cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Did births decline in the United States after the enactment of no-fault divorce law?

Previous research has demonstrated that U.S. no-fault divorce laws implemented between 1953 and 1987 resulted in more divorces in some states than would have occurred otherwise. In other states, divorce patterns appeared to follow prevailing trends even after implementation of no-fault divorce legislation. A more distal question is whether implementation of no-fault divorce laws had an effect on birth rates. We analyzed state-level birth data from all 50 states to assess the birth response to the enactment of no-fault divorce law in each state. Results suggested that birth rates decreased significantly two to four years following the enactment of no-fault divorce law for the group of 34 states whose divorce rates responded to no-fault divorce legislation. As predicted, among the 16 states whose divorce rates did not respond to no-fault divorce legislation, the enactment of no-fault divorce law had a small and nonsignificant positive influence on birth rates. Generally, the group of 34 states had lower post no-fault birth rates than the group of 16 states.
Phylogenetic diversity stabilizes community biomass

Aims The relationship between biodiversity and ecological stability is a long-standing issue in ecology. Current diversity–stability studies, which have largely focused on species diversity, often report an increase in the stability of aggregate community properties with increasing species diversity. Few studies have examined the linkage between phylogenetic diversity, another important dimension of biodiversity, and stability. By taking species evolutionary history into account, phylogenetic diversity may better capture the diver sity of traits and niches of species in a community than species diversity and better relate to temporal stability. In this study, we investigated whether phylogenetic diversity could affect temporal stability of community biomass independent of species diversity. Methods We performed an experiment in laboratory microcosms with a pool of 12 bacterivorous ciliated protist species. To eliminate the possibility of species diversity effects confounding with phylogenetic diversity effects, we assembled communities that had the same number of species but varied in the level of phylogenetic diversity. Weekly disturbance, in the form of short-term temperature shock, was imposed on each microcosm and species abundances were monitored over time. We examined the relationship between temporal stability of community biomass and phylogenetic diversity and evaluated the role of several stabilizing mechanisms for explaining the influence of phylogenetic diversity on temporal stability. Important Findings Our results showed that increasing phylogenetic diversity promoted temporal stability of community biomass. Both total community biomass and summed variances showed a U-shaped relationship with phylogenetic diversity, driven by the presence of large, competitively superior species that attained large biomass and high temporal variation in their biomass in both low and high phylogenetic diversity communities. Communities without these species showed patterns consistent with the reduced strength of competition and increasingly asynchronous species responses to environmental changes under higher phylogenetic diversity, two mechanisms that can drive positive diversity–stability relationships. These results support the utility of species phylogenetic knowledge for predicting ecosystem functions and their stability.
Selection of efficiency evaluation models

. The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of selecting the efficiency evaluation model that best represents the known and postulated relation between inputs and outputs. By ignoring the input/output relationship, Mehrez, Brown, and Khouja (MBK) misspecify the efficiency evaluation model and misinterpret the distortions resulting from their misspecification as being paradoxical. This paper shows that the use of the appropriate data envelopment analysis (DEA) model reflecting the matched output/input (MOI) technology postulated by MBK will always provide efficiency estimates that satisfy their MOI axiom. Statistical consistency of the DEA estimator also implies that even with MBK's use of a misspecified model, the frequency of violation of their MOI axiom is likely to be small for large samples. Resume. L'auteur insiste sur l'importance du choix du modele de l'evaluation du rendement qui represente le mieux la relation connue et postulee entre les intrants et les extrants. En ignorant la relation intrant-extrant, Mehrez, Brown et Khouja (MBK) definissent mal le modele d'evaluation du rendement et jugent, a tort, les distorsions resultant de cette definition comme etant paradoxales. L'auteur demontre que le recours a l'analyse integrale appropriee des donnees s'inspirant de la technologie de concordance extrant-intrant postulee par MBK produit toujours des estimations du rendement qui respectent l'axiome de concordance. La coherence statistique des estimations issues de l'analyse integrale des donnees donne egalement a penser que meme lorsqu'on utilise un modele mal defini comme le font MBK, la frequence des derogations a l'axiome de concordance extrant-intrant tend a etre faible pour les gros echantillons.
KaDo: An Advanced Enterprise Modeling, Database Design, Database Implementation, and Information Retrieval Case for the Accounting Information Systems Class.

ABSTRACT: The KaDo case, designed for either an advanced undergraduate AIS class or a graduate AIS class, has four parts: enterprise modeling, relational database design, integration of legacy systems, and information retrieval. The first part exposes students to advanced enterprise modeling concepts such as subtypes and advanced REA concepts such as policy specifications. The second part asks students to translate advanced modeling concepts such as subtypes into relational database structures. The objective of the third part is for students to learn how to use database software to integrate legacy systems. Their task involves two steps: importing data and integrating data. The fourth part involves information retrieval where students map information requirements into queries that can be executed by the computer. The advanced query techniques that students apply include multi‐column join definitions, union, and view hierarchies. KaDo is a dynamic case that allows instructors to create a version of the cas...
Differential regulation of Kruppel-like factor family transcription factor expression in neonatal rat cardiac myocytes: effects of endothelin-1, oxidative stress and cytokines.

