cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of cortisol and telomere length measurements in ethnically diverse women with breast cancer using culturally sensitive methods

The under-representation of ethnic minority participants, who are more likely to be socially disadvantaged in biomedical research, limits generalizability of results and reductions in health disparities. To facilitate investigations of how social disadvantage “gets under the skin,” this pilot study evaluated low-intensity methods for collecting hair and saliva samples from multiethnic breast cancer survivors (N = 70) and analysis of biomarkers of chronic stress (cortisol levels) and biological age (telomere length). Methods allowed for easy self-collection of hair (for cortisol) and saliva (for telomere lengths) samples that were highly stable for shipment and long-term storage. Measuring cortisol in hair as a biomarker of chronic stress was found to overcome many of the limitations of salivary cortisol measurements, and the coefficient of variation obtained using an ELISA-based approach to measure cortisol was within acceptable standards (16%). Telomere length measurements obtained using a qPCR approach had a coefficient of variation of <10% when the DNA extracted from the saliva biospecimens was of sufficient quantity and quality (84%). The overall response rate was 47%; rates were 32% for African-Americans, 39% for Latinas, 40% for Asians, and 82% for non-Latina Whites. Self-collection of hair and saliva overcame cultural and logistical barriers associated with collection of blood. Results support the use of these biospecimen collection and analysis methods among ethnically diverse and disadvantaged populations to identify biopsychosocial pathways of health disparities. Our tools should stimulate research to better understand how social disadvantage “gets under the skin” and increase participation of ethnic minorities in biomedical research.
Error correction for approximate computing

Approximate computing, which sacrifices the accuracy during computation, is a promising technology to save energy. However, large number of computation errors may violate the accuracy requirement of certain applications and should be corrected. Consider a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) with multiple Streaming Multiprocessors (SMs), where some of these SMs perform accurate computation while the others perform approximate computation. Provided the approximate outputs are correlated with other accurate outputs, we exploit this relation and model the approximate computation process as a communication process. Then the problem of error correction transforms to a problem of decoding and we want to solve it with certain error correction code. Different from the classical communications process, approximate computing raises additional constraints on the code design. In this paper, we propose a semi-regular LDPC code satisfying these constraints and prove this code can be perfectly decoded. Certain properties of the code are analyzed and simulations are provided to verify the statement.
Developing Diverse Leaders at Academic Health Centers: A Prerequisite to Quality Health Care?:

Author(s): Shaikh, Ulfat; Acosta, David A; Freischlag, Julie A; Young, Heather M; Villablanca, Amparo C
Design of Sparse Halbach Magnet Arrays for Portable MRI Using a Genetic Algorithm

Permanent magnet arrays offer several attributes attractive for the development of a low-cost portable MRI scanner for brain imaging. They offer the potential for a relatively lightweight, low to mid-field system with no cryogenics, a small fringe field, and no electrical power requirements or heat dissipation needs. The cylindrical Halbach array, however, requires external shimming or mechanical adjustments to produce B0 fields with standard MRI homogeneity levels (e.g., 0.1 ppm over field of view), particularly when constrained or truncated geometries are needed, such as a head-only magnet where the magnet length is constrained by the shoulders. For portable scanners using rotation of the magnet for spatial encoding with generalized projections, the spatial pattern of the field is important since it acts as the encoding field. In either a static or rotating magnet, it will be important to be able to optimize the field pattern of cylindrical Halbach arrays in a way that retains construction simplicity. To achieve this, we present a method for designing an optimized cylindrical Halbach magnet using the genetic algorithm (GA) to achieve either homogeneity (for standard MRI applications) or a favorable spatial encoding field pattern (for rotational spatial encoding applications). We compare the chosen designs against a standard, fully populated sparse Halbach design, and evaluate optimized spatial encoding fields using point-spread-function and image simulations. We validate the calculations by comparing to the measured field of a constructed magnet. The experimentally implemented design produced fields in good agreement with the predicted fields, and the GA was successful in improving the chosen metrics. For the uniform target field, an order of magnitude homogeneity improvement was achieved compared to the un-optimized, fully populated design. For the rotational encoding design, the resolution uniformity is improved by 95% compared to a uniformly populated design.
Trends in comorbidity, acuity, and maternal risk associated with preeclampsia across obstetric volume settings

Objective: The objective of this study was to characterize morbidity, acuity, and maternal risks associated with preeclampsia across hospitals with varying obstetric volumes.Methods: This retrospec...
Acrylamide Formation in Processed Potatoes as Affected by Cultivar, Nitrogen Fertilization and Storage Time

