cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Terri and Katrina: A Population-Based Perspective on the Constitutional Right to Reject Treatment

In 2005, two events garnered great national attention: the controversy over the death of Terri Schiavo and the destruction of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. Although each event was compelling and even tragic, only the former, which focused on whether a single individual would be removed from life support, was widely understood as implicating constitutional questions. Using a population-based perspective that is influenced by the discipline of epidemiology and focuses attention on both the interests of and the impact of law on populations, this Article analyzes why a controversy concerning the life and death of one woman was understood as raising questions of constitutional law while the failure to protect thousands was not viewed as such. The Article begins reviewing the courts' embrace of an individualistic right-to-reject treatment in cases such as Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health and contrasting that embrace with the Supreme Court's rejection, in cases such as DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services, of any broad right to care and protection. Taken together, these cases demonstrate that contemporary constitutional law fails to appreciate the interdependency of risk and the social and population context in which health threats, and treatment decisions, arise. As a result, the rights vindicated in cases such as Cruzan and Schiavo are particularly shallow as they cannot provide either individuals or populations (such as that in New Orleans) with the opportunity to make meaningful risk-reducing choices. In addition, because of the influence of constitutional discourse in our society, the shallowness of constitutional rights spills over to influence political and legislative priorities. Hence, the fact that the population of New Orleans had no legally recognizable constitutional right to protection against hurricanes may have abetted the government's failure to protect the city's residents. Likewise, a constitutional discourse that focuses on the plight of a single woman while overlooking the multitude of problems faced by large populations may reinforce the political system's failure to protect populations from other potential natural disasters, such as a potential influenza pandemic.
Status of Malathion Resistance in Five Genera of Beetles Infesting Farm-Stored Corn, Wheat, and Oats in the United States

More than 100 strains of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), Rhyzopertha dominica (F.), Sitophilus spp., Cryptolestes spp., and Oryzaephilus spp., were collected from grain bins on farms in 14 grain-producing states. These were screened for resistance to malathion by the discriminating dose technique, using impregnated filter papers. Measurable tolerance occurred in 31 of 36 strains of Tribolium 11 of 13 strains of Rhyzopertha , 7 of 22 strains of Sitophilus , 5 of 42 strains of Cryptolestes , and none of 13 strains of Oryzaephilus. Resistance was widespread and severe only in Tribolium castaneum . Fifteen of the T. castaneum strains were tested further, and all achieved resistance levels of >20-fold after a single selection. Resistance in this species was largely or completely suppressed by triphenylphosphate in all 13 strains tested.
Computers for Performers: Crossing the Boundaries for the Future

I have been using computers for music since 1991. During this time, I have given presentations at many computer music conferences, including three International Computer Music Conferences (ICMC) and two festivals. I also have been actively integrating musical works using computers in other contexts, such as my classical recitals and contemporary music festivals, and have been fortunate to become acquainted with wonderful colleagues in this field around the world. As a graduate of traditional classical music schools, this experience, together with meeting people in other disciplines, has opened many opportunities to enhance my vision of musical art, and to reevaluate and reorganize my lifelong musical training. I hope to keep learning, growing, and integrating new elements into what I have learned so far. As a musi-
Cell Relations in the Perithecium of Ceratostomella Multiannulata

Included in the Ascomycetae are genera in which the asci are developed from isolated free cells, from a fusion of two cells, or within various types of organized fruiting bodies. The latter are commonly distinguished as open (apothecial) or closed (peri? thecial), although there exist many compound and elaborately constructed variations of the open and closed types of develop? ment. The complete history of cell behavior preceding ascus formation is known in a comparatively few species of the apo? thecial type and in a still smaller number of those in which asci are borne in perithecia. Ceratostomella multiannulata Hedgcock and Davidson (9) is an especially favorable species for the study of a type of perithecial development first described by Mittmann (20) in C. fimbriata (E. & H.) Elliott, in which ascus formation is preceded by an extensive multiplication of independent and unwalled cells (fig. 1). A separate paper has been devoted to the structure and development of the ascus in two related species (2); in the present communication greater emphasis will be placed on those proliferative stages preceding ascus formation which may be referred to as the development of the ascogenous system. Since the earliest studies on structure and development in the ascomycetous fungi evidence has existed tending to show that the processes leading to ascus formation in those species with an organized fruiting body may follow fundamentally different courses. The convincing work of Harper and his students led to greater emphasis being directed to that course of development, represented by Pyronema and discomycetous species in general, wherein asci are produced following a characteristic crosier device either terminally or laterally on hyphae that are direct outgrowths from an oogonium or group of ascogonial cells. The few recent 133
What does research reproducibility mean

The language and conceptual framework of “research reproducibility” are nonstandard and unsettled across the sciences. In this Perspective, we review an array of explicit and implicit definitions of reproducibility and related terminology, and discuss how to avoid potential misunderstandings when these terms are used as a surrogate for “truth.”
Special Issue Echoes, Reverberations, Silences, and Noise: Sonic Possibilities in Education

