cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Precompensation of dispersion and nonlinearities in 10 and 20 Gbit/s WDM systems

We analyze WDM systems at 10 and 20 Gbit/s, with precompensation of each channel to minimize dispersion and nonlinear effects. We find that precompensation only reduces accumulation of dispersion and also mitigates nonlinear effects. We determine optimal conditions for both conventional and dispersion-managed WDM systems to significantly increase the obtainable transmission distance.
An Evidentiary Review Regarding the Use of Chronological and Adjusted Age in the Assessment of Preterm Infants

PURPOSE. The evidence supporting the recommendation to use age adjustment when assessing the growth, motor, and global development of premature infants was explored. Following a comprehensive literature search, 16 articles that compared the use of adjusted and chronological age were reviewed. CONCLUSIONS. The use of full age adjustment based on the degree of prematurity was supported for the assessment of premature infants for a minimum of 12 months adjusted age. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS. The use of adjusted age enhances the ability to accurately recognize genuine delays as opposed to perceived delays related to a child's gestational age at birth.
High-order tunable filters based on a chain of coupled crystalline whispering gallery-mode resonators

We demonstrate experimentally a tunable third-order optical filter fabricated from the three voltage-controlled lithium niobate whispering gallery-mode resonators. The filter operates at 1550 nm with 30-MHz bandwidth and can be electrooptically tuned by 12 GHz in the linear regime with approximately 80-MHz/V tuning rate. With this filter, we have demonstrated 6-dB fiber-to-fiber insertion loss and 30-ns tuning speed, limited by the resonator buildup time.
Application of Adaptive Trusses to Vibration Isolation in Flexible Structures

Transmission of unwanted vibration is a problem which can be found in many different situations. These problems have been addressed in the past by passive techniques, either by designing mounts which inhibit the transmission of unwanted vibration or by designing effectively rigid structures (as in the case of space structures) whose resonances are out of the bandwidth of the incoming disturbances. More recently, active techniques have come to the forefront. Active vibration isolation techniques have the potential of providing better isolation performance both through reducing amplitudes of transmitted vibrations and by adapting to changes in the system or its disturbances. This paper presents the results of a study investigating the use of adaptive structures with force feedback (using classical compensators as well as LQR approaches) for active vibration isolation.
A Management Support System For Distribution Planning

This paper provides a status report on the authors' long-term v o r k in the area of distribution planning. Technical challenges relating to large-scale optimization continueto be stimulating, but ...
Development and testing of two lifestyle interventions for persons with chronic mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injury: Acceptability and feasibility

This clinical methods discursive highlights the development, piloting, and evaluation of two group interventions designed for persons who experienced chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI). Intervention science for this population is limited and lacking in rigor. Our innovative approach to customize existing interventions and develop parallel delivery methods guided by Allostatic Load theory is presented and preliminary results described. Overall, parallel group interventions delivered by trained leaders with mental health expertise were acceptable and feasible for persons who reported being depressed, stressed, and symptomatic. They reported being satisfied with the overall programs and mostly satisfied with the individual classes. Attendance was over the anticipated 70% expected rate and changes in daily living habits were reported by participants. These two group interventions show promise in helping persons to self manage their chronic stress and symptomatology.
Personal History of Premenopausal Breast Cancer as a Risk Factor for Referral to Screening Breast MRI.

Rationale and Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine whether patients with premenopausal breast cancer history only can benefit from screening breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by comparing them to patients with both a personal and a family history of breast cancer. Materials and Methods With Institutional Review Board approval and waiver of informed consent, a retrospective review was conducted to determine patients previously diagnosed with premenopausal breast cancer undergoing screening MRI. From December 2003 to October 31, 2014, a total of 4436 screening MRI examinations were performed; 381 examinations were performed in 131 patients with a personal history (PH) of premenopausal breast cancer. This cohort was evaluated further and revealed 146 examinations in 52 patients with PH only, and 235 examinations in 79 patients with personal history and family history (PHFH). Fisher's exact test was used to compare the distribution between the groups. Results Total number of MRI examinations performed per patient ranged from 1 to 10, with an average of 2.9 in the PHFH group and 2.8 in the PH only group. Patient age at time of original diagnosis was significantly different between the groups ( P = 0.0391). There were 74 (19.4%) suspicious MRI findings: 27 in the PH only group and 47 in the PHFH group. Fifty-two had needle biopsy tissue sampling performed; three additional lesions were sampled at excision. Malignancy was detected in 27.3%: 53.3% in the PHFH group and 46.7% in the PH only group ( P = 0.7963). There was no significant difference when the pathology between the PH only group and the PHFH group was compared ( P = 0.5692). Of those diagnosed with cancer, average time between diagnoses was 6.9 years for the PHFH group and 7.1 for the PH only group (range 2–16). Conclusions Patients with a PH only are at a similar risk level as those with additional family history for the development of a subsequent breast cancer and therefore benefit from screening breast MRI, as a similar rate of cancer detection was found in both groups.
Federal Judicial Disqualification: A Behavioral and Quantitative Analysis

