cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Development of a Structural Equation Model to Demonstrate the Correlations Between Marijuana Use and Involvement

ABSTRACTThis quantitative study examined the effects of marijuana on academic and social involvement in undergraduates using a structural equation model. The study was conducted at a midsized comprehensive community college in the Midwest and was guided by Astin’s (1985) theory of student involvement. A survey link was e-mailed to all 4,527 eligible students at the college, and 573 students participated in the study. Of the 573 students, 194 identified as users of marijuana and were used as the primary basis of the study. The data from the survey were used in a structural equation model to determine correlations between academic and social involvement and marijuana use. The overall results of the study showed no significant correlation between marijuana use and academic and social involvement.
Polyolefin Microfiber Based Antibacterial Fibrous Membrane by Forced Assembly Coextrusion

There is a burgeoning demand for polyolefin based fibrous membranes with antibacterial properties due to the increasing awareness about recyclable materials for air and water purification. This paper presents a systematic study on the development of dual component, polypropylene (PP), and high density polyethylene (HDPE) fibrous membranes based on a continuous coextrusion and multiplication manufacturing technique. Chlorhexidine dihydrochloride (CHDH), an organic low molecular weight antibacterial additive, is melt-compounded to impart antibacterial characteristics to the fibrous membranes. The PP/HDPE membranes are hydrophobic and possess 77% porosity, whereas inclusion of CHDH increases the porosity to 91% and the surface area increases almost twofold. In addition, the membranes possess a mean flow pore size of 7 μm. ATR-FTIR study on the PP/CHDH/HDPE membranes indicate the presence of CHDH on the fiber surface, which imparts antibacterial character to the membrane. Investigations carried out on the CHDH containing PP/HDPE fibrous membranes using E. Coli indicate that the presence of CHDH on the fiber surface results in a bacterial growth inhibition zone on solid growth media. In addition, quantitative studies result in the complete reduction of colony forming units after 4 h of contact time.
An improved state-space averaged model of a dual active bridge converter for use in acausal system modeling

The dual active bridge (DAB) is an attractive device for high-power DC to DC bidirectional power conversion. In order to develop a closed-loop controller for a DAB, an accurate dynamic model must be developed. A continuous model is preferred because it provides more insight into the principle dynamics and is suitable for use in an acuasal simulation. Acausal notation for simulation defines relationships in their natural form, as a system of differential equations, and leaves the method of solving the equations up to the simulation engine. This paper develops a continuous state-space averaged model for a DAB that is shown to be accurate when numerical solutions are compared to a more detailed numerical model that includes switching dynamics. The improved model is suitable for many types of power and control simulations.
Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome in Adult Sickle-Cell Patients (P3.203)

Objective: A series of four cases at our institution in which adult sickle-cell patients developed PRES. Background: Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) is characterized by headache, seizures, confusion, and visual disturbance. Usual culprits include hypertension, eclampsia, renal failure, or immunosuppressants. Methods: Results: A 25 year old female with sickle cell disease, hypertension, renal failure, presented with a seizure. She was hypertensive between systolic180-200. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated T2 hyperintensities suggestive of PRES, which significantly improved on repeat imaging seven days later. A 34 year old female with sickle cell disease on chronic transfusions, hypertension, renal failure, renal transplant on tacrolimus, presented from home for multiple seizures and developed vision loss. MRI demonstrated multiple T2 hyperintensities suggestive of PRES. Her vision resolved prior to discharge, and tacrolimus was replaced with cyclosporine. A 30 year old male with sickle cell disease and hypertension was admitted to an outside institution for a vaso-occlusive crisis. He had a witnessed seizure while at our institution and MRI was suggestive of PRES with bilateral T2 hyperintensities. Repeat MRI 23 days later showed resolution of hyperintensities. A 32 year old female with sickle cell disease with bone marrow transplant, on cyclosporine, was hypertensive to systolics 150-170s prior to sudden mental status chage suggestive of seizures. MRI demonstrated T2 hyperintensities suggestive of PRES which resolved on repeat imaging 14 days later. Conclusions: PRES has been described in sickle cell patients on a case report basis. More often than not, the patients are children or a recent blood transfusion was culprit. Few case reports describe adults with PRES. The association of hypertension, renal failure, and immunosuppressants in sickle cell patients may play a role in the development of PRES in this patient population, and PRES should be considered in a sickle cell patient with mental status changes, seizure, or vision loss. Disclosure: Dr. Vargas has nothing to disclose. Dr. Testai has nothing to disclose.
Prevalence and Impact of Coexistent Bicuspid Aortic Valve in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Background The association between bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) has been reported but its true prevalence is unknown. This study investigated the prevalence and clinical impact of coexistent BAV in a large referral HCM population. Methods Retrospective analysis of 3765 echocardiograms between 2004 and 2014 in 2640 consecutive patients with HCM was performed to assess for BAV. Patients with coexistent conditions were studied. Results Twenty-three patients (0.9%) were identified with coexisting BAV and HCM. Mean age was 52±16years, 18 males (78%), 16 with NYHA functional class I/II at initial evaluation (70%). A family history of HCM was present in five patients (22%); none had a family history of BAV or aortopathy. Maximal left ventricular wall thickness was 24±6mm; the majority had either reverse curve or sigmoid septal morphology. Moderate or greater aortic valve dysfunction was present in seven patients (30%), BAV-related aortopathy in 18 patients (78%) and dynamic left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction in nine patients (39%). Three patients had combined LVOT obstruction and aortic stenosis. Median time from diagnosis of BAV or HCM to last follow-up was 11±12.5years. At last follow-up, 22% had undergone BAV-related surgeries, 30% had septal reduction therapy (SRT), and 17% had combined SRT and BAV-related surgeries. Overall survival was 95% at 10 years. Conclusions This study reported a 0.9% prevalence of BAV among HCM population, similar to the general population. Aortopathy and LVOT obstruction were common, necessitating cardiac interventions in over one-third of cases. Long-term survival appeared favourable.
Synchronized spontaneous downconversion supplies scalable single-photon sources