The purpose of this special issue is to demonstrate the depth and breadth of the ways that sound considerations can significantly contribute to the field of Educational Foundations. An interdiscipl...
Visual Debugging Techniques for Reactive Data Visualization

Interaction is critical to effective visualization, but can be difficult to author and debug due to dependencies among input events, program state, and visual output. Recent advances leverage reactive semantics to support declarative design and avoid the "spaghetti code" of imperative event handlers. While reactive programming improves many aspects of development, textual specifications still fail to convey the complex runtime dynamics. In response, we contribute a set of visual debugging techniques to reveal the runtime behavior of reactive visualizations. A timeline view records input events and dynamic variable updates, allowing designers to replay and inspect the propagation of values step-by-step. On-demand annotations overlay the output visualization to expose relevant state and scale mappings in-situ. Dynamic tables visualize how backing datasets change over time. To evaluate the effectiveness of these techniques, we study how first-time Vega users debug interactions in faulty, unfamiliar specifications; with no prior knowledge, participants were able to accurately trace errors through the specification.
Large extinction ratio electrowetting optical shutter

We demonstrate a large extinction ratio optical shutter using total internal reflection with an electrowetting device. An on-off ratio of greater than 60 dB was measured. The device shows promise for chip-scale atomic-clocks and gyroscopes.
Recent advances in understanding and treating COPD related to α1-antitrypsin deficiency

Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is an orphan disease that predisposes individuals to COPD and liver disease. The following is a comprehensive review of AATD from epidemiology to treatment for physicians who treat COPD or asthma. Areas covered: In this comprehensive review of alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, we describe the historical perspective, genetics, epidemiology, clinical presentation and symptoms, screening and diagnosis, and treatments of the condition. Expert commentary: The two most important directions for advancing the understanding of AATD involve improving detection of the condition, especially in asymptomatic patients, and advancing knowledge of treatments directed specifically at AATD-related conditions. With regard to treatment for AATD-related conditions, research must continue to explore the implications and importance of augmentation therapy as well as consider new implementations that may prove more successful taking into consideration not only factors of pulmonary function and liver health, but also product availability and financial viability.
Leibniz, Acosmism, and Incompossibility

Leibniz claims that God acts in the best possible way, and that this includes creating exactly one world. But worlds are aggregates, and aggregates have a low degree of reality or metaphysical perfection, perhaps none at all. This is Leibniz’s tendency toward acosmism, or the view that there this no such thing as creation-as-a-whole. Many interpreters reconcile Leibniz’s acosmist tendency with the high value of worlds by proposing that God sums the value of each substance created, so that the best world is just the world with the most substances. I call this way of determining the value of a world the Additive Theory of Value (ATV), and argue that it leads to the current and insoluble form of the problem of incompossibility. To avoid the problem, I read “possible worlds” in “God chooses the best of all possible worlds” as referring to God’s ideas of worlds. These ideas, though built up from essences, are themselves unities and so well suited to be the value bearers that Leibniz’s theodicy requires. They have their own value, thanks to their unity, and that unity is not preserved when more essences are added.
Constrained source seeking for mobile robots via simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation

This paper considers a class of stochastic source seeking problems to drive a mobile robot to the maximizer of a source signal by only using measurements of the signal at the robot location. Our algorithm builds on the simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation idea to obtain information of the signal field. We prove the practical convergence of the algorithm to a ball of size depending on the step-size that contains the location of the source. The novelty of our approach is that we consider nondifferentiable convex functions, a fixed step-size, and the environment can be restricted to any compact convex set. Our proof methods employ nonsmooth Lyapunov theory, tools from convex analysis and stochastic difference inclusions. Finally, we illustrate the applicability of the proposed algorithm in a 2D scenario for the source seeking problem.
Role of Transporters in Central Nervous System Drug Delivery and Blood-Brain Barrier Protection: Relevance to Treatment of Stroke.

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The only approved pharmacologic treatment for ischemic stroke is thrombolysis via recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (r-tPA). A short therapeutic window and serious adverse events (ie, hemorrhage, excitotoxicity) greatly limit r-tPA therapy, which indicates an essential need to develop novel stroke treatment paradigms. Transporters expressed at the blood-brain barrier (BBB) provide a significant opportunity to advance stroke therapy via central nervous system delivery of drugs that have neuroprotective properties. Examples of such transporters include organic anion–transporting polypeptides (Oatps) and organic cation transporters (Octs). In addition, multidrug resistance proteins (Mrps) are transporter targets in brain microvascular endothelial cells that can be exploited to preserve BBB integrity in the setting of stroke. Here, we review current knowledge on stroke pharmacotherapy and demonstrate how endogenous BBB ...
Comparison of the vasodilatory effects of sodium nitroprusside vs. nitroglycerin

We compared the vasodilatory capacities of NTG vs. SNP at similar concentration doses and rates into the forearm. Based on the results of the study, it may be feasible to use intra-arterial NTG as ...
Projecting the impact of a nationwide school plain water access intervention on childhood obesity: a cost-benefit analysis.

