cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Child‐Care Instability and Behavior Problems: Does Parenting Stress Mediate the Relationship?

Child care instability is associated with more behavior problems in young children, but the mechanisms of this relationship are not well understood. Theoretically, this relationship is likely to emerge, at least in part, because care instability leads to increased parenting stress. Moreover, low socioeconomic status and single-mother families may be more vulnerable to the effects of instability. This study tested these hypotheses using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study (n=1,675) and structural equation modeling. Three types of child care instability were examined: long-term instability, multiplicity, and needing to use back-up arrangements. Overall, findings showed little evidence that parenting stress mediated the associations between care instability and child behavior problems among the full sample. Among single-mother and low-income families, however, needing to use back-up arrangements had small positive associations with parenting stress, which partially mediated the relationship between that type of care instability and child externalizing behavior problems.
The Ecology, Biogeochemistry, and Optical Properties of Coccolithophores

Coccolithophores are major contributors to phytoplankton communities and ocean biogeochemistry and are strong modulators of the optical field in the sea. New discoveries are changing paradigms about these calcifiers. A new role for silicon in coccolithophore calcification is coupling carbonate and silicon cycles. Phosphorus and iron play key roles in regulating coccolithophore growth. Comparing molecular phylogenies with coccolith morphometrics is forcing the reconciliation of biological and geological observations. Mixotrophy may be a possible life strategy for deep-dwelling species, which has ramifications for biological pump and alkalinity pump paradigms. Climate, ocean temperatures, and pH appear to be affecting coccolithophores in unexpected ways. Global calcification is approximately 1–3% of primary productivity and affects CO2 budgets. New measurements of the backscattering cross section of coccolithophores have improved satellite-based algorithms and their application in case I and case II optical...
Enhanced NO-Dependent Pulmonary Vasodilation Limits Increased Vasoconstrictor Sensitivity in Neonatal Chronic Hypoxia

This research is the first to demonstrate enhanced nitric oxide-dependent vasodilation that limits increased vasoconstrictor reactivity in neonatal pulmonary hypertension. These results suggest tha...
Development and initial testing of the brief adolescent smoking curiosity scale (ASCOS).

Abstract Background Although the reasons behind tobacco smoking at young age are complex, research has identified curiosity as a potent driver of smoking among adolescents. Objective The objective of the current study is to develop and provide initial evidence of reliability and validity of a short scale assessing smoking curiosity among adolescents (first measure of its kind). In particular, we developed and tested the adolescent smoking curiosity scale (ASCOS). Methods After scale development, 101 adolescents completed a survey on smoking-related measures, including ASCOS (June to August 2014). We conducted exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha calculation to inspect factor-structure and reliability. We conducted multiple linear regression models to examine the scale's capacity to predict antecedents of smoking initiation. Results Factor analysis supported a single-factor structure of smoking curiosity. ASCOS was internally reliable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.83). Controlling for demographics, the measure correlated significantly with temptation to try smoking (β = 0.41, p Conclusions ASCOS presented good psychometric properties and passed initial validity-testing through associations with antecedents of smoking. ASCOS was a better predictor of susceptibility to smoke than did a traditional single-item measure used by previous research. As an implication, ASCOS can be crucial to the development of tailored interventions for smoking prevention that can reduce smoking curiosity.
Complete Visibility for Mobile Robots with Lights Tolerating Faults

We consider the distributed setting of N autonomous?mobile robots that operate in Look-Compute-Move (LCM) cycles and communicate with other robots using colored lights (the robots with lights model). We study the fundamental Complete Visibility problem of repositioning N robots on a plane so that each robot is visible to all others. We assume obstructed visibility under which a robot cannot see another robot if a third robot is positioned between them on the straight line connecting them. We are interested in fault-tolerant algorithms; all existing algorithms for this problem are not fault-tolerant (except handling some special cases). We study fault-tolerance with respect to failures on the mobility of robots. Therefore, any algorithm for Complete Visibility is required to provide visibility between all non-faulty robots, independently of the behavior of the faulty ones. We model mobility failures as crash faults in which each faulty robot is allowed to stop its movement at any time and, once the faulty robot stopped moving, that robot will remain stationary indefinitely. In this paper, we present and analyze an algorithm that solves Complete Visibility tolerating one crash-faulty robot in a system of N>=3 robots, starting from any arbitrary initial configuration. We also provide an impossibility result on solving Complete Visibility if a single robot is Byzantine-faulty in a system of N=3 robots; in the Byzantine fault model, a faulty robot might behave in an unpredictable, arbitrary, and unforeseeable ways. Furthermore, we discuss how to solve Complete Visibility for some initial configurations of robots (which we call feasible initial configurations) in the crash fault model, where two robots are (crash) faulty.
Kidneys, Ureters, and Bladder

