cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CB1 antagonism produces behaviors more consistent with satiety than reduced reward value in food-maintained responding in rats:

Cannabinoid CB1 antagonists are widely known to reduce motivation for food, but it is not known whether they induce satiety or reduce reward value of food. It may therefore be necessary to compare effects of altered satiety and reward food value in the same appetitive task, and determine whether CB1 antagonism produces a behavior pattern similar to either, both, or neither. A fine-grained analysis of fixed-ratio 10 (FR10) responding for palatable food initially included number and duration of, and between, all lever presses and food tray entries in order to differentiate the pattern of suppression of prefeeding from that caused by reducing the reward value of the pellets with quinine. Discriminant function analysis then determined that these manipulations were best differentiated by effects on tray entries, pellet retrieval latencies, and time of the first response. At 0.5 mg/kg, AM 6527 produced similar effects to reducing reward value, but at 1.0 and 4.0 mg/kg, effects were more similar to those when animals were satiated. We conclude that AM 6527 both reduced reward value and enhanced satiety, but as dose increased, effects on satiety became much more prominent. These findings contribute to knowledge about the behavioral processes affected by CB1 antagonism.
A Pheromone from Male Screw-Worm Flies

When a volatile substance collected from male screw-worm flies, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel), was presented to unmated female flies, a distinctive behavioral response was produced. Wing fluttering and preening activities increased immediately. Soon thereafter exploratory “searching” movements were initiated, and these movements intensified until bodily contacts resembling the mating “strike” of males were noted. Females 6 days old were more responsive than younger or older flies. Mated female and virgin male flies were not affected by the substance, which appears to be olfactorily active sex pheromone.
Morphology and Taxonomy of Alternaria Cucumerina

Alternaria cucumerina was found to be the cause of a leafspot disease of cucurbits in all cases examined during the past 2 years in Florida. A study of this species indicates that the size range of...
Malathion-induced Sex Ratio Changes in Black Pineleaf Scale (Hemiptera: Diaspididae)

Haploid males of the black pineleaf scale ( Nuculaspis californica [Coleman]) growing naturally on their ponderosa pine host trees suffer higher mortality than the diploid females; thus secondary sex ratios change through the life history. Serial dilutions of malathion sprayed on the newly settled scales caused further differential male mortality. The male/female ratio declined as insecticide concentration increased and the survival of both sexes was reduced.
The Knight-Ayres Correspondence: The Grounds of Knowledge and Social Action

Clarence Edwin Ayres (1891–1972) and Frank Hyneman Knight (1885–1972) were personal friends and professional adversaries during their entire adult lives. Their friendship enabled and survived their deep mutual criticism which, because directed at the jugular, had it been effective would have entailed the destruction of the intellectual basis of the other’s work. Each man had both abilities and inabilities to communicate with, not to say convince, the other. For most of their colleagues, their intellectual conflict was manifest in a celebrated exchange of views in Ethics in 1935.1 In part because of his great respect for the quality and stature of Knight’s work as a neoclassicist, Ayres frequently used the latter’s writings as a foil for his own ideas. For his part, Knight was sympathetic to the study of the problems which the institutionalists took as their province — although he was not certain that either he or they fully understood them — but was wary lest certain tendencies of institutionalism work to the disadvantage of his values and beliefs, which included those he felt necessary for a free society.2 Each man tended somewhat to respond to the other on the basis of stylized perceptions based in part upon fear or distrust of certain ideas, yet each endeavoured to understand the other’s intellectual system while trying primarily to convince the other of the greater sense of his own ideas.
Drug-Drug Interactions in Headache Medicine.

Background The main treatments in a majority of headache patients are pharmacologic therapies. As a result, it is imperative to have strong background in pharmacotherapy used to treat headaches in order to provide optimal therapy and avoid drug interactions. One of the main reasons for failure of pharmacologic treatment of headaches is drug–drug interactions (DDIs). While there are many distinct pathways and mechanisms in which DDIs can occur, most occur through alterations within the cytochrome P450 pathways (CYP). Drugs that cause induction, inhibition, or are simply substrates for these pathways are responsible for many of the DDIs. Aim/Results We review and discuss the important and potential DDIs of commonly used headache medication often encountered in clinical practice. We divide the drugs into two classes, abortive and preventive. Within each group we select the most commonly used drugs and provide a detailed discussion of the mechanisms of interaction for each. Also included are commonly used herbal supplements, which can interact with headache medications. Conclusion Drug–drug-interactions are a major concern when developing a treatment regimen for patients suffering from headaches. There is a growing need for physician attention to the pharmacokinetics of drugs to improve the quality of patient care. It is vital that prescribing physicians be aware of the DDIs associated with the commonly prescribed headache medications to optimize patient care and therapy results.
Metabolic Differences of Antipsychotics Among the Races