Very efficient sources of pure single photons can be realized by combining optimized, heralded nondeterministic photon sources with spatial or temporal multiplexing. Low-loss synchronization elements can further enhance scalability, enabling various multi-photon quantum information applications.
Some Questions and Answers About Microprocessors

Abstract A recent development in integrated circuit technology, the microprocessor, has given the control engineer a powerful tool and a unique opportunity to employ that tool. It is the purpose of this paper to familiarize control engineers with microprocessors and their capabilities, and to suggest uses in the control field.
Beyond the rhetoric of gender equality at the World Bank and the IMF

This article reviews the rhetoric and practice of the IMF and the World Bank in promoting gender equality. It shows that these institutions, in making the case for the synergy between gender equali...
Fluorescent Imaging of Tumors

One of the most difficult obstacles to early treatment of cancer is lack of sound methodologies for detection of the disease. By the time cancer is detected it has frequently progressed to the metastatic state. Because of this, the normal course of treatment, in addition to surgery, often consists of aggressive chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or both with potential for undesirable side effects (1)–(6).
On Democracy and School Integration

It is offensive to American ideals that a person, because of his or her birth, should be assigned to a slum school with antique facilities, an atmosphere of violence, a weak academic program, and a teaching force that has lost all hope. It is offensive whether the reason for the assignment is that the person is Black, or that the mother of the family must support four children without the help of the father, or that the family recently emigrated from a peasant background and speaks broken English. But it is also offensive if the reason for assignment to the slum school is to achieve racial balance, if being born in a suburb would have kept the student from being so assigned. The difference is that, in some circumstances, considerations of equal treatment may balance that offensiveness for the judiciary that must remedy the effects of segregation.
Dynamic facts in large team information sharing

In this paper, we extend the large team information sharing problem to consider dynamic facts, where the value of facts about the environment being observed can change over time. Dynamic facts are challenging because the team must repeatedly converge to consistent, accurate beliefs over time, without necessarily knowing if or when the fact changes values. We discover an interesting, emergent phenomenon: institutional memory, where the team as a whole becomes stuck remembering outdated beliefs. We demonstrate that controlling the trust placed in new information from neighboring agents does not adequately control belief convergence with dynamic facts, which previously was shown to benefit the team when working with static facts.
The hydrosocial empire: The Karakum River and the Soviet conquest of Central Asia in the 20th century

Abstract Irrigation canals played an essential role in the Soviet conquest of Central Asia in the 20th century. From the time of Lenin onwards, Soviet authorities invested significant human and material capital to dig new irrigation channels in Central Asia's arid deserts, in an effort to subdue native peoples and integrate the region into a command economy. While the Soviet Union’s great success with environmental transformation in Central Asia was indeed extraordinary (and notorious), too little attention has been given to the ways that this transformation was assembled. In this contribution to the special issue on Archaeologies of Empire and Environment, I explore an archaeology of the contemporary past of Soviet irrigation in Central Asia, utilizing the insights of new materialism theory. Rather than conceiving of the Soviet imperial project as exclusively human-driven, I consider the multiple other non-human agents that exerted forces on irrigation development and drove its emergence within Central Asia’s desert environments. The example of the region’s largest irrigation canal is examined. Using a critically-informed, animated GIS, I show how this canal emerged through negotiations between human and non-human agents. In this process, a hydrosocial object – the Karakum River – was produced that continues to promote the imperial agenda even after the Soviet Union’s collapse. The implications for 21st century discourses on environmental degradation and post-Sovietism, and the methodological possibilities of a theoretically-informed, animated GIS for symmetrical, contemporary archaeologies, are also explored.
Identification and Mapping of Late Blight Resistance Quantitative Trait Loci in Tomato Accession PI 163245

