cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Health Insurance Coverage for Small Employers

Small firms and the challenges they face inobtaining affordable health insurance coverage for their employees areexamined.This analysis is especially important given that more than 75%of businesses in the U.S. are small businesses, and these businesses employnearly 33% of the private workforce. Three requirements must be met for employees seeking insurance to obtain it:(1) the employer must offer health insurance coverage, (2) the employee must beeligible for the coverage, and (3) the employee must accept the employer'soffer and be able to make any required financial contribution. Of those employees who are eligible for their employer's plan, more than 52%choose not to participate due to the cost.There are many factors thatemployers mustevaluate in order to determine if it is feasible andreasonable to provide health insurance to employees.Cost is the primaryconsideration, but other factors, including the overall compensation packagefor employees and the benefits being provided by competitors, areconsidered. Unfortunately, many employers (57% in a 2002 survey) did not realize thathealth insurance premium payments are fully deductible.States have takenaction in the form of legislation to help small businesses afford healthinsurance.Several proposals have further been put forth to encouragesmall business.These include group purchasing cooperatives, multipleemployer welfare arrangements, and tax advantages. (SRD)
The Value of Earth Observations: Methods and Findings on the Value of Landsat Imagery

Data from Earth observation systems are used extensively in managing and monitoring natural resources, natural hazards, and the impacts of climate change, but the value of such data can be difficult to estimate, particularly when it is available at no cost. Assessing the socioeconomic and scientific value of these data provides a better understanding of the existing and emerging research, science, and applications related to this information and contributes to the decision-making process regarding current and future Earth observation systems. Recent USGS research on Landsat data has advanced the literature in this area by using a variety of methods to estimate value. The results of a 2012 survey of Landsat users, a 2013 requirements assessment, and a 2013 case studies of applications of Landsat imagery are discussed.
Binding of 63Ni (II) to ultrafiltrable constituents of rabbit serum in vivo and in vitro.

Binding of 63Ni(Il) to ultrafiltrable constituents of rabbit serum was studied ( a ) after in vitro incubation (2 h, 37 °C) of rabbit serum with 63NiCl2 (10-100 µmol/liter), and ( b ) at intervals (0.25-2 h) after in vivo administration of 63NiCl2 (40-160 µmol/kg body wt, i.v.). Serum ultrafiltrates were fractionated by thin-layer chromatography, and the separated compounds made visible by autoradiography and by ninhydrin staining. Several (≃5) ultrafiltrable 63Ni-complexes were demonstrable as distinct radiodense 63Ni-bands with chromatographic mobilities corresponding to those of ninhydrin-positive bands. Unbound 63Ni(II) was not detected in serum ultrafiltrates in either the in vitro or in vivo experiments. In sera (n = 10) incubated in vitro with 63Ni(II) (10 µmol/ liter), the mean percentage of ultrafiltrable 63Ni was 36% (range = 33-38) of total serum 63Ni. In contrast, in sera (n = 10) obtained 2 h after i.v. injection of 63Ni(II) (40 µmol/kg), the mean concentration of total serum 63Ni was 10.8 µmol/liter (range = 6-14), and the mean percentage of ultrafiltrable 63Ni was 15% (range = 9-21) of total serum 63Ni. The disparity between the percentages of ultrafiltrable 63Ni obtained in vitro and in vivo was obviated when the in vivo experiments were performed in rabbits bilaterally nephrectomized, with ligated common bile ducts. This investigation confirms the existence of several nickel receptors in serum ultrafiltrates and substantiates the role of ultrafiltrable complexes in the excretion of nickel.
Interaction of Biological Stress Recovery and Cognitive Vulnerability for Depression in Adolescence

Major Depressive Disorder is a common mental illness with rates increasing during adolescence. This has led researchers to examine developmental antecedents of depression. This study examined the association between depressive symptoms and the interaction between two empirically supported risk factors for depression: poor recovery of the biological stress system as measured through heart rate and cortisol, and cognitive vulnerabilities as indexed by rumination and a negative cognitive style. Adolescents (n = 127; 49 % female) completed questionnaires and a social stress task to elicit a stress response measured with neuroendocrine (cortisol) and autonomic nervous system (heart rate) endpoints. The findings indicated that higher depressive symptoms were associated with the combination of higher cognitive vulnerabilities and lower cortisol and heart rate recovery. These findings can enhance our understanding of stress responses, lead to personalized treatment, and provide a nuanced understanding of depression in adolescence.
THE GLOBAL SOUTH AND WORLD DIS/ORDER

The "Global South" is a fashionable expression. It appears in academic journals, in the title of university academic centers, among activists around the world. I argue that from the perspective of capitalism and expansion of Western values, the "Global South" is the location to be developed economically and liberated from non-democratic regimes. From the perspective of the emerging political society, the "Global South" is where liberation from Western democratic rhetoric to justify economic takeover and cultural management is taking place. I show how the very concept of "Global South" came about, replacing that of the "Third World" after the collapse of the Soviet Union. I end the article by mapping five trajectories, discernible in the present, that are orienting global futures and I further argue that they cannot be understood properly without understanding the economic, political, and epistemic conflict that make the "Global South" a current location of global conflicts.
Singular Value Analysis of Cryptograms

(1983). Singular Value Analysis of Cryptograms. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 90, No. 2, pp. 78-87.
Abstract A104: IL6 signaling is required for pancreatitis-induced pancreatic intra-epithelial neoplasia progression and maintenance in mice.

