cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The importance of redesigning approaches toward HIV knowledge and prevention in married Saudi Arabian women

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) began its public health response to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 1984. Since then, multiple studies of the epidemiology of transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in KSA have been published, and this has revealed that KSA, due to unique cultural features, has high-risk subpopulations that are different from those in other countries. An important high-risk population in KSA is married women, who are at risk from getting an STI from their husbands. Culturally appropriate and accessible public health prevention and treatment resources are available, but historically, the KSA public health response has focused on low-risk populations in KSA, and the measurement of HIV-related knowledge that is not applicable to this population. This paper argues that married women in KSA constitute a high risk group for contracting HIV, and that public health efforts in KSA should be directed toward better understanding how to reduce the HIV risk of married women in KSA through improved HIV prevention knowledges and practices.
The Significance of Information Provision and Content:: Libraries as Information Providers Instead of Format Collectors

The significance of information, the way it is provided, and the impact of its format are addressed. The advent of the electronic format has required libraries to regard themselves as information providers instead of format collectors. This analysis discusses how the issue of providing information transcends the traditional task of collecting it within an environment based on a work-oriented approach. The authors show that the quickest and most efficient way to incorporate provision and content is by using previously established practice and refining it to work with unfamiliar formats.
Phonon Shifts and Strains in Strained-Layer (Ga1−xInx)As

For thin (Ga1−xInx)As films on GaAs (100) substrates we have measured the phonon frequencies (Raman technique) and the strains (x-ray rocking curve technique). The films range from perfect epitaxial (the thinner films) to those that have relaxed by different amounts (thicker films). Using the measured strains and the phonon deformation constants, the strain-induced frequency shift was calculated for each sample. From the measurements and calculation, we find that the frequency shifts due to strain give equivalent bulk phonon frequencies that are in good agreement with each other. This indicates that the Raman technique can be used for in-situ monitoring of the growth process.
Diffusion barrier films for resin

The foregoing data and analysis indicate that an unusual leakage path may be involved in the three order of magnitude increase in the reverse current leakage of a semiconductor junction encapsulated in resin and subjected to high temperature and high humidity. The SiO2-resin interface apparently plays a key part in this leakage. Diffusion of water through the relatively thick resin is involved.
Barriers and Prompts to Parent-Child Sexual Communication

ABSTRACTOne key resource for improving sexual health outcomes for young people is parent-child sexual communication, but researchers have yet to explore what prompts these conversations, and detailed research into the barriers of these conversations is lacking. This study aims to explicate what prompts these conversations and what prevents them from happening more often. A nationally representative, random sample of U.S. mothers and fathers was surveyed (N = 186). Participants reported that thinking their child is too young, regardless of the child’s age, was a major communication barrier, while communication self-efficacy and perceived value in sexual communication were associated with more communication. Sexual communication was often prompted by the child, or the parent deciding the child was “old enough,” and was rarely prompted by a family member or healthcare provider. Implications for improving parent-child sexual communication are discussed.
Statements about climate researchers' carbon footprints affect their credibility and the impact of their advice

Would you follow advice about personal energy conservation from a climate specialist with a large carbon footprint? Many climate researchers report anecdotes in which their sincerity was challenged based on their alleged failure to reduce carbon emissions. Here, we report the results of two large online surveys that measure the perceived credibility of a climate researcher who provides advice on how to reduce energy use (by flying less, conserving home energy, and taking public transportation), as a function of that researcher’s personal carbon footprint description. Across the two studies, we randomly assigned participants to one of 18 vignettes about a climate scientist. We show that alleged large carbon footprints can greatly reduce the researcher’s credibility compared to low footprints. We also show that these differences in perceived credibility strongly affect participants’ reported intentions to change personal energy consumption. These effects are large, both for participants who believe climate change is important and for those who do not. Participants’ politics do affect their attitudes toward researchers, and have an extra effect on reported intentions to use public transportation (but not on intentions to fly less or conserve home energy). Credibility effects are similar for male and female climate scientists.
Calcium-to-Citrate Ratio Distinguishes Solitary and Recurrent Urinary Stone Forming Children.

Purpose: The prevalence of urinary stone disease is increasing in children. We previously reported a high rate of urinary metabolic abnormalities, including hypercalciuria and hypocitraturia, in stone forming children. In this study we determined whether calcium-to-citrate ratio could help predict those at risk for recurrent stone formation.Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study to assess calcium-to-citrate ratios in children with urolithiasis. Two 24-hour urine collections were performed. Urinary excretions of calcium and citrate were analyzed, and calcium-to-citrate ratio was calculated. Patients were stratified into solitary and recurrent stone formers and compared to a control group of normal children.Results: We identified 73 solitary and 92 recurrent stone formers. Mean patient age was 13 years for both groups. Gender was well matched. A total of 29 normal children served as controls. Mean calcium-to-citrate ratio was 0.41 in solitary stone formers and 0.64 in recurrent sto...
Binding Site Characterization of AM1336, a Novel Covalent Inverse Agonist at Human Cannabinoid 2 Receptor, Using Mass Spectrometric Analysis.

