cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Good Medicine for Conservation Biology: the Intersection of Epidemiology and Conservation Theory

Infectious disease can be a concern for several aspects of conservation biology, such as determin- ing threats to species, estimating population viability, and designing reserves, captive breeding, and recovery programs. Several measures are useful for describing infectious diseases in host populations, but it is not straightforward to determine the degree to which a particular disease may affect a host population. The most basic epidemiological theory suggests that populations should be least subject to host-specific infectious dis- ease when they are at low abundance ( paradoxically, the state at which they are in most need of conserva- tion action). There are important exceptions, however, such as when a reservoir host exists or when Allee or stochastic effects occur. Several of the key threats to biodiversity—habitat alteration, introduced species, pol- lution, resource exploitation, and climate change—can facilitate and/or impair transmission of infectious disease. Common management tools such as population viability analysis rarely address infectious disease explicitly. We suggest that such an inclusion is both possible and warranted. Considerations of infectious dis- ease may influence the way we determine whether a species is in need of protection and how we might design reserves and captive breeding programs. Examples from the literature suggest that (1) introduced pathogens can make abundant species rare and (2) diseases of domestic animals can dramatically affect rare species. For both scenarios, conditions that cause stress or reduce genetic variation may increase susceptibility to dis- ease, whereas crowding and cross-species contact can increase transmission. Southern sea otters ( Enhydra lu- tris nereis ) make an interesting case study for consideration of the intersection of epidemiology and conserva- tion because disease may be an important factor limiting the growth of otter populations. We conclude that pathogens are of increasing concern for conservation. Because many newly emerging pathogen dynamics of- ten do not conform to the simplifying assumptions used in classic epidemiology, a detailed understanding of pathogen life history will illuminate the intersection of epidemiology and conservation theory.
Involving Ecologists in Shaping Large-Scale Green Infrastructure Projects

Cities are implementing green infrastructure projects to provide ecosystem services such as storm water mitigation. The efficacy of these projects at providing services is rarely evaluated. Embedding research into project design provides a mechanism for both evaluation and development of the ecological knowledge needed to improve infrastructure for services provision. Ecologists must navigate the politics, economics, and social constraints of working in cities. Additional skills and practices are needed to develop new relationships and improve credibility, to define project roles, to identify new funding, and to integrate multidisciplinary knowledge. We examine a large-scale green infrastructure project that integrates hypothesis-driven experimental research and baseline monitoring with park design, implementation, and maintenance. Drawing on this case study, we recommend strategies to facilitate the inclusion of research ecologists in green infrastructure projects by enhancing the professional cer- tification process, establishing research ecologists as consultants, and integrating ecology and design in graduate programs.
Poverty, Child Maltreatment, and Foster Care

Child maltreatment occurs at significantly higher rates among those living in poverty. Children in foster care usually come to the attention of child welfare officials because they are neglected by...
A Team Approach to Undergraduate Research in Biomathematics: Balance Control

The question, how does an organism maintain balance? provides a unifying theme to introduce undergraduate students to the use of mathematics and modeling techniques in biological research. The availability of inexpensive high speed motion capture cameras makes it possible to collect the precise and reliable data that facilitates the development of relevant mathematical models. An in–house laboratory component ensures that students have the opportunity to directly compare prediction to observation and motivates the development of projects that push the boundaries of the subject. The projects, by their nature, readily lend themselves to the formation of inter–disciplinary student research teams. Thus students have the opportunity to learn skills essential for success in today’s workplace including productive team work, critical thinking, problem solving, project management, and effective communication.
Chronicling the West for “Harper's”: Coast to Coast with Frenzeny & Tavernier in 1873–1874 Claudine Chalmers. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2013.

Chronicling the West for "Harper's": Coast to Coast with Frenzeny & Tavernier in 1873-1874 Claudine Chalmers. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2013.In her recent book on the influence of French artists in California, Chronicling the West for Harper's, Claudine Chalmers focuses on 100 sketches of the west produced by Paul Frenzeny and Jules Tavernier for Harper's Weekly during their 1873-1874 trip from New York to San Francisco. Chalmers, a native of Cannes, France, has also written books about California's Mill Valley and Grass Valley, as well as two additional art books on the French artistic influence in California.In her "Introduction" Chalmers provides biographical details on Frenzeny and Tavernier, noting that Harper's had sent similar "special artists" to the South following the Civil War, to document the aftermath of the conflict. Frenzeny had already contributed some dozen sketches to Harper's demonstrating both his artistic ability and his writing skills (5), and, as Chalmers points out, the magazine was keen to chronicle the biggest post-war news: the settling of the American West (4).In thirteen subsequent chapters, Chalmers traces the peripatetic journey of the two artists from their departure from New York by train in July 1873, to their arrival in San Francisco the summer of 1874. Chalmers argues that the pair likely settled on twin story lines to develop along their trek: "the nation's march west and the contrast between the industrialized cities of the Eastern Seaboard and the frontier's undeveloped regions" (14). Their sketches began with a group of German emigrants leaving a New York boardinghouse-a scene, Chalmers argues, that the artists witnessed first-hand. From there, the two would split up at various points along the route west, sometimes travelling by stage coach and horseback to capture sketches of landscapes into which the railroad had not yet penetrated.Early illustrations depicted the iron industry in Pennsylvania. Subsequently the two travelled from Missouri to Texas on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas line (M, K & T-called the "Katy" for short), submitting material both to Harper's, and to the railroad publication, the Great South-West. Moving on to Texas, the two chronicled rural industries like sugar making and cotton harvesting, as well as livestock thinning (deer, antelope, and buffalo drives).Reaching Denver in late 1873, the two recorded images of gold mining and ore smelting in the Colorado hills before Rocky Mountain snows forced a stay-over in Denver. …
Cognitive Development and Cognitive Style

