cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparing Glaucomatous Disc Change Using Stereo Disc Viewing and the MatchedFlicker Software Program in Ophthalmologists-in-Training.

Purpose To compare the accuracy and speed of using the computerized MatchedFlicker software program (EyeIC Inc, Narberth, Pennsylvania, USA) to evaluate glaucomatous optic disc change against the traditional gold standard of manually examining stereoscopic disc photographs. Design A prospective evaluation of diagnostic technology. Methods Two resident ophthalmologists and 1 glaucoma fellow at the University of Florida independently evaluated 140 image pairs from 100 glaucomatous/ocular hypertensive patient eyes using a handheld stereo viewer and the MatchedFlicker program. Fifty had progression to glaucoma as determined by the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) Optic Disc Reading Group and the OHTS Endpoint Committee in the OHTS, and 50 more had photographs taken a few minutes apart, which were negative controls with no progression. Twenty photograph pairs from each group were duplicated to determine reviewer variability. Photographs were examined in alternating blocks of 70 photograph pairs for each method, with the starting viewing method randomized. Reviewer accuracy and time to review for each method were measured. Results Using the handheld stereo viewer, the reviewers correctly identified progression or nonprogression in 76.0% of the slide pairs. Using the MatchedFlicker software, 87.6% were correctly identified ( P = .011). Evaluator speed averaged 34.1 seconds per image pair with the stereo viewer vs 24.9 seconds with the MatchedFlicker program ( P = .044). Overall, Flicker was significantly more specific but less sensitive than stereo slides. Trainees appeared more reluctant to identify glaucoma progression from slides than from Flicker. For the 2 less experienced trainees Flicker was significantly more accurate. Conclusion The MatchedFlicker software had a greater accuracy and was quicker to perform than using a handheld stereoscopic viewer.
E1 and M1 γ-strength functions in 144Nd

Both E1 and M1 γ-strength functions below the neutron separation energy were analyzed based on experimental data from 143Nd(n,γ)144Nd and 143Nd(n,γα)140Ce reactions. It is confirmed that the commonly adopted E1 model based on the temperature dependence of the width of the giant dipole resonance works well. The popular M1 strength function due to the spin-flip magnetic resonance located near the neutron binding energy is not capable of reproducing experimental data. As a result, the low-energy enhancement of the M1 strength or the energy-independent model of Weisskopf, both leading to the low-energy strength sizable to E1 one, fit experimental data best.
Efficient RF energy harvesting circuitry study

This paper discusses about limiting factors of RF-to-DC rectifying efficiency in cellular and Wi-Fi band from 700 MHz to 5800 MHz for different frequency range, input power ranges, and load resistance based on our analytical study findings. We also presents two novel rectifying circuitry modifications for improving rectifying efficiency All the results are obtained from ADS circuit simulations with component specific SPICE parameters.
Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult Dental Care for Adolescents with Special Health Care Needs: Dentist Perspectives--Part Two.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to understand dental care transitions for adolescents with special health care needs (ASHCNs) from the dentist perspective. METHODS We conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 dentists (seven pediatric dentists and six general dentists) to learn about the dental transition process for ASHCNs. RESULTS Most dentists believed transitions from child-centered to adult-centered dental care were important for ASHCNs. Dentists reported two main barriers to transitions: (1) low dental reimbursements by Medicaid; and (2) a shortage of general dentists qualified or willing to treat ASHCNs. Pediatric and general dentists reported playing complimentary roles in facilitating transitions for ASHCNs and their families. CONCLUSIONS Dentists acknowledged the challenges that adolescents with special health care needs and their families face in transitioning to adult-centered care and believed in the importance of ASHCNs maintaining a dental home. Pediatric dentists and general dentists play a key role in working together to implement dental transition plans for ASHCNs and to ensure successful dental transitions.
Abstract 325: Dissociation of Oxidative Stress from High Fatty Acid-Induced Cardiac Myocyte Death