Cannabinoid 2 receptor (CB2R), a Class-A G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR), is a promising drug target under a wide array of pathological conditions. Rational drug design has been hindered due to our poor understanding of the structural features involved in ligand binding. Binding of a high-affinity biarylpyrazole inverse agonist AM1336 to a library of the human CB2 receptor (hCB2R) cysteine-substituted mutants provided indirect evidence that two cysteines in transmembrane helix-7 (H7) were critical for the covalent attachment. We used proteomics analysis of the hCB2R with bound AM1336 to directly identify peptides with covalently attached ligand and applied in silico modeling for visualization of the ligand–receptor interactions. The hCB2R, with affinity tags (FlaghCB2His6), was produced in a baculovirus–insect cell expression system and purified as a functional receptor using immunoaffinity chromatography. Using mass spectrometry-based bottom-up proteomic analysis of the hCB2R-AM1336, we identified a pe...
Design and analysis of solar devices in public places to help meet energy demand

As finite energy resources are rapidly depleting, the world desperately needs to rely on more renewable energy resources, such as solar energy. The research described hereafter designs and analyzes the use of solar cells in public places, in the form of a solar table, to assess whether their use and energy output justifies their cost for use in public environments. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop a suite of devices and applications whereby solar power can be a publicly accessible commodity and to increase the usage of solar power by testing particular instances where solar technology can make an impact. Finally, this research explores the possible future that small-scale solar devices and technologies have when distributed throughout our community as part of the solution to the increasing energy demand.
Emergency Department Management of Bronchiolitis in the United States.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine differences between general and pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) in adherence to the American Academy of Pediatrics bronchiolitis management guidelines.MethodsWe conducted a nationally representative study of ED visits by infants younger than 24 mo
A shear-enhanced CNT-assembly nanosensor platform for ultra-sensitive and selective protein detection

Detection and quantification of low-concentration proteins in heterogeneous media are generally plagued by two distinct obstacles: lack of sensitivity due to high dissociation equilibrium constant KD and non-specificity due to an abundance of non-targets with similar KD. Herein, we report a nanoscale protein-sensing platform with a non-equilibrium on-off switch that employs dielectrophoretic and hydrodynamic shear forces to overcome these thermodynamic limitations with irreversible kinetics. The detection sensitivity is achieved with complete association of the antibody-antigen-antibody (Ab-Ag-Ab) complex by precisely and rapidly assembling carbon nanotubes (CNT) across two parallel electrodes via sequential DC electrophoresis and AC dielectrophoresis (DEP), and with single-CNT electron tunneling conductance. The high selectivity is achieved with a critical hydrodynamic shear rate between the activated dissociation shear rates of target and non-target linkers of the aligned CNTs. We are able to reach detection limits of 100 attomolar (aM) and 10 femtomolar (fM) in pure samples for two ELISA assays with low and high dissociation constant: biotin/streptavidin (10 fM) and HER2/HER2 antibody (0.44 ± 0.07nM), respectively. For both models, irreversible capture and shearing allow us to tune the dynamic range up to 5 decades by increasing the CNT numbers. We also demonstrate in spiked serum sample high selectivity towards target HER2 proteins against non-target HER2 isoform of a similar KD. The detection limit for HER2 in serum is lower than 100fM.
Beta-arrestin 1 regulation of reward-motivated behaviors and glutamatergic function.

The two highly homologous non-visual arrestins, beta-arrestin 1 and 2, are ubiquitously expressed in the central nervous system, yet knowledge of their disparate roles is limited. While beta-arrestin 2 (βarr2) has been implicated in several aspects of reward-related learning and behavior, very little is known about the behavioral function of beta-arrestin 1 (βarr1). Using mice lacking βarr1, we focused on the role of this scaffolding and signal transduction protein in reward-motivated behaviors and in striatal glutamatergic function. We found that βarr1 KO mice were both slower in acquiring cocaine self-administration and in extinguishing this behavior. They also showed deficits in learning tasks supported by a natural food reward, suggesting a general alteration in reward processing. We then examined glutamatergic synaptic strength in WT and KO medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) shell in naive animals, and from those that underwent cocaine self-administration. An increase in the AMPA/NMDA (A/N) ratio and a relative lack of GluN2B-enriched NMDARs was found in naive KO vs WT MSNs. Applying Lim Domain Kinase (LIMK1), the kinase that phosphorylates and inactivates cofilin, to these cells, showed that both βarr1 and LIMK regulate the A/N ratio and GluN2B-NMDARs. Cocaine self-administration increased the A/N ratio and GluN2B-NMDARs in WT MSNs and, although the A/N ratio also increased in KO MSNs, this was accompanied by fewer GluN2B-NMDARs and an appearance of calcium-permeable AMPARs. Finally, to examine the consequences of reduced basal GluN2B-NMDARs in reward-processing seen in KO mice, we chronically infused ifenprodil, a GluN2B antagonist, into the NAc shell of WT mice. This intervention substantially reduced food-motivated behavior. Together these findings identify a previously unknown role of βarr1 in regulating specific reward-motivated behaviors and glutamatergic function.
Neuroestradiol in regulation of GnRH release.

