cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Magnetic behavior of manganese bromide hydrates including deuteration effects

Abstract The magnetic properties of previously unexamined MnBr 2 ·2H 2 O, MnBr 2 ·H 2 O, MnBr 2 ·2D 2 O and MnBr 2 ·D 2 O are studied. Curie–Weiss fits to high temperature data yield θ of −13.1, −3.9, −8.2 and −5.0 K, respectively, in χ M = C /( T − θ ). The net antiferromagnetic exchange yields susceptibility maxima at 6.34, 3.20, 2.10, and 3.40 K, with χ max of 0.197, 0.357, 0.465 and 0.348 emu/mol, respectively. Noteworthy is the contrast between dideuterate and dihydrate, the largest deuteration effect observed for hydrated transition metal halides. Antiferromagnetic ordering is estimated to occur at 5.91, 2.65, 2.00 and 2.50 K, respectively. The ratio T c / T max is 0.93, 0.83, 0.95 and 0.74 in the same order, implying low dimensional magnetism for monohydrate and monodeuterate. Heisenberg model fits to susceptibilities yield primary and secondary exchange interactions. Magnetization data at moderate fields and different temperatures are presented for each substance, and high field data to 70 kG at 2.00 K. Spin-flop transitions are estimated to occur at 45, 33 and 30 kG, respectively, for dihydrate, monohydrate and monodeuterate, but are not observable for MnBr 2 ·2D 2 O. The results are analyzed from various perspectives. A different monoclinic unit cell is determined for MnBr 2 ·2D 2 O than for MnBr 2 ·2H 2 O, with 1.3% larger volume, providing some rationale for the difference in magnetic properties.
Research Philosophy in Medicine

In medicine, the main pursuit is to preserve health and cure disease. The present state of medical practice suggests that a solution is still far to seek. During its advance through the centuries, however, medicine has always been driven into action and from numerous realm of empiricism has gained useful information.
Assessing Business Schools: Reply to Connolly

The article presents a reply to a paper about the effect of MBA degrees on the salaries of business school graduates. M. Connolly's research on the economic returns to MBA graduates from the University of Miami over a recent 4-year period, undertaken to show that the MBA degree is alive and well, has a number of problems. Furthermore, the question of the economic return on the MBA degree encompasses only a relatively small aspect of the article about business schools and their future. Connolly's estimates of the rate of return on the MBA degree rely on the difference between the salary of people when they enter the program and the salary when they leave. Connolly's analysis also looks only at starting salary and then extrapolates into the future, using a higher growth rate of wages for MBA degree holders based on data from a general survey of the workforce. The argument presented in the paper was never that business schools, particularly elite schools, failed to provide a brand or a signal that would offe...
A Myocardial Slice Culture Model Reveals Alpha-1A-Adrenergic Receptor Signaling in the Human Heart

Translation of preclinical findings could benefit from a simple, reproducible, high throughput human model to study myocardial signaling. Alpha-1A-adrenergic receptors (ARs) are expressed at very low levels in the human heart, and it is unknown if they function.To develop a high throughput human myocardial slice culture model, and to test the hypothesis that alpha-1A- ARs are functional in the human heart.Cores of LV free wall 8 mm diameter were taken from 52 hearts (18 failing and 34 nonfailing). Slices 250 μm thick were cut with a Krumdieck apparatus and cultured using a rotating incubation unit.About 60 slices were cut from each LV core, and a typical study could use 96 slices. Myocyte morphology was maintained, and diffusion into the slice center was rapid. Slice viability was stable for at least 3 days in culture by ATP and MTT assays. The beta-AR agonist isoproterenol stimulated phospholamban phosphorylation, and the alpha-1A-AR agonist A61603 stimulated ERK phosphorylation, with nanomolar EC50 values in slices from both failing and nonfailing hearts. Strips cut from the slices were used to quantify activation of contraction by isoproterenol, A61603, and phenylephrine. The slices supported transduction by adenovirus.We have developed a simple, high throughput LV myocardial slice culture model to study signaling in the human heart. This model can be useful for translational studies, and we show for the first time that the alpha-1A-AR is functional in signaling and contraction in the human heart.
Health care expenditures associated with depression in adults with cancer.

Background The rates of depression in adults with cancer have been reported as high as 38%–58%. How depression affects overall health care expenditures in individuals with cancer is an under-researched area.
Nuclear forensic analysis of a non-traditional actinide sample

Nuclear forensic publications, performance tests, and research and development efforts typically target the bulk global inventory of intentionally safeguarded materials, such as plutonium (Pu) and uranium (U). Other materials, such as neptunium (Np), pose a nuclear security risk as well. Trafficking leading to recovery of an interdicted Np sample is a realistic concern especially for materials originating in countries that reprocesses fuel. Using complementary forensic methods, potential signatures for an unknown Np oxide sample were investigated. Measurement results were assessed against published Np processes to present hypotheses as to the original intended use, method of production, and origin for this Np oxide.
Antibodies Against Cysteine String Proteins Inhibit Evoked Neurotransmitter Release at Xenopus Neuromuscular Junctions

