cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Glider observations of optical backscatter in different Jerlov water types: Implications to US naval operations

Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) are increasingly being used as efficient and cost-effective Intelligent Preparation of the Operational Environment (IPOE) platforms by the Naval Oceanographie Office (NAVOCEANO), which seeks to provide Bat-tlespace on Demand to the US Navy warfighter. One such UUV, the Teledyne/Webb Slocum Electric Glider, was utilized during four US Naval exercises in the past year to provide environmental data in support of Navy operations. Folding Slocum Glider missions into tactical operations has numerous benefits: the Slocum Glider (1) provides high-resolution optical and physical data in shallow coastal environments in real-time, (2) maintains a low profile when surfaced, (3) is piloted remotely with minimal manpower, (4) can be deployed over-the-horizon, and (5) reduces the amount of time an asset spends off-mission for the sake of IPOE measurements. Environmental data include sound velocity profiles, water clarity, and current velocity. The scientific payload for the Slocum Gliders in the NAVOCEANO glider inventory consists of a CTD probe and an optical backscattering sensor. Sound velocity profiles are derived from the CTD, water clarity is inferred from the backscattering data, and depth-averaged currents are determined by offsets between subsurface dead-reckoning position estimates and actual surface Global Positioning System (GPS) position fixes. One issue pertaining to the optical data is that many of the optical products utilized are based on beam attenuation and not optical backscattering. Consequently, optical backscattering data from the NAVOCEANO Slocum glider data must be converted to beam attenuation to be utilized for algorithms that create optical products. The work presented here examines the optical backscattering to beam attenuation relationship of glider-based observations of four distinct coastal water masses, as described by the Jerlov Optical Ocean Water Mass Classification. Optical backscattering data were converted to beam attenuation by (1) using a standard algorithm and (2) scaling backscattering to attenuation. The results indicate that the contribution of optical backscatter to total attenuation depends heavily on the composition of particles in the water column and that concurrent measures of beam attenuation and optical backscattering are needed to provide accurate estimates of relevant optical products.
Global epidemic of atrial fibrillation including China.

A new study from Mayo Clinic in the United States [1] showed that, over a 20-year period, twice as many people are affected by atrial fibrillation (AF) as previously thought, and that, if the increase in incidence continues, there could be as many as 15.9 M with AF by 2050. Among the many possible risk factors, increasing prevalence of obesity is an important one [1–4]. The epidemic of AF is global, as evidenced by the recent report from China [5]. Data were retrospectively analyzed in 9297 patients from 41 hospitals in mainland China. During a 3-year period (1999–2001), admissions for AF as a proportion of total cardiovascular admissions increased from 7.65% in 1999 to 7.90% in 2000, and then to 8.16% in 2001 [5]. Since there is an epidemic of obesity in China [6–11] and since obesity is a risk factor for AF [1–4], the rising incidence of AF in China is therefore understandable. The other risk factor for AF is, of course, the aging of the population. For example, in the Chinese study, 75% of patients were of advanced age [5]. However, of the two ‘o’s, you cannot control old age but you can certainly control obesity [4]. According to Miyasaka et al. [1], obesity could have accounted for up to 60% of the anticipated increase in ageand sex-adjusted AF incidence in this new study.
The Effects of Age, Object, and Cultural/Religious Background on Children's Concepts of Death:

Concepts of death were examined in 114 children who comprised three age groups (5, 6–7, 8–9) and two cultural/religious backgrounds (northern Unitarian and southern Baptist). Children's understanding of death was examined for five animate objects (bear, baby, child's mother, experimentor, and the child her/himself) and four inanimate objects (airplane, rock, stuffed bear, and a car). The first step in analysis focused on children's understanding of three general death related concepts: irreversibility, universality, and inevitability. Significant cultural/religious background differences were found for all three concepts, while the effect of age was apparent only in the latter two concepts. The second step in analysis assessed the effect of age. object and background on children's understanding of the causation of death. Understanding of causation was shown to be significantly influenced by all three variables.
Acute major gastrointestinal hemorrhage in inflammatory bowel disease.

Abstract Background: Acute major gastrointestinal hemorrhage is uncommon in inflammatory bowel disease. Methods: We characterized the clinical features and course of such hemorrhage in patients at our institution from 1989 to 1996. Results: Thirty-one patients had acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding from inflammatory bowel disease and one had upper gastrointestinal bleeding from duodenal Crohn's disease. Three patients had ulcerative colitis and 28 had Crohn's disease, representing 0.1% of admissions for ulcerative colitis and 1.2% for Crohn's disease. In addition, another patient bled from an ileal J-pouch. In patients with Crohn's disease, the site of bleeding was duodenal in 1, small intestinal in 9, ileocolonic in 8, and colonic in 10. All ulcerative colitis patients had pancolitis. Medical therapy was initiated in 27 patients, including endoscopic therapy in 3. Five patients underwent surgery immediately, and 7 medically treated patients eventually required surgery for ongoing or recurrent bleeding. Conclusions: Acute major gastrointestinal bleeding is uncommon in inflammatory bowel disease. Most cases are due to Crohn's disease, without a predilection for site of involvement. The presence of an endoscopically treatable lesion is uncommon, and surgery is required in less than half of cases during the initial hospitalization. Recurrent hemorrhage is not rare, and for these cases surgery may be the most appropriate treatment. (Gastrointest Endosc 1999;49:153-7.)
The Relationship Between the Amount and Helpfulness of Entry Thaining and Work Outcomes