Kruppel-like transcription factors (Klfs) modulate fundamental cell processes. Cardiac myocytes are terminally-differentiated, but hypertrophy in response to stimuli such as endothelin-1. H2O2 or cytokines promote myocyte apoptosis. Microarray studies of neonatal rat myocytes identified several Klfs as endothelin-1-responsive genes. We used quantitative PCR for further analysis of Klf expression in neonatal rat myocytes. In response to endothelin-1, Klf2 mRNA expression was rapidly increased ( approximately 9-fold; 15-30 min) with later increases in expression of Klf4 and Klf6 ( approximately 5-fold; 30-60 min). All were regulated as immediate early genes (cycloheximide did not inhibit the increases in expression). Klf5 expression was increased at 1-2 h ( approximately 13-fold) as a second phase response (cycloheximide inhibited the increase). These increases were transient and attenuated by U0126. H2O2 increased expression of Klf2, Klf4 and Klf6, but interleukin-1beta or tumor necrosis factor alpha downregulated Klf2 expression with no effect on Klf4 or Klf6. Of the Klfs which repress transcription, endothelin-1 rapidly downregulated expression of Klf3, Klf11 and Klf15. The dynamic regulation of expression of multiple Klf family members in cardiac myocytes suggests that, as a family, they are actively involved in regulating phenotypic responses (hypertrophy and apoptosis) to extracellular stimuli.
Nonaqueous Aluminum Nitride Extrusion: I, Die‐Entry Flow Behavior

Simultaneous orifice and capillary rheometry at 160°C was used to determine flow parameters of aluminum nitride extrudates plasticized with a polyethylene–mineral-oil binder. Data were analyzed using the Benbow model for square-entry ram extrusion. Variables included the powder concentration, polymer molecular weight and concentration, and lubricant concentration. Die-entry rheology was explained in terms of the mean interparticle separation, polymer spatial requirements, and lubricant adsorption. Particles and polymer were observed to not pack independently. The yield stress of the body increased rapidly as the solids loading approached the critical volume limit of extrudability. An increase in polymer molecular weight or partial decrease of adsorbed lubricant increased the yield stress of the body and produced a satisfactory extrudate.
Evidence of conditional conservatism: fact or artifact?

The differential timeliness measure proposed in Basu (1997), which estimates the fraction of observed bad news reported in contemporaneous earnings minus the corresponding fraction for good news, has been used widely to study conditional accounting conservatism. Timeliness is measured as the slope from a regression of earnings, scaled by lagged price, on returns. We find that differential timeliness estimates are biased by two empirical regularities related to lagged price, the deflator in the timeliness regressions: it is negatively related to a) the variance of returns, and b) the probability of a loss, and the magnitude of price-deflated losses. Even though these regularities are unrelated to conditional conservatism, their effects are substantial and pervasive. Also, prior findings regarding time-series and cross-sectional variation in differential timeliness are confounded by corresponding variation in these regularities.
Management of Spontaneous Isolated Visceral Artery Dissection

Background Spontaneous isolated dissection of the celiac artery (CA) or the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) is rare but increasingly recognized because of widespread use of advanced abdominal imaging technology. Indications for specific therapeutic options and long-term outcomes are not well defined. This study analyzed clinical features, management strategies, and outcomes for patients with spontaneous visceral artery dissections. Methods Medical records of all patients diagnosed with CA or SMA dissections at 2 institutions (Scripps Green Hospital and San Diego Kaiser Medical Center) between January 2005 and January 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. Patient demographics included age, symptoms, associated comorbidities, and type of intervention. Anatomic features including length of dissection and entry point were measured. Efficacy of the various treatments was compared on the basis of symptom resolution and clinical course. Results Over an 8-year period, 23 patients with a diagnosis of visceral artery dissection were identified. Eighteen (78%) patients were men. Most patients (78%) were symptomatic on initial presentation with abdominal or back pain. Treatment included observation in 4, anticoagulation in 13, and endovascular stenting in 6 patients. The mean follow-up was 23.8 months. No patient required bowel resection. Twenty of twenty-three patients reported resolution of symptoms at follow-up. Conclusions In this series, all patients with isolated visceral artery dissection had favorable outcomes, with no significant morbidity or mortality. Conservative management with anticoagulation is recommended as the first-line therapy. When conservative management fails, endovascular therapy is the treatment of choice.
Matrix Elements in Interband Optical Transitions