SummaryObjective This study aimed to project the societal cost and benefit of an expansion of a water access intervention that promotes lunchtime plain water consumption by placing water dispensers in New York school cafeterias to all schools nationwide. Methods A decision model was constructed to simulate two events under Markov chain processes – placing water dispensers at lunchtimes in school cafeterias nationwide vs. no action. The incremental cost pertained to water dispenser purchase and maintenance, whereas the incremental benefit was resulted from cases of childhood overweight/obesity prevented and corresponding lifetime direct (medical) and indirect costs saved. Results Based on the decision model, the estimated incremental cost of the school-based water access intervention is $18 per student, and the corresponding incremental benefit is $192, resulting in a net benefit of $174 per student. Subgroup analysis estimates the net benefit per student to be $199 and $149 among boys and girls, respectively. Nationwide adoption of the intervention would prevent 0.57 million cases of childhood overweight, resulting in a lifetime cost saving totalling $13.1 billion. The estimated total cost saved per dollar spent was $14.5. Conclusion The New York school-based water access intervention, if adopted nationwide, may have a considerably favourable benefit–cost portfolio.
On state estimation and fusion with elliptical constraints

We consider tracking of a target with elliptical nonlinear constraints on its motion dynamics. The state estimates are generated by sensors and sent over long-haul links to a remote fusion center for fusion. We show that the constraints can be projected onto the known ellipse and hence incorporated into the estimation and fusion process. In particular, two methods based on (i) direct connection to the center, and (ii) shortest distance to the ellipse are discussed. A tracking example is used to illustrate the tracking performance using projection-based methods with various fusers in a lossy long-haul tracking environment.
It's Not Just What You Feel: Expressing Emotional Responses to the Injustice of Others

Publisher Summary Emotion management suggests that individuals follow rules about how they should feel in a situation, but other expectations associated with a situation may modify how they feel or the extent to which they express their true feelings. Although many studies address emotional reactions to injustice, few analyze how observers respond emotionally to the injustices suffered by others. This chapter examines the influence of procedural justice, interpersonal ties, and legitimacy of the group decision-maker on observers' emotional experiences and expressions. Hypotheses suggest that procedurally fair treatment attenuates negative emotional reactions and may enhance satisfaction. Interpersonal ties and legitimacy are likely to impact emotional responses when procedures are unfair. 173 student study volunteers read a vignette describing a distributively unjust situation in a volunteer organization and answered a series of questions. Analyses confirm most hypotheses pertaining to procedural justice and, to some extent, those regarding legitimacy. Observers' emotional experiences and expressions are most intense when a legitimate decision-maker uses unfair procedures. Procedural justice effects are strongest under conditions of high legitimacy. Discussion focuses on the implications of emotional responses for ensuring justice for others in both volunteer and paid organizational situations.
Rates of smoking initiation among adolescents and young adults, 1907-81

Objective To estimate initiation rates among individuals aged 10-24 for the calendar years 1907-81. Design Birth cohort analyses using a data set combining all of the National Health Interview Surveys asking questions about smoking. Subjects Multiple cross-sectional samples of the US population. Results Initiation of cigarette smoking was essentially a male behaviour at the start of the century, and a steep rise in incidence of smoking in white male adolescents occurred during the second decade of this century when mass marketing techniques were applied to cigarette sales and the US mobilised for World War I. A rapid rise in incidence of smoking in white female adolescents is noted in the late 1920s and 1930s, coinciding with the early efforts to target women with tobacco advertising. A dramatic increase in incidence of smoking for white male adolescents occurred during World War II. The incidence declined precipitously among white male adolescents, beginning in the late 1940s, and continuing through to 1980. In contrast, the incidence of smoking among white females remained constant through the 1950s and early 1960s, and increased at the very end of the 1960s and early 1970s. This increase in female incidence coincided with targeting of young women by advertising campaigns linking smoking with a slender female figure and the women’s liberation movement. The increased incidence seen during the early 1970s and in the 1955-59 birth cohort was limited to those female adolescents aged 17 years and younger. Conclusion The historical changes in the initiation of cigarette smoking presented in this paper, and their temporal association with gender-specific marketing and promotional activities, lend support to a link between cigarette advertising and promotional activities and initiation of cigarette smoking by adolescents and young adults.
Feedback Regulation of Growth Hormone Gene Expression by Insulin-like Growth Factor I

Growth hormone (GH) is quantitatively the main hormone secreted by the pituitary and is under hormonal control emanating from both central and peripheral sources.
Validation and refinement of the catheterization RISk score for pediatrics (CRISP score): An analysis from the congenital cardiac interventional study consortium.