Background: Epidemiological and experimental data suggest a causal link between chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. The cytokine interleukin 6 (IL6) is upregulated during the course of pancreatitis; moreover, recent studies have shown that the cytokine interleukin 6 (IL6) plays a role in pancreatic cancer initiation and progression. Our goal was to investigate whether IL6 upregulation provides a causal link in pancreatitis-induced carcinogenesis in mice. Methods: We previously described the iKras* mouse as a new model of pancreatic tumorigenesis based on pancreas-specific expression of the oncogenic form of Kras, KrasG12D. By crossing iKras* mice with IL6-deficient mice we have generated iKras*; IL6-/-mice, as well as iKras*; IL6+/-. To induce pancreatitis, we injected the colecistokinin agonis Caerulein administered by intraperitoneal injection. The pancreatic tissue was collected at several time-points for histopathological analysis. In addition, the immune cells infiltrated were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results: 1] IL6 is required for pancreatitis induced PanIN maintenance. PanIN lesions arose from both iKras* and iKras*;IL6-/- mice 3 weeks post-pancreatitis. By 17 weeks after pancreatitis the iKras* pancreata were totally replaced by PanINs; however, iKras*; IL6-/- pancreata appeared atrophic, devoid of PanINs and largely populated by acini. Our data further suggest that, in absence of IL6, epithelial cell survival is affected in PanIN lesions. 2] IL6 is a key regulator of inflammation during carcinogenesis. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that fewer macrophage and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) were recruited to iKras*; IL6-/- pancreata 3 weeks post-pancreatitis. MDSCs have been involved in maintaining an immune-suppressive microenvironment in tumors. 3] Taking advantage of the reversible expression of KrasG12D in iKras* mice, we also show that deletion of IL6 signaling accelerates PanIN reprogramming (ductal to acinar redifferentiation) following Kras* inactivation. 4] Finally, in a set of in vitro 3-dimensional culture experiments, we show that IL6 promotes acinar-ductal metaplasia (ADM)/PanIN formation and progression in acinar clusters embedded in Matrigel. Conclusion: Previous studies had shown that IL6 signaling is required for the development of PanIN lesions in mice. Here, we show that IL6 is essential for PanIN maintenance following induction of acute pancreatitis. Thus, IL6 potentially represents a therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer. Citation Format: Yaqing Zhang, Filip Bednar, Wei Yan, Meredith Anne Collins, Sabita Rakshit, Marina Pasca Di Magliano. IL6 signaling is required for pancreatitis-induced pancreatic intra-epithelial neoplasia progression and maintenance in mice. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer: Progress and Challenges; Jun 18-21, 2012; Lake Tahoe, NV. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(12 Suppl):Abstract nr A104.
Control volume based boundary schemes for one dimensional, unsteady, compressible flow

This paper outlines an approach for the treatment of "over-specified" and flux-constrained inlet and outlet boundary conditions in numerical schemes for the solution of one dimensional, unsteady, compressible flow problems. The developed scheme utilizes a one dimensional control volume with one face at the boundary and the other face inside the computational domain. The conditions at a point in the center of this control volume are determined using the specified fluxes through the control volume's boundaries. The application of the developed method for injector type boundary conditions is demonstrated. It is shown that incorporating the developed method into numerical schemes produces solutions that properly predict the behavior of either a subsonic and a supersonic flow near the boundary. Specifically, the flow created inside a semi infinite tube by a sudden injection (i.e., step) of a fluid into a quiescent medium is investigated. It is shown that the proposed boundary scheme properly predicts the characteristics of the flow field including the behavior of the shock wave and contact discontinuities that originate at the boundary and propagate into the tube at different speeds.
Diode-laser absorption sensor system for combustion monitoring and control applications