As the United States population continues to grow and diversify, physicians must be equipped to treat patients of different races and ethnicities. Current data suggest that certain ethnic minority groups may be predisposed to a variety of clinical conditions, including obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, as physicians begin to turn more frequently to atypical antipsychotics in psychiatric illness, they face a growing concern regarding the development of metabolic side effects, especially in a US population that is gradually becoming more obese from a demographic standpoint. In addition, certain ethnic groups may be more susceptible to these metabolic effects. The metabolic side effects induced by the atypical antipsychotics vary greatly, with the newer agents generally displaying fewer and less severe side effects, indicating that the particular agent chosen is of critical importance. A risk/benefit assessment, taking into consideration any genetic predisposition, preexisting risk factors, and the side-effect profile of the specific agent, is paramount to the successful management of these patients. The ultimate goal is careful consideration of possible metabolic side effects in patients taking atypical antipsychotics, in order to avoid serious consequences.
Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel® SGX) Support for Dynamic Memory Management Inside an Enclave

We introduce Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel® SGX) SGX2 which extends the SGX instruction set to include dynamic memory management support for enclaves. Intel® SGX is a subset of the Intel Architecture Instruction Set [1]. SGX1 allows an application developer to build a trusted environment and execute inside that space. However SGX1 imposes limitations regarding memory commitment and reuse of enclave memory. The software developer is required to allocate all memory at enclave instantiation. This paper describes new instructions and programming models to extend support for dynamic memory management inside an enclave.
Effects of Temperature on Creep Behavior of Compacted Recycled Asphalt Pavement

AbstractRecycled asphalt pavement (RAP) can be beneficially used as alternative construction material in geotechnical applications, but characterizing its creep response is important to account for...
Waveform diversity: Past, present, and future

This paper reviews important aspects of waveform diversity development, and discusses how waveform diversity, distributed processing, spatial diversity, and knowledge-based processing can be integrated for optimum surveillance system performance. A next-generation surveillance concept is proposed, which is composed of a distributed constellation of autonomous sensors. (5 pages)
Comparative Evaluation of Phosphate Spectrophotometric Methods in Soil Test Phosphorus Extracting Solutions

Phosphate spectrophotometric methods are valuable in agro-environmental research because of the orthophosphate-specific detection. While optimum wavelength and detection limits for these methods are suggested in ultrapure water, they have rarely been evaluated in soil test P (STP) extracting solutions such as Bray P-1 and Mehlich III. When four different phosphate spectrophotometric methods (Murphy and Riley, He et al., Dick and Tabatabai, and Asher) were evaluated in these STP extracting solutions, we found (i) that the methods of Murphy and Riley and He et al. are still sensitive at P concentrations <2 mg L⁻¹ in STP solutions, (ii) a new optimum wavelength (886–888 nm) in STP solutions for the Dick and Tabatabai method, and (iii) a new optimum wavelength and limit of detection for Asher’s methods in ultrapure water and STP solutions. The new optimum wavelengths and detection limit reported in this study should be useful for colorimetric-based orthophosphate analysis.
How BIDs Behave: Publicness and Privateness in BID Organizational Life

Organizational differences between state and private associations are difficult to define.1 Behavioral boundaries marking public and private sectors have been characterized as “fuzzy.”2 Private government theory contends that both public and private organizations share basic features common to all institutions that exercise authority. As mentioned in the opening chapter, these theorists posit that the thread of governance runs through all institutions in society. Regardless of public or private status, organizations contain rules, personnel, plans, and programs.3 Furthermore, both public and private institutions maintain sanctions used against constituents who break their rules.4
Innovative heating of large-size automotive Li-ion cells

Abstract Automotive Li-ion cells are becoming much larger and thicker in order to reduce the cell count and increase battery reliability, posing a new challenge to battery heating from the cold ambient due to poor through-plane heat transfer across a cell's multiple layers of electrodes and separators. In this work, widely used heating methods, including internal heating using the cell's resistance and external heating by resistive heaters, are compared with the recently developed self-heating Li-ion battery (SHLB) with special attention to the heating speed and maximum local temperature critical to battery safety. Both conventional methods are found to be slow due to low heating power required to maintain battery safety. The heating power in the external heating method is limited by the risk of local over-heating, in particular for thick cells. As a result, the external heating method is restricted to ∼20 min slow heating for a 30 °C temperature rise. In contrast, the SHLB is demonstrated to reach a heating speed of 1–2 °C/sec, ∼40 times faster for large-size thick cells, with nearly 100% heating efficiency and spatially uniform heating free from safety concerns.
Improvement of continuous-wave radar measurements in a partially controlled environment

A spatial filtering method is introduced for improving continuous-wave inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) measurements in a partially controlled chamber. Twodimensional angle of arrival (AoA) estimation using a modified matrix pencil algorithm first identifies directions of interference sources outside the target zone. Then, each radar sweep is prefiltered to eliminate strong sources of chamber reflections without using radar absorbing materials. The system repeatabilty is also analyzed using a student T-test and results of before and after ISAR imagery are presented.
Ultrasound for Otolaryngologists and Head and Neck Surgeons: What I Learned from Lifetime Practice

