cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Africa’s Health System(s) Performance on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

This chapter assesses the achievement of the eight MDS goals and their subsections by the countries that subscribed to them. The reader is reminded that this issue is still in progress and the following assessment relies mainly on the WHO annual reports, the series of comprehensive global articles written by a cadre of hundreds of experts and published in The Lancet over the past five years, and a few other sources. On Africa, the World Health Organization notes that, notwithstanding the problems, the African continent has made progress in its effort to achieve some of the MDGs. As many experts have said, the MDGs are a good way of moving and integrating Africa’s health systems into the advance developments of the twenty-first century. However, if one assesses carefully the efforts to achieve them, only three African countries—Burkina Faso, Mozambique, and Namibia—lead the way in accelerated progress in 16 of the 22 indicators assessed so far. Several countries in North, Southern, East, Central and West Africa, have also improved their rate of progress and are listed among the top 20 countries that have shown some progress in most health indicators. In North Africa, Egypt has progressed in 11 indicators, followed by Morocco in nine, and Tunisia in eight.
CHAPTER 10 – Cardiac Action Potentials

This chapter reviews the physiological characteristics of the cardiac action potentials (AP), with emphasis on the major currents responsible for the various components or phases of the APs, and some pathophysiology of cardiac APs. APs in the heart are generated by the complex time-dependent interaction of several currents carried primarily by Na + , K + , and Ca 2+ ions. Some cardiac cells display automaticity because of the presence of a cyclical spontaneous depolarization called the pacemaker potential. Cells of the sinoatrial node normally exhibit the fastest spontaneous depolarization of automatic cells in the heart and are therefore, called the normal pacemaker cells. Automaticity in nodal cells is caused by the interaction of several currents, including a hyperpolarization-activated cation current, a small background Na + current, the delayed rectifier K + current, and Ca 2+ currents. The sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves play important and opposite roles in regulating the force of myocardial contraction and heart rate. Thus, sympathetic nerves stimulate the Ca 2+ current, which enhances the force of contraction of the heart. Parasympathetic nerves inhibit the Ca 2+ current, which decreases the force of contraction of the heart. Sympathetic nerves enhance the rate of spontaneous phase 4 depolarization in the sinoatrial node, resulting in an increased heart rate. Parasympathetic nerves decrease the rate of phase 4 depolarization, and also hyperpolarize sinoatrial node cells, resulting in a decreased heart rate.
Coalescence and Defensive Communities: Insights from an Andean Hillfort Town

Defensive and fortified settlements are often places of relatively dense nucleation by people with few viable alternatives, resulting in the imperative need to establish consensual rules for living together. What behaviours and attitudes were adopted in defensively nucleated places? Recent investigations at Ayawiri (Machu Llaqta), a densely settled hillfort town of the western Titicaca Basin of Peru inhabited c. ad 1300–1450, shed light on the nature of social life within the defensive community and the workings of social distinction, priority in settlement, conformity and publicity. I draw on the evidence from Ayawiri to discuss how defensive settlements create and reinforce certain ways of living by reformulating the basic logics of sociality and the material and spatial realms through which they work.
Leveraging the pushes and pulls of gang disengagement to improve gang intervention: findings from three multi-site studies and a review of relevant gang programs

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to situate knowledge on the pushes and pulls of disengagement from gangs within the inventory of gang intervention programs. Drawing on developmental and life...
Environmental influences on the skin microbiome of humans and cattle in rural Madagascar.

Background and objectives The skin harbors a dynamic community of microorganisms, where contact with humans, other animals and the environment can alter microbial communities. Most research on the human skin microbiome features Western populations living in hygienic conditions, yet these populations have vastly different patterns of environmental contact than the majority of people on Earth, including those living in developing countries. Methodology We studied skin microbial communities of humans and cattle (zebu) in rural Madagascar to investigate how zebu ownership affects microbial composition of the human skin, and to characterize non-Western human and zebu skin communities more generally. A portion of the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced from samples of zebu backs and human ankles, forearms, hands and armpits. Analyses were conducted in QIIME, R and LEfSe. Results Human and zebu samples varied in microbial community composition, yet we did not find evidence for a shared microbial signature between an individual and his zebu. Microbial communities differed across human body sites, with ankles reflecting increased diversity and greater similarity to samples from zebu, likely due to extensive shared contact with soil by humans and zebu. Conclusions and implications Cattle ownership had, at best, weak effects on the human skin microbiome. We suggest that components of human biology and lifestyles override the microbial signature of close contact with zebu, including genetic factors and human-human interaction, irrespective of zebu ownership. Understanding ecological drivers of microbial communities will help determine ways that microbial transfer and community composition change as populations adopt Western lifestyles, and could provide insights into zoonotic disease transmission.
Moving Between the Embodied, Symbolic and Formal Worlds of Mathematical Thinking with Specific Linear Algebra Tasks

