cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhanced southward flow over the Oregon shelf in 2002: A conduit for subarctic water

[1] Moored current measurements from the Oregon shelf during 1998–2003 are used to estimate time series of anomalous alongshore currents and pseudo-displacements, after accounting for the mean and seasonal cycle. From early January through mid-June, 2002, currents at 10 m were anomalously strong toward the south by an average 12 cm/s, producing an anomalous displacement of more than 1500 km over about 5 months. This may be compared with the finding by Freeland et al. [2003] that waters at the same latitude off Oregon, and off Vancouver Island, were anomalously cool and fresh at depths between 30 and 150 m, suggesting displacement from a more northern source. Anomalous displacements of several hundred kilometers were also found during at least three other periods in the record. Moored temperature measurements at the same location confirm that local waters were persistently cooler during March to October of 2002 than during the previous two years, with the strongest anomaly near 20 m. Coastal sea levels were lower than usual along the northwest coast during spring and early summer 2003, consistent with a southward current anomaly of large scale. Local winds near Newport did not show strong mean anomalies during this period.
Moore's law in homeland defense: an integrated sensor platform based on silicon microcantilevers

An urgent need exists for the development of inexpensive, highly selective, and extremely sensitive sensors to help combat terrorism. If such sensors can be made miniature, they could be deployed in virtually any situation. Terrorists have a wide variety of potential agents and delivery means to choose from for chemical, biological, radiological, or explosive attacks. Detecting terrorist weapons has become a complex and expensive endeavor, because a multitude of sensor platforms is currently needed to detect the various types of threats. The ability to mass produce and cost effectively deploy a single type of sensor that can detect a wide range of threats is essential in winning the war on terrorism. Silicon-based microelectromechanical sensors (MEMS) represent an ideal sensor platform for combating terrorism because these miniature sensors are inexpensive and can be deployed almost anywhere. Recently, the high sensitivity of MEMS-based microcantilever sensors has been demonstrated in the detection of a variety of threats. Therefore, the critical requirements for a single, miniature sensor platform have been met and the realization of an integrated, widely deployable MEMS sensor could be near.
Accelerating Circle Detection Based on Generalized Projection Method with GPUs

Shape recognition, an important portion of image processing, has been widely applied in many research and application areas. Traditional Hough transform, which is a modern shape recognition technique, incurs unbearable execution time and memory storage cost during the extraction of high-dimensional shapes. This paper presents an approach for circle extraction based on generalized image projection and parallelizes it on several brands of GPUs. Experiments shows that GPUs can achieve up to almost 500 times speedup with this method over single threaded CPUs, while traditional Hough transform can only achieve about 100 times speedup. Massive parallelization capability and broad memory bandwidth make GPUs feasible for practical use. Combined with some efficient image scaling algorithms, real-time processing of circle extraction can be achieved.
Who's bringing the donuts: The role of affective patterns in group decision making

Two studies examined how intragroup affective patterns influence groups’ pervasive tendency to ignore the unique expertise of their members. Using a hidden profile task, Study 1 provided evidence that groups with at least one member experiencing positive affect shared more unique information than groups composed entirely of members experiencing neutral affect. This occurred because group members experiencing positive affect were more likely to initiate unique information sharing, as well as information seeking. Study 2 built upon this base by showing that confidence mediates the relationship between positive affect and the initiation of unique information sharing. Additionally, Study 2 investigated the role of negative affect in group decision making and how negative and positive affect concurrently influence decision making when groups are composed of members experiencing each. The results are discussed in terms of the role affect plays in influencing group behavior and the resultant importance of investigating specific affective patterns.
The Factors That Influence Dietary Habits among International Students in the United States.

This study examines the dietary intake changes and factors related to dietary acculturation in international students attending an urban university in the United States. The researchers administered seven focus groups of college-age international students (n = 32) between June and August 2012. The participants were enrolled in Northeastern and Midwestern U.S. universities. A qualitative research inquiry was used for data collection, presentation, and analysis. An interview guide was developed to explore the dietary habits of international students. The results show the participants face many dietary challenges as a result of adapting to American culture. The major dietary-related influences include: the food environment, campus environment, religion, and individual preferences. Additionally, the consequences of dietary changes were associated with undesirable health outcomes including weight gain, increased blood glucose levels, increased cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and mental problems.
VARICOCELE IS ASSOCIATED WITH ELEVATED SPERMATOZOAL REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES PRODUCTION AND DIMINISHED SEMINAL PLASMA ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY

AbstractPurpose: Because varicocele is seen often in infertile men and oxidative stress has been implicated in sperm dysfunction, we assessed spermatozoal reactive oxygen species and seminal total antioxidant capacity in men with and without varicocele.Materials and Methods: Levels of reactive oxygen species and total antioxidant capacity were measured in the semen of 21 infertile men with varicocele, 15 men with incidential varicocele and 17 normal donors without varicocele (controls). Men with leukocytospermia (more than 1 x 106 white blood cells per ml.) were excluded from study. Reactive oxygen species were measured in washed spermatozoa with a luminol dependent chemiluminescence assay. Total seminal antioxidant capacity was measured with an enhanced chemiluminescence assay, and the results were expressed as trolox equivalents. Sperm characteristics were assessed with a computer assisted semen analyzer, and sperm morphology was assessed using World Health Organization and Kruger's strict criteria.Resu...
Statistical Power and Sample Size in PLS Path Analysis

The PLS path analysis algorithm has been used in numerous research papers in various branches of the social sciences. Prior literature has conflated the generation of coefficients without abnormally terminating, as equivalent to estimating with small samples. This research shows that: (1) PLS path estimates are biased and highly dispersed with small samples; (2) sample sizes must grow very large to control this bias and dispersion with dispersion ∝1/log (sample size) and bias ∝1/(sample size) ; and finally (3) the power of PLS hypothesis tests is low at most effect levels, leading PLS software to generate a disproportionate number of false positives.
Postwar Changes in State Party Competition

Recent literature on the American party system has stressed the decline of the parties in all aspects. If this is valid, one might expect a relative equilibrium in election outcomes. In this light, inter-party competition for governor and state legislature in the fifty states is examined, using two data bases. The first is the party competition index employed by Ranney and extended by Bibby. The second consists of election results for governor and state legislature. Both data bases reveal that the states are becoming increasingly Democratic, virtually immune from Republican presidential successes, but the number of states with split control is also increasing. Further, present party competition can be largely explained by that in an earlier era. The consequences of these trends are explored.
Performance of Broiler Breeders as Affected by Body Weight During the Breeding Season

Abstract Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of broiler breeder body weight on performance during the breeding season. Cobb feather-sexed broiler breeders were placed on five breeder-feeding programs. All programs furnished equivalent daily intakes of protein, calcium, phosphorus, salt and vitamins. Energy intakes were varied to produce five body weight treatment groups. Each treatment group consisted of eight pens of 13 hens and two cocks. Females in the heavier groups reached peak egg production at an earlier age than those in the lighter groups. This was followed by an earlier, more rapid decline in production and lower liability. Fertility was significantly (P≤.05) lower in the ad libitum fed birds that also had the heaviest body weights. The effect of body weight treatments on hatchability was generally nonsignificant. Egg weights were heaviest for the ad libitum fed hens. Egg specific gravity decreased significantly (P≤.05) as body weights were increased.
Motion and representation: the language of human movement

In Motion and Representation, Nicolas Salazar Sutil sets out to explore the dynamic and interwoven relationship between human movement and its representation. As he asserts in the introduction, ‘te...
Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms Among Latina/o Adolescents of Immigrant Parents

Discrimination is associated with negative mental health outcomes for Latina/o adolescents. While Latino/a adolescents experience discrimination from a number of sources and across contexts, little research considers how the source of discrimination and the context in which it occurs affect mental health outcomes among Latina/o children of immigrants. We examined the association between source-specific discrimination, racial or ethnic background of the source, and school ethnic context with depressive symptoms for Latina/o adolescents of immigrant parents. Using multilevel linear regression with time-varying covariates, we regressed depressive symptoms on source-specific discrimination, racial or ethnic background of the source of discrimination, and school percent Latina/o. Discrimination from teachers (β = 0.06, p < .05), students (β = 0.05, p < .05), Cubans (β = 0.19, p < .001), and Latinas/os (β = 0.19, p < .001) were positively associated with depressive symptoms. These associations were not moderated by school percent Latina/o. The findings indicate a need to reduce discrimination to improve Latina/o adolescents' mental health.
Renal cell carcinoma in solitary kidneys.