The affirmation of acrylamide as a probable carcinogen by the European Food Safety Authority has reinforced the need to lower acrylamide content in fried potato products. Selected for low reducing sugars and acrylamide-forming potential, recently released cultivars ‘Alpine Russet’, ‘Dakota Trailblazer’, and ‘Ivory Crisp’ were evaluated for their processing quality when grown with varying nitrogen (N) fertilizer regimes. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of N fertilizer rate (34, 135, 202, 269 and 336 kg ha−1) on tuber glucose and acrylamide concentration following processing of new cultivars relative to standard cultivars ‘Russet Burbank’ and ‘Snowden’ at harvest, and after 3, 6 and 9 months of storage at 7.2 °C over 2 years. Glucose and acrylamide responses to N rate were similar for chip cultivars, which linearly decreased in 2011, and quadratically increased then decreased in 2012 with increasing N rate. The N rate effect on French fry glucose concentration varied by cultivar and either decreased or did not respond to elevated N rate. Glucose and acrylamide concentrations of chip cultivars generally increased during storage, with a dramatic increase in ‘Snowden’ resulting from senescence sweetening after 9 months of storage. Environmental conditions significantly affected glucose and acrylamide responses of French fry cultivars to storage time. Glucose and acrylamide concentrations of all French fry cultivars generally increased during storage in 2011. In contrast, glucose concentrations of French fry cultivars were stable or increased, while acrylamide concentrations generally decreased during storage in 2012. The relationship between chip color and glucose concentration was significant, but differed by year. Glucose and acrylamide concentrations of French fry and chip cultivars were significantly correlated (R2 = 0.52 and 0.66, in 2011 and 2012, respectively). Generally, acrylamide in fried potato products can be minimized by using low reducing sugar cultivars supplied with a N fertilizer rate that optimizes yield and quality during growing seasons with minimal environmental stress.
Imaging particle collision data for event classification using machine learning

Abstract We propose a method to organize experimental data from particle collision experiments in a general format which can enable a simple visualization and effective classification of collision data using machine learning techniques. The method is based on sparse fixed-size matrices with single- and two-particle variables containing information on identified particles and jets. We illustrate this method using an example of searches for new physics at the LHC experiments.
K cell cytotoxicity: studies into nature of kill phase

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses enzyme phospholipase A (PLA) for the molecular basis of killing in K cell cytotoxic reactions. An effector cell-bound location for such an enzyme would be predicted on the grounds that soluble enzyme is incapable of attacking native plasma membrane phospholipid and effector cells are not destroyed during the cytotoxic reaction. The chapter illustrates the inhibition of a murine K cell system by Rosenthal's inhibitor and antiserum against snake venoms. Rosenthal's inhibitor has no effect upon the resetting capacity of mouse spleen cells. A phospholipid, distearoyl phosphatidylcholine (PC), also blocks the cytotoxic reaction, with a 50% inhibition at 4.6 x 10-5M. PC also has no effect upon rosette formation by mouse spleen cells. The reversibility of PC inhibition—with no time lag—shows that initial events of the reaction are completed before removal of the inhibitor. PC may act as a substrate for PLA, thus preventing the enzyme from attacking endogenous target cell membrane phospholipids.
An Identical Notion of Good Faith?: The Good Faith Doctrine in American and English Contract Law

This paper compares the doctrine of good faith in American and English legal societies in an effort to conclude that both jurisdictions have embraced the doctrine. Specifically, this paper explores the differences between, and the reality behind, the American legal system’s emphasis on the good faith doctrine and English law’s overt rejection of the same principles. Based on analyses of recent English cases and legislative enactments, I ultimately conclude that – despite overt appearances – a duty of good faith has emerged in England’s contract law. Like the American concept of good faith, the English doctrine does not entirely defy description; hence, I will supply a definition for the purposes of this paper.In the American legal system, the concept of “good faith” serves to complete the contract between parties and to regulate parties’ actions. The concept of good faith is an important tenet in American contract law and thus pervasive in American cases. Further, the Uniform Commercial Code mandates that the obligation of good faith be present in each contract within its scope and the American Law Institute’s Restatement (Second) of Contracts specifically mandates a duty of good faith and fair dealing. Good faith, then, operates as the standard upon which American courts will measure a party’s enforceable, contracted-for obligations and/or performance. Therefore, expectations of good faith conduct are interwoven into both common and statutory contract law in the United States. In contrast, the English legal system explicitly rejects the good faith doctrine. Instead, English law tends to emphasize the principle of caveat emptor and to favor concrete regulation over vague concepts. Despite its overt denunciation, English law has insinuated its acceptance of the good faith doctrine through, inter alia, piecemeal solutions to problems of unfairness, the courts’ recent language and adoption of the EC Directive on Unfair Contract Terms. As a result, English law impliedly accepts the good faith doctrine and, accordingly, there is no difference between the good faith doctrine in America and in England.
Barriers to Evidence-Based Decision Making in Public Health: A National Survey of Chronic Disease Practitioners

