cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Novel manganese oxide confined interweaved titania nanotubes for the low-temperature Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) of NOx by NH3

Abstract A series of manganese confined titania nanotubes (Mn/TNT) prepared by alkaline hydrothermal synthesis technique and were investigated for the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) of NO x with NH 3 in the presence of excess (10 vol.%) oxygen. Remarkably, the surface texture and tubular morphology of Mn/TNT-H catalyst greatly promote the NO x conversions in the temperature regime of 100–300 °C. The existence of abundant surface Mn 4+ species apparently contributes to the remarkable low-temperature SCR activity, and additionally the increased surface area, high dispersion and numerous Lewis acid sites distribution contribute to broaden temperature window over Mn/TNT-H catalyst with 0.25 Mn/Ti atomic ratio. The impregnation of MnO x over TNT-SA catalyst occurs bare minimum because of the low specific surface area and low pore volume, and this leads to poor deNO x activity. The Mn 4+ /Mn 3+ fraction deduced by XPS found to be considerably high for the Mn(0.25)/TNT-H catalyst (Mn 4+ /Mn 3+ = 2.15) while in other catalysts the fraction is typically in the range of 0.36–1.34. Raman scattering reveals a redshift of 13 cm −1 from 640 cm −1 (TiO 2 -Hombikat) to 627 cm −1 in Mn/TNTs-H sample, which indicates the formation of a new phase or structural difference. In comparison with the Mn supported on TiO 2 (Hombikat) nanoparticles, the Mn species on the developed tubular Mn/TNT-H were less pronounced to coagulate under the reaction temperatures. It is interesting to note that the relative atomic ratios of Mn 4+ /Ti and Mn 4+ /Mn 3+ as well as the existence of surface Mn 4+ species in the titania nanotube appear to be directly correlated with the deNO x performance of the catalysts.
Comparison of Muskingum Method Difference Schemes

This note will center on the issue of numerical precision as affected by the use of different routing schemes. The investigation is prompted by the observation that in an application of the Kalinin-Miljukov method, accuracy improved when a more refined difference scheme was used in place of the conventional one.
Model Checking Hybrid Systems

We present the framework of delta-complete analysis for bounded reachability problems of hybrid systems. We perform bounded reachability checking through solving delta-decision problems over the reals. The techniques take into account of robustness properties of the systems under numerical perturbations. Our implementation of the techniques scales well on several highly nonlinear hybrid system models that arise in biomedical applications.
(6S*)-6-[(1S*,2R*)-1,2-Di­hydroxy­pent­yl]-4-meth­oxy-5,6-di­hydro-2H-pyran-2-one

The title compound, C11H18O5, was isolated from a liquid culture of Pestalotiopsis sp. In the mol­ecule, the pyran-2-one ring assumes a half-chair conformation. The two terminal C atoms of the pentyl group were refined as disordered over two sets of sites, with refined occupancies of 0.881 (10) and 0.119 (10). In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked via O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds forming a three-dimensional network.
Motion compensated reconstruction of 4D SPECT using parallel computation and deformable content adaptive mesh

In this abstract, we present preliminary evaluation of a full 4D reconstruction method aimed at cardiac gated emission tomography. The proposed method uses content adaptive mesh model (CAMM) to represent the 3D volumetric data. The nodes of the CAMM are then moved from a gate to gate, according to the motion obtained from a motion estimation algorithm, to form 4D deformable content adaptive mesh model (DCAMM).
Laser Spot Heating / Temperature-Sensitive Paint Heat Transfer Measurements

Summary A new heat transfer measurement technique utilizing the Temperature Sensitive Paint (TSP) method is described. The TSP technique has been demonstrated to be effective, low cost, and applicable over a wide range of flows. The use of any heat transfer measurement system requires generation of a heat flux to drive the heat transfer. This often complicates tunnel operation and model construction. The new system developed at Purdue University combines temperature measurement and heat flux generation into a single non-intrusive system. An infrared laser is used to generate a heat flux and convective heat transfer is determined from the surface temperature response measured using the TSP technique. The operation of the system has been demonstrated in several qualitative and quantitative experiments.
Teaching NeuroImages: Acute crossed cerebellar diaschisis

An 82-year-old woman with a history of chronic left parietal ischemic infarction presented with acutely altered mental status and abnormal right-sided movements. MRI (figure 1) demonstrated gyriform reduced diffusion signal, T2 hyperintensity, and swelling in the left cerebral hemisphere and contralateral right cerebellum. EEG (figure 2) revealed lateralized periodic discharges, likely representing seizure activity secondary to the chronic left parietal infarction.
Two potential sites of protein-protein interaction within the Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA gyrase complex

Recent World Health Organization studies have shown that one-third of the global population are carriers of latent or active Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) infection. With the emergence of antibio...
Feasibility of Group Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Insomnia Delivered by Clinical Video Telehealth.