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the amount and helpfulness of entry training and work outcomes for newcomers during organizational socialization. A sample of 152 newly-hired entry-level professionals completed a questionnaire after the first 6 months of socialization. Supervisor ratings of job performance were obtained 4 months later. The results indicated that the amount of training received by newcomers was significantly related to job satisfaction, commitment, intention to quit, ability to cope, and several measures of job performance. Newcomers' perceptions of the helpfulness of training was significantly related to job satisfaction, commitment, and intention to quit beyond that explained by training amount. However, none of the amount x helpftdness interactions were significant. In addition, newcomers' anxiety was found to mediate the relationship between training and ability to cope, and to partially mediate the training relationships with job satisfaction, commitme...
Second-harmonic generation in nonpolar chiral materials: relationship between molecular and macroscopic properties

An oriented gas model for the second-order nonlinear optical response for optical second-harmonic generation in axially aligned nonlinear optical chromophores in chiral media is presented. Design criteria for the alignment of chromophores possessing Kleinman-disallowed traceless symmetric second-rank tensor hyperpolarizabilities β resulting in large nonlinear optical susceptibilities χ(2) are enumerated. These chromophores could be oriented in high-density, highly ordered structures due to the absence of dipolar interactions resulting in exceptionally large χ(2) values. The alignment of chromophores that have C2v or Dn(n>2) symmetry in two chiral nonpolar symmetry groups for the medium, D∞ and D2, are considered. Criteria for response optimization and several physical examples are described. Additionally, certain nonpolar symmetry groups for the medium, of which the most easily realizable is probably D2, also admit Kleinman-allowed octupolar susceptibilities for which the optimum chromophore alignment is discussed.
Assessment of the permeability of the blood-retinal barrier in hypertensive rats

We assessed the permeability surface area products at the blood-retinal barrier and blood-brain barrier to sucrose (molecular weight, 340) and microperoxidase (molecular weight, 2000) following acute hypertension induced by metaraminol in Wistar-Kyoto rats (controls) and during chronic hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats. In acute hypertension, the permeability surface area product for sucrose was increased at the blood-retinal barrier and at the blood-brain barrier over control values (p less than 0.02), and the vessels became leaky to microperoxidase. In chronic hypertension, the permeability of the blood-retinal barrier to sucrose was increased over that in control animals (p less than 0.02), whereas the permeability of the blood-brain barrier was unaffected. Neither barrier leaked microperoxidase. These results indicate that the blood-brain barrier and the blood-retinal barrier are similarly affected in acute hypertension and that in chronic hypertension, the blood-brain barrier is unaffected whereas the blood-retinal barrier is rendered more permeable to small, but not large, solutes.
Accommodation with and without short-wavelength-sensitive cones and chromatic aberration

Accommodation was monitored while observers (23) viewed a square-wave grating (2.2 cycles/deg; 0.53 contrast) in a Badal optometer. The grating moved sinusoidally (0.2 Hz) to provide a stimulus between -1.00 D and -3.00 D during trials lasting 40.96 s. There were three illumination conditions: 1. Monochromatic 550 nm light to stimulate long-wavelength-sensitive cones (L-cones) and medium-wavelength-sensitive cones (M-cones) without chromatic aberration; 2. Monochromatic 550 nm light+420 nm light to stimulate long-, medium- and short-wavelength-sensitive cones (S-cones) with longitudinal chromatic aberration (LCA); 3. Monochromatic 550 nm light+420 nm light to stimulate L-, M- and S-cones viewed through an achromatizing lens. In the presence of LCA mean dynamic gain decreased (p=0.0003; ANOVA) and mean accommodation level was reduced (p=0.001; ANOVA). The reduction in gain and increased lag of accommodation in the presence of LCA could result from a blue-yellow chromatic signal or from a larger depth-of-focus.
Incorporating genotyping uncertainty in haplotype inference for single-nucleotide polymorphisms

The accuracy of the vast amount of genotypic information generated by high-throughput genotyping technologies is crucial in haplotype analyses and linkage-disequilibrium mapping for complex diseases. To date, most automated programs lack quality measures for the allele calls; therefore, human interventions, which are both labor intensive and error prone, have to be performed. Here, we propose a novel genotype clustering algorithm, GeneScore, based on a bivariate t-mixture model, which assigns a set of probabilities for each data point belonging to the candidate genotype clusters. Furthermore, we describe an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm for haplotype phasing, GenoSpectrum (GS)-EM, which can use probabilistic multilocus genotype matrices (called “GenoSpectrum”) as inputs. Combining these two model-based algorithms, we can perform haplotype inference directly on raw readouts from a genotyping machine, such as the TaqMan assay. By using both simulated and real data sets, we demonstrate the advantages of our probabilistic approach over the current genotype scoring methods, in terms of both the accuracy of haplotype inference and the statistical power of haplotype-based association analyses.
Animal Models of Liver Cancer

To understand the cellular mechanisms of HCC, and to develop novel therapeutic options for HCC, a number of animal models have been developed over the years. These include rodent, rabbit, swine, and primate model systems. While these animal models have helped to understand HCC to some extent, an ideal model system that mimics the human condition in terms of physiology, etiology and clinical setting is still missing. Towards this goal, there is a greater need than ever to develop a novel animal model that will recapitulate the human condition in its entirety.
Effects of Requiring Physical Fitness in a Lecture-Based College Course: Students' Attitudes toward Physical Activity.