Cysteine string proteins (CSPs) are evolutionarily conserved proteins that are associated with synaptic vesicles and other regulated secretory organelles. To investigate the role of CSPs in vertebr...
The Vinson Court Era: The Supreme Court's Conference Votes : Data and Analysis

This is an analysis of the US Supreme Court during the tenure of Fred Vinson who served as Chief Justice from 1946 to 1953. During this period, the Court was dominated by such justices as Black, Douglas and Frankfurter, and was sharply divided on several important issues, including the rights of labour unions, communists, religious groups and racial minorities. To a large extent, the history of the Vinson Court is a mirror of US history during the post-war period that encompasses Truman's presidency and the beginning of Eisenhower's. The door to the Court's conferences has always been closed to everyone except to the sitting justices. This book seeks to partially open this door by making the secret conference votes under Fred Vinson available. Here are not only the votes in certain selected or important cases, but 44,681 votes cast by the individual justices in 2501 different cases. The information was gathered from all the surviving collections of the justices' private papers that are located in five separate libraries, from Texas to Massachusetts. The dataset is presented in a format that can be used by scholars to re-examine the assumptions and speculations about the Court's secret deliberations which, until now, could not be systematically tested.
Evaluating the role of income, state dependence and individual specific heterogeneity in the determination of subjective health assessments.

Abstract This paper investigates the role of various determinants of an individual's subjective self-assessment of own health. While the economics literature has focused primarily on the role of income on these assessments, we include an examination of the role of state dependence and unobserved individual specific time invariant heterogeneity. We employ a dynamic fixed effects ordered choice model to examine the responses of Australian residents. We find no statistically significant relationship between transitory income and health responses. We also find that while there is evidence of state dependence, this does not appear to be responsible for the distribution of responses. Our results suggest that the variation in the individual specific effects, comprising both observed and unobserved time invariant factors, is primarily responsible for the variation across individuals’ responses.
Chemotyping the temporal volatile organic compounds of an invasive fungus to the United States, Raffaelea lauricola.

Abstract Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the headspace of the fungus Raffaelea lauricola have been monitored and identified over a twenty-eight day growth period. R. lauricola is an invasive and phytopathogenic fungus that was first identified in the United States in the mid-2000s. It is believed to be spread by a host beetle, Xyleborus glabratus, and is detrimental both to wild members of the Lauraceae family and to commercial avocado groves particularly in the Southeastern region of the country. The fungus causes the fatal laurel wilt disease, a result of the host tree shutting down its vascular system in order to halt the spread of the fungus. The current study identified the VOCs present in the headspace of R. lauricola over the initial growth stage using headspace solid phase microextracion-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC–MS). Results revealed the VOC dynamics of the fungus in culture, indicating that the initial growth period of the fungus may coincide with potential responses from the host trees that may recognize and respond to the pathogen when the fungal VOCs are produced as a result of primary metabolic processes. As fungal growth progresses past initial growth phases, the predominant compounds seen in the odor profile are hydrocarbons and terpenes, produced from secondary metabolic processes. The odor profile pattern for the twenty-eight day growth period did change with the stages of growth. Based on the information learned from this pilot study, a discussion is presented of possible host tree reactions to R. lauricola and implications for future experiments.
Perspectives of Saint John Chrysostom for the VUCA World

We are used to think that the VUCA world is a recent phenomenon, its characteristics being specific to our post-modern era. However, these four traits, volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, characterize many other periods of the human history. This chapter proposes an inquiry on the spiritual teaching received by the managers of Antiquity, specifically the Pater Familias , in order to cope with the challenges of the VUCA world of Antioch and Constantinople in the fourth century in Late Roman Empire. Following the tradition of Fathers of the Desert and Fathers of the Church, their teacher, John Chrysostom , proposes an Integrative Mindfulness Program. This program goes beyond the classical approach of mindfulness by proposing a state of mind called hesychia . This is a peaceful state of mind which is the fruit of nepsis , the attention to one thoughts and of spiritual discernment . The classical approach of mindfulness it has been inspired by Buddhism and it has transformed into a secularized method of self-development based on awareness, attention and non-judgement attitude—these three components describe the classical approach of mindfulness. In this sense, the Integrative Mindfulness Program of John Chrysostom is more fundamental and proposes a profound and stable inner change and not only a temporary state of mind.
Going and Staying: Traditional Music in the Poetry of Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy makes abundant use of the rhythms, lyrics, language, and forms of the traditional music of his native Wessex throughout the body of his poetry. By writing within the patterns taken from folk music and traditional sacred songs, Hardy speaks in accordance with the format accepted by the community to which he belongs, and his use of religious and secular music also indicates a distrust of history associated with the sense of ‘belatedness’ seen in Modernist writers. The ambivalence felt by Hardy over the loss of an older way of life is expressed in his use of folksongs and hymns as well, combining his sense of coming late to a tradition with the view of the vastness of time espoused by Charles Darwin.
Clinical Applications of 2D Transesophageal Echocardiography