Abstract We report 10 cases of renal tumors in a solitary kidney that were treated surgically with efforts to spare renal function. Three patients were rendered anephric to excise completely the renal cancer and 2 remain without disease. The remaining 7 patients had complete tumor excision with the aid of partial nephrectomy. One patient had bilateral oncocytomas. Of the 6 partial nephrectomy patients with cancer 1 (18 per cent) remains free of metastatic disease. Concern is expressed for the role of partial nephrectomy as curative surgery for renal cancer.
Arteriovenous Malformation: The Value of Renal Angiography for a Filling Defect in the Renal Pelvis

AbstractAngiography revealed that an arteriovenous malformation was the cause of a fixed, irregular renal pelvic filling defect seen on excretory urography and thought to be typical for transit ional cell carcinoma. The value of angiography in this type of tumor is discussed.
Qualitative Analysis of Satisfaction with Care of Families of Survivors and Nonsurvivors in a NICU (P3.226)

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND:Survey studies using Likert scales suggest that families of patients dying in intensive care units (ICUs) are more satisfied with their ICU experience than families of survivors. Differences in satisfaction with care between these two groups have been less well explored using qualitative methods.The free-response sections from a survey of families of ICU patients made comfort measures only (CMO) are more likely to contain a higher proportion of positive statements regarding care, compared to the same sections from surveys of families of ICU survivors. DESIGN/METHODS: From March 2014 to July 2015, we administered the Family Satisfaction ICU survey (FS-ICU 24), with additional questions, to English-speaking family members of patients in a single academic NICU. One family member of each survivor with admission longer than 72 hours was surveyed at discharge, while one family member of every patient made CMO was surveyed by mail one month after death. Two reviewers coded statements from free-response sections, using a previously published FS-ICU coding structure. The coded statements graded positive versus negative were calculated for six pre-specified themes and compared between groups. RESULTS:We collected 50[percnt](150/298) of all possible survivor surveys and 31[percnt](34/110) of all possible CMO surveys. The proportions of positive statements within each of the six themes were as follows: (1) gratitude and satisfaction [survivors=99[percnt] (83/84), CMO=89[percnt] (17/19)]; (2) overall quality of medical care provided [survivors=64[percnt] (41/65), CMO=92[percnt] (11/12)]; (3) communication [survivors=53[percnt] (56/105), CMO=50[percnt] (10/20)]; (4) compassion and respect shown to the patient and family [survivors=92[percnt](47/51), CMO=93[percnt](13/14)], (5) inclusion of family in decision making [survivors=75[percnt](33/44), CMO=83[percnt](5/6)], (6) and competence and dedication of staff [survivors=88[percnt](42/48), CMO=100[percnt](12/12)]. CONCLUSIONS: The free-response sections from our CMO surveys contained a higher proportion of positive statements regarding quality of care, inclusion in decision making, and staff competence; compared to the same sections from our survivor surveys. Disclosure: Dr. Nhundu has nothing to disclose. Dr. Huang has nothing to disclose. Dr. Knies has nothing to disclose. Dr. Weber has nothing to disclose. Dr. Robinson has nothing to disclose. Dr. Anderson has nothing to disclose. Dr. Akgun has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hwang has received research support from the American Brain Foundation Practice Research Training Fellowship.
Patterns of Substitution Rate Variation at Many Nuclear Loci in Two Species Trios in the Brassicaceae Partitioned with ANOVA

There are marked variations among loci and among lineages in rates of nucleotide substitution. The generation time hypothesis (GTH) is a neutral explanation for substitution rate heterogeneity that has genomewide application, predicting that species with shorter generation times accumulate DNA sequence substitutions faster than species with longer generation times do since faster genome replication provides more opportunities for mutations to occur and reach fixation by genetic drift. Relatively few studies have rigorously evaluated the GTH in plants, and there are numerous alternative hypotheses for plant substitution rate variation. One major challenge has been finding pairs of closely related plant species with contrasting generation times and appropriate outgroup taxa that all also have DNA sequence data for numerous loci. To test for causes of rate variation, we obtained sequence data for 256 genes for Arabidopsis thaliana, normally reproducing every year, and the biennial Arabidopsis lyrata with three closely related outgroup taxa (Brassica rapa, Capsella grandiflora, and Neslia paniculata) as well as the biennial Brassica oleracea and the annual B. rapa lineage with the outgroup N. paniculata. A sign test indicated that more loci than expected by chance have faster rates of substitution on the branch leading to the annual than to the perennial for one three-species trio but not another. Tajima’s 1D and 2D tests, and a likelihood ratio test that incorporated saturation correction, rejected rate homogeneity for up to 26 genes (up to 14 genes when correcting for multiple tests), consistently showing faster rates for the annual lineage in the Arabidopsis species trio. ANOVA showed significant rate heterogeneity between the Arabidopsis and Brassica species trios (about 6 % of rate variation) and among loci (about 26–32 % of rate variation). The lineage-by-locus interaction which would be caused by locus- and lineage-specific natural selection explained about 13 % of substitution rate variation in one ANOVA model using substitution rates from genes partitioned into odd and even codons but was not a significant effect without partitioned genes. Annual/perennial lineage and species trio by annual/perennial lineage each explained about 1 % of substitution rate variation.
Transgender, Culture, and Social Class in Early Twentieth Century’s Mecca