Late blight (LB), caused by the oomycete (Mont.) de Bary, is one of the most devastating diseases of tomato ( L.) and potato ( tuberosum L. worldwide. The importance of LB on tomato has increased due to the occurrence of aggressive and fungicide-resistant clonal lineages of . Consequently, identification and characterization of new sources of genetic resistance to LB has become a priority in tomato breeding. Previously, we reported accession PI 163245 as a promising source of highly heritable LB resistance for tomato breeding. The purpose of this study was to identify and map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with LB resistance in this accession using a trait-based marker analysis (a.k.a. selective genotyping). An F mapping population ( = 560) derived from a cross between a LB-susceptible tomato breeding line (Fla. 8059) and PI 163245 was screened for LB resistance, and the most resistant ( = 39) and susceptible ( = 35) individuals were selected for genotyping. Sequencing and comparison of the reduced representation libraries (RRLs) derived from genomic DNA of the two parents resulted in the identification of 33,541 putative single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, of which, 233 genome-wide markers were used to genotype the 74 selected F individuals. The marker analysis resulted in the identification of four LB resistance QTLs conferred by PI 163245, located on chromosomes 2, 3, 10, and 11. Research is underway to develop near-isogenic lines (NILs) for fine mapping the QTLs and develop tomato breeding lines with LB resistance introduced from PI 163245.
Health Regulation for the Digital Age — Correcting the Mismatch

Health Regulation for the Digital Age Does it make sense that Alexa can remind me when I need to purchase more cereal but not when I need to take my insulin? Rather than applying ill-fitting old la...
Understanding the effect of nitrogen plasma exposure on plasma assisted atomic layer epitaxy of InN monitored by real time grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering

The authors present an in situ study of the effect of nitrogen plasma pulse time on the temporal evolution of the surface morphology of InN growth on a-plane sapphire at 250 °C by plasma assisted atomic layer epitaxy (ALEp). The growth surface evolution was monitored in real-time using grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering (GISAXS) measurements at an x-ray incidence angle of 0.8°. Nitrogen plasma pulse time (tp) was varied between 15 and 30 s in 5-s steps, and for all tp, the near specular scattering broadens and correlated peaks develop and evolve along the Yoneda Wing (YW). For tp ≥ 20 s, a YW with one correlated length scale evolves. At the end of the growth, the longest correlated length scale is 16.54 nm for tp = 25 s. Porod analysis of GISAXS intensity at high qy for tp = 25 s shows the formation of mounded shapes at the early stage of nucleation that transitioned to cylinders after about 3 unit cells of InN growth. Additionally, at tp = 25 s, the growth rate is highest with root mean square surface roughness and carbon impurity levels at or below atomic force microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy sensitivity limits, respectively. At tp 30 s, it appears that trimethylindium precursor molecules start to decompose, resulting in higher carbon content in the film. Thus, the nature of GISAXS correlated length scale directly correlates with the material quality. Additional ex situ characterizations reveal an electron mobility of 6–31 cm2/V s for a 3–5 nm thick InN film on a-plane sapphire, which is similar to the reported value of 30 cm2/V s for a 1300 nm thick InN film grown by molecular beam epitaxy directly on sapphire. Thus, the combination of in situ synchrotron x-ray analysis and ex situ characterization is a powerful approach to develop understanding of the growth mechanisms of ALEp of III-N materials in order to improve the quality by reducing impurities and broaden material applications.The authors present an in situ study of the effect of nitrogen plasma pulse time on the temporal evolution of the surface morphology of InN growth on a-plane sapphire at 250 °C by plasma assisted atomic layer epitaxy (ALEp). The growth surface evolution was monitored in real-time using grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering (GISAXS) measurements at an x-ray incidence angle of 0.8°. Nitrogen plasma pulse time (tp) was varied between 15 and 30 s in 5-s steps, and for all tp, the near specular scattering broadens and correlated peaks develop and evolve along the Yoneda Wing (YW). For tp ≥ 20 s, a YW with one correlated length scale evolves. At the end of the growth, the longest correlated length scale is 16.54 nm for tp = 25 s. Porod analysis of GISAXS intensity at high qy for tp = 25 s shows the formation of mounded shapes at the early stage of nucleation that transitioned to cylinders after about 3 unit cells of InN growth. Additionally, at tp = 25 s, the growth rate is highest with root mean squar...
Transesterification of Propylene Carbonate with Methanol Using Fe–Mn Double Metal Cyanide Catalyst