In this study, we investigated students’ attitudes toward physical activity (PA) when including a required PA component in a university-required personal wellness class. The study included (a) an experimental group of students enrolled in a personal wellness course in which there was a required PA requirement and (b) a control group of students enrolled in a personal wellness course in which there was no PA requirement. Subjects were tested using the Corbin Attitude Test. The students in the experimental group were exposed to an additional PA requirement in which they were to exercise at least twice per week at a perceived exertion level of 4 or above on the modified 1 to 10 scale. Students in the control group were only required to complete the university-required personal wellness course, which did not include a required PA component. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine if adding the PA component had an effect on students’ attitudes and perceptions toward their personal health and to check for significance between gender and attitude toward physical activity. The analysis of the data showed no significant gain or decline in attitude for either group, suggesting that although specific required PA does not significantly improve attitude, it does not hurt it either. It could be surmised from this study and similar studies that choice of activity is the most important factor for improving attitude toward PA.
Gait adaptation to visual kinematic perturbations using a real-time closed-loop brain-computer interface to a virtual reality avatar.

Objective The control of human bipedal locomotion is of great interest to the field of lower-body brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) for gait rehabilitation. While the feasibility of closed-loop BCI systems for the control of a lower body exoskeleton has been recently shown, multi-day closed-loop neural decoding of human gait in a BCI virtual reality (BCI-VR) environment has yet to be demonstrated. BCI-VR systems provide valuable alternatives for movement rehabilitation when wearable robots are not desirable due to medical conditions, cost, accessibility, usability, or patient preferences. Approach In this study, we propose a real-time closed-loop BCI that decodes lower limb joint angles from scalp electroencephalography (EEG) during treadmill walking to control a walking avatar in a virtual environment. Fluctuations in the amplitude of slow cortical potentials of EEG in the delta band (0.1-3 Hz) were used for prediction; thus, the EEG features correspond to time-domain amplitude modulated potentials in the delta band. Virtual kinematic perturbations resulting in asymmetric walking gait patterns of the avatar were also introduced to investigate gait adaptation using the closed-loop BCI-VR system over a period of eight days. Main results Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using a closed-loop BCI to learn to control a walking avatar under normal and altered visuomotor perturbations, which involved cortical adaptations. The average decoding accuracies (Pearson's r values) in real-time BCI across all subjects increased from (Hip: 0.18 ± 0.31; Knee: 0.23 ± 0.33; Ankle: 0.14 ± 0.22) on Day 1 to (Hip: 0.40 ± 0.24; Knee: 0.55 ± 0.20; Ankle: 0.29 ± 0.22) on Day 8. Significance These findings have implications for the development of a real-time closed-loop EEG-based BCI-VR system for gait rehabilitation after stroke and for understanding cortical plasticity induced by a closed-loop BCI-VR system.
Blocking of interferon production by chromatographically purified L cell interferon.

SummaryPretreatment of L cells with mouse interferon diminishes their responsiveness to interferon induction (blocking effect). The blocking property of interferon preparations is liberated simultaneously with interferon from stimulated cultures. Both activities are reduced to the same degree by partially inhibitory concentrations of actinomycin D. Chromatographic purification of interferon (specific act, 1–3×106 units/mg protein), fails to dissociate a separate blocking component from interferon. Nonpurified and chromatographed interferon preparations display the same blocking potency in relation to interferon content. Blocking can be partially or completely reversed by increasing the multiplicity of infectious NDV. Under the same conditions, reversal of blocking does not occur with excessive inducer concentrations of NDVuv and poly I:C.The authors are grateful for the competent assistance of Marilyn J. Mundy.
Reducing Vulnerability for Those Who Are Homeless During Natural Disasters

ABSTRACTNatural disasters are occurring frequently. Many organizations and government agencies work together to provide citizens with safety and survival information. However for those who are homeless, there is insufficient information about what their needs are during this event. Four focus groups were held with adults who were homeless before and after they survived a natural disaster. In addition, three focus groups were convened with social service providers and government personnel who had been called into action to respond to prior disaster events. Results offer insights into the different perceptions of offered assistance. Implications for assisting those homeless are provided.
Host Specificity of Megacerus discoidus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) and Its Impact on Hedge Bindweed, Calystegia sepium