This paper examines the theme of androgyny in the novel Khatam by the Saudi writer Raja Alem. It applies the theories of post-feminists such as Judith Butler and Kate Bornstein and Jungian writers such as June Singer and Erich Neumann. It also draws on theories of gendered space using the works of Foucault. The paper elucidates how the author used the theme of androgyny to unveil the biased patriarchal power in Meccan society at the turn of the twentieth century. Furthermore, it argues that through exploring the complex character of her androgynous heroine, Khatam, Alem intended to reach beyond gender proper in order to reclaim Khatam’s humanity. The paper also investigates the question of social classes in early twentieth century Mecca, with particular focus on slavery and ashrâf (nobles).
A Power Calculator for the Classical Twin Design

Power is a ubiquitous, though often overlooked, component of any statistical analyses. Almost every funding agency and institutional review board requires that some sort of power analysis is conducted prior to data collection. While there are several excellent on line power calculators for independent observations, twin studies pose unique challenges that are not incorporated into these algorithms. The goal of the current manuscript is to outline a general method for calculating power in twin studies, and to provide functions to allow researchers to easily conduct power analyses for a range of common twin models. Several scenarios are discussed to demonstrate the importance of various factors that influence the power within the classical twin design and to serve as examples for the provided functions.
Use of Nitrogen Trifluoride To Purify Molten Salt Reactor Coolant and Heat Transfer Fluoride Salts

The molten-salt-cooled nuclear reactor is one of the Generation IV reactor types. One of the challenges of implementing this reactor is purifying and maintaining the purity of the various molten fluoride salts that will be used as coolants. The method used for Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s molten salt experimental test reactor was to treat the coolant with a mixture of H2 and HF at 600 °C. In this Article, we evaluate thermal NF3 treatment for purifying molten fluoride salt coolant candidates based on nitrogen trifluoride’s (1) past use to purify fluoride salts; (2) other industrial uses; (3) commercial availability; (4) operational, chemical, and health hazards; (5) environmental effects and environmental risk management methods; (6) corrosive properties; (7) thermodynamic potential to eliminate impurities that could arise due to exposure to water and oxygen. Our evaluation indicates that nitrogen trifluoride is a viable and safer alternative to the previous method.
Does Computer Use Matter? The Influence of Computer Usage on Eighth-Grade Students’ Mathematics Reasoning

This study uses the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study to investigate the relationships among students’ and teachers’ computer use, and eighth-grade students’ mathematical reasoning in three high-achieving nations: Finland, Chinese Taipei, and Singapore. The study found a significant negative relationship in all three countries between out-of-school computer usage of eighth-grade students and their mathematics reasoning scores. The study points to the fact that computer use out of school does not improve students' development of mathematics reasoning across the three contexts. Additionally, the more teachers had students use computer technology for higher-order thinking skills, such as for processing and analyzing data, the higher their mathematics reasoning scores in Finland, but the lower the students' reasoning scores in Singapore. The contrasting relationships in Singapore and Finland indicate the need to further study the nature of the activities related to computer use for higher order learning skills in the two countries. Implications for policy and research are further elaborated. The full text of the article can be found at 10.18275/fire201704011120
Strong hypercontractivity and strong logarithmic Sobolev inequalities for log-subharmonic functions on stratified Lie groups

Abstract On a stratified Lie group G equipped with hypoelliptic heat kernel measure, we study the behavior of the dilation semigroup on L p spaces of log-subharmonic functions. We consider a notion of strong hypercontractivity and a strong logarithmic Sobolev inequality, and show that these properties are equivalent for any group G . Moreover, if G satisfies a classical logarithmic Sobolev inequality, then both properties hold. This extends similar results obtained by Graczyk, Kemp and Loeb in the Euclidean setting.
Industry-Backed Competitions: Helping Today's Students Prepare for Tomorrow's Careers

Autodesk's Design for Industry program recruits students to envision creative technical solutions that support industry's needs through the use of professional design tools.
Tunable dielectrophoretic microlens with lowered driving voltage

This paper reports on a novel double-sided design of an electrode structure that drives a tunable liquid microlens based on the dielectrophoretic force. The clear advantage of our double-sided design over previously reported conventional single-sided design of electrodes for tunable electro-hydrodynamic lenses is the much lower driving voltage, given similar device scale on the order of 1mm of lens diameter. In our fabricated lenses, the contact angle changed from 4° to 18°, tuning the focal length from 67 mm to 14 mm, when the voltage increased from 0 to 25 V rms , which is lower than most of previous work by at least a factor of four.
Differentially-private canonical correlation analysis