Abstract Background: Clinical video telehealth provides a means for increasing access to psychotherapy. Insomnia is prevalent, is associated with a number of negative sequelae, and can be effectively managed with cognitive behavioral treatment of insomnia (CBT-I). Telehealth technologies can provide a means for increasing access to CBT-I. Materials and Methods: The Tele-Insomnia program is a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) initiative in which CBT-I is delivered in a group format by telehealth. Veterans received six weekly sessions of group CBT-I, completing the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and daily sleep diaries throughout treatment. Paired-samples t-tests were used to examine differences in each measure from the first to the last session of treatment. Results: There were statistically and clinically significant improvements in the ISI and all sleep diary variables with the exception of total sleep time. Video quality was excellent, and there were few connectivity problems. Conclusions: Clinical vi...
Direct Measurement of the Anticholinergic Activity of a Series of Pharmacological Compounds on the Canine and Rabbit Urinary Bladder

AbstractAntimuscarinic therapy is used widely in the treatment of urine storage failure. Examples of antimuscarinic agents used clinically include atropine, propantheline bromide and glycopyrrolate. Other agents used in clinical urology that are believed to act at least in part by antimuscarinic activity include oxybutynin, imipramine and dicyclomine. These studies were designed to determine the relative potency of a variety of agents to compete directly for muscarinic cholinergic receptors isolated from the canine and rabbit urinary bladder. Radio-ligand binding assays for muscarinic receptors were performed with 10nM 3H-QNB and various concentrations of the drugs under study. Of the agents tested, propantheline bromide, atropine, and glycopyrrolate were the potent muscarinic antagonists/unit of concentration. Oxybutynin and dicyclomine hydrochloride were 30 to 50 times less potent than atropine. Chlorpromazine and desmethylimipramine were approximately 500 times less potent than atropine. As expected, a...
Use of Conventional and Advanced MRI Techniques in Accidental Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has a complex and dynamic pathophysiology, and neuroimaging plays a critical role in its evaluation in the acute, subacute, and chronic settings. Here, we describe technical advancements in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging techniques that promote use of MRI for acute TBI in children to avoid radiation exposure. We also discuss the value of using advanced MR imaging techniques for research in children with TBI.
“What Will I Do?”: Clarifying Self-Interest

This chapter explains how ethical inquiry allows career public servants, as moral philosophers, to clarify their motivations and purpose when unsure about what to do in everyday situations. The chapter distinguishes between two perspectives of self-interest underpinning their motivations: narrow (reactive responses to achieve instant or deferred gratification, to conform to, or to follow, habit) and broad or enlightened (drawn from shared moral knowledge). Next, the book advocates the philosophical standard of logical reasonableness in moral justifications to find higher-order reasons and proximate causes for judgments and actions by interpreting knowledge in relation to career public servants’ own situations while controlling for self-interest. Thus, career public servants can articulate valid, objectively sound theories to discern why their choices are right or wrong.
Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion correlates with exercise capacity in a cohort of patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome after Fontan operation

Objective Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) is a reproducible measure of right ventricular systolic function. We sought to determine the reliability of TAPSE measurements, to evaluate TAPSE in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) relative to normal values, and to correlate values of TAPSE with measures of exercise performance. Design Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion measurements were performed off-line in the cohort of patients with single right ventricle anatomy who had been enrolled in the Sildenafil After Fontan Operation clinical trial. These values were converted to z-scores using age-specific means and standard deviations according to published reference values. Reproducibility of measurements was assessed using the coefficient of variation between two readers. Comparisons between echo measurements and exercise outcomes were assessed using Pearson correlation coefficients. Results Forty-four echocardiograms from 11 subjects were included in this analysis. The median age of included subjects was 13 years (range 12–17). The coefficient of variation for TAPSE measurements was 5.0%. TAPSE was significantly diminished relative to reference values, with a median z-score of −7.6. TAPSE values correlated with both maximal oxygen consumption (R=.64; P=.033) and oxygen consumption at the anaerobic threshold (R=.73, P=.017). Conclusions In this small sample of children with HLHS, TAPSE was reproducible, substantially lower than reference values, and correlated well with measures of exercise performance. Further studies are needed to evaluate these findings in a larger cohort and in a longitudinal manner.
I2 basal stacking fault as a degradation mechanism in reverse gate-biased AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

Here, we present the observation of a bias-induced, degradation-enhancing defect process in plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy grown reverse gate-biased AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), which is compatible with the current theoretical framework of HEMT degradation. Specifically, we utilize both conventional transmission electron microscopy and aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy to analyze microstructural changes in not only high strained regions in degraded AlGaN/GaN HEMTs but also the extended gate-drain access region. We find a complex defect structure containing an I2 basal stacking fault and offer a potential mechanism for device degradation based on this defect structure. This work supports the reality of multiple failure mechanisms during device operation and identifies a defect potentially involved with device degradation.
The Biology of Diving Mammals: Behavioral, Physiological, and Biochemical Limits