Among 19 plant species tested for host specificity of Megacerus discoidus (Say), a native North American seed feeder of hedge bindweed, Calystegia sepium (L.) Brown, only hedge bindweed and wild sweet potato, Ipomoea pandurata (L.), supported development to adulthood. Oviposition occurred only on seedpods of hedge bindweed and heavenly blue morning glory, Ipomoea tricolor Cav., also in the same family. The latter did not support larval development. An infestation rate of five M. discoidus eggs per seedpod of hedge bindweed in field cages resulted in a high rate (ca. 70%) of seed infestation, but did not destroy all of the seeds. Seed consumption did not cause any change in developmental growth of hedge bindweed. Use of M. discoidus is considered to be safe, but it must be combined with other stress factors to achieve effective control of the weed.
Application effect evaluation of childhood immunization information management system platform in Nanchang

Objective To evaluate the application effect of Nanchang city children vaccination information management system( CIIMS) platform,and provide reference frame for local platform construction. Methods Analyze and summarize the use of Nanchang CIIMS platform. Results Nanchang city CIIMS platform construction can expand the national CIIMS system function,reduce duplication case and improve work efficiency. To realize data sharing and vaccination in different place. The platform possesses function of supervision,and guarantee the data quality of vaccination.. Through the different module the management can be within the area of the vaccine inoculation on statistics,summarizing,and analysis. Provide a reference basis on assessment supervision. Conclusions Before the national CIIMS platform opened,establishing the local area CIIMS platform can promote the immune planning work.
Improved Semantic Parsers For If-Then Statements

Digital personal assistants are becoming both more common and more useful. The major NLP challenge for personal assistants is machine understanding: translating natural language user commands into an executable representation. This paper focuses on understanding rules written as If-Then statements, though the techniques should be portable to other semantic parsing tasks. We view understanding as structure prediction and show improved models using both conventional techniques and neural network models. We also discuss various ways to improve generalization and reduce overfitting: synthetic training data from paraphrase, grammar combinations, feature selection and ensembles of multiple systems. An ensemble of these techniques achieves a new state of the art result with 8% accuracy improvement.
Direct visualization of effects of endothelin on the renal microvasculature.

The renal microvascular and hemodynamic actions of endothelin were assessed directly in isolated perfused hydronephrotic (HYD) and normal kidneys, respectively. In HYD kidneys endothelin was a potent vasoconstrictor of the afferent arteriole (AA), eliciting a threshold vasoconstrictor response at 0.01 nM (P less than 0.05). At 0.1 and 0.3 nM, endothelin reduced AA diameter by 22 +/- 6 (P less than 0.025) and 41 +/- 4% (P less than 0.001), respectively. Furthermore, endothelin provoked oscillatory vasomotion in the AA. In contrast, endothelin had less effect on the efferent arteriole (EA), reducing EA diameter by only 7 +/- 4 (P greater than 0.20) and 13 +/- 4% (P less than 0.05), at 0.1 and 0.3 nM, respectively. In normal kidneys endothelin elicited a long-lasting vasoconstriction with a dose dependency similar to that observed in the AA of HYD kidneys. Furthermore, endothelin reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) from 0.58 +/- 0.04 to 0.09 +/- 0.05 ml.min-1.g-1 (P less than 0.001) in this model. Both the AA vasoconstriction and reduction in GFR were completely reversed by nifedipine. These findings indicate that endothelin is a potent renal vasoconstrictor that decreases GFR by a predominant vasoconstriction of the AA. Our observations are consistent with the postulate that endothelin elicits renal vasoconstriction via a mechanism involving dihydropyridine-sensitive calcium channels and that such calcium channels play a prominent role in the activation of the AA.
Exposure of rhesus monkeys to cowpox virus Brighton Red by large-particle aerosol droplets results in an upper respiratory tract disease.

We previously demonstrated that small-particle (0.5–3.0 µm) aerosol infection of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) with cowpox virus (CPXV)-Brighton Red (BR) results in fulminant respiratory tract disease characterized by severe lung parenchymal pathology but only limited systemic virus dissemination and limited classic epidermal pox-like lesion development ( Johnson et al., 2015 ). Based on these results, and to further develop CPXV as an improved model of human smallpox, we evaluated a novel large-particle aerosol (7.0–9.0 µm) exposure of rhesus monkeys to CPXV-BR and monitored for respiratory tract disease by serial computed tomography (CT). As expected, the upper respiratory tract and large airways were the major sites of virus-induced pathology following large-particle aerosol exposure. Large-particle aerosol CPXV exposure of rhesus macaques resulted in severe upper airway and large airway pathology with limited systemic dissemination.
Public Understanding of Science Policy and Educational Implications

The need for public understanding of science is especially critical in today’s society when citizens frequently confront complex, conflicting information on challenging topics. This article presents research on challenges for public understanding of science: In addition to increased scientific literacy (knowledge), people may need to shift epistemic cognition (beliefs about the nature of knowledge) and epistemic trust (beliefs about source credibility) to accept scientific perspectives. The article suggests how educators, media specialists, and scientists who communicate about their work might help address these challenges. Educational implications include (a) teach scientific processes, (b) teach for deeper understanding, (c) promote epistemic cognition, and (d) use instructional scaffolds. Policy recommendations include (a) fund educational research on thinking, (b) emphasize how to think over what to think, (c) support malleable psychological skills and dispositions, (d) avoid presenting “balanced pers...
Sample Surveys, History of