Echocardiography has been traditionally thought of in terms of diagnosis; the practical aspects of obtaining satisfactory images have precluded its use for continuous evaluation of cardiac function. Only with development of an esophageal transducer has interest developed in the use of echocardiography as a monitoring device. In this capacity, transesophageal echocardiography has found application in anesthetized patients, where it is used to monitor global left ventricular function and changes in regional function, which may be indicative of ischemia. For certain operative procedures, transesophageal echocardiography is useful for the detection and localization of intracardiac air, or for definition of intracardiac anatomy. Occasionally in critical care settings where surgical bandages or other impediments preclude the use of transthoracic transducers, the esophageal transducer may provide the means to accomplish cardiac imaging.
Ventilation and neurochemical changes during µ-opioid receptor activation or blockade of excitatory receptors in the hypoglossal motor nucleus of goats.

Neuromodulator interdependence posits that changes in one or more neuromodulators are compensated by changes in other modulators to maintain stability in the respiratory control network. Herein, we studied compensatory neuromodulation in the hypoglossal motor nucleus (HMN) after chronic implantation of microtubules unilaterally ( n = 5) or bilaterally ( n = 5) into the HMN. After recovery, receptor agonists or antagonists in mock cerebrospinal fluid (mCSF) were dialyzed during the awake and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep states. During day studies, dialysis of the µ-opioid inhibitory receptor agonist [d-Ala2, N-MePhe4, Gly-ol]enkephalin (DAMGO; 100 µM) decreased pulmonary ventilation (Vi), breathing frequency ( f), and genioglossus (GG) muscle activity but did not alter neuromodulators measured in the effluent mCSF. However, neither unilateral dialysis of a broad spectrum muscarinic receptor antagonist (atropine; 50 mM) nor unilateral or bilateral dialysis of a mixture of excitatory receptor antagonists altered Vi or GG activity, but all of these did increase HMN serotonin (5-HT) levels. Finally, during night studies, DAMGO and excitatory receptor antagonist decreased ventilatory variables during NREM sleep but not during wakefulness. These findings contrast with previous dialysis studies in the ventral respiratory column (VRC) where unilateral DAMGO or atropine dialysis had no effects on breathing and bilateral DAMGO or unilateral atropine increased Vi and f and decreased GABA or increased 5-HT, respectively. Thus we conclude that the mechanisms of compensatory neuromodulation are less robust in the HMN than in the VRC under physiological conditions in adult goats, possibly because of site differences in the underlying mechanisms governing neuromodulator release and consequently neuronal activity, and/or responsiveness of receptors to compensatory neuromodulators. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Activation of inhibitory µ-opioid receptors in the hypoglossal motor nucleus decreased ventilation under physiological conditions and did not affect neurochemicals in effluent dialyzed mock cerebral spinal fluid. These findings contrast with studies in the ventral respiratory column where unilateral [d-Ala2, N-MePhe4, Gly-ol]enkephalin (DAMGO) had no effects on ventilation and bilateral DAMGO or unilateral atropine increased ventilation and decreased GABA or increased serotonin, respectively. Our data support the hypothesis that mechanisms that govern local compensatory neuromodulation within the brain stem are site specific under physiological conditions.
Cytoprotection for Radiation-Associated Normal Tissue Injury

doses to the target tissue, yet minimization of dose to surrounding normal tissue. In practice, there is always some dose delivered to surrounding normal tissue. Pure restriction of dose to the target volume, without any incidental irradiation of normal tissue, is physically impossible for most situations. Furthermore, the normal tissue effects of radiation are typically increased when concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT) are used [1]. Concurrent chemoradiotherapy has been demonstrated to be superior, with regard to local control and/or survival, compared to single modality alone [2], in multiple disease sites such as the head and neck [3–6], lung [7–10], and pelvis [11–15]. Therefore, it is incumbent upon physicians to do what is possible to minimize the risks associated with incidental irradiation of normal tissues. Several approaches have been used to minimize radiation-induced normal tissue injury. First, 3D imaging and treatment planning software are critical in the planning process. These tools allow the user to visualize the target tissues and define beam orientations/apertures that minimize dose delivered to normal tissues. Nevertheless, despite these tools, there is always some dose delivered to the surrounding normal tissues. Sophisticated treatment planning/delivery tools, such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy tend to reduce and redistribute incidental radiation [16] and hence reduce/alter, but not eliminate, the risks to normal tissues. A complementary approach is to use pharmacologic agents that mitigate radiationinduced normal tissue effects. In this chapter, we briefly review the biologic rationale for commonly used pharmacologic agents, and summarize the available randomized clinical trials regarding the application of these agents in human patients.
An Antitrust Lawyer's Guide to Machine Learning