Contribution to Special Issue on Fast effects of steroids. The concept that the positive feedback effect of ovarian estradiol (E2) results in GnRH and gonadotropin surges is a well-established principle. However, a series of studies investigating the rapid action of E2 in female rhesus monkeys has led to a new concept that neuroestradiol, synthesized and released in the hypothalamus, also contributes to regulation of the preovulatory GnRH surge. This unexpected finding started from our surprising observation that E2 induces rapid stimulatory action in GnRH neurons in vitro. Subsequently, we confirmed that a similar rapid stimulatory action of E2 occurs in vivo. Unlike subcutaneous injection of E2 benzoate (EB), a brief (10-20 min), direct infusion of EB into the median eminence in ovariectomized (OVX) female monkeys rapidly stimulates release of GnRH and E2 in a pulsatile manner, and the EB-induced GnRH and E2 release is blocked by simultaneous infusion of the aromatase inhibitor, letrozole. This suggests that stimulated release of E2 is of hypothalamic origin. To further determine the role of neuroestradiol we examined the effects of letrozole on EB-induced GnRH and LH surges in OVX females. Results indicate that letrozole treatment greatly attenuated the EB-induced GnRH and LH surges. Collectively, neuroestradiol released from the hypothalamus appears to be necessary for the positive feedback effect of E2 on the GnRH/LH surge.
A New Species of Mezium Curtis (Coleoptera: Ptinidae) from South Africa, with Notes on the Genus and Species Limits

A spider beetle, Mezium colossosetum Philips and Dickmann, new species, is described from the Western Cape, South Africa. We also propose the synonymy of Mezium namibiensis Belles with Mezium gracilicorne Pic and discuss the possibility of a second synonym within the genus. Documentation of the variation within M. gracilicorne is illustrated and discussed. All distribution records known for the species of Mezium Curtis are listed, and the origin of the genus is hypothesized based on both morphological and preliminary molecular data.
Breakdown-point for Spatially and Temporally Correlated Observations

In this paper, we implement a new definition of breakdown in both finite and asymptotic samples with correlated observations arising from spatial statistics and time series. In such situations, existing definitions typically fail because parameters can sometimes breakdown to zero, i.e. the center of the parameter space. The reason is that these definitions center around defining an explicit critical region for either the parameter or the objective function. If for a particular outlier constellation the critical region is entered, breakdown is said to occur. In contrast to the traditional approach, we use a definition that leaves the critical region implicit but still encompasses all previous definitions of breakdown in linear and nonlinear regression settings. We provide examples involving simultaneously specified spatial autoregressive models, as well as autoregressions from time series, for illustration. In particular, we show that in this context the least median of squares estimator has a breakdown-point much lower than the familiar 50%.
Heterogeneous quality in the international trade of wheat

This study analyzes the implications of heterogeneous quality in the international wheat market, and attempts to explain the decline in U.S. wheat exports between 1980-1986. Theoretical models are used to determine the effects of heterogeneous quality on the behavior of importers and exporters. Two approaches are used to model quality. The characteristic approach is used in Chapters Three, Four, and Five. Chapter Six is based on the assumption that importers have a reservation quality level or threshold. The former approach is adequate to investigate the effects of changes in characteristics such as the percentage of foreign material or dockage, while the latter approach better suits the specific nature of characteristics such as protein content;The effects of deterministic changes in quality and of quality uncertainty on consumption and production decisions are analyzed. When importers do not have full information about quality at the time of purchase, they use the reputation of the firm to make their decision. The reputation of the firm is modeled using two approaches. In addition, different types of trade barriers are compared when importers are assumed to have a reservation level of quality.
The Cordilleran Orogenic Belt

The Cordillera extends more or less continuously from Alaska to South America as one of the largest and most active mountain systems on Earth. It has undergone nearly continuous subduction and mountain building over the past 360 million years. Our goal in this chapter is to characterize and develop the structural framework of the Cordilleran system. We begin with a discussion of the major North American rock successions and then discuss various aspects of the Cordillera generally from east to west. Included is a discussion of the Sr I = 706 line, the late Paleozoic–Mesozoic truncation events, each of the five major orogenic events (the Antler, Sonoma, Nevadan, Sevier, and Laramide), and the building of the tectonic wedge.
Disclinations without gradients: A nonlocal model for topological defects in liquid crystals