Sampling methods emerged from attempts to measure the characteristics of a nation's population by using only a part instead of the whole. Practitioners had to be convinced that the representative method (using a part of the population to draw inferences about the whole) would yield valid data. They also had to be convinced that the representative method could best be implemented using probability methods. Probability sampling became formalized only at the end of the nineteenth century and was put into practice in actual surveys in the early part of the twentieth century. Yet the debate over the nature of the representative method continued to rage until Jerzy Neyman's landmark 1934 paper demonstrated the superiority of probability sampling and helped to launch the formal methods that undergird modern survey practice. At that point, a good deal of attention moved from the study and control of sampling errors to the study and control of nonsampling errors.
PI controller design in the achievable gain-phase margin plane

In this paper, we present a new approach to the design of Proportional-Integral (PI) controllers. The focus is on a simultaneous achievement of the design specifications most often required in applications. These are a) gain margin, b) phase margin, and c) gain crossover frequency. To accomplish this, we develop a set of design curves in the gain and phase margin plane, indexed by gain crossover frequencies. These curves are constructed from the stabilizing set of PI controllers corresponding to the given plant. Each point in this space represents a prescribed gain margin, phase margin, and crossover frequency, achievable by some PI controller in the stabilizing set. The specific and unique PI achieving these specifications can be found from the intersection of constant magnitude and constant phase loci in the space of controller gains, which consist of ellipses and straight lines. Illustrative examples are presented.
Chronic Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) Does Not Impact Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Survivors of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (SCT) up to the Second Decade Post-Transplant,

Abstract Abstract 4099 Long term survivors of allogeneic SCT have increased risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The reason for this is unclear but chronic GVHD (cGVHD) has been implicated as a potential cause. We prospectively evaluated the impact of cGVHD on cardiovascular risk profiles in 109 allogeneic stem cell transplantation survivors. Transplants were performed at a single center between 1993 and 2006. Sixty-four survivors were informative at 5 years, 45 at > 10 years and 35 at both 5 and 10 years post-transplant. Median ages at transplant, 5 and 10 year follow-up were 34, 40 and 46 years, respectively. There were 62 male and 47 female survivors. Diagnoses at transplant included CML (56), acute leukemia (29), MDS (13), and others (9). Ninety-nine patients received 12–13Gy TBI-based conditioning followed by a 4-log T cell depleted SCT (15 marrow and 84 peripheral blood). Ten patients received non-myeloablative conditioning followed by unmanipulated peripheral blood stem cells. There were clinically relevant increases in prevalence of hypertension (p= Table ). Dyslipidemias (defined by ATP III criteria) were found in 44% and 52% of 5 and 10 year post-transplant survivors, respectively. At follow-up, 6 of 19 pre-transplant smokers continued to smoke. There was no change in prevalence of any cardiovascular risk factor between the 5 and 10 year time-points. Despite this significant increase in risk factors, clinical cardiovascular events and mortality were uncommon. At the time of analysis, of 12 deaths, only one was due to a cardiovascular cause (cerebrovascular accident). In addition, 2 survivors required percutaneous coronary intervention and one had recurrent pulmonary emboli. Serial electrocardiograms revealed 6 survivors with new ischemic changes and 28 with new rhythm or conduction abnormalities. There was no significant change in left ventricular ejection fraction at follow-up in any survivor compared to their pre-transplant baseline. Of the survivors, 35 had no cGVHD, 18 had cGVHD lasting 3 years of systemic immunosuppression. cGVHD did not exert significant influence on any cardiovascular risk factors at any time-point. This study demonstrates that post-transplant survivors have important and prolonged elevations in cardiovascular risk factors. Although elevations in CRP suggest a persistent chronic inflammatory state, cGVHD was not responsible for the heightened cardiovascular risk profile of these individuals. Percentage of increase in cardiovascular risk factors from pre-transplant baseline at follow-up 5yrs (%) 10yrs (%) Diabetes 810 1005 Hypertension 292 563 CRP (as a continuous variable) 441 721 BMI (as a continuous variable) 2 10 Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Applying a Global Perspective to School-Based Health Centers in New York City.