During the last 15 years, there has been an intense effort to study diving animals in their own habitat. These studies have been, and continue to be, a necessary extension of the laboratory experiments that first defined some of the basic adaptations involved in diving biology and biochemistry. Field studies have outlined how diving behavior is a critical component to understanding the physiological and biochemical impact of breath-hold exercise underwater. While metabolic limits define the outer boundaries of diving, behavioral patterns place the diving animal at certain points inside that window. For example, Weddell seals can dive for over an hour, but most dives are considerably shorter (Kooyman et al. 1980). Likewise, elephant seals are capable of diving over 1000 m deep, but the majority of dives are to lesser depths (Le Boeuf et al. 1986, 1988). Diving animals do not push themselves to their ultimate capabilities of depth and duration on every dive. While this reasoning may seem obvious, the experimental work necessary to link natural behavior with metabolic requirements is extremely difficult. This due primarily to the problems associated with conducting complex biochemical, physiological, and behavioral studies on large animals in thier own environment. Nevertheless, the number of “synthesis” studies are increasing rapidly on a wide range of diving species. This chapter seeks to summarize how the study of diving biology has proceeded to this point and moves in a mostly chronological organization. It is concerned mainly with the marine mammals because most work has been with this group.
The effect of buffers on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrolysis.

The presence of alkali accelerates the rate of destruction of pyridine nucleotides (I), and the cleavage of the nicotinamideribose linkage of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) under alkaline conditions has also been demonstrated (2). Prolonged treatment in alkali can cause cleavage of the pyrophosphate linkage of NAD as demonstrated by the release of adenylic acid. However, the hydrolysis of this linkage appears to occur after an initial hydrolysis of the nicotinamide-ribose bond has taken place (3). Colowick, Kaplan, and Ciotti (4) observed that the rate of hydrolysis of the nicotinamide-ribose linkage of NAD at 100” increases with increasing pH above pH 6.0. The rates of hydrolysis obtained in various buffers at pH 7.5 were found to depend on the type of buffer used. Tris and acetate buffers did not increase the rate of hydrolysis above that observed with unbuffered NAD at this pH, whereas phosphate and citrate buffers enhanced it 3- to 4-fold. It was noted (1) that Tris could almost completely abolish this stimulatory effect of phosphate and citrate buffers. In a study of the stability of pyridine nucleotides, Lowry, Passonneau, and Rock (5) confirmed the phosphate stimulation of NAD hydrolysis as well as the dependence of this reaction on pH in the region of 6.0 to 8.0. The phosphate-stimulated hydrolysis of NAD has proved to be a convenient procedure for liberating the pyridine moiety from a dinucleotide for purposes of identification (6, 7). One advantage of this chemical hydrolysis over the enzyme-catalyzed cleavage of NAD and related dinucleotides is the freedom from specificity requirements that often arise in the enzyme reactions. The experiments reported here were carried out to elucidate the roles of phosphate and Tris buffers in the hydrolytic reactions with NAD and related compounds.
Exploring 3-D Printing for New Applications: Novel Inkjet- and 3-D-Printed Millimeter-Wave Components, Interconnects, and Systems

This article outlines a number of inkjet-/threedimensional (3-D)-printed prototypes of RF and millimeter-wave (mmW) components, interconnects, and systems. We pay special attention to the major challenges related to applying current multidimensional printing technologies to the fabrication of flexible multichip modules (MCMs) and high-performance mmW components.
Primary Motor Cortex Encodes A Temporal Difference Reinforcement Learning Process

Temporal difference reinforcement learning (TDRL) accurately models associative learning observed in animals, where they learn to associate outcome predicting environmental states, termed conditioned stimuli (CS), with the value of outcomes, such as rewards, termed unconditioned stimuli (US). A key component of TDRL is the value function, which captures the expected future rewards from a given state. The value function can also be modified by the animal9s knowledge and certainty of its environment. Here we show that not only do primary motor cortex (M1) neurodynamics reflect a TD learning process, but M1 also encodes a value function in line with TDRL. M1 responds to the delivery of reward, and shifts its value related response earlier in a trial, becoming predictive of an expected reward, when reward is predictable, such as when a CS acts as a cue predicting the upcoming reward. This is observed in tasks performed manually or observed passively, as well as in tasks without an explicit CS predicting reward, but simply with a predictable temporal structure, that is a predictable environment. M1 also encodes the expected reward value associated with a CS in a multiple reward level CS-US task. The Microstimulus TD model, reported to accurately capture RL related dopaminergic activity, extends to account for M1 reward related neural activity in a multitude of tasks.
Apical Suspension During Prolapse Repair: When Is It indicated?