The kidneys are situated in the perirenal space, which is enclosed by the anterior (Gerota) and posterior renal fasciae and located on the posterior abdominal wall on each side of the vertebral column. The kidney’s three-dimensional orientation is parallel to the lateral border of the psoas muscle with the long axis and adjacent to the quadratus lumbar muscle. The right kidney usually lies slightly lower than the left kidney because of the right lobe of the liver. Normal kidneys measure 11 cm (10th–90th percentile, 9.8, 12.3) and 5.8 cm (10th–90th percentile, 5.1, 6.4) with decreasing size at an older age (Emamian et al. 1993). The kidney shows a bean-shaped structure with a superior and an inferior pole and a hilum, where the renal artery, renal vein, and ureter are located. The organ is covered by the renal capsule containing cortex and medulla (renal parenchyma) and the renal sinus (vasculature, lymphatic system, and collecting system).
A comparison of language-dependent and language-independent models for violence prediction

The nature of violence changes with developments in politics, religion, and technology. This poses challenges to governmental and non-governmental organizations responsible for bringing forth timely strategies for engaging with groups advocating violence. While some groups are well-known for their violence, other groups' characteristics vary throughout time and across regions, which hampers traditional decision-making processes, taking time and resources that organizations do not always have. As such, a scalable and effective method for identifying violent groups becomes imperative. This paper applies text analysis techniques to differentiate violent and non-violent groups using English text from various value-based groups. The models presented in this paper achieved accuracies of at least 71% and as high as 83%. The results demonstrate that text analysis provides a powerful predictive solution for winnowing the violent groups from the non-violent ones. In addition, by incorporating natural language processing tools, language-dependent models show a slight 2% improvement in accuracy over language-independent models. The overall similar performance of language-dependent and language-independent models suggests the two approaches are comparable alternatives to each other.
Evolving approaches to intensive insulin therapy in type 1 diabetes: multiple daily injections, insulin pumps and new methods of monitoring.

Ke yW ords. intensive insulin therapy, multiple daily injections, basal-bolus therapy, continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion Type 1 diabetes affects approximately 1 million individuals in the United States, whose management has significantly changed over the last decades. Initially, following the discovery of insulin in the early 1920’s, improvements centered around the purification of insulin formulations. Later came the development of both shortand longer-acting insulin preparations and more recently the availability of the insulin analogues aspart, lispro and glargine, which have added to our ability to deliver physiologic insulin replacement patterns. However, insulin is only one component of therapy. Another critical element has been the development of devices for selfmonitoring blood glucose (SMBG). As these devices have become increasingly accurate and convenient, they have allowed patients to monitor blood glucose more often and accurately, adding a critical component to diabetes management. Much of the impetus to develop better therapies for the management of type 1 diabetes stems from an understanding of the importance of blood glucose control. The association between glycemic control and microvascular complications was established with the publication in 1993 of results from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), the landmark study which demonstrated the benefit of efforts to achieve excellent glucose control to limit retinopathy and nephropathy [1]. Establishment of this relationship has led to significant changes in management. In this review we will discuss the concepts behind the current management of type 1 diabetes, beginning with a definition of intensive insulin therapy, and the various ways by which it can be achieved. We will then discuss the elements involved in intensive therapy, including essential educational components, glucose monitoring, and the newer monitoring devices that are available.
Competence and Other Legal Issues

Sophocles, the great Greek poet and playwright, it is said, was brought into court in his dotage by his son and charged with being incompetent to manage his own affairs. The aged tragedian’s defense was to recite to the jurors passages from a play he had recently written. How could a man who could write such fine poetry not be competent? The case was dismissed, the complainant fined, and the poet triumphant (Hamilton, 1942).
Current status of allogeneic and autologous blood and marrow transplantation: Report from the IBMTR and ABMTR — North America

The International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry (IBMTR) has collected data from over 320 institutions performing allogeneic bone marrow transplants, worldwide since 1972. This database includes information for about 40% of all allogeneic transplants performed between 1964 and 1994. The Autologous Blood and Marrow Transplant Registry — North America (ABMTR) began collecting data on transplants using autologous bone marrow and/or blood cells (autotransplants) performed in North America in 1991. More than 130 autotransplant centers now contribute data to the ABMTR. The ABMTR database includes information for about 50% of autotransplants in North America performed between 1989 and 1994. Recent use and outcome of allogeneic and autologous transplants are reviewed.
Age and Crime

Current knowledge about age with regard to crime has a solid foundation amassed with promising theory and research. There is certainty among social scientists about the existence of a relationship between crime and age; that the aggregate age of criminals peaks at late adolescence and early adulthood; and that this ‘age-crime curve’ exists in both aggregate and individual level data. Scholar perspectives vary on the nature of individual behavior within the curve, patterns, and determinants of criminal activity early in life; the trajectories represented by the aggregate curve; and desistance of criminal activity in middle age or late life.
Women’s Literary History in Late Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century France: Louise de Kéralio and Henriette Guizot de Witt

