cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Physical Activity and Social Cognitive Theory Outcomes of an Internet-Enhanced Physical Activity Intervention for African American Female College Students.

Background. African American women report low levels of physical activity (PA) and are disproportionately burdened by related chronic diseases. This pilot study tested a 6-month theory-based (Social Cognitive Theory, SCT) culturally-relevant website intervention to promote PA among African American female college students. Materials and Methods . A single group pre-post test design (n=34) was used. PA and associated SCT constructs (outcome expectations, enjoyment, self-regulation, social support) were assessed at baseline, 3 months and 6 months. Results. The sample was comprised of mostly obese ( M BMI= 35.4, SD =6.82) young adults (M age= 21.21 years, SD =2.31). Fifty percent of the sample completed all assessments. Intent-to-treat analyses showed that participants reported a significant median improvement in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity from 82.5 minutes/week ( M=81.76, SD =76.23) at baseline to 115.0 minutes/week ( M= 122.44, SD =97.93) at 3 months ( Wilcoxon z= 2.39 , p=.02). However these gains appear to have attenuated by 6 months (Median= 82.5 minutes/week, M=96.73, SD =84.20; Wilcoxon z= 1.02, p=.31). Significant increases from baseline to 6 months were found in self-regulation for PA (p= .02 ) and social support for PA from friends ( p=.02). Changes in the SCT variables were not significantly associated with changes in PA; however, this may have been due to small sample size. Conclusions. Future studies with larger samples and more aggressive retention strategies (e.g., more frequent incentives, prompts for website use) are needed to further explore the applicability of web-based approaches to promote PA in this at-risk population.
Gender differences in the association of hazardous alcohol use with hypertension in an urban cohort of people living with HIV in South Florida.

Objective Industrialized countries are currently experiencing an epidemic of high blood pressure (HBP) extending to people living with HIV (PLWH). Given the prevalence of hazardous alcohol use (HAU), this study examines the relationship between alcohol consumption and hypertension in PLWH. Including a gender analysis is critical, given the high rates of HAU and HIV among females. Method We followed PLWH including both HAU and non-HAU (200 each). Participants were assessed twice for body weight, blood pressure, alcohol consumption, and other BP-associated lifestyle factors. High blood pressure (defined as systolic/diastolic blood pressure above 140/90 mmHg and/or treatment of HBP) was the primary outcome. Results Overall prevalence of hypertension was 38% and higher among HAU compared to non-HAU (42% vs. 34%, p = 0.02). Less than half with HBP (42%) were receiving treatment for hypertension. Overall, males had a 50% higher risk of HBP than women (odds ratio: 1.5, 95% CI: 1–2.6, p = 0.05). However among HAU, females were twice as likely to suffer HBP as their male counterparts (95% CI: 1–3.9, p = 0.02). Those HAU who preferred liquor, versus wine, had higher adjusted mean BP (132.6±18 vs. 122.3±14 mm Hg, p = 0.05). Additional analyses indicated that consumption of >1 standard drink of liquor or beer/day was associated with HBP. Risk of hypertension was noted in those with daily consumption of >3 glasses of wine. For those reporting <1 drink per day, the odds ratio of having HBP was 0.97 (CI: 0.6–0.99, p = 0.05). Factors associated with hypertension in the multivariate model included increased age, gender, BMI, HAU particularly of liquor, and smoking. Conclusions Excessive hypertension burden in this population and its association with HAU and sub-optimal care indicate the need for preventive and educational intervention in PLWH. Analyses highlight the necessity of gender and type-of-beverage specific approaches.
Is there a fingerprint pattern in the image

A fingerprint orientation field has distinct characteristics which can differentiate fingerprints from any other flow patterns: it has a specific number of singular points (cores and deltas), the configuration of singular points follows a certain spatial distribution, and its global shape is like an arch. In this paper, we propose a global fingerprint orientation field model, represented in terms of ordinary differential equations, which does not require any prior information such as singular points or orientation of a fingerprint. Further, the model requires only a small number of polynomial terms to represent the global fingerprint orientation field. The coefficients of the model are found subject to the constraints on the total number of singular points (i.e., 0, 2, or 4) in a fingerprint. The proposed model is used to distinguish fingerprint images from non-fingerprint images and altered fingerprints by measuring the abnormality in the orientation field of the image.
Effects of Different Temperatures in the Incubator on the Prenatal and Postnatal Development of the Chick