Linear algebra is made out of many languages and representations. Instructors and text books often move between these languages and modes fluently, not allowing students time to discuss and interpret their validities as they assume that students will pick up their understandings along the way. In reality, most students do not have the cognitive framework to perform the move that is available to the expert. In this chapter, employing Tall’s three-world model, we present specific linear algebra tasks that are designed to encourage students to move between the embodied, symbolic and formal worlds of mathematical thinking. Our working hypothesize is that by creating opportunities to move between the worlds we will encourage students to think in multiple modes of thinking which result in richer conceptual understanding.
Emerging wearable technologies for personalized health and performance monitoring

Wearable sensor technologies provide continuous insight into the body’s physiological state and enable real-time feedback for timely intervention. Therefore, they play a critical role in the evaluation and improvement of the health and performance of individuals. Currently, commercialized wearable technologies are only capable of tracking physical activities and vital signs, and fail to unobtrusively access molecular-level information related to the body’s dynamic chemistry. To this end, sweat-based wearable biomonitoring is one of the most promising candidates to merge this gap. Sweat is a rich source of physiological information that can be retrieved non-invasively. It contains many critical analytes, which can be partitioned from blood with some degree of correlation. Therefore, in principle, sweat analysis can be used to provide non-invasive proxy measures of target biomarkers in blood for various clinical and physiological applications. Recent advances in electrochemical sensor development, flexible device fabrication and integration technology, and low power electronics have enabled the development of wearable sweat biosensors. However, despite such progress, the barrier to sweat-based health monitoring continues to be the inability to accurately infer physiologically relevant information from sweat measurements to enable actionable feedback. Here, we briefly review the significance of sweat-based monitoring and recent advances in sweat sensing technologies.
Static Linear-Quadratic Gaussian Games

In this paper a simple static two-player linear-quadratic game where the players have private information is addressed. The players have private information, however each players is able to formulate an expression for his expected payoff, without the need, a la Harsanyi, to provide a prior probability distribution function of the game’s parameter, and without recourse to the player Nature. Hence, the closed-form solution of the game is obtained. It is shown that in this special case of a one-stage linear-quadratic game where the players have private information, the solution is similar in structure to the solution of the game with complete information, namely, the deterministic linear-quadratic game, and the linear-quadratic game with partial information, where the information about the game’s parameter is shared by the players. It is shown that the principle of certainty equivalence holds.
Redoximorphic Bt horizons of the Calhoun CZO soils exhibit depth-dependent iron-oxide crystallinity

Iron (Fe) oxyhydroxides and their degree of ordering or crystallinity strongly impact the role that Fe plays in ecosystem function. Lower crystallinity phases are generally found to be more reactive than higher crystallinity phases as sorbents for organic matter and chemical compounds, as electron acceptors for organic matter mineralization or as electron donors for dysoxic respiration. We investigated Fe solid phase speciation as a function of soil depth in a redoximorphic upland soil profile. We examined a redoximorphic upland soil profile, which displayed alternating Fe-enriched and Fe-depleted zones of the Bt horizons with platy structure from 56 to 183 cm depth at the Calhoun Critical Zone Observatory in South Carolina, USA. Redoximorphic Fe depletion and enrichment zones were sampled to enable a detailed investigation of Fe mineralogy during redox transformations. All samples were characterized by total elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction, and 57Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy. Total Fe in the Fe-enriched and Fe-depleted zones was 26.3 – 61.2 and 15.0 – 22.7 mg kg−1 soil, respectively, suggesting periodic redox cycling drives Fe redistribution within the upland soil profile. The Mossbauer data clearly indicated goethite (56 – 74% of total Fe) and hematite (7 – 31% of total Fe) in the Fe-enriched zones, with the proportion of hematite increasing with depth at the expense of goethite. In addition, the overall crystallinity of Fe phases increased with depth in the Fe-enriched zones. In contrast to Fe-enriched zones, Fe-depleted zones contained no hematite and substantially less goethite (and of a lower crystallinity) but more aluminosilicates-Fe(III) (e.g., hydroxy-interlayered vermiculite, biotite, kaolinite) with XRD and Mossbauer data suggesting a shift from oxidized biotite-Fe(III) at depth to hydroxy-interlayered vermiculite plus low-crystallinity goethite in the Fe-depleted zones in the upper Bt. Our data suggest the varied crystalline states of hematite and goethite may be important for Fe reduction over long-term time scales. The persistence of low-crystallinity Fe phases in Fe depletion zones suggests that both dissolution and re-precipitation events occur in the Fe-depleted layers. These variations in Fe phase abundance and crystallinity within similar redoximorphic features suggest that Fe likely shifts ecosystem roles as a function of soil depth and likely has more rapid Fe cycling in the upper Bt horizons in upland soils, while serving as a weathering engine at depth.
A Mile Wide and A Mile Deep: Comprehensive Interventions for Children and Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and Their Families.

The problems experienced by youth with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) exact an enormous personal, social, and financial toll on the individuals themselves, their families, and the communi...
Evaluating an insurer-based health coaching program: Impact of program engagement on healthcare utilization and weight loss.

