cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sampling for Conditional Inference on Contingency Tables

ABSTRACTWe propose new sequential importance sampling methods for sampling contingency tables with given margins. The proposal for each method is based on asymptotic approximations to the number of tables with fixed margins. These methods generate tables that are very close to the uniform distribution. The tables, along with their importance weights, can be used to approximate the null distribution of test statistics and calculate the total number of tables. We apply the methods to a number of examples and demonstrate an improvement over other methods in a variety of real problems. Supplementary materials are available online.
Towards gradient-based design optimization of flexible transport aircraft with flutter constraints

The next generation of civil transport aircraft will have larger wing spans and higher aspect ratios that enable greater aerodynamic efficiency and reduce fuel consumption relative to previous generations of aircraft. These larger wing spans lead to greater wing flexibility, making these designs more susceptible to adverse aeroelastic phenomena. Within the design process, dynamic aeroelastic constraints are frequently omitted from the preliminary design stage, leaving the possibility of costly late-stage design modifications to meet aeroelastic requirements. This paper addresses this issue by developing a method to incorporate flutter constraints within a gradient-based aeroelastic design optimization framework. We present the governing equations for the coupled aeroelastic system which forms the basis of a technique to evaluate the damping of the most-critical modes. We derive and implement an adjoint-based derivative evaluation technique to compute the gradient of the flutter constraint with respect to the design variables. The results demonstrate that the proposed technique is an effective approach for aeroelastic problems with large-scale structural models. The technique also shows promise for high-fidelity aerodynamic models that utilize computational fluid dynamics.
Editorial Comment: Welcome (bienvenida, bienvenue, willkommen, pryzwitanie, accoglienza, welkom) to the new EACTS cardiac surgery database

It is a great pleasure and an honour to play a small part in introducing the EACTS Database as unveiled in this issue of the Journal [1]. The authors and more importantly the multinational constituencies represented are to be congratulated for taking this very important first step in establishing this database. This represents a truly Herculean effort to obtain collaborative agreements with originally 12 countries in 2003 to 29 countries ten years later. The cardiac surgery performed at 366 hospitals is now included in the annual data collection, and collectively, over one million patients have been added to the rolls. Similar to the early steps the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) took with the US National Cardiac Database, the EACTS Database has achieved an important first objective—collecting the data. Without data we are all just another person with an opinion. The authors report that, not surprisingly, given the heterogeneity of the patients, the cultures and the health care systems, there is a wide variety of practice patterns from country to country. Despite this variation, the outcomes, specifically length of stay and raw mortality rates, have improved over the decade of reporting in the face of increasing patient age and comorbidities. The next tricks will be to standardize definitions, perform appropriate modelling to obtain risk-adjusted rates of mortality and morbidity and eventually audit the database. The STS has had several advantages in establishing a database in the US not the least of which is that, for the most part, we all speak the same language. More recently, in the US, there has been an incentive to participate in a national database due to governmental and payor interest/pressure. While similar forces are likely in play on individual national levels for EACTS, the ability to supersede them collectively will only strengthen the efforts for continuous quality improvement, which is needed for improving patient care. Congratulations to EACTS and the introduction of your database is most welcome.
ID: 118: UBIQUITIN E3 LIGASE FIEL1 REGUALTES TGFBETA SIGNALING IN LUNG FIBROBLAST

Tumor growth factor β (TGFb) signaling plays a key role in the pathogenesis of tissue fibrosis, specifically Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). IPF is the deadliest of interstitial lung diseases with a median survival of merely three years. Currently IPF affects more than 35,000 patients each year, but despite extensive research, there is still no effective treatment. Thus, the discovery of new models that regulate TGFb signaling and reveal “authentic” drug targets could serve as a springboard for the introduction of a new generation of anti-fibrotic agents to be used in the clinical arena. There is a fundamental, unmet scientific and clinical need to discover new mechanistic models that control overactive TGFb signaling and, when left unchecked, can produce severe tissue fibrosis. PIAS4 is a pivotal protein in controlling TGFβ effects. Here we discovered a new protein isoform encoded by KIAA0317 , termed FIEL1 (Fibrosis Inducing E3 Ligase 1), that potently stimulates TGFβ signaling pathway through the site-specific ubiquitination and destabilization of PIAS4. FIEL1 protein is highly expressed in lung tissues from patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), whereas PIAS4 protein levels are significantly reduced. FIEL1 overexpression significantly activates TGFβ signaling. Further, we developed a novel small molecule inhibitor towards FIEL1 that is highly effective in ameliorating TGFβ signaling. This study provides a basis for IPF therapeutic intervention by modulating PIAS4 protein abundance.
A new method for the preparation of human cadaver bone marrow for transfusion.