I have been invited to reflect on in this chapter what stimulated me to develop an interest in office-based ultrasound in lieu of continuing with the standard imaging by radiology. I learned the methodology from a skilled, highly published radiologist who was also department chair of diagnostic imaging and intervention. He concentrated his imaging interests to the head and neck to include MRI, PET scan, CT scan, and all aspects of ultrasound. His belief was that no one specialty owns ultrasound and in fact the technology belongs best in the hands of the clinician. For 12 years prior to my retirement from clinical practice in 2009, head and neck ultrasound had been an integral part of the assessment of every head and neck patient. With a practice heavily skewed toward thyroid and parathyroid disorders, ultrasound is integral to diagnosis, biopsy, and follow-up. Less common conditions such as lymphoma, inflammatory nodal enlargement, metastatic lymphadenopathy, cysts, congenital masses, hematoma, and abscess formation similarly are amenable to first-visit ultrasound. There are many reasons to develop this tool and it is instructive to examine the pros and cons along with considerations for the future.
Critical Discourse Analysis in Education: A Review of the Literature, 2004 to 2012

This article reviews critical discourse analysis scholarship in education research from 2004 to 2012. Our methodology was carried out in three stages. First, we searched educational databases. Second, we completed an analytic review template for each article and encoded these data into a digital spreadsheet to assess macro-trends in the field. Third, we developed schemata to interpret the complexity of research design. Our examination of 257 articles reveals trends in research questions, the theories researchers find useful, and the kinds of interactions that capture their attention. We explore areas in the field especially ripe for debate and critique: reflexivity, deconstructive–reconstructive stance toward inquiry, and social action. We compare the findings with an earlier review published in 2005, reflecting on three decades of critical discourse analysis in education research.
Positive radial solutions for a class of singular superlinear problems on the exterior of a ball with nonlinear boundary conditions

Abstract We discuss existence and nonexistence results of positive radial solutions to the problem { − Δ u = λ K ( | x | ) f ( u ) in | x | > r 0 , ∂ u ∂ n + c ˜ ( u ) u = 0 on | x | = r 0 , u ( x ) → 0 as | x | → ∞ , where Ω = { x ∈ R N : | x | > r 0 > 0 } , N > 2 , f : ( 0 , ∞ ) → R is continuous, superlinear at ∞, and is allowed to be singular at 0 with no sign conditions near 0.
Rear seat occupant safety: kinematics and injury of PMHS restrained by a standard 3-point belt in frontal crashes.

This study developed a baseline response for a rear-seated post mortem human surrogate (PMHS) in frontal crashes. Three PMHS sled tests were performed in a sled back designed to represent the interior rear-seat compartment of a contemporary mid-sized sedan. All occupants were positioned in the right-rear passenger seat and subjected to simulated frontal crashes with an impact speed of 48 km/h. The subjects were restrained by a standard, rear seat, 3-point seat belt. The response of each subject was evaluated in terms of whole-body kinematics, dynamics, and injury. Each PMHS experienced excessive forward translation of the pelvis resulting in a backward rotation of the torso at the time of maximum forward excursion. The three subjects experienced maximum normalized chest deflections of 30%, 45%, and 30%, respectively, and maximum 3 ms clip resultant chest accelerations of 50, 42, and 52 g, respectively. Additionally, each PMHS received at least 13 rib fractures (maximum of 29 fractures), and flexion-tension induced neck injuries initiating in the lower cervical spine. The neck trauma ranged from ligament damage (AIS 1) to complete cervical spine transection (AIS 5).
Integrating Health into Local Climate Response: Lessons from the U.S. CDC Climate-Ready States and Cities Initiative

Public health has potential to serve as a frame to convey the urgency of behavior change needed to adapt to a changing climate and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Local governments form the backbone of climate-related public health preparedness. Yet local health agencies are often inadequately prepared and poorly integrated into climate change assessments and plans. We reviewed the climate health profiles of 16 states and two cities participating in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Climate-Ready States and Cities Initiative (CRSCI) that aims to build local capacity to assess and respond to the health impacts of climate change. Following recommendations from a recent expert panel strategic review, we present illustrations of emerging promising practice and future directions. We found that CRSCI has strengthened climate preparedness and response in local public health agencies by identifying critical climate-health impacts and vulnerable populations, and has helped integrate health more fully into broader climate planning. Promising practice was found in all three recommendation areas identified by the expert panel (leveraging partnerships, refining assessment methodologies and enhancing communications), particularly with regard to health impacts of extreme heat. Vast needs remain, however, suggesting the need to disseminate CRSCI experience to non-grantees. In conclusion, the CRSCI program approach and selected activities illustrate a way forward toward robust, targeted local preparedness and response that may serve as a useful example for public health departments in the United States and internationally, particularly at a time of uncertain commitment to climate change agreements at the national level. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1838.
Mapping cation diffusion through lattice defects in epitaxial oxide thin films on the water-soluble buffer layer Sr3Al2O6 using atomic resolution electron microscopy