We have calculated the imaginary part of the dielectric constant ${\ensuremath{\epsilon}}_{2}$ for Si and Ge using interband matrix elements obtained from the full orthogonalized-plane-wave (OPW) wave function (rather than only the plane-wave portion). The results show that for the class of semiconductor represented by Si and Ge a pseudopotential description including pseudo-wave-function matrix elements is quite adequate for obtaining the one-electron transition probabilities.
Historical review of ElectroScience Laboratory with an emphasis on contributions of R.G. Kouyoumjian

Summary form only given. The Antenna Laboratory (now the ElectroScience Laboratory) was created during World War II. With the advent of the launching of Sputnik and the Korean War, the Antenna Laboratory experienced a period of unprecedented growth. With the exception of a static period in the early 1970s the Antenna Laboratory, by now the ElectroScience Laboratory, continued to grow and its technical breadth had increased substantially. >
Frequency domain blind MIMO system identification based on second- and higher order statistics

We present a novel frequency-domain framework for the identification of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system driven by white, mutually independent, unobservable inputs. The system frequency response is obtained based on singular value decomposition (SVD) of a matrix constructed based on the power-spectrum and slices of polyspectra of the system output. By appropriately selecting the polyspectra slices, we can create a set of such matrices, each of which could independently yield the solution, of they could all be combined in a joint diagonalization scheme to yield a solution with improved statistical performance. The freedom to select the polyspectra slices allows us to bypass the frequency-dependent permutation ambiguity that is usually associated with frequency domain SVD, while at the same time allows us compute and cancel the phase ambiguity. An asymptotic consistency analysis of the system magnitude response estimate is performed.
Attachment Styles: Relationship to Masculine Gender Role Conflict in College Men

This study examined the relationship between masculine gender role conflict and attachment in college men. One hundred seventy male undergraduate students completed the Gender Role Conflict Scale (J. M. O’ Neil, B. Helms, R. Gable, L. David, & L. Wrightsman, 1986) and the Relationship Questionnaire (K. Bartholomew & L. M. Horowitz, 1991). The results demonstrated that men with secure attachment styles had significantly less gender role conflict with Restrictive Emotionality when compared with men with preoccupied, dismissive, or fearful attachment styles. In addition, men with a secure attachment style had significantly less conflict with Success, Power, and Competition when compared with men with fearful attachment styles. Implications of the results for understanding the relationship between attachment and masculine gender role conflict are discussed.
Management of access to branded psychotropic medications in private health plans

Abstract Background: In the past decade, health insurers have increased their reliance on cost control policies such as prior authorization and 3-tier formularies. Little is known about how these policies are being applied to psychotropic medications, many of which have low rates of patient adherence. Objective: This study reports on plans' cost-sharing tier placement and authorization policies for 12 brandonly psychotropic medications in 3 classes: antidepressants, antitipsychotics, and medications for attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADFID). Methods: Data were from a nationally representativesurvey of private health plans regarding mental health and substance-abuse services in 2003; 368 plans responded (83% response rate). Results were weighted and represent national estimates of health-plan characteristics. Results: The majority of insurance products provided unrestricted placement on Tier 2 (medium copayment) for at least 2 brand-only antidepressants and at least 2 brand-only antipsychotics. This approach allows clinicians some limited leeway in initial medication selection. However, most patients who did not respond to the Tier-2 options typically faced a substantial escalation in copaynnent (Tier 3), possibly leading to premature medication discontinuation. For ADHI)5 the options were considerably more limited, with 22.1% of products applying some restriction to all 3 medications and only 15.9% of products leaving all 3 medications unrestricted. Plans with specialty contracts for mental health were considerably more likely to use Tier 3 (highest copayinerit) as their only restriction approach. Conclusions: Based on the results of this analysis,private plans were managing psychotropic costs using copayment incentives rather than administrative controls. This approach was less intrusive for clinicians, but resulting higher copayments could worsen already high rates of nonadherence; future research should examine this issue.
I/sup 2/ A: an interactive image annotation system

In this paper, we propose an interactive image annotation system. The proposed system has two connected components, the low-level feature space and the semantic space. Experiments show that our system is able to provide accurate annotation for images by learning the connections between the two spaces through statistical modelling, natural language processing, and users' interaction.
Worst-Case Analysis of Process Flexibility Designs