This chapter will examine women’s literary histories produced by Louise de Keralio (1756–1822), the first female editor of a French newspaper, Journal de l’homme et du citoyen, established in 1789, and Henriette Guizot de Witt (1829–1908)––the daughter of the prominent politician and historian Francois Guizot––who published over one hundred volumes on history and other subjects. On the eve of the French Revolution, Keralio published some of the planned volumes of Collection des meilleurs ouvrages francois: composes par des femmes, dediee aux femmes francoises [Collection of the Best French Works Composed by Women, Dedicated to Frenchwomen] (1786–88), a multi-volume history of women’s literature in France. A century later, Guizot de Witt wrote Les Femmes dans l’histoire [The Women in History] (1888), which included women writers—both French and English––active during the French Wars of Religion and the English Civil Wars. While Keralio’s history was inflected by the historical context of the French Revolution, Guizot de Witt’’s was inflected by her experience of the Revolution of 1848 during which she, along with her father, was exiled in England. Both writers’ careers were enabled by the precedent of their fathers and mothers who were also writers, though the fathers had a much greater impact––both positive and negative.
Formulaically Expressing 21st Century Supreme Court Tax Jurisprudence

The Supreme Court's nine federal tax cases since 2000 suggest the Court assigns degrees of emphasis to legal justifications in accordance with their perceived Constitutional legitimacy; it discounts those justifications in degrees relating to their relevance to a particular matter; and, it estimates the strength with which competing deliberative choices are consistent with them. In sum, the Court justifies its decisions by trying to convince the reader that it chooses the construction most consistent with most of our most important legal and social principles. In this article, I sketch a formula to represent the Court's justificatory process as represented by these 21st century cases.
Prevalence and Cost of Catheters to Manage Neurogenic Bladder

In this review, we examine the current literature to address the epidemiology of catheters for managing neurogenic bladder. We will address the epidemiology of conditions associated with neurogenic bladder, including multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and spina bifida. Rates of utilization of various catheter strategies, including indwelling urethral catheter, suprapubic catheter, and intermittent catheterization rates will be reviewed. Lastly, we examine the cost considerations between and within each type of strategy. Management strategies for neurogenic bladder have evolved overtime. Costs between catheter strategies are largely driven by complications. The highest cost variation within each strategy is related to the technique and type of intermittent catheter. Recently, there has been an increase in costlier single-use intermittent catheter strategies. However, the short- and long-term benefits of these strategies remained understudied. Without comparative studies highlighting improvements in complication rates and compliance, the benefits of single-use catheters for intermittent catheterization are largely theoretical. Until such studies are performed, providers should strongly consider managing neurogenic bladder patients with reusable intermittent catheters in order to provide the most cost-conscious care.
Effect of local intervention on renal cell carcinoma metastases in patients treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) stratified by IMDC risk groups.

e16101Background: Local intervention (LI) with surgery or radiation may offer a benefit to patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) treated with TKIs. The IMDC prognostic model has been...
Integrative Approaches in Ceramic Petrography

Integrative Approaches in Ceramic Petrography originated as a symposium at the 2012 Society for American Archaeology meeting designed to present current applications of ceramic petrography, particu...
A Nurse Navigator Program Is Effective in Reducing Episode-of-Care Costs Following Primary Hip and Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract Background Alternative payment models for total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have incentivized providers to deliver higher quality care at a lower cost, prompting some institutions to develop formal nurse navigation programs (NNPs). The purpose of this study was to determine whether a NNP for primary THA and TKA resulted in decreased episode-of-care (EOC) costs. Methods We reviewed a consecutive series of primary THA and TKA patients from 2015-2016 using claims data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Medicare Advantage patients from a private insurer. Three nurse navigators were hired to guide discharge disposition and home needs. Ninety-day EOC costs were collected before and after implementation of the NNP. To control for confounding variables, we performed a multivariate regression analysis to determine the independent effect of the NNP on EOC costs. Results During the study period, 5275 patients underwent primary TKA or THA. When compared with patients in the prenavigator group, the NNP group had reduced 90-day EOC costs ($19,116 vs $20,418 for Medicare and $35,378 vs $36,961 for private payer, P Conclusion The implementation of a NNP resulted in a marked reduction in EOC costs following primary THA and TKA. The cost savings significantly outweighs the added expense of the program. Providers participating in alternative payment models should consider using a NNP to provide quality arthroplasty care at a reduced cost.
Preparation, identification, and low-temperature infrared spectra of two elusive crystalline nitrile ices