Metabolic syndrome, featured by obesity and diabetes, is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The high availability of free fatty acids characteristic of obesity has been proposed to increase fatty acid oxidation, impair mitochondrial function, stimulate reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and eventually lead to oxidative stress, which then would cause myocyte damage and heart dysfunction. However, the role of oxidative stress as the initial cause of obesity-induced heart failure is controversial. We evaluated the time-dependent effect of fatty acids in vitro in adult rat cardiac myocytes (treated with palmitate and oleate, the major saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in the plasma, respectively), and in vivo in mice fed a high-fat diet (fat calories = 60%). Palmitate and oleate dose-dependently stimulated mitochondrial respiration and superoxide flash activity, a respiration-coupled bursting ROS production event in single mitochondria. The flash frequency increased 2-fold (0.1 mM, the physiological level in plasma) and 3-fold (0.3 mM, the plasma level found in obese subjects) after only 2 hr incubation and up to 24 hr, increase that could be blocked by the CPT1 inhibitor etomoxir (100uM). Surprisingly, there was no obvious mitochondrial oxidative stress, although the high level of fatty acids caused mPTP opening and cell death at 48 hr. Further, aconitase activity was normal and NAD/NADH ratio was decreased, indicating a more reduced status rather than oxidative stress. Intriguingly, mitochondrial membrane potential was slightly lowered after only 2 hr of treatment. Finally, the high-fat diet-fed mice developed heart dysfunction after 12 weeks of treatment, but oxidative stress only appeared after 18 weeks. In the light of these results, we hypothesize that high fatty acid supply induced multiple adaptive and mal-adaptive responses in cardiac myocytes. The increased mitochondrial respiration and bursting ROS production is offset by a mild uncoupling and increased reducing equivalents. Therefore, oxidative stress is unlikely an initial cause of myocyte death and heart dysfunction in obesity, but rather a consequence of mitochondrial dysfunction, although the exact cause of this dysfunction remains to be elucidated.
Determination of Organic Arsenicals in Pesticide Formulations by Ion Chromatography

The organic arsenicals, cacodylic acid and methanearsonic acid and their salts, are determined in pesticide formulations by ion chromatography. The samples are diluted in the aqueous mobile phase, injected directly into the chromatograph, and determined by non-suppressed ion chromatography. The method was tested for precision, linearity, and recovery
Tunable plasmonic-lattice mode sensors with ultrahigh sensitivities and figure-of-merits

We study the application of plasmonic lattice modes of arrays of closely packed large metallic nanodisks for chemical and biological sensors with ultrahigh sensitivity and refractive index dynamic range. Our results show that by changing the refractive index of the environment the narrow spectral features associated with these collective modes can be shifted by about 250 nm, going from visible (∼650 nm) to infrared (∼900 nm) range without any mode degradation. We attribute this shift to the refractive-index enhancement of the superstrate collective modes of these arrays. This index enhancement allows the arrays to preserve their mode integrity within this range. We show that, because of this feature and the ultra-long range fields of these modes, such structures can offer a unique platform for biosensors based on dielectric-coated metallic nanoparticle arrays. In such structures, the dielectric layers are used to tune the collective modes of the arrays, protect them against environmental degradation, and ...
The Natural T-Helper Cell Epitope Repertoire is Unlikely to Contain Glycopeptides with Extended Carbohydrate Side-Chains

To answer the question whether or not the natural T-cell epitope repertoire contains glycosylated antigens, we synthesized a series of glycopeptides corresponding to peptide 31 D, a major T-helper cell epitope of the rabies virus nucleoprotein. Peptide 31 D, AVYTRIMMNGGRLKR, in context with the I-Ek MHC determinant, vigorously stimulates the proliferation of the 9C5.D8-H T-cell hybridoma [1]. From our earlier studies we know that Thr4 can carry mono- or disaccharide side-chains in either a- or β-anomeric configuration without interfering with MHC-binding [2]. In the current study, we synthesized peptide 31 D without sugar, as well as with α- or β-linked trisaccharides or linear heptasaccharides attached to Thr4.
Actuator cylinder theory for multiple vertical axis wind turbines

Abstract. Actuator cylinder theory is an effective approach for analyzing the aerodynamic performance of vertical axis wind turbines at a conceptual design level. Existing actuator cylinder theory can analyze single turbines, but analysis of multiple turbines is often desirable because turbines may operate in near proximity within a wind farm. For vertical axis wind turbines, which tend to operate in closer proximity than do horizontal axis turbines, aerodynamic interactions may not be strictly confined to wake interactions. We modified actuator cylinder theory to permit the simultaneous solution of aerodynamic loading for any number of turbines. We also extended the theory to handle thrust coefficients outside of the momentum region and explicitly defined the additional terms needed for curved or swept blades. While the focus of this paper is a derivation of an extended methodology, an application of this theory was explored involving two turbines operating in close proximity. Comparisons were made against two-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) simulations, across a full 360° of inflow, with excellent agreement. The counter-rotating turbines produced a 5–10 % increase in power across a wide range of inflow conditions. A second comparison was made to a three-dimensional RANS simulation with a different turbine under different conditions. While only one data point was available, the agreement was reasonable, with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predicting a 12 % power loss, as compared to a 15 % power loss for the actuator cylinder method. This extended theory appears promising for conceptual design studies of closely spaced vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs), but further development and validation is needed.
Social Security Income and Health Care Spending: Evidence from the Social Security Notch.