Theoretical studies of process flexibility designs have mostly focused on expected sales. In this paper, we take a different approach by studying process flexibility designs from the worst-case point of view. To study the worst-case performances, we introduce the plant cover indices PCIs, defined by bottlenecks in flexibility designs containing a fixed number of products. We prove that given a flexibility design, a general class of worst-case performance measures can be expressed as functions of the design's PCIs and the given uncertainty set. This result has several major implications. First, it suggests a method to compare the worst-case performances of different flexibility designs without the need to know the specifics of the uncertainty sets. Second, we prove that under symmetric uncertainty sets and a large class of worst-case performance measures, the long chain, a celebrated sparse design, is superior to a large class of sparse flexibility designs, including any design that has a degree of two on each of its product nodes. Third, we show that under stochastic demand, the classical Jordan and Graves JG index can be expressed as a function of the PCIs. Furthermore, the PCIs motivate a modified JG index that is shown to be more effective in our numerical study. Finally, the PCIs lead to a heuristic for finding sparse flexibility designs that perform well under expected sales and have lower risk measures in our computational study.
Characterization of the Measurement Error in Time-Lapse Seismic Data and Production Data with an EM Algorithm

The characterization of measurement error is important if one uses a Bayesian approach to condition reservoir models to dynamic data, e.g., time-lapse seismic and production data, by automatic history matching . In the literature, the measurement error for each data type is usually estimated by some smoothing technique in the whole data domain, which often over-smoothes the data (particularly around points where the underlying true data changes sharply) and results in over estimation of the measurement error. This paper presents a new procedure for measurement error estimation. The method is based on a modified EM (Expectation-Maximization ) algorithm combined with a moving polynomial fit and provides an estimate of the mean and covariance of measurement errors. The procedure avoids smoothing over discontinuities. The algorithm is applied to both synthetic and field time lapse seismic data as well as production data. The results are compared with more standard moving window smoothing algorithms. For the synthetic example, the EM-based process yields results superior to standard smoothing procedures based on some type of moving average. For the field data, EM also appears to give a reasonable result.
d-δ-Tocotrienol-mediated Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis in Human Melanoma Cells

Background: The rate-limiting enzyme of the mevalonate pathway, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase, provides essential intermediates for the prenylation or dolichylation of growth-related proteins. d-δ-Tocotrienol, a post-transcriptional down- regulator of HMG CoA reductase, suppresses the proliferation of murine B16 melanoma cells. Dietary d-δ- tocotrienol suppresses the growth of implanted B16 melanomas without toxicity to host mice. Materials and Methods: The proliferation of human A2058 and A375 melanoma cells following a 72 h incubation in 96-well plates was measured by CellTiter 96 ® Aqueous One Solution. Cell cycle distribution was determined by flow cytometry. Fluorescence microscopy following acridine orange and ethidium bromide dual staining and procaspase-3 cleavage were used to detect apoptosis. Western-blot was employed to measure protein expression. Results: d-δ-Tocotrienol induced dose-dependent suppression of cell proliferation with 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC 50 ) of 37.5±1.4 (A2058) and 22.3±1.8 (A375) μmol/l, respectively (data are reported as mean±standard deviation). d-δ-Tocotrienol-mediated cell cycle arrest at the G 1 phase was accompanied by reduced expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 4. Concomitantly, d- δ-tocotrienol induced caspase-3 activation and apoptosis. The impact of d-δ-tocotrienol on A2058 cell proliferation was potentiated by lovastatin (IC 50 =3.1±0.5 μmol/l), a competitive inhibitor of HMG CoA reductase. Conclusion: d-δ-Tocotrienol may have potential application in melanoma chemoprevention and/or therapy.
Identifying Those Whom Health Promotion Hardly Reaches A Systematic Review

To understand what circumstances lend groups to be recognized as hardly reached by health services and research, we systematically reviewed studies that identified their priority populations as hard to reach. We classified attributes of hardly reached groups into cultural/environmental, individual, and demographic domains. Of the 334 identified studies, 78.74% used attributes that were classified into the cultural/environmental, 74.85% the individual, and 50% the demographic domain to identify those hardly reached. Of all possible combinations of domains, the most common was the use of all three domains (28.74%). Overall, papers were more likely to use attributes to identify their hardly reached population that fell into more than one domain (74.85%) compared to only one domain (25.15%; χ(2), p < .0001). Through this review, we identified the attributes of those who have been identified as hardly reached in published research. No single attribute is used to identify those who are hardly reached. This reflects a socioecological perspective, emphasizing that both intrapersonal and external elements may cause interventions to fail to reach those intended. Moreover, the focus not on populations hardly reached but on the attributes of those hardly reached suggests objectives for interventions to reach them better.
Shape-Dependent Switching Behavior of Exchange-Coupled Nanomagnet Stacks

We explore the switching mechanism of nanomagnet stacks that are patterned from a multilayered film and simultaneously exhibit strong shape anisotropy and antiferromagnetic exchange coupling between the ferromagnetic layers. We study the interplay of these two effects and demonstrate how they determine the switching characteristics of the magnets. Micromagnetic simulations give insight into the details of the magnetization reversal. These findings could be important in spintronic and magnetic logic applications, where both the shape and interlayer interactions can be exploited to tailor the properties of the magnetic building blocks of these devices.
Correlation of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Profiles with Pregnancy Outcomes in Nondiabetic Women