Recent advances in the synthesis of oxide thin films have led to the discovery of novel functionalities that are not accessible in bulk structures. However, their physical properties are vulnerable to the presence of crystal defects, which can give rise to structural, chemical, and electronic modifications. These issues are central to optimizing the opportunities to create freestanding oxide films using the recently developed buffer layer Sr3Al2O6, which is soluble in room temperature water. To evaluate the general possibility to create atomic scale freestanding oxide heterostructures, it is critical to understand the formation, structure, and role of defects as this buffer layer is employed. Here, using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy in combination with electron energy loss spectroscopy, we reveal cation segregation and diffusion along crystal defects that form during growth of an oxide multilayer structure on the Sr3Al2O6 buffer layer. We demonstrate that mass transport o...
Equity, Access, and Mathematics Coursetaking Within Purposefully Created Small High Schools:

An extensive body of research describes the stark social and academic disparities that characterize large, comprehensive public high schools. Advocates have argued that smaller high schools, with t...
Abstract 18108: Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients of Native American, Pacific Islander, Asian, Hispanic, and African American Background Have Significantly Different Baseline Characteristics and Outcomes Compared With White Patients

Introduction: Racial differences in heart failure (HF) hospitalization characteristics and outcomes between white and African American (AA) populations have been described previously. However there remains a paucity of information regarding other major race groups, particularly Native American (NA), Asian, and Pacific Islanders (PI). We analyzed HF hospitalization within these race groups with the objective to identify differences in baseline characteristics and outcomes. Methods: Over 134.5 million administrative hospital records between 1994-2013 were screened for a primary diagnosis of HF using ICD-9 code 428. Outcomes included death, discharge home (including with home health), and skilled nursing facility (SNF). Risk factor associations with death and disposition home vs SNF/intermediate care were identified using multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, gender, and several common comorbid conditions. Results: A total of 4,628,725 HF hospitalizations were identified. Of these 3,031,810 identified as white, 770,339 as AA, 83,627 as Asian, 12,024 as Native American, and 2,862 as Pacific Islander. Similar to white patients (med. age 79 years), Asians were older (med. 77 years) whereas NAs (med. 67 years), PIs (med. 72 years), and AAs (med. 64 years) were younger (p Conclusion: There are notable differences in patient characteristics and outcomes among hospitalized NA, Asian, PI and Hispanic patients compared with white and AAs.
Transient Secondary Hypothyroidism and Thyroid Hormone Replacement Therapy in Pediatric Postoperative Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Background To develop an understanding of current practices in the management of transient secondary hypothyroidism in pediatric postoperative cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) patients. Methods Electronic survey comprising a 10-item questionnaire was sent to sixty-four high volume pediatric heart centers in the United States and United Kingdom. Survey participants included cardiologists, intensivists, cardiothoracic surgeons, and advanced practice providers. A retrospective chart review was also performed at a large regional referral center in the Midwest on subjects 0-18 years old who underwent CPB from 2005-2015. Information obtained included a unique identifier, date of birth, age, procedure performed, CPB time, date of surgery and date and type of Thyroid Function Test (TFT) ordered. Results 1,153 individuals from 64 congenital heart centers were contacted via email to participate in the electronic survey. In the 3-month response window, 129 completed surveys were received from cardiologists (55%), intensivists (17%), surgeons (15%), "other" (8%), and advanced practice providers (5%). This yielded a response rate of 11.2%. Of the 129 respondents, only 10 providers routinely order TFTs prior to (n=7) and after (n=1) CPB or when clinically indicated (n=2). All 10 providers order thyroid stimulating hormone test, 7 order thyroxine, and 3 order triiodothyronine. Only 1 provider routinely treats children with prophylactic thyroid hormone replacement therapy after CPB. Our retrospective review included 502 CPB events with 442 unique patients. Of the events, 20 patients received preoperative TFT testing while 11 received postoperative testing. Conclusions There is a general lack of uniformity in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of transient secondary hypothyroidism in pediatric postoperative CPB patients.
The product of the γ-secretase processing of ephrinB2 regulates VE-cadherin complexes and angiogenesis

Presenilin-1 (PS1) gene encodes the catalytic component of γ-secretase, which proteolytically processes several type I transmembrane proteins. We here present evidence that the cytosolic peptide efnB2/CTF2 produced by the PS1/γ-secretase cleavage of efnB2 ligand promotes EphB4 receptor-dependent angiogenesis in vitro. EfnB2/CTF2 increases endothelial cell sprouting and tube formation, stimulates the formation of angiogenic complexes that include VE-cadherin, Raf-1 and Rok-α, and increases MLC2 phosphorylation. These functions are mediated by the PDZ-binding domain of efnB2. Acute downregulation of PS1 or inhibition of γ-secretase inhibits the angiogenic functions of EphB4 while absence of PS1 decreases the VE-cadherin angiogenic complexes of mouse brain. Our data reveal a mechanism by which PS1/γ-secretase regulates efnB2/EphB4 mediated angiogenesis.
Catalytic epoxidation of propylene glycol and its acetates