OBJECTIVES To externally validate the CRISP score, and determine if refinements might improve clinical utility. BACKGROUND The CRISP score estimates risk of serious adverse events (SAEs) for pediatric catheterization. METHODS Pediatric (age < 18) procedures reported to the Congenital Cardiovascular Interventional Study Consortium registry from 05/08 to 09/17 (n = 29,830, 27 centers) were divided into a development dataset of 14,784 earlier procedures, and a validation dataset of 15,046 more recent procedures. The development dataset was used to refit the original CRISP model, and to develop a revised(r) CRISP score, consisting of entirely pre-procedurally collected data. The validation dataset was then used to compare model fit and risk prediction between CRISP, rCRISP and two existing risk scores using Akaike's (AIC), Schwarz's (BIC) Bayes Information Criteria, -log Likelihood (N2LL), area under the receiver operator curve and chi-square goodness-of-fit statistic (across 5 risk categories). RESULTS Overall 4.31% of patients experienced at least one SAE with frequency increasing from 1.08% in CRISP category 1 to 27.34% in category 5. Both CRISP and rCRISP (entirely pre-procedural) predicted risk of SAEs well, with observed to predicted ratios ranging from 0.71 to 1.18 across the 5 risk categories. Compared to the original CRISP score, rCRISP demonstrated less optimal model fit (higher AIC, BIC, and N2LL) but similar risk prediction (C-statistic = 0.71 vs. 0.70; chi-squared statistic = 6.77 vs. 6.85). CONCLUSION The CRISP score accurately predicts procedural risk. With minor modifications, the revised version (rCRISP) performed well with arguably greater clinical utility as an entirely preprocedural risk model.
Relative importance of attribute preferences for radial vs. femoral arterial access: A crowdsourcing study of healthy online‐recruited volunteers

INTRODUCTION Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is typically performed with vascular access provided by the radial or femoral artery. However, little is known about how patients value aspects of these different vascular access approaches. METHODS Conjoint analysis is a survey-based statistical technique used in market research that helps determine how individuals value different attributes that make up a particular product or services. We utilized conjoint analysis to assess the relative importance of four attributes associated with PCI: access site, risk of bleeding, hospital stay, and radiation exposure. Participants were healthy individuals recruited by Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTURK). After completing a conjoint analysis survey, the software Conjoint.ly was used to calculate the relative importance for these four different attributes of PCI. RESULTS The relative importance of hospital stay, radiation exposure, bleeding risk, and procedure site was 32.7% (95% CI 29.5-35.8), 27.3% (95% CI 24.8-29.8), 24.4% (95% CI 22.3-26.5), and 15.7% (95% CI 13.6-17.8), respectively. The difference between these groups was statistically significant (P-value < 0.00001). The difference between duration of hospital stay and radiation exposure was statistically significant (P-value < 0.00433). CONCLUSION Patients undergoing PCI place largest relative value on duration of hospital stay. Access site appears the least valued attribute. These findings carry implications to guide further research on access site choices and the consent process in the context of shared decision-making.
Diagnosing Type II Diabetes and Choosing Medications in Patients with Obesity

A 48-year-old female presents to her primary care doctor for an annual visit. She was told she had the metabolic syndrome at her physical 1 year ago when she had a hemoglobin A1c of 6.1%, hypertension (BP of 145/90), and hypertriglyceridemia (170 mg/dl). At that time, she was told of her risk of developing type II diabetes and advised to lose weight. Over the past year, the patient has gained 12 lbs and attributes her weight gain to stress and inability to prioritize a healthy diet due to balancing her career with taking care of her children. Her diet consists of high-fat and high-carbohydrate foods with fast food in the diet several times per week including processed baked goods and sugar-sweetened beverages with lunch and dinner. She has a desk job and drives back and forth to her office with no additional structured exercise. She has a family history of obesity and type II diabetes in her maternal grandmother but reports that her parents are normal weight. She does not drink alcohol or smoke. She has two children and had diet-controlled gestational diabetes during her second pregnancy.
Reproductive Phenology of Elliptio complanata in an Upper Susquehanna River Tributary of New York

Elliptio complanata (Eastern Elliptio) is typically an abundant species in lotic systems throughout the northeastern US; however, as with many other freshwater mussel species, some populations of Eastern Elliptio are in decline. Freshwater mussels have complex life cycles, which are important to understand for their conservation and management. The goal of this study was to determine the timing of Eastern Elliptio spawning, brooding, and glochidia release. Throughout the spawning season, we used gonad and gill extracts and drift nets to track the timing of reproduction in Otego Creek, NY, a tributary to the Susquehanna River. Females began brooding fertilized eggs by mid-May, and by early June, all females collected were brooding fertilized eggs or d-shaped glochidia. The temperature was 18 °C when all females contained glochidia. Peak glochidia-drift occurred ∼1 week after we recorded the highest levels of brooding and continued at low levels for several weeks. Phenology modeling helped us to determine that accumulated thermal units was the best predictor of reproductive activity. Our work highlights the environmental cues responsible for spawning, brooding, and glochidia release in a population of Eastern Elliptio. This empirical approach to predicting reproductive activity has great potential as a tool for timing the collection of brood stock for propagation or other important conservation measures.
Trends in the Use of Skilled Nursing Facility and Home Health Care Under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program: An Interrupted Time-series Analysis.