Objective To determine whether hyperglycemic excursions detected by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) correlate with birth weight percentile and other pregnancy outcomes, and whether CGM correlates better with these outcomes than a single glucose value from a 1-hour glucose challenge test (GCT). Study Design This was a prospective observational study of 55 pregnant patients without preexisting diabetes, who wore a CGM device for up to 7 days, between 24 and 28 weeks' gestation. The area under the curve (AUC) of hyperglycemic excursions above various thresholds (110, 120, 130, 140, and 180 mg/dL) was calculated. These AUC values, and results from a standard 50-g GCT, were correlated with our primary outcome of birth weight percentile, and secondary outcomes of unplanned operative delivery, pregnancy complications, delivery complications, fetal complications, and neonatal complications. Results A consistent correlation was seen between all AUC thresholds and birth weight percentile (r = 0.29, p Conclusions Among nondiabetic pregnant patients, hyperglycemic excursions detected by CGM show a stronger correlation to birth weight percentile than blood glucose values obtained 1-hour after a 50-g oral GCT.
Collaborative Research in Plastic Surgery - The Only Way Forward

questionnaire used in our published paper [1]. Our aim was to report on the planning principles and perceptions of plastic surgeons from a country other than the United States and analyze any relevant differences. We hoped that this would broaden the perspectives of our member surgeons. We had a response rate of 25 percent (n=34), similar to the ASPS survey rate of 20.1 percent (n=604). We collected and analyzed the data similar to the described methods in our original article [1]. Each of the 8-survey questions used in the seminal article [1], the reported responses by SAPS members, and the comparison to the ASPS member responses from the original article [1] are detailed below:
298 IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF GENES INVOLVED IN TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR α-INDUCED INSULIN RESISTANCE.

Metabolic syndrome is a variant of diabetes mellitus 2 (DM2), in which a major component is insulin resistance (IR). These obese individuals generate excessive amounts of the cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, a major cause of IR in humans. We modeled IR in H411E liver cells in tissue culture using control (C), TNF-α alone (T), insulin alone (I) and TNF-α + insulin (T + I). After extracting RNA from each of four preparations (three experiments, each preparation), the isolated RNA was analyzed on expression arrays (rat, Affymatrix). The data set query 31,042 probesets, of which only 17,538 were expressed and analyzed further. Of 1,781 probesets whose expression was reduced by more than two times with I, 433 were reversed by I + T. Of these, 303 had no more than a 50% effect by T alone. Of the 1,157 probesets increased more than two times by I, 307 were reversed by I + T, with only 189 showing an effect with T alone. We combined these positive lists, giving us a single list of 492 probesets, where expression levels were changed > two times by I and partially normalized by I + T. According to the Ingenuity Pathway Server, this list represents 154 different genes, of which 108 created 7 different networks. Conclusion We found that when we merged these networks involving both I and T, into three final networks that those 2 genes were connected to no less than 10 other genes in each network. From these analysis, it is clear that the effected genes regulate (a) effects on signal transduction, including traditional second messengers and cytokines; (b) effects on transcription, translation, and protein synthesis and degradation; and (c) effects on energy balance, oxidation-reduction reactions, and oxidative stress.
Social Situational Language Learning through an Online 3D Game

Learning a second language is challenging. Becoming fluent requires learning contextual information about how language should be used as well as word meanings and grammar. The majority of existing language learning applications provide only thin context around content. In this paper, we present work in Crystallize, a language learning game that combines traditional learning approaches with a situated learning paradigm by integrating a spaced-repetition system within a language learning roleplaying game. To facilitate long-term engagement with the game, we added a new quest paradigm, "jobs," that allow a small amount of design effort to generate a large set of highly-scaffolded tasks that grow iteratively. A large-scale evaluation of the language learning game "in the wild" with a diverse set of 186 people revealed that the game was not only engaging players for extended amounts of time but that players learned an average of 8.7 words in an average of 40.5 minutes.
The S20G substitution in hIAPP is more amyloidogenic and cytotoxic than wild-type hIAPP in mouse islets

Aims/hypothesis The S20G human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) substitution is associated with an earlier onset of type 2 diabetes in humans. Studies of synthetic S20G hIAPP in cell-free systems and immortalised beta cells have suggested that this may be due to increased hIAPP amyloidogenicity and cytotoxicity. Thus, using primary islets from mice with endogenous S20G hIAPP expression, we sought to determine whether the S20G gene mutation leads to increased amyloid-induced toxicity, beta cell loss and reduced beta cell function.
The Ageing Intensivist and Global Medical Politics

As one ages it becomes easy to sympathize with those who forget to replace the petrol cap and easy also to read the maxim above and understand why older individuals are viewed with a critical eye in respect of responsibilities for difficult decisions. Associating, as cause and effect, problems and the fact of ageing is, however, not as simple as a maxim that generalizes human behaviour. Also even though there is deterioration with age, it is not clear whether problems generated by the hubris of youth are any less of a problem. Experience leads one to beware of certain situations that a more youthful individual would tackle without due thought. Also there are a number of other reasons why performance should fail other than age in particular dependency on alcohol or other drugs. The problem then is deteriorating performance rather than, specifically, age and how society should deal with the underperforming clinician.
Mitigating the Stigma of Mental Illness Among Older Adults Living With Depression: The Benefit of Contact With a Peer Educator.