Abstract The base-catalyzed, gas-phase epoxidation of propylene glycol acetates to propylene oxide (PO) is carried out in a laboratory-scale fixed-bed reactor. Potassium salts (0.5–2.5 mmol K/g) on silica are identified as selective catalysts for the reaction. A temperature of 400 °C at high space velocity gives a maximum PO selectivity of 81%, while the maximum yield of 30% is achieved at the same temperature but lower space velocity. Pre- and post-reaction catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption, TGA, XPS, and FTIR. High temperature and high potassium loading lead to collapse of the silica pore structure, and in severe cases to obstruction of flow in the reactor. Potassium carbonate, formed via ketonization of potassium acetate generated on the support during reaction with KOH as the catalyst material, is the stable potassium species on the catalyst at high loadings (>1.5 mmol K/g silica). At low loadings, surface potassium silicate analogs (Si-O-K) predominate. The use of potassium on a low surface area, annealed silica support gives similar activity and PO selectivity without degradation of pore structure.
Physical Activity in Diet-Induced Disease Causation and Prevention in Women and Men

• Obesity, with its comorbidities, has emerged as a major public health problem in the USA and around the world and excess visceral and intramuscular fat is strongly linked to increased risk of cardio-metabolic perturbations.
Electrocardiographic Equipment and Methods

We think of an electrocardiogram as representing electrical activity in the heart, of course, and it does, but that may not be all; the heart is not the only organ in the body that produces electricity. The brain generates voltages too, and so do muscles and the fetal heart, and differences in potential may arise at the skin-electrode interface. In addition, both patient and recording equipment may act as antennae to detect the electrical field, alternating 60 times/s in a polarity, that is almost ubiquitous in our environment. The position of the trace at any moment represents the net of all these, not just information from the heart. Factors other than electricity can influence the tracing, too, especially the skill, attention, and understanding of the technician. A lead labeled II, for instance, is really III if it was made with the arm leads crossed, I if the left arm and leg leads were transposed, and contains no information at all if the right arm lead was attached to the right leg and vice versa (p. 104), and all these human errors are common. Deflections caused by extracardiac activity or technical error are called artifacts, and may arise in any part of the system—the patient’s body, the recording equipment, computers, facsimile machines, and telephone lines.
Divalent Cations and Regulation of Cyclic Nucleotides in Nervous Systems

It is well known that much of the intercellular communication in the central nervous system is chemically mediated by neurotransmitters or “neuroactive” substances. These intercellular “first messengers” interact with specific portions of plasma membranes and may produce changes in membrane potential and/or alter several intracellular metabolic processes. There is increasing evidence that the Ca2+ ion, adenosine 3’,5’-monophosphate (cyclic AMP), and perhaps guanosine 3’,5’-monophosphate (cyclic GMP) act as intracellular second messengers to mediate the actions of several neurotransmitters, hormones, and other substances in CNS as well as in other tissues. In many processes there appears to be a close interrelationship between the Ca2+ion and cyclic nucleotide and each may influence the metabolism and/or subcellular distribution or concentration of the other. This chapter reviews only one aspect of the interrelationship between cyclic nucleotides and Ca2+, namely the influence of Ca2+ and other divalent cations on cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP regulation in nervous tissue. For a more exhaustive review of cyclic nucleotides and divalent cations in cellular biology, the reader is referred to the recent reviews of Berridge (1) and Rasmussen and Goodman (2).
Survey of Non-malicious User Actions that Introduce Network and System Vulnerabilities and Exploits

Security is a growing concern in modern computer networks. Despite the implementation of significant security measures, a network can still be exposed to attackers by the actions of its users. Both attackers and penetration testers use social engineering tactics to exploit the mistakes made by users. For example, a user being tricked into clicking on a malicious link in a phishing email. Network security administrators seek ways to prevent intrusion into the network initiated by users performing such risky actions, and use methodologies to detect and respond safely when those actions occur. If we were able to simulate these user actions in a controlled network, it would help prepare networks to be sufficiently hardened to prevent exposure. The goal of this paper is to seek out different ways users create vulnerabilities, and use that information to determine the feasibility of replicating them in a network as semi-autonomous agents for evaluating security. We seek to determine existing research on network breaches caused by unwitting-users, the common and current exploits attackers use to trick users, and the mitigations that can prevent intrusion into the network.
Logarithms Are Not Infinity: A Rational Physics-Related Explanation of the Mysterious Statement by Lev Landau