A diode-laser sensor system has been applied to measure the concentrations of NO, N2O, CO, CO2, and O2 i n combustion gases using absorption spectroscopy and fast extraction-sampling techniques. Measured survey spectra of the NO 3 v band (R branch) and H2O lines from the v2 + v3 band in the spectral region from 5556 cm" to 5572 cm" were recorded and compared to calculated spectra to select optimum transitions for NO detection. Similarly, measured survey spectra of the N2O 3v3 band from 6535 cm" to 6600 cm" were used to identify optimum transitions for N2O detection. High-resolution NO absorption measurements (R2(7.5) and R,(7.5) lines) were recorded in a fast-flow multipass cell containing probe-sampled combustion gases to determine NO concentrations in a laminar, premixed CH4/air flame, seeded with NH3. For fuel-lean conditions, the measured NO mole fractions corresponded to 68% of the injected NH3. For fuel-rich conditions, the fraction of NH3 converted to NO decreased with increasing equivalence ratio. In additional experiments, CO, CO2, and O2 absorption measurements (R(13) line of the 3v band, R(16) line of the 2v,+2v2 + v3 band, and RQ(7,8) line of the &'£j(v' = 0)<— X^J"g(v"=0) band, respectively) were used to determine species concentrations above a laminar, premixed CH4/air flame. Good agreement was found between measured CO, CO2, and O2 concentrations and calculated chemical equilibrium values.
Epidemiology and etiology of severe cases of hand foot and mouth disease in Liaoning,2009- 2013

Objective To understand the epidemiological and etiological characteristics of severe cases of hand foot and mouth disease( HFMD) in Liaoning province during 2009- 2013 and provide evidence for the prevention and control of HFMD. Methods Descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted on the incidence data of severe cases of HFMD in Liaoning during this period and pathogen detection was conducted too. Results The reported number of severe cases of HFMD was highest in 2010,The case fatality rate decreased year by year,and the annual incidence peak was during July-August. The most cases were young children aged 1- 5 years. EV71 was the major pathogen,but its proportion in all pathogens in different place was different. The clinical symptoms included fever and rash usually accompanied by symptoms of the nervous system. Conclusion The incidence of severe HFMD in Liaoning showed a downward trend. EV71 was the major pathogen causing HFMD. It is still necessary to further strengthen surveillance of HFMD in Liaoning.
Heart-trend: An affordable heart condition monitoring system exploiting morphological pattern

In this paper we leverage the power of smartphone to enable proactive in-house heart condition monitoring. We introduce Heart-Trend, a nonparametric model to analyze and detect heart abnormality conditions like arrhythmia from photoplethysmogram (PPG) signal. It does on-demand heart status monitoring using smartphones (can also be implemented in PC/ICU monitors) and facilitates timely detection of heart condition deterioration to permit early diagnosis and prevention of fatal heart diseases. Proposed robust anomaly analytics engine accurately detects the morphological trend to find abnormal heart condition in real time through machine learning based trend prediction. PPG signal is frequently corrupted by ambient noise, and motion artifacts, which lead to high amount of false alarms. We introduce precise denoising technique that identifies and eliminates the corrupted segments of clinical signal to minimize its impact on the decision process and analytics. We demonstrate that Heart-Trend ensures high detection capability with lower false alarm rates.
Biventricular Circulatory Support Using 2 Axial Flow Catheters for Cardiogenic Shock Without the Need for Surgical Vascular Access

Biventricular failure in cardiogenic shock remains a major clinical problem. Use of percutaneously delivered, acute circulatory support devices for cardiogenic shock has grown exponentially due in large part to increasing global familiarity and clinical experience demonstrating hemodynamic efficacy of these devices.1 Until recently, percutaneous support options for biventricular failure have been limited to venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or biventricular centrifugal flow pumps. We recently reported the first use of biventricular axial flow catheters with the Impella 5.0 and RP (Abiomed Inc) systems, which required surgical vascular access for the 5.0 implant.2 We now report the first patient with cardiogenic shock receiving biventricular support using the Impella CP and RP catheters (BiPella) without the need for surgical vascular access. A 30-year-old woman presented with hypotension and dyspnea after 1 week of a fever and lethargy. Within 24 hours of admission, hemodynamics demonstrated biventricular failure and an echocardiogram showed a left ventricular ejection fraction of 10% and severely dilated right ventricle (RV), despite treatment with an intra-aortic balloon pump, dobutamine, and norepinephrine (Table; Movie I in the …
The grief involved in change.

In this era of rapid change, people need to be helped through the grieving process at work. "By acknowledging and articulating what is involved, you facilitate people's movement through it ... successful people in growing organizations need to learn to move through the process as quickly and efficiently as possible and help others do the same." Morris Shectman, in Working Without a Net says, "Contrary to the old paradigm--which held that others don't have a right to know about your personal life--the new paradigm says that it's a necessity that they know." If people are to move through the grief that is caused by undesired change, they will have to tell some of their personal feelings. "Each stage of the process--shock and denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance--is functional ... when people go through the process in a healthy manner, they'll recycle through it in a diluted fashion." Leaders in the organization can help people start the process or move through it if they get stuck at a particular stage.
Blood Pressure Profiles Across Pregnancy in Women with Chronic Hypertension.