A highly active and selective heterogeneous catalyst consisting of Fe–Mn double metal cyanide is reported for the transesterification of cyclic carbonates with methanol. Fe–Mn double metal cyanide complex with a Fe/Mn metal ratio of 8 was found to provide significantly higher TOF and stability for transesterification of propylene carbonate with methanol to dimethyl carbonate. The experimental results showed that Mn content has a significant influence on the catalytic activity. TEM and XRD analyses suggested that Fe–Mn complex represents a cubic crystalline structure. XPS analysis showed that all Fe exists in Fe2+ state. However, for the Mn element, 86.8% of Mn exists in Mn2+ state with only 13.2% in Mn4+ state. Furthermore, FTIR and DRIFT UV–vis results verified the formation of a new mixed-metal complex of ferrocyanide moiety and Mn ions via bridging cyanide ligands. NH3-TPD results showed that Fe–Mn double metal cyanide has a strong acidity, which correlates to the high activity of Fe–Mn double metal cy...
Consistent pCMFD Acceleration Schemes of the Three-Dimensional Transport Code PROTEUS-MOC

This paper presents the new acceleration schemes implemented in the three-dimensional (3-D) transport solver PROTEUS-MOC in conjunction with the fixed-point iteration (FPI) methods based on a singl...
Modelling the Growth of Winter Wheat to Improve Nitrogen Fertilizer Recommendations

In this paper, we present the aims, background information, methodology and the first year’s results of our project. The reactions we get from this workshop will influence the further evolution of our work. The project is run in close co-operation with a “Nitrogen Fertiliser Recommendation Group” in The Netherlands. One of the objectives of this study group is to build a field-specific management system. The institutes which are member of this study group are: Pagv, Lelystad; IB, Groningen; CABO, Wageningen and the Agricultural University, Wageningen.
ELECTROPHORETIC VARIANTS AS A TOOL IN THE ANALYSIS OF GENE ORGANIZATION IN HIGHER ORGANISMS

ABSTRACT . The rosy locus of chromosome 3 in Drosophila melanogaster controls the biosynthesis of the enzyme xanthine dehydrogenase. This report describes our progress in an investigation of the structural and functional organization of this locus as a model system for the study of higher organism gene organization. A number of wild-type isoalleles of the rosy locus have been isolated which are associated with the production of electrophoretically distinguishable XDH molecules. Large scale recombination experiments were carried out involving null enzyme mutants induced on electrophoretically distinct wild-type isoalleles. The genetic sites responsible for the mobility differences are followed as unselected markers in these crosses. Since electrophoretic variants represent alterations in the portion of the locus that encodes structural information, the resultant map of electrophoretic sites defines the minimal limits of that portion of the rosy locus. The present report additionally presents evidence that the structural element of the rosy locus is a single, uninterrupted sequence coding for a polypeptide molecule that is present in XDH as a dimer.
Cataract surgeon viewpoints on the need for novel preventative anti-inflammatory and anti-posterior capsular opacification therapies.

Purpose: To determine cataract surgeon viewpoints on the efficacy of available therapies/preventatives for two common sequelae of cataract surgery: inflammation and posterior capsular opacification...
Integrative Analysis from the Epigenome to Translatome Uncovers Patterns of Dominant Nuclear Regulation during Transient Stress.

Gene regulation is a dynamic process involving changes ranging from the remodeling of chromatin to preferential translation. To understand integrated nuclear and cytoplasmic gene regulatory dynamics, we performed a survey spanning the epigenome to translatome of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seedlings in response to hypoxia and reoxygenation. This included chromatin assays (examining histones, accessibility, RNA polymerase II [RNAPII], and transcription factor binding) and three RNA assays (nuclear, polyadenylated, and ribosome-associated). Dynamic patterns of nuclear regulation distinguished stress-induced and growth-associated mRNAs. The rapid upregulation of hypoxia-responsive gene transcripts and their preferential translation were generally accompanied by increased chromatin accessibility, RNAPII engagement, and reduced Histone 2A.Z association. Hypoxia promoted a progressive upregulation of heat stress transcripts, as evidenced by RNAPII binding and increased nuclear RNA, with polyadenylated RNA levels only elevated after prolonged stress or reoxygenation. Promoters of rapidly versus progressively upregulated genes were enriched for cis-elements of ethylene-responsive and heat shock factor transcription factors, respectively. Genes associated with growth, including many encoding cytosolic ribosomal proteins, underwent distinct histone modifications, yet retained RNAPII engagement and accumulated nuclear transcripts during the stress. Upon reaeration, progressively upregulated and growth-associated gene transcripts were rapidly mobilized to ribosomes. Thus, multilevel nuclear regulation of nucleosomes, transcript synthesis, accumulation, and translation tailor transient stress responses.
Cofilin loss in Drosophila muscles contributes to myopathy through defective sarcomerogenesis

Sarcomeres, the fundamental contractile units of muscles, are conserved structures composed of actin thin filaments and myosin thick filaments. How sarcomeres are formed and maintained is not well understood. Here, we show that knockdown of Drosophila Cofilin (DmCFL), an actin depolymerizing factor, leads to the progressive disruption of sarcomere structure and muscle function in vivo. Loss of DmCFL also results in the formation of sarcomeric protein aggregates and impairs sarcomere addition during growth. Strikingly, activation of the proteasome delayed muscle deterioration in our model. Further, we investigate how a point mutation in CFL2 that causes nemaline myopathy (NM) in humans, affects CFL function and leads to the muscle phenotypes observed in vivo. Our data provide significant insights to the role of CFLs during sarcomere formation as well as mechanistic implications for disease progression in NM patients.
Sociodemographic Characteristics Associated With Hospitalizations for Anxiety and Depression Among Youth in Illinois.