Nobel-prize winning physicist Lev Landau liked to emphasize that logarithms are not infinity – meaning that from the physical viewpoint, logarithms of infinite values are not really infinite. Of course, from a literally mathematical viewpoint, this statement does not make sense: one can easily prove that logarithm of infinity is infinite. However, when a Nobel-prizing physicist makes a statement, you do not want to dismiss it, you want to interpret it. In this paper, we propose a possible physical explanation of this statement. Namely, in physics, nothing is really infinite: according to modern physics, even the Universe is finite in size. From this viewpoint, infinity simply means a very large value. And here lies our explanation: while, e.g., the square of a very large value is still very large, the logarithm of a very large value can be very reasonable – and for very large values from physics, logarithms are indeed very reasonable.
Race and the public foundation grants marketplace: the differential effect of network status in communities of colour

Public policy increasingly relies upon private philanthropic actors to meet community needs. However, nonprofits located in communities of colour may be disadvantaged in the private grants marketpl...
The Value Proposition and ProvenCare

The value proposition in health care is commonly defined as Value = Quality/Cost. Quality in the US health-care system has relied largely on technology and complex health-care delivery processes with less attention to preventative care and cost, leaving many to question the value delivery. One system that is uniquely positioned to study the value question is Geisinger Health System. It consists of a payer and both primary and tertiary care providers under the same administrative leadership. Using bariatric surgery as a clinical model, Geisinger established an “evidence-based” care pathway with a bundled-reimbursement contingent on adherence. We have demonstrated that this program, ProvenCare® Bariatric, provides increased value by improving the quality of care at a lower cost.
Characteristics of the Toxins of Clostridium Difficile

The production of toxin by Clostridium difficile was first described by Hall and O’Toole (1935) who noted that subcutaneous injections of cell-free filtrates into guinea pigs caused edema, respiratory arrest, and death. These observations were confirmed two years later by Snyder (1937). Almost 40 years later, Hafiz and Oakley (1976) reported that 5 of 30 strains of C. difficile which they isolated produced very small amounts of toxin that was lethal and necrotizing. They did not study the toxin further, in part because their strains produced only 4 mouse lethal doses per ml. Then, in the late 1970’s, the results from a series of studies implicated C. difficile as the causative agent of antibiotic-associated colitis and these findings resulted in the initiation of a number of studies on the toxins of the organism (Bartlett et al. 1977a, 1978 a, c, d; Browne et al. 1977a; Larson et al. 1977, 1978; Larson and Price, 1977; Rifkin et al. 1977, 1978a; Chang et al. 1978a, b; George et al. 1978a, c; Katz et al. 1978; Allo et al. 1979; Willey and Bartlett, 1979; Rehg, 1980).
A Case Study of the Design Practices and Judgments of Novice Instructional Designers

Instructional design and training skills have become a key competency that is expected of public health professionals. However, the research on educating public health students as instructional designers (ID) is lacking. The purpose of this study is to better understand how novice IDs design trainings using their design judgment in an authentic instructional design project in order to provide them with effective educational supports. The data sources of this case study include 11 training lesson plans generated by 37 students through a semester and six semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that: (1) online games, (2) instructional videos, (3) handouts, (4) PowerPoint presentation slides, and (5) infographics were designed and used by novice IDs. In the midst of the various challenges that were encountered, framing judgment, core judgment, instrumental judgment, navigational judgment, and appearance judgment were manifested in the design process of novice IDs. Based on the findings, practical implementations are recommended to develop effective instructional design curricula for novice public health student designers.
Decoding of Rate k/n Convolutional Codes in VLSI

A systematic procedure for an efficient VLSI implementation of the Viterbi algorithm for decoding convolutional codes is presented. This implementation is based on a network of simple processors, each performing an add-compare-select and branch-generation operation, that reside on a single die and are connected to execute the Viterbi algorithm in a highly parallel way. The chip area of such implementations will depend on the processor interconnections, which in turn depend on the state transition diagram of the convolutional encoder (or dual encoder). It is shown that for all rate 1/n convolutional codes generated by feed-forward FIR encoders the encoder state transition diagram, which is described by a de Bruijn graph, can be mapped by a simple equivalence relation to a well-known interconnection scheme in parallel processing referred to as the shuffle-exchange network, for which layout techniques that achieve a proven lower bound on implementation area in a VLSI medium have been established. These results are then extended to rate 1/n codes generated by (IIR) encoders containing feedback. Finally, in the case of general (feed-forward and feedback) rate k/n convolutional encoders it is shown that the state transition diagram of either the encoder or the dual encoder can be always mapped to the Cartesian product of de Bruijn graphs, and therefore of shuffle-exchange graphs; the point is that optimum VLSI layouts for the Cartesian product are easier to obtain and much less complicated than any direct VLSI layouts for the original state transition diagram.
Collective Excitations in Pb 207 , Pb 208 , and Bi 209