Abstract FOR many years the prevailing practice in the operation of sectional-type incubators (without forced-draft) has been to raise the temperature toward the end of the incubation period. Philips (1916) stated, as a result of his studies of various levels of temperature, that “a temperature of 101°, 102°, and 103°F. for the first, second, and third weeks respectively . . . will prove very satisfactory.” After further studies, however, Philips and Brooks (1923) concluded that the optimum temperature was between 100° and 103°F. The validity of this practice had till recently not been questioned, presumably because Eycleshymer (1907), Simpson (1911), and Cadman (1923) had all found that the temperature of the sitting hen rises when the eggs are hatching. The temperature of the nest is subject to such great variation due to the movements of the hen, particularly at hatching time, that it cannot be measured precisely. However, since the temperature . . .
Nutrition Considerations in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a serious degenerative muscular disease affecting males. Diagnosis usually occurs in childhood and is confirmed through genetic testing and/or muscle biopsy. Accompanying the disease are several nutrition-related concerns: growth, body composition, energy and protein requirements, constipation, swallowing difficulties, bone health, and complementary medicine. This review article addresses the nutrition aspects of DMD.
Improving the reliability of on-chip L2 cache using redundancy

The reliability of large on-chip L2 cache poses a significant challenge due to technology scaling trends. As the minimum feature size continues to decrease, the L2 caches become more vulnerable to multi-bit soft errors. Traditionally, L2 caches have been protected from multi-bit soft errors using techniques like using error detection/correction codes or employing physical interleaving of cache bit lines to convert multi-bit errors into single-bit errors. These methods, however, incur large overheads in area and power. In this work, we investigate several new techniques for reducing multi-bit errors in large L2 caches, in which the multi-bit errors are detected using simple error detection codes and corrected using the data redundancy in the memory hierarchy. Further, we develop a reliability aware replacement policy that dynamically trades performance for reliability whenever the soft-error budget is exceeded. In order to further improve reliability, we propose the duplication of the data values in cache lines by exploiting their small data widths. The proposed techniques were implemented in the Simplescalar framework and validated using the SPEC 2000 integer and floating point benchmarks. The proposed techniques improve the reliability of L2 caches by 40% and 32% on the average, for integer and floating point applications respectively, with little impact on performance and area.
Limits of Power Consumption in Analog Circuits

In analog circuits, power consumption is fundamentally related to noise and the signal bandwidth. In this paper, the theoretical minimum and practical power consumption of various implementations of analog circuits is analyzed. Continuous-time and discrete-time implementations of analog circuits are contrasted. Recent circuit approaches such as comparator and zero-crossing-based circuits are also considered. Finally, the effects of scaling on the power consumption are discussed.
The U. S. Federal-Wide Career Development Program for Radio Spectrum Management Personnel

Today, radio spectrum management is, a highly complex professional field requiring the services of many talented and motivated individuals. Recognizing the increased complexity of communications-electronics equipment, the increased skills required to, manage the radio spectrum, and the large attrition of personnel occuring and foreseen in the spectrum management community, the Director, Office. of, Telecommunications Policy (OTP), has established the U. S. Federal-Wide Career Development Program for Radio Spectrum Management Personnel.-The program is primarily designed to attract, develop, and retain personnel required to meet the present and future staffing requirements in the: spectrum management career field. Within the program, a career management system is being implemented at the entrance through senior levels. The system will encompass r-ecruitment, appraisal and counseling, training and development, selection and placement, and maintenance of individual career inventory records. The overall system concept was developed, by the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC) in collaboration with the Civil Service Commission. The Program operaltes under the advisory guidance of the IRAC. Considerable progress is being made toward full implementation of the career development program. General administrative procedures hiave been established and registration of employ-ees is scheduled to begin in the near future. The first class of the Centralized Intemn Program. began on June 21, 1976, and assigned personnel completed their individual training programs in July and September 1977. The next class is scheduled for January 1978.
Entropic graphs for intrinsic dimension estimation in manifold learning

Many interesting data sets, although high dimensional in nature, can be characterized by a low dimensional non linear parameterization, if, for example, the data set lies on a manifold. In this paper we consider the problem of estimating the manifold's intrinsic dimension and the intrinsic entropy of the data set. Specifically, we view the data as realizations of an unknown multivariate density supported on an unknown smooth manifold. We present a novel geometric approach, based on asymptotic properties of entropic graphs, to obtain asymptotically consistent estimates of the manifold dimension and the Renyi /spl alpha/-entropy of the data density on the manifold. The proposed algorithm simply constructs a minimal spanning tree (MST) sequence using a geodesic distance matrix and uses the overall lengths of the MSTs to compute the desired estimators. We apply the algorithm to standard synthetic manifolds as well as to real data sets.
Young Adults' Perceptions and Memories of a Televised Woman Hero.