1. A simple, economical and effective method has been described for obtaining cadaver bone marrow following a routine autopsy. 2. Individual vertebral bodies are dissected free of soft tissue and their surfaces are sterilized by immersion of the entire bone in 70 per cent ethyl alcohol. 3. Following surface sterilization, the bones are placed in a modified sterile plastic container and the nucleated marrow cells are expressed from the bone by compression of the bag in a vise. 4. After the marrow particles have been dispersed by massaging the bag, the marrow suspension is filtered and the fat is separated following gentle centrifugation. 5. Sterile yields were obtained from 70-90 per cent of cadavers which were judged suitable in terms of freedom from gross evidence of bacterial infection at the time of autopsy. 6. High yields of nucleated hematopoietic cells were obtained, averaging more than 50 x 109 cells as the investigators became more experienced with the procedure. 7. Thirteen transfusions of cadaver marrow were administered to eight patients. Minor symptoms and low-grade febrile responses were experienced on three occasions; in four additional patients entirely asymptomatic temperature elevations of 0.5-2.2 F. were observed. The remaining six transfusions were unaccompanied by fever or symptoms of any kind. 8. The possible value of the technic for definitive study of the therapeutic usefulness of bone marrow transfusion has been discussed.
School Absence Due to Illness during 2011-2012 Academic Year in 19 Schools in Qingshanhu District of Nanchang City

Objective To investigate the current situation of school absence due to illness in Qingshanhu district of Nanchang,and to understand the pattern of symptoms for developing effective prevention strategies.Methods The situation of school absence due to illness during 2011-2012 academic year was investigated in 31 956 students in 19 schools in Qingshanhu district of Nanchang.Results were statistically analyzed.Results The absenteeism rate for illness was 0.09%.Except holidays,school absence due to illness occurred throughout the year.The peak absenteeism occurred in October,followed by March November and May.The top five causes of school absence were cold,other diseases,gastrointestinal disease,parotitis,tracheitis and pneumonia,which caused 90.70% absence from school.Conclusion The improvement in school illness absenteeism surveillance system,regular monitoring of students’ health status,implement of preventive measures and development of school health education are important for protecting the health of students and reducing school absence due to illness.
The effect of different drinking methods to preventing renal impairment after coronary angiography or percutaneous coronary intervention

Objective To investigate the effect of different drinking methods in preventing contrast-induced renal impairment after coronary angiography(CAG) or percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI).Methods Total 94 patients receiving CAG or PCI were recruited and divided into 2 groups according to the recruiting time,47 patients in each group.The control group patients adopted routine oral hydration protocol and the experimental group patients adopted intensive oral hydration protocol.The preoperative and postoperative plasma level of creastine,urea nitrogen,β2-microglobin,the preoperative and postoperative urine albumin level and postoperative 24 hours fluid intake and output volume,incidence of urine retention and stomach unco mfortness were collected and analyzed.Results Comparing to control group,the experiment group's fluid intake volume in 0-3 hours after operation,urinary volume in 0-3 hours and 4-6 hours after operation,thedifference of the amount of urea albumin between pre-operation day and the first post-operation day and between preoperation day and the second postoperation day were significantly different(P0.05).Conclusion Intensive oral hydration treatment after operation could reduce patients' con-trast-induced renal impairment.
A Comparison of the Characteristic Equations in the Theory of Circular Cylindrical Shells

Characteristic equations are derived for thin circular shells, based on various approximations to the linear elastic theory of small deformations. By representing the deformation in a Fourier series in the circumferential direction, the roots of these equations are computed for a range of the significant parameters and compared.
Defining Chinese Nongovernmental Organizations

In interpreting the current surge of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in China, scholars have mainly applied western concepts of civil society, corporatism, and the third sector. These perspectives, however, are not sufficient to account for the importance of China's particular historical and political culture. This paper discusses the development and future of NGOs in the context of current scholarly research as well as the role of China's historical and current sociopolitical situation.
Big data analytics integrating a parallel columnar DBMS and the R language

Most research has proposed scalable and parallel analytic algorithms that work outside a DBMS. On the other hand, R has become a very popular system to perform machine learning analysis, but it is limited by main memory and single-threaded processing. Recently, novel columnar DBMSs have shown to provide orders of magnitude improvement in SQL query processing speed, preserving the parallel speedup of row-based parallel DBMSs. With that motivation in mind, we present COLUMNAR, a system integrating a parallel columnar DBMS and R, that can directly compute models on large data sets stored as relational tables. Our algorithms are based on a combination of SQL queries, user-defined functions (UDFs) and R calls, where SQL queries and UDFs compute data set summaries that are sent to R to compute models in RAM. Since our hybrid algorithms exploit the DBMS for the most demanding computations involving the data set, they show linear scalability and are highly parallel. Our algorithms generally require one pass on the data set or a few passes otherwise (i.e. fewer passes than traditional methods). Our system can analyze data sets faster than R even when they fit in RAM and it also eliminates memory limitations in R when data sets exceed RAM size. On the other hand, it is an order of magnitude faster than Spark (a prominent Hadoop system) and a traditional row-based DBMS.
The Logic of the History of Ideas: On synchronic explanation