In this paper, we propose a differentially-private canonical correlation analysis algorithm. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) is often used in clustering applications for multi-view data. CCA finds subspaces for each view such that projecting each of the views onto these subspaces simultaneously reduces the dimension and maximizes correlation. Differential-privacy is a framework for understanding the risk of inferring the data input to the algorithm based on the output. We investigate the performance of the proposed algorithm with varying privacy parameters and database parameters on synthetic and real data. Our results show that it is possible to have meaningful privacy with very good utility even for strict privacy guarantees.
Thematic Patterns in International Blended Learning Literature, Research, Practices, and Terminology

Among the top cited articles there are strong similarities in blended learning research processes, practice, terminology, and focus. The goal of this research was to discover and compare the themes of the top articles on blended learning from different regions of the world. There are small differences between the top articles in each region and the top articles in general, but they follow largely similar patterns, which indicates that themes do not need to hinder collaboration and exchange between regions and that the most cited articles from around the world could fit well within the topical, research, and publication practices of the field at large. Our results suggest that although different regions must have their own nuances and needs, they have much in common and considerable potential to learn from one another and even collaborate on shared interests.
Identifying migratory birds' population bottlenecks in time and space.

The annual disappearance and reappearance of billions of migratory animals from seasonal environments across the planet is a stunning natural phenomenon. Naturalists have marveled for more than 2,000 y at these migrations, at least since Aristotle pondered birds’ seasonal disappearance. Birds are the preeminent seasonal commuters because of their physiological capacity for sustained long-distance flight, extraordinary navigational adaptations, and diversity of movement patterns; and since Aristotle’s time we have learned much about how and why birds migrate (1). What’s been tougher to decipher is how and where migrants’ populations are controlled. Sampling and tracking the millions of individuals in many species is challenging because of far-flung seasonal movements that can span entire continents and shuttle between them, the baffling array of ways to migrate, and the potential for population limitation in summer, winter, spring or fall transits, or some combination thereof. Overcoming many of these challenges, Kramer et al. (2) in PNAS contribute significantly to understanding migratory birds’ population bottlenecks by linking different distribution patterns in two closely related Vermivora wood warblers (Parulidae) to ecological conditions precipitating decline in a geographically distinctive population of one of the two species. Proliferation of technological and conceptual advances is powering a renaissance in migratory birds’ population biology. For example, widespread populations sometimes show a strong migratory connectivity pattern, defined by a tendency for individuals that breed near each other also to winter near each other (3) (see Fig. 1 for a hypothetical example). Strong migratory connectivity is now documented in a variety of species using stable isotope ratios (e.g., ref. 4), genetic population structure (5), and light-level geolocators (e.g., refs. 2 and 6) and more spatially accurate GPS tags (7). Small migratory birds can carry these devices without ill effect, but birds must be recaptured near the deployment site, typically a year later, … [↵][1]1Email: tsherry{at}tulane.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Roman catholic ethics and the preferential option for the poor.

The Catholic health care system has a history of preferential option for the poor through its charity work and demanding justice for the poor. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Overview of ER Technology

Electro-rheological materials (ERM) are materials whose rheological properties are strong functions of the electric field strength imposed upon them. ERM are typically fluids in the absence of an electric field but under constant shear stress at high enough fields, the materials can solidify into viscoelastic solids. In the liquid state during flow, these materials exhibit an apparent viscosity which can be increased by thousands of times by the application of an electric field. In their solid state, the materials are viscoelastic and characterized by complex modulii of which both the real and complex parts are strong functions of the electric field. Further, all field induced mechanical changes are virtually instantaneously reversible. The molecular mechanisms responsible for the phenomenon are however poorly understood as are the flow characteristics.
P020 Identification of a new C*06 null allele by SBT typing in an arabic family

A 12 y/o female from Saudi Arabia with chronic granulomatous disease was evaluated at Duke for HSCT. Patient and sibling typing were performed by SBT method (Protrans, Germany) which separates alleles by group-specific PCR before sequencing. The patient was identical to her sibling at HLA-A, B, DRB1, DRB3/4/5 and DQB1 loci. However, the analysis software could not assign alleles at HLA-C locus for both the patient and sibling due to the presence of double peaks in exon 3 electropherogram. For both the patient and the sibling, exon 2 and exon 4 sequences showed no polymorphism. Sequence with forward primer of exon 3 was good 1–224 nt in exon 3 but became double peaks after 224. Reverse primer sequence of exon 3, however, had double peaks 1–224 nt then good after 224. Analyzing the results by ignoring the double peak sequences showed a perfect match to C*06:02 in the database. This indicated there were C*06:02 and another variant of C*06:02 with a G deletion at 224 of exon 3. This corresponds to nt 568 in cDNA which changes codon 166 from GAG to.AG and is predicted to be a null allele due to shift of open reading frame. In order to investigate whether the new variant was inherited from the family, we also obtained the samples from the parents. It turned out the C*06 new null allele was carried by the father. The sequence was submitted to GenBank (accession number MH031344). The patient’s sibling was identified to be the 10/10 matched donor and HSCT was performed in 2018 successfully.
Educating Microgrids Using Planning Tools-Interactive Case Studies and Lessons Learned