The issue of judicial recusal has become front-page news. House Democrats have called on Justice Thomas to recuse himself from cases challenging the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because of his wife’s role as paid lobbyist against that act. Republicans are calling for the recusal of Justice Kagan from the same cases because of her service as Solicitor General when the Obama administration was considering how to structure health care reform legislation to survive constitutional challenge. Over the past two centuries, judicial recusal standards have been tightened repeatedly. Nevertheless, in case after high-profile case, they still sometimes fail to ensure the kind of legitimating impartiality we demand of our courts. In the meantime, psychology has expanded the range of tools available for making the “realistic appraisal of psychological tendencies and human weakness” believed relevant to understanding when recusal is warranted. We are at least beginning to understand the role of heuristics in human judgment – heuristics that sometimes trigger cognitive illusions and faulty decision-making. Such illusions are particularly problematic when a judge is called upon to decide whether he can decide impartially – in effect, to decide whether he is competent to perform, in a particular case, the role to which he has dedicated his life.Part I outlines recent cases and developments in the area. The situation, suffice it to say, is not completely satisfactory. Part II explores the history of the law of judicial recusal. Even today, standards and procedures are unclear, affording enormous discretion to judges who are asked to apply recusal rules impartially to themselves. Part III discusses developments in human decision-making theory that may begin to identify contexts in which judges are least likely to be able to apply the recusal rules objectively to themselves. Part IV presents the results of a survey of U.S. appellate court cases decided between 1980 and 2007 on appeals from refusals of district court judges to recuse themselves. The data suggest that the enormous discretion currently given judges has resulted in substantial geographic disparity in application of the rules – that is, in different recusal cultures, circuit to circuit. The data also appear to be consistent with predictions behavioral theory might make as to when judges are less likely to be able to make objectively defensible assessments of their own abilities to decide impartially. Part V, finally, concludes and outlines future possible work in the area.
Top and Electroweak Physics at Hadron Colliders

Because the top quark has been observed[1],[2] only recently, and progress in Fermilab Tevatron electroweak measurements has been comparably rapid, these lectures consist primarily of summaries of current experimental work. This is in contrast to the more pedagogical nature of much of the other material in these Proceedings. The initial lecture is devoted to the production and decay characteristics of the top quark. Analysis of the top quark mass is my particular interest, so I allocate two lectures to it, one to the dilepton channel, the other to the more widely discussed decay channels in which at least one W from top decays nonleptonically. The final lecture is devoted to measurement of the W mass.
Mechanistic Details and Reactivity Descriptors in Oxidation and Acid Catalysis of Methanol

Acid and redox reaction rates of CH3OH-O2 mixtures on polyoxometalate (POM) clusters, together with isotopic, spectroscopic, and theoretical assessments of catalyst properties and reaction pathways, were used to define rigorous descriptors of reactivity and to probe the compositional effects for oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) and dehydration reactions. 31P-MAS NMR, transmission electron microscopy and titrations of protons with di-tert-butylpyridine during catalysis showed that POM clusters retained their Keggin structure upon dispersion on SiO2 and after use in CH3OH reactions. The effects of CH3OH and O2 pressures and of D-substitution on ODH rates show that C–H activation in molecularly adsorbed CH3OH is the sole kinetically relevant step and leads to reduced centers as intermediates present at low coverages; their concentrations, measured from UV–vis spectra obtained during catalysis, are consistent with the effects of CH3OH/O2 ratios predicted from the elementary steps proposed. First-order ODH rate...
The Systematical Evaluation to the Efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Topical Intervention in the Eczema

Objective:To systematically evaluate the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine topical intervention in the eczema of the randomized controlled trials.Methods:To research the clinical trials by searching Chinese Biomedical Literature Database(CBM),Wanfang,CNKI and VIP such as a database of Chinese(1999 -2009),full collection of topical administration of Chinese medicine to eczema,that are randomized controlled trials.Two evaluators screening the traditional Chinese medicine treatment of eczema in randomized controlled trials and extracting data and quality assessment,quality assessment followed Cochranehandbook5.0 criteria and data analysis software used Revman5.0.Results:The included 10 randomized controlled study, by clinical heterogeneity test,because of its heterogeneity,Meta analysis can not be done,so a subgroup analysis resulted in topical treatment of eczema in the relevant Chinese medicine,which has a clear effect in some respects and better than the control group.Conclusion:For the fewer topical treatment of randomized controlled studies to eczema,the low quality,and therefore the effectiveness of TCM treatment of eczema is still a lack of sufficient evidence,pending further studies to validate.
Research and Application of Information System Integration Technology for Power Enterprises