Stigma continues to be one of the most significant deterrents to professional mental health service utilization. Given the proliferation of older adults who will require mental health services in their lifetime, innovative strategies to mitigate the impact of stigma as a barrier to mental health services are necessary. Contact with other individuals who share a stigmatized condition may be a promising approach to targeting and reducing stigma. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the impact of contact with a peer educator (PE; i.e., individuals from similar age, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds who have been previously treated for depression and are trained to provide support and education to acutely depressed individuals within their community) on perceived public stigma and internalized stigma in a sample of older adults living with depression. Participants (N = 21) aged 60 years and older completed a demographic questionnaire as well as public stigma and internalized stigma measures pre- and postcontact with their assigned PE. Results indicated that contact with a PE significantly reduced public and internalized stigma among depressed older adults. Furthermore, older adults who had 4 or more contacts with a PE had a greater reduction in internalized stigma. The present study offers preliminary evidence that suggests that a peer-led support intervention is feasible and acceptable to the older adult population and that contact with a PE can potentially reduce the levels of perceived public and internalized stigma within a sample of depressed older adults.
Identifying Value in Crowdsourced Wireless Signal Measurements

While crowdsourcing is an attractive approach to collect large-scale wireless measurements, understanding the quality and variance of the resulting data is difficult. Our work analyzes the quality of crowdsourced cellular signal measurements in the context of basestation localization, using large international public datasets (419M signal measurements and 1M cells) and corresponding ground truth values. Performing localization using raw received signal strength (RSS) data produces poor results and very high variance. Applying supervised learning improves results moderately, but variance remains high. Instead, we propose feature clustering, a novel application of unsupervised learning to detect hidden correlation between measurement instances, their features, and localization accuracy. Our results identify RSS standard deviation and RSS-weighted dispersion mean as key features that correlate with highly predictive measurement samples for both sparse and dense measurements respectively. Finally, we show how optimizing crowdsourcing measurements for these two features dramatically improves localization accuracy and reduces variance.
Folic Acid Modulates Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 Expression, Alleviates Neuropathic Pain, and Improves Functional Recovery in Spinal Cord-Injured Rats.

Background: The molecular underpinnings of spinal cord injury (SCI) associated with neuropathic pain (NP) are unknown. Recent studies have demonstrated that matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) such as MMP2 play a critical role in inducing NP following SCI. Promoter methylation of MMPs is known to suppress their transcription and reduce NP. In this context, it has been shown in rodents that folic acid (FA), an FDA approved dietary supplement and key methyl donor in the central nervous system (CNS), increases axonal regeneration and repair of injured CNS in part via methylation. Purpose: Based on above observations, in this study, we test whether FA could decrease MMP2 expression and thereby decrease SCI-induced NP. Methods: Sprague-Dawley male rats weighing 250-270 g received contusion spinal cord injuries (cSCIs) with a custom spinal cord impactor device that drops a 10 g weight from a height of 12.5 mm. The injured rats received either i.p. injections of FA (80 µg/kg) or water (control) 3 days prior and 17 days post-cSCI (mid phase) or for 3 days pre-cSCI and 14 days post-cSCI ending on the 42nd day of cSCI (late phase). The functional neurological deficits due to cSCI were then assessed by Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scores either on post-impaction days 0 through 18 post-cSCI (mid phase) or on days 0, 2, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 (late phase). Baseline measurements were taken the day before starting treatments. Thermal hyperalgesia (TH) testing for pain was performed on 4 days pre-cSCI (baseline data) and on days 18, 21, 28, 35, and 42 post-cSCI. Following TH testing, animals were euthanized and spinal cords harvested for MMP-2 expression analysis. Result: The FA-treated groups showed higher BBB scores during mid phase (day 18) and in late phase (day 42) of injury compared to controls, suggesting enhanced functional recovery. There is a transient decline in TH in animals from the FA-treated group compared to controls when tested on days 18, 21, 28, and 35, indicative of a decrease in NP. However, when tested 25 days after stopping FA administration on day 42 of cSCI, no significant difference in TH was observed between FA-treated and control animals. Western blot analysis of the injured spinal cord from FA-treated animals showed significant decline in MMP2 expression compared to spinal cord samples from water-treated controls. Conclusion: Together, these data suggest that FA could alleviate NP and improve functional recovery post-SCI, possibly by reducing the expression of MMP2. Further studies will open up a novel and easy natural therapy, ideal for clinical translation with minimal side effects, for managing SCI-induced NP. Such studies might also throw light on a possible epigenetic mechanism in FA-induced recovery after SCI.
Pathophysiology of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