The criteria for choosing to perform an apical suspension at the time of prolapse repair are not always clear. The aim of this article is to review the evidence regarding the role of apical suspension at the time of prolapse repair. Several studies have shown that defects in apical vaginal support contribute significantly to both anterior and posterior prolapse. Furthermore, there is evidence that apical suspension at the time of anterior and, to a lesser extent, posterior prolapse repair may decrease the risk of recurrence requiring treatment in the future. Despite this evidence, concomitant apical suspension at the time of surgery for anterior or posterior prolapse remains low. This is likely due to both a lack of recognition of pre-existing apical prolapse and the absence of standard guidelines for apical suspension. Apical suspensions commonly include sacrocolpopexy, uterosacral ligament suspension, and sacrospinous ligament fixation. Published clinical trials suggest that sacrocolpopexy is superior to transvaginal native tissue repairs in terms of recurrence. However, this may not be true for all populations. Uterine-sparing techniques are being performed more frequently, and research in this area is ongoing. These procedures appear safe, but there is conflicting evidence regarding success rates and recurrent prolapse. The integrity of the vaginal apex is likely a critical component to providing vaginal support at the time of pelvic reconstructive surgery for prolapse. Several safe and effective procedures exist to correct loss of apical support. Additionally, new data are emerging comparing safety and efficacy rates of these procedures.
Theoretical Analysis of Optical Absorption and Emission in Mixed Noble Metal Nanoclusters

In this work, we studied theoretically two hybrid gold–silver clusters, which were reported to have dual-band emission, using density functional theory (DFT) and linear and quadratic response time-dependent DFT (TDDFT). Hybrid functionals were found to successfully predict absorption and emission, although explanation of the NIR emission from the larger cluster (cluster 1) requires significant vibrational excitation in the final state. For the smaller cluster (cluster 2), the ΔH(0–0) value calculated for the T1 → S0 transition, using the PBE0 functional, is in good agreement with the measured NIR emission, and the calculated T2 → S0 value is in fair agreement with the measured visible emission. The calculated T1 → S0 phosphorescence ΔH(0–0) for cluster 1 is close to the measured visible emission energy. In order for the calculated phosphorescence for cluster 1 to agree with the intense NIR emission reported experimentally, the vibrational energy of the final state (S0) is required to be about 0.7 eV great...
Figayou pursues a platform strategy: a case study of digital platform entrepreneurship

Startups building the next generation of digital technologies have to make an important strategic decision to position their innovations: should they sell their technology as a product or a service...
CMOS and Beyond CMOS: Scaling Challenges

Abstract This chapter describes the elements of CMOS scaling in their historical context, as they are perceived today, and how they are being extended into new directions. The chapter begins by exploring evolutionary extensions of traditional CMOS. This includes minimizing parasitic capacitance and resistance, improving short-channel effects using FDSOI or multiple gates, and seeking higher mobility channels using materials such as Ge or III-V materials. The chapter then continues by reviewing new inventions that have arisen from extensions to the basic CMOS architecture. Some of these inventions, such as charge-storing gate elements, ferroelectric gate elements, negative-capacitance devices, piezoelectric devices, and transduction devices, represent new ways of thinking about gate dielectrics. Other inventions, such as Mott devices and spin-FETs, represent new ways of thinking about channel materials. Finally, some inventions, such as spin-FET and spin-MOSFETs, represent new ways of thinking about S/D regions.
Diagnostic Criteria for Giant Cell Arteritis

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most important ­medical emergency in ophthalmology, as was rightly stressed by Kearns [1] when he stated that GCA “ranks as the prime medical emergency in ophthalmology, there being no other disease in which the prevention of blindness depends so much on prompt recognition and early treatment.” A study [2] further emphasized that fact, when it found that a high proportion of patients with permanent visual loss have a delayed diagnosis and treatment; in that study 35% had systemic symptoms for an average of 10.8 months before visual loss and 65% had premonitory visual symptoms for an average of 8.5 days.
Crown Ether-Dinitrile Interaction: An X-ray Study

Formation of the host-guest compounds between isomers of dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 as hosts (DC18C6) and various dinitriles as guests has been observed. The structures of two representative compounds (cis-anti-cis-DC18C6...2(NCCH2CH2CN) ( I) and (cis-syn-cis-DC18C6...(NCCH2CH2CH2CN) ( II) were obtained using X-ray diffractometry. Crystal data: ( I) P=¯1, a = 8.586(3), b = 9.324(3), c = 10.714(4) A α = 72.47(3)°, β = 73.57(3)°, γ = 72.37(3), R1 = 0.034, GooF 1.08, Z = 1; ( II) Pbca, a = 12.881(5), b = 17.887(8), c = 23.042(13) A, R1 = 0.049, GooF 1.02, Z = 8. Both structures show weak C–-H...O interactions between α-methylene protons of dinitrile guest molecules and oxygen atoms of the macrocyclic host ring.
The New Rhetoric is Modern Humanism

Our reflections on the New Rhetoric lead us to conclude that the New Rhetoric today has become a tool to develop new forms of humanism; it is humanistic in itself.
The Kinney Three Paragraphs (and More) for Accounting Ph.D. Students

SYNOPSIS This Commentary is intended to help beginning Ph.D. students identify, evaluate, and communicate essential components of proposed empirical accounting research using a three-step process. ...
Laparoscopic-assisted Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) Block in Patient Undergoing Laparoscopic Gynecologic Surgery: Randomized Controlled Trial