This study was designed to examine (a) whether the process of formulating transitive inferences is either a spatial or a linguistic process, but not both, (b) whether transitivity develops from a spatial to a linguistic process as a function of cognitive growth, (c) whether the transitivity process varies according to individual preferences for and abilities or disabilities with spatial as opposed to linguistic reasoning, and (d) the effect of specific task characteristics on the processing of a transitivity problem. Subjects were learning disabled children aged 7, 9, 11, and 13. All subjects, regardless of age, received highest scores on tasks involving linguistic input. There was no evidence of a developmental shift from spatial into linguistic reasoning. At ages 7, 9, and 11 there was no evidence of process preferences. At age 13 some evidence was found for the influence of cognitive style preference. Implications for the relationship between cognitive development and cognitive style are discussed.
A New Generic Method for Quantifying the Scale Predictability of the Fractal Atmosphere: Applications to Model Verification

AbstractThe authors revisit the issue regarding the predictability of a flow that possesses many scales of motion raised by Lorenz in 1969 and apply the general systems theory developed by Selvam in 1990 to error diagnostics and the predictability of the fractal atmosphere. They then introduce a new generic method to quantify the scale predictability of the fractal atmosphere following the assumptions of the intrinsic inverse power law and the upscale cascade of error. The eddies (of all scales) are extracted against the instant zonal mean, and the ratio of noise (i.e., the domain-averaged square of error amplitudes) to signal (i.e., the domain-averaged square of total eddy amplitudes), referred to as noise-to-signal ratio (NSR), is defined as a measure of forecast skill. The time limit of predictability for any wavenumber can be determined by the criterion or by the criterion , where is the golden ratio and m is a scale index. The NSR is flow adaptive, bias aware, and stable in variation (in a logarithm ...
Regulation of protein O-glycosylation by the endoplasmic reticulum–localized molecular chaperone Cosmc

Regulatory pathways for protein glycosylation are poorly understood, but expression of branchpoint enzymes is critical. A key branchpoint enzyme is the T-synthase, which directs synthesis of the common core 1 O-glycan structure (T-antigen), the precursor structure for most mucin-type O-glycans in a wide variety of glycoproteins. Formation of active T-synthase, which resides in the Golgi apparatus, requires a unique molecular chaperone, Cosmc, encoded on Xq24. Cosmc is the only molecular chaperone known to be lost through somatic acquired mutations in cells. We show that Cosmc is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)–localized adenosine triphosphate binding chaperone that binds directly to human T-synthase. Cosmc prevents the aggregation and ubiquitin-mediated degradation of the T-synthase. These results demonstrate that Cosmc is a molecular chaperone in the ER required for this branchpoint glycosyltransferase function and show that expression of the disease-related Tn antigen can result from deregulation or loss of Cosmc function.
Approximations of Dynamic, Multilocation Production and Inventory Problems

Consider a central depot or plant which supplies several locations experiencing random demands. Orders are placed or production is initiated periodically by the depot. The order arrives after a fixed lead time, and is then allocated among the several locations. The depot itself does not hold inventory. The allocations are finally received at the demand points after another lag. Unfilled demand at each location is backordered. Linear costs are incurred at each location for holding inventory and for backorders. Also, costs are assessed for orders placed by the depot. The object is to minimize the expected total cost of the system over a finite number of time periods. This system gives rise to a dynamic program with a state space of very large dimension. We show that this model can be systematically approximated by a single-location inventory problem. All the qualitative and quantitative results for such problems can then be applied.
A Cost Approach to Economic Analysis Under State-Contingent Production Uncertainty

This article explores the economics of input decision under production uncertainty. The article develops a methodology to specify and estimate cost-minimizing input decisions under a state-contingent technology. The analysis is applied to time series data on U.S. agriculture. It finds strong empirical evidence that expected output alone does not provide an appropriate representation of production uncertainty. The results provide empirical support for an output-cubical technology. This indicates that an ex post analysis of stochastic technology appears appropriate. The analysis also provides evidence that the cost of facing production risk has declined in U.S. agriculture over the last few decades. Copyright 2008, Oxford University Press.
Neuroscience and the soul: competing explanations for the human experience.