Abstract Background Since the 1960s, school-based health centers (SBHC) in the United States have emerged and grown with the mission of providing primary medical, reproductive, and mental health services, as well as comprehensive health education, to all students who are enrolled in the participating school. SBHCs have demonstrated a unique ability to reduce barriers to medical care for underserved populations in New York City, including undocumented immigrants and those who are of lower income status. Methods The Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center School-Based Health Program (MSAHC SBHP) was established in 1985 in order to increase access to care for New York City teens. After a change of physical location, one particular site of the MSAHC SBHP had a significant decrease in clinic visits and enrollment. Traditional outreach strategies were utilized, but the results of the efforts were disappointing. Applying the Community Health Worker model, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), the MSAHC SBHP developed the Student Ambassador Program, a student-organized community-engagement initiative. The program is based on the premise that youth can be effective at outreach and serving as community liaisons to increase awareness and use of the SBHC. The SBH staff provided recruitment, training, and support. The student ambassadors initiated peer-informed outreach projects to appeal to the student body. Upon completion of the Student Ambassador projects, clinic enrollment increased 4.3% and visits increased 32% over the prior year. Conclusions School-based health centers in the United States have helped to provide comprehensive, multidisciplinary care to many children who would otherwise not be able to access care, but community engagement is critical to their success. Applying the WHO Community Health Worker Model to utilize school students for outreach to their school community is an effective way to increase utilization.
Invited Brief Commentary: Sentinel Lymph Node Status is a Main Prognostic Parameter Needful for the Correct Staging of Patients with Melanoma Thicker than 4 mm: Single Institutional Experience and Literature Meta-analysis

This issue of the Journal of Investigative Surgery contains a report from the Tuscan Regional Melanoma Referral Center in Florence, Italy on the efficacy of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in thi...
Remembrances of Data Past: A Review of the Journal'S Empirical Research:

Goals, methods, subjects, applications, and citations of 52 empirical research studies and 6 literature reviews appearing between 1973 and 1982 were tabulated. The data were reviewed with respect t...
On Configuring a Hierarchy of Storage Media in the Age of NVM

Advances in storage technology have introduced Non-Volatile Memory, NVM, as a new storage medium. NVM, along with DRAM and Disk present a system designer with a wide array of options in designing caching middleware. Moreover, design decisions to replicate a data item in more than one level of a caching memory hierarchy may enhance the overall system performance with a faster recovery time in the event of a memory failure. Given a fixed budget, the key configuration questions are: Which storage media should constitute the memory hierarchy? What is the storage capacity of each hierarchy? Should data be replicated or partitioned across the different levels of the hierarchy? We study a model of these cache configuration questions and present results from a simple algorithm to evaluate design tradeoffs in the context of a memory hierarchy for a Key-Value Store, e.g., memcached. The results show selective replication is appropriate with certain failure rates and workload characteristics. With a slim failure rate and frequent data updates, tiering of data across the different storage media that constitute the cache is superior to replication.
The Appearance and Disappearance of Age Differences in Adult Memory

Over the past two decades there has been much support for the commonly held belief that memory deteriorates in later adulthood. However, there has been less progress towards understanding the basis of this decline. Moreover, under some conditions age differences have not been observed. Contrasting the situations in which deficits are and are not observed should be instructive for gaining an understanding of age-related changes in memory. The present chapter includes a presentation of some of our research in which age deficits have been observed and a discussion of how the deficits often have been attenuated and sometimes eliminated. Finally, an attempt is made to integrate these results, as well as other findings in the literature, in a way that may shed light on the mechanisms underlying memory change in adulthood.
Assessing antimicrobial stewardship initiatives: Clinical evaluation of cefepime or piperacillin/tazobactam in patients with bloodstream infections secondary to AmpC-producing organisms.

ABSTRACT Management of micro-organisms harbouring AmpC β-lactamases remains challenging. Carbapenems are often considered first-line agents. Due to growing concern regarding carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, integrating non-carbapenem treatment strategies is being explored for these pathogens. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate clinical outcomes in patients with bacteraemia secondary to AmpC-producing organisms treated with cefepime or piperacillin/tazobactam (TZP). A retrospective study of adult patients receiving cefepime or TZP for the treatment of AmpC -producing organisms with positive cefoxitin screen (i.e. Citrobacter, Enterobacter or Serratia spp. along with cefoxitin resistance) isolated from blood cultures was conducted. The primary endpoint was clinical cure at end of therapy (EOT). Secondary endpoints included microbiological eradication, frequency of susceptibility changes following treatment, and 7- and 30-day all-cause mortality. Clinical cure at EOT was 87.1%, with 93.2% of patients achieving microbiological eradication. The 7- and 30-day mortality rates were 3.8% and 10.6%, respectively. Organism susceptibility was exceptionally high, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of ≤2 μg/mL in 90% of patients treated with cefepime (n = 108). Selection for resistance to third-generation cephalosporins or primary antimicrobial therapy was infrequent at 6.1% (8/132). In conclusion, use of cefepime or TZP for management of AmpC bloodstream infections was associated with clinical and microbiological cure with infrequent selection for resistance.
Study of the strengthening mechanism of electrodeposited Ni-B thin films with ultra-low boron content

Abstract In this study, the hardening behavior of Ni-B thin films with ultra-low boron contents is investigated by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM). The hardness of Ni-B thin films increases with an increase of boron content within films, the highest hardness is approximately at 1120 Hv. average grain size about 4.64 nm. The analysis of synchrotron X-ray diffraction and HR-TEM indicated the strengthening mechanism of Ni-B thin films can be attributed to a combined effect of solid solution strengthening and fine grain strengthening mechanisms.
Hyperpolarized [6-13C,15N3]-Arginine as a Probe for in Vivo Arginase Activity