Study Objective To compare the analgesic efficacy of laparoscopic-assisted posterior Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) block versus lateral TAP block for post-operative pain control in patients undergoing laparoscopic gynecologic surgeries. Design Prospective randomized trial. Setting Patients undergoing laparoscopic/robotic gynecology surgeries. Patients or Participants 80 patients were randomly assigned to laparoscopic-assisted lateral (mid-axillary) TAP block and posterior TAP block. Total sample size of 80 patients with considering 10 % drop out rate, gives 85 % power (two-sided alpha =0. 05) to detect a difference of 0.7 in pain score. Interventions Laparoscopic-assisted TAP block with liposomal Bupivacaine and Bupivacaine HCL 0.5% mixed in ratio of 1:2 in milligram. We randomized patients posterior approach injection was applied in triangle of petit versus in lateral TAP block injection was performed in mid axillary line between iliac crest and lower coastal margin. Opioid consumption and Numeric Pain Rating Score (NPRS 0 to 10) were recorded at 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours post-operatively. Measurements and Main Results patients in the posterior TAP block group was older than the lateral TAP block group (P-Value: 0.03). There was no difference in terms of race, BMI, ASA classification and comorbidities between two groups. Length of surgery was longer in lateral group (P-value: 0.02). There was no difference in terms of type of procedure. Patients in posterior group had less pain score at 6 h, 12h, 24h, 48h and 72 h post-operative, and they significantly used less narcotic during the first 3 days after surgery (p-value:0.009) Conclusion Laparoscopic-assisted TAP block is a new and safe technique for multimodal pain management. Posterior TAP block provides better analgesia than lateral TAP block for laparoscopy gynecologic surgeries. Posterior TAP block significantly reduces the total amount of narcotics used by patients in post-operative course.
Measuring Total Healthcare Utilization Among Intimate Partner Violence Survivors In Primary Care

ABSTRACT Rising health care costs are influenced by health care utilization, which encompasses hospital, ambulatory and non-face-to-face episodes of care. In this study, we created a novel a health care utilization-scoring tool that was used to examine whether one psychosocial factor, intimate partner violence (IPV), leads to higher utilization of health care services when controlling for relevant confounders. We sought to fill gaps about how social and behavioral issues impact utilization—particularly non-face-to-face episodes of care. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study in 2017 examining patients seen at 11 University-affiliated primary care clinics from January 2015 to December 2016 who were screened for IPV. A total of 31,305 patients were screened, of which 280 screened positive. We controlled for medical complexity by deriving the revised Charlson Comorbidity Index for each patient. We calculated a novel utilization score, which was a weighted sum of hospital, ambulatory and non-face-to-face encounters. Missed appointments were also measured. IPV-positive and IPV-negative patients were similar with respect medical complexity. IPV-positive patients had significantly higher mean utilization scores (54 vs. 40, p These data support more inclusive population-specific interventions focusing on social determinants of health to reduce both face-to-face and non-face-to-face utilization, which may improve health care expenditures, outcomes and provider satisfaction.
Equilibrium partitioning as the basis for an integrated laboratory and field assessment of the impacts of DDT, DDE and DDD in sediments

Many of the most biologically productive portions of streams are backwater areas which support large populations of benthic macroinvertebrates. The sediments in these locations and their associated macroinvertebrate communities are frequently subjected to chemical inputs and physical perturbations. Historically, assessment of the effects of contaminants in sediments have emphasized chemical analyses and either laboratory toxicity tests or in-stream monitoring of benthic macroinvertebrate community structure. However, combining the chemical and biological approaches provides a more powerful assessment technique. Such an integrated approach, combining laboratory water-only and sediment toxicity tests with Hyalella azteca and Chironomus tentans, field surveys of benthic macroinvertebrate community structure and evaluation of chemical data using equilibrium partitioning theory was used to assess the effects of DDT, DDE and DDD (collectively termed DDTR) in the sediments of the Huntsville Spring Branch-- Indian Creek (HSB--IC) stream system in the southeastern USA. Benthic macroinvertebrate populations in the HSB--IC system still appear to be adversely affected by DDTR residues within the sediments even though DDT discharges to the stream were stopped over 20 years ago and a major remediation project was completed in the late 1980s. This conclusion is based on a weight of evidence approach which incorporates (1) the observed sediment toxicity to C. tentans and H. azteca in laboratory tests, (2) the identification of DDTR as the likely cause of effects observed during laboratory toxicity tests, (3) the absence of appropriate sensitive species from groups such as the Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera and Amphipoda, (4) the presence of reduced numbers of both total individuals and species of chironomids and oligochaetes relative to nearby streams not contaminated by DDTR and (5) the observed distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates in relation to organic carbon-normalized concentrations of DDTR and equilibrium partitioning-based predicted sediment toxic units of DDTR
Gender and the organization of sexual behavior.