One hundred and thirty-nine young adults viewed one of three episodes of a television program about a female action hero titled Xena: Warrior Princess. Programs varied in portrayals of Xena's shadow, the dark but also life-preserving facet of the personality. Participants of both genders who had higher levels of traditionally masculine personality characteristics were most likely to perceive Xena as a role model. Men were more likely than women to perceive Xena as a role model when she was portrayed with very little male shadow. Story themes describing women's heroic roles involved using your mind, not the sword, as well as the value of compassion during conflicts, themes that are in keeping with traditional feminine values. The results suggest that viewer acceptance of heroic qualities in women depends on viewer characteristics as well as program themes that include valued feminine qualities. Implications for portrayals of heroic women characters are discussed.
Thermoelastic Buckling and Vibration Analysis for Shape Optimization of Thin Walled Aerospace Structures

A design oriented buckling and natural frequency analysis of thermoelastic thin walled aerospace structures is presented. This includes sensitivity analysis and assessment of the performance of a number of standard approximation techniques. The eect of thermal stresses on buckling and vibration eigenvalues is taken into account through geometricstiness and material property variation. Thermal analysis includes the eects of convective cooling and radiation: external and in internal cavities. Test cases include aerospace structures with temperature dependent material properties. Nomenclature qi Heat flux in the xi direction due to conduction qv Internal volume heat generation qs
Differential diagnosis and discussion of a large nasal neoplasm from a late Bronze Age Athenian male

An adult male from the late Bronze Age of Athens, Greece, was found to have a large neoplasm in the nasal cavity. The characteristics of the lesion suggest that it was an osteoma of the ethmoid. Secondary infections of the paranasal sinuses are present as a result of the tumour blocking the sinus drainage. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Esophageal Perforation Caused by Misplaced Minnesota Tube

48-year-old man with decompensated alcoholic Acirrhosis (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease 14) was admitted to an outside hospital with a 1-day history of hematemesis and melena. Upon arrival, the patient was hemodynamically unstable and his laboratory test results showed a hemoglobin level of 5.9 g/dL. Initial management included resuscitation with packed red blood cells and fresh-frozen plasma, in addition to combined continuous infusion of proton-pump inhibitor and octreotide therapy. An emergent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) was performed, which showed bleeding from distal esophageal varices. Four bands were placed successfully for endoscopic variceal ligation. Shortly thereafter, the patient had recurrent hematemesis and a repeat EGD proved unsuccessful in banding of a distal esophageal varix. The patient then was intubated for airway protection and a Minnesota tube was placed before transfer to our facility for further care. On arrival to our hospital, the patient’s respiratory status deteriorated acutely and a chest radiograph showed a misplaced Minnesota tube with the gastric balloon inflated within the distal esophagus (Figure A). Both gastric and esophageal balloons subsequently were deflated and the Minnesota tube was removed. A chest computerized tomography showed a new, large, left-sided pleural effusion concerning for hemothorax. Emergent chest tube placement was performed. An EGD showed a large esophageal perforation that tracked into the pleural cavity, extending from 29 to 39 cm from the incisors. Endoscopic placement of 2 fully covered (23mm 15 cm) esophageal metal stents (Boston Scientific, Galway, Ireland) was performed and a follow-up esophagogram showed no contrast extravasation (Figure B). Subsequently, a 10 mm 8 cm Viatorr (GORE, Flagstaff, AZ) transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt was placed by interventional radiology. After a prolonged hospital course, the patient’s condition improved. Two months after presentation, a repeat EGD permitted removal of all stents and fluoroscopy confirmed complete closure of the esophagopleural fistula (Figure C). To prevent this complication, we recommend the following: (1) passage of the tube to at least 50 cm from the incisors, (2) injection of air into the gastric aspiration port while auscultating over the stomach, and (3) radiographic confirmation before complete inflation of the gastric balloon whenever possible.
Establishing school day pedometer step count cut-points using ROC curves in low-income children

Previous research has not established pedometer step count cut-points that discriminate children that meet school day physical activity recommendations using a tri-axial ActiGraph accelerometer criterion. The purpose of this study was to determine step count cut-points that associate with 30min of school day moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in school-aged children. Participants included 1053 school-aged children (mean age=8.4±1.8years) recruited from three low-income schools from the state of Utah in the U.S. Physical activity was assessed using Yamax DigiWalker CW600 pedometers and ActiGraph wGT3X-BT triaxial accelerometers that were concurrently worn during school hours. Data were collected at each school during the 2014-2015 school year. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine pedometer step count cut-points that associated with at least 30min of MVPA during school hours. Cut-points were determined using the maximum Youden's J statistic (J max). For the total sample, the area-under-the-curve (AUC) was 0.77 (p<0.001) with a pedometer cut-point of 5505 steps (J max=0.46, Sensitivity=63%, Specificity=84%; Accuracy=76%). Step counts showed greater diagnostic ability in girls (AUC=0.81, p<0.001; Cut-point=5306 steps; Accuracy=78.8%) compared to boys (AUC=0.72, p<0.01; Cut-point=5786 steps; Accuracy=71.4%). Pedometer step counts showed good diagnostic ability in girls and fair diagnostic ability in boys for discriminating children that met at least 30min of MVPA during school hours.
A fast method for inferring high-quality simply-connected superpixels

Superpixel segmentation is a key step in many image processing and vision tasks. Our recently-proposed connectivity-constrained probabilistic model [1] yields high-quality super-pixels. Seemingly, however, connectivity constraints preclude parallelized inference. As such, the implementation from [1] is serial. The contributions of this work are as follows. First, we demonstrate that effective parallelization is possible via a fast GPU implementation that scales gracefully with both the number of pixels and number of superpixels. Second, we show that the superpixels are improved by replacing the fixed and restricted spatial covariances from [1] with a flexible Bayesian prior. Quantitative evaluation on public benchmarks shows the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art. We make our implementation publicly available.
Alternative Pathway for the Reaction Catalyzed by DNA Dealkylase AlkB from Ab Initio QM/MM Calculations.