State Grid Corporation of China has developed many information systems covering all the business areas after several years' information construction.These independent systems cause data and information isolation.It results in a waste of resources and hinders the information sharing.How to integrate these systems is an urgent problem to power enterprises.Considering the shortcomings of the traditional system integration technology,this paper illustrates the information system integration methods based on Web Service and SG-ERP.It focuses on SG-ERP method because of the wide usage of it in State Grid Corporation,and exemplifies the integration of PMS,Finance and Human Resources systems.
Role and mechanism of the insulin-like growth factor in signal transduction pathway in zebrafish

Zebrafish has emerged as a powerful model organism for investigating insulin-like growth factor(IGF)signal transduction pathway during early development.The IGF signal transduction system,which consists of IGF ligands,IGF receptors(IGF-1R),IGF-binding proteins(IGFBPs),and post receptor signaling molecules,is a highly conserved signaling pathway.IGF ligands include IGF-1 and IGF-2.Two distinct IGF-1R genes(igf-1ra and igf-1rb)have been identified and their functions have been explored in zebrafish.To date,several IGFBPs,including IGFBP-1,IGFBP-2,IGFBP-3,IGFBP-5,and IGFBP-6 have been characterized in zebrafish and their gene expression profiles and functions have been elucidated.This review will highlight recent progress in understanding the functions of various components of the IGF signaling pathway unraveled by the work with the zebrafish model.New knowledge obtained from this model organism has not only shed new insight into the critical role of this essential signaling pathway during zebrafish development,but also deepened our understanding of vertebrate growth and developmental regulation in general.
A Systematic Review of the Evidence for Manipulation in the Treatment of Low Back Pain

Introduction: Manipulation is frequently used to treat low back pain (LBP) but international guidelines regarding its use are conflicting.Materials and Methods: A search for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted. Scores were allocated for methodological quality, the authors’ conclusion, and results based on the main outcome measures.Results: 62 RCTs comparing manipulation to other treatment interventions and placebo were identified. 16 RCTs (25.8%) were of good quality and only 21 (33.9%) included long-term follow-up. 33 (53.2%) reported positive results and 5 (8.1%) were positive only in sub-groups of patients. 14 RCTs included patients with acute LBP (5 with positive results), 21 with chronic LBP (11 positive results), and 27 included mixed populations of patients (19 had positive results).Discussion: Despite this study involving no blinded assessment and only 1 reviewer, the scores were comparable with previous reviews. Stronger evidence for chronic and mixed population LBP was foun...
Ion deflection for final optics in laser inertial fusion power plants

Left unprotected, both transmissive and reflective final optics in a laser inertial fusion power plant would quickly fail from melting, pulsed thermal stresses, or degradation of optical properties as a result of ion implantation. One potential option for mitigating this threat is to magnetically deflect the ions such that they are directed into a robust energy dump. In this paper we detail integrated studies that have been carried out to assess the viability of this approach for protecting final optics.
Developing and Managing an International Brand Portfolio

With the globalization of markets, attention to international branding strategies becomes an increasingly important issue. Firms must decide on the appropriate balance of global, regional and local brands, as well as who should have custody of these brands and their positioning in international markets.
Perspectives on the Growth in Chinese Patent Applications to the USPTO

The purpose of this working paper is to investigate utility patent applications to the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) from inventors residing in China. It first focuses on the growth in the numbers of applications, putting this growth in context by comparing it to other important emerging economies. The paper considers how the technology mix of applications from China and the other comparison countries has evolved and how allowance rates have changed over the past decade. The paper also puts the recent growth of Chinese utility patent applications into historical perspective by comparing it to 1) the growth in South Korean applications for the 10-year period starting from the mid-1980s, and 2) the growth in Indian applications for the 10-year period starting in the late 1990s. We find that the growth in the number of applications from China has greatly outpaced the overall growth in applications from both domestic and foreign filers. It has also outpaced the growth in applications from other important emerging economies such as India and Brazil. At the same time, the technology mix of Chinese applications has become more heavily weighted toward communications and computing. We found a similar result for the applications which originated from the other major emerging economies. Finally, over the past 6 years, the allowance rate for Chinese applications has begun to converge with the allowance rate for Japanese and South Korean applications. The historical comparisons indicate that the growth in applications from China is not unique. Chinese growth has been very similar to the growth in applications to the PTO from South Korea starting in the mid-1980s. Overall, the results indicate that China is taking the next step in the development process from the production of standardized goods to the development of new products and processes.
Non-Anion Gap Metabolic Acidosis: A Clinical Approach to Evaluation.