Objective To examine blood pressure patterns across pregnancy in women with treated chronic hypertension according to the occurrence of severe preeclampsia, growth restriction, and preterm birth Methods This retrospective descriptive case study included only pregnant women receiving antihypertensive therapy. Using a random effects model, mean arterial pressures were plotted across gestation for women with and without preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, and preterm birth Results Between January 2002 and December 2014, 447 women met inclusion criteria. Of these women, 65% developed severe preeclampsia, 24% delivered an infant weighing Conclusion For pregnant women with treated chronic hypertension, blood pressure patterns differ significantly in those who develop severe preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, and preterm birth
10 Canonical Decomposition Theorem

10.1 Cycles of a map of spheres, and their orbifolds 10.2 Statement of Canonical Decomposition Theorem 10.3 Proof of Canonical Decomposition Theorem 10.3.1 Characterization of rational cycles with hyperbolic orbifold 10.3.2 Conclusion of proof
Could the Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Causal?

This chapter introduces the concept and principle of “quantum causality,” and makes suggestions toward rethinking the nature of causality in view of the possibility of such a concept and principle, in juxtaposition to the classical concept and principle of causality, as defined in Chap. 1. Sec. 5.1 serves as a general introduction. Sec. 5.2 offers a discussion of the classical philosophical understanding of causality. Sec. 5.3 considers classical physics and relativity as classically causal theories, with a particular emphasis on qualifications that the use of classical causality in these theories requires. Sec. 5.4 considers quantum mechanics, in nonrealist, RWR-principle-based, interpretations, which preclude classical causality, and proposes the concept and the principle of “quantum causality.”
Microcircuits of the Neocortex

In this chapter, we discuss how neurons are connected together to form neural circuits. Specifically, we consider the microcircuit of neocortex, which is a relatively stereotyped circuit that is found everywhere in the neocortex, albeit with modifications and specializations in different cortical areas. We first consider the different excitatory and inhibitory cell types and then learn how they are connected to form small circuits.
Cultivating Critical Thinking Using Virtual Interactive Case Studies

Critical thinking is an essential component of diagnostic reasoning, clinical decision making and professional accountability. Nurse practitioner students often struggle to view the interrelationship of these concepts. Since the development of critical thinking skills is an inferential process, the experiential characteristics of preceptor supervised clinical practice have been identified as a valuable resource. Scarcity of quality preceptors and clinical practice sites necessitates other supplemental experiential activities. The purpose of this pilot study was to describe the process and outcomes of integrating virtual interactive patient case studies into the clinical courses of an online pediatric nurse practitioner program. A convenience nonprobability sample of forty-three Pediatric Nurse Practitioner students in an online synchronous graduate program completed two pediatric focused, computer-based diagnostic decision simulation case studies by I-Human Patients® as graded assignments into the four clinical courses. The cases were graded based on a product standardized grading rubric. Data was collected at four 3 month intervals during a 9 month period. Scores in the three critical areas of the decision making process: assessment (health history and physical examination), diagnostic reasoning (differential diagnosis) and intervention (therapeutic plan) were analyzed individually and as a group using descriptive statistics. At the end of each clinical course (n = 4) students completed a journaling experience consisting of ten open ended questions related to the simulation activities. Journal responses were analyzed using content analysis. Findings revealed a significant improvement in all three critical areas of clinical decision making. Individual scores in each of the three critical areas demonstrated statistically higher mean scores from clinical course 1–2, clinical course 2–3 and clinical course 3–4 with the highest improvement occurring from clinical course 3–4. In all four clinical courses the critical area of assessment represented the highest scores and diagnostic reasoning the lowest. Content analysis of the student responses to the journal questions identified three major themes: reflection, logical reasoning and creativity. Since the development of critical thinking skills is an inferential process, the experiential characteristics of interactive patient case studies as a supplement to preceptor supervised clinical practice have been identified as a valuable resource. The results of this pilot study support the utilization of virtual interactive patient case studies by I-Human Patients® into the curriculum of the clinical courses in a nurse practitioner program resulting in outcomes that demonstrated a significant improvement in diagnostic reasoning and clinical decision making as well as an increase in the interrelationship of these concepts.
Bottle effects alter taxonomic composition of wetland soil bacterial communities during the denitrification enzyme activity assay

Abstract The denitrification enzyme activity assay (DEA) and other ex situ , incubation-based methods are widely used for measuring biogeochemical transformations. DEA does not provide direct measurements of denitrification rates in situ , but rather denitrification potential under laboratory conditions over the course of an incubation with resource limitations removed. Despite recognized limitations, DEA has several advantages. In particular, it is a relatively simple and low-cost method considered reliable for comparing relative differences in denitrification, for example between areas subjected to different management treatments. However, a critical but, to our knowledge, untested assumption of DEA is that bacterial composition remains static during the assay, i.e., the microbial community being assayed is equivalent to the original community collected from the field. If this assumption is violated, it could result in flawed estimates of relative differences between samples. We tested the static-community assumption using high-throughput sequencing to measure differences in bacterial community composition between samples from two different wetland vegetation types over the course of standard DEA incubations. We also compared samples that were or were not treated with a standard amendment solution to differentiate amendment effects from “bottle effects” of time spent under storage and laboratory conditions. We found that initially distinct bacterial communities became less similar to each other during short-term cold storage, but then became more similar during incubation, with a net result of samples converging in composition. Surprisingly, there were no effects of amendment solution; bottle effects alone accounted for these changes. This raises concern that potentially important differences in wetland denitrification, or other processes measured using ex situ methods, could be obscured by changes in bacterial community composition that arise as an artifact of laboratory incubations.
Appearance and the Transition to Motherhood: An Exploration of Identity Construction among New Mothers