This chapter discusses the pathophysiological mechanisms and contributing factors underlying the etiology of carpal tunnel syndrome. The etiology of carpal tunnel syndrome is complex and still has not been fully elucidated. Many factors have been implicated in the development and progression of carpal tunnel syndrome. Injury due to repetitive mechanical stress and resulting nerve injury has been historically thought to be the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome. Additionally, systemic disease states including diabetes, acromegaly, thyroid dysfunction, and rheumatoid arthritis among others have been linked to carpal tunnel syndrome. Age, gender, and genetic factors have also been associated with the development of carpal tunnel syndrome. The various elements that may predispose to carpal tunnel syndrome have been explored in depth in this chapter.
Assessment of Nursing Response to a Real-Time Alerting Tool for Sepsis: A Provider Survey.

Background An information technology solution to provide a real-time alert to the nursing staff is necessary to assist in identifying patients who may have sepsis and avoid the devastating effects of its late recognition. The objective of this study is to evaluate the perception and adoption of sepsis clinical decision support. Methods A cross-sectional survey over a three-week period in 2015 was conducted in a major tertiary care facility. A sepsis alert was launched into five pilot units (including: surgery, medical-ICU, step-down, general medicine, and oncology). The pilot unit providers consisted of nurses from five inpatient units. Frequency, summary statistics, Chi-square, and nonparametric Kendall tests were used to determine the significance of the association and correlation between six evaluation domains. Results A total of 151 nurses responded (53% response rate). Questions included in the survey addressed the following domains: usability, accuracy, impact on workload, improved performance, provider preference, and physician response. The level of agreeability regarding physician response was significantly different between units (p=0.0136). There were significant differences for improved performance (p=0.0068) and physician response (p=0.0503) across levels of exposure to the alert. The strongest correlations were between questions related to usability and the domains of: accuracy (τ=0.64), performance (τ=0.66), and provider preference (τ=0.62), as well as, between the domains of: provider performance and provider preference (τ=0.67). Discussion Performance and preference of providers were evaluated to identify strengths and weaknesses of the sepsis alert. Effective presentation of the alert, including how and what is displayed, may offer better cognitive support in identifying and treating septic patients.
From Best to Intentional Practices: Reimagining Implementation of Gender-Inclusive Housing

Using findings from a national study of trans* students’ experiences in gender-inclusive housing, we argue student affairs educators must move toward gender-inclusive housing as an intentional—rath...
Current and potential roles of archaeology in the development of cultural evolutionary theory

Archaeology has much to contribute to the study of cultural evolution. Empirical data at archaeological timescales are uniquely well suited to tracking rates of cultural change, detecting phylogenetic signals among groups of artefacts, and recognizing long-run effects of distinct cultural transmission mechanisms. Nonetheless, these are still relatively infrequent subjects of archaeological analysis and archaeology's potential to help advance our understanding of cultural evolution has thus far been largely unrealized. Cultural evolutionary models developed in other fields have been used to interpret patterns identified in archaeological records, which in turn provides independent tests of these models' predictions, as demonstrated here through a study of late Prehistoric stone projectile points from the US Southwest. These tests may not be straightforward, though, because archaeological data are complex, often representing events aggregated over many years (or centuries or millennia), while processes thought to drive cultural evolution (e.g. biased learning) operate on much shorter timescales. To fulfil archaeology's potential, we should continue to develop models specifically tailored to archaeological circumstances, and explore ways to incorporate the rich contextual data produced by archaeological research.This article is part of the theme issue 'Bridging cultural gaps: interdisciplinary studies in human cultural evolution'.
A Cautionary Tale of Warning Messages on Food Products: The Case of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

To protect public health, the government may mandate placement of warnings on products that it believes cause health risks. However, as a recent legal case demonstrates, such mandates require fulfi...
Numerical modeling of analyte diffusion and adsorption behavior in microparticle and nanoparticle based biosensors