Microgrids have been considered an essential component for improving the efficiency, resilience and reliability of the evolving electric power grid. Their modularity adds to the operational flexibility of the system in addition to provision for multi-player energy markets and transactive energy framework. The value of microgrid based systems is evident from their growing implementations globally. This underscores the need for developing a skilled workforce at the confluence of power systems and power electronics. Based on this, a special course in virtual power plants and virtual inertia was introduced at Clemson for exploratory pedagogy and building foundations for scientific scholarship in this area. This paper introduces the objectives, major challenges, design, planning and modeling tools, project outcomes and lessons learned from the instructor's experience with this hybrid course.
A simple method for bone graft insertion during Schatzker II and III plateau fixation

Insertion of bone graft to fill metaphyseal defects and supply subchondral support when fixing Schatzker type II and III tibial plateau fractures can be difficult and tedious. Accurately directing the placement of bone graft through a small entry portal and against gravity can be challenging. Using a modified 3-mL syringe and bone tamps with application of the Seldinger technique can make this tedious task simple and more accurate.Level of evidence V.
Pulse wave velocity and central aortic pressure in systolic blood pressure intervention trial participants

Arterial stiffness, typically assessed as the aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), and central blood pressure levels may be indicators of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. This ancillary study to the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) obtained baseline assessments (at randomization) of PWV and central systolic blood pressure (C-SBP) to: 1) characterize these vascular measurements in the SPRINT cohort, and 2) test the hypotheses that PWV and C-SBP are associated with glucose homeostasis and markers of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The SphygmoCor® CPV device was used to assess carotid-femoral PWV and its pulse wave analysis study protocol was used to obtain C-SBP. Valid results were obtained from 652 participants. Mean (±SD) PWV and C-SBP for the SPRINT cohort were 10.7 ± 2.7 m/s and 132.0 ± 17.9 mm Hg respectively. Linear regression analyses for PWV and C-SBP results adjusted for age, sex, and race/ethnicity in relation to several markers of glucose homeostasis and CKD did not identify any significant associations with the exception of a marginally statistically significant and modest association between PWV and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (linear regression estimate ± SE, 0.001 ± 0.0006; P-value 0.046). In a subset of SPRINT participants, PWV was significantly higher than in prior studies of normotensive persons, as expected. For older age groups in the SPRINT cohort (age > 60 years), PWV was compared with a reference population of hypertensive individuals. There were no compelling associations noted between PWV or C-SBP and markers of glucose homeostasis or CKD. Clinical trial registration NCT01206062.
Sex-specific association between prenatal life stress exposure and infant pro-inflammatory cytokine levels during acute respiratory infection.

Abstract Background Prenatal life stress exposure is linked to dysregulated immune function and chronic inflammatory disease in offspring, but we know little about its effects on infant immune response during viral infection. Method To address this issue, we examined associations between prenatal life stress exposure and infant upper-airway inflammatory markers during acute respiratory infection (ARI) using data from a prospective, population-based birth-cohort study (N = 180). Infant inflammation was measured as a continuous latent factor within a structural equation modeling framework using nasal wash concentrations of interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α. We hypothesized that infants exposed to prenatal life stress would have greater levels of nasal inflammation during ARI and increased risk for ARI-related morbidity in early childhood. Results Our findings contradicted these hypotheses and provided evidence of sexually dimorphic effects of prenatal stress exposure on infant immune functioning during ARI. Among boys, but not girls, prenatal stress was negatively associated with nasal inflammation and indirectly associated with both lower ARI severity and reduced likelihood of subsequent ARI-related hospitalization in the 2nd and 3rd years of life. Conclusion These data suggest that prenatal stress exposure may be beneficial for infant boys in the context of respiratory viral infections; however, it will be critical to determine if these benefits are offset by increased risk for chronic inflammatory diseases in later childhood. As the participants in this cohort are being followed longitudinally through age 8, we will be able to evaluate long-term health outcomes in future studies.
Enhancing Essential Data Skills for College-wide Students