The development of fMRI techniques has generated a boom of neuroscience research across the psychological sciences, and revealed neural correlates for many psychological phenomena seen as central to the human experience (e.g., morality, agency). Meanwhile, the rise of neuroscience has reignited old debates over mind–body dualism and the soul. While some scientists use neuroscience to bolster a material account of consciousness, others point to unexplained neural phenomena to defend dualism and a spiritual perspective on the mind. In two experiments we examine how exposure to neuroscience research impacts belief in the soul. We find that belief in soul decreases when neuroscience provides strong mechanistic explanations for mind. But when explanatory gaps in neuroscience research are emphasized, belief in soul is enhanced, suggesting that physical and metaphysical explanations may be used reflexively as alternative theories for mind. Implications for the future of belief in soul and neuroscience research are discussed.
Experimental studies of aero-optical properties of subsonic turbulent boundary layers

This paper gives the most-complete characterization to date of the optical aberrations imposed on a laser beam propagated through a subsonic, compressible, turbulent boundary layer in a zero-pressure gradient environment, over a range of boundarylayer thicknesses, oblique propagation angles and Mach numbers. This characterization is based on optical measurements using optical-wavefront-sensing instruments that have only become available in the last decade. The optical characterization includes and discusses in detail: optical-wavefront spectra, convective velocities of optically active large-scale structures and correlation functions in both streamwise and cross-stream directions, as well as root-mean-square optical path difference levels for different apertures. The scaling law based on the extended strong Reynolds analogy is derived and is shown to successfully collapse optical data collected in a number of facilities. Anisotropy of aero-optical distortions for different oblique viewing angles was experimentally quantified and is discussed.
Focusing on abuse, not use: A proposed new direction for US drug policy

How professionals and societies deal with drugs and drug consumption is premised on how abuse is defined. The “War on Drugs” approach promotes the belief that “any use is abuse” where the currently illicit drugs are concerned. Regrettably, any distinction between use and abuse has been notably absent from most public policy decisions on drug issues. Even a cursory review of both supply and demand reduction policies of the past century reveals a startling lack of awareness of this distinction. The failure of differentiation undermines prevention, treatment, and the criminal justice system. Treatment, thus, tends to show a bias toward ineffective models such as “boot camps” and “tough love”. It has contributed to controversy over maintenance treatments, such as methadone, buprenorphine, and heroin, which have proven to be highly effective for some addicted persons. It leads to treatment options for the addictions being far more limited and constrained than is typical in other areas of health care. Admittedl...
Enhanced Bioavailability of Process-Induced Fast-Dissolving Ibuprofen Cogranulated with β-Cyclodextrin

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the bioavailability of cogranulated and oven-dried ibuprofen (IBU) and beta-cyclodextrin (betaCD), in comparison to a physical mixture, and to examine the effect of endogenous bile on the bioavailability of the drug. In vitro dissolution studies were performed using USP type 2 apparatus. The granules and physical mixture were administered perorally in a crossover fashion, to male Wistar bile duct-nonligated rats. The granules were also perorally administered to bile duct-ligated rats. Blood samples were taken at different time intervals and the plasma analyzed for IBU. Dissolution of granules was faster than the physical mixture due to faster IBU-betaCD complex formation in solution from the former than the latter. The in vivo study showed that C(max), AUC(0-8), and the absolute bioavailability for the granules (49.0 microg/mL, 57.0 h x microg/mL and 80.6%, respectively) were almost one and half times that of the physical mixture (32.2 microg/mL, 38.4 h x microg/mL and 53.1%, respectively). However, in bile duct-ligated rats, lower C(max) and AUC(0-8) (15.9 microg/mL and 14.4 h x microg/mL, respectively) were obtained for the granules. Phase solubility study of IBU in an aqueous betaCD solution in the presence of the bile salt (sodium cholate), showed an increase in the solubility of IBU. Moreover, the stability constant value for the IBU-betaCD complex was also found to decrease as the sodium cholate concentration increased. These results indicated that the enhancement in the bioavailability of IBU was due to faster in-solution complex formation, and micelllar solubilization by the bile salt.
A Novel Multiply Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for Identification of Variant papG Genes Encoding the Gal(α1–4)Gal-Binding PapG Adhesins of Escherichia coli