Abstract Objective Anxiety and depression are common pediatric mental health diagnoses seen in emergency departments (EDs), and trends in ED visits for anxiety and depression provide an important metric for epidemiologic monitoring of pediatric mental illness. This study was undertaken to examine trends in ED encounters and hospitalizations for anxiety and depression among youth in Illinois. Methods We examined ED encounters and subsequent hospitalizations from 2016-2017 among patients aged 5-19 years old with a principal diagnosis of anxiety or depression retrospectively using the Illinois Hospital Association Comparative Health Care and Hospital Data Reporting Services (COMPdata) for 190 non-federal Illinois hospitals. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the likelihood of hospital admission through the ED. Results After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, from 2016-2017, youth were more likely to be hospitalized if they had depression (Odds Ratio (OR) 4.53, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 3.23-6.37), and had a secondary mental health diagnosis of serious mental illness (OR 4.83, CI 3.40-6.84), suicide attempt (OR 3.69, CI 2.55-5.32) or substance use (OR 3.55, CI 2.89-4.31). Hospital admissions were less likely for youth if they were Hispanic (OR, 0.71, CI 0.52-0.98), on Medicaid (OR 0.68, CI 0.51-0.90), and seen on the weekend (OR 0.80, CI 0.70-0.91). Conclusion Hospitalizations for anxiety and depression among youth in Illinois are often compounded by serious mental illness, suicide attempts, and substance use, but disparities exist in hospital admissions among Hispanics and youth on Medicaid.
Aircraft Location Prediction using Deep Learning

Localization of aircraft is important to control air traffic safely and effectively. Although the Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) has many advantages, the transfer of control over the reported location to the aircraft brings a number of safety and security issues. In order to mitigate these issues and determine the locations of the aircraft which do not have position reporting capabilities or may report wrong locations, complementary or redundant localization methods that are independent of the aircraft are needed. The goal of this paper is to study the feasibility to localize aircraft (estimate the longitude, latitude, and altitude of an aircraft) based on crowdsourced air traffic control communication data, specifically time of arrival and signal strength measurements reported by many different sensors. Specifically, we design and test a deep neural network model for aircraft location prediction using realworld data from OpenSky Network, a crowd-sourced receiver network that obtains volumes of air traffic data from thousands of sensors. It is demonstrated that the proposed deep neural network outperforms the time difference of arrival (TDOA) and support vector regressor (SVR) in terms of the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and the proposed deep learning based method using crowdsourced air traffic control communication data is an effective solution for accurate aircraft location prediction that are independent of the aircraft.
Progress in researches on the relation of vitamin A deficiency and born defects

Vitamin A is one of the essential nutrients, and it plays an important role in growth and development. The lack of vitamin A during pregnancy seriously affect embryonic development, leading to some birth defects of heart, bronchiole, eye, central nervous system, limbs, and others. It is primarily through the regulation of target genes involved in embryonic growth and development. Therefore, study on and understanding of the lack of maternal vitamin A can help prevent and treat serious birth defects. Key words: Vitamin A; Birth defects; Embryonic growth and development
What Is Ming 名? “Name” Not “Word”

It is commonplace to characterize the philosophy of Early China as attuned to interconnections and informed by the implications of situations and environments. This portrait of early Chinese philosophy encourages us to speculate about whether the same was true of concepts of “language” in Early China. Should we reconsider the habit of interpreting the foundational term of Chinese logic, ming 名, as “word,” as opposed to “name”? Whereas a word or “word-type” is an element of linguistic theory (static and uniform, regardless of its definitional criteria), a name is a means for labeling something. A word is the kind of thing that can be found in a dictionary, and it encompasses functional terms like “in.” By contrast, dictionaries generally omit most names because names simply refer to entities. If we mistakenly conceive of ming through the retrospective framework of a zi 字 (graph), a ming might look more like a word than a name. It is anachronistic, however, to think that early Chinese texts used the term “ming” to mean what is later meant by zi. Thus, I argue, a more promising starting point for understanding uses of ming in early Chinese texts is the idea of a name.
Secretion of c-di-AMP by Listeria monocytogenes Leads to a STING-Dependent Antibacterial Response during Enterocolitis

Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) acts as a cytoplasmic signaling hub of innate immunity that is activated by host-derived or bacterially derived cyclic dinucleotides. Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne, facultative intracellular pathogen that secretes c-di-AMP and activates STING, yet the in vivo role of the STING pathway during bacterial pathogenesis remains unclear. In this study, we found that STING-deficient mice had increased weight loss and roughly 10-fold-increased systemic bacterial burden during L. monocytogenes-induced enterocolitis. Infection with a L. monocytogenes mutant impaired in c-di-AMP secretion failed to elicit a protective response, whereas a mutant with increased c-di-AMP secretion triggered enhanced protection. Type I interferon (IFN) is a major output of STING signaling; however, disrupting IFN signaling during L. monocytogenes-induced enterocolitis did not recapitulate STING deficiency. In the absence of STING, the intestinal immune response was associated with a reduced influx of inflammatory monocytes. These studies suggest that in barrier sites such as the intestinal tract, where pathogen-associated molecular patterns are abundant, cytosolic surveillance systems such as STING are well positioned to detect pathogenic bacteria.
ActID: An efficient framework for activity sensor based user identification

Abstract Identification is the core of any authentication protocol design as the purpose of the authentication is to verify the user’s identity. The efficient establishment and verification of identity remain a big challenge. Recently, biometrics-based identification algorithms gained popularity as a means of identifying individuals using their unique biological characteristics. In this paper, we propose a novel and efficient identification framework, ActID, which can identify a user based on his/her hand motion while walking. ActID not only selects a set of high-quality features based on Optimal Feature Evaluation and Selection and Correlation-based Feature Selection algorithms but also includes a novel sliding window based voting classifier. Therefore, it achieves several important design goals for gait authentication based on resource-constrained devices, including lightweight and real-time classification, high identification accuracy, a minimum number of sensors, and a minimum amount of data collected. Performance evaluation shows that ActID is cost-effective and easily deployable, satisfies real-time requirements, and achieves a high identification accuracy of 100%.
Evaluation of the 2020 Pediatric Emergency Physician Workforce in the US.

Importance Given the mortality disparities among children and adolescents in rural vs urban areas, the unique health care needs of pediatric patients, and the annual emergency department volume for this patient population, understanding the availability of pediatric emergency physicians (EPs) is important. Information regarding the available pediatric EP workforce is limited, however. Objective To describe the demographic characteristics, training, board certification, and geographic distribution of the 2020 clinically active pediatric EP workforce in the US. Design, setting, and participants This national cross-sectional study of the 2020 pediatric EP workforce used the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile database, which was linked to American Board of Medical Specialties board certification information. Self-reported training data in the database were analyzed to identify clinically active physicians who self-reported pediatric emergency medicine (EM) as their primary or secondary specialty. The Physician Masterfile data were obtained on March 11, 2020. Main outcomes and measures The Physician Masterfile was used to identify all clinically active pediatric EPs in the US. The definition of EM training was completion of an EM program (inclusive of both an EM residency and/or a pediatric EM fellowship) or a combined EM program (internal medicine and EM, family medicine and EM, or pediatrics and EM). Physician location was linked and classified by county-level Urban Influence Codes. Pediatric EP density was calculated and mapped using US Census Bureau population estimates. Results A total of 2403 clinically active pediatric EPs were working in 2020 (5% of all clinically active emergency physicians), of whom 1357 were women (56%) and the median (interquartile range) age was 46 (40-55) years. The overall pediatric EP population included 1718 physicians (71%) with EM training and 641 (27%) with pediatric training. Overall, 1639 (68%) were board certified in pediatric EM, of whom 1219 (74%) reported EM training and 400 (24%) reported pediatrics training. Nearly all pediatric EPs worked in urban areas (2369 of 2402 [99%]), and pediatric EPs in urban compared with rural areas were younger (median [interquartile range] age, 46 [40-55] years vs 59 [48-65] years). Pediatric EPs who completed their training 20 years ago or more compared with those who completed training more recently were less likely to work in urban settings (633 [97%] vs 0-4 years: 440 [99%], 5-9 years: 547 [99%], or 10-19 years: 723 [99%]; P = .006). Three states had 0 pediatric EPs (Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming), and 3 states had pediatric EPs in only 1 county (Alaska, New Mexico, and North Dakota). Less than 1% of counties had 4 or more pediatric EPs per 100 000 population. Conclusions and relevance This study found that almost all pediatric EPs worked in urban areas, leaving rural areas of the US with limited availability of pediatric emergency care. This finding may have profound implications for children and adolescents needing emergency care.
And like that, they were gone: A failure to remember recently attended unique faces

Attribute amnesia (AA) is a phenomenon in which participants have difficulty answering an unexpected question about an attended attribute of the most recent target stimulus. A similar situation can occur in cases of real-life eyewitness identification when the eyewitness did not explicitly try to remember the alleged perpetrator's face despite having attended to it. We found that AA is generalizable to novel faces, such that when participants were unexpectedly asked to identify a face, performance was poor, even though they had just attended to that face seconds ago (N = 40 each in an initial experiment and its replication). This finding shows that unexpected face identification is inaccurate even when the face had just been attended to and suffered minimal decay and interference, implying that AA can explain some cases of failure of eyewitness identification that cannot be attributed to a lack of attention or post-event interference.
Language experience shapes music processing across 40 tonal, pitch-accented, and non-tonal languages