Abstract Increasingly medical diagnostic platforms rely upon the use of colloidal nanoparticles for the detection of biomolecules. Colloids offer greatly increased surface area to volume ratios and lack diffusion limitations that typically reduce reaction rates in assays employing planar surfaces. These characteristics are anticipated to improve the speed to answer as well as the total number of analytes that are captured in colloidal assay systems. This paper details a reaction-diffusion modeling approach to optimize colloidal affinity-based bioassays, with emphasis on the key figures of merit of projected sensitivities and time to answer over a broad range of conditions. The computational results illustrate the intuitive sense that colloidal sensing surfaces have improved kinetics as compared to solid supports, that the curvature of the spherical sensing surface probes a larger volume than a planar surface of the same area resulting in a larger diffusional driving force for reaction to the surface and equilibrium of bound analyte. The governing regime of particle systems skewed toward kinetically limited regimes and multiple configurations of particle diameter and concentration achieved equivalent analyte capture. Surface based sensor platforms have benefited from miniaturization of the capture area and particle capture systems provide a route to further surface miniaturization, as well as unique opportunities for the rapid analysis of dilute samples of particular interest for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics.
Medical cannabis legalization and opioid prescriptions: evidence on US Medicaid enrollees during 1993–2014

Background and aims While the United States has been experiencing an opioid epidemic, 29 states and Washington DC have legalized cannabis for medical use. This study examined whether state-wide medical cannabis legalization was associated with reduction in opioids received by Medicaid enrollees. Design Secondary data analysis of state-level opioid prescription records from 1993-2014 Medicaid State Drug Utilization Data. Linear time-series regressions assessed the associations between medical cannabis legalization and opioid prescriptions, controlling for state-level time-varying policy covariates (such as prescription drug monitoring programs) and socio-economic covariates (such as income). Setting United States. Participants Drug prescription records for patients enrolled in fee-for-service Medicaid programs that primarily provide health-care coverage to low-income and disabled people. Measurements The primary outcomes were population-adjusted number, dosage and Medicaid spending on opioid prescriptions. Outcomes for Schedule II opioids (e.g. hydrocodone, oxycodone) and Schedule III opioids (e.g. codeine) were analyzed separately. The primary policy variable of interest was the implementation of state-wide medical cannabis legalization. Findings For Schedule III opioid prescriptions, medical cannabis legalization was associated with a 29.6% (P = 0.03) reduction in number of prescriptions, 29.9% (P = 0.02) reduction in dosage and 28.8% (P = 0.04) reduction in related Medicaid spending. No evidence was found to support the associations between medical cannabis legalization and Schedule II opioid prescriptions. Permitting medical cannabis dispensaries was not associated with Schedule II or Schedule III opioid prescriptions after controlling for medical cannabis legalization. It was estimated that, if all the states had legalized medical cannabis by 2014, Medicaid annual spending on opioid prescriptions would be reduced by 17.8 million dollars. Conclusion State-wide medical cannabis legalization appears to have been associated with reductions in both prescriptions and dosages of Schedule III (but not Schedule II) opioids received by Medicaid enrollees in the United States.
AN INSTRUMENT FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF ELECTRIC DICHROISM

We have constructed an instrument for the measurement of electric dichroism. Through the use of photoelastic modulators we are able to shift the plane of polarization from parallel to the applied electric field to perpendicular, at a cyclic rate of 100 KHz-1 MHz. When an electric pulse is applied to a sample and dichroism arises, an A.C. component appears in the output of the photomultiplier tube. We have devised a digital procedure which is analogous to a lock-in amplifier for processing this A.C. signal.
A Reaction Theory and the Relation between Widths and Energy Shifts

We present here a complete reaction theory that incorporates the Pauli principle explicitly and is devoid of projection operators or matching radii. We provide explicit expression for widths, reduced widths and energy shift and proper relations between them. For a series of nearby overlapping resonances we develop explicit expressions showing that they cannot be, in general, considered as a series of non-interacting isolated resonances. The analysis indicates that the location of resonance energies are affected in the complex-rotation method and examine the situation when this could be neglected. Finally we examine the importance of including the Pauli principle for the calculation of auto-ionization widths of He-like atomic system.
Predicting negative control drugs to support research in drug safety

The lack of high-quality reference data is a major limitation in drug safety and drug discovery science. Unreliable standards prohibit the use of supervised learning methods and make evaluation of algorithms difficult. While some data is available for positive examples (e.g. which drugs are associated with a side effect), there are no systematic resources of negative controls. To solve this issue, we introduced SIDERctrl, a computational method that ranks drugs based on the likelihood of not causing a side effect. We applied SIDERctrl to predict negative controls from unreported drugs of 890 side effects in SIDER. Our predictions decreased the false negative rate by one-third according to a validation study using AEOLUS data. Three sets of predicted negative controls by different thresholds of precision were provided, and can be accessed at http://tatonettilab.org/resources/negative-drugs.html. This new reference standard will be important in chemical biology, drug development, and pharmacoepidemiology.
Robotics in the Military

Military surgeons also use robotic assistance when performing laparoscopic procedures. However the military is also trying to extend the use of robots to the battlefield to help with diagnosis, triage, hemorrhage control, and even surgical care. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is funded by the Department of Defense, and it supports many projects in both the military and civilian sector that are aimed to improve medical care during combat. This chapter is the summary of those projects.