BACKGROUND Medicare's Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) penalizes hospitals with elevated 30-day readmission rates for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure (HF), or pneumonia. To reduce readmissions, hospitals may have increased referrals to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and home health care. RESEARCH DESIGN Outcomes included 30-day postdischarge utilization of SNF and home health care, including any use as well as days of use. Subjects included Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries aged 65 years and older who were admitted with AMI, HF, or pneumonia to hospitals subject to the HRRP. Using an interrupted time-series analysis, we compared utilization rates observed after the announcement of the HRRP (April 2010 through September 2012) and after the imposition of penalties (October 2012 through September 2014) with projected utilization rates that accounted for pre-HRRP trends (January 2008 through March 2010). Models included patient characteristics and hospital fixed effects. RESULTS For AMI and HF, utilization of SNF and home health care remained stable overall. For pneumonia, observed utilization of any SNF care increased modestly (1.0%, P<0.001 during anticipation; 2.4%, P<0.001 after penalties) and observed utilization of any home health care services declined modestly (-0.5%, P=0.008 after announcement; -0.7%, P=0.045 after penalties) relative to projections. Beneficiaries with AMI and pneumonia treated at penalized hospitals had higher rates of being in the community 30 days postdischarge. CONCLUSIONS Hospitals might be shifting to more intensive postacute care to avoid readmissions among seniors with pneumonia. At the same time, penalized hospitals' efforts to prevent readmissions may be keeping higher proportions of their patients in the community.
Exercise in Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes: A Central Role for Insulin Sensitivity

Exercise is considered the cornerstone of treatment for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), yet exercise is demonstrably more difficult and capacity impaired in T2D. Insulin resistance (IR) at many levels appears to be a key factor in diabetes-related exercise deficits. Conversely, the benefits of exercise in metabolic syndrome and T2D are likely related, in large part, to improvements in insulin sensitivity. This chapter provides an overview of the current understanding of the bidirectional relationship between exercise and IR and of the benefits of exercise in metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, and diabetes.
Exploring the season of mound building through oxygen isotope geochemistry at the Garden Patch site, Gulf Coast Florida, USA

The American Southeast saw the development of large ceremonial village centers, the coalescence of households, and monumental architecture integrated into village layout during the Middle Woodland ...
Reconciling fighters, settling civilians: the making of post-conflict citizenship in Syria

The absence of an internationally-mandated peace process for Syria has allowed the Syrian regime to embark on a post-conflict reconstruction process unperturbed by international norms and actors. T...
Predictors of neonatal mortality: development and validation of prognostic models using prospective data from rural Bangladesh.

Objective To assess the extent to which maternal histories of newborn danger signs independently or combined with birth weight and/or gestational age (GA) can capture and/or predict postsecond day (age>48 hours) neonatal death. Methods Data from a cluster-randomised trial conducted in rural Bangladesh were split into development and validation sets. The prompted recall of danger signs and birth weight measurements were collected within 48 hours postchildbirth. Maternally recalled danger signs included cyanosis (any part of the infant’s body was blue at birth), non-cephalic presentation (part other than head came out first at birth), lethargy (weak or no arm/leg movement and/or cry at birth), trouble suckling (infant unable to suckle/feed normally in the 2 days after birth or before death, collected 1-month postpartum or from verbal autopsy). Last menstrual period was collected at maternal enrolment early in pregnancy. Singleton newborns surviving 2 days past childbirth were eligible for analysis. Prognostic multivariable models were developed and internally validated. Results Recalling ≥1 sign of lethargy, cyanosis, non-cephalic presentation or trouble suckling identified postsecond day neonatal death with 65.3% sensitivity, 60.8% specificity, 2.1% positive predictive value (PPV) and 99.3% negative predictive value (NPV) in the development set. Requiring either lethargy or weight Conclusion Maternally recalled danger signs, coupled to either birth weight or GA, can predict and capture postsecond day neonatal death with high discrimination and sensitivity.
Killing One Trout to Save Another: A Hegemonic Political Ecology with Its Biopolitical Basis in Yellowstone’s Native Fish Conservation Plan

Yellowstone National Park implements a native fish conservation plan to control translocated trout species competing with native cutthroat trout. Under the plan, millions of lake trout are removed ...
Degradation-Induced Actuation in Oxidation-Responsive Liquid Crystal Elastomers