AlkB is the title enzyme of a family of DNA dealkylases that catalyze the direct oxidative dealkylation of nucleobases. The conventional mechanism for the dealkylation of N1-methyl adenine (1-meA) catalyzed by AlkB after the formation of FeIV–oxo is comprised by a reorientation of the oxo moiety, hydrogen abstraction, OH rebound from the Fe atom to the methyl adduct, and the dissociation of the resulting methoxide to obtain the repaired adenine base and formaldehyde. An alternative pathway with hydroxide as a ligand bound to the iron atom is proposed and investigated by QM/MM simulations. The results show OH– has a small impact on the barriers for the hydrogen abstraction and OH rebound steps. The effects of the enzyme and the OH– ligand on the hydrogen abstraction by the FeIV–oxo moiety are discussed in detail. The new OH rebound step is coupled with a proton transfer to the OH– ligand and results in a novel zwitterion intermediate. This zwitterion structure can also be characterized as Fe–O–C complex an...
Robot Assisted Music Therapy: A Case Study with Children Diagnosed with Autism

Music therapy is often used for children with autism to improve social interaction, communication, and imitation skills through music. Increasingly, music therapists have incorporated technology into therapy sessions as therapeutic tools. Robotics has shown potential to encourage interaction with children with autism. This research utilizes a case study approach (N=4), with children diagnosed with autism in music therapy sessions. A NAO robot was used in therapy for a minimum of 6 weeks, designed to instruct children to imitate dance movements though a therapist-selected song. Behavioral data analysis showed that the children increased imitation over the course of the study. Therapists benefited from using the robot tool to decrease their multitasking, and allow them to observe child.
Development situation and countermeasures of Guangdong fruit industry in 2014

Guangdong has superior geographical environment and climate conditions in South subtropics, has very rich and high quality varieties of fruit resources and a long history of fruit cultivation. So Guangdong has the unique advantages for developing subtropical fruits. After development of many years, fruit industry has become an important source of agricultural efficiency and farmers' income in Guangdong. In 2014, the scale of Guangdong fruit industry was stable, fruit prices fluctuated. The article analyzed the present situation of Guangdong fruit industry in2014 from 3 aspects, including fruit production, price, foreign trade and so on, and pointed out the main problems of Guangdong fruit industry, including the fruit industry production and circulation organization to be improved,breeding of new varieties of fruit to be strengthened, agricultural electronic commerce to be improved, preservation and processing to be improved. Finally, suggestions for future development were put forward, like making fruit industry special planning, strengthening the development of fruit industry basic system, improving the fruit industry service system, promoting the fruit science and technology innovation, accelerating the development of e-commerce,accelerating the promotion of fruit insurance policy, strengthening the integration of fruit industry and tourism.
Endoglin selectively modulates transient receptor potential channel expression in left and right heart failure

Abstract Introduction Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are broadly expressed cation channels that mediate diverse physiological stimuli and include canonical (TRPC), melastatin (TRPM), and vanilloid (TRPV) subtypes. Recent studies have implicated a role for TRPC6 channels as an important component of signaling via the cytokine, transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1) in right (RV) or left ventricular (LV) failure. Endoglin (Eng) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that promotes TRPC6 expression and TGFβ1 activity. No studies have defined biventricular expression of all TRP channel family members in heart failure. Hypothesis We hypothesized that heart failure is associated with distinct patterns of TRP channel expression in the LV and RV. Methods Paired viable LV and RV free wall tissue was obtained from human subjects with end-stage heart failure ( n =12) referred for cardiac transplantation or biventricular assist device implantation. Paired LV and RV samples from human subjects without heart failure served as controls ( n =3). To explore a functional role for Eng as a regulator of TRP expression in response to RV or LV pressure overload, wild-type ( Eng +/+ ) and Eng haploinsufficient ( Eng +/− ) mice were exposed to thoracic aortic (TAC) or pulmonary arterial (PAC) constriction for 8 weeks. Biventricular tissue was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results Compared to nonfailing human LV and RV samples, mRNA levels of TRPC1, 3, 4, 6, and TRPV-2 were increased and TRPM2, 3, and 8 were decreased in failing LV and RV samples. TRPC1 and 6 levels were higher in failing RV compared to failing LV samples. After TAC, murine LV levels of TPRC1 and 6 were increased in both Eng +/+ and Eng +/− mice compared to sham controls. LV levels of TRPC4, TRPM3 and 7, TRPV2 and 4 were increased in Eng +/+ , not in Eng +/− mice after TAC. After PAC, all TRP channel family members were increased in the RV, but not LV, of Eng +/+ compared to sham controls. In contrast to Eng +/+ , PAC did not increase RV or LV levels of TRP channels in Eng +/− mice. Conclusions This is the first study to demonstrate that TRP channels exhibit distinct profiles of expression in the LV and RV of patients with heart failure and in murine models of univentricular pressure overload. We further introduce that the TGFβ1 coreceptor Eng selectively regulates expression of multiple TRP channels in the setting of LV or RV pressure overload.
Identification of Factors Impacting Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection and Development of a Risk Evaluation Tool.