Abstract Insurers and employers are increasingly offering lifestyle and weight-loss coaching programs; however, few evaluations have examined their effectiveness. Our objectives were to determine whether level of program engagement was associated with differences in healthcare utilization and weight pre/post coaching. We conducted a retrospective evaluation of enrollees in an insurer-based telephonic health coaching program in Maryland (2013–2014). Our independent variables were program engagement benchmarks (≥3 and ≥6 sessions). Our dependent variables included change in outpatient and emergency department (ED) visits (more visits post program, fewer visits post, or no change pre-post) and associated costs (difference pre-post) using claims data. We calculated mean percent weight change from baseline. We used multivariate-adjusted linear and multinomial logistic regression, as appropriate, to examine the association between outcomes and engagement benchmarks. We included 225 enrollees with mean age 50.7 years, 81.3% women, and mean body mass index of 35.0 kg/m2. Most participants focused on weight management (75.6%) and improving general health (57.8%). Few individuals had outpatient or ED visits, and no significant changes in healthcare utilization were associated with program engagement. Among the weight management subgroup (n = 170), mean weight change was −2.1% (SD 5.1). Participants achieved significantly greater weight loss if they met the 6-session engagement benchmark (β −3.5%, p
The Ups and Downs of Down Syndrome: A Qualitative Study of Positive and Negative Parenting Experiences

The current study sought to expand current literature by providing a comparison of the positive and negative experiences reported by parents of children with a Down syndrome (DS) diagnosis. A total...
Impact of secondary effects on the reduction of fission product source terms in Class IX reactor accidents

This paper examines the potential radiological consequences of a hypothetical line-break, core melt type of accident (Class IX). This paper concludes that the potential for catastrophic environmental release of radioactive material in case of a major reactor accident seems to be greatly suppressed by inherent processes provided by the coolant, the primary system, and the containment, without significant reliance on engineered safety features. 18 refs.
A case of metastatic dysgerminoma treated with two cycles neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by fertility-sparing minimally invasive surgery

•Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by fertility-sparing surgery is a feasible treatment of metastatic dysgerminoma•As few as two cycles of NACT may result in enough of a tumor response for fertility-sparing surgery to be possible.•Tumor lysis syndrome is a possibility when administering chemotherapy to patients with metastatic dysgerminoma.
Risks of noncardiac surgery early after percutaneous coronary intervention.

Abstract Background Prior registry data suggest that 4%-20% of patients require noncardiac surgery (NCS) within 2 years of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Contemporary data on NCS after PCI in the United States among women and men are limited. We determined the rate of early hospital readmission for NCS and associated outcomes in a large cohort of patients who underwent PCI in the United States. Methods Adults undergoing PCI between January 1 and June 30, 2014, were identified from the Nationwide Readmission Database. Patients readmitted for NCS within 6 months of PCI were identified. Outcomes of interest were in-hospital death, myocardial infarction (MI), and bleeding defined by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes. Results Among 221,379 patients who underwent PCI and survived to hospital discharge, 3.5% (n = 7,696) were readmitted for NCS within 6 months post-PCI, and 41% of these hospitalizations were elective. Early NCS was complicated by MI in 4.7% of cases, and 21% of perioperative MIs were fatal. Bleeding was recorded in 32.0% of patients. All-cause mortality occurred in 4.4% of patients (n = 339) readmitted for surgery. The risk of death or MI was greatest when NCS was performed within the first month after PCI. Conclusions Despite clear guidelines to avoid surgery early after PCI, NCS was performed in 1 of every 29 patients with recent PCI, corresponding to as many as ~30,000 patients each year nationwide. Surgical mortality and perioperative MI were high in this setting. Strategies to minimize perioperative thrombotic and bleeding risks during readmission for NCS after PCI are necessary.
Rate of Risk Factors for and Interventions to Reduce Hospital Readmission in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Background & Aims We investigated 30- and 90-day rates and causes of, risk factors for, and interventions to reduce hospital readmission in patients who received medical treatment for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Methods We performed a systematic search of publications through July 1, 2018 for studies of rates of hospital readmission and associated causes and risk factors in patients who received medical treatments for IBD. Our final analysis included 17 cohort studies (6324 patients) of hospitalized adults with IBD who had received medical treatment, along with reported readmission rates with detailed chart review. We performed random effects meta-analysis to estimate 30- and 90-day rates of readmission and identified causes and risk factors associated with readmission. We also performed qualitative analyses of studies that focused on interventions to reduce readmission. Results Overall, the 30-day rate of readmission was 18.1% (95% CI, 14.4–22.4) and the 90-day rate was 26.0% (95% CI, 22.7–29.6). On meta-regression, studies with higher proportions of patients with ulcerative colitis than Crohn’s disease reported higher risks for readmission. Most common reasons for readmission were IBD flare, infection, or complications from unplanned surgeries during hospitalizations. Consistent risk factors for 30-day readmission were admission for pain control (odds ratio [OR], 2.27; 95% CI, 1.69–3.03), need for total parenteral nutrition on discharge (OR, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.36–3.35), and prior or unplanned surgery during admission (OR, 3.11; 95% CI, 2.27–4.25). Only 1 study focused on interventions (specialized inpatient IBD service) to reduce risk of readmission. Conclusions Overall 30- and 90-day rates of readmission for patients who received medical treatment for IBD are 18.1% and 26.0%, respectively. IBD flares and infections are common reasons for readmission, and inadequate pain control and need for parenteral nutrition were common risk factors. Interventional studies to reduce risk of readmission are needed.
Progression and Changes in Disability Identity During Transition to Adult Roles for College Students With Learning and Attention Disorders (L/AD)