Objective.Existing knowledge of evidence-based chronic disease prevention is not systematically disseminated or applied. This study investigated state and territorial chronic disease practitioners' self-reported barriers to evidence-based decision making (EBDM).Methods.In a nationwide survey, participants indicated the extent to which they agreed with statements reflecting four personal and five organizational barriers to EBDM. Responses were measured on a Likert scale from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating a larger barrier to EBDM. We analyzed mean levels of barriers and calculated adjusted odds ratios for barriers that were considered modifiable through interventions.Results.Overall, survey participants (n=447) reported higher scores for organizational barriers than for personal barriers. The largest reported barriers to EBDM were lack of incentives/rewards, inadequate funding, a perception of state legislators not supporting evidence-based interventions and policies, and feeling the need to be an ...
CANDID Specification of Commercial and Financial Contracts: A Formal Semantics Approach to Knowledge Representation, Part I: Syntax & Formal Semantics of CANDID

The formal language CANDID is presented as a knowledge representation formalism for artificially intelligent decision support systems. The language is specifically oriented to representation of concepts in finance, commerce and administration. Later parts of the paper demonstrate the application of CANDID to explication of corporate entities and contractual objects, as well as to various concepts in elementary finance.
Classifcation of “reactive” mental disorders in ICD and DSM

Reactive mental disorders are those that are presumed to occur in reaction to one or more stressful life events. Linden has described a novel syndrome, Post-traumatic Embitterment Disorder, in which the emotional state of embitterment is precipitated by an exceptional life event (Linden 2003). As such, it is being conceptualized by Linden as a reactive mental disorder. In this paper, we review the different ways the DSM-IV and ICD-10 classify reactive mental disorders by dividing them up into three tiers which are implemented hierarchically, i. e., disorders in first tier (i. e., stress-reactive-specific disorders like PTSD) should be considered first when determining the differential diagnosis of a reactive mental disorder, followed by disorders in the second tier (other disorders meeting full criteria for a specific DSM-IV Axis I Disorder) and then finally, if the disturbance is not covered by any disorders in the first two tiers, Adjustment Disorder (tier 3) is diagnosed.
Baker Tube Stitchless Plication: Surgical Legacy Technique

This chapter describes the Baker tube stitchless plication technique used in cases of intestinal obstruction due to extensive adhesions, or when the patient has already undergone numerous similar operations. Plication attempts to prevent multiple recurrent adhesions by holding the bowel in a prearranged orderly fashion during the period of adhesion formation.
The Truth About Voter Fraud

Allegations of election-related fraud make for enticing press. Voter fraud, in particular, has the feel of a bank heist caper: roundly condemned but technically fascinating, and sufficiently lurid to grab and hold headlines. Perhaps because these stories are dramatic, voter fraud makes a popular scapegoat. In the aftermath of a close election, losing candidates are often quick to blame voter fraud for the results, and legislators cite voter fraud as justification for various new restrictions on the exercise of the franchise. Allegations of widespread voter fraud, however, often prove greatly exaggerated. It is easy to grab headlines with a lurid claim; the follow-up – when any exists – is not usually deemed newsworthy. Yet on closer examination, many of the claims of voter fraud simply do not pan out.These inflated claims are not harmless. Crying “wolf ” when the allegations are unsubstantiated distracts attention from larger problems that currently exist. Moreover, these claims of voter fraud are frequently used to justify policies that do not solve the alleged wrongs, but that could well disenfranchise legitimate voters. This paper arises out of an analysis of purported fraud cited by state and federal courts; multipartisan and bipartisan federal commissions; political party entities; state and local election officials; and authors, journalists, and bloggers. It distills the findings from that research: the truth about voter fraud. The paper first offers a definition to ensure that election irregularities that involve neither voters nor fraud are not conflated with real voter fraud. It then analyzes, scenario by scenario, some of the more common types of alleged voter fraud, alternative grounds for the observable facts, and a range of policy solutions. Finally, the paper presents and analyzes individual case studies of notorious instances of alleged voter fraud.
A Bayesian Multi-armed Bandit Approach for Identifying Human Vulnerabilities