INTRODUCTION Once historians have reconstructed historical objects by studying the relics available to them, they usually want to explain why the past was as it was. Ultimately historians hope to do more than describe a mere succession of events: they hope to explain these events to show us why things happened as they did. After historians have used various relics to reconstruct the past, they typically try to explain why the past was as it was, and they do so in a process that itself can lead them to modify their understanding of the past. Historians usually combine several of the historical objects they have recovered in asingle narrative. After historians of ideas have reconstructed beliefs, they typically try to explain why people held those beliefs. Historians of ideas usually make sense of the meanings they have ascribed to works by relating them to their historical antecedents. Imagine, for example, a historian who discovers that Besant wrote about her intention to highlight the unity of the religions of the world, and rightly takes her sincerely to have meant what she said. Surely the historian will want to know why Besant believed the religions of the world were fundamentally similar. How should the historian set about satisfying his curiosity? Questions of understanding ask what a work means or what beliefs an individual expressed in a work. Questions of explanation ask why a work has the meaning it does or why an individual believed what he did.
Is Self-Leadership Just Self-Regulation? Exploring Construct Validity with HEXACO and Self-Regulatory Traits

Self-leadership has gained popularity in organizational research and practice. It is comprised of three main components: behavior-focused strategies, constructive thought patterns, and focusing on natural rewards. Past work has distinguished self-leadership from some personality traits, but more work is needed beyond the five-factor model. This study examined construct validity in relation to HEXACO and self-regulatory traits, as well as incremental validity in predicting self-reported job performance using hierarchical multiple regression. In Study 1, two HEXACO traits (conscientiousness and extraversion) and all self-regulatory traits (public self-consciousness, private self-consciousness, ego-resiliency, and self-control) were related to at least one self-leadership component. Consistent with the theory behind self-leadership, self-regulatory traits predicted additional variance in self-leadership beyond the HEXACO traits. This finding demonstrates that self-leadership is related to, but distinct from, self-regulation. Study 2 replicated findings in relation to self-regulatory traits contributing additional explanatory variance in self-leadership. Study 2 also showed that self-leadership predicted unique variance for various self-reported job performance dimensions (proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity) and role contexts (individual, team, organizational). Thus, self-leadership is useful predictor of self-reported job performance beyond personality and self-regulatory traits. These findings support the validity and uniqueness of the self-leadership construct in self-regulation theory.
Co-O 斜方蒸着膜における CoO 下地層の効果

The effect of a CoO underlayer on Co-O films deposited obliquely is investigated through magnetic measurements and micro structure observations of the films. The under-layer makes the coercivity of the films high. Films with the underlayer have high uniaxial magnetic anisotropy along columnar grains, becauseof the c-axis preferred orientation of hcp-Co. The granular texture of the underlayer promotes separation between columnar grains growing obliquely.
Seasonal Onset Changes in Infantile Spasms

The influence of calendar month, day length (photoperiod), and globar solar radiation (GSR) on onset of infantile spasms was reviewed retrospectively using records of 76 infants at the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Capable American: Ethos, Pathos, and the Governance of Education

Jay examines the use of Aristotle’s appeals of ethos and pathos in the rhetoric of President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, which is found in the Common Core State Standards Initiative’s official documents and public oratory shared in support of the initiative. Using the work of Michel Foucault, this chapter unpacks how responsibility is constructed not solely through logos (e.g. argumentation, statistics, facts) but through ethical and emotional appeals. This results in self-governed individuals with the power to implement the Common Core—state government officials and public school administrators—doing so out of sense of personal duty, not because they are ordered to by the Obama Administration.
3-D Decentralized Prioritized Motion Planning and Coordination for High-Density Operations of Micro Aerial Vehicles