Abstract Nematic liquid crystals composed of rod-like molecules have an orientational elasticity that accounts for the energetics of the molecular orientation. This elasticity can be described by a unit vector field; the unit vector constraint interacts with even fairly simple boundary conditions to cause disclination defects. Disclinations are entirely a topological consequence of the kinematic constraint, and occur irrespective of the particular energetic model. Because disclinations are topological defects, they cannot be regularized by adding higher gradients, as in phase-field models of interface defects. On the contrary, the higher gradient terms would cause even greater singularities in the energy. In this paper, we formulate an integral-based nonlocal regularized energy for nematic liquid crystals. Our model penalizes disclination cores and thereby enforces a finite width, while the integral regularization ensures that the defect core energy is bounded and finite. The regularization at the same time tends to the standard gradient-based energies away from the disclination, as well as building in the head-tail symmetry. We characterize the formulation in its ability to describe disclinations of various strengths, and then apply it to examine: (1) the stability and decomposition of various disclinations, and the competition between bend and splay energies in determining the relative stability of integer and half-integer disclinations (2) the coalescence of a + 1 2 and − 1 2 disclination pair; we find the disclinations do not move at the same velocities towards each other, suggesting that the asymmetry of the director field plays a dominant role despite the equal-and-opposite topological strengths of the disclinations.
Increasing Teacher Awareness of STEM Careers.

Teacher awareness of STEM careers impacts students as they consider career choices. Researchers examined the effects of teacher professional development and lesson implementation in integrated science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) on teacher awareness of STEM careers. Study subjects were high school science and engineering/technology teachers participating in a ten-day, 70-hour summer professional development institute (PROJECT NAME) designed to educate teachers in adopting an integrated STEM education model. The study used a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design that incorporated an experimental group and an untreated control group with both pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest assessments of non-randomized participants. Researchers analyzed changes in scores on the T-STEM survey of STEM career awareness using cumulative link mixed models (CLMM). STEM career awareness increased for teachers participating in professional development and the degree of change varied by group and assessment time.
The Continuing Power of Third Party Payer Businesses

In Chapter 7, we saw the enormous power and profit that can be gathered when online gateways operate as Mandatory Participation Third Party Payer Systems. We’ve seen how difficult it is for companies that become dependent upon these MP3PP gateways to escape their grasp or to limit what they pay to the gateway operators. In this chapter, we see that even the perfect efficiency and perfect transparency promised by the Internet do not limit the power of these MP3PPs. MP3PPs are even more powerful than they were before the net, because they are even larger. They are potentially even more dangerous. We see that even MP3PPs that initially appear safe, moderate, and temperate in their demands have the ability to become exploitive. And we explore one of the greatest sources of danger, which occurs when MP3PP gateway operators expand into additional lines of business, and use their control of a critical gateway to destroy competitors and limit consumers’ ability to choose. Online gateways add value for users, Party-1, which is why they are able to attract users. As MP3PP gateways become more valuable to users, their ability to charge Party-3 (sellers) increases, and they switch from value creation to value harvesting.
Radiographic Inference Based on a Model of V1 Simple Cells Implemented on the D-Wave 2X Quantum Annealing Computer

Just as the brain must infer 3D structure from 2D retinal images, radiologists are tasked with inferring 3D densities from 2D X-rays. Computer simulations suggest that V1 simple cells use lateral inhibition to generate sparse representations that are selective for 3D depth when presented with 2D stereo images and video. Analogously, we cast radiographic inference as a sparse coding problem employing lateral inhibition between binary neurons, resulting in a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO)problem suitable for implementation on a quantum annealing D-Wave 2X (1152-qubit)computer. We generated synthetic radiographs by performing discrete Abel transforms on mathematically-defined objects possessing axial (cylindrical)symmetry and whose radially density profile was given by the sum of a randomly-chosen, sparse set of (nearly binary)Fourier components. We used embedding tools to map the above QUBO problem, which involved dense connections between up to 47 Fourier coefficients, onto the very sparsely connected D-Wave chimera. Using quantum inference, we were able to reconstruct reasonably accurate radial density profiles even after adding sufficiently noise to our synthetic radiographs to make inverse Abel transforms untenable. Compared to state-of-the-art classical QUBO solvers, GUROBI and the Hamze-Freitas-Selby algorithm, the quantum D-Wave 2X was orders of magnitude faster for the same final accuracy. Our results indicate a potential strategy for integrating neuromorphic and quantum computing techniques.
Dare to Care: Exploring the Relationships between Socio-Moral Climate, Perceived Stress, and Work Engagement in a Social Service Agency