Becoming a mother is a life-changing experience, and one that has a profound effect on a woman's identity. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore what it is like to be a new mother and to consider the role of appearance in this experience. Twenty-four in-depth interviews and two focus groups were conducted with first time, biological mothers to understand the experience of becoming a mother. Three themes were identified and were used to structure the interpretation: New Motherhood and the Self, Just the Two of Us, and Me, Baby, and the World. Findings offer important managerial implications, such as the importance of offering this consumer segment clothing that is comfortable, stylish, and conducive to a new mother's needs. Further inquiry into the relationship between new motherhood, appearance, and identity is needed, as it will continue to shed light on how women experience this incredibly transformative journey.
Correlation of endoscopic disease severity with pediatric ulcerative colitis activity index score in children and young adults with ulcerative colitis.

Correlation of endoscopic disease severity with pediatric ulcerative colitis activity index score in children and young adults with ulcerative colitis
Nutrient acquisition strategies of mammalian cells

Mammalian cells are surrounded by diverse nutrients, such as glucose, amino acids, various macromolecules and micronutrients, which they can import through transmembrane transporters and endolysosomal pathways. By using different nutrient sources, cells gain metabolic flexibility to survive periods of starvation. Quiescent cells take up sufficient nutrients to sustain homeostasis. However, proliferating cells depend on growth-factor-induced increases in nutrient uptake to support biomass formation. Here, we review cellular nutrient acquisition strategies and their regulation by growth factors and cell-intrinsic nutrient sensors. We also discuss how oncogenes and tumour suppressors promote nutrient uptake and thereby support the survival and growth of cancer cells.
The Child Rating Scale: The Development of a Socioemotional Self-Rating Scale for Elementary School Children.

This article describes the development of the Child Rating Scale (CRS), a socioemotional self-rating scale for elementary school children. Four CRS Factors, i.e., Rule Compliance/Acting-Out, Anxiet...
Mixed Moving Averages and Self-Similarity

The focus of the chapter is on a large class of symmetric stable self-similar processes with stationary increments, known as self-similar mixed moving averages. Minimal representations of self-similar mixed moving averages are related to nonsingular flows. Based on the structure of the underlying flows, self-similar mixed moving averages are decomposed uniquely into four major classes that are associated with dissipative, fixed, cyclic and conservative nonperiodic flows. These classes are also derived based on nonminimal representations, without referring to the underlying flows. Finally, canonical representations of self-similar mixed moving averages are derived for the dissipative, fixed and cyclic classes, and an example of a conservative nonperiodic self-similar mixed moving average is also provided.
High risk occurrence chains in helicopter accidents

Abstract We develop an approach to identify high-risk sequences of events (or occurrence chains) in General Aviation (GA) accidents using historical accident data. We demonstrate our approach on the 6180 civil helicopter accidents that occurred in the United States between 1982 and 2015. We begin by providing a detailed guide to the NTSB accident database including of the pre- and post-2008 coding systems. We compare the most frequently occurring chains for different mission types and injury severity levels. The single node inflight loss of control (LOC) occurrence chain appeared in 12.5% of helicopter accidents between 1982 and 2015, appearing most frequently in both fatal and non-fatal accidents. Students’ (and sometimes instructors’) inability to perform safe autorotations or improper autorotation recoveries most often resulted in hard landings. As a first step to reducing these unfortunate training accidents, we recommend conducting an in-depth study to identify high-risk training maneuvers and hazardous situations faced by student pilots. We provide recommendations to improve the NTSB accident database and recording system that could potentially help mitigate the top causes for GA accidents.
Birthweight in infants conceived through in vitro fertilization following blastocyst or cleavage-stage embryo transfer: a national registry study.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) infants have lower birthweights than their peers, predisposing them to long-term health consequences. Blastocyst transfer (BT), at day 5–6 post-fertilization, is increasing in usage, partially due to improved pregnancy outcomes over cleavage-stage transfer (CT, day 2–3). Data to date, however, have been inconclusive regarding BT’s effects on birthweight. Participants included all US autologous, single-gestation, fresh embryo transfer cycles initiated from 2007 to 2014 that resulted in a term infant (N = 124,154) from the National Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance System. Generalized linear models including obstetric history, maternal demographics, and infant sex and gestational age were used to compare birthweight outcomes for infants born following BT (N = 67,169) with infants born following CT (N = 56,985) and to test for an interaction between transfer stage and single embryo transfer (SET). Infants born following BT were 6 g larger than those born following CT (p = 0.04), but rates of macrosomia (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.96–1.04) and low birthweight (LBW, RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.93–1.06) were not different between the groups. The interaction between SET and transfer stage was significant (p = 0.02). Among SET infants, BT was associated with 19.26 g increased birthweight compared to CT (p = 0.008). The increase in birthweights identified following BT is unlikely to be clinically relevant, as there were no differences in rates of macrosomia or LBW. These findings are clinically reassuring and indicate that the increasing use of BT is unlikely to further decrease the on average lower birthweights seen in IVF infants compared to their naturally conceived peers.
Peer Influence, Friend Selection, and Gender: How Network Processes Shape Adolescent Smoking, Drinking, And Delinquency.