We consider the problem of identifying the set of users in an organization’s network that are most susceptible to falling victim to social engineering attacks. To achieve this goal, we propose a testing strategy, based on the theory of multi-armed bandits, that involves a system administrator sending fake malicious messages to users in a sequence of unannounced tests and recording their responses. To accurately model the administrator’s testing problem, we propose a new bandit setting, termed the structured combinatorial multi-bandit model, that allows one to impose combinatorial constraints on the space of allowable queries. The model captures the diversity in attack types and user responses by considering multiple multi-armed bandits, where each bandit problem represents an attack (message) type and each arm represents a user. Users respond to test messages according to a response model with unknown statistics. The response model associates a Bernoulli distribution with an unknown mean with each message-user pair, dictating the likelihood that a user will respond to a given message. The administrator’s problem of identifying the most susceptible users can then be expressed as identifying the set of message-user pairs with means that exceed a given threshold. We adopt a Bayesian approach to solving the problem, associating a (beta) prior distribution with each unknown mean. In a given trial, the system administrator queries a selection of users with test messages, generating query responses which are then used to update posterior distributions on the means. By defining a state as the parameters of the posteriors, we show that the optimal testing strategy can be characterized as the solution of a Markov decision process (MDP). Unfortunately, solving the MDP is computationally intractable. As a result, we propose a heuristic testing strategy, based on Thompson sampling, that focuses queries on message-user pairs that are estimated to have means close to the threshold. The heuristic testing strategy is shown to yield accurate identifications.
Discordant occurrence of ulcerative colitis in identical twins.

The mode of inheritance of ulcerative colitis has remained speculative. The twin method provides a valuable tool for testing penetrance of a gene. This paper reports a pair of monozygotic twins who are discordant for ulcerative colitis in contrast to concordance in three sets of monozygotic twins reported in the literature. This represents additional evidence for the hypothesis that ulcerative colitis is not inherited as a dominant or recessive trait with full penetrance.
MIS Approaches for Cervical Spondylotic Disease

Cervical spondylotic disease is the most common pathology of the cervical spine. Minimally invasive endoscopic surgery (MIS) was introduced to minimize muscle dissection and soft tissue trauma. Foley et al. introduced the first minimally invasive endoscopic approach for lumbar disc disease; this was later applied to the cervical spine. Minimally invasive approaches for the cervical spine have reduced operative times, blood loss, and duration of hospital stays. MIS posterior cervical laminoforaminotomy and discectomy are well-described surgical techniques for the cervical spine. MIS posterior cervical laminectomy, laminoplasty, and posterior cervical fixation have been described, but not widely used. Finally, MIS transfacet fixation techniques have been developed to provide stability to the cervical spine. In this chapter, we will discuss the evidence for using MIS techniques in the cervical spine and discuss different approaches, surgical techniques, and limitations of MIS techniques when operating on the cervical spine.
NMR Metabolomic Analysis of Skeletal Muscle, Heart, and Liver of Hatchling Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta) Experimentally Exposed to Crude Oil and/or Corexit

We used nuclear magnetic spectroscopy (NMR) to evaluate the metabolic impacts of crude oil, Corexit 5900A, a dispersant, and a crude oil Corexit 5900A mixture exposure on skeletal muscle, heart, and liver physiology of hatchling loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Tissue samples were obtained from 22 seven-day-old hatchlings after a four day cutaneous exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of crude oil, Corexit 5900A, a combination of crude oil and Corexit 9500A, or a seawater control. We identified 38 metabolites in the aqueous extracts of the liver, and 30 metabolites in both the skeletal and heart muscle aqueous extracts, including organic acids/osmolytes, energy compounds, amino acids, ketone bodies, nucleosides, and nucleotides. Skeletal muscle lactate, creatines, and taurine concentrations were significantly lower in hatchlings exposed to crude oil than in control hatchlings. Lactate, taurine, and cholines appeared to be the basis of some variation in hatchling heart samples, and liver inosine, uracil, and uridine appeared to be influenced by Corexit and crude oil exposure. Observed decreases in concentrations of lactate and creatines may reflect energy depletion in skeletal muscle of oil-exposed animals, while decreased taurine concentrations in these animals may reflect higher oxidative stress.
Impact of Mrp2 on the biliary excretion and intestinal absorption of furosemide, probenecid, and methotrexate using Eisai hyperbilirubinemic rats.

Purpose. This study assesses the impact of rat multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (Mrp2) on the biliary excretion and oral absorption of furosemide, probenecid, and methotrexate using Eisai hyperbilirubinemic rats (EHBR).
Privacy matters… or does It? Algorithms, rationalization, and the erosion of concern for privacy.