The nuclei ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{207}$, ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{208}$, and ${\mathrm{Bi}}^{209}$ are investigated by inelastic scattering of 42-MeV $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ particles. The previously noted similarity in the excitation of these three nuclei is studied in detail. The excitation of collective levels is strongly favored in this experiment. The measured angular distributions show equally strong octupole levels in the three nuclei, at 2.6-MeV excitation. Levels in ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{207}$ and ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{208}$ around 3.2 MeV are found with the same strength as the known ${5}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ level at 3.198 MeV in ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{208}$. The previously reported level at 4.3 MeV in ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{208}$ is shown to consist of two levels at 4.12 and 4.40 MeV and their angular distributions favor a ${2}^{+}$ assignment. These levels are also found in ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{207}$ with the same intensity as in ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{208}$. The conclusion is drawn that the excitations in these three nuclei are due to the collective excitations of the ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{208}$ core and that the coupling to the ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{208}$ core of a single proton or a single neutron hole is very weak. Collective parameters are extracted using the Austern-Blair model which is shown to give good agreement with the measured angular distributions. The Coulomb-excitation contribution to the inelastic scattering is demonstrated by extending the angular-distribution measurements to small angles.
Chapter 6 – Prototyping

Publisher Summary This chapter explores goals and techniques for building user interface prototypes. A logical entailment of iterative design is that prototypes are constructed and evaluated to guide redesign and refinement. A prototype is a concrete but partial implementation of a system design. Prototypes may be created to explore many questions during system development—for example, system reliability, bandwidth consumption, or hardware compatibility. An important responsibility of usability engineers is choosing the right approach as a function of the goals and resources of the prototyping effort. Even very early in a project, sophisticated prototypes can be built using video or computer animations. These create excitement for a project, but if not presented carefully may cause misinterpretation or premature commitment. When used to choose among design alternatives, a prototype should be as realistic as possible, to ensure that the data on which the decision is based will be a valid indicator of what would happen in the real world. Very rough prototypes can be quite effective in opening up the design space, encouraging analysis, and design ideas by diverse stakeholders. The types of usability data that are meaningful depend on the fidelity of the prototype. With low-fidelity prototypes, users can react to screens and make predictions about functionality or controls, but data such as performance times and aesthetic judgments should be obtained with working-system prototypes.
The Prevalence of Hyperglycemia and the Impact on Perioperative Outcomes in Gynecologic Surgery

Study Objective Our primary objective was to estimate the prevalence of preoperative hyperglycemia. Our secondary objectives were to identify risks for hyperglycemia, evaluate the impact of hyperglycemia on perioperative morbidity and to characterize adherence to national diabetes screening guidelines. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Tertiary academic medical center. Patients or Participants Patients (n=913) undergoing major gynecologic surgery on an enhanced recovery pathway from January 2018 through July 2019. Interventions Major gynecologic surgery on an enhanced recovery pathway. Measurements and Main Results The prevalence of hyperglycemia (blood glucose ≤140 g/dL) amongst all patients was 7.3%. After adjusting for key clinical and demographic factors, diabetes (aOR 27.2; 95% CI 14.8-50.2) and malignancy (aOR 2.5; 95% CI 1.3-6.6) were associated with increased odds of hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia was associated with increased odds of composite perioperative complication (aOR 1.9; 95% CI 1.0-3.7). There was no association between blood glucose level and wound complications. Fifty percent of non-diabetic patients met the United States Preventive Services Task Force criteria for diabetes screening, however only 30% of this group had documented diabetes screening in the three years preceding surgery. Conclusion While the prevalence of hyperglycemia in the gynecologic surgery population is low, preoperative hyperglycemia is associated with increased odds of perioperative complication. Additionally, compliance with diabetes screening for at-risk patients is suboptimal. Identifying and managing hyperglycemia in the preoperative period may mitigate surgical risk. Moreover, the preoperative time period provides an opportunity to ensure current diabetes screening in at-risk patients.
Consumer Expropriation of Aesthetically Functional Trade Dress: Results from a Randomized Experiment