In the Big Data era, essential data skills are critical for everybody in full participation of the workforce and modern society to better understand decisions from diverse levels of society. However not all graduates exit college with these needed skills. In this poster, the author(s) report on the integrating of data literacy into a college-wide computer and information literacy course with collaborative practices of project-based learning, which aims at increasing students' awareness of data science and boosting essential data skills of college-wide students. In the poster, we will demonstrate our module design on training essential data skills through examples, case students, and team-based projects within a college-wide computer and information literacy course. We will also present our comparative analysis on one data-enhanced course session with other two course regular sessions as control. In the data-enhanced session, students formed a team, choose a topic in the engaging context, specified questions that they want to ask and answered through data, analyzed data from different perspectives, evaluated results, and present in the course poster session. Two measures are used in assessing the effectiveness of exploratory and collaborative learning in data literacy: student performance in a poster session and student perceptions on Likert scales. Thus far the evaluation results and statistical analysis showed the innovative practice significantly intrigued students' interest in data science and boosted students' fundamental data skills, for both computer science or non-computer science majors.
Open Payments and the US Clinical Landscape

Background:The Open Payments database represents a new, substantial source of information on the US clinical trial investigator landscape.Methods:This paper draws upon the Open Payments database. T...
Achieving Food Security Through Localisation, Not Aid: “De-development” and Food Sovereignty in the Palestinian Territories:

Food aid is a common response to the food insecurity brought by conflict and inadequate development. Yet the very well-intentioned actions that are meant to stave off immediate humanitarian crises ...
Abstract 224: Implementation of an Actionable EHR-based Population Health Dashboard and Curriculum in a Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship

Background: The advent of learning healthcare systems requires physicians to not only manage individual patients, but also use data to manage their patient population as a whole. Improving care usi...
Bile Acids and Human Colorectal Cancer

Colerectal cancer is a disease which is much more common in western countries than in the newly developing countries of Africa, Asia, and South and Central America, but migrants from countries with a low incidence to those with a high incidence of the disease rapidly attain an incidence of the disease similar to that of their new homeland. This indicates that the factors determining the incidence of the disease within a population are environmental rather than genetic. Environmental factors can be divided into two classes, namely those associated with the physical environment (such as latitude, altitude, climate, and air pollution, those factors which are shared by a local community) and those associated with the cultural environment (the more personal factors in the environment, such as smoking, diet, and personal hygiene). The effects of these two classes can be studied by, for example, investigating religious groups living within a community and with a shared physical environment; such investigations have shown that the disease is associated with the cultural environment rather than the physical environment, and it is now widely accepted that the diet has a key role in the causation of the disease. There is no consensus, however, concerning which dietary item is involved (Table I) and the conclusion must be that there is no simple relationship between consumption of a single class of dietary items and colorectal carcinogenesis. The epidemiology of colorectal cancer has been reviewed extensively many times and from many points of view (Wynder and Shigematsu, 1967; Haenszel and Correa, 1973; Hill, 1975; Correa and Haenszel, 1978).
Local Television Political Advertising and the Manufacturing of Political Reality.

With so much media attention on the presidential campaign, how do voters learn about candidates and elections for other offices? On local TV news, political ads create the reality of local races—a reality that is not meant to inform voters but to persuade them. Voters are left to their own devices to fill in the space between what the ads say—the bought reality—and what political stories used to cover.
Global Health Diplomacy: A 'Deus Ex Machina' for International Development and Relations

Brugha and Bruen (2014) raise a number of compelling issues related to the interaction between politics and policy in the global health context. The first question that their views invite is whether this is, at heart, best characterized as a benign or malign influence. Many commentators have suggested that this overlap should be discouraged (see, for example, Marseille et al 2002; Thomas & Weber 2004; Fidler 2011), while others advocate a decrease in 'stove-piped' or 'siloed' approaches to government, politics, and academia (Lee et al 2010; Feldbaum 2011). To use a parallel example, the world of sport has indirectly contributed a number of notable political advances, not least the end of apartheid in South Africa as a partial result of the ban imposed on their international teams (Nixon 2002). In spite of this, organizations such as FIFA refuse to be drawn into sanctioning international football teams on non-sporting grounds (Sobolev & Gazeta 2014). The future scope and role of global health will, inevitably, face corresponding challenges.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis of MUIS-C Scale Among Baby Boomers With Hepatitis C.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale-Community (MUIS-C), used to gauge level of uncertainty among baby boomers with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, as a reliable two-factor instrument. METHODS A CFA was conducted to test MUIS-C. There were minor deviations from normality. Subsequently, 130 participants were used to examine the factor structure and the model fit. A robust maximum likelihood (ML) estimation using the Wishart distribution was implemented in R version 3.3.1. RESULTS A very good model fit was obtained (χ2(101) = 118.32, p = .115, TLI = 0.977, CFI = 0.983, RMSEA = 0.036, 90%CI(0.000, 0.061), and SRMR = 0.057). All indicators showed significant positive factor loadings, with standardized coefficients ranging from 0.511 to 0.868. CONCLUSIONS The MUIS-C was a reliable two-factor instrument and suitable for use as such in baby boomer population with HCV.
Surgical management of symptomatic vertebral hemangiomas: A case report and literature review.