I provide an intuitive guide to some fundamental concepts in machine learning and artificial intelligence through a series of simple examples. I also discuss examples of how these technologies are applied in law and economics. The goal of this article is to give antitrust attorneys and economists enough background knowledge to engage in meaningful conversations about the risks and rewards of AI.
Oblique elastic collisions of two smooth round objects

The scattering angles and speeds resulting from an off-centre elastic collision of a smooth puck or sphere incident on a second one at rest on a frictionless surface are analysed in terms of the impact parameter and mass ratio. Particular attention is paid to finding simple special cases for the final angles or the relations between them that could be explored in homework problems or laboratory experiments. The level of analysis is accessible to an introductory undergraduate physics course.
Decoupling the effects of surface texture and chemistry on the wetting of metallic glasses

Abstract We report the effects of surface patterning on the wetting of Pt57.5Cu14.7Ni5.3P22.5 and Pd43Cu27Ni10P20 metallic glasses. To maintain the integrity of surface chemistry of the metallic glasses, we optimize thermoplastic patterning protocol and use chemical-free demolding. Our results show that single-scale surface microstructures can render inherently hydrophilic Pt57.5Cu14.7Ni5.3P22.5 metallic glass hydrophobic when its chemical state is preserved. We also observe that because of oxidation, Pd43Cu27Ni10P20 metallic glass remains hydrophilic regardless of its surface topography, though its wettability evolves (i.e. decreases) with time due to airborne contamination. These results suggest that to draw an unambiguous conclusion about the role of surface texture, concomitant changes in surface chemistry must be avoided.
Concept models for design practice

Concept models are common guides to living, and some more specialized ones, which have been developed and validated in other fields have been adopted by designers for use in their work. In particular, concept models serve as templates for decision-making and action, and valid concept models make decision-making and action faster, more efficient, and more successful. It is not necessary that the concept models be complete to be useful, but it is necessary that the elements they do contain are relevant to the activity at hand, and that the model itself is a sufficiently accurate representation to be predictive. However, the field of design, like many other inventive disciplines (e.g. architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, engineering, computer science) has not traditionally concerned itself with the development and validation of concept models beyond those that are applicable within the confines of a single project. In this paper, we argue that the time has come for the inventive disciplines to increasingly produce their own concept models to benefit practitioners in many different kinds of projects, both within the inventive disciplines and beyond, into disciplines where knowledge production is sequential (as in much of science) or aggregative (as in much of the humanities).
Incubation of curing brines for the production of ready-to-eat uncured ham

The effect of salt level, vegetable juice powder (VJP) and temperature were investigated in a preliminary study to determine optimum conditions needed during the incubation of curing brines including VJP and a starter culture containing Staphylococcus carnosus for the production of “uncured” no nitrate/nitrite-added meat products. Subsequently, incubated curing brines were utilized to produce no-nitrate/nitrite-added ham in which quality characteristics and residual nitrite concentrations were measured. Two ham treatments (SC: VJP and starter culture containing Staphylococcus carnosus; PC: pre-converted VJP) and a nitrite-added control (C) were used for the study. No differences (P>0.05) were found between treatments and control for CIE L* or TBARS values. Residual nitrite concentration was greater (P<0.05) in the control hams during the first week of storage. Although nitrite in the control remained at relatively greater concentration throughout storage, the difference was not statistically significant after the first week. At day 42 of storage, the control (C) treatment retained significantly (P<0.05) greater a* (redness) values than either the SC or PC treatments. Introduction The curing of meat has been performed for centuries and can be traced back to the earliest recorded history. Historically, salt was the primary ingredient used for meat
Caveolin-1 and Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a devastating disease because the annual incidence nearly equals the annual mortality. Landmark studies have identified the key genetic alterations that play a role in PDA tumorigenesis. However, recent work has underscored the importance of the pancreatic tumor microenvironment and other proteins that may be alternatively regulated in PDA cells. Caveolin (Cav-1), an integral membrane protein that plays a role in endo and exocytosis and intracellular signal transduction, is an example of a protein that appears to play a central role in PDA tumorigenesis. Cav-1 has been shown to have both oncogenic and tumor suppressor properties in lung and prostate cancers depending on the experimental setting. PDA models have demonstrated similar roles for Cav-1. For example, Cav-1 contributes to anchorage independent cell survival by its interaction with a cell surface protein, carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 6 (CEACAM6), which leads to PDA tumor growth and aggressiveness through the regulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Conversely, Cav-1 can inhibit PDA tumor growth and development by regulating the EGFR-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Moreover, Cav-1 suppresses progression of PDA by inhibiting Rho GTPases which are small monomeric molecules that are typically involved in actin cytoskeleton rearrangement during cellular migration. Clinically, Cav-1 expression, as a biomarker, correlates with patient survival, pathologic features, and fatty acid synthase (FASN) expression. Ongoing studies will elucidate the intricate way in which Cav-1 facilitates the pancreatic tumorigenesis process (including its role in the reverse Warburg effect in the PDA environment) as well as treatment interventions (radioresistance) for this devastating disease. These studies will aid us in better understanding the meaning of Cav-1 expression levels in pancreatic tumor cells and its microenvironment.
Ventricular Adaptation to Valvular Heart Disease