Purpose. Recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (RCDI) is a growing concern, yet limited data exists to clarify which patients are at highest risk. Identification of these patients may better inform decisions of those who may benefit from prophylactic intervention. The purpose of this study was to determine which factors are associated with the recurrence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and to develop a risk stratification tool. Methods. Patients readmitted within 10 weeks of positive C. difficile polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with symptoms were included in this retrospective case control study. The primary outcome was analyzed via univariate regression analyses of the independent factors including age, gender, number of CDI episodes, administration of acid blocking agents, antibiotics or chemotherapy, Charlson Comorbidity Index, gastrointestinal conditions, and exposure to healthcare facilities. Results. Recurrent CDI was identified in 44 of 220 included patients. In the univariate analysis, factors associated with development of RCDI included antibiotic exposure (OR 2.51, 95% CI 1.14-5.54; p 0.02) and inflammatory bowel disease (OR 5.77, 95% CI 1.24-26.79; p 0.03). An evaluation tool was created from a well-fit model. Additional factors included in the tool were chosen based on evaluation of findings from existing literature. Conclusions. Antibiotic therapy and inflammatory bowel disease were found to be associated with RCDI. Although a statistically significant association with RCDI was not found for other factors, this is likely related to small sample size. The creation of an evaluation tool using specific patient factors can help determine the risk of RCDI, while future studies may validate this tool. This article is open to POST-PUBLICATION REVIEW . Registered readers (see “For Readers”) may comment by clicking on ABSTRACT on the issue’s contents page.
Adenosine Triphosphate Bioluminescent Assay to Enumerate Bacterial Numbers on Fresh Fish

The microbial quality of fresh fish was determined by using a bacterial ATP bioluminescent assay. Assay procedures included differential filtration followed by enzymatic degradation of somatic ATP. This technique limited interference from non-bacterial ATP sources and thus bacterial ATP was quantitated by using the luciferin-luciferase reaction in an automated luminometer. Good correlation (r = .96) was obtained from four species of finfish when microbial counts, determined from ATP analyses, were compared to counts determined by using conventional plate count procedures.
Design and construction of ultra-relativistic collision PV panel and its application into building sector to mitigate total energy demand

To meet total energy demand for a building, a sustainable technology has been developed to double up the photon production from a single one by ultra-relativistic collision into the solar panel, which is actually a part of building's exterior skin curtain wall. Subsequently, mathematical analysis has been performed considering the reaction between two bare ions which is activated by quark-lepton complementarily particle's interaction into the solar panel. To confirm this pair photon production, a further mathematical modeling has been implemented by assuming the creation of pair electron into a bound ionic state (e+e−) which is employed by two approaches (i) the equivalent photon approximation, and (ii) the first order perturbation and multipole expansion of wave functions. With the analysis of these approaches, a detailed calculations have been conducted considering two bound free e+e− pairs as well as of bound free e+e− and free μ+μ− pairs created by collisions of bare ions which suggest that the double photon production processes from a single photon is feasible into the ultra-relativistic collision solar panel that interestingly allow to double up the energy production simultaneously into the solar panel. The energy production efficiently, is thereafter, been estimated which revealed that if only a mere of 12.5% of building exterior curtain wall is used as ultra-relativistic collision capable solar panel it will meet the total energy demand for a building which is also 100% environmentally friendly.
Initial body fat gain is related to brain volume changes in adolescents: A repeated-measures voxel-based morphometry study.