Gender socialization seems important in every culture although the precise nature of gender categories and the specifics of gender roles differ across societies. Gender socialization produces in most people a compulsion to behave according to appropriate rules and expectations, and a grave anxiety about not being considered by others, or by themselves, truly male or female. Sexual performance is tightly tied to appropriate gender role behavior, and the need to conform to conventional scripts probably inhibits most people from expressing individual desires and interests. The gratification obtained from gender affirmation, however, may compensate for any lost erotic or intimate rewards. Our society is in the throes of major changes in gender roles, and many of the frequent public debates about sexual issues (e.g., impact of pornography, prevalence of sexual abuse and harassment, advisability of public sex education, propriety of homosexuals in the military) reflect insecurities about the effect of these new roles on sexual behavior. Present knowledge suggests that any change in gender roles is bound to have a major effect on sexual behavior, both within the life of an individual and within a society. Insecurities and adjustment difficulties are likely to remain normative, and to be part of the problems brought to every mental health clinician.
3 – Psychometric Considerations

Publisher Summary Psychometrics, or psychometry, is defined as the science of psychological assessment. It involves inspection of psychological instruments for their reliability and validity, the two core dimensions of psychometric evaluation. These psychometric properties indicate the extent to which an instrument approximates the true measurement of a construct of interest. This chapter examines the core dimensions of psychometric evaluation, reliability and validity, as they relate to child behavioral assessment. It discusses the strategies used to evaluate these psychometric properties, with examples from common child behavioral assessment instruments. The chapter also addresses the research and clinical issues related to test–retest reliability, interrater reliability, alternate-form reliability, internal consistency, and internal structure. Furthermore, it sheds light on the issues related to face validity, content validity, and criterion validity as well as the more specific types of validity within the general category of criterion validity (that is, discriminative, concurrent, and predictive validity). The chapter concludes with a discussion on research and clinical implications for psychometric issues in child behavioral assessment.
Increased length of active labor is associated with adverse perinatal outcomes among nulliparous women undergoing labor induction.

Evaluate the association between current recommendations for active labor duration in nulliparous women undergoing labor induction and adverse perinatal outcomes. Retrospective cohort study from 20...
Federal Jurisdiction as Statutory Interpretation: A Majordomo Purposivist Perspective

The study of federal jurisdiction has traditionally involved little more than a combined examination of judicial doctrine and policy. Under this approach, scholars study how the Supreme Court has decided to shape the jurisdiction of the federal courts, and the policies the Court believes jurisdictional doctrine should reflect. Hardly ever have scholars studied the legislative purposes sought to be achieved by federal jurisdiction. It is important to recall, however, that for the most part modern federal jurisdiction law grows out of a network of congressional statutes—which, in turn, grow out of policy choices made not by unrepresentative judges, but by those politically accountable to the populace. It is also important to realize that since the federal courts enforce substantive federal law, often jurisdictional directives operate as the fundamental means by which to implement the substantive policy choices made by the political branches. It is for these reasons that we believe federal jurisdiction should be studied, in the first instance, not merely as a matter of doctrinal and policy analysis, but rather as a matter of statutory construction, as a means of implementing the goals chosen by those elected by the people. Such an approach, after all, reflects the nation’s foundational commitment to democracy. In this Article, we seek to achieve two goals: First, to explain how the Supreme Court’s general failure to view the shaping of federal jurisdiction as fundamentally a matter of statutory construction has dangerously distorted the central premises of American political theory, and second, to propose an original approach to the “faithful agent” model of statutory interpretation—what we call the “Majordomo Purposvist” approach. By comparing the role of an interpreting judge to that of a majordomo—traditionally, one in charge of a large estate owned by another—we seek both to confine and broaden the judge’s authority. We confine it, by underscoring the interpretive humility a judge must demonstrate in interpreting statutes enacted by a representative, accountable governing body. Yet we simultaneously broaden that authority by recognizing that, much like a real-life majordomo, the interpreting judge will often have a significant degree of implementational discretion in determining how best to achieve legislative goals in particular situations.
Caste-specific techniques of defense in the polymorphic ant Pheidole embolopyx (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

1. The queen of the Brazilian speciesPheidole embolopyx is unique among ants in possessing a posteriorly truncated abdomen; in addition, the rear surface is clothed in unusual, hook-shaped hairs (fig. 1–3). Contrary to expectation, however, our studies have shown that the queen does not use the abdomen to block nest entrances or otherwise to oppose opponents directly. 2. The queen is also unique in possessing gelatinous sheaths on the scapes, anterior clypeal border, and frontal carinae. The sheaths vary in size and shape among queens and on the same queen with time (fig. 4), and they are often absent altogether. These unusual structures seem to be neither especially attractive nor repellent to theP. embolopyx workers. 3. We offer a different explanation of the queen's modified anatomy. The truncation of the abdomen and gelatinous sheaths are associated with flange-like protrusions of the pronotum and first gastric segment in an overall “chelonian” (turle-like) body form. The most vulnerable parts of the body are thus better protected from biting attacks, especially when the queen hides in tight spaces. But the meaning of this peculiar syndrome remains unknown. We believe it unlikely, for example, that the queen is a temporary social parasite. 4. Minor and major woerkers display different responses during recruitment and alarmdefense of the nest and food sources. These caste-specific behaviors are nevertheless coordinated to create efficient group-level reactions. Only the minor workers lay odor trails, which originate from the poison gland. Both castes cooperate in defending food finds, in the form of encircling clusters that persist for hours or even days. The minor workers seize the legs of intruding ants, while the majors attack their bodies directly. Both castes communicate alarm by means of abdominal pheromones, which in the case of the major worker has been pinpointed to the pygidial gland.
La planificación lingüística del Maya yucateco y la educación bilingüe en Yucatán