This paper presents a decentralized motion planning method for multiple aerial vehicles moving among 3-D polygonal obstacles resembling an urbanlike environment. The algorithm combines a prioritized $A^\star$ algorithm for high-level planning, along with a coordination method based on barrier functions for low-level trajectory generation and vehicle control. To this end, we extend the barrier functions method developed in our earlier work so that it treats 2-D and 3-D polygonal obstacles, and generates collision-free trajectories for the multiagent system. We furthermore augment the low-level trajectory generation and control with a prioritized $A^\star$ path planning algorithm, in order to compute waypoints and paths that force the agents of lower priority to avoid the paths of the agents of higher priority, reducing thus congestion. This feature enhances further the performance of the barrier-based coordination, and results in shorter paths and time to the goal destinations. We finally extend the proposed control design to the agents of constrained double-integrator dynamics, compared with the single-integrator case in our earlier work. We assume that the obstacles are known to the agents, and that each agent knows the state of other agents lying in its sensing area. Simulation results in 2-D and 3-D polygonal environments, as well as experimental results with micro aerial vehicles (quadrotors) in an indoor lab environment demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach.
Postoperative Multimodal Analgesia Pain Management With Nonopioid Analgesics and Techniques: A Review.

Importance Amid the current opioid epidemic in the United States, the enhanced recovery after surgery pathway (ERAS) has emerged as one of the best strategies to improve the value and quality of surgical care and has been increasingly adopted for a broad range of complex surgical procedures. The goal of this article was to outline important components of opioid-sparing analgesic regimens. Observations Regional analgesia, acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, gabapentinoids, tramadol, lidocaine, and/or theN-methyl-d-aspartate class of glutamate receptor antagonists have been shown to be effective adjuncts to narcotic analgesia. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents are not associated with an increase in postoperative bleeding. A meta-analysis of 27 randomized clinical trials found no difference in postoperative bleeding between the groups taking ketorolac tromethamine (33 of 1304 patients [2.5%]) and the control groups (21 of 1010 [2.1%]) (odds ratio [OR], 1.1; 95% CI, 0.61-2.06;P = .72). After adoption of the multimodal analgesia approach for a colorectal ERAS pathway, most patients used less opioids while in the hospital and many did not need opioids after hospital discharge, although approximately 50% of patients received some opioid during their stay. Conclusions and Relevance Multimodal analgesia is readily available and the evidence is strong to support its efficacy. Surgeons should use this effective approach for patients both using and not using the ERAS pathway to reduce opioid consumption.
Institutionalization of Chiefdoms

Our challenge is to understand the multilinear strands of social evolution that emerge within constraints and opportunities of local histories and environments (Trigger 1998). Although all human cultures are intricate and complicated in different ways, we can focus attention on the variables related to the development of political organization: “A consistent element in the broad course of cultural evolution has been the emergence and subsequent development of centralized forms of political organization” (Haas and Stanish 1996). As the size of polities have expanded, new levels of integration have been created to centralize, or at least syncretize, human political action. Elsewhere I have identified the interlocking economic, political, and social reasons why complex societies develop (Johnson and Earle 1987), and I have emphasized how the control of power is critical to centralization (Earle 1997). Power derives from control over material flows through the human economy, and this control rests, at least in part, on the ability (might) to exclude others from desired things.
Transporting Urban Inequality through Public Transit Designs & Systems:

Four large, and often overflowing, dumpsters are situated at one of the more than dozen bus stops at the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) Red Line 95th Street/Dan Ryan train station. This station ...
Abstracts Of Papers Presented At The Twenty-Sixth Plains Anthropological Conference, 1968: Researches On The Prehistory Of Southeastern Colorado Canyonlands

(1969). Abstracts Of Papers Presented At The Twenty-Sixth Plains Anthropological Conference, 1968. Plains Anthropologist: Vol. 14, No. 46, pp. 307-321.
The Nature of the Earthquake Source

The dynamics of crack formation, extension, and suturing is reviewed. Finite strength of materials regulates the rate of extension of cracks and allows for termination of the extension of cracks. Strength of materials is described mathematically by singular cohesive forces.
Climate Change and Drought: a Perspective on Drought Indices

Droughts occur naturally, but climate change has generally accelerated the hydrological processes to make them set in quicker and become more intense, with many consequences, not the least of which is increased wildfire risk. There are different types of drought being studied, such as meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and socioeconomic droughts; however, a lack of unanimous definition complicates drought study. Drought indices are used as proxies to track and quantify droughts; therefore, accurate formulation of robust drought indices is important to investigate drought characteristics under the warming climate. Because different drought indices show different degrees of sensitivity to the same level of continental warming, robustness of drought indices against change in temperature and other variables should be prioritized. A formulation of drought indices without considering the factors that govern the background state may lead to drought artifacts under a warming climate. Consideration of downscaling techniques, availability of climate data, estimation of potential evapotranspiration (PET), baseline period, non-stationary climate information, and anthropogenic forcing can be additional challenges for a reliable drought assessment under climate change. As one formulation of PET based on temperatures can lead to overestimation of future drying, estimation of PET based on the energy budget framework can be a better approach compared to only temperature-based equations. Although the performance of drought indicators can be improved by incorporating reliable soil moisture estimates, a challenge arises due to limited reliable observed data for verification. Moreover, the uncertainties associated with meteorological forcings in hydrological models can lead to unreliable soil moisture estimates under climate change scenarios.
Implementation of Policy, Systems, and Environmental Community-Based Interventions for Cardiovascular Health Through a National Not-for-Profit: A Multiple Case Study:

Introduction. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded the American Heart Association to implement policy, systems, and environment-focused strategies targeting access to heal...
The Treaty of Rome EEC and EURATOM 1957

After the crisis of the EDC, European integration focused on the economic field as the best way to accelerate the process. The leaders of the member states of the ECSC plus the UK met in 1955 in Messina in a conference where they agreed upon the creation of a preparatory committee for the construction of a common market and also a community based on atomic energy. It was a year after the rejection of the EDC, and all the parties involved were very cautious to avoid another failure that could have doomed the whole European project.
The Enlightenment and Rational Biology

Strongly influenced by the success and prestige of Newtonian physics, eighteenth century biological models reflected balance in nature, epitomized by the concept of natural law in which the components of the system are eternally revolving (seasonal), but never changing (developing). In the eighteenth century, an enduring dispute emerged between the reductionists—all life can essentially be reduced to the principles of chemistry and physics—and the Vitalists—living forms have unique intrinsic properties that are not amenable to scientific investigation.
Dynamic Response of a Marine Vessel Due to Wave-Induced Slamming

This paper presents simulation results of the structural response of a surface vessel advancing in head seas. In this particular fluid-structure interaction problem, the discretized geometry in the fluid domain is significantly different than that of the structuralmodel. It is therefore necessary to use interpolation to transfer information between the two domains. In this paper we discuss a numerical procedure to obtain the dynamic response of a marine vessel based on fluid-structure interaction as applied to the test case of the S175 container ship. The vessel is advancing in head seas, and the sea conditions result in bow-flare and bottom impact slamming. The fluid and structure interact in a one-way coupled scheme where the fluid stresses are applied to the structural modal model. The simulation results are compared to previously published experimental data.
ELECTROCHEMICAL FLASH FLUORINATION AND RADIOFLUORINATION

A new method for rapid late-stage fluorination using the cation pool technique is presented. Fluorination and no-carrier-added radiofluorination of methyl (phenylthio) acetate, methyl 2-(methylthio) acetate, and methyl 2-(ethylthio) acetate were performed. The carbocations formed through electrochemical oxidation were stabilized by using a divided electrochemical cell and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) as the solvent at -20 °C. At the end of electrolysis, either stable-isotope [19F]fluoride or no-carrier-added radioactive [18F]fluoride was added to the reaction mixture to form the fluorinated or radiofluorinated product.
Not a Cheap Investment: Estimating the Cost of the 2017 to 2018 Ophthalmology Residency Match to the Applicant and Program

Purpose To estimate the cost of the match process for all ophthalmology applicants and the departmental costs at the University of Kentucky during the 2017 to 2018 match cycle. Design Financial analysis. Methods Using the available national match statistics for the 2017 to 2018 ophthalmology residency match and the mean of all residency interview costs available in the literature, the estimated mean and total match costs were calculated for all applicants, including application fees and interviews. Program costs were estimated based on direct interview costs, lost productivity, and fixed costs. Results Of 625 applicants, 475 matched into an ophthalmology residency position in 2017 to 2018. The mean estimated cost was US$6,613 for matched applicants, and all applicants spent US$4,646,950 on the match in aggregate. Our department spent an estimated US$179,327 over four interview days with 12 faculty volunteers, or an average of US$3,736 per each of 48 interviewed applicants. Conclusions and Relevance Matching into an ophthalmology residency position is expensive not only for the applicant but also the program. Reforms to the process would likely be beneficial to both parties.
Beyond “Privilege”: Whiteness as the Center of Racial Marginalization

One cannot have marginalization without a marginalizer group. Therefore, one cannot understand the racially oppressed without an appreciation for systemic white supremacy. Within this context, this chapter explores the process by which racial marginalization has been created and structured historically. We identify four White hegemonic alliances that have been centrally important in the racial oppression of People of Color in the United States: (1) Bacon’s Rebellion and the formation of Whiteness, (2) Reconstruction, (3) post-Civil Rights era, and (4) Trump administration. Each of these areas solidified an alliance between wealthy and working-class Whites aligned in oppressing People of Color. We demonstrate how these hegemonic alliances are largely predicated upon appeals to White injury coupled with an antiminority ideological orientation.
A flexible filter maintains a tight grip.