Acid-base disturbances can result from kidney or nonkidney disorders. We present a case of high-volume ileostomy output causing large bicarbonate losses and resulting in a non–anion gap metabolic acidosis. Non–anion gap metabolic acidosis can present as a form of either acute or chronic metabolic acidosis. A complete clinical history and physical examination are critical initial steps to begin the evaluation process, followed by measuring serum electrolytes with a focus on potassium level, blood gas, urine pH, and either direct or indirect urine ammonium concentration. The present case was selected to highlight the differential diagnosis of a non–anion gap metabolic acidosis and illustrate a systematic approach to this problem.
Top-down mass spectrometry: Proteomics to proteoforms

This chapter highlights many of the fundamental concepts and technologies in the field of top-down mass spectrometry (TDMS), and provides numerous examples of contributions that TD is making in biology, biophysics, and clinical investigations. TD workflows include variegated steps that may include non-specific or targeted preparative strategies, orthogonal liquid chromatography techniques, analyte ionization, mass analysis, tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and informatics procedures. This diversity of experimental designs has evolved to manage the large dynamic range of protein expression and diverse physiochemical properties of proteins in proteome investigations, tackle proteoform microheterogeneity, as well as determine structure and composition of gas-phase proteins and protein assemblies.
Optimal hybrid sequencing and assembly: Feasibility conditions for accurate genome reconstruction and cost minimization strategy

Recent advances in high-throughput genome sequencing technologies have enabled the systematic study of various genomes by making whole genome sequencing affordable. Modern sequencers generate a huge number of small sequence fragments called reads, where the read length and the per-base sequencing cost depend on the technology used. To date, many hybrid genome assembly algorithms have been developed that can take reads from multiple read sources to reconstruct the original genome. However, rigorous investigation of the feasibility conditions for complete genome reconstruction and the optimal sequencing strategy for minimizing the sequencing cost has been conspicuously missing. An important aspect of hybrid sequencing and assembly is that the feasibility conditions for genome reconstruction can be satisfied by different combinations of the available read sources, opening up the possibility of optimally combining the sources to minimize the sequencing cost while ensuring accurate genome reconstruction. In this paper, we derive the conditions for whole genome reconstruction from multiple read sources at a given confidence level and also introduce the optimal strategy for combining reads from different sources to minimize the overall sequencing cost. We show that the optimal read set, which simultaneously satisfies the feasibility conditions for genome reconstruction and minimizes the sequencing cost, can be effectively predicted through constrained discrete optimization. Through extensive evaluations based on several genomes and different read sets, we verify the derived feasibility conditions and demonstrate the performance of the proposed optimal hybrid sequencing and assembly strategy.
Providing Meaningful Alignments for Periodic Signs

In sign languages, a periodic sign is one that contains repeated movements. Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) is often used in sign language recognition to generate a frame alignment between two input signs that provides a measure of their similarity. Alignments provided by DTW may not be meaningful when the input contains periodic signs, especially when the number of periods differs between inputs. Additionally, the number of periods may change between individual signers and signs. Little work has been done to address the problem of recognizing periodic signs in the context of DTW. This work evaluates two DTW-based approaches. The first uses a newly defined periodic warping path. The second uses manual annotations to truncate periodic input to contain no more than two periods. These two methods are compared against a standard implementation of DTW. Recognition accuracy and quality of alignment are analyzed. The results motivate a need for further research in periodic sign language recognition.
Association of Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment Form Use With End-of-Life Care Quality Metrics in Patients With Cancer

Purpose:Many patients with advanced cancer receive aggressive treatment near the end of life. The Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form is an innovation that converts patient preferences into medical orders. We compared the end-of-life care of patients with advanced cancer who had completed POLST forms with that of patients who had advance directives (ADs).Methods:We studied 2,159 West Virginians with ADs and/or POLST forms in the West Virginia e-Directive Registry who died as a result of cancer between January 2011 and February 2016. Data from the Vital Registration Office (date, site, and cause of death) were merged with those from the registry (form type, completion date, and hospice admission). The primary outcome variables were out-of-hospital death (OHD) and hospice admission.Results:The percentage of patients with OHD was 85.7% for patients with POLST forms compared with 72.0% for those with ADs (P < .001). The odds of OHD for patients with POLST forms were 2.33 times those of...
Déjà Vu: An Illusion of Prediction.