Background: Vertebral hemangiomas (VHs) are common benign tumors that only rarely become symptomatic. There is a paucity of data regarding their surgical management and outcomes. Here, we reported a case involving an aggressive cervical VH, discussed its surgical management and outcomes, and reviewed the literature. Methods: We assessed the clinical, radiological, and surgical outcomes for a patient with an aggressive cervical VH. We also performed a systematic review of the literature according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to describe surgical outcomes for symptomatic VH. Results: A total of 154 studies including 535 patients with VH were included in the study. The majority of patients were female (62.8%), the average age was 43 years, and the thoracic spine was most commonly involved (80.6%). Utilizing Odom’s criteria, outcomes were excellent in 81.7% (95% CI 73.2–90.2) of cases. For those presenting with myelopathy (P = 0.045) or focal neurological deficits (P = 0.018), outcomes were less likely to be excellent. Preoperative embolization was not associated with excellent outcome (P = 0.328). Conclusion: Surgical outcomes for VH are predominantly favorable, but aggressive VHs have the potential to cause significant residual postoperative neurological morbidity.
Phase Transformations During Homogenization of Inconel 718 Alloy Fabricated by Suction Casting and Laser Powder Bed Fusion: A CALPHAD Case Study Evaluating Different Homogenization Models

Estimating the required homogenization time during post-heat treatment after alloy fabrication is critical for both casting and additive manufacturing (AM). In this work, three CALPHAD-based modeling approaches to estimate the homogenization time in order to dissolve the Laves_C14 phase into γ matrix are evaluated for Inconel 718 alloys made by suction casting and laser powder bed fusion. These values are compared with the homogenization at 1180 °C for different durations. The compositions of the γ matrix obtained from experiments are used as inputs for the first model. The first model involves single-phase diffusion simulations using the diffusion module (DICTRA) implemented in the Thermo-Calc software package with composition profile for the Laves_C14 phase either determined from experiments or calculated by the lever rule. The second model uses Scheil simulations for predicting the segregation profiles, which are used as inputs for single-phase simulations. In the third model, moving boundary simulations using DICTRA are performed using the composition of Laves_C14 phase from the lever rule. The homogenization time determined using the first model matches reasonably well with the experimental observation for the AM alloy. The second model is imprecise as the segregation from Scheil calculation is not reliable for AM alloy. The last model is inaccurate due to lack of mobility data for atomic diffusion in the Laves_C14 phase. The predicted homogenization times for the cast alloys using these models do not match with the experimental values. This necessitates the need for determining the mobilities for Laves_C14 phase for improving the accuracy of DICTRA simulations to estimate the homogenization time.
Bioethicist as Partisan Ideologue.

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. (Lord Acton, Letter I To Archbishop Creighton, April 5, 1887; 2011, 9)To be clear, I do not think that blood transfusions necessarily ...
Patients with oral preneoplastic lesions and integration of dental pathology referrals.

Abstract Purpose Oral cancers lack standardized monitoring systems. Our institution has developed an active surveillance system which provides detailed monitoring and follow up of patients with oral preneoplastic lesions (OPL). We examined a historic cohort of patients with OPL seen by regional dental professionals and a current cohort of clinic patients. The major aim was to examine follow up practices for biopsy proven dysplasia to gauge appropriateness of an active monitoring system for oral carcinoma. Materials and methods Questionnaires regarding patients with OPL were sent to 285 dentists who had requested oral pathology services from our institution. The follow up practices of 141 dentists were evaluated for patients with OPL. We then examined our current clinic referral patterns for the number of dental referrals after the creation of an oral carcinoma active surveillance clinic. Results There were 76.5% (108/141) of patients who received follow up after diagnosis of preneoplastic oral lesions with 14.1% who underwent repeat biopsy. There was a malignant transformation rate of 11.3% including transformation of 42.8% of severe dysplasias into carcinoma within 2 years. After establishment of a dental referral clinic, 21.8% of tumor visits in a six-week period were referred from the regional dental community. Conclusions A high rate of transformation of OPL to cancer in this cohort may support a role for joint dental and otolaryngology surveillance of dysplasia with longitudinal follow up.