Stimuli-responsive materials that exhibit a mechanical response to specific biological conditions are of considerable interest for responsive, implantable medical devices. Herein, we report the synthesis, processing and characterization of oxidation-responsive liquid crystal elastomers that demonstrate programmable shape changes in response to reactive oxygen species. Direct ink writing (DIW) is used to fabricate Liquid Crystal Elastomers (LCEs) with programmed molecular orientation and anisotropic mechanical properties. LCE structures were immersed in different media (oxidative, basic and saline) at body temperature to measure in vitro degradation. Oxidation-sensitive hydrophobic thioether linkages transition to hydrophilic sulfoxide and sulfone groups. The introduction of these polar moieties brings about anisotropic swelling of the polymer network in an aqueous environment, inducing complex shape changes. 3D-printed uniaxial strips exhibit 8% contraction along the nematic director and 16% orthogonal expansion in oxidative media, while printed LCEs azimuthally deform into cones 19 times their original thickness. Ultimately, these LCEs degrade completely. In contrast, LCEs subjected to basic and saline solutions showed no apparent response. These oxidation-responsive LCEs with programmable shape changes may enable a wide range of applications in target specific drug delivery systems and other diagnostic and therapeutic tools.
Die Wirkung digitaler Medien im Schulunterricht – Chancen und Risiken der Digitalisierung aus erziehungswissenschaftlicher Sicht

Digitalisierung ist allgegenwartig, auch in Erziehung und Unterricht. In diesem Beitrag sollen Moglichkeiten und Grenzen einer Digitalisierung im Bildungsbereich herauskristallisiert werden. Zu diesem Zweck werden neben theoretischen Uberlegungen hinsichtlich einer Medienbildung auch empirische Forschungsergebnisse vorgestellt. Leitend werden zwei Thesen sein: Padagogik vor Technik und Lernen bleibt Lernen. Beides mundet in das Postulat einer humanen Schule im Zeitalter der Digitalisierung.
Chimbuko: A Workflow-Level Scalable Performance Trace Analysis Tool

Due to the sheer volume of data it is typically impractical to analyze the detailed performance of an HPC application running at-scale. While conventional small-scale benchmarking and scaling studies are often sufficient for simple applications, many modern workflow-based applications couple multiple elements with competing resource demands and complex inter-communication patterns for which performance cannot easily be studied in isolation and at small scale. This work discusses Chimbuko, a performance analysis framework that provides real-time, in situ anomaly detection. By focusing specifically on performance anomalies and their origin (aka provenance), data volumes are dramatically reduced without losing necessary details. To the best of our knowledge, Chimbuko is the first online, distributed, and scalable workflow-level performance trace analysis framework. We demonstrate the tool’s usefulness on Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Summit system.
Stabilization dynamics and backward-looking contracts

Abstract Exchange rate-based stabilizations often result in an initial output expansion. One explanation for this phenomenon has been that, in the presence of inflation inertia, a reduction in the nominal interest rate causes the domestic real interest rate to fall, thus increasing aggregate demand. This paper reexamines this issue in the context of an intertemporal optimizing model. In contrast to previous results, the analysis shows that, if the intertemporal elasticity of substitution is smaller than the elasticity of substitution between traded and home goods, a permanent reduction in the rate of devaluation leads to a fall in aggregate demand.
Gender Inequality and State Security: The Effects of Women’s Social Equality on Domestic Terrorism

Women’s roles in political violence and terrorism have largely been examined through the agent/victim dichotomy. We suggest that women’s social inequality contributes to both roles of women as vict...
Abnormal rate of human chorionic gonadotropin rise: a case series of patients with viable intrauterine pregnancies after embryo transfer.

Objective To report three cases of viable intrauterine pregnancies after embryo transfer with lower quantitative human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) rates of rise than that expected in 99% of normal intrauterine pregnancies, based on current guidelines. Design Case series. Setting Tertiary care center. Patient(s) Three patients underwent in vitro fertilization for ovulatory dysfunction or male factor infertility and had successful live births after an unusually low rate of hCG rise following embryo transfer. Intervention(s) In vitro fertilization was utilized for all three patients. Main Outcome Measure(s) Serial hCG levels. Result(s) Three cases of abnormally rising hCG levels were described. All cases presented achieved pregnancy through assisted reproductive technologies. The lowest documented rate of rise for each case, over 48 hours, was 22.1%, 23.3%, and 26.9%. All three cases resulted in live births. Literature on this topic was reviewed. Conclusion(s) Based on the cases presented, we recommend conservative management for patients found to have abnormally low rise hCG levels after embryo transfer; a high clinical suspicion for ectopic pregnancy should be maintained.
Characterization of a medium velocity deluge nozzle for offshore installations