A more convenient assay is needed for the three recognized allelic variants of papG, which encode the Gal(alpha 1-4)Gal-binding adhesin molecules of P fimbriae of uropathogenic Escherichia coli. The development and validation of a novel multiply primed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay is described. The assay was 100% sensitive and specific for the three papG variants, whether present individually or in any combination. PCR products specific for the "class I" (papGJ96), "class II" (papGIA2), and "class III" (prsGJ96) alleles of papG could be resolved by size in the same lane using agarose gel electrophoresis after simultaneous amplification in a single tube by multiply primed PCR. This new papG PCR assay should aid future molecular epidemiologic studies that assess the contribution of the three variants of papG to the pathogenesis of urinary tract infection.
Asplenium (sect. Hymenasplenium) basiscopicum, a new species from Bolivia

Plants terrestrial; roots 0.3‐0.7 mm diam.; rhizomes 2.5‐4 mm wide, creeping, the apex scaly; scales 1.9‐3 3 0.3‐0.5 mm, lanceolate, dark brown, clathrate, the lumina clear, faintly iridescent, the margins sparingly denticulate; fronds distichous; petiole bases 1.4‐3 mm diam., swollen, persistent, 3‐4 mm distant from each other on the same row; petioles 5‐15 3 (0.07‐) 0.1‐0.2 cm, ˜‐‰ the length of the frond, atropurpureous, shining, nearly glabrous, with scattered minute hairs 0.1‐0.2 mm long, the base with a few scattered scales; laminae 11‐25 3 8‐18 cm, medium green, herbaceous, 1-pinnate-pinnatifid, deltate to ovate-deltate, widest at the base or just above it, with (10‐)14‐18 pinna pairs, the apices attenuate, pinnatifid; rachises adaxially grooved, alate, the wings green, herbaceous, perpendicular to the rachis; medial pinnae 4‐10
Game-Theoretic Models for Cooperative Equilibrium Solutions of Interacting Engineering Sub-Systems

Although game-theoretical models to study social and economic problems have existed for a long time, they have been sparsely used for the design of engineering systems. This is due to the significant theoretical hurdles posed by game formulations for real engineering environments /problems. In this study we show our first attempt at adapting the frame-work of game-theoretical models for engineering problems, in particular the aero-mechanical optimization of a notional turbine blade. We pose the design problem as a series of games, starting with the determination of the Pareto front, the non-cooperative (disagreement) point and the optimal solution as the tangent intersection of the Pareto front and contours of the overall system objective. We present gradient-based algorithms that determine the Pareto front, the non-cooperative solution and the tangent solution. The solution to this series of games provides the basis of a new equilibrium concept namely, System Optimal Cooperative Solution (SOCS), which is the central theme of this paper. Finally we compare the SOCS solution against other cooperative solutions like Nash-Bargaining [1]. The results of this study show that in engineering environments previously known cooperative solutions like Nash-Bargaining and Kalai-Smordinsky [2] are not that important while the notion of a System Optimal Cooperative Solution, SOCS, is the equilibrium solution of relevance. For the particular example we consider, the SOCS is shown to be more favoring the aerodynamic performance when compared against the Nash-Bargaining equilibrium solution.© 2014 ASME
Partitioning Intervals, Spheres and Balls into Congruent Pieces

We survey results on partitioning some common sets into m congruent pieces, and prove that a ball in R n cannot be so partitioned if 2 ≤ m ≤ n.
After Language as Such: Gershom Scholem, Werner Kraft, and the Question of Mathematics

This article investigates a forgotten essay contest proposed by Gershom Scholem to Werner Kraft in the wake of Walter Benjamin's seminal text “On Language as Such and On the Language of Man” (1916). Intent on completing Benjamin's language essay by focusing on the relationship among language, symbolism, and mathematics, the contest and conversation sparked by Benjamin explores the enigmatic proposition with which his essay leaves off: that language is both communication of the communicable and a symbol of the incommunicable. The effects of Benjamin's “On Language” can thus be found in Scholem's formulation of a privative structure of communication in mathematics, lament, and his translations of the Book of Lamentations that—negatively—communicates language's own limits. That Scholem locates in mathematics such an aesthetic strategy, while Kraft's responses remain ambivalent about mathematics, indicates a growing concern over mathematics’ supposed opposition to language and representation, which prefigure ...
Systemic mastocytosis in adults: 2017 update on diagnosis, risk stratification and management.