Normal cardiac valves permit nearly unobstructed forward blood flow through them while preventing all but minimal backward flow. Irrespective of etiology, valvular heart disease (VHD) causes the valves to become stenotic, regurgitant, or both. In turn these lesions place pressure overload, volume overload, or both on the left and/or the right ventricles. Although molecular signaling in the heart is richly complex, ultimately the heart has only three ways for coping with hemodynamic overload. These are activation of the Frank–Starling mechanism, neurohumoral activation, and the development of hypertrophy. This chapter will focus primarily on this last aspect of the ventricular response to hemodynamic overload, the development of hypertrophy, and remodeling in response to VHD. While often used interchangeably, the two terms hypertrophy and remodeling are not entirely synonymous. Hypertrophy indicates a gain in mass. Hypertrophy can occur from an increase in ventricular wall thickness (concentric hypertrophy) or from an increase in ventricular volume (eccentric hypertrophy). In most cases of remodeling, hypertrophy has indeed occurred. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes both concentric and eccentric remodeling have occurred without hypertrophy, i.e., changes in ventricular geometry occur without an increase in mass (1). This can happen only if wall thickness and radius behave discordantly, where the increase in one property is met by a decrease in the other. Many view the processes of remodeling and hypertrophy as pathologic. However, different models of hypertrophy have found it to be either deleterious or beneficial depending upon the model investigated (2–9). Most murine models create either loss or gain of function of a given signaling pathway and then focus on the amount of hypertrophy that develops and the resultant ventricular performance and mortality associated with it. There is generally implied cause and effect between the pathway studied and the hypertrophy that results. That two diametrically opposite outcomes have been observed in animals with hypertrophy suggests that the pathways for signaling hypertrophy control not only it but other cellular functions as well (7). Thus one pathway leading to hypertrophy could have beneficial side effects such as also maintaining cell health, while another could create apoptosis yielding totally different outcomes unrelated to the hypertrophy. In man, although some adult myocyte replication occurs (10), it is generally believed that most adult cardiac growth occurs through hypertrophy. Obviously then the very life of a growing individual is dependent on cardiac hypertrophy as the heart must grow in order to supply the body’s needs. Thus some hypertrophy and remodeling are not only
LSTM-Based Whisper Detection

This article presents a whisper speech detector in the far-field domain. The proposed system consists of a long-short term memory (LSTM) neural network trained on log-filterbank energy (LFBE) acoustic features. This model is trained and evaluated on recordings of human interactions with voice-controlled, far-field devices in whisper and normal phonation modes. We compare multiple inference approaches for utterance-level classification by examining trajectories of the LSTM posteriors. In addition, we engineer a set of features based on the signal characteristics inherent to whisper speech, and evaluate their effectiveness in further separating whisper from normal speech. A benchmarking of these features using multilayer perceptrons (MLP) and LSTMs suggests that the proposed features, in combination with LFBE features, can help us further improve our classifiers. We prove that, with enough data, the LSTM model is indeed as capable of learning whisper characteristics from LFBE features alone compared to a simpler MLP model that uses both LFBE and features engineered for separating whisper and normal speech. In addition, we prove that the LSTM classifiers accuracy can be further improved with the incorporation of the proposed engineered features.
What Is Finance For

The role of finance in society has changed. Its primary function in intermediation has shifted over the past 40 years, owing in part to deregulation, the ongoing spread of technology, as well as the growth of a “transactional” business model. All of this has put the client at a greater distance, helping to facilitate the types of behavior that we have seen in the post-crisis period. The current generation of leaders at the largest banks are unlikely to see fault with their strategies, putting shareholder value ahead of the fiduciary responsibilities. However, generational change is coming, with younger people demonstrating values toward business that includes a greater sense of “shared purpose,” essential to a strong and ethical culture. Understanding the primary purpose of finance is essential to any efforts to reform conduct and culture.
A rare case of sorafenib-induced severe hyponatremia.

Background:Sorafenib is an anti-angiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitor used to treat patients with renal cell cancer and advanced hepatocellular cancer. Common adverse effects of sorafenib are rash, ...
Robust Estimation of Tail Parameters for Two-Parameter Pareto and Exponential Models via Generalized Quantile Statistics

Robust estimation of tail index parameters is treated for (equivalent) two-parameter Pareto and exponential models. These distributions arise as parametric models in actuarial science, economics, telecommunications, and reliability, for example, as well as in semiparametric modeling of upper observations in samples from distributions which are regularly varying or in the domain of attraction of extreme value distributions. New estimators of “generalized quantile” type are introduced and compared with several well-established estimators, for the purpose of identifying which estimators provide favorable trade-offs between efficiency and robustness. Specifically, we examine asymptotic relative efficiency with respect to the (efficient but nonrobust) maximum likelihood estimator, and breakdown point. The new estimators, in particular the generalized median types, are found to dominate well-established and popular estimators corresponding to methods of trimming, least squares, and quantiles. Further, we establish that the least squares estimator is actually deficient with respect to both criteria and should become disfavored. The generalized median estimators manifest a general principle: “smoothing” followed by “medianing” produces a favorable trade-off between efficiency and robustness.
Urothelial Thickening as the Only Finding in First Febrile Urinary Tract Infection: Do We Need a Voiding Cystourethrogram?