The paper exploits Social Security legislation changes to identify the causal effect of Social Security income on out-of-pocket medical expenditures of the elderly. Using the 1986–1994 Consumer Expenditure Survey and an instrumental variables strategy, the empirical results show that health care expenditures are responsive to changes in Social Security income for elderly individuals with less than a high school education. The estimated income elasticities are between 1.41 and 3.47 depending on the outcome measures and are statistically significant at conventional levels. The findings are in contrast to existing studies that find a small income elasticity at the individual/household level. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Delphi expert elicitation to prioritize food safety management practices in greenhouse production of tomatoes in the United States

Abstract Most of fresh tomatoes sold in the United States (US) are grown using protected agriculture. The risk of contamination and severe disease outbreaks in humans due to foodborne pathogens linked to fresh produce are a constant threat to the public and the industry. To date, there are limited tools to prioritize food safety management practices in commercial greenhouses to reinforce food safety in a timely manner. One rapid cost effective approach, originally applied in education and healthcare, is the Delphi method that uses expert opinion to quantify and rank priorities. An iterative systematic Delphi expert elicitation approach was used to prioritize management factors for the reduction of foodborne pathogen contamination in tomato greenhouses in the US. A validated online survey addressing eight thematic areas (water management, workers, environment and greenhouse design, equipment sanitation, waste management, animal intrusion, traceability, and propagation) was discussed among 20 individuals internationally recognized as experts in fresh produce production in protected agriculture, foodborne pathogens, and food safety theory and practice. Consensus rankings of activities and practices most likely contributing to microbial contamination and its mitigation were determined. Food safety priorities to prevent contamination of greenhouse tomatoes, in order of significance (i.e, ranking scale, weighted average; 1 lowest, 5 highest), included handwashing (4.67), environmental controls (4.32), enforceable worker health policy (3.94), cleaning and sanitation of reusable plastic containers (3.94), reused retail-ready containers (3.89), and irrigation water testing for human pathogens (3.84) to prevent contamination of greenhouse tomato. The majority of experts indicated that contaminated greenhouse surfaces that are in contact (direct or indirect) with the fruits are important sources of pathogen transfer to fresh tomatoes, highlighting the need for environmental controls in greenhouses. Importance of adequate worker management practices including handwashing and health policy highlights the role of worker education in reducing the risks of foodborne outbreaks linked to greenhouse grown produce. This report illustrates the benefits of using Delphi approach to improve food safety in greenhouses. The provided priority list can be used by growers to guide the routine food safety practice implementation procedures.
Task significance and meaningful work: A longitudinal study

Abstract The goals of the current study were to evaluate task significance as a longitudinal predictor of meaningful work and to test moderators of this relation. A large sample of working adults completed surveys at three time points over a sixth month period. Supporting hypotheses, task significance significantly predicted meaningful work over time, but meaningful work did not predict task significance over time. Age, gender, and social class did not moderate the relation between task significance and meaningful work. This result adds to a growing body of research suggesting that perceiving one's work as improving the welfare of others leads to experiencing one's work as meaningful. This result has implications for the individual well-being of workers and for the productivity of organizations.
ETRAN — Experimental Benchmarks

The ETRAN transport code is the realization of a Monte Carlo scheme for simulating electron histories carried out according to a “condensed random-walk” model. In this model, the sampling of individual elastic and inelastic collisions is replaced by the sampling of multiple-scattering deflections and energy losses in successive short path segments. An overview of the procedures involved can be found in Chapter 7.
Evaluation of a Pharmacist-Managed Diabetes Program in a Primary Care Setting Within an Integrated Health Care System.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists have important roles in managing the therapy of patients with type 2 diabetes and improving patient care. Pharmacists titrate medications; reinforce patient education; and a...
Effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors on B cells: relationship to immune-related adverse events

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are remarkable agents that represent a revolutionary approach to treat cancer. Rather than directly killing tumour cells, ICIs inhibit the regulatory pathways that prevent a T cell response to the tumour. With checkpoints blocked and T cells free to act, the tumour becomes a target for cytotoxic T cells. ICIs interdict key costimulatory systems involved in checkpoint regulation, binding to either cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) or the programme cell death 1 (PD-1) molecule or its ligand, PD-1L. These antibodies can be used either alone or in combination.1 In view of the effects of ICIs on T cell regulation, this form of therapy is associated with considerable toxicity and a wide variety of immune-related adverse events (irAE). The nature and frequency of these effects vary among agents and include effects on the gastrointestinal tract (colitis), liver, lung (pneumonitis), skin (rash and pruritus) and endocrine glands including hypophysitis. Since CTLA-4 and PD-1 systems involve different lymphocyte populations and act at different sites, the combination shows a broader range of side effects and an increasing frequency.2 For the rheumatologist, the use of …
Individual Psychotherapy for Child Abuse Victims

An integrated clinical approach that emphasizes theories on attachment, dysregulation, and issues of self is presented. This approach is useful in the individual treatment of sexually abused children. Individual techniques derived from each of these approaches are presented.
Field studies of mineral nutrition of Larrea tridentata : importance of N, pH, and Fe

Multivariate analysis of soil and plant data from the northern Mojave Desert was used to investigate aspects of the mineral nutrition of Larrea tridentata (Sesse and Moc. ex DC.) Cov. Larrea tridentata biomass was significantly correlated with soil NO/sub 3//sup -/ and pH and leaf Fe content. Leaf cation accumulation was negatively correlated with leaf Fe concentration.
Factors Affecting Speech Understanding in Older Adults

