge.
The mobile phone as a link to formal financial services: findings from Uganda

Mobile Banking has been touted as revolutionary in the developing world with its capacity to extend financial services access to the unbanked. However, the scope of the financial services offered on the mobile backbone has been at best optimistic and under-developed, spanning typically microtransfer, micropayment and remittance services. As the literature continues to exhort the benefits of long-term, reliable and easy access to formal financial services (especially savings and loan instruments) in combating poverty, the Mobile Banking landscape finds itself in a state of flux. Innovative ventures are being tested around the globe to develop Mobile Banking services to include savings accrual, loan approval and insurance facilities; however whether or not the infrastructure is able to accommodate more inclusive financial services and products is certainly the question of the hour. This paper will present the findings from a three month pilot that was conducted in Uganda to test a Mobile Banking solution that targeted the dissemination of formal financial services, especially savings facilities, to unserved populations by re-appropriating an existing technological platform (mobile phones) and leveraging a non-traditional service provider (bank on wheels). To this end, a preliminary prototype was launched at eight different sites to test its viability. The inception design was constantly monitored and subsequently redesigned. In this manner, the design activity becomes the pivot of the study. The end goal of the pilot was to present a final transformational design to the project partners for consideration for a full-scale, commercial launch.
Effect of calcium phosphate supplementation on blood pressure in the wistar rat

Abstract Normal rats reared on a Chow ® diet supplemented with high levels of Ca generally have lower systolic blood pressure (SBP) at maturity. In order to determine the minimum level of dietary Ca required for this effect, we evaluated the results on SBP in the Wistar rat of supplementing the AIN-76 diet with various amounts of CaHPO 4 . Four groups of nine five-week old male Wistar rats were fed ad libitum for 12 weeks the AIN-76 semi-purified diet either unsupplemented (0.5% Ca, control diet) or supplemented to 1.0% (Diet A), 1.4% (Diet B), or 2.2% Ca (Diet C) with CaHPO 4 . A similar group of five rats was fed Rat Chow ® ad libitum. Food consumption and growth rates were similar in all groups consuming the defined diets. SBP was measured indirectly by the tail cuff method biweekly for nine weeks and weekly thereafter. Analysis of variance by repeated measures indicated a significant effect of CaHPO 4 supplementation upon SBP. The weekly mean SBP differed only at the 12th week. Pooled SBP data from groups eating Diets B and C were significantly lower than those of other groups on four of the seven occasions on which blood pressure measurements were taken after the rats had attained their adult SBP levels. The data indicate that Ca supplementation exerts a hypotensive effect at relatively low levels and that this effect is not dependent upon depletion of body PO 4
Dielectric relaxation of paired defects in perovskite-type oxides

Abstract A number of Debye-type dielectric relaxation peaks have been observed for acceptor-doped KTaO3 and CaTiO3, both of which have the perovskite structure. In the case of KTaO3, the dopants are divalent and trivalent cations of the iron group, while CaTuO3 is doped with Al3+. These peaks occur at relatively low temperatures and have activation energies in the range 0.1–0.4 eV, much lower than the activation energy for the conductivity. They are attributed to M-Vo pairs, where M represents the dopant ion and Vo the oxygen ion vacancy. The possibility that the peaks are due to partial reorientation of the pairs in “off-center” configurations is ruled out by electron paramagnetic resonance work on Mn-doped KTaO3 by Geifman and coworkers (I.P. Bykov, I.N. Geifman, M.D. Glinchuk and B.K. Krulikovskii, Sov. Phys. Solid State, 22 (1980) 1248). They must therefore be due to full reorientation, and possible reasons for the low activation energy are discussed. A study of the peak heights shows that a large correction for internal field effects is necessary for KTaO3, but this correction is not nearly so large as that given by the Lorentz factor.
Structure sensitive factors in molecular cluster formation by ion bombardment of single crystal surfaces

Abstract The dynamics of molecular cluster formation from a solid bombarded by a 600 eV Ar + ion have been studied classically by computer simulation. The dimers and trimers are found to establish their identity as clusters within interaction range of the solid, but not by a direct ejection of a bound molecule. The Cu 2 /Cu and Cu 3 /Cu ratios are found to be strongly dependent on crystal orientation. The (111) face is 2–3 times more likely to produce multimers than the (100) face. We find 9 trimers from (111) but none from (110). The relationship between cluster composition and the original arrangement of those atoms on the surface is presented in detail. We find that each multimer forms from atoms that originate within a roughly circular region of area ∼70 A 2 or less. This region is not necessarily centered on the ion impact point. A consequence of this observation is that dimers can consist of atoms that were several Angstroms apart on the surface but that most trimers contain at least one nearest neighbor pair of atoms. The calculated energy distribution for the dimers matches well with similar experimental studies.
The effect of miscommunication rate on user response preferences

We report results from a small Wizard-of-Oz study investigating user responses to miscommunications in speech dialogue systems. We explore the separate and joint effects of miscommunication rate and system response to miscommunications on the likelihood that users choose to resort to direct manipulation, to repeat, or to rephrase. While we predicted that users would be more likely to resort to direct manipulation as miscommunication rate increased, our surprising finding was that users were most likely to resort to direct manipulation where communication success was least predictable, i.e., in the middle of the range, rather than at either extreme.
Regulation of CCAAT/Enhancer-binding Protein Homologous Protein (CHOP) Expression by Interleukin-1β in Pancreatic β Cells