Alterations in arginase enzyme expression are linked with various diseases and have been shown to support disease progression, thus motivating the development of an imaging probe for this enzymatic target. 13C-enriched arginine can be used as a hyperpolarized (HP) magnetic resonance (MR) probe for arginase flux since the arginine carbon-6 resonance (157 ppm) is converted to urea (163 ppm) following arginase-catalyzed hydrolysis. However, scalar relaxation from adjacent 14N-nuclei shortens cabon-6 T 1 and T 2 times, yielding poor spectral properties. To address these limitations, we report the synthesis of [6-13C,15N3]-arginine and demonstrate that 15N-enrichment increases carbon-6 relaxation times, thereby improving signal-to-noise ratio and spectral resolution. By overcoming these limitations with this novel isotope-labeling scheme, we were able to perform in vitro and in vivo arginase activity measurements with HP MR. We present HP [6-13C,15N3]-arginine as a noninvasive arginase imaging agent for preclinical studies, with the potential for future clinical diagnostic use.
Christianity and crimes against the State

This chapter explores Christianity’s influence on the scope and limits of “crimes against the state,” understood as criminal conduct that amounts to political disloyalty, threats to the constitutional order, or interference with law enforcement. The chapter argues that early Christianity, as reflected in the New Testament and other early Christian and Roman writings, entailed an ambiguity about secular government. On the one hand, Christians were to “give unto Caesar” what belonged to him. On the other, they were to “obey God rather than men.” As Christians came to political power, they relied on New Testament norms alternately to increase and to limit the claims of the secular government’s power. Christians have therefore used the coercive power of the state to enforce their view of Christianity, thereby increasing the number and scope of crimes against the state. Yet Christians have also pushed for limits on the power of the secular government in the form of structural restraints or, more recently, constitutional rights — limits that benefit everyone. The chapter considers Henry VIII’s use of treason to enforce his politico-religious regime and the landmark decisions in Bushell’s Case (1670) and West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette (1943).
Microsclerotial Granular Formulation of the Entomopathogenic Fungus Metarhizium brunneum and Its Combinations with Hydrogel and Imidacloprid against the Annual Bluegrass Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

We determined the potential of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium brunneum Petch (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) F52 strain, and of a microsclerotial formulation, for the control of the annual bluegrass weevil, Listronotus maculicollis Kirby, which is a major pest of golf course turf in eastern North America with widespread insecticide resistance. Under laboratory conditions in Petri dishes with moist sand, the microsclerotia (23-46 kg granules/ha) caused high rates of mortality (85-100%) and infection (67-80%) in annual bluegrass weevil adults, but these levels did not occur until after 9 d at constant 26°C and 12-15 d at 14 h at 23°C and 10 h at 17°C. Production of viable conidia was marginally higher at the higher temperature regime (7.3 vs. 5.2 × 109 per gram of granules). Application of microsclerotia did not provide significant control and infection of adults in pots with grass in the greenhouse. In field trials targeting spring generation larvae, microsclerotia application (50-100 kg granules/ha) was ineffective, and coapplication of hydrogel to stabilize soil moisture did not increase larval control. A liquid M. brunneum F52 conidial formulation (4.75-9.5 × 1013 colony forming units/ha) provided up to 51% control. Combinations of M. brunneum F52 with the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid provided additive control with up to 70% control with the conidial formulation. Field efficacy was probably limited by suboptimal temperatures for the fungus, and future tests need to examine whether higher control rates can be achieved in applications targeting the summer generation larvae.
Dynamic differential signaling based logic families for robust ultra-low power near-threshold computing

Abstract In this paper, novel circuit topologies for near-threshold computing (NTC) are proposed and evaluated. Three separate dynamic differential signaling based logic (DDSL) families are developed in a 130 nm technology to operate at 400 mV and 450 mV. The proposed logic families outperform contemporary CMOS and current-mode logic (CML) circuits implemented for near-threshold. The DDSL families are described as dynamic current-mode logic (DCML), latched DCML (LDCML), and dynamic feedback current-mode logic (DFCML). Simulation and analysis are performed through implementation of boolean functions and a 4×4 bit array multiplier. At a 450 mV supply voltage, the total power of the 4×4 DFCML multiplier is reduced to 0.95× and 0.009×, while the maximum operating frequency is improved by 1.4× and 1.12× as compared to, respectively, a CMOS and CML multiplier. The DCML multiplier consumes 1.48× the power while improving fmax by 1.65× as compared to a CMOS multiplier. A chain of four inverters implemented with the developed dynamic logic families exhibited an energy delay product (EDP) of 0.27× and 0.016× that of, respectively, CMOS and CML implementations. The mean noise margins, also evaluated with a chain of inverters, of DFCML and LDCML are at least 2.5× greater than that of CMOS.
Algorithmic Pulsar Timing