This chapter reviews various factors that affect the speech-understanding abilities of older adults. Before proceeding to the identification of several such factors, however, it is important to clearly define what is meant by “speech understanding.” This term is used to refer to either the open-set recognition or the closed-set identification of nonsense syllables, words, or sentences by human listeners. Many years ago, Miller et al. (1951) demonstrated that the distinction between open-set recognition and closed-set identification blurs as the set size for closed-set identification increases. When words were used as the speech material, Miller et al. (1951) demonstrated that the closed-set speech-identification performance of young normal-hearing listeners progressively approached that of open-set speech recognition as the set size doubled in successive steps from 2 to 256 words. Clopper et al. (2006) have also demonstrated that lexical factors (e.g., word frequency and acoustic-phonetic similarity) impacting word identification and word recognition are very similar when the set size is reasonably large for the closed-set identification task and the alternatives in the response are reasonably confusable with the stimulus item. Thus the processes of closed-set speech identification and open-set speech recognition are considered to be very similar and both are referred to here as measures of “speech understanding.”
Introduction: The Importance of Sibling Relationships

A large literature concerning siblings can be found in any research library, but most of past research has been concerned with the effects of birth order, family size, and gender on individual differences in various intellectual and personality characteristics. Although this is still an important domain of research, in recent years considerable attention has been focused on the interpersonal relationships between siblings and the factors influencing such relationships.
On a Spectral Equivalence of Operators

Let H be a complex, separable Hilbert space and let L(H) denote the algebra of all bounded, linear operators acting in H. Let F1, F2 be L(H)-valued analytic functions whose domains of definition contain an open set G ⊂ C. As in [9] we shall say that F1 and F2 are equivalent on G if $$F_1 (\lambda )\, = \,A(\lambda )F_2 (\lambda )B(\lambda ),\,\lambda \,\varepsilon \,G,$$ for some analytic functions A, B, defined in G, whose values are invertible operators.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Self-fulfilling prophecy, also known as interpersonal expectancy effect, refers to the phenomenon whereby a person's or a group's expectation for the behavior of another person or group serves actually to bring about the prophesied or expected behavior. The history and diversity of this area of inquiry shows that the expectations of psychological researchers, classroom teachers, judges in the courtroom, business executives, and health care providers can unintentionally affect the responses of their research participants, pupils, jurors, employees, and patients. Meta-analytic procedures are used to evaluate the social importance of the magnitudes of the obtained effects.
Physiology of Tuberous Electrosensory Systems

Tuberous electrosensory system has two major behavioral functions, electrolocation and electrocommunication, which are unique to gymnotiform and mormyriform electric fishes that emit EODs with high-frequency components. This chapter presented an abundance of information about how peripheral and central physiological mechanisms carry out these behavioral functions. Electrolocation involves identification of stimulus features such as location (direction and distance), size, and electrical properties (resistance and capacitance) of objects. These features are detected and analyzed by two separate tuberous pathways specialized for amplitude and time processing. The parallel processing of amplitude and time in the hindbrain converges in the midbrain to produce neurons with more complex response properties. Electrocommunication for sex recognition in pulse-type mormyriforms relies on time-coding of waveform (pulse duration) of their EODs. Pulse duration is sampled by a type of time-coding electroreceptors (knollenorgan) that are specialized for communication and is decoded in the midbrain.
Lebensqualität bei Epilepsie: Ein Überblick zum Forschungsstand – Teil 1: Konzeption, Forschungsschwerpunkte, Fragebogenentwicklung

Seit den 1990er-Jahren ist in der Epileptologie Lebensqualitat (Quality of Life [QOL]) bzw. gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualitat Gegenstand der klinischen Forschung. Dabei wird in einzelnen Studien meist nicht explizit erlautert, von welchem QOL-Konzept bzw. -Verstandnis ausgegangen wird. In einem Uberblick sollen die wichtigsten Ergebnisse der Forschung zur QOL bei Epilepsie aufgezeigt werden. Zunachst wird in diesem ersten Teil der Begriff „gesundheitsbezogene QOL“ erlautert. Im Anschluss wird auf zentrale Themen der Forschung zur QOL bei Epilepsie verwiesen. Als erster Forschungsschwerpunkt wird die Entwicklung spezifischer Fragebogen vorgestellt. Die Archive der einschlagigen Fachzeitschriften Epilepsia, Epilepsy & Behavior sowie Seizure seit Beginn der 1990er-Jahre wurden daraufhin untersucht, ob in Publikationen QOL thematisiert oder QOL-Daten erhoben worden waren. Auf reprasentative Studien wird verwiesen. Theoretisch ist zu unterscheiden zwischen allgemeiner und gesundheitsbezogener QOL. Vier Forschungsschwerpunkte konnten zur QOL bei Menschen mit Epilepsie identifiziert werden. Als Ergebnis fur den Schwerpunkt 1, die Entwicklung von spezifischen QOL-Fragebogen, ist festzuhalten: Es gibt keinen verbindlichen Konsens hinsichtlich einzubeziehender QOL-Domanen. Epilepsiespezifische QOL-Messinstrumente sind aber in der Regel anderungssensitiver mit Bezug auf medizinische Interventionen als generische Fragebogen. Das QOL-Konzept hat die Forschung zu psychosozialen Problemen bei Epilepsie befordert. Dabei wurde die subjektive Patientenperspektive fokussiert. Begriffliche Unscharfen bestehen jedoch bis heute und machen es erforderlich, jeweils genau zu fragen, welches QOL-Verstandnis in einer Untersuchung zugrunde gelegt bzw. wie QOL operationalisiert wurde.
Optimizing model representation for integrative structure determination of macromolecular assemblies