Purpose: Investigate the association between urothelial thickening on renal ultrasound (RUS) and evidence of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) specifically high-grade VUR on voiding cystourethrograms (VCUG’s) in hospitalized infants and children 2-24 months with their first febrile urinary tract infection (UTI). Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of hospitalized children with their first febrile UTI ages 2-24 months from April 2012 through December 2015. We reviewed 910 charts in which 191 patients met …
Using virtual reality to promote the university brand: When do telepresence and system immersion matter?

While virtual reality (VR) has been shown to increase a sense of being there (i.e., telepresence) and enhance audience perceptions of the content, few studies have examined the impact of the varyin...
Evaluation and Treatment of Cardiac Tamponade in a Pregnant Patient

Cardiac tamponade is an uncommon but life-threatening emergency that may occur in pregnant women. There is a plethora of causes, but prompt diagnosis and intervention is imperative to optimize both maternal and fetal outcomes. We report on a case of a large pericardial effusion leading to cardiac tamponade occurring in the 32nd week of gestation in a previously healthy woman. Rapid recognition and a multidisciplinary team meeting resulted in a therapeutic pericardial window and drainage and relief of symptoms. The woman underwent an uncomplicated repeat cesarean delivery at term with a positive neonatal outcome. This case highlights the importance of a rapid diagnosis and a team-based approach to managing a complex medical condition like cardiac tamponade in pregnancy.
Extraskeletal Ewing Sarcoma of the Jejunum: A Case Report.

Introduction Ewing sarcoma most commonly arises in bones but rarely presents in extraskeletal locations. We report one such case arising from the jejunum. Case presentation A 67-year-old woman presented with acute-onset, right lower quadrant pain. Computed tomography results showed a large mass within the midjejunum with pneumoperitoneum. Surgical excision was performed, and an extraskeletal Ewing sarcoma of the jejunum was suspected histologically. The diagnosis was confirmed with fluorescence in situ hybridization studies. Conclusion This case emphasizes the importance of recognizing this rare presentation in the small intestine to broaden the differential diagnosis of adult intraabdominal tumors.
Food insecurity among nursing students: A mixed methods study.

Background College students are among 48.1 table million Americans who experience food insecurity, affecting aspects of daily living, health, and academic performance. This study sought to assess food security in nursing students to determine the prevalence and significance of this issue. Methods A mixed-methods descriptive design was utilized to collect and analyze data through an online survey of junior and senior undergraduate nursing students. Both qualitative and quantitative questions were related to personal experience with food insecurity. Results Approximately 40% of students responded that they were Sometimes/Often worried that food would run out before the next income arrived. In addition, 52% of the participants Sometimes/Often could not afford an adequate amount of food, and 35% reported having a shortage of food. Conclusion University leadership, College of Nursing administrators, and nursing faculty should be aware of food insecurity among their students and identify strategies to assess and decrease this issue.
Explore More and Improve Regret in Linear Quadratic Regulators.

Stabilizing the unknown dynamics of a control system and minimizing regret in control of an unknown system are among the main goals in control theory and reinforcement learning. In this work, we pursue both these goals for adaptive control of linear quadratic regulators (LQR). Prior works accomplish either one of these goals at the cost of the other one. The algorithms that are guaranteed to find a stabilizing controller suffer from high regret, whereas algorithms that focus on achieving low regret assume the presence of a stabilizing controller at the early stages of agent-environment interaction. In the absence of such a stabilizing controller, at the early stages, the lack of reasonable model estimates needed for (i) strategic exploration and (ii) design of controllers that stabilize the system, results in regret that scales exponentially in the problem dimensions. We propose a framework for adaptive control that exploits the characteristics of linear dynamical systems and deploys additional exploration in the early stages of agent-environment interaction to guarantee sooner design of stabilizing controllers. We show that for the classes of controllable and stabilizable LQRs, where the latter is a generalization of prior work, these methods achieve O(√T) regret with a polynomial dependence in the problem dimensions.
The rate of return to a pharmacy education investment in the U.S.