Objective Individuals with obesity versus those within a healthy weight range show brain volume differences, but it is unclear whether these differences reflect initial vulnerability factors or are secondary to weight gain. Methods One hundred sixty-two adolescents (M age = 15.3 ± 1.1; 81 females) with healthy weight were scanned at baseline. Sixty subjects (M baseline age: 15.2 ± 1.1; M follow-up age: 17.7 ± 1.2; 34 females) completed a second scan at 2- or 3-year follow-up. Voxel-based morphometry assessed global and regional gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes. Body fat percentage was assessed yearly over follow-up. Results Baseline global/regional GM/WM volume did not predict body fat gain over follow-up. Adolescents who gained body fat showed greater decreases in GM volume in the putamen compared with those who showed loss of body fat. Adolescents who gained body fat showed greater increases in WM volume in the anterior cingulate cortex compared with those who showed stability of or loss of body fat. Conclusions Body fat gain versus stability and loss produce GM and WM volume changes, rather than baseline volumetric differences predicting body fat gain.
Observations on Absences of Member Patients in Group Psychotherapy

(1959). Observations on Absences of Member Patients in Group Psychotherapy. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy: Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 195-203.
Ethnic Heterogeneity, Group Affinity, and State Higher Education Spending

A rich interdisciplinary literature exists exploring the determinants of state higher education funding policies. However, that work has collectively ignored an important finding from political economy literature: namely, that citizens’ preferences regarding public spending are strongly influenced by the state’s ethnic and racial context. Drawing on a unique panel of state-level data covering the years 1982–2009, we find that states demarcated by increased racial and ethnic diversity and eroding white majorities do tend to spend less on subsidies to public higher education, resulting in decreased state appropriations as well as more tepid support for financial aid programs. Critically, however, we find that the negative effects of increased ethnic and racial fractionalization can be mitigated—and in some circumstances, fully offset—by a high degree of positive social interaction between ethnic and racial groups. These results are discussed within the pragmatic context of continued state emphasis on degree attainment as a mechanism to foster economic growth as well as broader considerations about equality and social justice.
A World Called Home: Global Citizenship Education at Sunshine Preschool.

Development of positive self-identity is the foundation for appreciating one's place within the global community. For children who encounter negative messages about their worth, learning to feel go...
Ring oscillator yield learning methodologies for CMOS technology research

We detail the use of ring oscillators (ROs) for yield learning during the research phase of a CMOS technology generation. Failing circuits are located and classified based on electrical analysis of ROs and FETs (Field Effect Transistor) wired out from RO environments.
“Poetics at the Creative Crucibles” Offering New Guidelines for Literary Interpretation

I consider it a great stroke of personal good fortune to have stumbled (and quite by chance) upon the writings of the philosopher and poet-critic Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka years ago. The extraordinary freshness and vitality of her ideas have captivated the participants of this conference as much as those of preceding ones. Thanks to the philosophical direction that she gives as the president of The World Phenomenology Institute and consequently the program director of the research of its four affiliated societies, The International Society of Phenomenology and Literature undertook to explore in various perspectives the crucial interplay between the vital forces that prompt the natural life progress of man and the Imaginatio Creatrix. Brought into this interplay by the philosopher-poet who seeks to evade the fleetingess of the natural being by uncovering what lasts, the creative imagination of man brings in the redeeming human significance of life. In the process of unraveling this interplay as it manifests itself in literature we reach the Human Condition itself.
Familia y televisión: algunas representaciones de la familia española en la pequeña pantalla

El presente trabajo pretende explorar la capacidad de la television para reflejar algunas de las dinamicas de cambio social que afectan a la sociedad espanola, especialmente las relacionadas con la institucion familiar. Para ello, en primer lugar, nos situa en el contexto de una sociedad en cambio, asi como de una television en transformacion. Seguidamente, analiza las caracteristicas, asi como los significados asociados a algunos relatos televisivos de actualidad, narrados en clave familiar. A partir de ahi, explora las funciones mas relevantes que realiza la pequena pantalla para sus espectadores, asi como las diferentes lecturas que el medio televisivo hace del entorno familiar.
Hox3/zen and the Evolution of Extraembryonic Epithelia in Insects

Insects have undergone dramatic evolutionary changes in extraembryonic development, which correlate with changes in the expression of the class-3 Hox gene zen. Here, we review the evolution of this gene in insects and point out how changes in zen expression may have affected extraembryonic development at the morphological and the genetic level.
Discrimination or Motivation? Black Coaches and College Basketball Polls:

From 2005 to 2015, when ranked teams in the college basketball Media and Coaches Polls played each other, the better-ranked team ceteris paribus won more often when its head coach was Black and the...
Actions of chronic physiological 3-hydroxyisobuterate treatment on mitochondrial metabolism and insulin signaling in myotubes