The rapid decline of indigenous languages represents one of the most troubling topics within applied linguistics. Teachers’ implementation of indigenous language planning through their pedagogical practices is a significant but under-researched issue. This ethnographic study examines a Maya language program (i.e., professional development) for 1,600 teachers in the Yucatan’s Intercultural Bilingual Education (EIB) system, and K-12 schools in Maya-speaking communities where they worked. Using longitudinal data (2010-2016), analysis centered on the creation and promulgation of the Norms of Writing for the Maya Language (2014) and related language policy. Findings illustrate: 1) the importance of increasing the quantity of Maya-speaking teachers, and 2) a clash between widespread orthographic variation in Maya and teachers’ standard language-culture. The new standard has not been implemented in EIB, which still does not in practice require Maya proficiency of teachers. This research discusses possible benefits and risks of a standard Maya for EIB.
Building resilience in the COVID-19 era: Three paths in the bhagavad gita

The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a major stressor of a global scale, affecting all aspects of our lives, and is likely to contribute to a surge of mental ill health. Ancient Hindu scriptures, notably the Bhagavad Gita, have a wealth of insights that can help approaches to build psychological resilience for individuals at risk, those affected, as well as for caregivers. The path of knowledge (Jnana yoga) promotes accurate awareness of nature of the self, and can help reframe our thinking from an "I" to a "we mode," much needed for collectively mitigating the spread of the coronavirus. The path of action (Karma yoga) teaches the art of selfless action, providing caregivers and frontline health-care providers a framework to continue efforts in the face of uncertain consequences. Finally, the path of meditation (Raja yoga) offers a multipronged approach to healthy lifestyle and mindful meditation, which may improve resilience to the illness and its severe consequences. While more work is needed to empirically examine the potential value of each of these approaches in modern psychotherapy, the principles herein may already help individuals facing and providing care for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Novel extraction of Zr based on an in-situ preparation of ZrCxOy

Abstract A novel way was proposed in this work for zirconium extraction through ZrO2. It was accomplished that pure Zr powder could be obtained by electrolysis Zr oxycarbide, which was prepared by in-situ electro-deoxidation of solid zirconium dioxide-carbon precursors in molten chloride at 1123 K. In order to explore the feasibility and mechanism of this process, the parameters of Zr oxycarbide in-situ synthesis was based on systematically analysis the intermediate products by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). And the electrochemical behavior and properties of Zr oxycarbide was also discussed through Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Square Wave Voltammetry (SWV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). It was revealed that the obtained ZrCxOy by in-situ synthesis has good conductivity and can be direct dissolved as an anode in molten salt. In the following electrolysis, the dissolved Zr ions diffused into molten salt and was reduced into metallic Zr.
Osteoporosis Screening Is Often Indicated but Overlooked Prior to Rotator Cuff Repair.

Purpose To (1) report the percentage of patients undergoing rotator cuff repair (RCR) who were appropriately screened with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry testing prior to surgery, if indicated, and (2) determine the percentage of patients properly prescribed osteoporosis medications within 6 months of surgery. Methods Consecutive patients aged 50 years or older who underwent elective RCR at a single tertiary-care center over a 1-year period were reviewed. Fracture risk was estimated using the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) with and without bone mineral density. The U.S. National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) criteria for screening and treatment were applied. Patients with acute fractures or revision surgery were excluded. Results Of the 218 patients included, 129 were women (58.1%). The mean age was 61.5 ± 7.2 years. One hundred thirty-one RCRs (60.1%) occurred within 3 months of injury. A total of 69 patients (31.7%) met the NOF criteria for bone mineral density screening. Of these patients, 23 (33.3%) were appropriately screened with a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan. Primary care providers initiated bone health assessment in 18 of the 23 appropriately screened patients, with orthopaedic providers initiating the workup in 3 patients (13.0%). Thirty-two patients (14.7%) met the NOF criteria for pharmacologic management of osteoporosis. Of these patients, 5 (15.6%) were treated. Patients meeting the medication criteria were older (69.1 ± 7.7 years vs 60.2 ± 6.3 years, P < .001), had a lower body mass index (28.8 ± 6.1 vs 31.5 ± 6.5, P = .028), and had chronic rotator cuff tears (P = .015). Conclusions Patients aged 50 years or older undergoing RCR are often not appropriately screened for osteoporosis. Even when appropriately screened, only 15.6% of patients meeting the indications for pharmacologic intervention for bone health optimization were prescribed appropriate medications. Although bone health optimization may or may not affect surgical timing, patient encounters related to rotator cuff tears can be used as an opportunity for providers to initiate osteoporosis screening and treatment protocols. Level of Evidence Level IV, therapeutic case series.
Efficient End-to-End Audio Embeddings Generation for Audio Classification on Target Applications