Potassium channels allow the passage of potassium ions across membranes at rates approaching the diffusion limit while maintaining exquisite selectivity between ion species. Single-molecule studies now reveal that the selectivity filter of these proteins transitions between different conformations.
Applying Lean Six Sigma methods to improve infectious waste management in hospitals

This work encompasses optimising red bag waste management program by using Lean Six-Sigma methodology in a Toledo area hospital, essentially increasing value by decreasing defects and managing disposal frequency. The author conducted full process analysis of red bag waste management including the human factor, economic, environmental, assessments of entire process by implementing Lean Six Sigma approach. However numbers of papers have applied Lean Six Sigma method to improve quality factors in healthcare, no single publication has considered all areas that are covered in this study. The data illustrates proper disposal can minimise waste by 55% which would lead to a reduction of environmental impact and a cost savings for the healthcare facility.
The Impact of Long-Term Care Ombudsman Presence on Nursing Home Survey Deficiencies.

Abstract Objectives Each year states are required to survey nursing homes (NHs), including issuing deficiency citations when regulatory standards are not met. These deficiency citations can have substantial consequences for NHs. Because it is imperative that the survey process is conducted consistently across facilities, this study aims to determine whether deficiency outcomes vary with the presence of a long-term care ombudsman at the survey. Design A retrospective secondary data analysis of facility-level data using panel regression techniques was used to determine whether the presence of an ombudsman at a survey affected deficiency outcomes. Additional analysis assured the results were not due to ombudsmen being more likely to be present at poorer performing facilities. Setting and participants The data include freestanding NHs in the United States with at least 2 surveys between 2009 and 2015, resulting in 95,237 surveys from 14,996 unique NHs. Measures The number and deficiency score were analyzed for 4 types of deficiencies: all deficiencies and the broad categories of quality of care, quality of life, and administration. The key explanatory variable is the presence of an ombudsman at survey. The regression model controlled for other important facility-level covariates. Results The presence of an ombudsman varied across states (range: 0.8%–82.0%; mean: 29.9%). Regression analysis found ombudsman presence was associated with a 0.2 increase in the number of deficiencies and 2.2-point increase in deficiency score. These correspond to a 3.9% and 5.9% increase, respectively. On a percentage basis, the largest effects were found for quality of life and administration deficiencies. Conclusions/Implications By being present at surveys, ombudsmen may bring issues to the attention of state surveyors, resulting in worse deficiency outcomes during annual surveys. This can have consequences for NHs, and further work is needed to assure that ombudsmen are using their resources where they are most needed.
Indium arsenide quantum dot waveguide photodiodes heterogeneously integrated on silicon

Silicon photonics provides a promising platform for energy-efficient interconnects within supercomputers and data centers. However, developing a complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor compatible high-speed photodetector with low dark current has long presented a challenge in the field. In this paper, we report the first O-band InAs quantum dot (QD) waveguide photodiode (PD) heterogeneously integrated on silicon. Record low dark currents as low as 0.01 nA, responsivities of 0.34 A/W at 1310 nm and 0.9 A/W at 1280 nm, and a record high 3 dB bandwidth of 15 GHz was measured. Avalanche gain was observed and a maximum gain of up to 45 and a gain bandwidth product (GBP) of 240 GHz were achieved, which are also record high results for any QD avalanche photodetector (APD) on silicon. Additionally, we demonstrate a device sensitivity of −11 dBm at 10 Gb/s and open-eye diagrams up to 12.5 Gb/s. These QD-based PDs are able to operate as p-i-n PDs or APDs under different bias conditions and offer a promising alternative to heterogeneous InGaAs-on-silicon and SiGe counterparts in low-power optical communication links. They also leverage the same epitaxial layers and processing steps as heterogeneously integrated QD lasers, significantly simplifying the processing and reducing the cost of a fully integrated QD transceiver on silicon.
Experimenting with AWS Direct Connect using Chameleon, ExoGENI, and Internet2 Cloud Connect