Abstract We examine gender differences in the extent to which the social network processes of peer influence and friend selection explain why adolescents tend to exhibit similar risky behaviors as their friends for three problem behaviors (smoking, drinking, and delinquency). Using dynamic Stochastic Actor-Oriented Models (SAOMs), we analyze five waves of data on a large sample of 13,214 adolescents from 51 friendship networks. While both processes explain patterns of risky activities for girls and boys, the delinquent behavior of girls is more susceptible to influence and girls are especially likely to select friends who have similar smoking behaviors to their own.
Semiclassical Quantization by Using the Method of Adiabatic Switching of the Perturbation

The semiclassical method based on the Einstein-Brillouin-Keller quantization of invariant phase-space tori and the hypothesis of the adiabatic invariance of classical action variables for near-integrable systems is discussed. The method is applied to calculation of energy spectra of two-dimensional coupled oscillator systems. Results of calculations for both, non-resonant and Fermi-resonant systems are in good agreement with quantum-mechanical predictions even when the corresponding classical dynamics is characterized by mild chaos. The general limitations of the method are discussed.
Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Amorphous Fe-P-B Alloys

The ternary diagram of the amorphous phase in the splatcooled Fe-P-B system was investigated by X-ray diffraction measurements. Alloys were found to be amorphous within the Fe concentration range 75 ≤ cFe ≤ 83 at.%. For a fixed Fe concentration, B substitutes for P over a large scale, the maximum substitution occurring for cFe = 80 at.%. Concentration dependence of the electronic and magnetic properties was systematically studied in alloys within the whole amorphous diagram by means of bulk magnetization \( \overline \mu \) (4,2°K), Curie temperature Tc and electrical resistivity ρ measurements from 4.2°K up to the amorphous-crystalline transformation. The composition dependence of \( \overline \mu \) and Tc when B substitutes for P at a constant cFe suggests the existence of two different short range orders in the amorphous alloys, corresponding to ɛ and ɛ1 crystal structures in the Fe3P1−xBx compounds. The concentration dependence of \( \overline \mu \) and Tc when P (or B) substitutes for Fe at a constant cB (or cP) is explained by a comparison between the amorphous Fe and the fcc Fe. A minimum in the variation of ρ as a function of temperature T occurs at Tm. The temperature dependence of ρ is expressed by a phenomenological law: $$ {\rm{\rho (T)}}\;{\text{ = }}\;{{\rm{\rho }}_{{\text{o}}\;}} + {\text{ A}}\;\log {\text{ T}}\;{\text{ + }}\;{\text{B }}{{\text{T}}^2}\;{\text{ + }}\;{\text{C T}}{\text{.}} $$
Exposure to War Trauma, War-Related PTSD, and Psychological Impact of Subsequent Hurricane

This study explored the impact of psychological outcomes to war on response to subsequent natural disaster. Participants were 312 military personnel, 66% of whom saw Gulf War duty. All were exposed to the 1992 Hurricane Andrew. Troops were compared on reported traumatic events, hurricane impact responses, and psychological symptoms in subgroups defined by war or no war exposure prior to hurricane and by presence or absence of war-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Data were gathered in face-to-face clinical assessments. War trauma prior to hurricane was associated with more reported traumatic events, greater fears for safety during the hurricane, and heightened psychological symptoms. Troops with preexisting war-related PTSD showed more adverse psychological hurricane sequelae and reported more traumatic events, higher depression, anxiety, anger, PTSD symptoms, and physical symptoms, and lower self-esteem than those free of diagnoses. Results point to the negative influence of exposure to one traumatic event on the experience of and response to a subsequent stressor.
Folic Acid in the Treatment of Pernicious Anemia