Abstract Background Potential pharmacy students need a financial frame of reference to compare alternative fields of study or even determine if studying is financially worthwhile. Objective Estimate the rate of return to a pharmacy education investment in the U.S. Methods A model is used to estimate the rate of return to a pharmacy education. It is formulated using exclusively present values (i.e., dollars at 2019 prices). Several assumptions are made regarding the individual getting the education, the costs incurred, the amount borrowed, and the benefits derived. The robustness of the model is tested using sensitivity analysis and the rate of return is recalculated each time. Results The estimated real rate of return to a pharmacy education investment in the U.S., devoid of inflation and under the assumptions initially postulated in the model, is 4.89%. The nominal rate of return is 6.44%. Post-estimation sensitivity analysis shows that the real rate of return is relatively inelastic with respect to changes in eight inputs considered, thus indicating robustness in the results of the model. Conclusions The real rate of return estimated here establishes pharmacy as a financially viable occupation for young individuals possessing the aptitude and commitment to pursue a patient-centered career in medication management.
Systematic Review of mHealth Applications that Interface with Inhaler Sensors in Asthma

Background A better understanding of outcomes associated with mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) for asthma self-management that pair with inhaler sensor technology is needed for clinicians to practice evidence-based medicine. Objective To evaluate the effects of mHealth apps that integrate with an inhaler-based sensor on outcomes of patients with asthma. Methods We performed a systematic review in GooglePlay and Apple App stores for consumer-facing mHealth apps for asthma management that pair with an inhaler-based sensor. We then searched for evidence evaluating these apps via PubMed and Cochrane Central (January 2007-May 2020), bibliographies on product websites, and www.clinicaltrials.gov. We included studies in patients with asthma evaluating apps discovered in the app stores on adherence or a health outcome of interest, and qualitatively summarized evidence. Results We identified 6 mHealth apps and screened 2594 citations for evidence on these apps; 7 studies of 2 apps were included. Interventions modestly improved maintenance inhaler adherence and reduced rescue inhaler use but did not impact Asthma Control Test scores. Effects on exacerbations, quality of life, and pulmonary function were not evaluated in these studies. Conclusions The current literature evaluating mHealth apps paired with inhaler-based sensors focuses on a small number of available products and has limitations in quality. Positive effects on rescue inhaler use, inhaler adherence, and patient satisfaction were found. However, more comprehensive evaluation of products and their impact on health outcomes is needed before clinicians and patients can weigh the benefits against resources needed to adopt these technologies.
Whose Suffering? National Identity and the Contest to Define Victimhood in Indonesia’s Genocide

This article compares the ways in which different groups construct competing visions of Indonesian collective identity, based on their own definitions of victimhood in the mass violence of 1965–196...
Modeling the Propagation of Optical Beams in Three-Dimensional Photonic Crystals

We show that the propagation of optical beams inside three-dimensional photonic crystals can be efficiently described by an approximate scalar diffraction model. Using this model, we discuss some unique diffractive phenomena inside the PC structures.
AMBIPOLAR DIFFUSION-MEDIATED THERMAL FRONTS IN THE NEUTRAL INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM

In a thermally bistable medium, cold, dense gas is separated from warm, rarefied gas by thin phase transition layers, or fronts, in which heating, radiative cooling, thermal conduction, and convection of material are balanced. We calculate the steady-state structure of such fronts in the presence of magnetic fields, including the processes of ion-neutral drift and ion-neutral frictional heating. We find that ambipolar diffusion efficiently transports the magnetic field across the fronts, leading to a flat magnetic field strength profile. The thermal profiles of such fronts are not significantly different from those of unmagnetized fronts. The near uniformity of the magnetic field strength across a front is consistent with the flat field strength-gas density relation that is observed in diffuse interstellar gas.
Comparison of 1D and 2D particle-in-cell simulations for DC magnetron sputtering discharges

One-dimensional and two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC)/Monte Carlo collision simulations are performed for a balanced direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) discharge. The plasma parameters obtained by both simulations above the target racetrack share similar features and magnitudes under similar discharge intensities, i.e., similar local discharge current densities. The commonly observed high-energy tail of electron energy distribution in DCMS discharges is reproduced in both simulations. The accuracy and applicability of using one-dimensional simulations to qualitatively investigate the characteristics of balanced DCMS discharge are confirmed. In terms of capturing the key physical mechanisms in DCMS, one-dimensional PIC simulation is an efficient method, which could largely alleviate the computational expense and preserve the physical fidelity of modeling results.
So you want to publish: Becoming a researcher

New librarians, experienced librarians, and those considering a change in career may want to start writing or researching for a variety of reasons, including meeting professional requirements. In this article, we share some tips for getting started, or perhaps inspiration for bringing old ideas back to life.
Strategies to Build Student-to-Student Rapport in Online Adult Learning Courses

Students in online classes may have difficulty or believe they cannot develop a rapport with fellow students. There is significant research that indicates that this rapport greatly increases the student?s success in a class. Students can easily build rapport in an in-person classroom and often the instructor is not involved. However, in the online classroom, the problem becomes how do students build this rapport when they only see each other in a virtual space in the classroom to help increase their learning and course success. The article presents several strategies for faculty to provide students to help them build student-to-student rapport within an online adult learning course.
Abstract P800: Liposomal Delivery of PICK1 Inhibitor, FSC231, Prevents Ischemic/Reperfusion-Induced Degradation of GluA2 AMPA Receptor Subunit