Many scientific research communities and institutions are adopting the cloud as a primary platform to support their computing needs. Rapid adoption of the cloud for scientific computing is a result of the simplicity with which an individual researcher can obtain large amounts of customized compute and storage resources. At the same time, most public cloud providers have rolled out many advanced networking services. Many of these services, like their compute services, are simple to access by any cloud user (e.g. routing between regions and private networking spaces within a cloud). However, it is not possible for most researchers to access expensive low-level, externally facing cloud network services without complicated support by campus IT staff, as well as national and regional network providers. This paper describes how to use Chameleon, ExoGENI, and Internet2’s Cloud Connect service to deploy research experiments that use AWS Direct Connect without requiring a privately owned Direct Connect endpoint or support from local campus IT staff.
David Oliver: Covid-19 has made news out of old news.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought many health and social care issues to the fore. It’s really struck me that many issues that were already clear to health professionals before the pandemic have now become news, when previously they struggled for attention outside specialist healthcare publications. Things that were already essentially good and often mainstream practice before the pandemic are now presented as bad. Already, it was a good idea to discuss resuscitation with patients and families and to have more structured, person centred plans, goals, and limitations of treatment, using processes such as ReSPECT1 or advance care plans23 for people with long term conditions or frailty, including care home residents. The main push was to do more of this, for more people, more of the time—and hence …
Institutions, the social capital structure, and multilevel marketing companies

In multilevel marketing companies (MLMs), member-distributors earn income from selling products and recruiting new members. Successful MLMs require a social capital structure where members can access and mobilize both strong and weak social ties. Utah has a disproportionate share of MLM companies located in the state and a disproportionate number of MLM participants. We argue that Utah's dominant religious institutions have led to the emergence of a social capital structure, making MLMs particularly viable. Utah is the most religiously homogeneous state; roughly half its population identifies as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The LDS Church's institutions foster a social capital structure where (almost all) members have access to and can leverage social capital in all its forms. LDS institutions encourage members to make meaningful social connections characterized by trust and reciprocity with other church members in local neighborhoods and across the world.
Social Identity and the Patient Engagement Experience in Quality Improvement Teams

As health systems grow increasingly complex, the need to understand how to effectively engage patients on quality improvement (QI) teams is more important than ever. Existing studies demonstrate ho...
Stimulants, cognition and ADHD

Psychostimulants such as methylphenidate and amphetamine are the first-line pharmacologic treatments for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). They are considered prototypical cognitive enhancers but their effects on standard laboratory indices of cognitive function are modest when administered acutely, and even less substantial chronically. However, large-scale observational studies in patients with ADHD have detected stimulant-associated decreases of criminal acts, transportation accidents, slightly improved academic performance, and possible protection against drug abuse. These effects likely reflect modulation of broader domains such as emotional regulation and motivation which have been under-examined. Efforts to clarify the ontological relations between cognitive tasks and their underlying constructs should be incorporated into the Research Domain Criteria project and similar harmonization initiatives.
Chemotherapy in the Last 30 Days and 14 Days of Life in African Americans With Lung Cancer.

Background:African Americans with lung cancer are diagnosed at later stages and have high mortality rates. Chemotherapy is considered aggressive treatment near the end of life and prevents enrollme...
Introduction: What Is Psychological School?

This chapter introduces the Anglo-Saxons psychological school of economics and explains why Anglo-American followers of Menger are important to study today. They represent a missing link in the transmission of a valuable but ignored tradition of “microeconomic” theorizing that goes from Menger and Bohm Bawerk as the founders of this school in Vienna in the late nineteenth century to Mises and Hayek, and their followers in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
NOVAS: Non-convex Optimization via Adaptive Stochastic Search for End-to-end Learning and Control

In this work we propose the use of adaptive stochastic search as a building block for general, non-convex optimization operations within deep neural network architectures. Specifically, for an objective function located at some layer in the network and parameterized by some network parameters, we employ adaptive stochastic search to perform optimization over its output. This operation is differentiable and does not obstruct the passing of gradients during backpropagation, thus enabling us to incorporate it as a component in end-to-end learning. We study the proposed optimization module's properties and benchmark it against two existing alternatives on a synthetic energy-based structured prediction task, and further showcase its use in stochastic optimal control applications.
FATIGUE CRACK INITIATION ON NON-OVERLAPPED LASER HARDENED 40Cr STEEL

Study was carried out of the effect of overlapping or not on the fatiguemacro-crack initiation on the notch root of 40Cr steel specimens treated by newly developedtechnique of laser local hardening. The resistance to fatigue macro-crack initiation may bemade by grain refining, marstrengthening and residual compressive stress. In the light ofbehaviour of fatigue fracture, the superiority of local laser hardening to improve the fatigueresistance is in the range of low stress amplitude and high cycles. The morphology of the frac-ture surface in the hardened specimen is a mixed one of transgranular and intergranular.
Climate, Insurance and Innovation: The Case of U.S. Agriculture