Tonal languages differ from other languages in their use of pitch (tones) to distinguish words. Some research suggests that the linguistic pitch expertise of tonal language speakers may generalize to improved discrimination of some aspects of musical pitch: tonal language speakers may therefore have music perception advantages over speakers of other languages. The evidence is mixed, however, as prior studies have studied small numbers of participants in only a few tonal languages and countries, making it challenging to disentangle the effects of linguistic experience from variability in music training experience, cultural differences, and so on. Here, we report an assessment of music perception skill in native speakers of 40 languages, with a preregistered exploratory-confirmatory design, including tonal(e.g., Mandarin, Vietnamese), pitch-accented (e.g., Japanese, Croatian), and non-tonal (e.g., Spanish,Hungarian) languages. Whether or not participants had taken music lessons, native speakers of tonal languages (confirmatory N = 20,102) had an improved ability to discriminate musical melodies. But this improvement came with a trade-off: relative to speakers of pitch-accented (confirmatory N = 9,694)or non-tonal languages (confirmatory N = 242,096), tonal speakers were worse at discriminating fine-scale pitch-tuning and worse at processing the musical beat. These results, which held across 5 tonal languages and were robust to geographic and demographic variation, demonstrate that linguistic experience shapes music perception ability, with implications for relations between music, language, and culture in the human mind.
Appearance Concerns are Uniquely Associated with LPP Amplitude to Pictures of Oneself.

A number of psychiatric disorders, including body dysmorphic disorder, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and social anxiety disorder, are characterized by heightened appearance concerns and increased cognitive and perceptual biases toward one's own physical appearance. In the present study, we examined individual differences in self-reported appearance anxiety and symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder in relation to the late positive potential (LPP)-an index of stimulus significance-in response to pictures of oneself, strangers, and objects among 83 female college students. Results indicated that the LPP was larger for pictures of oneself compared to pictures of strangers and objects. Further, the Yale Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale Modified for Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Appearance Anxiety Inventory scales both related to an increased LPP to pictures of oneself but not to strangers or objects. The findings suggest that the LPP elicited by pictures of oneself may function as a neural marker of appearance concerns, which could be leveraged to study the development and maintenance of a range of psychiatric disorders characterized by increased appearance concerns.
Assessing the system performance of an evolving and integrated urban drainage system to control combined sewer overflows using a multiple-layer based coupled modeling approach

Abstract Many earlier developed and densely populated metropolises served by combined sewer systems have been implementing additional stormwater control measures to reduce the impacts of combined sewer overflows (CSO) driven by severe rainstorms. These mitigation measures call for robust modeling strategies to assess the overall performance before development and to predict vulnerabilities, and examine the underlying mechanisms causing them during or after development in a systematic manner. This paper first introduces a hydrologic and hydraulic coupled modeling program-MetroFlow that interacts and integrates multiple models built via diverse methods and tools. A typical integrated urban drainage system (IUDS) in the greater land area of Chicago in the US was investigated as a testbed. In addition, a large-scale Tunnel and Reservoir Plan in construction was evaluated as a mitigation measure to alleviate CSO risks. In this effort, three models were coupled into MetroFlow to account for the best available data of the multiple structural layers involved in this evolving system. Hydrological responses were analyzed under existing and projected system conveyance and storage capacities considering the full spectrum of rainfall conditions employing synthetic storms and real-time simulations of four historical extreme events to account for the anomalies exemplified by individual natural events. The overall effectiveness and resilience of the system were further assessed by the evaluation of normalized performance indicators (PIs) quantifying the reduction of total volume, duration and spread of CSOs. The cluster of simulation results collectively suggests that: (a) the proposed structural layer-based modeling approach is applicable in reproducing distributed rainstorm-driven CSOs for an evolving IUDS based on emerging digital-physical data; (b) CSO characteristics are rather multivariate functions of the rainfall tempo-spatial characteristics as well as the hydraulic performance of the collection system and (c) consistent improvement of CSO abatement was predicted with increasing conveyance and storage provided by the deep tunnel system. The projected system is predicted to capture 24-h storms of return period up to 10 years. MetroFlow’s framework may also promote collaborative modeling, in which community-scale models can be utilized and merged to support extended-scale water and wastewater infrastructure planning, design and management.
A Single-Payer National Health Plan

Of all health plans, many have argued that the Canadian Health Plan (CHP) is the one that should be considered for the United States. The Physicians for a National Health Program (Himmelstein et al., 1989; Grumbach et al., 1991) endorsed the CHP and suggested it be implemented with adaptations to meet circumstances that exist in the United States.
Determinants of Divorce Among Women