Human service professionals working in an interpersonal violence social service agency are at increased risk of experiencing emotional burnout, compassion fatigue, and high levels of stress, which ...
Reinforcement Learning for Satellite Communications: From LEO to Deep Space Operations

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is in the midst of defining and developing the future space and ground architecture for the coming decades to return science and exploration discovery data back to investigators on Earth. Optimizing the data return from these missions requires planning, design, standards, and operations coordinated from formulation and development throughout the mission. The use of automation enhanced by cognition and machine learning are potential methods for optimizing data return, reducing costs of operations, and helping manage the complexity of the automated systems. In this article, we discuss the potential role of machine learning in the linkto- link aspect of the communication systems. An experiment using NASA's Space Communication and Navigation Testbed onboard the International Space Station and the ground station located at NASA John H. Glenn Research Center demonstrates for the first time the benefits and challenges of applying machine learning to space links in the actual flight environment. The experiment used machine learning decisions to configure a space link from the ISS-based testbed to the ground station to achieve multiple objectives related to data throughput, bandwidth, and power. Aspects of the specific neural-network-based reinforcement learning algorithm formation and on-orbit testing are discussed.
Peripheral arterial disease: Scoping review of patient-centred outcomes

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) impairs patients' quality of life (QOL), walking and ulcer healing, increasing patient pain, costs, and risks of amputation or mortality. A literature appraisal described PAD treatment capacity to improve validated patient-centred outcomes in controlled clinical studies. The PUBMED database was searched from 1 January 1970 to 21 June 2018, for original and derivative controlled clinical trial references addressing MeSH terms for 'ischemia' AND 'leg ulcer'. Non-ischemic ulcer treatment references were excluded. Frequencies of improved (P < .05) outcomes were reported. Eighty-eight studies on 4153 patients were summarized. Walking, pain or QOL improved mainly for interventions administered before PAD became severe. Amputation incidence, pain and ulcer healing were more frequently reported in those with severe PAD. Independent of PAD severity, patients experienced more likely improved walking, QOL, or pain reduction in response to structured walking interventions or those increasing calf muscle activity. Those with more severe PAD were more likely to report amputation reduction, mainly in response to invasive interventions. Those with PAD experienced more consistently improved patient-centred outcomes if they received multidisciplinary PAD management with supervised walking or calf muscle activity, with more likely amputation risk reduced for those with more severe PAD.
A comparative study of the polarization degradation mechanisms during electric cycling in (Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3-based relaxors

Abstract The polarization degradation during electric field cycling in a ferroelectric ceramic is closely related to the phase composition. In the present work, electric biasing in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) fatigue tests are conducted on relaxors of (1–x)(Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3–xSrTiO3. It is directly observed that the ceramic of x = 0.25 features an irreversible relaxor-ferroelectric phase transition and the domain walls in the metastable ferroelectric phase sweep shorter and shorter distances during cycling. In contrast, the ceramic of x = 0.27 features a reversible relaxor-ferroelectric transition and the domain walls in the transient ferroelectric phase remain highly mobile even after 104 cycles.
Augmenting Communication Between Hearing Parents and Deaf Children

Deaf infants born to hearing parents are at risk of language deprivation, which may lead to life-long impact on linguistic, cognitive and socio-emotional development. It remains demanding for hearing parents to provide meaningful and linguistic-rich interaction with their deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children, due to lack of sign language fluency and insufficient communication strategies. In this study, we present a proof-of-concept visual augmentation prototype utilizing the Augmented Reality (AR) lamp metaphor that aims to support context-aware and non-intrusive parent-child interaction using American Sign Language (ASL), with adaptation to joint-attention strategies that match with the child’s communication modality. The proposed prototype enables future studies to collect in-depth design critiques and preliminary usability evaluation from domain experts, novice ASL learners, and hearing parents with DHH children.
Effect of a Physical Education Teacher’s Age on Middle School Students’ Perceptions of Effectiveness and Learning

This study examined the effect of a physical education teacher’s apparent age on middle school students’ learning and perceptions of the teacher. Two hundred seventy-three middle school students were randomly assigned to view one of two virtually identical films of swimming lessons taught by the same teacher. During the youngappearance lesson (YAL), the teacher taught as his usual and relatively young self. During the middle-aged lesson (MAL), he was made to look older by a makeup artist. After viewing their assigned lesson, students completed an examination covering the content of the lesson and a questionnaire about their perceptions of the teacher. Inferential statistical tests revealed that students who watched the YAL learned more from the teacher and perceived the teacher more favorably. These results support a sociological explanation of how and why students respond to and learn from physical education teachers of different ages.Subscribe to TPE
Efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine combined with Western medicine for community-acquired pneumonia