Products and services built around artificially intelligent algorithms offer a host of benefits to users but they require vast amounts of personal data in return. As a result, privacy is perhaps more vulnerable today than ever before. We posit that this vulnerability is not only technical, but psychological. Whereas people have historically cared about and fought for the right to privacy, the diffusion and conveniences of algorithms could be systematically eroding people’s capacity and psychological motivation to take meaningful action. Specifically, we examine four factors that increase the tendency to rationalize privacy-reducing algorithms: 1) awareness of the benefits and conveniences of algorithms, 2) a low perceived probability of experiencing harm, 3) exposure to negative consequences only after usage has already begun, and 4) certainty that losing privacy is inevitable. We suggest that future research should consider these and related factors in order to better understand the changing psychology of privacy.
Development of an Assessment Tool for Surgeons in Their First Year of Independent Practice: The Junior Surgeon Performance Assessment Tool

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to create an assessment tool to evaluate newly practicing surgeons. DESIGN In this prospective mixed methods study, a needs assessment was performed by conducting focus groups with practicing general surgeons, asking questions regarding essential surgeon qualities, behaviors observed in inexperienced surgeons, current assessment methods, and desired assessment tool elements and attributes. A qualitative analysis was performed using a grounded theory methodology. The Junior Surgeon Performance Assessment Tool (JSPAT) was created using a 4-point scale for each category developed, with themes identified in the qualitative analysis used to create behavioral anchors. The JSPAT was evaluated by focus group participants and by members of the American College of Surgeons Advisory Council for Rural Surgery using an online survey. SETTING Rural and nonuniversity-based hospitals throughout the state of Oregon. PARTICIPANTS Practicing general surgeons. RESULTS Focus groups consisted of 31 surgeons (mean age 49, mean experience 17 years) from 11 different hospitals. Qualitative analysis revealed 91 different themes, which were grouped into 5 domains (technical skills, interaction with patients, interaction with surgeon colleagues, interactions with the greater medical community, and self-care) to create the assessment tool. Twenty online survey responses providing feedback on the assessment tool were obtained, with 75% rating the JSPAT useful or very useful and 69% satisfied or very satisfied with the time to complete the tool. CONCLUSIONS A mixed-methods model was used to create an assessment tool for surgeons in their first year of independent practice. Survey data demonstrated that practicing surgeons find value in the JSPAT.
Numerical investigation of the effect of obstacle shape on deflagration to detonation transition in a hydrogen–air mixture

Abstract The potential for deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) in an uncontained failure poses extreme risk to nearby personnel. This study performs numerical simulations with detailed chemistry models of confined stoichiometric hydrogen–air mixtures interacting with flow obstructions to better understand the mechanisms of detonation initiation which will inform future risk assessments. Unique obstacle geometries, including both rectangular and curved obstacles, are considered in an effort to isolate important contributors to DDT. Contributors are shown to be pressure wave interactions in unburned fuel and flow features, such as vortical structures, which encourage flame acceleration. In this study, detonation was only observed in cases with sharp-edged obstacles and not in smooth-walled cases. The sharp edges introduced vortex shedding which contributed to flame distortion and resulted in acceleration. In addition, detonation was observed where strong pressure waves and reflections interacted in unburned fuel. The variations in geometry within the sharp-edged obstacles had some effect on vortex shedding and the reflections of generated shocks resulting in small changes in detonation location, however, the mechanism of DDT appeared the same, and the changes were small in comparison to the smooth-walled cases which did not detonate.
Behold the Man: Figuring the Human in the Development of Biotechnology

One of the core problematics of the biotechnology revolution has been defining its relationship to human life. This paper explores the question of whether science can remain human by interrogating some of the ways that the figure of the human has been rearticulated and transformed in the context of the biosciences. Accounts of what the human is in debates about biotechnology have mostly focused on the human as an object of technological intervention and control. In this chapter, I take the work of “figuring the human” itself as my object of analysis. I see “the human” as at stake both in the sense of quintessence and as a discursive figure that is made and remade in giving articulation to human quintessence and in calibrating action accordingly. These two dimensions, i.e. the ontological and the discursive, cannot be separated because the modes of political engagement are essential enactments of human life. The chapter explores three registers in which these modes have played out: (1) in processes of characterizing and governing risk; (2) in a project of conceptual reorientation of the purpose of biological knowledge from ontological description to forms of control that invite black-boxing and automation of workflows; and (3) in the debates over what conceptual and discursive starting-point is appropriate to evaluating the potential of biologically transformative techniques for serving versus violating human integrity. I argue that these registers are significant not only because they have informed the practical and normative character of the biosciences, but also because they are loci in which socially shared imaginations of human integrity are at stake. Also at stake, therefore, are the ways in which political capacity (or incapacity) has developed for asking whether and in what ways science will remain human.
A positive deviance-based qualitative study of stress, coping, and feeding practices among low-income, Hispanic mothers whose children do versus do not meet guidelines for fruit and vegetable intake.