We describe a general-purpose end-to-end audio embeddings generator that can be easily adapted to various acoustic scene and event classification applications. In contrast to many other models for audio classification, this end-to-end embeddings generator does not require a separate feature extraction step, but processes audio samples directly which simplifies its porting into hardware platforms. Our approach learns a generic audio embedding representation that is pre-trained on a large audio dataset. It can then be fine-tuned via transfer learning with limited data requirements for an audio classification target application. We compare different transfer learning strategies and evaluate the proposed embeddings generator on three popular publicly available datasets, and report results for different model sizes. The experimental results show that this end-to-end approach presents a scalable, efficient, and competitive alternative to more common spectral-based audio classifiers.
A Book Review of After the Music Stopped: The Financial Crisis, the Response and the Work Ahead

Although there are many books talk about the financial crises of 2007-2008, Professor Alan S. Blinder’s work, After the Music Stopped: the financial crisis, the response and the work ahead, really stands out for its comprehensiveness of narrative and its focus on the future. Blinder draws a thorough picture explained what and why the crisis happened and illustrated what we need in the future, from his both scholastic and monetary-regulator’s perspective. Notwithstanding readers can find some unstated assumptions in his theories, this paper uses his chronology as a foundation and illustrates some similarities of the stories in financial industry in history. What kept constant and what has changed? Finally, the paper provides a potential clue of financial system regulation in the future.
A pan-cancer survey of cell line tumor similarity by feature-weighted molecular profiles

Summary Patient-derived cell lines are often used in pre-clinical cancer research, but some cell lines are too different from tumors to be good models. Comparison of genomic and expression profiles can guide the choice of pre-clinical models, but typically not all features are equally relevant. We present TumorComparer, a computational method for comparing cellular profiles with higher weights on functional features of interest. In this pan-cancer application, we compare ∼600 cell lines and ∼8,000 tumor samples of 24 cancer types, using weights to emphasize known oncogenic alterations. We characterize the similarity of cell lines and tumors within and across cancers by using multiple datum types and rank cell lines by their inferred quality as representative models. Beyond the assessment of cell lines, the weighted similarity approach is adaptable to patient stratification in clinical trials and personalized medicine.
Microglial responses to CSF1 overexpression do not promote the expansion of other glial lineages.

Colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF1) expression in the central nervous system (CNS) increases in response to a variety of stimuli, and CSF1 is overexpressed in many CNS diseases. In young adult mice, we previously showed that CSF1 overexpression in the CNS caused the proliferation of IBA1+ microglia without promoting the expression of M2 polarization markers. Immunohistochemical and molecular analyses were performed to further examine the impact of CSF1 overexpression on glia in both young and aged mice. As CSF1 overexpressing mice age, IBA1+ cell numbers are constrained by a decline in proliferation rate. Compared to controls, there were no differences in expression of the M2 markers ARG1 and MRC1 (CD206) in CSF1 overexpressing mice of any age, indicating that even prolonged exposure to increased CSF1 does not impact M2 polarization status in vivo. Moreover, RNA-sequencing confirmed the lack of increased expression of markers of M2 polarization in microglia exposed to CSF1 overexpression but did reveal changes in expression of other immune-related genes. Although treatment with inhibitors of the CSF1 receptor, CSF1R, has been shown to impact other glia, no increased expression of oligodendrocyte lineage or astrocyte markers was observed in CSF1 overexpressing mice. Our study indicates that microglia are the primary glial lineage impacted by CSF1 overexpression in the CNS and that microglia ultimately adapt to the presence of the CSF1 mitogenic signal.
Fully-discrete spectral-Galerkin scheme with decoupled structure and second-order time accuracy for the anisotropic phase-field dendritic crystal growth model

Abstract In this work, we consider numerical approximations of the anisotropic phase-field dendritic crystal growth model, which is a highly complex coupled nonlinear system consisting of the anisotropic Allen-Cahn equation and the heat equation. Through the combination of a novel explicit auxiliary variable IEQ approach for temporal discretization and the spectral-Galerkin approach for spatial discretization, we develop the first fully-discrete numerical scheme with linearity, decoupled structure, unconditional energy stability, and second-order time accuracy for the particular phase-field dendritic model. In the process of obtaining a full decoupling structure and maintaining energy stability, the introduction of two auxiliary variables and the design of two auxiliary ODEs play a vital role. The designed scheme is highly efficient because only a few elliptic equations with constant coefficients are needed to be solved at each time step. The unconditional energy stability of the scheme has been strictly proved, and the detailed implementation process is given. Through several numerical simulations of 2D and 3D dendritic crystal growth examples, we further verify the convergence rate, energy stability, and effectiveness of the developed algorithm.