Integrative structure determination of macromolecular assemblies requires specifying the representation of the modeled structure, a scoring function for ranking alternative models based on diverse types of data, and a sampling method for generating these models. Structures are often represented at atomic resolution, although ad hoc simplified representations based on generic guidelines and/or trial and error are also used. In contrast, we introduce here the concept of optimizing representation. To illustrate this concept, the optimal representation is selected from a set of candidate representations based on an objective criterion that depends on varying amounts of information available for different parts of the structure. Specifically, an optimal representation is defined as the highest-resolution representation for which sampling is exhaustive at a precision commensurate with the precision of the representation. Thus, the method does not require an input structure and is applicable to any input information. We consider a space of representations in which a representation is a set of nonoverlapping, variable-length segments (i.e., coarse-grained beads) for each component protein sequence. We also implement a method for efficiently finding an optimal representation in our open-source Integrative Modeling Platform (IMP) software (https://integrativemodeling.org/). The approach is illustrated by application to three complexes of two subunits and a large assembly of 10 subunits. The optimized representation facilitates exhaustive sampling and thus can produce a more accurate model and a more accurate estimate of its uncertainty for larger structures than were possible previously.
Clinician Job Searches in the Internet Era: Internet-Based Study

Background: Traditional methods using print media and commercial firms for clinician recruiting are often limited by cost, slow pace, and suboptimal results. An efficient and fiscally sound approach is needed for searching online to recruit clinicians. Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the Web-based methods by which clinicians might be searching for jobs in a broad range of specialties and how academic medical centers can advertise clinical job openings to prominently appear on internet searches that would yield the greatest return on investment. Methods: We used a search engine (Google) to identify 8 query terms for each of the specialties and specialists (eg, dermatology and dermatologist) to determine internet job search methodologies for 12 clinical disciplines. Searches were conducted, and the data used for analysis were the first 20 results. Results: In total, 176 searches were conducted at varying times over the course of several months, and 3520 results were recorded. The following 4 types of websites appeared in the top 10 search results across all specialties searched, accounting for 52.27% (920/1760) of the results: (1) a single no-cost job aggregator (229/1760, 13.01%); (2) 2 prominent journal-based paid digital job listing services (157/1760, 8.92% and 91/1760, 5.17%, respectively); (3) a fee-based Web-based agency (137/1760, 7.78%) offering candidate profiles; and (4) society-based paid advertisements (totaling 306/1760, 17.38%). These sites accounted for 75.45% (664/880) of results limited to the top 5 results. Repetitive short-term testing yielded similar results with minor changes in the rank order. Conclusions: On the basis of our findings, we offer a specific financially prudent internet strategy for both clinicians searching the internet for employment and employers hiring clinicians in academic medical centers.
Keras Spatial: Extending deep learning frameworks for preprocessing and on-the-fly augmentation of geospatial data

The application of deep learning techniques to remote sensing and geospatial data is a burgeoning area of research. However, most state-of-the-art systems have their roots in computer vision with procedures that do not necessarily lend themselves to remote sensing data. On the contrary, managing geospatial data require handling different projections, spatial resolutions and data formats. We present Keras Spatial, a python package for preprocessing and augmenting geospatial data. Keras Spatial provides three main components (1) a spatial data generator class, which is similar to the Keras image data generator, (2) a GeoDataFrame for storing training samples boundaries and properties, (3) a callback mechanism for on-the-fly reprojection and data augmentation. The novelty of the developed package arises due to the flexibility to combine the components in different ways to solve a variety of data preparation problems. We demonstrate the usage of Keras Spatial package by preparing digital elevation data for a segmentation model, and replacing conventional manual preprocessing steps, such as tiling rasters to samples, masking samples outside of the study area, and adding digital elevation model derivatives. We also discuss advanced data preprocessing features of this package, such as accessing remote data source directly, combining different input rasters data regardless of their native projection and resolution, and decoupling the model configuration, input layer dimensions, from the geographic scale, where the latter feature allows training the same model to recognize geographic objects that exist at hierarchical scales.
Student Attitudes toward Professors and Teaching Assistants.