Deja vu is beginning to be scientifically understood as a memory phenomenon. Despite recent scientific advances, a remaining puzzle is the purported association between deja vu and feelings of premonition. Building on research showing that deja vu can be driven by an unrecalled memory of a past experience that relates to the current situation, we sought evidence of memory-based predictive ability during deja vu states. Deja vu did not lead to above-chance ability to predict the next turn in a navigational path resembling a previously experienced but unrecalled path (although such resemblance increased reports of deja vu). However, deja vu states were accompanied by increased feelings of knowing the direction of the next turn. The results suggest that feelings of premonition during deja vu occur and can be illusory. Metacognitive bias brought on by the state itself may explain the peculiar association between deja vu and the feeling of premonition.
The gluon structure of hadrons and nuclei from lattice QCD

I discuss recent lattice QCD studies of the gluon structure of hadrons and light nuclei. After very briefly highlighting new determinations of the gluon contributions to the nucleon’s momentum and spin, presented by several collaborations over the last year, I describe first calculations of gluon generalised form factors. The generalised transversity gluon distributions are of particular interest since they are purely gluonic; they do not mix with quark distributions at leading twist. In light nuclei they moreover provide a clean signature of non-nucleonic gluon degrees of freedom, and I present the first evidence for such effects, based on lattice QCD calculations. The planned Electron-Ion Collider, designed to access gluon structure quantities, will have the capability to test this prediction, and measure a range of gluon observables including generalised gluon distributions and transverse momentum dependent gluon distributions, within the next decade.
Image quality and accuracy of different thermal sensor at varying operation parameters (Conference Presentation)

Thermal image quality is very critical for accurately quantify spatial and temporal growth and stress patterns of field crops. Image quality can be impacted by many factors including environment, flying altitude, and camera focal length. Often times the thermal sensor selection is based upon price or already owned sensor. Metrics are available to select the flight altitude based on the thermal sensor for desired ground resolution, however, no study has been conducted to provide the relative difference in image quality and efficiency of generating a thermal orthomosaic. Therefore, this study was conducted with the goal to compare the accuracy of canopy temperature quantification and assess the quality of thermal orthomosaic when using a thermal sensor of different focal length and image acquisition at varying flying altitudes. Three thermal infrared cameras were selected with focal lengths of 9mm, 13mm, and 19mm. All three cameras were flown at altitudes of 10m, 40m, and 70m, to collect aerial imagery of 7,000 m2 soybeans field. The cameras were mounted on a rotary quadcopter. All flights were conducted at 3 m/s flying speed, and 1 second shutter trigger interval. A ground reference system provided ground truth data for thermometric transformations. Imagery data was compared to assess differences in number of images collected, percentage overlap required for 1 second shutter trigger interval, quality of orthomosaic and accuracy of canopy temperatures. Preliminary results show that 13 mm focal length and 40 m altitude result in a finer resolution orthomosaic. The canopy temperatures were quantified accurately regardless of altitude and focal length.
Old solutions in a new age: Cataloging and the future of access to government information

Abstract The availability of U.S. Government Printing Office bibliographic tapes for copy cataloging or for loading directly into online catalogs may have lulled documents librarians into believing that the problem of bibliographic control for documents collections has been solved. Others may believe that with the move to an electronic distribution system for United States government information, creating and loading bibliographic records for government publications into local library catalogs is becoming an anachronism. This article discusses the functions of cataloging in light of continuing needs and current developments in access to government information. Recommendations are made for ways that the library community, providers of government information, and automation specialists can work together to reexamine bibliographic standards, expand tape loading to non-U.S. depository documents collections, link useful bibliographic databases with library catalogs, and use cataloging of Internet resources to show relationships between physical collections and remotely accessible government information.
RNA secondary structure graphical rendering library

Displaying a secondary structure of an RNA graphically is an important component of every website designed for RNA structure analysis. Internet browsers continue to change because of new technologies, programming languages, and security precautions. For example, RNA secondary structure display applets are no longer supported by the current browsers. As a result, some commonly used applets such as VARNA are no longer functional in these browsers. There is a need for a portable RNA secondary structure display library easy to maintain. We present a new visual model for RNA secondary structure which is simple enough to implement and maintain.
The less familiar face of heart failure.