Abstract Infrared (IR) spectra of the alkyl nitrile ices CH3CN and CH3CH2CN are relevant to the study of the low-temperature chemistry of objects within and beyond the Solar System, but the thermodynamically favored low-temperature crystalline phases of these compounds have not been presented and identified in the planetary-sciences literature. Moreover, there is a large variation in the published IR spectra of these two icy solids, including spectra that are used for the analyses of spacecraft data from the Voyager and Cassini missions. Here the IR spectra of the low-temperature crystalline forms of CH3CN and CH3CH2CN, which are the thermodynamically stable phases at Titan temperatures, are presented for the first time with all samples being made by vapor-phase deposition. Conditions are described for producing these ice phases for both compounds, and new measurements are reported of ice density and refractive index, quantities needed to compute IR absorption coefficients, band strengths, optical constants, and, ultimately, nitrile abundances in extraterrestrial environments. Comparisons are drawn between CH3CN and CH3CH2CN, an earlier prediction on their similar crystallization behaviors is verified, and previous work is examined in light of these new results, including a counter-intuitive observation in which the low-temperature phase of an ice is made by heating a high-temperature phase. Applications and extensions are described.
Handicapping the Race for the Last Mile?: A Critique of Open Access Rules for Broadband Platforms

“The technology to supply almost limitless bandwidth is now at hand. Broadband networks already occupy the top tiers of the telephone network, operated by regional and national telephone companies, and the top tiers of the broadcast networks, operated by video carriers. Only the last mile remains to be conquered.” †† This Article evaluates the battle to conquer the last mile, by surveying the leading platforms and technologies for providing broadband telecommunications to individual customers. The Article also describes current regulation of those platforms, focusing on the extent to which the owners must provide open access to unaffiliated companies wishing to use the platforms. Addressing current arguments made by companies seeking mandatory open access rules for broadband platforms, this Article concludes that the nature of consumer demand for a broadband access platform, which will be strongly responsive to the variety of content services made available over the platform, makes open access rules unnecessary and potentially counterproductive.
High-resolution x-ray luminescence computed tomography

High-resolution imaging modalities play a critical role for advancing biomedical sciences. Recently, x-ray luminescence computed tomography (XLCT) imaging was introduced as a hybrid molecular imaging modality that combines the high-spatial resolution of x-ray imaging and molecular sensitivity of optical imaging. The narrow x-ray beam based XLCT imaging has been demonstrated to achieve high spatial resolution, even at depth, with great molecular sensitivity. Using a focused x-ray beam as the excitation source, orders of magnitude of increased sensitivity has been verified compared with previous methods with a collimated x-ray beam. In this work, we demonstrate the high-spatial resolution capabilities of our focused x-ray beam based XLCT imaging system by scanning two sets of targets, differing in the target size, embedded inside of two tissue-mimicking cylindrical phantoms. Gd2O2S:Eu3+ targets of 200 µm and 150 µm diameters were created and embedded with the same edge-to-edge distances as their diameters respectively. We scanned and reconstructed a single transverse section and successfully demonstrated that a focused x-ray beam with an average dual-cone size of 125 µm could separate the targets in both phantoms with good shape and location accuracy. We have also improved the current XLCT imaging system to make it feasible for fast three-dimensional XLCT scanning.
Engineering multiple levels of specificity in an RNA viral vector

Synthetic molecular circuits could provide powerful therapeutic capabilities, but delivering them to specific cell types and controlling them remains challenging. An ideal "smart" viral delivery system would enable controlled release of viral vectors from "sender" cells, conditional entry into target cells based on cell-surface proteins, conditional replication specifically in target cells based on their intracellular protein content, and an evolutionarily robust system that allows viral elimination with drugs. Here, combining diverse technologies and components, including pseudotyping, engineered bridge proteins, degrons, and proteases, we demonstrate each of these control modes in a model system based on the rabies virus. This work shows how viral and protein engineering can enable delivery systems with multiple levels of control to maximize therapeutic specificity.
Ablepharon Macrostomia Syndrome: Rib Cartilage and Fat Grafting for Lower Lid Reconstruction.

ABSTRACT Ablepharon macrostomia syndrome (AMS) is a rare condition with fewer than 20 cases being reported in the literature. Features of AMS include ablepharon, hypertelorism, macrostomia, dysplastic ears, sparse body hair, and ambiguous genitalia. The most significant phenotypic presentation is rudimentary eyelids resulting in exposure keratopathy, corneal abrasions, and potential blindness. Numerous methods including primary full thickness skin grafting, conjunctival sutures followed by full thickness skin grafting, and a combination of skin grafting and local flaps have been described for definitive eyelid reconstruction in these patients. The authors report the first case of autologous rib cartilage grafting and fat grafting for lower eyelid reconstruction in a patient with AMS.
Corpos ausentes e armas fundidas: arte e necropolítica na Colômbia

Although there are numerous and valuable manifestations of the relationship between memory, art, and violence in Colombia today, here we focus on two practices that gained notoriety due to their relationship with the 2016 Peace Accords. On the one hand, the Cantadoras de Pogue, who modify an Afro-descendant ritual and musical tradition of funerary nature to oppose the necropolitics dominant in their territory, particularly since 2002, when in a nearby town - Bellavista, Bojaya - took place one of the largest civilian massacres in the recent history of the country; and on the other hand, the "counter-monument" to commemorate the Peace Accords designed by the renowned artist Doris Salcedo, who invited women victims of violence to shape it. We will analyze how both practices embody the need to confront both the dominant necropolitics in Colombia and its hegemonic narratives in the public sphere.
Improved Ultrasound Microvessel Imaging Using Deconvolution with Total Variation Regularization.