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine combined with Western medicine for community-acquired pneumonia. Methods From January 2009 to December 2009, 80 patients with community-acquired pneumonia were randomly assigned to receive conventional antibiotic therapy alone (control group), or the same therapy plus traditional Chinese medicine Shenqi mixture (study group). The efficacy of the therapies and the symptoms and signs were observed in all the patients. Results The efficiency and total efficiency were significantly higher in the study group than in the control group (52.5% vs. 20.0% and 87.5% vs. 60.0%,P<0.05). The study group was superior to the control group in the improvement of symptoms and signs except for pulmonaryrales. Conclusions Traditional Chinese medicine combined with Western medicine for community-acquired pneumonia achieves a better efficacy and is worth popularizing. Key words: Traditional Chinese medicine combined with Western medicine; Community-acquired pneumonia; Efficacy
Disability Affirmation Predicts Employment Among Adults With Visual Impairment and Blindness

Empirical research on psychosocial correlates of employment among adults with visual impairment or blindness (VI) is limited, and previous studies involving psychological constructs have reported g...
A shock-tube study of the N2O + M ⇄ N2 + O + M (M = Ar) rate constant using N2O laser absorption near 4.6 µm

Abstract The low-pressure limit rate constant k 1 , 0 of the reaction N2O + M ⇄ N2 + O + M was measured in shock-heated mixtures of 0.2% N2O/Ar using 4.56-µm laser absorption of N2O in the temperature range 1546–2476 K near 1.3 atm. Modeling the N2O profiles with a detailed kinetic analysis, which considered non-ideal pressure variations, provided k 1 , 0 values that were best fit by the expression k 1 , 0 = 1.01 × 10 15 exp ( − 30 , 050 / T ) , with k 1 , 0 in cm3mol–1s–1 and T in K. Estimated k 1 , 0 uncertainties at 1546, 1821, and 2230 K were respectively 13.0%, 8.9%, and 9.0%. By combining the results of the present study with previous low-temperature data measured in flow/static reactors, the best fit over the temperature range 850–2500 K was determined to be ( k 1 , 0 in cm3mol–1s–1, T in K) (R1) k 1 , 0 = ( 1.04 ± 0.04 × 10 15 ) exp [ ( − 30 , 098 ± 90 ) / T ] . This is the first study of k 1 , 0 using N2O infrared laser absorption. Through the high signal-to-noise ratios of the experimental N2O profiles and careful consideration of d P / d t effects, this k 1 , 0 determination is in excellent agreement with the large body of historical k 1 , 0 data but demonstrates significantly less scatter than all previous measurements.
Small Specimen Data from a High Temperature HFIR Irradiation Experiment

The HTV capsule is a High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) target-rod capsule designed to operate at very high temperatures. The graphite containing section of the capsule (in core) is approximately 18 inches (457.2 mm) long and is separated into eight temperature zones. The specimen diameters within each zone are set to achieve the desired gas gap and hence design temperature (900 C, 1200 C or 1500 C). The capsule has five zones containing 0.400 inch (10.16 mm) diameter specimens, two zones containing 0.350 inch (8.89 mm) diameter specimens and one zone containing 0.300 inch (7.62 mm) diameter specimens. The zones have been distributed within the experiment to optimize the gamma heating from the HFIR core as well as minimize the axial heat flow in the capsule. Consequently, there are two 900 C zones, three 1200 C zones, and three 1500 C zones within the HTV capsule. Each zone contains nine specimens 0.210 0.002 inches (5.334 mm) in length. The capsule will be irradiated to a peak dose of 3.17 displacements per atom. The HTV specimens include samples of the following graphite grades: SGL Carbon s NBG-17 and NBG-18, GrafTech s PCEA, Toyo Tanso s IG-110, Mersen s 2114 and themore » reference grade H-451 (SGL Carbon). As part of the pre-irradiation program the specimens were characterized using ASTM Standards C559 for bulk density, and ASTM C769 for approximate Young s modulus from the sonic velocity. The probe frequency used for the determination of time of flight of the ultrasonic signal was 2.25 MHz. Marked volume (specimen diameter) effects were noted for both bulk density (increased with increasing specimen volume or diameter) and Dynamic Young s modulus (decreased with increasing specimen volume or diameter). These trends are extended by adding the property vs. diameter data for unirradiated AGC-1 creep specimens (nominally 12.5 mm-diameter x 25.4 mm-length). The relatively large reduction in Dynamic Young s Modulus was surprising given the trend for increasing density with increasing volume. The graphite-filler particle size was noted to be influential in the volume dependency data, with finer grained graphites showing the least specimen volume/diameter effect. Here the volume dependency trends are discussed in terms of the graphite s filler-particle size and texture.« less
Don't lose your pants*: Telehealth strategies for maintaining revenue streams in a gynecologic oncology practice during a global pandemic *(Pants recommended for all televisits)