In 1985, a survey of students across the College of Agriculture at the University of Missouri-Columbia w s conducted to determine whether students had different attitudes about being taught by professors vs. teaching assistants (TAs). Some of the variables evaluated in the survey included age of the instructor, dress, authoritarian stance in class, accessibility, gender, and domestic vs. international TAs. The results of the survey indicate that students discount factors such as age, dress, and gender of the instructor in how they evaluate their educational experience. In terms of TAs, undergraduates possessed a very strong feeling that international TAs are more difficult to understand than domestic TAs. The results of the survey helped us at the University of Missouri-Columbia to determine that student evaluations of teaching are not highly influenced by cosmetic differences between instructors. Professionalism appears to be very important o students. Student evaluations likely reflect this interest in professionalism and course content. MArrYdiscussions of differences in how underTIMES, graduate students relate to faculty and graduate students presume that graduate teaching assistants (TAs) relate easier to the undergraduates than do faculty. This statement carries the implication that the more casual dress, closeness in age, and the relaxed manner of the TAs make it easier for them to relate to undergraduates. If these implications are valid, then cosmetic differences (i.e., age) may have real ramifications of teaching through student evaluations. If cosmetic differences are of significant importance to students, perhaps student evaluations of teaching are skewed in favor of these factors rather than course content. The objective of this survey was to assess students’ values regarding factors such as age, dress, and gender. We also hoped to gauge whether faculty or TAs are perceived as more effective teachers. Concern about student evaluations of teaching being reflections of cosmetic variables rather than valid assessments of the learning process may be addressed with the results of this survey. as the subject of the sentence. The 30 survey items addressed various concerns such as dress, age, formality within the class, and gender with agreement rated on a 1-to-5 scale. A response of 1 indicated strong agreement; a response of 5 indicated strong disagreement. A value of 3 indicated no preference or no opinion. The survey was distributed to several classes in the College of Agriculture during April of the 1985 spring semester. The courses encompassed freshmen classes through those classes offered for seniors. After collecting the 356 usable responses, the data were compiled and
Using AI to Improve Product Teams’ Customer Empathy

During customer conversations, it is important to know both what questions to ask at any point during the development cycle, and how to ask them. Asking the right questions to capture rich, accurate, and relevant customer feedback is not easy, and professionally-trained researchers cannot be a part of every customer conversation. To scale out researchers’ knowledge, we built an artificial intelligence system, the VIVID whisper-bot, trained on three theories: the Hypothesis Progression Framework (contextual research questions for each product development phase), the VIVID grammar framework (asking who, what, why, how, where, how much, and when type questions to recreate rich stories), and the syntactical structure of biased and leading questions. The whisper-bot listens in on a customer conversation, highlights customers’ key verbalization (e.g., pain points using the product), and suggests follow-up interview questions (e.g., removing bias or enriching a story). It thereby encourages good interview practices for everyone, which we believe will increase empathy on product development teams, and lead to improvements in the products’ user experience.
Identity Formation in Music Teacher Education: The Role of the Curriculum.

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative research was to examine undergraduate music teacher education curricula in the context of professional identity formation and in comparison with teacher...
Factors Associated With Home Visits in a 5-Year Study of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Survivors.

BACKGROUND Participant retention is vital for longitudinal studies. Home visits may increase retention, but little is known about the subset of patients they benefit. OBJECTIVE To evaluate patient-related variables associated with home visits. METHODS In a 5-year, longitudinal, multisite, prospective study of 195 survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome, in-person assessments were conducted at a research clinic. Home visits were offered to participants who could not attend the clinic. Associations between having a home visit, prior follow-up visit status, and baseline and in-hospital patient variables were evaluated with multivariable, random-intercept logistic regression models. The association between home visits and patients' posthospital clinical status was evaluated with a subsequent regression model adjusted for these variables. RESULTS Participants had a median age of 49 years and were 56% male and 58% White. The following had independent associations with home visits (adjusted odds ratio [95% CI]): age (per year: 1.03 [1.00-1.05]) and immediately preceding visit incomplete (2.46 [1.44-4.19]) or at home (8.24 [4.57-14.86]). After adjustment for prior-visit status and baseline and hospitalization variables, these posthospital patient outcome variables were associated with a subsequent home visit: instrumental activities of daily living (≥ 2 vs < 2 dependencies: 2.32 [1.29-4.17]), EQ-5D utility score (per 0.1-point decrease: 1.15 [1.02-1.30]), and 6-minute walk test (per 10-percentage-point decrease in percent-predicted distance: 1.50 [1.26-1.79]). CONCLUSIONS Home visits were important for retaining older and more physically impaired study participants, helping reduce selection bias caused by excluding them.
Sexual orientation and food insecurity: findings from the New York City Community Health Survey.