Abstract It is important to study the characteristics of the nozzle of the deluge spray to comply with the standards developed by the petroleum industry for offshore installations in Norway. Due to the stochastic nature of the decomposition processes and geometrical features within the nozzle, the deluge spray has a complex flow field. Since the flow field determines the performance of the spray, the present study performs an experimental characterization of a medium velocity deluge nozzle for validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. The experiment was conducted for a maximum supply water pressure of 8.0 bar (g), which is identical to the operating pressures of offshore installations. Formerly, characterization studies of deluge or sprinkler spray were mostly targeted on residential usage with lower supply water pressures. I utilized a laser-based shadow imaging system to capture high-speed images, which were later processed in MATLAB. A linear patternator was used to validate the results of the shadow imaging technique. The geometrical features of the deluge nozzle played an important role in determining the characteristics of the spray. In addition, the supply water pressure significantly affected the size and velocity distributions of the droplets, applied density (volume flux), and area coverage. However, the Sauter mean diameter did not vary significantly with the azimuthal or radial position of the droplet within the inner region of the spray. The measurements obtained in this study can be used to estimate the extinguishing efficiency of a deluge system for offshore installations with elevated supply water pressures. Deviations between measurements with shadow imaging and patternator technique are discussed and discrepancies are discussed.
Reinforcement Learning-Based Home Energy Management System for Resiliency

With increase in the frequency of natural disasters such as hurricanes that disrupt the supply from the grid, there is a greater need for resiliency in electric supply. Rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels along with batteries can provide resiliency to a house in a blackout due to a natural disaster. Our previous work showed that intelligence can reduce the size of a PV+battery system for the same level of post-blackout service compared to a conventional system that does not employ intelligent control. The intelligent controller proposed is based on model predictive control (MPC), which has two main challenges. One, it requires simple yet accurate models as it involves real-time optimization. Two, the discrete actuation for residential loads (on/off) makes the underlying optimization problem a mixed-integer program (MIP) which is challenging to solve. An attractive alternative to MPC is reinforcement learning (RL) as the real-time control computation is both model-free and simple. These points of interest accompany certain trade-offs; RL requires computationally expensive offline learning, and its performance is sensitive to various design choices. In this work, we propose an RL-based controller. We compare its performance with the MPC controller proposed in our prior work and a non-intelligent baseline controller. The RL controller is found to provide a resiliency performance — by commanding critical loads and batteries—similar to MPC with a significant reduction in computational effort.
To Scan or Not to Scan: Development of a Clinical Decision Support Tool to Determine if Imaging Would Aid in the Diagnosis of Appendicitis.

Appendicitis is one of the most common surgically treated diseases in the world. CT scans are often over-utilized and ordered before a surgeon has evaluated the patient. Our aim was to develop a tool using machine learning (ML) algorithms that would help determine if there would be benefit in obtaining a CT scan prior to surgeon consultation. Retrospective chart review of 100 randomly selected cases who underwent appendectomy and 100 randomly selected controls was completed. Variables included components of the patient’s history, laboratory values, CT readings, and pathology. Pathology was used as the gold standard for appendicitis diagnosis. All variables were then used to build the ML algorithms. Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Bayesian Network Classifiers (BNC) models with and without CT scan results were trained and compared to CT scan results alone and the Alvarado score using area under the Receiver Operator Curve (ROC), sensitivity, and specificity measures as well as calibration indices from 500 bootstrapped samples. Among the cases that underwent appendectomy, 88% had pathology-confirmed appendicitis. All the ML algorithms had better sensitivity, specificity, and ROC than the Alvarado score. SVM with and without CT had the best indices and could predict if imaging would aid in appendicitis diagnosis. This study demonstrated that SVM with and without CT results can be used for selective imaging in the diagnosis of appendicitis. This study serves as the initial step and proof-of-concept to externally validate these results with larger and more diverse patient population.
Public opinion, the working class and the dissolution of Yugoslavia

Ovaj rad analizira rezultate anketnoga ispitivanja javnog mnijenja koje je 1990. godine, prije prvih visestranackih izbora i prije izbijanja rata, provedeno u svim republikama bivse Jugoslavije. Posebno se analiziraju stavovi radnicke klase. Logistickim se regresijama analiziraju podatci za bivsu Jugoslaviju, te zatim za njezine tri politicki najutjecajnije i ekonomski najrazvijenije republike, Sloveniju, Hrvatsku i Srbiju. Pokazalo se da se, premda velika vecina jugoslavenskih građana izražava projugoslavenske stavove, ispod povrsinskog konsenzusa može uociti specificna fragmentacija javnog misljenja uopce i radnicke klase pogotovo. Jedino u Hrvatskoj radnici odskacu u izraženoj važnosti pripadnosti Jugoslaviji, u odnosu na druge drustvene skupine. S druge strane, stavovi strucnjaka i »privatnika«, kao nositelja nastajuce ekonomske elite, obilježeni su slabijom vezanoscu za jugoslavensku politicku zajednicu. Najzad, jaca vezanost uz Jugoslaviju kombinira se s vecom skepsom oko prelaska na tržisnu privredu, dok se slabija vezanost uz Jugoslaviju kombinira sa sklonoscu da se izrazi demokratska orijentacija. Utoliko se osjecaj vezanosti uz Jugoslaviju ponajprije povezivao sa socijalistickim uređenjem gospodarstva, a mnogo manje uz privrženost demokraciji, sto je jugoslavensko zajednistvo ucinilo jos ranjivijim u kontekstu krize socijalizma u Istocnoj Europi i uspona liberalne demokracije kao jedinoga zamislivog oblika drustvenog uređenja.
Evaluating nutrition education programs: A look at cultural relevance and educator perceptions