Abstract Previous research suggcsts women's reported causes of divorce vary depending on their socioccono∼nic status (SES). However, SES has been routinely defincd by husbands' incomc rather than by thc women's personal SES. Furthcr, the importance of spousal career support as a determinant of divorce for women has been examined only for highly educatcd professional womcn. Utilizing a questionnaire designed for this study, 130 divorced wolncn provided retrospective accounts of factors that lead to thcir divorcc. Regardless of women's SES, incompatibility and lack of cmotiotial support were thc most frequently cited determinants of divorce. Women divorccd fewer than 10 years rated lack of carecr support as a more important factor in their divorce than did wolncn who had been divorced for a longer time.
Correlation of Problem-Based Learning Facilitators' Scores with Student Performance on Written Exams

Problem-based learning (PBL) is widely used in medical education. In some cases, facilitators assign a grade to reflect a student's performance in small-group sessions. In our PBL track, facilitators were asked to assess student knowledge base independent of their group participatory skills. To determine if facilitators' grades were correlated with student performance in written exams, a retrospective study of data from our PBL track was undertaken. Data from 156 students and 107 facilitators in six years of a PBL track at Penn State College of Medicine was analyzed by the Pearson correlation after pairing facilitator grades with written exam grades for each of the eight blocks of the curriculum. Exam reliability and validity were assessed by Cronbach's alpha and correlation with USMLE I board scores. The mean alpha was 0.549 +/- 0.221. The mean correlation with USMLE scores was 0.558 +/- 0.151. Facilitators' scores for knowledge were positively associated with students' exam grades. The corresponding significant Pearson correlation coefficients were between 0.342-0.622. However, the coefficients of determination showed that the correlation was not significant. Coefficients of determination showed that the knowledge scores explained only 12 to 39% of the variance in exam scores. Overestimation by facilitators was significantly (p < 0.0001) greater for students in the bottom 25% of the class by exam score than for students in the top 25% of the class. On the basis of this study, we concluded that facilitator assessment of student knowledge base is not useful.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder : Model, methods, and outcome

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder has typically emphasized cognitive-restructuring and exposure interventions, delivered alone or in combination, in either individual or group formats. Treatment programs emphasizing these interventions are associated with both acute improvements and longer term maintenance of treatment gains. In this article, the nature and application of these interventions are reviewed in relation to a cognitive-behavioral model of the development and maintenance of social anxiety disorder. Strategies for change and outcome findings are discussed, with attention to both individual studies and meta-analytic reviews of the literature. Strategies for improving outcomes and future directions for research are also discussed.
Analysis of small nucleolar RNAs in sputum for lung cancer diagnosis.

Molecular analysis of sputum presents a noninvasive approach for diagnosis of lung cancer. We have shown that dysregulation of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) plays a vital role in lung tumorigenesis. We have also identified six snoRNAs whose changes are associated with lung cancer. Here we investigated if analysis of the snoRNAs in sputum could provide a potential tool for diagnosis of lung cancer. Using qRT-PCR, we determined expressions of the six snoRNAs in sputum of a training set of 59 lung cancer patients and 61 cancer-free smokers to develop a biomarker panel, which was validated in a testing set of 67 lung cancer patients and 69 cancer-free smokers for the diagnostic performance. The snoRNAs were robustly measurable in sputum. In the training set, a panel of two snoRNA biomarkers (snoRD66 and snoRD78) was developed, producing 74.58% sensitivity and 83.61% specificity for identifying lung cancer. The snoRNA biomarkers had a significantly higher sensitivity (74.58%) compared with sputum cytology (45.76%) (P 0.05). The performance of the biomarker panel was confirmed in the testing cohort. We report for the first time that sputum snoRNA biomarkers might be useful to improve diagnosis of lung cancer.
Barriers to oral cancer screening: a focus group study of rural Black American adults

Objective Mortality from mouth and throat cancer (MTC) is higher among Black Americans than White Americans partially because of late stage detection through screening. The disparity in mortality is particularly problematic among Black Americans living in rural areas who have limited access to preventative resources. Our study explored barriers to screening for MTC among Black Americans. Methods We conducted nine focus groups among rural Black Americans age 40 years and older (N = 80). Results Content coding of the transcripts of the focus groups revealed three primary barriers to screening. Lack of knowledge (e.g., not knowing about MTC and not knowing MTC symptoms) accounted for 31.8% of all barriers mentioned, lack of resources (e.g., lack of money and health insurance) accounted for 25.0% of all barriers mentioned, and fear (e.g., fear of screening and diagnosis) accounted for 22.9% of all barriers mentioned. Conclusions We placed these barriers within the Theory of Planned Behavior and conclude that interventions aimed at increasing MTC screening among rural Black Americans should first focus on changing people's attitudes about screening by increasing knowledge about MTC and reducing fear. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A talent for language

Abstract The acquisition of language in children may be viewed as the manifestation of a set of talents, each covering a normal attainment of language skills. Included in the set are the talents for auditory processing, imitation, planning and producing finely controlled motor sequences, abstracting a phonological system, abstracting the grammatical rules of the language, symbolization, and discourse. A child having a language disorder may be deficient in one or more of these talents. Examples of specific language disorders following this scheme are given.