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are essential in the diet and may provide benefit for those who partake in regular physical activity and resistance training, yet circulating BCAAs have been repeatedly shown to correlate with severity of insulin resistance in obese/diseased populations. Recently, the valine catabolite 3-hydroxyisobuterate (3HIB) was shown to promote insulin resistance in skeletal muscle by increasing lipid content in vivo. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanistic effects of 3HIB on skeletal muscle insulin signaling, metabolism, and related gene expression in vitro. Given these previous observations, we hypothesized that 3HIB would depress skeletal muscle metabolism and insulin sensitivity. C2C12 myotubes were treated with 3HIB for up to 48 hours using both physiological (25-100 μmol/L) and supraphysiological (5 mmol/L) concentrations. Metabolic gene expression was measured via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, mitochondrial metabolism was measured via O2 consumption, and glycolytic metabolism was quantified using extracellular acidification rate. Western blot was used to assess insulin sensitivity following insulin stimulation (indicated by phospho-AKT expression). 3HIB did not alter expressional indicators of mitochondrial biogenesis, glycolysis, BCAA catabolism, or lipogenesis. Chronic physiological 3HIB treatment significantly increased peak oxygen consumption, whereas supraphysiological 3HIB treatment suppressed basal and peak mitochondrial and glycolytic metabolism. Both physiological and supraphysiological 3HIB reduced pAkt expression during insulin stimulation. These findings suggest that 3HIB may reduce muscle insulin sensitivity in cultured myotubes, supporting a potentially causal role of 3HIB in the development of insulin resistance in highly metabolic cell types.
Predictable mobility

In this article, a statistical mobility prediction for planetary surface exploration rovers has been described. This method explicitly considers uncertainty of the terrain physical parameters via SRSM and employs models of both vehicle dynamics and wheel-terrain interaction mechanics. The simulation results of mobility prediction using three different techniques, SMC, LHSMC, and SRSM, confirms that SRSM significantly improves the computational efficiency compared with those conventional methods. The usefulness and validity of the proposed method has been confirmed through experimental studies of the slope traversal scenario in two different terrains. The results show that the predicted motion path with confidence ellipses can be used as a probabilistic reachability metric of the rover position. Also, for the slope-traversal case, terrain parameter uncertainty has a larger influence on the lateral motion of the rover than on longitudinal motion. Future directions of this study will apply the proposed technique to the path-planning problem. Here, confidence ellipses will be used to define collision-free areas, which will provide useful criteria for generating safe trajectories.
Regulating bodies: children and sexual violence

The interdisciplinary silences on sexual violence and the omission of children and youth from social science research speak volumes of the power of the child as a flexible, cultural signifier. In this article, I argue that dominant frameworks of children and childhood make child sexual assault a discursive impossibility for most young people. The epistemic violence of silencing matters, and it is these erasures that are fundamental to understanding violence and power. I argue it is paramount for feminist researchers to call attention to the undermining qualities of Institutional Review Boards that act as gatekeepers of representation and voice.
Vertigo: “You Spin Me Right Round Baby Right Round”

Vertigo can be a difficult and frustrating problem to address in the emergency department. Often the patient complains of “dizziness” which has little useful meaning for the clinician because it can mean different things to different patients. It is often used to describe liteheadedness, nonspecific balance disturbance, not feeling quite right along with true vertigo. The first step is to decide if the patient is really describing vertigo, the sensation of spinning. If so, a series of steps can be used to help the clinician sort out the most important issue at hand...is it central vertigo or peripheral vertigo. This is a key issue because central vertigo often involves a stroke or vascular insufficiency to the cerebellum or brainstem and can portend a bad outcome. The process of evaluating a patient begins with a thorough history and physical exam with special attention to a detailed neurological exam. Findings of any hard neurologic abnormality in association with vertigo or a HINTS exam that suggest a central etiology mandates furthrer imaging of the central nervous system. The determination of a true positional vertigo or a HINTS exam that suggests a peripheral vertigo may allow for a clinical diagnosis without advanced neuroimaging.
Characterization of Fibroblasts in Iatrogenic Laryngotracheal Stenosis and Type II Diabetes Mellitus

OBJECTIVES Iatrogenic laryngotracheal stenosis (iLTS) is the pathological narrowing of the glottis, subglottis, and/or trachea due to scar tissue. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are over 8 times more likely to develop iLTS and represent 26% to 53% of all iLTS patients. In this investigation, we compared iLTS scar-derived fibroblasts in patients with and without T2DM. STUDY DESIGN Controlled ex vivo study. METHODS iLTS scar fibroblasts were isolated and cultured from subglottic scar biopsies in iLTS patients diagnosed with or without type 2 diabetes (non-T2DM). Fibroblast proliferation, fibrosis-related gene expression, and metabolic utilization of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and glycolysis were assessed. Contractility was measured using a collagen-based assay. Metabolically targeted drugs (metformin, phenformin, amobarbital) were tested, and changes in fibrosis-related gene expression, collagen protein, and contractility were evaluated. RESULTS Compared to non-T2DM, T2DM iLTS scar fibroblasts had increased α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) expression (8.2× increased, P = .020), increased contractility (mean 71.4 ± 4.3% vs. 51.7 ± 16% Δ area × 90 minute-1 , P = .016), and reduced proliferation (1.9× reduction at 5 days, P < .01). Collagen 1 (COL1) protein was significantly higher in the T2DM group (mean 2.06 ± 0.19 vs. 0.74 ±.44 COL1/total protein [pg/μg], P = .036). T2DM iLTS scar fibroblasts had increased measures of OXPHOS, including basal respiration (mean 86.7 vs. 31.5 pmol/minute/10 μg protein, P = .016) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) generation (mean 97.5 vs. 25.7 pmol/minute/10 μg protein, P = .047) compared to non-T2DM fibroblasts. Amobarbital reduced cellular contractility; decreased collagen protein; and decreased expression of αSMA, COL1, and fibronectin. Metformin and phenformin did not significantly affect fibrosis-related gene expression. CONCLUSION T2DM iLTS scar fibroblasts demonstrate a myofibroblast phenotype and greater contractility compared to non-T2DM. Their bioenergetic preference for OXPHOS drives their increased contractility, which is selectively targeted by amobarbital. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE NA Laryngoscope, 131:1570-1577, 2021.
Experiments with Clifford Geometric Algebra Applied to Cryptography