Date Presented 04/06/19 Mixed-method analysis of advocacy projects were created by college students with learning and attention disorders (L/AD). Articulated textual messaging of disability informed a theoretical model of identity development for young adults of L/AD and were used to test for changes over time. Statistically significant results indicate positive changes in disability identity level over time and suggest students may benefit from holistic campus-based disability supports during this critical transitional time point. Primary Author and Speaker: Consuelo Kreider Additional Authors and Speakers: Claudia Luna Contributing Authors: Mei-Fang Lan, Chang-Yu Wu, Susan Percival, Charles Byrd
Magnetocaloric investigations show magnetic inhomogeneity in a 7.6 nm thin film of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/SrTiO3

Abstract Magnetocaloric studies reported here on a 7.6 nm thin film of La 0 . 7 Sr 0 . 3 MnO 3 grown on SrTiO 3 substrate show that the film is magnetically inhomogeneous since the - ∆ S M (magnetic entropy change) vs. temperature data has two broad peaks, one centered near T ∼ 220 K and the other centered near T ∼ 270 K. Combining these results with magnetic studies show that T B ∼ 220 K represents the blocking temperature of spin clusters present in the surface layer whereas the rest of the film has ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition at the Curie temperature TC ∼290 K. Detailed analysis of - ∆ S M (T, H) vs. T data is used to determine the volume fraction of the superparamagnetic (SPM) to ferromagnetic (FM) phases to be ∼ 17% to ∼ 83% at 4 kOe. The dependence of the RCP (relative cooling power) and the volume fraction of SPM and FM phases on the applied magnetic field up to H = 4 kOe is evaluated by fitting the - ∆ S M vs. T data to two Gaussian functions. This analysis shows that the RCP and the volume fraction of the FM (SPM) phase increases (decreases) with an increase in H.
Mandating Truth: Patterns and Trends in Truth Commission Design

Truth commissions (TCs) are increasingly common after conflict and authoritarian rule, yet we know little about the different ways they are being used. Despite recent efforts to bridge conceptual gaps and resolve disagreement over the universe of cases, TCs are notoriously undertheorised and proponents have yet to answer why their record is so inconsistent. Through developing a typological approach to TCs, the article lays the groundwork for exploring the forms they need to take to have an impact. It argues for a more nuanced understanding of the term that captures both the breadth of current practice and recasts conceptual debates on the spectrum of design options that are available to policymakers but are often overlooked. The findings are important as they offer a first set of impressions on emerging spatial and temporal patterns and trends that are developing due to the purported transnational diffusion and social learning of ideas about TCs.
Preanalytic variables in quality and quantity of nucleic acids extracted from FNA specimens of thyroid gland nodules collected in CytoLyt: Cellularity and storage time

Background Morphologic and genetic analysis of thyroid nodules may be performed from a single vial. Preanalytic variables that affect nucleic acid extracted from a single vial are evaluated. Methods Thyroid fine-needle aspiration (FNA) specimens collected in CytoLyt were evaluated. A ThinPrep slide was prepared. Extracted nucleic acids were analyzed using Oncomine Comprehensive Panel, version 2, after Ion AmpliSeq library preparation. A pathologist and a cytotechnologist enumerated specimen cellularity. Results Fifty-six samples were collected from 55 nodules in 53 patients. Bethesda category correlated with cellularity (P = .01), and storage time (median, 43 days; range, 7-77 days) was longer for specimens in categories II and III than for those in categories IV and VI (P = .01). The mean specimen DNA concentration was 4.5 ng/µL (range, 0-23.8 ng/µL), and 25 (45%) had concentrations >3.3 ng/µL. The mean specimen RNA concentration was 4.8 ng/µL (range, 0-42.4 ng/µL), and 31 (55%) had concentrations >1.4 ng/µL. Nucleic acid quantity increased with epithelial cellularity. Storage time weakly correlated with the quantity of extracted DNA, independent of cellularity, but not extracted RNA. Greater proportions of cell-free DNA and lesser proportions of long, intact RNA fragments were extracted from a subset of samples with longer storage time. Among 15 single nucleotide variants, the median mutant allelic fraction was 15.1%. One false-negative result was identified. Five specimens subsequently determined to harbor a genetic alteration failed quality metrics. Conclusions Cellularity and storage time affect the quantity and quality of nucleic acid extracted from thyroid FNA specimens collected in CytoLyt. Further investigation will serve to quantify the magnitude of such effects and to elucidate other contributing factors.
On the Observability of Attitude with Single Direction Measurements