Objectives: Many gynecologic oncology practices suffered a significant drop in volume at the onset of the recent COVID-19 pandemic and have yet to recover to pre-pandemic volumes. The decrease in volume has not only important implications for cancer diagnosis, surveillance, and management, but also for revenue generation by gynecologic oncology practices. We sought to explore how the implementation of telehealth could aid in maintaining revenue in a time of limited in-person encounters. Methods: We created a model to calculate the outpatient clinic production of a theoretical gynecologic oncology practice with a volume of 600 patients per month in revenue value units (RVUs) and US dollars. We modeled 3 scenarios including a baseline case with all in-person visits, a 30% drop in volume with all in-person visits, and a 30% telehealth/70% in-person visit scenario at baseline volume. We determined the loss of revenue and number of in-person visits avoided in each scenario. Additionally, we modeled how revenue may change if the incorporation of additional telehealth visits allowed for an increased number of in-person new patient visits. Results: A practice with a monthly volume of 600 in-person patient visits would generate 1050 RVUs/$66,150 per month. If this theoretical practice suffered a 30% decrease in volume to 420 in person visits per month, production would drop to 736 RVUs/$46,368 per month. This decrease in $19,844 of monthly revenue would avoid 180 in-person encounters. If baseline practice volume was maintained by transitioning to 30% telehealth/70% in-person visits, revenue only drops by $7,372 per month, while avoiding 180 in-person encounters. If clinic structure utilizes independent advance practitioners for in-person encounters, clinic density can increase if physicians concurrently perform televisits. This increased clinic density and the downstream revenue generating effect of more new patient visits results in higher practice revenue. If transitioning 2 follow-up patients to telehealth allowed for one additional in-person new patient per clinic, production would increase by 308 RVUs/$19,404 per month. If transitioning 4 patients to telehealth allowed 2 additional new patient visits, production would increase by 656 RVUs/$41,476 per month. Conclusions: Though the optimal telehealth strategy for oncology is still unknown, implementing telehealth during a time of limited in-person visits may help ameliorate the financial loss to a practice. Additionally, if utilization of advanced practitioners and telehealth allows for more new patient evaluations and increased clinic density, a practice may stand to increase revenue substantially. A thorough understanding of the tradeoffs associated with telehealth are essential for establishing an optimal strategy for delivering, safe high-quality cancer care during this unprecedented global pandemic.
Semi-Automatic Bug Generation Using Test Case Negation

This paper considers the threat of a rogue developer introducing a bug in third party software. The threat model is explored by flipping a patch generation system to generate bugs, instead of removing them. The intended effects of the bugs are described with negated test cases, which are automatically chosen through clustering. The system is then applied to seven programs, with a bug being generated in three that would be undetectable by conventional anti-virus software. Identifying potential attack surfaces is key to expanding cyber security research. This work concludes that a concise and non-redundant program is resistant to a patch generation system using line insertion, replacement, or deletion. Further research is proposed to investigate patch generation systems using different transformation operations as well as other test negation methods.
Long Term Development of Forest Stand Structure Following Catastrophic Fire in Yellowstone National Park: Do Landscape Legacies Persist?

The importance of large, infrequent natural disturbances, particularly as they influence postÂ­disturbance succession, is well recognized. The conceptualization of ecological systems and landscapes as mosaics of patches generated by disturbance emphasizes successional change, which in turn is a major component of ecologists' understanding of disturbance in a landscape context. However, paradigms of succession largely evolved for small-scale dynamics. Subsequently, these paradigms do not adequately predict the spatial variability that occurs within the perimeter of large, infrequent disturbances, nor do they adequately consider the effects of heterogeneity on recovery of the system. Understanding the nature of the disturbance mosaic and the factors controlling landscape patterns are crucial for predicting ecosystem dynamics and vegetation development in disturbance-prone landscapes, and research that addresses these questions remains a priority. Landscape heterogeneity following large, mfrequent fires is represented by a patchwork of burned and unburned vegetation as well as by a mosaic of burn severities (Turner et al. 1997, Romme et al. 1998), so that the mosaic of stand structure and function produced by fire is a legacy of the disturbance itself as well as that of the pre-fire forest. In this sense, large, infrequent fires are thought to impose a persistent influence on landscape pattern. Landscape pattern has large implications for biodiversity, determines the connectivity of habitat, affects the spread of disturbances such as insect outbreaks, and may influence the initiation and spread of small, frequent surface fires by affecting the spatial distribution of fuels. Similarly, spatial heterogeneity in stand structure that exists across a landscape may influence the propagation of crown fires (Van Wagner 1977, Turner and Romme 1994). Clearly, understanding the changes that occur in landscape pattern provides the key to understanding the dynamics of many ecological processes. Our study examines the natural changes that occur in landscape pattern with succession in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) between large, infrequent wildfires. The 1988 fires in YNP created a mosaic of burn severities that produced tremendous variation in density of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) seedlings across the landscape (Turner et al. 1994). Because the Yellowstone mosaic of post-fire seedling densities varies from high-density stands (>50,000 trees/ha), which will inevitably be subject to self-thinning, to low-density stands (
Female Genital Tract Secretions and Semen Impact the Development of Microbicides for the Prevention of HIV and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections

Pharmacologic strategies for the prevention of HIV include vaccines, post-exposure prophylaxis with antiretroviral therapy, and topical microbicides. Vaginal microbicides have the potential to augment innate defenses in the genital tract but may also disrupt endogenous protection and increase HIV acquisition risk, as observed in clinical trials of nonoxynol-9. The initially disappointing results of microbicide clinical trials stimulated the development of more sensitive and comprehensive pre-clinical safety studies, which include dual-chamber culture systems to model the epithelial barrier and post-coital studies to evaluate the effects of semen and sexual intercourse on microbicide efficacy. This review discusses the key factors that contribute to a healthy female genital tract environment, the impact of semen on mucosal defense, and how our understanding of these mediators informs the development of effective vaginal microbicides.
Computational, statistical and graph-theoretical methods for disease mapping and cluster detection

Epidemiology, the study of disease risk factors in populations, emerged between the 16th and 19th centuries in response to terrifying epidemics of infectious diseases such as yellow fever, cholera and bubonic plague. Traditional epidemiological studies have led to modifications in hygiene, diet, and many other practices that have profoundly altered the dynamic between humans and diseases. In this thesis, we develop mathematical techniques to address modern challenges, including emerging diseases such as SARS and West Nile virus, the threat of bioterrorism, and stringent legislation protecting patient privacy. Within spatial epidemiology, one problem is to map the risk of disease across space (i.e., disease mapping), and another is to analyze the data for clustering. We propose a general technique, cartograms created from exact patient location data, that can address both of these problems. We also develop a graph-theoretical method to detect spatial clusters of any shape based on Euclidean minimum spanning trees. For mapping applications, we present an optimal strategy for mapping patient locations that preserves both privacy and spatial patterns within the data. For real-time disease surveillance, in which the goal is early detection of outbreaks based on time-series data, we introduce a generalized additive model that maintains constant specificity on various time scales. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Changes in macrophage phenotype and induction of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition genes following acute Achilles tenotomy and repair

Tendon injuries occur frequently in physically active individuals, but the clinical outcomes for these injuries can be poor. In many injured tissues the repair process is orchestrated by two types of cells, macrophages and fibroblasts. Macrophages, which have both pro-inflammatory (M1) and anti-inflammatory (M2) phenotypes, can directly participate in tissue remodeling and direct the response of other cells through the secretion of cytokines and growth factors. In many organ systems, epithelial cells can trans-differentiate into fibroblasts, which can then regenerate damaged ECM. This process is triggered via activation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) signaling programs. Most tendons are surrounded by sheets of epithelial cells, and these tissue layers could provide a source of fibroblasts to repair injured tendons. To gain greater insight into the biology of tendon repair, we performed a tenotomy and repair in Achilles tendons of adult rats and determined changes in macrophage phenotype, and ECM- and EMT-related genes over a 4-week time course. The results from this study suggest that changes in macrophage phenotype and activation of EMT-related programs likely contribute to the degradation and subsequent repair of injured tendon tissue.
Abstract 12781: NF-κB Activity is Required for Heart Regeneration

Objectives: In contrast to humans, zebrafish recover from cardiac injury through a robust regenerative response. Recent work suggests that the mammalian heart is able to undergo low-grade cardiomyocyte turnover in response to injury. However, this level of turnover in not sufficient for cardiac recovery. A better understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to zebrafish heart regeneration can instruct approaches to achieve therapeutic heart regeneration in humans. Methods and Results: We performed expression profiling of regenerating zebrafish hearts by RNA-Seq to identify factors that modify heart regeneration. Expression levels for members of the NF-κB (nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells) pathway were significantly enriched in regenerating hearts. Using a transgenic reporter strain for NF-κB activity, we found NF-κB to be induced in cardiomyocytes following injury. Moreover, NF-κB activity overlaps with the activation of gata4 regulatory sequences that are induced in regenerating cardiomyocytes. We subsequently developed a transgenic zebrafish strain to conditionally inhibit NF-κB signaling in cardiomyocytes by expression of mutant IκBα. Zebrafish hearts with loss of NF-κB activity scar following injury, indicative of impaired regeneration. Conclusions: NF-κB mediates an early transcriptional response to injury in cardiomyocytes that is required for heart regeneration.