Abstract Singular value decomposition-based clutter filters can robustly reject tissue clutter, allowing for detection of slow blood flow in imaging microvasculature. However, to identify microvessels, high ultrasound frequency must be used to increase the spatial resolution at the expense of shorter depth of penetration. Deconvolution using Tikhonov regularization is an imaging processing method widely used to improve spatial resolution. The ringing artifact of Tikhonov regularization, though, can produce image artifacts such as non-existent microvessels, which degrade image quality. Therefore, a deconvolution method using total variation is proposed in this study to improve spatial resolution and mitigate the ringing artifact. Performance of the proposed method was evaluated using chicken embryo brain, ex ovo chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane and tumor data. Results revealed that the reconstructed power Doppler (PD) images are substantially improved in spatial resolution compared with original PD images: the full width half-maximum (FWHM) of the cross-sectional profile of a microvessel was improved from 132 to 83 µm. Two neighboring microvessels that were 154 µm apart were better separated using the proposed method than conventional PD imaging. Additionally, 223 FWHMs measured from the cross-sectional profiles of 223 vessels were used to determine the improvement in FWHM with the proposed method statistically. The mean ± standard deviation of the FWHM without and with the proposed method was 233.19 ± 85.08 and 172.31 ± 75.11 μm, respectively; the maximum FWHM without and with the proposed method was 693.01 and 668.69 μm; and the minimum FWHM without and with the proposed method was 73.92 and 45.74 μm. There were statistically significant differences between FWHMs with and without the proposed method according to the rank-sum test, p
Insulin: A pacesetter for the shape of modern biomedical science and the Nobel Prize.

Abstract Background The 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin in Toronto in 1921 is an important moment in medical and scientific history. The demonstration that an extract of dog pancreas reproducibly lowered blood glucose, initially in diabetic dogs and then in humans with type 1 diabetes, was a medical breakthrough that changed the course of what was until then a largely fatal disease. The discovery of the “activity”, soon named “insulin”, was widely celebrated, garnering a Nobel Prize for Banting and McLeod in 1923. Over the ensuing 100 years, research on insulin has advanced on many fronts, producing insights that have transformed our understanding of diabetes and our approach to its treatment. Scope of Review This paper will review research on insulin that had another consequence of far broader scientific significance, by serving as a pacesetter and catalyst to bioscience research across many fields. Some of this was directly insulin-related and was also recognized by the Nobel Prize. Equally important, however, was research stimulated by the discovery of insulin that has profoundly influenced biomedical research, sometimes also recognized by the Nobel Prize and sometimes without this recognition. Major Conclusions By reviewing some of the most notable examples of both insulin-related and insulin-stimulated research, it becomes apparent that insulin had an enormous and frequently under-appreciated impact on the course of modern bioscience.
Story movements: How Documentaries Empower People and Inspire Social Change (2020): by Caty Borum Chattoo, Oxford, United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 2020, 304 pages, $29.95 - Paperback, ISBN 9780190943424

Dr. Borum Chattoo’s new book Story Movements: How Documentaries Empower People and Inspire Social Change (2020) sits squarely at the intersection between theory and practice. It combines her streng...
Review of Core Technology Competencies for Librarians and Library Staff: A Guide

Susan M. Thompson, editor. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2009, 248 pp., $65.00, paperback, ISBN 978-1-55570-660-9. No one can pinpoint the exact date when library work became a race to keep up...
The effect of high-pressure jet processing on cocoa stability in chocolate milk.

ABSTRACT Fat-free chocolate milk formulations containing skim milk, cocoa powder, and sugar were thermally treated and then processed using high-pressure jet (HPJ) technology from 125 to 500 MPa. The rheological properties and stability of HPJ-treated chocolate milks were compared with controls (no HPJ processing) prepared both with and without added κ-carrageenan. As expected, carrageenan-free chocolate milk exhibited immediate phase separation of the cocoa powder, whereas formulations containing κ-carrageenan were stable for 14 d. An increased stability was observed with increasing HPJ processing pressure, with a maximum observed when chocolate milk was processed at 500 MPa. The apparent viscosity at 50 s−1 of HPJ-processed samples increased from ~3 mPa·s to ~9 mPa·s with increasing pressure, and shear-thinning behavior (n
Transitioning from the Mountains to the Mecca: One Gastroenterologist’s Journey

Over the course of their careers, gastroenterologists not infrequently move from one practice setting to another. Perhaps the most uncommon path is for a gastroenterologist well established in private practice to transition to a high-powered academic setting in late career. Below is a description of the career path that I chose, written in part to provide career and personal guidance to the next generation of gastroenterologists.
Synthesis and Preliminary Biological Assessment of Carborane-Loaded Theranostic Nanoparticles to Target Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen.