Disease overview:Systemic mastocytosis (SM) results from a clonal proliferation of abnormal mast cells (MC) in one or more extra-cutaneous organs. Diagnosis: The major criterion is presence of multifocal clusters of morphologically abnormal MC in the bone marrow. Minor diagnostic criteria include elevated serum tryptase level, abnormal MC expression of CD25 and/or CD2, and presence of KITD816V. Risk stratification: The 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) classification of SM has been shown to be prognostically relevant. Classification of SM patients into indolent (SM), aggressive SM (ASM), SM associated with a clonal non-MC lineage disease (SM-AHNMD) and mast cell leukemia (MCL) subgroups is a useful first step in establishing prognosis. Management: SM treatment is generally palliative. ISM patients have a normal life expectancy and receive symptom-directed therapy; infrequently, cytoreductive therapy may be indicated for refractory symptoms. ASM patients have disease-related organ dysfunction; interferon-α (±corticosteroids) can control dermatological, hematological, gastrointestinal, skeletal and mediator-release symptoms, but is hampered by poor tolerability. Similarly, cladribine has broad therapeutic activity, with particular utility when rapid MC debulking is indicated; the main toxicity is myelosuppression. Imatinib has a therapeutic role in the presence of an imatinib-sensitive KIT mutation or in KITD816-unmutated patients. Treatment of SM-AHNMD is governed primarily by the non-MC neoplasm; hydroxyurea has modest utility in this setting; there is a role for allogeneic stem cell transplantation in select cases. Investigational drugs: Recent data confirms midostaurin's significant anti-MC activity in patients with advanced SM. Am. J. Hematol. 91:1147–1159, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
What is age's affect in collaborative learning environments?

In educational environments, the learners' affective state is the subject of continuous research that seeks to create the most effective learning environment. This state has been shown to have a direct correlation on the learners' motivation and engagement, subsequently affecting their success or failure. This is consistent for both physical and virtual educational settings. In intelligent tutoring systems, embodied pedagogical agents have been used for the many benefits they provide including their affective influence. The agents are designed based on specific criterion including competency, gender, ethnicity or behavioural tendencies, to optimise their effect on a targeted audience. We developed a web-based collaborative learning application that supports simultaneous learner-to-virtual agent and learner-to-learner interactions. We conducted a study that investigated the influence of virtual agents' physical characteristics (attributes), specifically age, on learners' experience and its' influence on learning outcome. The results revealed that the age of virtual agents is an important factor that must be considered in virtual tutor design.
Palliative and end-of-life care in the masters of social work curriculum.

ABSTRACTObjective:There is a shortage of social workers who have palliative care expertise. The aging U.S. population and advances in extending life for seriously ill persons require social workers in a wide range of health care and other settings with specialized palliative care expertise, as well as those with basic competence in palliative care. The objective of the present study was to document course content on palliative care in MSW programs in the United States and Canada. METHOD A cross-sectional design with an online questionnaire was used. All 248 accredited MSW programs in the United States and 32 programs in Canada were invited to participate. The measures included the characteristics of the courses on palliative care. RESULTS Of the 105 participating programs, only 10 had courses dedicated to palliative care, 9 of which were part of a specialization/certificate program. Few programs had plans to develop a dedicated course. There were 106 courses in 63 MSW programs with some content on palliative care. The majority of these had <25%, and few had at least 50%, of palliative care content. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS Curricula are needed for preparing MSW graduates for specialty hospice and palliative care practice and non-specialty practice. While there are practice competencies for specialty practitioners, consensus on a core curriculum for all MSW students would be beneficial. Consensus on basic palliative care knowledge and skills for non-specialty social workers in health care and other settings and subsequent curriculum development are also needed. Innovative ways in which to introduce basic and more specialized content on palliative care into the already-crowded MSW curricula will be needed.
The Role of Mindfulness in Daily Relationship Process: Examining Daily Conflicts and Relationship Mood

The current study examined the role of trait mindfulness in daily relationship mood and relationship processes in cohabiting couples. Forty-seven couples participated in 24-day online daily questionnaires. Mindfulness in men was associated with higher levels of feeling loved and feeling supported, and mindfulness in women was associated with lower levels of relationship anxiety and relationship sadness. Mindfulness moderated the association between relationship conflict and anxiety, such that men with more mindfulness experienced a larger decrease in feeling supported, and a bigger increase in relationship anxiety, on conflict days compared to non-conflict day levels. These findings overall suggest that trait mindfulness is indeed beneficial for positive relationship process on a day-to-day basis, but that associations are somewhat complex, and also that individual-level trait mindfulness alone may not be sufficient for buffering individuals from the negative impact of conflict.
A ZigBee-based framework for approximating sensor range and bearing