1. Folic acid in daily doses of 15 to 50 mg., orally, or 20 mg. intramuscularly, usually produced a submaximal reticulocytosis in patients with pernicious anemia. 2. In 3 patients the hemoglobin and red cells rose to a level of about 12.0 Gm. and 4.3 million respectively without further rise after 3 months of therapy. 3. Folic acid in the above doses failed to prevent the development or progression of neurological symptoms indicative of subacute combined sclerosis. 4. In 5 patients folic acid in doses of 5 or 10 mg. orally daily combined with ½ unit of liver extract injected intramuscularly daily produced a reticulocytosis greater than that anticipated from adequate liver extract therapy alone. 5. With combined liver extract and folic acid therapy there was evidence of improvement in the symptoms and signs of subacute combined sclerosis in 3 patients. 6. Folic acid, combined with ½ unit of liver extract, was found to produce a complete hematological remission. 7. Folic acid, alone or in combination with small doses of liver extract, produced an improvement in appetite and general well-being in patients with pernicious anemia. 8. The possible enhancing effect of liver extract when combined with folic acid cannot be due to the folic acid content of the former since 1 unit of liver extract contains only 0.38 micrograms of folic acid. 31 9. Folic acid administered to a patient with macrocytic anemia due to faulty postoperative intestinal digestion and absorption, produced a complete remission in the blood picture and a marked improvement in signs and symptoms.
Metal Additive Manufactured Freeform Antenna

In this letter, we introduce a metal additive manufactured (AM) freeform antenna using thin, overhanging wires. For most AM processes, overhanging features generally require support structures when building at angles of 45° or greater to the build direction. The need for support structures in an AM antenna fabrication limits the minimum wire diameter possible. The design presented here is a three-dimensional (3-D) spherical helix folded dipole antenna, which has been shown to approach the theoretical limit for the size of antennas called Chu's limit in past research. Electron beam melting enables the creation of this type of antenna geometry in one process using thin, overhanging wires without the need for supports. This demonstrates one of the advantages of AM via complex 3-D space filling geometries. In addition, the impact of the rough AM surface on gain is discussed.
Reconciling corruption with conservation triage: Should investments shift from the last best places?

Considerable outside funding will be required to overcome the financial shortfalls faced by most of Africa’s protected areas. Given limited levels of external support, it will be essential to allocate these funds wisely. While most recent studies on conservation triage have recommended prioritizing reserves with the highest remaining conservation value (the “last best places”), such investments are complicated by the fact that these same reserves often attract the greatest revenues from ecotourism and thus the most attention from corrupt local governments. Alternatively, philanthropic organizations might achieve greater returns from investing in the management of neglected areas with lower current conservation value but with less financial leakage from corruption. We outline here how high levels of corruption could favor a strategy that shifts investments away from the last best places.
Past is prologue: host community assembly and the risk of infectious disease over time

Infectious disease risk is often influenced by host diversity, but the causes are unresolved. Changes in diversity are associated with changes in community structure, particularly during community assembly; therefore, by incorporating change over time, host community assembly may provide a framework to resolve causation. In turn, community assembly can be driven by many processes, including resource enrichment. To test the hypothesis that community assembly causally links host diversity to future disease, we experimentally manipulated host diversity and resource supply to hosts, then allowed communities to assemble for 2 years (surveyed 2012-2014). Initially, host diversity increased disease. Subsequently, host diversity did not directly alter disease. However, host diversity determined the trajectory of host community assembly, altering colonisation by exotic host species and richness-independent host phylogenetic diversity, which together reversed the initial increase in disease. Ultimately, incorporating the temporal dimension of community assembly revealed novel mechanisms linking host diversity to future disease.
Infusing Youth Development Principles in Child Welfare Practice: Use of a Delphi Survey to Inform Training

To explore ways to integrate a youth development approach into child welfare work, a Delphi survey of experts was conducted. In particular, the Delphi survey technique was used to generate suggestions regarding: 1) the training needs of child welfare workers dealing with youth transitioning out of care, and 2) potential policy approaches to change in the child welfare system for these youth. A first round survey elicited suggestions of panel respondents and a second round survey requested the rating of these suggestions. Findings illustrate the importance of a holistic approach in working with these youth, as well as the importance of connection and relationship. Training approaches also were perceived as a feasible policy response to helping youth transition from care to independent living.
An analytical pattern-based method for estimation of a near-surface tornadic wind field

Abstract Existing methods of in-situ measurement struggle to capture near-surface wind speeds during a tornado. The demand for accurate near-surface wind fields for the seemingly imminent tornado based design requires new methods of near-surface wind speed estimation, some of which use damage survey data. Information on tree-fall patterns included in damage survey data can and have been used as an indicator of the wind field. Thus, this paper develops an improved analytical method based on tree-fall patterns to estimate the near-surface wind field. This improved analytical model generates a translational steady-state tornado flow field under a superposition of a translational field and a rotational field. The rotational field can be generated by tornado vortex models, then the best-fit parameters for the selected vortex model to create a near-surface translational steady-state tornadic field. This wind field can be estimated on the basis of tornado-induced tree-fall patterns obtained by aerial photos. In this paper, an application is developed with the tree-fall survey data of the 2011 Joplin, MO tornado and used the Rankine vortex model.
Risk Information, Investor Learning, and Informational Feedback