64 Introduction 65 Approach to Intervention 69 Methods 70 Statistical Analysis 71 Results 71 All African American and White Participants at Baseline 71 Demographics 71 Fruit and Vegetable Consumption 73 Stages of Change 73 Processes of Change and Self Efficacy 74 Retained African American and White Participants 74 Demographics 74 Fruit and Vegetable Consumption 74 Stages of Change 76 Processes of Change and Self Efficacy 77 Non-Retained African American and White Participants 77 African American Participants by Retention Status and Group 77 Demographics 77 Fruit and Vegetable Consumption 78 Stages of Change 79 Processes of Change and Self Efficacy 79 Discussion 80 Conclusions 82 Limitations 82 References 92 CHAPTER 6. General Conclusions 95 Summary and Conclusions 95 Future Research Considerations 95 APPENDIX A. Pre-employment Community Assessment 99 APPENDIX B. Post-employment Community Assessment 100 APPENDIX C. Educator Journal Outline 101 APPENDIX D. Survey 102 REFERENCES 103 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 112
Will Arbitration End Securities Litigation

Investors are given powerful tools to recover for shareholder fraud, both by way of class action suits brought under the federal securities laws and derivative suits. Recent Supreme Court decisions however that favor mandatory arbitration may allow companies to compel their stockholders to forgo class actions and derivative suits and to bring all shareholder fraud claims as single party arbitration. The article discusses how this would seriously imperil needed remedies to combat corporate corruption.
Seeing Effects on Occultation Curves

‘Seeing’ affects the light-curve of a stellar occultation by the Moon in two ways: the diffraction pattern on the ground is smeared out by atmospheric turbulence, and the pattern also suffers random displacements. These effects are analogous to the familiar image blur and image motion, respectively. However, there is a major difference between ordinary astronomical seeing and the effect on the lunar diffraction pattern: the former is the seeing looking up at the sky from the bottom of the atmosphere, but the latter corresponds to the seeing looking down through the atmosphere at the surface of the Earth.
Barrett's Esophagus: Clinical, Endoscopic, Histologic, Manometric, and Electrical Potential Difference Characteristics

The clinical, endoscopic, histologic, manometric, and esophageal potential difference characteristics of 20 patients with columnar epithelia lining the lower esophagus (Barrett's esophagus) are presented. Endoscopically, two distinct types were identified: a circumferential-type and an island-type Barrett's esophagus. Patients with these types exhibited similarities in mean age, duration of symptoms, mean lower esophageal sphincter pressure, and frequency of gross esophagitis. Only patients with the circumferential lesion, however, had esophageal strictures or esophageal ulcers. Manometric testing revealed a range of lower esophageal sphincter pressures from 3 to 33 mmHg and qualitative motor abnormalities (i.e., aperistalsis, repetitive waves, tertiary waves) in 3 patients. Histologically, the frequency of epithelial types was junctional >; specialized columnar >; atrophic fundic epithelium. More importantly, dysplasia was identified in 2 patients with the circumferential lesion and in 1 patient with the island lesion. Potential difference measurements demonstrated that a high potential difference (>;-25 mV) was highly specific (92%), but only moderately sensitive (70%) for detecting Barrett's esophagus. Based on these findings, we conclude (a) that there are at least two endoscopically distinct types of Barrett's esophagus involving the lower esophagus—a circumferential type and an island type, (b) that both types are associated with chronic gastroesophageal reflux, with the island type being accompanied by less severe epithelial injury than the circumferential type, and (c) that the identification of dysplasia in the two types suggests that both are unstable lesions requiring continued surveillance with endoscopy and biopsy.
Price of Publicity

Board members with mass media experience influence firms' media coverage and media slant. After accounting for the endogeneity of having media experts on board using geographic variation in the location of media experts as an instrument, we find that firms with a media expert receive 40% more media coverage. Furthermore, articles written about them include 25% fewer negative words compared with articles on control firms. Although firms with media experts enjoy these benefits, they suffer from an illiquidity discount of 20bp/month. These findings highlight the importance of composition of board of directors as a determinant of information disclosure mechanism. JEL Classification: G10, G12, G34, M41, M43, L82