Nearly five million Americans have heart failure (HF) today, an incidence approaching 10 per 1,000 population after the age of 65 years. Heart failure is the reason for at least 20% of all hospital admissions in persons above the age of 65 years; hospitalizations for HF have increased by 159% [(1)][
Factors Regulating the Blood Flow in the Optic Nerve Head

Ischemic disorders of the optic nerve head (ONH) constitute an important cause of blindness or seriously impaired vision. Acute ONH ischemia results in anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) - a seriously blinding disease. There is overwhelming evidence that glaucomatous optic neuropathy is a chronic ischemic disorder of the ONH. Glaucomatous optic neuropathy is seen in primary open angle glaucoma and low (or normal) tension glaucoma. Both AION and glaucomatous optic neuropathy are common disorders, seen more commonly in middle aged and older than in young persons. For a proper understanding of the pathogenesis and management of these important and highly prevalent ischemic disorders of the ONH, it is imperative to know its blood supply and various factors which regulate the blood flow in the ONH.
Does obesity predict functional outcome in the dysvascular amputee

Limited information is available concerning the effects of obesity on the functional outcomes of patients requiring major lower limb amputation because of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive ability of body mass index (BMI) to determine functional outcome in the dysvascular amputee. To do this, 434 consecutive patients (mean age, 65.8 +/- 13.3, 59% male, 71.4% diabetic) undergoing major limb amputation (225 below-knee amputation, 27 through-knee amputation, 132 above-knee amputation, and 50 bilateral) as a complication of PAD from January 1998 through May 2004 were analyzed according to preoperative BMI. BMI was classified according to the four-group Center for Disease Control system: underweight, 0 to 18.4 kg/m2; normal, 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2; overweight, 25 to 29.9 kg/m2; and obese, > or = 30 kg/m2. Outcome parameters measured included prosthetic usage, maintenance of ambulation, survival, and maintenance of independent living status. The chi2 test for association was used to examine prosthesis wear. Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed to assess maintenance of ambulation, survival, and maintenance of independent living status. Multivariate analysis using the multiple logistic regression model and a Cox proportional hazards model were used to predict variables independently associated with prosthetic use and ambulation, survival, and independence, respectively. Overall prosthetic usage and 36-month ambulation, survival, and independent living status for the entire cohort was 48.6 per cent, 42.8 per cent, 48.1 per cent, 72.3 per cent, and for patients with normal BMI was 41.5 per cent, 37.4 per cent, 45.6 per cent, and 69.5 per cent, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in outcomes for overweight patients (59.2%, 50.7%, 52.5%, and 75%) or obese patients (51.8%, 46.2%, 49.7%, and 75%) when compared with normal patients. Although there were significantly poorer outcomes for underweight patients for the parameters of prosthetic usage when compared with the remaining cohort (25%, P = 0.001) and maintenance of ambulation when compared with overweight patients (20.8%, P = 0.026), multivariate analysis adjusting for medical comorbidities and level of amputation showed that BMI was not a significant independent predictor of failure for any outcome parameter measured. In conclusion, BMI failed to correlate with functional outcome and, specifically, obesity did not predict a poorer prognosis.
Breaking Aristotle’s Bridge: The Modern Philosophical Critique of Teleology

There is arguably no aspect of the “modern turn” more wide ranging in its consequences than the critique of classical teleology. In the Aristotelian system teleology is the essential bridge connecting natural philosophy to ethics and politics. Just as for Aristotle there are ends ‘within nature as a whole, so there is an end of man which defines his place within the natural order. The discovery of the natural human telos will structure the Aristotelian concept of “the good life” at which ethics and politics aim. Aristotle’s claims on behalf of the theoretic life as the best form of life rest on his teleological claims concerning rational activity as the telos of man. Tearing down Aristotle’s bridge was fundamental to the project of early modern philosophy which established the new modern science. The arguments against final causality, and restriction of science to material and efficient causes was central for three luminaries of modern thought – Sir. Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes, and Benedict Spinoza. Although, these arguments are surprisingly weak, they nonetheless were epochal in their consequences. The exclusion of the ethical-political good from the science of nature resulted not only in a new science but also in a new politics – as is seen with the system of Hobbes.
Dynamic Regulation of Adult-Specific Functions of the Nervous System by Signaling from the Reproductive System.

Summary Unlike juveniles, adult animals engage in suites of behaviors related to the search for and selection of potential mates and mating, including appropriate responses to sex pheromones. As in other species [ 1 ], male sex pheromones modulate several behaviors and physiological processes in C. elegans hermaphrodites [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. In particular, one of these small-molecule signals, an ascaroside ascr#10, causes reduced exploration, more avid mating, and improved reproductive performance (see the accompanying paper by Aprison and Ruvinsky in this issue of Current Biology) [ 6 ]. Here, we investigated the mechanism that restricts pheromone response to adult hermaphrodites. Unexpectedly, we found that attainment of developmental adulthood was not alone sufficient for the behavioral response to the pheromone. To modify exploratory behavior in response to male pheromone, adult hermaphrodites also require functional germline and egg-laying apparatus. We show that this dependence of behavior on the reproductive system is due to feedback from the vulva muscles that reports ongoing reproduction to the nervous system. Our results reveal an activity-dependent conduit by which the reproductive system continuously licenses adult behaviors, including appropriate responses to the pheromones of the opposite sex. More broadly, our results suggest that signals from peripheral organs may serve as an important component of assuring age-appropriate functions of the nervous system.
A System for Real-time Notification of Student’s Pickup and Drop-off by School Buses