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is an encouraging therapeutic modality for cancer treatment. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a cell membrane protein that is abundantly overexpress...
Social capital and immigrant wealth inequality: Visa sponsorship and the role of ties, education, and race/ethnicity

Abstract This paper examines how immigrants’ social capital affects their wealth holdings in the United States. I conceptualize visa sponsorship as a form of social capital and focus on three important factors – strength of ties, educational attainment, and race/ethnicity – that shape the relationship between immigrants’ social capital and wealth. I use the New Immigrant Survey and find that the relationship between visa sponsorship and wealth differs both by the strength of an immigrants’ tie to their network and their education. Notably, race/ethnicity only consistently stratifies the wealth of immigrants with employment sponsorship. Taken together, these results provide unique insight into immigrants’ economic integration in the United States and point to immigrants’ social capital as an important mechanism for wealth inequality.
Serious psychological distress among adults with and without disabilities.

Our objective was to examine the extent to which serious psychological distress (SPD) is associated with behavioral and social correlates among US adults with self-reported disabilities. Self-reported data on disability, SPD, and behavioral and social correlates were collected from 202,383 participants (aged ≥ 18 years) of the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Adults with self-reported disabilities were identified using two standardized questions – one relating to activity limitation, the other to special equipment. The age-adjusted prevalence of SPD among adults with disabilities was nearly seven times higher than among adults without disabilities (14.1 % vs. 1.8 %, respectively). Adults with disabilities who have both activity limitations and who use assistive technology, and those with activity limitations only consistently experienced a higher prevalence of SPD than those who used assistive technology only (age-adjusted prevalence: 21.0 % and 12.7 % vs. 4.9 %). After adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, marital status, and employment status, in the past 30 days SPD was more common among Hispanic persons, and was significantly associated with younger age, lower educational attainment, marital history, and employment status. Adults with SPD and disabilities experienced increased levels of risk behaviors, life dissatisfaction, and inadequate social support. Most importantly, just over half of adults with disabilities and SPD (51.6 % [95 % CI = 48.6–54.6]) were receiving medical care for a mental health condition compared to 20.6 % (95 % CI = 19.9–21.3) without SPD. Given that SPD is strongly associated with both the behavioral and psychosocial determinants of health, this work underscores the need for evidence-based interventions that may reduce its prevalence among people living with disabilities.
A new hybrid state estimator for systems with limited mode changes

A new algorithm for hybrid state estimation, the K-Limited Mode-Change (KLMC) algorithm, is presented. Given noisy measurements, this algorithm estimates the continuous and discrete state histories for a class of hybrid systems that exhibit limited mode changes over time. The KLMC algorithm is compared to an existing hybrid state estimator, the Interacting Multiple Model (IMM), using a newly developed performance metric based on the concept of probability of error. Monte Carlo methods are used to obtain numerical estimates of the performance metric for simple hybrid system models. Simulation results show that KLMC outperforms IMM in terms of the estimate-error metric but requires larger storage and computational resource consumption.
Program-Based Pollution Control Management: The Indonesian PROKASIH Program

In 1989, Indonesia's Minister for Population and the Environment introduced its Clean River Program (PROKASIH). The program's purpose is to improve water quality by reducing pollution emmissions. Though participation is not entirely voluntary, compliance with the terms of the agreement signed by the plants is not legally binding. Both total biological oxygen demand (BOD) discharges and pollution intensity from PROKASIH plants fell significantly during the period analyzed. However, plant performance varied widely and the overall improvement was achieved through the efforts of a few plants. The program has identified the plants' willingness to practice pollution control. This should prove useful in the allocation of monitoring resources. It is clear that regulators must establish a system for pollution control that reliably analyzes environmental performance. Regulators must confront such issues as self-reporting, information, inspections, compliance assessment, and others. A program-based approach can bring about reliable compliance management and provide the foundation of a river basin environmental management system.
Efficient Reconfiguration of Trees: A Case Study in Methodical Design of Nonmasking Fault-Tolerant Programs

We illustrate the effectiveness of a formal method for the design of nonmasking fault-tolerant programs, by demonstrating how the method enables us to design a new and efficient program. Our program maintains the processes of any given distributed system in a spanning tree, tolerates any finite number of fail-stop failures and repairs of system processes and channels, and requires only O(n) time and O(n log n) space to reconfigure the tree, where n is the number of nonfaulty processes. The program is, moreover, simple and fully distributed.
Mineralizing Systems in Nature, A Challenge to the Cell Biologists