An open hardware framework for approximating range and bearing of radio frequency (RF) sensors is presented. The current work has an immediate application in solving the simultaneous localization and mapping problem which is one of the challenging problems in the field of robotics. In this work, a set of RF sensors utilizing the ZigBee protocol are placed in an indoor environment and a base RF sensor is mounted within a rotating parabolic reflector on a mobile robot. The proposed range and bearing approximation framework works in two cascaded phases. In the first phase, the base RF sensor sends an RF signal to all other RF sensors within its operating range. These RF sensors then respond to the base RF module where ZigBee packets are parsed to store raw data for approximating range. In the second phase, a stepper motor is employed to rotate the parabolic reflector and the base RF sensor mounted on the robot. These two phases continue until a full revolution of 360° has been achieved. The data is processed for approximating the bearing of each RF sensor with respect to the mobile robot's heading angle, as well as the distance (range) to the RF sensor at its associated bearing. The proposed hardware setup is validated through a set of experimental results gathered in an indoor environment.
Sacral Defense of Secularism: The Political Theologies of Soroush, Shabestari, and Kadivar

This paper discusses three post-revolutionary dissident political theologies in Iran. They all question the absolutist theology of the ruling clerics and utilize indigenous sources of scholarship to oppose the clerical hegemony. They have complementary emphases: whereas Soroush highlights the variable nature of religious knowledge, Shabestari and Kadivar underline its limited and multiple nature. They represent the maturing of the dialogue of the Iranian-Islamic thought with Western social and political philosophy, and as the coming of age of the indigenous Islamic political theology reclaiming its pluralistic and democratic elements. Together, they attack the totalitarian Islam, and call for a guarded and objective secularism, while preserving Islam's spiritual and cultural identity.
All Is Not Well with Classical Mechanics

It was mentioned in the Prelude that as we keep expanding our domain of observations we must constantly check to see if the existing laws of physics continue to explain the new phenomena, and that, if they do not, we must try to find new laws that do.
Functional Diarrhea (Also Known as Chronic, Nonspecific Diarrhea of Infancy and Early Childhood, and “Infant/Toddler Diarrhea”)

Chronic, nonspecific diarrhea (CND) presents in infants and preschool children as intermittent or persistent passage of unformed stools that never causes dehydration, weight lag, or disease [2]. Stools typically contain mucus and particles of undigested vegetable matter. There’s the notable absence of blood or the oily globules of undigested dietary triglycerides. It is prevalent in about 15 % of infants and toddlers [3]. These infants are lively and intensely responsive to environmental and emotional stimuli [4].
Transfusion and alloimmunization in sickle cell disease. The Cooperative Study of Sickle Cell Disease

In 1,814 patients with sickle cell disease who had been transfused, the overall rate of alloimmunization to erythrocyte antigens was 18.6%. The rate of alloimmunization in this group appears to be an explicit function of the number of transfusions received because it increases exponentially with increasing numbers of transfusions. Alloimmunization usually occurred with less than 15 transfusions, although the rate of alloimmunization continued to increase when more transfusions were given. The rate of alloimmunization was less in patients with hemoglobin SC disease and sickle-beta+ thalassemia because these patients had received fewer transfusions. Children less than 10 years old had a slightly lower rate of alloimmunization than patients in other age groups even after correction for the number of transfusions given. Women were more frequently alloimmunized than men; this was largely due to the fact that women received more transfusions than men, but in the age group 16 to 20 years the increase may have been due in part to alloimmunization owing to pregnancy. Forty-five percent of those alloimmunized made antibodies of only one specificity; 17% made four or more antibodies reacting with different antigens. Antibodies to the C and E antigens of the Rh group, the Kell antigen, and the Lewis antigens were most commonly made. These findings may be important in formulating a rational transfusion policy in sickle cell disease.
Oncolytic vaccinia virus: from bedside to benchtop and back.

Abstract The field of oncolytic viral therapy has undergone a major shift in focus in the last few years. Less research has been directed at making incremental improvements in original vectors based mainly on strains of adenovirus and HSV; instead a variety of different viral strains have been suggested as potential backbones for future oncolytic viruses (including Newcastle disease virus, reovirus, vesicular stomatitis virus, polio virus, retrovirus, Sindbis virus, picornavirus, mumps and measles virus), with many of these progressing to clinical trials. Of these, vaccinia virus represents a particularly promising candidate. It possesses a variety of intrinsic molecular properties suitable for an oncolytic virus (such as rapid life cycle and lysis of infected cells, and an ability to infect various cell types), in addition to undergoing extensive study both in the laboratory and in the clinic. Although not a natural human pathogen, there are extensive data on the effects of vaccinia infection in humans. Preclinical models incorporating new oncolytic vaccinia strains, as well as data from the first clinical trials that have utilized the next-generation oncolytic vaccinia strains for the potential treatment of cancer have been described.
Site-specific Knight shift measurements of the dilute Kondo lattice system Ce 1 − x La x CoIn 5