The combination of flexibility, simplicity, elegance, and power that is found in Clifford Geometric Algebra (GA) is probably one of the main reasons for growing interest from those willing to explore new algebraic structures for producing many applications in physics, engineering, and computer science. As a result, to the surprise of many, existing applications, when modified to run as implementations of Clifford GA algorithms, demonstrate higher performance, better maintenance, less complexity, and a friendlier learning curve for those new to GA. Nevertheless, Clifford GA is virtually unexplored in cryptography, an area of science that can be greatly benefited by a mathematical tool equipped with the aforementioned potential. In this work, we introduce preliminary experiments of cryptographic solutions based on Clifford geometric algebra, including a key exchange protocol, a hash algorithm, and a private-key encryption scheme, with the hope of providing appealing pieces of evidence that this powerful mathematical resource is worth investigating as a strong candidate for broad adoption in cryptography. As proof of concept, we provide access to a library written in Ruby language in which we implement the ideas discussed in this work and where the reader will be able to find some predefined numerical examples.
Narrative Politics in Policy Discourse: The Debate Over Safe Injection Sites in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

Safe injection sites are spaces where people who inject drugs can do so under the supervision of staff at the sites who attempt to revive them if they overdose. Public officials in Philadelphia, Pe...
Examining the effect of obesity-associated gene variants on breast cancer survivors in a randomized weight loss intervention

Our study examined whether common variants of obesity-associated genes FTO, MC4R, BDNF, and CREB1 moderated the effects of a lifestyle intervention on weight change among breast cancer survivors. 151 breast cancer survivors with a body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2 were randomly assigned to a 6-month weight loss intervention or usual care group. Genotyping of FTO rs9939609, MC4R rs6567160, BDNF rs11030104, CREB1 rs17203016 was performed. Linear mixed models were used including the main effects of genotype (assuming a dominant genetic model), treatment arm on weight and percent body fat changes, and genotype by treatment interaction variable. All statistical tests were evaluated against a Bonferroni-corrected alpha of 0.0125. Women in the intervention group achieved significantly greater weight loss than the usual care group (5.9% vs 0.4%, p 0.0125 for each single-nucleotide polymorphisms). Women who are genetically predisposed to obesity and recently diagnosed with breast cancer may achieve significant and clinically meaningful weight loss through healthy eating and exercise. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT02863887 (Date of Registration: August 11, 2016); NCT02110641 (Date of Registration: April 10, 2014)
Classifying COVID-19 variants based on genetic sequences using deep learning models

The COrona VIrus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic led to the occurrence of several variants with time. This has led to an increased importance of understanding sequence data related to COVID-19. In this chapter, we propose an alignment-free k-mer based LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory) deep learning model that can classify 20 different variants of COVID-19. We handle the class imbalance problem by sampling a fixed number of sequences for each class label. We handle the vanishing gradient problem in LSTMs arising from long sequences by dividing the sequence into fixed lengths and obtaining results on individual runs. Our results show that one-vs-all classifiers have test accuracies as high as 92.5% with tuned hyperparameters compared to the multi-class classifier model. Our experiments show higher overall accuracies for B.1.1.214, B.1.177.21, B.1.1.7, B.1.526, and P.1 on the one-vs-all classifiers, suggesting the presence of distinct mutations in these variants. Our results show that embedding vector size and batch sizes have insignificant improvement in accuracies, but changing from 2-mers to 3-mers mostly improves accuracies. We also studied individual runs which show that most accuracies improved after the 20th run, indicating that these sequence positions may have more contributions to distinguishing among different COVID-19 variants.
Strategic Planning for Information Technology: The Line Manager's Critical Role

How can a company gain the benefits of entrepreneurial IT decision making by line managers without permitting the IT environment to become a high-cost, low-performance, disconnected collection of independent systems? This article proposes an approach to IT planning that includes a formal role and responsibility for line managers. When combined with centralized IT architecture planning, this planning technique creates an approach to information management that is simultaneously top-down and bottom-up.