Objective: Food insecurity is a serious public health concern that disproportionately impacts minority groups. However, limited research has assessed food insecurity among sexual minorities. The current study investigates whether individuals identifying as lesbian/gay or bisexual (LGB) sexual orientation were more likely to experience food insecurity relative to heterosexual persons. Design: Data are from the 2017 and 2018 New York City Community Health Survey. Multinomial logistic regression is used to assess the association between sexual orientation and food insecurity. Setting: A sample of adults (18 years and older) who identify as heterosexual, gay/lesbian or bisexual living in New York City in 2017 and 2018. Participants: 18 610 non-institutionalised adults. Results: Bisexual individuals have significantly higher rates of both mild (relative risk ratio (RRR) = 1·719, 95 % CI 1·148, 2·573) and moderate-to-severe food insecurity (RRR = 1·851, 95 % CI 1·097, 3·122) relative to heterosexual individuals, net of covariates from demographic, household and socio-economic characteristics. Study findings showed no difference in the likelihood of food insecurity between gay/lesbian individuals and heterosexual individuals. Conclusion: Results illustrate a complex interplay between sexual orientation and food insecurity among adults living in New York City. Findings suggest that efforts to connect LGB individuals to public assistance programmes such as Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, as well as providing information and connections to food assistance through local LGBTQ+ centres, government agencies (i.e., NYC Human Resources Administration) and non-profit organisations (i.e., Food Bank for New York City) may be beneficial approaches to alleviate food insecurity among this population.
Oral Immunotherapy and Basophil and Mast Cell Reactivity in Food Allergy

Basophil activation tests (BATs) can closely monitor, in vitro, a patient’s propensity to develop type I hypersensitivity reactions. Because of their high specificity and sensitivity, BATs have become promising diagnostic tools, especially in cases with equivocal clinical histories, skin prick test results, and/or levels of specific IgE to allergen extracts. BATs also are useful as tools for monitoring the effects of treatment, since oral immunotherapy (OIT) studies report a diminution in patients’ basophil responsiveness over the course of OIT. This review will discuss the BAT findings obtained before, during, and after OIT for food allergy. We will mainly focus on the association of basophil responsiveness, and alterations in basophil surface markers, with clinical outcomes and other clinical features, such as blood levels of specific IgG and IgE antibodies. The detailed analysis of these correlations will ultimately facilitate the use of BATs, along with other blood biomarkers, to differentiate short-term desensitization versus sustained unresponsiveness and to improve treatment protocols. Given the critical anatomic location of mast cells adjacent to the many IgE+ plasma cells found in the gastrointestinal tissues of allergic individuals, we will also discuss the role of gastrointestinal mast cells in manifestations of food allergies.
A cross-sectional analysis of associations between environmental indices and asthma in U.S. counties from 2003 to 2012.

To capture the impacts of environmental stressors, environmental indices like the Air Quality Index, Toxic Release Inventory, and Environmental Quality Index have been used to investigate the environmental quality and its association with public health issues. However, past studies often rely on relatively small sample sizes, and they have typically not adjusted for important individual-level disease risk factors. We aim to estimate associations between existing environmental indices and asthma prevalence over a large population and multiple years. Based on data availability, we assessed the predictive capability of these indices for prevalent asthma across U.S. counties from 2003 to 2012. We gathered asthma data from the U.S. CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System by county and used multivariable weighted logistic regression models to estimate the associations between the environmental indices and asthma, adjusting for individual factors such as smoking, income level, and obesity. Environmental indices showed little to no correlation with one another and with prevalent asthma over time. Associations of environmental indices with prevalent asthma were very weak; whereas individual factors were more substantially associated with prevalent asthma. Our study suggests that an improved environmental index is needed to predict population-level asthma prevalence.
Organization and engagement of a prefrontal-olfactory network during olfactory selective attention

Sensory perception is profoundly shaped by attention. Attending to an odor strongly regulates if and how a smell is perceived - yet the brain systems involved in this process are unknown. Here we report integration of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a collection of brain regions integral to attention, with the olfactory system in the context of selective attention to odors. First, we used tracing methods to establish the tubular striatum (TuS, also known as the olfactory tubercle) as the primary olfactory region to receive direct mPFC input in rats. Next, we recorded local field potentials from the olfactory bulb (OB), mPFC, and TuS while rats completed an olfactory selective attention task. Gamma power and coupling of gamma oscillations with theta phase were consistently high as rats flexibly switched their attention to odors. Beta and theta synchrony between mPFC and olfactory regions were elevated as rats switched their attention to odors. Finally, we found that sniffing was consistent despite shifting attentional demands, suggesting that the mPFC-OB theta coherence is independent of changes in active sampling. Together, these findings begin to define an olfactory attention network wherein mPFC activity, as well as that within olfactory regions, are coordinated in manners based upon attentional states.
PDE9A deficiency does not prevent chronic-hypoxic pulmonary hypertension in mice.