The attitude of a rigid body evolves on the three-dimensional special orthogonal group, and it is often estimated by measuring reference directions, such as gravity or magnetic field, using an onboard sensor. As a single direction measurement provides a two-dimensional constraint, it has been widely accepted that at least two non-parallel reference directions should be measured, or the reference direction should change over time, to determine the attitude completely. This paper uncovers an intriguing fact that the attitude can actually be estimated by using multiple measurements of a single, fixed reference direction, provided that the angular velocity and the direction measurements are resolved in appropriate frames, respectively. More specifically, after recognizing that the attitude uncertainties propagated over the left-trivialized stochastic kinematics are distinct from those over the right-trivialized one, stochastic attitude observability with single direction measurements is formulated by an information theoretic analysis. These are further illustrated by numerical simulations and experiments.
A randomized approach to sensor placement with observability assurance

Abstract Given a linear dynamical system, we provide a probabilistic treatment to the classic problem of placing sensors in a set of candidate locations such that the observability Gramian of the resulting placement is sufficiently non-singular. Our contributions are as follows: First, we present a randomized algorithm that samples the sensor locations with replacement as per a specified distribution. Second, we derive a high probability bound on two measures of non-singularity, viz. the minimum eigenvalue and the trace of the inverse of the observability Gramian of the resulting placement, relative to that of placing one sensor at every location. Our analysis yields upper and lower bounds on any eigenvalue-based metric used in sensor placement and characterizes the tradeoff between the number of samples required by the algorithm and the two measures of the observability Gramian. We supplement the claims with insightful numerical studies and comparisons with multiple competing approaches.
Stochastic Planning and Scheduling with Logic-Based Benders Decomposition

We apply logic-based Benders decomposition (LBBD) to two-stage stochastic planning and scheduling problems in which the second-stage is a scheduling task. We solve the master problem with mixed integer/linear programming and the subproblem with constraint programming. As Benders cuts, we use simple nogood cuts as well as analytical logic-based cuts we develop for this application. We find that LBBD is computationally superior to the integer L-shaped method, with a branch-and-check variant of LBBD faster by several orders of magnitude, allowing significantly larger instances to be solved. This is due primarily to computational overhead incurred by the integer L-shaped method while generating classical Benders cuts from a continuous relaxation of an integer programming subproblem. To our knowledge, this is the first application of LBBD to two-stage stochastic optimization with a scheduling second-stage problem, and the first comparison of LBBD with the integer \mbox{L-shaped} method. The results suggest that LBBD could be a promising approach to other stochastic and robust optimization problems with integer or combinatorial recourse.
A high number of tumor free axillary lymph nodes from patients with lymph node negative breast carcinoma is associated with poor outcome.

BACKGROUND Lymph node metastasis is the oldest and most reliable prognostic indicator in breast carcinoma. In the absence of tumor metastasis, draining lymph nodes can undergo hyperplasia, resulting in increases in the number and size of detectable lymph nodes. The prognostic value of this process has never been established. Lymph node negative breast carcinoma provides a unique opportunity to study the downstream effects of increased lymphatic drainage and lymph node hyperplasia. METHODS The authors studied 290 cases of lymph node negative breast carcinoma and provided patients with a median of 103 months of follow-up. The number of tumor free lymph nodes in ipsilateral axillary resections, as well as 10 traditional histopathologic markers, were analyzed for their prognostic value. RESULTS The cohort was divided into quartiles according to the number of tumor negative lymph nodes. The 5-year survival for patients with 20 or more tumor free lymph nodes (top quartile) was 84.7%, compared with 96.3% for patients with fewer than 20 tumor free lymph nodes. The 5-year relative risk of dying of metastatic disease in the top quartile was 3.61 (95% confidence interval, 1.37−9.52, P = 0.01), independent of necrosis, tumor size, patient age, nuclear and histologic grade, lymphocytic infiltrate, and lymphovascular invasion. The absolute lymph node number was highly associated with the presence of necrosis in invasive tumor. CONCLUSIONS The number of tumor free lymph nodes is a novel, independent predictor of aggressive disease in cases of lymph node negative breast carcinoma. This finding may be a biologic function of host-derived, and possibly tumor-derived, lymphangiogenic cytokines. Cancer 2000;88:108–13. © 2000 American Cancer Society.
Combined real-time fMRI and real time fNIRS brain computer interface (BCI): Training of volitional wrist extension after stroke, a case series pilot study.