This paper studies how public information regarding a firm's riskiness affects investors' incentives to acquire information about the firm and the firm's ability to learn decision-useful information from its price. I find that risk information complements investor learning by informing investors of when it is most lucrative to investigate the firm, thereby reducing liquidity. Furthermore, risk information causes the firm's price to contain more information when its investment decisions have the greatest impact on its value, thereby improving real efficiency. Extensions of the model suggest that the impact of risk information on real efficiency may deteriorate when the firm's manager is excessively exposed to idiosyncratic risk, or when the firm's shareholders are excessively averse to such risk. In sum, my analysis suggests that information regarding firms' expected values and their risks significantly differ in their effects on the capital market.
TeamMates: Providing Emotional and Academic Support in Rural Schools

Numerous studies have found that mentoring has a positive effect on students who participate in it. Mentorship for students in rural communities is both necessary and challenging given the uphill battle these schools and communities face to improve their students’ academic achievement and emotional well-being. Through examining teacher, parent, and student perceptions of the TeamMates Mentoring Program in a rural Nebraska district, this study concluded that TeamMates is providing necessary social and emotional support to its mentees in rural schools, as well as encouraging them to improve their grades. However, TeamMates must continue to heighten its support of low-achieving students and to help fulfill students’ long-term goals.
An Outsourcing Model for Alert Analysis in a Cybersecurity Operations Center

A typical Cybersecurity Operations Center (CSOC) is a service organization. It hires and trains analysts, whose task is to perform analysis of alerts that were generated while monitoring the client’s networks. Due to ever-increasing financial and infrastructure burden on a CSOC driven by the rapidly growing demand for security services, it would become prohibitively expensive to continually expand the size of a CSOC to meet the demands in the future. An alternative solution is to outsource the alert analysis process to on-demand analysts, to provide scalable CSOC service to its clients with features, such as (1) higher throughput, (2) higher quality, and (3) more economical service than the current in-house service. The current outsourcing model is not cost effective and an exact optimization model is computationally inefficient. This article presents a novel two-step sequential mixed integer programming optimization method that is used in the development of a new decision-support business model for outsourcing the alert analysis process. It is demonstrated that through this model, a CSOC can effectively deliver its alert management services with the above-mentioned features. Results indicate that the model is scalable, computationally viable, real-time implementable, and can deliver CSOC services that meet the service-level agreement (SLA) between the CSOC and its client. In addition, the article provides valuable insights into the cost of operating the new business process outsourcing model for cybersecurity services.
Advanced Imaging of Brain Metastases: From Augmenting Visualization and Improving Diagnosis to Evaluating Treatment Response

Early detection of brain metastases and differentiation from other neuropathologies is crucial. Although biopsy is often required for definitive diagnosis, imaging can provide useful information. After treatment commences, imaging is also performed to assess the efficacy of treatment. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the traditional imaging method for the evaluation of brain metastases, as it provides information about lesion size, morphology, and macroscopic properties. Newer MRI sequences have been developed to increase the conspicuity of detecting enhancing metastases. Other advanced MRI techniques, that have the capability to probe beyond the anatomic structure, are available to characterize micro-structures, cellularity, physiology, perfusion, and metabolism. Artificial intelligence provides powerful computational tools for detection, segmentation, classification, prediction, and prognosis. We highlight and review a few advanced MRI techniques for the assessment of brain metastases-specifically for (1) diagnosis, including differentiating between malignancy types and (2) evaluation of treatment response, including the differentiation between radiation necrosis and disease progression.
FEAR AVOIDANCE BELIEFS RELATED TO PROLONGED RECOVERY FROM PEDIATRIC SPORTS CONCUSSIONS

Background:Individuals experiencing persistent pain or discomfort may develop avoidance behaviors and fear. Fear avoidance behaviors have been found to be predictive of chronic disability in adults...
Clinical analysis of purulent meningitis caused by streptococcus pneumoniae in 12 children

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of purulent meningitis caused by streptococcus pneumoniae.Methods We studied clinical features of 12 children with purulent meningitis caused by streptococcus pneumoniae who were hospitalized from Jan 2007 to Oct 2011 in our hospital.Results Twelve children were penicillin-resistant streptococcus pneumoniae.The ages ranged from 2 months to 10 years.Nine cases(75％) were aged less than 5 years,and 5 cases(41.6％) were aged less than 2 years.All cases were with fever,and with the nervous system symptoms involvement.All cases were with complications:9 cases(75％) with septicemia,8 cases (66.7％) with pneumonia.The white blood cells,blood C-reactive protein,peripheral blood procalcitonin,erythrocyte sedimentation rate,white cells and protein in cerebrospinal fluid were mostly significantly high,sugar in cerebrospinal fluid were low significantly.Eleven cases were eventually treatmented by vancomycin plus 3rd to 4rd generations of cephalosporins antibiotics or other antibiotics.Eight cases were cured,2 cases with serious sequela,and 2 cases died.Conclusion We should attach importance to the meningitis caused by streptococcus pneumoniae.For clinical suspects pneumonia streptococcus meningitis,to given the powerful therapy by vancomycin plus the other antibiotics,as early as possible. Key words: Streptococcus pneumoniae; Purulent meningitis; Children