Inhibition of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-specific phosphodiesterases (PDEs) is a cornerstone of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)-specific therapy. PDE9A, expressed in the heart and lung tissue, has the highest affinity for cGMP of all known PDEs. PDE9A deficiency protects mice against chronic left ventricular (LV) pressure overload via increased natriuretic peptide (NP)-dependent cGMP signaling. Chronic-hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (CH-PH) is a model of chronic right ventricular (RV) pressure overload, and previous studies have demonstrated a protective role for NPs in the murine model. Therefore, we hypothesized that PDE9A deficiency would promote NP-dependent cGMP signaling and prevent RV remodeling in the CH-PH model, analogous to findings in the LV. We exposed wild-type and PDE9A-deficient (Pde9a-/- ) C57BL/6 mice to CH-PH for 3 weeks. We measured RV pressure, hypertrophy, and levels of lung and RV cGMP, PDE9A, PDE5A, and phosphorylation of the protein kinase G substrate VASP (vasodilatory-stimulated phosphoprotein) after CH-PH. In wild-type mice, CH-PH was associated with increased circulating ANP and lung PDE5A, but no increase in cGMP, PDE9A, or VASP phosphorylation. Downstream effectors of cGMP were not increased in Pde9a-/- mice exposed to CH-PH compared with Pde9a+/+ littermates, and CH-PH induced increases in RV pressure and hypertrophy were not attenuated in knockout mice. Taken together, these findings argue against a prominent role for PDE9A in the murine CH-PH model.
Are Women Executives Disadvantaged

We investigate gender difierences in insider trading behavior of senior corporate executives in the U.S. between 1975 and 2005. We flnd that, on average, both female and male executives make positive proflts from insider trading, but males earn about twice as much as females; males also trade more than females. All these results also hold for the sub sample of very top executives. We are able to rule out gender difierences in overconfldence and risk-aversion as sole explanations for our results. The results are consistent with the view that female executives have a disadvantage relative to males in accessing inside information.
Template teams: teamwork in technical communication

The problem: do you have a client who wants a monthly report on the progress of your project? Are there a dozen or more authors whose input must be compiled, rewritten, reviewed, text processed, duplicated and delivered to the client-all within three weeks every month? How do you create a quality report given the limited time and a set budget? The solution: creating electronic templates and template teams, as well as keeping the report electronic, can solve the problem. >
Groundwater and Air Contamination: Risk, Toxicity, Exposure Assessment, Policy, and Regulation

The improper disposal of hazardous wastes and subsequent contamination of surface and groundwaters has exposed the public and ecosystems to toxic chemicals that have detrimental consequences. The cost of cleaning up the thousands of hazardous waste sites throughout the world is daunting, and the effort to do so is economically impractical. As a result, some level of contamination will always remain, both locally and globally. The presence of a residual level of contamination carries with it the probability of negative impacts on the world's population; e.g., enhanced risk of cancer or the onset of neurological disorders. Risk is the probability of such events. Risk assessments are routinely performed at contaminated sites and in areas of widespread environmental contamination, such as an entire aquifer, as a means of quantifying the potential threats to public health and to ecosystems.
An 8085 based STD bus system for digital control applications

The author describes an effort to produce an 8085-based standard (STD) bus system which includes a 16 bit analog (input/output) interface, a digital pulse-width-modulated output, and an RS232C interface to an IBM PC for downloading assembled programs. The main components of the system include an IBM PC, a STD bus card rack with +or-15 V supplies, and 8085 STD bus CPU card, a STD bus keyboard display card, a digital I/O card, a 16 bit analog I/O card, and a digital control card for the analog I/O. There are two possible methods of I/O in a digitally controlled second-order position control loop. The other method uses an analog-to-digital converter for the feedback inputs and a digital-to-analog converter for the servo amplifier output. Another method uses a digital encoder for the feedback inputs and a pulse-width-modulated signal for the servo amplifier output. The purpose of this design is to provide the basic hardware and software for an 8085-based digital control system which can be used for studying the differences between the above two methods of I/O. >
Lack of) lensing constraints on cluster dark matter profiles

Using stellar dynamics and strong gravitational lensing as complementary probes, Sand et al. (2002, 2003) have recently claimed strong evidence for shallow dark matter density profiles in several lensing clusters, which may conflict with predictions of the Cold Dark Matter paradigm. However, systematic uncertainties in the analysis weaken the constraints. By re-analyzing their data, we argue that the tight constraints claimed by Sand et al., were driven by prior assumptions. Relaxing the assumptions, we find that no strong constraints may be derived on the dark matter inner profile from the Sand et al. data; we find satisfactory fits (with reasonable parameters) for a wide range of inner slopes 0 < beta < 1.4. Useful constraints on the mass distributions of lensing clusters can still be obtained, but they require moving beyond mere measurements of lensing critical radii into the realm of detailed lens modeling.