Pulsar timing is a process of iteratively fitting pulse arrival times to constrain the spindown, astrometric, and possibly binary parameters of a pulsar, by enforcing integer numbers of pulsar rotations between the arrival times. Phase connection is the process of unambiguously determining those rotation numbers between the times of arrival (TOAs) while determining a pulsar timing solution. Pulsar timing currently requires a manual process of step-by-step phase connection performed by individuals. In an effort to quantify and streamline this process, we created the Algorithmic Pulsar Timer, APT, an algorithm which can accurately phase connect and time isolated pulsars. Using the statistical F-test and knowledge of parameter uncertainties and covariances, the algorithm decides what new data to include in a fit, when to add additional timing parameters, and which model to attempt in subsequent iterations. Using these tools, the algorithm can phase-connect timing data that previously required substantial manual effort. We tested the algorithm on 100 simulated systems, with a 97% success rate. This algorithm is the first of its kind in pulsar timing, and sets the foundation for automated fitting of binary pulsar systems.
Urban Accessibility as a Socio-Political Problem: A Multi-Stakeholder Analysis

Traditionally, urban accessibility is defined as the ease of reaching destinations. Studies on urban accessibility for pedestrians with mobility disabilities (e.g., wheelchair users) have primarily focused on understanding the challenges that the built environment imposes and how they overcome them. In this paper, we move beyond physical barriers and focus on socio-political challenges in the civic ecosystem that impedes accessible infrastructure development. Using a multi-stakeholder approach, we interviewed five primary stakeholder groups (N=25): (1) people with mobility disabilities, (2) caregivers, (3) accessibility advocates, (4) department officials, and (5) policymakers. We discussed their current accessibility assessment and decision-making practices. We identified the key needs and desires of each group, how they differed, and how they interacted with each other in the civic ecosystem to bring about change. We found that people, politics, and money were intrinsically tied to underfunded accessibility improvement projects "without continued support from the public and the political leadership, existing funding may also disappear. Using the insights from these interviews, we explore how may technology enhance our stakeholders" decision-making processes and facilitate accessible infrastructure development.
High quality imaging and dosimetry for yttrium-90 (90Y) liver radioembolization using a SiPM-based PET/CT scanner

Transarterial radioembolization (TARE) with yttrium-90 (90Y) microspheres is a liver-directed treatment for primary and secondary hepatic malignancies. Personalized dosimetry aims for maximum treatment effect and reduced toxicity. We aimed to compare pre-treatment voxel-based dosimetry from 99mTc macroaggregated albumin (MAA) SPECT/CT with post-treatment 90Y PET/CT for absorbed dose values, and to evaluate image quality of 90Y SiPM-based PET/CT. Forty-two patients (28 men, 14 women, mean age: 67 ± 11 years) with advanced hepatic malignancies were prospectively enrolled. Twenty patients were treated with glass and 22 with resin microspheres. Radiation absorbed doses from planning 99mTc-MAA SPECT/CT and post-therapy 90Y PET/CT were assessed. 90Y PET/CT images were acquired for 20 min and reconstructed to produce 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-min datasets, then evaluated using the 5-point Likert scale. The mean administered activity was 3.44 ± 1.5 GBq for glass and 1.62 ± 0.7 GBq for resin microspheres. The mean tumor absorbed doses calculated from 99mTc-MAA SPECT/CT and 90Y PET/CT were 175.69 ± 113.76 Gy and 193.58 ± 111.09 Gy (P = 0.61), respectively for glass microspheres; they were 60.18 ± 42.20 Gy and 70.98 ± 49.65 Gy (P = 0.37), respectively for resin microspheres. The mean normal liver absorbed doses from 99mTc-MAA SPECT/CT and 90Y PET/CT were 32.70 ± 22.25 Gy and 30.62 ± 20.09 Gy (P = 0.77), respectively for glass microspheres; they were 18.33 ± 11.08 Gy and 24.32 ± 15.58 Gy (P = 0.17), respectively for resin microspheres. Image quality of 90Y PET/CT at 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-min scan time showed a Likert score of 3.6 ± 0.54, 4.57 ± 0.58, 4.84 ± 0.37, and 4.9 ± 0.3, respectively. 99mTc-MAA SPECT/CT demonstrated great accuracy for treatment planning dosimetry. SiPM-based PET/CT scanner showed good image quality at 10-min scan time, acquired in one bed position. A PET/CT scan time of 5 min showed acceptable image quality and suffices for dosimetry and treatment verification. This allows for inclusion of 90Y PET/CT in busy routine clinical workflows. Studies with larger patient cohorts are needed to confirm these findings.
The Complementarity Effect in the Venture Capital Contract: A Generalized Formulation and New Insights

The moral hazard problem plagues the start-ups and even mature enterprises when they incorporate venture capital to pursue business upgrade or expansion. Especially in the value chain where the venture capitalist can synergize with the entrepreneur to contribute to the firm value. This paper proposes a game theoretic approach to solve the entrepreneur's optimization problem in a venture capital financing scheme and generalizes the formulation without a specific revenue function. Furthermore, this study generates managerial insights for venture capital market and relevant sustainable supply chain management. The key results also show that the complementarity effect can incentivize both the entrepreneur and the venture capitalist to exert more effort, thus achieving larger enterprise value when it is relatively significant, and the inefficiency caused by the allocation of equity share could be mitigated.