Apoptosis contributes to immune-mediated pancreatic β cell destruction in type I diabetes. Exposure of β cells to interleukin-1β (IL-1β) causes endoplasmic reticulum stress and activates proapoptotic networks. Here, we show that nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways regulate the expression of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein homologous protein (CHOP), which mediates endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced apoptosis. Both CHOP mRNA and protein increase in β cells treated with IL-1β. In addition, prolonged exposure to high glucose further increases IL-1β-triggered CHOP expression. IL-1β also causes increased expression of C/EBP-β and a reduction of MafA, NFATc2, and Pdx-1 expression in β cells. Inhibition of the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways differentially attenuates CHOP expression. Knocking down CHOP by RNA interference protects β cells from IL-1β-induced apoptosis. These studies provide direct mechanistic links between cytokine-induced signaling pathways and CHOP-mediated apoptosis of β cells.
PAF and EZH2 Induce Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Hyperactivation

Fine control of Wnt signaling is essential for various cellular and developmental decision-making processes. However, deregulation of Wnt signaling leads to pathological consequences, one of which is cancer. Here, we identify a function of PAF, a component of translesion DNA synthesis, in modulating Wnt signaling. PAF is specifically overexpressed in colon cancer cells and intestinal stem cells and is required for colon cancer cell proliferation. In Xenopus laevis, ventrovegetal expression of PAF hyperactivates Wnt signaling, developing a secondary axis with β-catenin target gene upregulation. Upon Wnt signaling activation, PAF dissociates from PCNA and binds directly to β-catenin. Then, PAF recruits EZH2 to the β-catenin transcriptional complex and specifically enhances Wnt target gene transactivation, independently of EZH2's methyltransferase activity. In mice, conditional expression of PAF induces intestinal neoplasia via Wnt signaling hyperactivation. Our studies reveal an unexpected role of PAF in regulating Wnt signaling and propose a regulatory mechanism of Wnt signaling during tumorigenesis.
Electrochemical Model Based Fault Diagnosis of Li-Ion Battery Using Fuzzy Logic

There is a strong urge for advanced diagnosis method, especially in high power battery packs and high energy density cell design applications, such as electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid electric vehicle segment, due to safety concerns. Accurate and robust diagnosis methods are required in order to optimize battery charge utilization and improve EV range. Battery faults cause significant model parameter variation affecting battery internal states and output. This work is focused on developing diagnosis method to reliably detect various faults inside lithiumion cell using electrochemical model based observer and fuzzy logic algorithm, which is implementable in real-time. The internal states and outputs from battery plant model were compared against those from the electrochemical model based observer to generate the residuals. These residuals and states were further used in a fuzzy logic based residual evaluation algorithm in order to detect the battery faults. Simulation results show that the proposed methodology is able to detect various fault types including overcharge, over-discharge and aged battery quickly and reliably, thus providing an effective and accurate way of diagnosing Li-Ion battery faults.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN'S INTERMODAL AND INTRAMODAL AUDITORY-VISUAL MODE FUNCTIONING

Intermodal and intramodal development in the auditory and visual sensory modes within a temporal dimension were investigated by testing 90 male and 90 female children who ranged in age from 5 to 13 yr. Auditory and visual stimuli were presented by electronic means in a same-different matching task. Four separate conditions were investigated: auditory-auditory, visual-visual, auditory-visual, and visual-auditory. An analysis of variance was conducted for two main effects, age and modality. Post hoc analysis was conducted on efficiency of sensory input mode. Modality functioning increased as a function of age until age 13 yr. Intramodal functioning was significantly more efficient than intermodal functioning. Efficiency of input mode varied as a function of age, though both auditory and visual mode efficiency followed similar developmental trends. Intermodal and intramodal development appeared to follow similar trends, with a child's inter- and intramodal functioning becoming more similar after 10 yr. Resul...
In sleep lost, emotions become unrecognized: Commentary on Minkel et al.'s, "Emotional expressiveness in sleep-deprived healthy adults".

Emotions are powerful things. Not only do they modulate our cognition, but, perhaps more critically, they motivate our actions; and not just any actions—the most optimal actions. In other words, em...
Experiences of Muslims in Four Western Countries Post—9/11:

This qualitative study explored the experiences of 34 Muslim individuals in four Western countries to gain a better understanding of their experiences with prejudice and discrimination following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. An intersectional lens reveals the interlocking nature of identity, oppression, and privilege, and the findings provide insights into what helps affected individuals and communities be resilient in the face of persistent anti-Muslim sentiment. The social work profession is called on to take a leadership role in addressing the stigmatization of Muslims as a social justice issue and to take action to ameliorate its causes and consequences.
Stephen Morse on the Fundamental Psycho-Legal Error

Stephen Morse has long proclaimed there to be a “fundamental psycho-legal error” (FPLE) that is regularly made by legal and social/psychological/medical science academics alike. This is the error of thinking that causation of human choice by factors themselves outside the chooser’s control excuses that chooser from moral responsibility. In this paper, I examine Morse’s self-labelled “internalist” defense of his thesis that this is indeed an error, and finds such internalist defense incomplete; needed is the kind of externalist defense of Morse’s thesis that can only be provided by a worked-out compatibilist moral philosophy. The body of the paper outlines the kinds of compatibilisms that are plausible, contrasting them with two less plausible attempts to salvage responsibility in the face of an advancing neuroscientific determinism. These two less plausible rescue attempts, libertarianism and fictionalism, each seek to salvage responsibility even while not disavowing the FPLE.