Less than 1% of children in the United States concurrently meet guidelines for fruit/vegetable intake, physical activity, screen time, and sugar-sweetened beverages. Prior evidence suggests that parents of this 1% potentially cope with stress differently. This qualitative study used a positive deviance-based approach to locate mothers whose children avoided negative feeding outcomes despite being 'high-risk' for obesity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Spanish for two groups: low-income, Hispanic mothers whose children were normal weight and met recommendations for fruits/vegetables and physical activity (n = 5); and a comparison group whose children had obesity and did not meet guidelines (n = 8). Topics included weight-related parenting practices, attitudes toward health, and stress management. Interviews were transcribed, translated, and coded using NVivo for theoretically driven thematic analysis. Results suggested that mothers viewed stress differently. Mothers of healthy weight children believed stress could be prevented, such as by paying children more attention or directing one's attention away from stressors; comparison group mothers tended to report stress about managing their child's eating and about financial worries. Future research is needed to understand the underlying sources of these differences (e.g. personality traits, coping practices) and test whether stress prevention interventions can promote healthy parental feeding practices.
Development of the reactor core isolation cooling system model for the extended station black-out accident

Abstract To accurately predict the behavior of the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System (RCIC) in the context of the FLEX strategies under the extended station black-out accident (SBO), we present a mechanistic model of the RCIC in this work. The control volume formulation of angular momentum conservation is employed to model the Terry turbine in the RCIC system. The two-phase nozzle flow model developed in the previous work is utilized to simulate the convergent-divergent nozzles in the Terry turbine. A nozzle flow table is generated to cover the operation range of the RCIC during beyond design basis accidents (BDBAs). The mechanistic RCIC turbine-pump model and the nozzle flow table are incorporated in a TRACE BWR model. Simulations of short-term and long-term SBO transients are performed to demonstrate dynamic RCIC responses. A system analysis code with the proposed mechanistic model of the RCIC system will have a better prediction of system safety response during SBO accidents. With the addition of such more realistic models, the system code will be capable of providing expanded understanding of safety margin, which can help help to form the technical basis for the successful implementation of the FLEX and SAMG measures under Extended Loss of AC Power (ELAP) conditions for BWR or PWR reactor designs.
A systematic literature review of patient perspectives of barriers and facilitators to access, adherence, stigma, and persistence to treatment for substance use disorder

Abstract Introduction The opioid crisis has left a devastating impact on the United States (U.S.) for over 20 years. The over-prescribing of opioid medications and availability of illicit opioids have contributed to the U.S. opioid epidemic. Given the complexity of the epidemic, substance use disorder, and its treatment, there is an urgent need for a thorough review of the qualitative literature which has captured the patient's experiences Such patient-derived qualitative data on lived experiences and perspectives may allow researchers, clinicians, and policy makers to glean new insights into addressing this epidemic. Objectives The objective of this paper is to present a systematic literature review of the existing U.S. qualitative research and provide a patient perspective on medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), including barriers and facilitators to MOUD use. Methods In November 2019, four electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science) were searched by a medical librarian using a combination of keywords, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), and/or CINAHL subject headings. 8766 results were imported into EndNote, then duplicate records were removed, leaving a total of 4722 articles. The unique records were imported into Rayyan QCRI an online platform designed to expedite screening. Blinded screening was undertaken in duplicate by four reviewers. Two researchers abstracted all the articles and used thematic analysis. Results The screening in the abstract phase excluded 4681 results, leaving 41 studies for full-text screening to determine their eligibility for inclusion in the review. After screening, 21 articles were included in the study and the analysis is based on these articles Common themes across studies included stigmatization, perceived barriers to MOUD, and MOUD treatment deserts and provider shortages. Conclusions Qualitative research studies conducted to date have uncovered substantial MOUD treatment barriers which are both social and structural in nature. Such barriers to treatment may serve to exacerbate the current epidemic and must be taken into consideration in designing policy and treatment solutions for patients with OUD.
Persistent yet vulnerable: resurvey of an Abies ecotone reveals few differences but vulnerability to climate change.

Climate change is shifting forest tree species distributions across elevational and latitudinal gradients, and these changes are often pronounced at ecotones where species meet their climatic bounds and are replaced by other species. Using an extensive ecotone composed of lower-montane white fir (Abies concolor var. lowiana) and upper-montane red fir (Abies magnifica var. magnifica) in the central Sierra Nevada range of California, USA, we (1) examined how the demographics of the ecotone have responded to recent climate using a field observational study and a historical dataset, (2) quantified climate drivers across species life stages using contemporary demographic data, and (3) tested the potential impacts of future climate on species-specific seedling survival and growth in a fully factorial growth chamber experiment that varied temperature, growing season length, and water availability. A re-examination of the ecotone midpoint after 35 yr suggested a reduction in A. concolor sapling and tree densities and a rise in A. magnifica proportional dominance between surveys. Seedling abundances across the ecotone indicated that A. magnifica tends to dominate the regeneration layer and currently forms an important component of the seedling community at elevations below those where A. magnifica saplings or trees begin to co-dominate stands. Observational and experimental assessments suggest that temperature and precipitation serve as important drivers, differentiating A. concolor vs. A. magnifica distributions, and are primary stressors at the seedling stage. Seedlings of both species were adversely affected by experimental climate treatments, although A. concolor exhibited greater survival and a more conservative growth strategy under extreme climatic stress than A. magnifica. Projections indicate that historical climate conditions will rise by an amount greater than the ecotone's current elevational extent by the end of the 21st century. Differential drivers of species abundances suggest that the projected climate will expand conditions that promote A. concolor abundance and impede A. magnifica abundance across the ecotone; however, disturbance activity and microclimatic conditions will also influence regeneration and overstory tree dynamics. Our study demonstrates the importance of quantifying species-specific responses to climate and indicates that widespread regeneration failure may be one possible consequence in which species exhibit strong sensitivity to projected climate conditions.
Integration of Motivational Interviewing Within Prelicensure Nursing Programs: A National Survey.