Objective Pilot testing of real time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rt-fMRI) and real time functional near infrared spectroscopy (rt-fNIRS) as brain computer interface (BCI) neural feedback systems combined with motor learning for motor recovery in chronic severely impaired stroke survivors. Approach We enrolled a four-case series and administered three sequential rt-fMRI and ten rt-fNIRS neural feedback sessions interleaved with motor learning sessions. Measures were: Arm Motor Assessment Tool, functional domain (AMAT-F; 13 complex functional tasks), Fugl-Meyer arm coordination scale (FM); active wrist extension range of motion (ROM); volume of activation (fMRI); and fNIRS HbO concentration. Performance during neural feedback was assessed, in part, using percent successful brain modulations during rt-fNIRS. Main results Pre-/post-treatment mean clinically significant improvement in AMAT-F (.49 ± 0.22) and FM (10.0 ± 3.3); active wrist ROM improvement ranged from 20° to 50°. Baseline to follow-up change in brain signal was as follows: fMRI volume of activation was reduced in almost all ROIs for three subjects, and for one subject there was an increase or no change; fNIRS HbO was within normal range, except for one subject who increased beyond normal at post-treatment. During rt-fNIRS neural feedback training, there was successful brain signal modulation (42%-78%). Significance Severely impaired stroke survivors successfully engaged in spatially focused BCI systems, rt-fMRI and rt-fNIRS, to clinically significantly improve motor function. At the least, equivalency in motor recovery was demonstrated with prior long-duration motor learning studies (without neural feedback), indicating that no loss of motor improvement resulted from substituting neural feedback sessions for motor learning sessions. Given that the current neural feedback protocol did not prevent the motor improvements observed in other long duration studies, even in the presence of fewer sessions of motor learning in the current work, the results support further study of neural feedback and its potential for recovery of motor function in stroke survivors. In future work, expanding the sophistication of either or both rt-fMRI and rt-fNIRS could hold the potential for further reducing the number of hours of training needed and/or the degree of recovery. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02856035.
First-order Darboux transformations for Dirac equations with arbitrary diagonal potential matrix in two dimensions

We establish first-order Darboux transformations for the two-dimensional Dirac equation with diagonal matrix potential. The potential is allowed to depend arbitrarily on both variables. The systems we consider here include the scenario of a position-dependent mass as well as the massless case. Our Darboux transformations are more general than their existing counterparts (Pozdeeva and Schulze-Halberg in J Math Phys 51:113501, 2010).
Sensitivity Analysis for the 2D Navier–Stokes Equations with Applications to Continuous Data Assimilation

We rigorously prove the well-posedness of the formal sensitivity equations with respect to the viscosity corresponding to the 2D incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. Moreover, we do so by showing a sequence of difference quotients converges to the unique solution of the sensitivity equations for both the 2D Navier–Stokes equations and the related data assimilation equations, which utilize the continuous data assimilation algorithm proposed by Azouani, Olson, and Titi. As a result, this method of proof provides uniform bounds on difference quotients, demonstrating parameter recovery algorithms that change parameters as the system evolves will be well behaved. Furthermore, our analysis can be extended to analyze the sensitivity of the 2D Euler equations to a viscous regularization. We also note that this appears to be the first such rigorous proof of global existence and uniqueness to strong or weak solutions to the sensitivity equations for the 2D Navier–Stokes equations (in the natural case of zero initial data), and that they can be obtained as a limit of difference quotients with respect to the viscosity.
Self-Control, Cyberbullying, and the Moderating Effect of Opportunity

Extensive prior research has examined the effect of low self-control on delinquency, as well as whether this effect is moderated by criminal opportunity. The purpose of our study is to examine whet...
A Solution to the Education Crisis

One of the largest expenditures of state and local governments in the USA, and of various governments at all levels in other countries, is for the provision of education. In the USA, states provide a free public school education to students for the first twelve years, and subsidize tuition at state universities thereafter. As a result, public education has become a near monopoly because privately provided education finds it difficult to compete on price. Where private education exists, it can compete only because of nonprice advantages. This near monopoly position with regard to education exhibits many of the attributes of monopolies in general -- the price is higher than would be the case in a market system and the quality is lower. This phenomenon has been recognized, and some economists and others have advocated breaking up this monopoly by the use of a voucher system whereby parents can purchase education for their children by presenting these vouchers to the appropriate authority. Vouchers inject choice and competition into the public education system, which, it is thought, will overcome the disadvantages of the present near-monopoly situation. The funds for these vouchers would be provided by taxation, just as the public school system is presently funded by taxation, except that parents would have some power to decide where the tax proceeds flow. While the use of vouchers would trigger markets, and would cause the price of public education to decrease while improving quality of service, vouchers are only a half-way measure because they ignore some fundamental issues, such as whether government should be in the business of providing education in the first place. This paper explores the possibility of privatizing education and attempts to answer questions such as: Is providing for public education a legitimate function of government? How would education be funded if government didn't do it? How would a privately funded education system provide for those who couldn't pay?
The missing link in oceanic phosphorus cycling