$^{115}\mathrm{In}$ nuclear magnetic resonance data are presented for a series of ${\mathrm{Ce}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{La}}_{x}{\mathrm{CoIn}}_{5}$ crystals with different La dilutions $x$. Multiple In(1) sites associated with different numbers of nearest-neighbor cerium atoms exhibit different Knight shifts and spin lattice relaxation rates. Analysis of the temperature dependence of these sites reveals both an evolution of the heavy electron coherence as a function of dilution, as well as spatial inhomogeneity associated with a complete suppression of antiferromagnetic fluctuations in the vicinity of the La sites. Quantum critical fluctuations persist within disconnected Ce clusters with dilution levels up to 75%, despite the fact that specific heat shows Fermi liquid behavior in dilute samples.
Study on DC flashover characteristics of plastic sheds in small scale

The statistics of tripping data of transmission lines show that external damage has become the main cause of transmission lines tripping. The foreign object cutting-out, which accounted for 61.8% of the total, was the most common external damage in transmission line. This paper focuses on the DC flashover characteristics of small-scale plastic sheds of greenhouses with distances of 1m and 2m. The results of the study showed that the surface of plastic sheds was less dirty and the average surface conductivity was lower. In the dry condition, it can be regarded as an insulator, and in the case of moisture, however, its insulation resistance is reduced to a megohm level. Under the electric field of 70 kV/m, no flashover occurred in both the wrinkled and the tiled plastic sheds. The flashover voltage per unit length of the wrinkled is about 15%-21% lower than that of the tiled, and wrinkled plastic sheds flash over more easily. As the pole pitch increases, the flashover voltage per unit length decreases, and the flashover voltage per unit length of both the wrinkled and the tiled is reduced by about 30%.
Tensor-Optimized Hardware Accelerates Fused Discontinuous Galerkin Simulations

Abstract In recent years the computation/memory balance of processors has been continuously shifting towards computation. The rise of Deep Learning, which is based on matrix multiplications, accelerated this path, especially in terms of single precision and lower precision computation. An important research question is if this development can be leveraged for traditional HPC. In this work we demonstrate that a high order discontinuous Galerkin solver for seismic wave propagation can execute in single precision without loss of modeling accuracy. Additionally, we extended its kernels to support the Intel Knights Mill CPU with 14 TFLOPS of tensor-optimized single precision performance. This allows us to exploit the hardware’s special computation capabilities, even in a regular HPC application with sparse linear algebra kernels. At the cluster-level, Knights Mill can obtain the same application performance as the latest top-bin dual socket Intel Xeon Platinum nodes. Compared to the HPC-focused Knights Landing processor, speed-ups of up to 1.6 × are possible, depending on the configuration of the solver. Additionally, we are able to increase the throughput of a quadrature-free discontinuous Galerkin method for seismic simulations by 4.2 × , when comparing our solver’s single precision and fifth order performance to the SC 2017 best-paper award winning work.
Adaptive Behavior in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Role of Flexibility

Cognitive and behavioral flexibility are important predictors of adaptive behavior in school-age autistic youth. While prior research has utilized broad measures of flexibility, the current study uses the multi-dimensional Flexibility Scale-Revised to examine which specific flexibility skills relate to adaptive functioning. Through parent-report measures on 216 autistic youth, flexibility explained 22.2% of variance in adaptive socialization skills (p < 0.001). Specifically, Social Flexibility accounted for significant variance in adaptive socialization skills, while Transitions/Change approached significance. In exploratory analyses, flexibility explained 11.5% of variance in Communication skills (p < 0.001). This pattern remained after controlling for co-occurring ADHD symptoms. The current study helps to refine the relationship between flexibility and adaptive behavior, which may ultimately help to inform more targeted interventions.
Effect of binder on the overcharge response in LiFePO4-containing cells

Abstract Two types of small pouch cells based on LiFePO4/graphite, one containing a N-methyl pyrrolidinone (NMP)-soluble binder, poly(vinylidene difluoride), and the other an aqueous-soluble binder, styrene-butadiene rubber/carboxymethylcellulose were systematically charged to 100, 120, 140, 160, 180, and 250% state of charge (SOC). The cells were then discharged to 3.0 V at room temperature before being disassembled for postmortem analysis. Microstructural changes in the anode associated with increasing SOC were more pronounced in the aqueous processed cells in comparison to the NMP-processed cells. Dendrite formation was observed on the aqueous-processed anode at 120% SOC, while the NMP-processed anode surface does not show dendrites until 250% SOC. Overall, the aqueous-processed anode surfaces displayed more evidence of microstructural degradation as a function of increasing SOC. In the NMP-processed cells, four organic compounds on the anode surface were found to show a dependence on SOC, while only two displayed a similar dependency in the aqueous-processed cells. The nature of the binder changed the number and composition of the species found at the anode.
26 – Labor Markets