BACKGROUND Vital to the nurse-patient partnership is the use of active listening and a clear understanding of the patient's health care goals. Motivational Interviewing is an evidence-based, patient-centered communication technique that assists patients in self-identifying and committing to health behavior change. PURPOSE This study explored whether, where, and how Motivational Interviewing is integrated into current prelicensure nursing curricula. METHODS An exploratory, descriptive study incorporated a researcher-developed survey. RESULTS Participants (N = 112) represented 5 types of prelicensure nursing programs from across the United States. Forty-one participants reported using Motivational Interviewing within their program with accreditation being the primary rationale. Seventy-one participants reported not integrating Motivational Interviewing within their program with lack of knowledge being the primary rationale. CONCLUSION Further research on optimizing the integration of Motivational Interviewing educational content and practice into all levels and specialty areas of nursing education would help to identify best practices.
Wages, Dual Economies and Migration

How do economists deal with microeconomic issues in economic development? There may be more useful theory here than in macroeconomics because it is possible to provide a more realistic description of the problem. What is of undoubted value is the modeling experience. Forcing oneself to strip a situation to ‘essentials’ and then working out the logical consequences of these essentials is a very enriching experience. Provided one does not confuse the model with reality one is well served. Apart from the more substantive queries one can raise about models, there is also an important psychological point. If one has to work very hard at getting to understand the model, either because the model is very complex or because it uses methods not commonly taught, then there is a natural tendency to believe that the model must be saying something really valuable. It is even worse for those from the LDC’s because the degrees we get are supposed to give us some esoteric wisdom. There is great resistance to the possibility that it may be just commonsense ‘all dressed up’.
Influence of Fiber Processing Conditions on the Structural and Physical Properties of Polypropylene Filaments

The properties of polypropylene fiber are dependent upon the structural characteristics of the macromolecules comprising the polymer; in turn, these macromolecules are significantly affected by (1) polymer properties prior to extrusion, and (2) processing conditions of fiber formation.
Broadening the scope of optical circuit networks

Advances in optical communications and switching technologies are enabling energy-efficient, flexible, higher-utilization network operations. To take full advantage of these capabilities, the scope of optical circuit networks can be increased in both the vertical and horizontal directions. In the vertical direction, some of the existing Internet applications, transport-layer protocols, and application-programming interfaces need to be redesigned and new ones invented to leverage the high-bandwidth, low-latency capabilities of optical circuit networks. In the horizontal direction, inter-domain control and management-protocols are required to create a global-scale interconnection of optical circuit-switched networks.
Mostly about Epidemiology

Epidemiology may be defined as the study of the distribution of health and disease in groups of people and the study of the factors that influence this distribution. Modern epidemiology also encompasses the evaluation of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities and the delivery of health-care services. There is a progression in the scientific process (along the dimension of increasing credibility of evidence), from casual observation, to hypothesis formation, to controlled observation, to experimental studies. Figure 4.1 is a schematic representation of the uses of epidemiology. The tools used in this endeavor are in the province of epidemiology and biostatistics. The techniques used in these disciplines enable “medical detectives” to uncover a medical problem, to evaluate the evidence about its causality or etiology, and to evaluate therapeutic interventions to combat the problem.
NEURAL NETWORK MODELS OF THE PRIMATE MOTOR SYSTEM