Nutrient limitation plays a central role in the productivity of marine systems and long-term atmospheric carbon dioxide uptake by the oceans ( 1 ). Marine organisms are adept at changing their biochemical physiology to take advantage of scarce resources ( 2 ). Thus, changes in the ocean environment affect the biodiversity of organisms within those waters and the efficiency by which material is transported from the surface to the sea floor ( 3 ). On page 783 of this issue, Van Mooy et al. ( 4 ) report their discovery of a large, rapidly recycled pool of reduced phosphorus compounds that play a key role in ocean phosphorus biogeochemistry.
An essential role for Ewing sarcoma gene (EWS) in early white adipogenesis

Objective White adipose tissue is important for mammalian energy homeostasis and metabolism. It was previously demonstrated that Ewing sarcoma gene (EWS) is essential for early classical brown fat lineage determination, but its role in white adipocyte differentiation is not known. Methods Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) lacking Ews and shRNA-mediated silencing of Ews in 3T3L1 preadipocytes were used to investigate the role of EWS in adipogenesis. White fat differentiation was determined by analyzing the expression of key adipogenic genes and by Oil red O staining. Results Following adipogenic stimulation, Ews expression arose rapidly in 3T3L1 cells during early induction period. Ews-null MEFs and 3T3L1 cells with reduced Ews expression failed to undergo adipogenesis. This was accompanied by significant reduction in the expression of critical early adipogenic regulators, Bmp2, Bmp4 (bone morphogenic protein 2 and 4), Cebpβ, and Cebpδ (CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β and δ). Complementation of recombinant BMP2 or BMP4 partially rescued adipogenesis in Ews-depleted 3T3L1 cells. Conclusions These results demonstrate that EWS is essential during the early steps of white adipocyte differentiation, at least in part through its regulation of BMP2 and BMP4 expression.
Mechanism and fidelity of HIV reverse transcriptase.

We have examined the RNA-dependent and DNA-dependent polymerase and ribonuclease H catalytic activities of human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcriptase using rapid transient kinetic methods with defined synthetic 25/45-mer DNA/RNA and DNA/DNA primer/templates. The Kd value for interaction of the enzyme with duplex DNA was 4.7 nM, and the value for RNA/DNA heteroduplex was of similar magnitude. A pre-steady state burst of nucleoside triphosphate incorporation was observed for both DNA and RNA templates. Analysis of the dATP concentration dependence of the burst rate provided Kd values for dATP of 4 and 14 microM and maximum rates of single nucleotide incorporation, kpol, of 33 and 74 s-1, for DNA and RNA templates, respectively. Subsequent turnovers were limited by the rate of dissociation of the primer/template from the enzyme at rates of 0.18 and 0.06 s-1 for duplex DNA and RNA/DNA heteroduplex, respectively. Analysis of rates of DNA polymerization and RNA cleavage using the RNA template revealed that the two activities are independent of one another. The polymerization rate (4-70 s-1) was dependent on dATP concentration, whereas the RNA cleavage occurred at a constant rate of 10 s-1 over the 100-fold dATP concentration range (2-200 microM). Examination of the RNA cleavage products resulting from a single turnover indicates that the polymerase and ribonuclease domains of the enzyme are separated by a distance corresponding to 19 bases of RNA/DNA heteroduplex, consistent with the recently published crystal structure (Kohlstaedt, L. A., Wang, J., Friedman, J., Rice, P. A., and Steitz, T. A. (1992) Science 256, 1783-1790). Analysis of the kinetics of processive synthesis suggested that the initial binding of dNTP leads to a faster rate of dissociation of DNA from the enzyme. Further investigation supported a two-step dNTP binding mechanism with the formation of an initial E.DNA.dNTP complex followed by a more stable E'.DNA.dNTP complex. The Kd values for incorporation of incorrect nucleoside triphosphates opposite a DNA template thymidine were 1010 microM for dGTP, 1240 microM for dCTP, and 840 microM for dTTP. The corresponding maximum kpol rates were 4.8 s-1 for dGTP, 0.52 s-1 for dCTP, and 0.41 s-1 for dTTP. These values provide fidelity estimates of 1740 for discrimination against dGTP, 19,700 for dCTP, and 16,900 for dTTP misincorporations at this site.
Diversity Among Southeast Asian Ethnic Groups

Abstract In research on mental health disorders, Southeast Asian ethnic groups have been aggregated into a single, undifferentiated category referred to as Southeast Asians. This onegroup approach risks the misrepresentations of the mental health needs of each of the groups involved in the category. As such, this study tested assumptions of homogeneity among Southeast Asians. A total of 422 Southeast Asians-including Cambodians, Laotians, Miens, and Vietnamese-were compared in the four mental health domains of emotional distress, psychotic symptoms, antisocial behaviors, and community living. The results confirmed the diversity in mental health among Southeast Asians and the need for multiethnic agencies and the multicultural education of clinicians.
Spectroscopic characterization of dynamical processes for Tm,Ho:YAG lasers