It is a common problem for school management to know at any time who is riding in which school bus, where and at what time he was picked-up and dropped-off. This information becomes especially crucial in cases involving emergencies such as school bus accidents. We propose a system that involves installation of an RFID Tag on students’ school bag, an RFID Tag Reader in each school bus, a Server in school district’s network, and a Communication Link between the RFID Tag Reader and the Server in school to transmit real-time information pertaining to students’ ride, collected by the RFID Readers.
Combinatorial Search for the Lp-Norm Principal Component of a Matrix

We study Lp-norm Principal-Component Analysis (Lp-PCA) of a matrix. For p = 2 (standard PCA), the problem can be solved with standard Singular-Value Decomposition (SVD). For p = 1 (L1-PCA), the problem was recently solved exactly and approximately with efficient iterative algorithms. For general values of p, the exact solution to Lp-PCA remains to date unknown. In this work, for the first time in the literature, we prove that, for p ≤ 1, Lp-PCA can be solved exactly through combinatorial optimization and present the first exact solver. Our experimental studies on medical data demonstrate the significant robustness of Lp-PCA, p ≤ 1, against outliers.
Tensile Behavior of High-Density Polyethylene Including the Effects of Processing Technique, Thickness, Temperature, and Strain Rate.

The primary goal of this study was to investigate the monotonic tensile behavior of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in its virgin, regrind, and laminated forms. HDPE is the most commonly used polymer in many industries. A variety of tensile tests were performed using plate-type specimens made of rectangular plaques. Several factors can affect the tensile behavior such as thickness, processing technique, temperature, and strain rate. Testing temperatures were chosen at −40, 23 (room temperature, RT), 53, and 82 °C to investigate temperature effect. Tensile properties, including elastic modulus, yield strength, and ultimate tensile strength, were obtained for all conditions. Tensile properties significantly reduced by increasing temperature while elastic modulus and ultimate tensile strength linearly increased at higher strain rates. A significant effect of thickness on tensile properties was observed for injection molding specimens at 23 °C, but no thickness effect was observed for compression molded specimens at either 23 or 82 °C. The aforementioned effects and discussion of their influence on tensile properties are presented in this paper. Polynomial relations for tensile properties, including elastic modulus, yield strength, and ultimate tensile strength, were developed as functions of temperature and strain rate. Such relations can be used to estimate tensile properties of HDPE as a function of temperature and/or strain rate for application in designing parts with this material.
Clarifying the role of high-level cortices in resolving perceptual ambiguity using Ultra High Field fMRI

The brain is organized into distinct, flexible networks. Within these networks, cognitive variables such as attention can modulate sensory representations in accordance with moment-to-moment behavioral requirements. These modulations can be studied by varying task demands; however, the tasks employed are often incongruent with the postulated functions of a sensory system, limiting the characterization of the system in relation to natural behaviors. Here we combine domain-specific task manipulations and ultra-high field fMRI to study the nature of top-down modulations. We exploited faces, a visual category underpinned by a complex cortical network, and instructed participants to perform either a stimulus-relevant/domain-specific or a stimulus-irrelevant task in the scanner. We found that 1. top-down modulations in higher-level cortices can be explained in terms of perceptual ambiguity (i.e. difficulty of achieving a stable percept); 2. the right inferior-temporal lobe is active under challenging conditions and uniquely encodes trial-by-trial variability in perception.
Economic and Environmental Evaluation of the EM-Ferro Plastic Sorting Technology

Recycling has been continually practiced since the dawn of mankind; however, increasing production costs as well as environmental impacts of the conventional waste disposal methods have shed a light on the importance of recycling as a sustainable way to produce goods and services. Recycling has proven to be beneficial, economically and environmentally: It saves resources, prevents pollution, supports public health and creates jobs. Recycling can be applied to different materials present in the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). Plastics constitute a substantial portion of the MSW. In 2012, plastics accounted for 12.7% of the total MSW generated in the United States. However, only of the total amount of plastic generated in 2012 was recovered for recycling. Currently, the major part of the plastics generated is disposed of through incineration or landfilling. These conventional disposal methods impose serious threats to the environment such as greenhouse gas emission and soil and underground water contamination. These effects along with the versatility of the plastic waste have led the development of more environmental friendly plastic recycling methods. Prior to recovery, the plastic waste should be sorted into the different plastic types it is composed of. Traditional plastic sorting methods used optical or manual sortation which was not only costly but also susceptible to high nonconformance rates. Newer technologies have been developed that have higher output and are more economically justifiable. This thesis performs and economical and environmental comparison between five plastic sorting methods that are currently in use and one emerging technology which uses Electromagnetic (EM) waves and ferrofluid to sort plastics. Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA) is the method used to collect the data and perform the analyses. Two economic measures are used to evaluate the methods from an economical point of view. The objective is to study how the new method compares to the existing methods both economically and environmentally using a case study in Toledo, Ohio. The data related to cost, energy requirements and carbon emissions were collected through contacting local vendors. The results of the study showed that all of the methods have positive economic performance with minor variations in energy use and carbon emissions.
Severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) seroprevalence in healthcare personnel in northern California early in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic

Objective We aimed to assess the magnitude of unidentified SARS-CoV-2 infections in our healthcare personnel (HCP) early in the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluate risk factors for infection in order to identify areas for infection control practice improvement in a northern California academic medical center. Methods We reviewed the anti-SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) IgG serologic test results and self-reported risk factors for seropositivity among 10,449 asymptomatic HCP who underwent voluntary serology testing between April 20 and May 20, 2020. Results In total, 136 employees (1.3%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG. This included 41 (30.1%) individuals who had previously tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by nasopharyngeal reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) between March 13 and April 16, 2020. In multivariable analysis, employees of Hispanic ethnicity (OR = 2.01; 95% CI = 1.22-3.46) and those working in environmental services/food services/patient transport (OR = 4.81; 95% CI = 2.08-10.30) were at increased risk for seropositivity compared to other groups. Employees reporting a household contact with COVID-19 were also at higher risk for seropositivity (OR = 3.25; 95% CI = 1.47-6.44), but those with a work exposure were not (OR = 1.27; 95% CI = 0.58-2.47). Importantly, one-third of seropositive individuals reported no prior symptoms, no suspected exposures, and no prior positive RT-PCR test. Conclusion In this study, SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity among HCP early in the northern California epidemic appeared to be quite low and was more likely attributable to community rather than occupational exposure.
Appendix: Accessibility in EMS Education

This chapter discusses key topics to ensure EMS training programs are inclusive and accessible in and out of the classroom.
Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound for COVID-19: Findings and Prognostic Implications From 105 Consecutive Patients.

Background:The prognostic value of point-of-care lung ultrasound has not been evaluated in a large cohort of patients with COVID-19 admitted to general medicine ward in the United States. The aim o...
Virilizing doses of testosterone decrease circulating insulin levels and differentially regulate insulin signaling in liver and adipose tissue of females.

Acute virilizing doses of testosterone administered to females suppress circulating insulin levels, upregulate components of the insulin-signaling pathway in liver, and suppress insulin signaling i...
Adolescent Exposure To Deadly Gun Violence Within 500 Meters Of Home Or School: Ethnoracial And Income Disparities

To identify the prevalence of and disparities in past-year exposure to deadly gun violence near adolescents’ homes and schools, we linked national data on deadly gun violence incidents from the Gun...
Quantifying fear of failure in STEM: modifying and evaluating the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI) for use with STEM undergraduates

The ability to navigate obstacles and embrace iteration following failure is a hallmark of a scientific disposition and is hypothesized to increase students’ persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). However, this ability is often not explicitly explored or addressed by STEM instructors. Recent collective interest brought together STEM instructors, psychologists, and education researchers through the National Science Foundation (NSF) research collaborative Factors affecting Learning, Attitudes, and Mindsets in Education network (FLAMEnet) to investigate intrapersonal elements (e.g., individual differences, affect, motivation) that may influence students’ STEM persistence. One such element is fear of failure (FF), a complex interplay of emotion and cognition occurring when a student believes they may not be able to meet the needs of an achievement context. A validated measure for assessing FF, the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI) exists in the psychological literature. However, this measure was validated in community, athletic, and general undergraduate samples, which may not accurately reflect the motivations, experiences, and diversity of undergraduate STEM students. Given the potential role of FF in STEM student persistence and motivation, we felt it important to determine if this measure accurately assessed FF for STEM undergraduates, and if not, how we could improve upon or adapt it for this purpose. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and cognitive interviews, we re-validated the PFAI with a sample of undergraduates enrolled in STEM courses, primarily introductory biology and chemistry. Results indicate that a modified 15-item four-factor structure is more appropriate for assessing levels of FF in STEM students, particularly among those from groups underrepresented in STEM. In addition to presenting an alternate factor structure, our data suggest that using the original form of the PFAI measure may significantly misrepresent levels of FF in the STEM context. This paper details our collaborative validation process and discusses implications of the results for choosing, using, and interpreting psychological assessment tools within STEM undergraduate populations.