It is becoming increasingly apparent that mineralization, demineralization, and exchange of mineral in matrices involve a delicate balance of cellular activities including membrane pumps, organellar sequestration, enzyme modulation, specific matrix synthesis and secretion. To evaluate the sequelae of mineralization events to which these cellular studies are pointing, new methodologies both in vivo and in vitro have become important. The in vitro systems make use of subcellular fractionation, organ and cell cultures and short-term maintenance of skeletal parts. The in vivo approaches to mineralization have been applied to the full spectrum of organisms-microorganisms, plants, invertebrate phyla and vertebrates in an effort to elucidate features common or unique (Krampitz and Witt 1978; Wilbur and Simkiss 1979; Degens 1976; Arnott 1976; Borowitzka 1977; Pentecost 1980).
Chemistry of μ-dithiobis(tricarbonyliron), an inorganic mimic of organic disulfides

Abstract Organolithium and Grignard reagents cleave the SS bond of (μ-S2Fe2CO6 at −78°C to give intermediates of type (μ-RS)(μ-MS)Fe2(CO)6, (M = Li or MgX). These may be alkylated with organic halides to produce complexes of type (μ-RS)(μ-R′S)Fe2(CO)6 and protonated to yield (μ-RS)(μ-HS)Fe2(CO)6.
Channel and Noise Variance Estimation

This chapter focuses on channel estimation within each received OFDM block. It treats sparse channel estimation for OFDM in both time‐invariant and time‐varying environments. It exploits the sparsity of underwater acoustic channels, a dictionary based formulation of the system input. An ICI‐ignorant sparse channel estimator and an ICI‐aware sparse channel estimator are derived for the single‐input channel. The chapter examines a variety of practical issues, such as dictionary construction and pilot design. It briefly talks about two typical sparse recovery algorithms. The sparse channel estimator for the single‐input channel is extended to the multi‐input channel, such as the multi‐input multi‐output (MIMO) channels where channel estimation is conducted at each receiving element individually. The chapter also discusses noise variance estimation and noise pre‐whitening in practical systems. The estimated noise variance could be used in both symbol detection and channel decoding.
Cholera toxin as a mucosal adjuvant: effects of H-2 major histocompatibility complex and lps genes.

In previous studies we found that cholera toxin (CT) can act as a mucosal adjuvant; i.e., it can stimulate an intestinal secretory immunoglobulin A (S-IgA) response to an unrelated protein antigen when both are fed together to mice. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the mucosal adjuvanticity of CT is restricted by either H-2 major histocompatibility complex or lps genes by using congenic inbred strains that differ at only a single genetic locus. Groups of five mice each were fed saline, CT (10 micrograms), keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) (5 mg), or both CT and KLH on four different days, and samples of intestinal secretions and plasma were obtained 1 week after the last feeding. In the mice fed both CT and KLH, the intestinal S-IgA anti-KLH response was higher in H-2b congenic strains than in H-2k congenic strains, and in addition there was a highly significant positive correlation between the intestinal S-IgA anti-KLH and S-IgA anti-CT responses in the intestinal secretions of individual mice. Similarly, in the lps congenic strains, mice of the endotoxin-responsive strain that were fed both CT and KLH had substantially higher S-IgA and plasma IgG responses to KLH than did mice of the endotoxin-unresponsive strain. The effect of CT on the induction of oral tolerance to KLH in the H-2 congenic strains was also examined. In contrast to the results above, the abrogation of oral tolerance to KLH by CT occurred in all strains regardless of H-2 haplotype. Similarly, the adjuvant effect of CT on plasma IgG anti-KLH responses after both were given together intraperitoneally was not restricted by H-2. I conclude that the mucosal adjuvanticity of CT is influenced by both the H-2 and lps genetic loci and that it appears to depend on a vigorous mucosal immune response to CT itself.
Hazardous Waste Generation and Disposal: Options for Developing Countries

The industrial harzardous waste problem is going to be explosive in developing countries as they industrialize further. This paper examines the hazardous waste problem, highlights some toxic waste types, and provides a list of industries that generate most of those wastes. Technological, economic and institutional measures that could be combined to mitigate the hazardous waste problem in developing countries are described, and recommendations for dealing with the problem are presented.
Tumor suppressor activity of ODC antizyme in MEK-driven skin tumorigenesis