The energy transfer processes in Tm,Ho:YAG lasers were investigated in spectral studies and measurements of the temporal response to pulsed excitation. These processes include the population of the 3H4 pump band of Tm, cross-relaxation in Tm, the transfer of energy from Tm to Ho, and various loss mechanisms. It was found that the Tm cross-relaxation is due to a dipole-dipole interaction between Tm ions and that the rate of this process is a function of temperature and ion concentration.
Emission Control Research to Enable Fuel Efficiency: Department of Energy Heavy Vehicle Technologies

The Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies supports research to enable high-efficiency diesel engines to meet future emissions regulations, thus clearing the way for their use in light trucks as well as continuing as the most efficient powerplant for freight-haulers. Compliance with Tier 2 rules and expected heavy duty engine standards will require effective exhaust emission controls (after-treatment) for diesels in these applications. DOE laboratories are working with industry to improve emission control technologies in projects ranging from application of new diagnostics for elucidating key mechanisms, to development and tests of prototype devices. This paper provides an overview of these R and D efforts, with examples of key findings and developments.
Resonant Pattern Formation in a Spatially Extended Chemical System

When an oscillatory nonlinear system is driven by a periodic external stimulus, the system can lock at rational multiples p : q of the driving frequency. The frequency range of this resonant locking at a given p : q depends on the amplitude of the stimulus; the frequency width of locking increases from zero as the stimulus amplitude increases from zero, generating an “Arnol’d tongue” in a graph of stimulus amplitude vs stimulus frequency. Physical systems that exhibit frequency locking include electronic circuits [1, 2], Josephson junctions [3], chemical reactions [4], fields of fireflies [5, 6], and forced cardiac systems [7, 8]. Most studies of frequency locking have concerned either maps or systems of a few coupled ODEs. The Arnol’d tongue structure of the sine circle map has been extensively studied, and the theory of periodically driven ODE systems has been well developed [9], but there has been very little analysis of frequency locking phenomena in PDEs, except for a few studies of the parametrically excited Mathieu equation with diffusion and damping [10, 11, 12] and the parametrically excited complex Ginzburg-Landau equation [13, 14]. Our interest here is in the effect of periodic forcing on pattern forming systems such as convecting fluids, liquid crystals, granular media, and reaction-diffusion systems. Such systems are often subject to periodic forcing (e.g., circadian forcing of biological systems), but the effect of forcing on the bifurcations to patterns has not been examined in experiments or analyzed in PDE models of these systems.
Scaling and Performance of Dump Combustors with Transverse Gas Jets

Small gas jets, in the role of a fluid amplifier, can be used for vortex amplification and swirl generation in small laboratory scale dump combustors using premixed propane-air mixtures. Typically these tests are performed in a low temperature, low pressure environment with unchoked nozzles. The objective of this study was to determine if the results of laboratory burners can be used for predicting the performance of larger combustors operating under realistic conditions typical of ramjets. Analysis of the experiments performed at the University of Southern California and the Air Force Aero Propulsion Laboratory shows that geometric scaling is possible. Also, under certain operating conditions the use of transverse gas jets is a convenient method of increasing the combustion efficiency of a burner. Nomenclature A =area D = chamber diameter d = diameter h = step height L = chamber length M =Mach number m = mass flow rate N = number p = stagnation pressure T = temperature x = location upstream of the step
A theory of loss-leaders: making money by pricing below cost

We consider the problem of assigning prices to goods of fixed marginal cost in order to maximize revenue in the presence of singleminded customers. We focus in particular on the question of how pricing certain items below their marginal costs can lead to an improvement in overall profit, even when customers behave in a fully rational manner.We develop two frameworks for analyzing this issue that we call the discount and the coupon models, and examine both fundamental "profitability gaps" (to what extent can pricing below cost help to improve profit) as well as algorithms for pricing in these models in a number of settings considered previously in the literature.
Transient simulation of complex, lossy, multiport transmission line networks with nonlinear digital device termination using a circuit simulator

The authors present a technique for describing a complex coupled multiport transmission-line system in terms of a time-domain Green's function. The Green's function approach is implemented as part of a transmission-line model, and this model is then incorporated into a circuit simulator as a branch statement. The branch statement returns the transient response of the transmission-line system when terminated with arbitrary nonlinear devices. It is concluded that this method has proved to be superior to the existing method because it does not rely on nonphysical approximations to the characteristics of the transmission lines or the digital devices. It also accurately predicts the response to a transmission-line system of PCB tracks with nonlinear digital devices termination. >
A Cause of Apparently Abnormal Urinary 17-Hydroxy Corticosteroids Responses to Metyrapone in Normal Subjects

The metyrapone test is used to evaluate adrenal and pituitary disorders. The response to metyrapone administration can be erroneously interpreted as negative if a method that includes benzene— water partition is used to measure urinary 17-hydroxy corticosteroids. The reason for this is that benzene—water partition excludes most of the tetrahydrodeoxycortisol from the final extract, although this is the urinary steroid metabolite that increases after metyrapone administration.