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses labor markets. The labor market is a general description of markets where labor services are bought and sold. Labor markets are important because labor provides goods and services to consumers and income to workers. The supply of labor arises from the consumer's demand for goods and services. To obtain these goods, consumers should obtain income through labor. The supply of labor, therefore, depends on the trade-off between the utility derived from the fruits of labor and the utility derived from leisure. The labor supply depends on a number of factors such as the wage rate, taxes that reduce take-home pay, the prices of goods to be purchased, and factors that affect the utility of work and leisure. The demand for labor arises from profit-maximizing decisions by firms. Workers produce revenue for firms, but they also cause cost. The profit-maximizing firm would hire additional labor until the marginal revenue of the last worker just equals that worker's marginal cost.
Equality in Electors or Persons

Assuming that the relative equality of voting power is a priority, there are several bases for measuring that equality. The Code of Good Practice states that:
Distributed computation offloading framework for the tactical edge

Computational constraints greatly affect the performance of tactical computers that operate mostly at the edge of the network. Knowledge of real-time computational states allows these tactical computers to adjust the computational strategies to properly process the input tasks within the required time. In this paper we describe an intelligent adaptive computing strategy to enable resource constrained tactical computers to operate with maximum efficiency. We have used object recognition features and the optimization output coming from the adaptive computing engine to decide whether the incoming video feeds can be processed locally to compute situational awareness or they should be offloaded to other more capable computational resources within the reach.
Creative destruction: getting ahead and staying ahead in a capitalist economy

The creative destruction inherent in a capitalist economy enables entrepreneurial individuals to get ahead, but threatens those who want to stay ahead. Those who want to get ahead benefit from the continual evolution that characterizes a market economy, whereas those who want to stay ahead prefer stability and want to establish institutions that preserve the status quo. Those who want to stay ahead push for government regulations, subsidies, differential tax benefits, and other politically generated protections that preserve the status quo and inhibit creative destruction. Long-established firms have an advantage in doing so because they tend to have more financial resources to devote to rent-seeking, and often have long-standing political connections. To prevent capitalist institutions from being undermined by those who want to stay ahead requires a robust entrepreneurial class that can give those who want to get ahead sufficient political influence to counter those who want to stay ahead.
Implementation of a registry and open access genetic testing program for inherited retinal diseases within a non-profit foundation.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness is a 50-year old 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the development of treatments and cures for people affected by the inherited retinal diseases (IRD), a group of clinical diagnoses that include orphan diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, Usher syndrome, and Stargardt disease, among others. Over $760 M has been raised and invested in preclinical and clinical research and resources. Key resources include a multi-national clinical consortium, an international patient registry with over 15,700 members that is expanding rapidly, and an open access genetic testing program that provides no cost comprehensive genetic testing to people clinically diagnosed with an IRD living in the United States. These programs are described with particular focus on the challenges and outcomes of establishing the registry and genetic testing program.
Influence of spatial degeneracy on rotational spectroscopy: Three-wave mixing and enantiomeric state separation of chiral molecules.

Pulse flip angles are calculated for three-wave mixing, three-state cycles of chiral molecules to produce optimized free induction decay amplitudes proportional to the enantiomeric excess of a sample and to produce optimized degrees of state-specific enantiomeric separation. The calculations account for the spatial degeneracy of the levels involved and the resulting inhomogeneous distribution of transition dipole moments. Cycles of transitions that include R followed by Q followed by P branch transitions display only modest reductions of the calculated optimal signals compared to those calculated if every M component was optimally polarized. Transition cycles P–Q–R are only slightly worse, while the Q–Q–Q cycles are much worse, increasingly so, as the rotational total quantum number is increased.
Volume Change of Muscle and Fat Portions of Latissimus Dorsi Myocutaneous Flap after Breast Reconstruction.

Background Myocutaneous flaps are composed of muscle and fat portions, and exhibit volume changes with time. However, no consideration is generally given to volume changes of muscle and fat portions occurring in the flap. Therefore, we conducted this study to analyze the volume changes of muscle and fat portions of pedicled latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flaps over time. Methods Sixteen patients who underwent breast reconstruction using a latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap between 2009 and 2017 were enrolled in this study. Using their postoperative computed tomography scan data, we measured the volume of muscle and fat portions of the flap, and performed a statistical analysis of volume changes over time. We also measured the volume of latissimus dorsi muscle on the opposite side and compared the difference in muscle volume. Results The volume of the muscle portion of latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap decreased by approximately 24%, from 6 months to postoperative year 2; from the third year, it shrank with a decrease rate similar to that of normal muscle. The fat portion of the flap showed no regular volume changes. Conclusions Atrophy of the muscle portion is the primary cause of volume change of latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flaps over time. it is necessary to understand the difference in the volume change patterns of the muscle and fat. To maintain a long-term satisfactory result, it is better to make the maximum possible use of the relatively stable fat portion rather than the muscle portion.