Trade dress, as a subset of trademark law, can offer potentially perpetual protection to a product’s design or packaging features if they aid consumers in identifying a product’s source. Yet these protected design features might be valued by consumers not only because of their source identifying function, but also because consumers find the design or package features beautiful, independent of the goodwill generated by the producer. Thus, under the doctrine of aesthetic functionality, manufacturers who produce red-soled shoes or whiskey with a melted wax seal might gain what courts have called a “non-reputation-related” competitive advantage, ultimately warranting the expropriation of the protected product feature into the public domain. This Article argues that courts, in assessing questions of aesthetic functionality, should give particular weight to surveys asking consumers whether they would be better off if competitors were allowed to use a protected trade dress feature in their own products. Just as, under the doctrine of genericide, consumers are able to expropriate word marks if consumers find it more beneficial to associate the language feature of the trademark with competitors’ products, consumers should also be able to expropriate trade dress rights of a particular manufacturer if they find it more beneficial to have these design and packaging features available to the manufacturer’s competitors. Creating a genericide analog for cancelation of trade dress can further trademark’s central goal of protecting consumer welfare. This Article reports “proof of concept” results of our proposed consumer surveys with regard to seven different forms of existing trade dress—including not only Louboutin’s red-soled shoes and Maker’s Mark’s red-drip wax seal, but also Gucci’s famous “diamond motif” and Emeco’s Navy chair. We implement our surveys as a between-subject randomized experiment that allows us to causally estimate the intensity of consumer preferences as well as the impact of “guiding” subjects on the likely consequences of forgoing trade dress protection. Our results, while at best suggestive, found that judicial assessments of functionality were often not predictive of consumer protection preferences. For example, a statistically significant majority indicated they would be better off if other manufacturers were allowed to produce Emeco’s Navy chair design, notwithstanding a contrary judicial holding. We also found that large consumer majorities chose to protect two iconic Veblen goods: the Louboutin shoe and the Gucci Diamond Motif, even when informed that such protection would likely lead to higher prices—indicating a desire to preserve trade dress’ power to sustain social distinction.
Nanoanalysis of plasma volatile organic compounds using novel DNA-decorated carbon nanotube vapor sensors to noninvasively distinguish ovarian and pancreatic cancer from benign and control samples.

5544Background: All cells release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which emanate from body fluids. Our previous preliminary proof of concept study demonstrated that VOCs released from tissue and p...
Characterizing employment of colorectal cancer survivors using electronic health records.

Objective Although the value of collecting occupational data is well-established, these data are not systematically collected in clinical practice. We assessed the availability of electronic health record (EHR)-based occupation data within a large integrated health care system to determine the feasibility of its use in research. Materials and methods We used a mixed-methods approach to extract EHR data and define employment status, employer, and employment industry of 1107 colorectal cancer survivors. This was a secondary analysis of a subset of the Patient Outcomes Research to Advance Learning (PORTAL) colorectal cancer cohort. Results We categorized the employment industry for 46% of the cohort. Employment status was available for 58% of the cohort. The employer was missing for over 95% of the cohort. Conclusion By combining data from structured and free-text EHR fields, we identified employment status and industry for approximately half of our sample. Findings demonstrate limitations of EHR data and underscore the need for systematic collection of occupation data in clinical practice.
Association of coccygodynia with pelvic floor symptoms in women with pelvic pain.

BACKGROUND Coccygodynia is a painful condition of the tailbone that occurs more commonly in females. The association of coccyx pain with pelvic floor symptoms and the prevalence of coccyx pain in women with pelvic pain has not previously been reported. OBJECTIVE To identify the prevalence of coccygodynia in women with pelvic pain and to describe the association of coccygodynia with pelvic floor examination findings and symptoms. DESIGN Retrospective cohort analysis. SETTING Tertiary medical institution. PARTICIPANTS One hundred twenty-seven women presenting for outpatient pelvic floor physical therapy treatment who underwent vaginal and rectal pelvic floor examination. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Prevalence of coccygodynia, pain scores, association of coccygodynia with other comorbidities and diagnoses, and association of coccygodynia with physical examination findings. RESULTS Sixty-three (49.6%) of 127 women with pelvic pain presented with coccygodynia and 64 (50.4%) did not. Women with coccygodynia had significantly higher rates of muscle spasm (50.8% vs. 31.2%, p = .025) higher visual analog scale pain scores (median 5 vs. 3, p = .014), higher rates of outlet dysfunction constipation (31.7% vs. 10.0%, p = .032), and higher rates of fibromyalgia (15.9% vs. 3.1%, p = .014). On pelvic examination, women with coccygodynia were significantly more likely to have sacrococcygeal joint hypomobility (65.1% vs. 14.1%, p < .001), coccygeus muscle spasm (77.8% vs. 17.2%, p < .001), anococcygeal ligament pain (63.5% vs. 9.4%, p < .001), external anal sphincter pain/spasm (33.3% vs. 13.1%, p < .001), and impaired pelvic floor muscle coordination (77.8% vs. 57.8%, p = .016). CONCLUSIONS Almost 50% of women seeking pelvic floor physical therapy for pelvic pain had coexisting coccygodynia. These women had higher pain scores, increased pelvic floor dysfunction, and significantly greater abnormal physical exam findings. This study demonstrates a strong link between coccygodynia, pelvic floor symptoms, and pelvic pain and highlights the importance of screening for and identifying coccyx pain when evaluating women with pelvic pain.
Analysis of Interwoven Nitinol Stenting for the Treatment of Critical Limb Ischemia: Outcomes From an Average 3-Year Follow-up Period.

We assessed the clinical outcomes of patients with critical limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) who underwent interwoven nitinol stent (Supera) implantation for significant stenoses of the femoropopli...