Dynamic neural network models that incorporate time-varying activity and allow unrestricted connectivity were trained by back-propagation to generate discharge patterns of cells previously observed in behaving monkeys. Neuronal recordings in monkeys performing a simple alternating step-tracking task have shown that forearm motor units and connected premotoneuronal cells fire with characteristic patterns: phasic-tonic, tonic, decrementing, etc. To investigate the properties of networks that could transform a step input of target position to the four observed discharge patterns of flexor and extensor motor units we trained dynamic network models to generate these firing patterns as outputs. These networks have hidden units with either excitatory or inhibitory connections to each other and to the output “motor units”. Network solutions have been found for a variety of connection matrices corresponding to different network topologies. The activity of many hidden units resembles the discharge patterns that have been observed in physiological recordings of neurons in motor cortex and red nucleus. In networks receiving both sustained (step) input and transient input signals, preferential connections can develop within subsets of phasic and tonic units. The function of specific hidden units in the network can be tested by making selective lesions of particular units and determining the behavior of the remaining network. When relatively few hidden units with similar activations are strongly interconnected, removing a particular unit can have appreciable consequences in eliminating corresponding components of activity in other units. The output effects of a given unit can also be tested by delivering a simulated stimulus and analyzing the propagated network response. Delivering the stimulus pulse during various phases of the ongoing task shows how the impulse response is modulated by the changing activation patterns.
Human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor.

Human PSTI has been isolated from human pancreatic tissue and juice by procedures developed for the preparation of secretory trypsin inhibitors from bovine [2] and porcine [3] pancreatic juice. Figure 1 shows the Sephadex G-75 elution diagram of human pancreatic juice. The inhibitor activity (o—o) is retarded relative to the bulk of the secretory protein with amylase activity present in the A280nm absorbing peak eluted after the inhibitor.
The Power of Choice in a Generalized Pólya Urn Model

We establish some basic properties of a "Polya choice" generalization of the standard Polya urn process. From a set of kurns, the ith occupied by n i balls, choose cdistinct urns i 1 ,...,i c with probability proportional to $n_{i_1}^\gamma \times \cdots\times n_{i_c}^\gamma$, where i¾?> 0 is a constant parameter, and increment one with the smallest occupancy (breaking ties arbitrarily). We show that this model has a phase transition. If 0 1, this still occurs with positive probability, but there is also positive probability that some urns get only finitely many balls while others get infinitely many.
Acute Myeloid Leukemia With t(v;5q33) Is Associated With Poor Overall Survival and Often Lacks Myelodysplastic Features

Abstract Background Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with specific balanced 5q33 translocations are classified as AML with myelodysplasia-related changes regardless of their morphologic findings or antecedent hematologic disease, but the clinicopathologic features of such cases remain poorly understood. Materials and Methods From > 2000 cases of hematological malignancies seen at our institution between 2000 and 2013, we identified 9 AML patients with 5q33 translocations with variable partner loci, t(v;5q33). Results The study group included 8 men and 1 woman, with a median age of 64 years (range, 19-87 years). Four patients had an antecedent myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN). Cytogenetic analysis showed t(v;5q33) as a sole chromosomal abnormality in 4 (44%) patients, t(v;5q33) and del(3)(q21;q26.2) in 1 (11%) patient, and a complex karyotype in 4 (44%) patients. Only 1 patient had morphologic features of myelodysplasia in 2 or more lineages. Follow-up was available for 7 patients and the median overall survival (OS) was 12 months. Patients with a history of MPN had a significantly shorter OS compared with those with de novo AML (11 vs. 20 months; P = .0445). There was no correlation between complex karyotype and OS in this small group of AML patients ( P = .5904). Conclusion The t(v;5q33) is a rare cytogenetic aberration in AML. Although associated with a poor outcome, AML with t(v;5q33) usually lacks morphologic evidence of multilineage dysplasia. Patients who have AML with t(v;5q33) after MPN have a worse OS compared with those with de novo AML.
Pressure measurements on an ogive-cylinder at high angles of attack with laminar, transitional, or turbulent separation

This paper reports results from pressure tests on an ogive-cylinder in the low-turbulence 12-foot pressure wind tunnel. The results consist of pressure distributions over a wide range of Reynolds numbers and angles of attack. The tests encompassed a complete coverage of different roll orientations shown to be essential in order to fully define all the possible flow conditions. When the various roll-angle results are combined, it is possible to interpret the effects of changing angle of attack or Reynolds number. Two basic mechanisms for producing asymmetric flow are identified. One mechanism operates in both the laminar and the fully turbulent separation regimes; this mechanism is the one qualitatively described by the impulsive flow analogy. The other mechanism occurs only in the transitional separation regime. This asymmetric flow has the same form as that in the two-dimensional crossflow on a circular cylinder in the transitional flow regime. Finally, these results make it possible to draw up critical Reynolds number boundaries between the laminar, transitional, and fully turbulent separation regimes throughout the angle-of-attack range from 20 to 90 deg.
Observation of efficient Förster energy transfer at 1.5 μm through temperature-tuning of monodisperse quantum dot solids

We present time-resolved cryogenic observations of Forster energy transfer in large, monodisperse lead sulphide quantum dots with ground state transitions near 1.5 mum (0.8 eV), in environments from 160 K to room temperature.