Stroke remains to be a leading cause of disability within the United States. Despite an enormous amount of research effort within the scientific community, very few therapeutics are available for s...
Model Based Predictive Control for Frequency Support in Multi-port Autonomous Reconfigurable Solar Plants

Primary frequency support functionality can be an added advantage for any new grid integrated power electronics resource. With increased penetration of power electronics resources, inertial and primary frequency response capabilities are decreasing. In this research paper, an advanced model-based predictive control (MBPC) algorithm for providing frequency support to a new topology of integrated photovoltaic(PV), batterybased energy storage systems (ESS), and high-voltage direct current (HV dc) systems called multi-port autonomus reconfigurable solar (MARS) plants is based on the synchronverter-based control. The simulation of MARS-HV dc system with proposed control strategy is simulated and validated for MARS connected to low short circuit ratio (SCR) grids in PSCAD/EMTDC simulation environment. The control algorithm proposed showcases better performance in terms of frequency nadir improvement and frequency steady state improvemnt with respect to no frequency control.
On loyalty and betrayal in postwar social science, mainly in Chicago:

This article examines the writings on loyalty and betrayal of sociologist Erving Goffman and political scientist Morton Grodzins. Both thinkers made unique contributions to the understanding of tho...
Music in Contemporary Philosophy

1. Introduction: On Sonotropism Martin Scherzinger 2. Vibrating Colors and Silent Bodies. Music, Sound and Silence in Maurice Merleau-Ponty's Critique of Dualism Amy Cimini 3. Ernst Bloch's Utopian Ton of Hope Michael Gallope 4. Awakening Dead Time: Adorno on Husserl, Benjamin, and the Temporality of Music Stephen Decatur Smith 5. Heidegger's Ears: Hearing, Attunement, and the Acoustic Shaping of Being and Time Jennifer L. Heuson 6. Destination Unknown: Jean-Francois Lyotard and Orienting Musical Affect Trent Leipert 7. Jean-Luc Nancy and the Listening Subject Brian Kane 8. Slavoj Zizek: Responding from the Void Holly Watkins 9. Wagner Redux: Badiou on Music for the Future Martin Scherzinger 10. Ranciere's Equal Music Jairo Moreno and Gavin Steingo 11. Another Music, A Time to Forget: Reflections on Edward Said's Late Style James Currie
Pulmonary Effect of Amiodarone in Patients With Heart Failure

Abstract Objectives. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pulmonary effects of amiodarone in patients with heart failure, in those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and in those undergoing a surgical procedure. Background. Amiodarone has been known to cause pulmonary complications, especially in those with COPD and in those undergoing a surgical procedure. Methods. Patients receiving vasodilator therapy for congestive heart failure were prospectively randomized to placebo or amiodarone at 800 mg/day for 14 days, 400 mg/day for 50 weeks and then 300 mg/day thereafter. Chest X-ray film and pulmonary function tests with diffuse capacity of carbon monoxide (DLCO) were obtained at baseline and annually. The power to detect a 20% difference in DLCO at 1 year exceeded 90% in all patients and in those with COPD (two-sided alpha = 0.05). The sample allowed a 75% power to detect pulmonary complications (1% vs. 5%) between the two treatment groups. Results. There was no difference in baseline characteristics between patients randomized to amiodarone (n = 269) or placebo (n = 250). The DLCO measurements at randomization were 18.3 ± 6.9 and 17.7 ± 7.6 ml/min per mm Hg for the amiodarone and placebo groups, respectively (p = 0.3). At 1 and 2 years, DLCO measurements were 17.7 ± 7.0 and 18.3 ± 7.7 ml/min per mm Hg for the amiodarone group and 17.9 ± 7.2 and 18.2 ± 7.2 for the placebo group, respectively. There were no significant differences between the groups, with corresponding p values of 0.73 and 0.96 at years 1 and 2, respectively. Among patients with COPD, DLCO measurements at randomization were 17.9 ± 6.7 and 15.8 ± 6.8 ml/min per mm Hg for the amiodarone and placebo groups, respectively. At years 1 and 2, DLCO measurements were 16.6 ± 7.8 and 17.8 ± 9.5 ml/min per mm Hg for the amiodarone group and 16.5 ± 6.6 and 16.3 ± 7.0 ml/min per mm Hg for the placebo group, with corresponding p values of 0.95 and 0.48, respectively. There was no difference in survival free of noncardiac or perioperative deaths between patients assigned to amiodarone or placebo. Pulmonary fibrosis was diagnosed in four patients (1.1%) treated with amiodarone and in three patients (0.8%) receiving placebo. Conclusions. Our study shows that amiodarone can be safely used, with an acceptable pulmonary toxicity, in patients with heart failure.
Beyond Difference: From Canonical Geography to Hybrid Geographies

Geography as a discipline has evolved into a field of enormous breadth in the last century. While distinctive theoretical perspectives have emerged in different periods, the ebbs and flows of new a...