To test the hypothesis that suppression of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity blocks the promotion of target cells in the outer root sheath of the hair follicle initiated by Raf/MEK/ERK activation, we crossed mice overexpressing an activated MEK mutant in the skin (K14-MEK mice) with two transgenic lines overexpressing antizyme (AZ), which binds to ODC and targets it for degradation. K14-MEK mice develop spontaneous skin tumors without initiation or promotion. These mice on the ICR background were crossed with K5-AZ and K6-AZ mice on both the carcinogenesis-resistant C57BL/6 background and the sensitive DBA/2 background. Expression of AZ driven by either the K5 or K6 promoter along with K14-MEK dramatically delayed tumor incidence and reduced tumor multiplicity on both backgrounds compared with littermates expressing the MEK transgene alone. The effect was most remarkable in the MEK/K6-AZ mice from the ICR/D2 Fl cross, where double transgenic mice averaged less than one tumor per mouse for more than 8 weeks, while K14-MEK mice averaged over 13 tumors per mouse at this age. Putrescine was decreased in MEK/AZ tumors, while spermidine and spermine levels were unaffected, suggesting that the primary role played by AZ in this system is to inhibit putrescine accumulation. MEK/AZ tumors did not show evidence of apoptosis, but there was a 15-20% decrease in S-phase cells and a 40-60% decrease in mitotic cells in MEK/AZ tumors. These results indicate that the principal effect of AZ may be to slow cell growth primarily by increasing G 2 /M transit time.
Spillovers from tax increment financing districts: Implications for housing price appreciation

Abstract Tax increment financing (TIF) has been both applauded and castigated for causing rapid appreciation of nearby residential properties. We study the spillover effects of TIF on the appreciation of single-family Chicago homes that sold multiple times between 1993 and 1999. After controlling for structural characteristics of the home, neighborhood conditions, and information about the nature and scale of activities within TIF districts, we find that proximity to industrial TIF districts is actually associated with a decrease in the rate of appreciation. However, proximity to mixed-use TIF districts that contain both commercial and residential parcels increases the appreciation of nearby houses. We discuss some of the policy implications of our findings in the conclusion.
Benchmarking Distance Education

This chapter explores benchmarks of quality for distance education and considers the unique perspectives of the various stakeholders promoting these benchmarks.
Beyond all orders: Singular perturbations in a mapping

We consider a family ofq-dimensional (q>1), volume-preserving maps depending on a small parametere. Ase → 0+ these maps asymptote to flows which attain a heteroclinic connection. We show that for smalle the heteroclinic connection breaks up and that the splitting between its components scales withe likeeγexp[-β/e]. We estimateβ using the singularities of thee → 0+ heteroclinic orbit in the complex plane. We then estimateγ using linearization about orbits in the complex plane. These estimates, as well as the assertions regarding the behavior of the functions in the complex plane, are supported by our numerical calculations.
MAIT cells are critical for optimal mucosal immune responses during in vivo pulmonary bacterial infection

Mucosa-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are “innate” T cells that express an invariant T-cell receptor α-chain restricted by the nonclassical MHC class I molecule MHC-related protein 1 (MR1). A recent discovery that MR1 presents vitamin B metabolites, presumably from pathogenic and/or commensal bacteria, distinguishes MAIT cells from peptide- or lipid-recognizing αβ T cells in the immune system. MAIT cells are activated by a wide variety of bacterial strains in vitro, but their role in defense against infectious assaults in vivo remains largely unknown. To investigate how MAIT cells contribute to mucosal immunity in vivo, we used a murine model of pulmonary infection by using the live vaccine strain (LVS) of Francisella tularensis. In the early acute phase of infection, MAIT cells expanded robustly in the lungs, where they preferentially accumulated after reaching their peak expansion in the late phase of infection. Throughout the course of infection, MAIT cells produced the critical cytokines IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-17A. Mechanistic studies showed that MAIT cells required both MR1 and IL-12 40 kDa subunit (IL-12p40) signals from infected antigen presenting cells to control F. tularensis LVS intracellular growth. Importantly, pulmonary F. tularensis LVS infection of MR1-deficient (MR1−/−) mice, which lack MAIT cells, revealed defects in early mucosal cytokine production, timely recruitment of IFN-γ–producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells to the infected lungs, and control of pulmonary F. tularensis LVS growth. This study provides in vivo evidence demonstrating that MAIT cells are an important T-cell subset with activities that influence the innate and adaptive phases of mucosal immunity.
Factors associated with mode of transport to acute care hospitals in rural communities

This study identifies factors associated with mode of transport to rural hospitals. We evaluated 11,541 trauma patient visits that came by ground ambulance or private vehicle to the Emergency Department of one of six northwest Iowa rural hospitals. We performed univariate analyses and logistic regression analyses to identify factors associated with mode of transport for each severity level (fatal, major and minor). For major/fatal injuries, we found that those aged 65 years and over were 3.6 (95% CI = 2.7-4.9) times more likely to use ambulances than those under 15. Motor vehicle traffic injuries and hip fractures were also associated with ambulance usage, while arm fractures and farm-related injuries were not. We conclude that for major/fatal injuries, older persons, those injured from high velocity causes, and those with hip fractures are more likely to use an ambulance. Emergency Medical Services may improve the community's ambulance utilization by providing public education (e.g., proper use of 911 and injury severity recognition), and by collaborating with dispatch, the local community and health care providers. Further study of the community's and individuals' decision-making factors determining mode of transportation is needed.