Innovation and insurance are two important options for the agricultural sector to adapt to climate change. However, how these two options interact with each other has not been documented in the literature. This paper intends to fill this gap by investigating the effects of crop insurance on agricultural innovation in the context of climate change. We first develop a conceptual framework that models the effects of climatic risk and crop insurance on farmers’ demand for innovations, from which the market equilibrium of innovations is then derived while holding the supply curve constant. Hypotheses developed under the conceptual framework are tested by using data for agricultural innovation, climate, and crop insurance associated with ten major field crops in the United States over 1980-2013. We estimate a Poisson fixed effects model via Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) approach to address the issue of non-strict exogeneity of regressors. We find empirical evidence that the U.S. agricultural sector responds to climate change by increasing innovation activities; but the response is weakened by heavily subsidized crop insurance programs by about 23.3%. This indicates that crop insurance may have an unintended crowding out effect as an option to adapt to climate change and may inhibit societies’ capacity to adapt to climate change in the long-run. Such an effect may also exist under flood and earthquake insurance because similar to crop insurance, these two types of insurance act as alternative risk management options to risk-mitigating innovations.
usEPs in Pre-clinical Cancer Treatment

One of the earliest possible medical applications for usEPs was to ablate tumors. Many laboratories carried out many studies to investigate the potential for usEPs to serve as a cancer therapy. Like simulations with cells in suspension, usEPs also passed through cells in tumor tissues forming high-density nanopores in all cell membranes as supraelectroporation, distinct from conventional electroporation. The first studies were smaller in scope, but showed proof of principle that usEPs could reduce fibrosarcoma tumor volume in mice. More extensive studies followed, showing that usEPs could treat B16f10 melanoma tumors in mice, although some tumors required more than one and as many as six 300 ns, 40 kV/cm treatment (6 × 1.2 Vs/cm). Later studies showed that as many as 5–6 Vs/cm was required to eliminate tumors completely. The blood supply to these melanoma tumors was also reduced, as was revascularization, as shown using endothelial markers. Other studies showed that usEPs ablated mouse liver tumors. While all of these studies investigated ectopic tumors within mice's flanks, studies also showed that usEPs could also completely ablate orthotopic rat liver tumors, using a 5-needle array with heterogeneous electric fields. Other studies demonstrated that usEPs could eliminate many different tumor types in mice, including some human tumors in immunodeficient mice. One study showed decreased tumor sizes in dog osteosarcoma.
Passive cooling designs to improve heat resilience of homes in underserved and vulnerable communities

Abstract Disadvantaged communities face a growing threat to staying safe during heat waves, especially during coincident power outages. This study develops a methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of passive cooling measures (those that operate without power) to improve residential building heat resilience. Building performance is simulated for representative homes and on district scales in two disadvantaged communities in Fresno, California. Eleven passive measures are evaluated using four heat resilience metrics with and without grid power. Results show performance of the mitigation measures varies by building characteristics, surrounding environment, and power scenario. The two most effective measures were installing solar-control window films and adding roof insulation. For pre-1978 single-family homes, these two measures can reduce unmet degree-hours (UDH) indoors by 12% and 11% respectively without grid power, or 28% and 37% with grid power. Their respective UDH reductions at district scale typically range 8% — 20% and 4% — 12% without grid power, or 14% — 44% and 8% — 51% with grid power. Top floors have higher overheating risk than lower floors during extreme heat events with coincident power outages. Natural ventilation can help, reducing UDH by 21% — 26%. The methodology and findings from this study can help cities, communities, and utilities develop effective and targeted strategies to promote greater residential heat resilience.
Energy expenditure across immune challenge severities in a lizard: consequences for innate immunity, locomotor performance and oxidative status.

Reptiles, like other vertebrates, rely on immunity to defend themselves from infection. The energetic cost of an immune response is liable to scale with infection severity, prompting constraints on other self-maintenance traits if immune prioritization exceeds energy budget. In this study, adult male side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana) were injected with saline (control) or high (20 µg g-1 body mass) or low (10 µg g-1 body mass) concentrations of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to simulate bacterial infections of discrete severities. The costs and consequences of the immune response were assessed through comparisons of change in resting metabolic rate (RMR), energy metabolites (glucose, glycerol, triglycerides), innate immunity (bactericidal ability), sprint speed and oxidative status (antioxidant capacity, reactive oxygen metabolites). High-LPS lizards had the lowest glucose levels and greatest sprint reductions, while their RMR and bactericidal ability were similar to those of control lizards. Low-LPS lizards had elevated RMR and bactericidal ability, but glucose levels and sprint speed changes between those of high-LPS and control lizards. Levels of glycerol, triglycerides, reactive oxygen metabolites and antioxidant capacity did not differ by treatment. Taken together, energy expenditure for the immune response varies in a non-linear fashion with challenge severity, posing consequences for performance and self-maintenance processes in a reptile.