cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Treating Pain in Patients Receiving Methadone Maintenance for Opioid Dependence

The treatment of acute and chronic pain in patients receiving methadone for the treatment of opioid dependence represents a clinical challenge for generalists and specialists alike. Pain can often serve as a trigger to relapse to illicit opioid use highlighting the need to assess and address pain complaints in this population. Increasingly, patients receiving methadone maintenance have a history of abusing prescription opioids (JAMA 289(18):2370–8, 2003), and patients report pain as their initial impetus to seek opioids resulting in a loss of control over their use and addiction once the severity of the pain complaint had lessened. Likewise, patients may use their methadone provided for maintenance treatment of addiction as an analgesic thereby using a medication in a way that it was not initially prescribed (Pain Medicine 9(3):359–64, 2008). In addition, clinicians often have misconceptions about the role that methadone maintenance plays in analgesia based on an incomplete understanding of the pharmacology of the medication and the role of physiologic tolerance (Ann Intern Med 144(2):127–34, 2006). The situation is compounded by the fact that pain complaints and comorbid psychiatric disorders that decrease effective coping skills and increase pain perception (e.g., depression), are prevalent in patients receiving methadone for the treatment of opioid dependence (JAMA 289(18):2370–8, 2003). In this chapter we will address common misconceptions regarding the treatment of pain in opioid-dependent patients receiving methadone and discuss strategies to address the management of acute and chronic pain in patients receiving methadone.
C-MYC and C-MYC-Regulated Micrornas Increase The Activity Of The Error-Prone ALT NHEJ Pathway Through Upregulation Of LIG3 and PARP1 In Tyrosine Kinase-Activated Leukemias

Constitutively activated tyrosine kinases (TK) BCR-ABL1 and FLT3/ITD not only increase cell survival and proliferation, but also increase levels of endogenous DNA damage and activity of an error-prone DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathway. This genomic instability leads to acquisition of genomic alterations that can result in disease progression and/or resistance to therapy. We have previously demonstrated that, in TK-activated leukemias, activity of the classic non homologous end-joining (C-NHEJ) pathway that repairs DSBs is decreased, and, as a consequence, an alternative, highly error-prone form of NHEJ (ALT NHEJ) predominates, evidenced by increased expression of DNA ligase IIIα (LIG3) and PARP1 (components of ALT NHEJ), increased frequency of large DNA deletions, and repair using DNA microhomologies. In this study, we sought to elucidate the role of a key downstream target of TKs, c-MYC, in upregulating LIG3 and PARP1 expression and consequently increasing ALT NHEJ and genomic instability. We demonstrated that MYC increases the expression of LIG3 and PARP1 through two mechanisms: 1) Increased binding to the promoters of LIG3 and PARP1, leading to increased transcription, and 2) Repression of microRNAs (miRs) that putatively regulate LIG3 and PARP1. Chemical and siRNA-mediated knockdown of MYC in MO7e-BCR/ABL and FLT3/ITD(+) MOLM14 cells results in significant reduction (p We next determined whether MYC-repressed miRs that have predicted binding sites in the 3’-UTR and coding regions of LIG3 and PARP1 are involved in regulating expression of LIG3 and PARP1. We found that there was a significant inverse correlation between LIG3 expression and miR-22, miR-23a, and miR-150 (Pearson’s r ≤ -0.3, p To determine whether increased expression of LIG3 and PARP1 correlated with MYC expression in primary leukemia samples, we examined mRNA levels from bone marrow of 21 CML patients (12 chronic phase, 1 accelerated, 7 blast crisis, and 1 unknown). Twelve patients were resistant to Imatinib, 7 were responsive, and 2 undetermined. There was a strong positive correlation between levels of MYC and PARP1 (Pearson’s r= 0.75, p=0.001), as well as MYC and LIG3 (Pearson’s r =0.45, p=0.03). While there was no correlation between levels of gene expression and disease phase, we found that the majority of samples with elevated levels of MYC, LIG3 and PARP1 were from Imatinib-resistant patients (64%), compared to samples from Imatinib-sensitive patients (36%) (p=0.03). Additionally, 2 patient samples with TKI-resistant T315I mutation in BCR-ABL1 exhibited elevated levels of MYC, LIG3 and PARP1. Thus, increased MYC expression, and repression of miRs 22, 150 and 34a augment expression of LIG3 and PARP1, generating DSB repair errors that may lead to resistance to TKI therapy. Altered expression of MYC, LIG3, PARP1 and miRs 22, 150 and 34a may be biomarkers for those patients likely to become resistant to TKI therapy. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
The Backfill as an Engineered Barrier for Nuclear Waste Management

This paper presents results from an experimental backfill barrier development program. The swelling, plastic flow and relative impermeability of bentonite and hectorite were observed and measured after wetting with concentrated brines. Measurements of stable values of pH > 6.5 for the interstitial brines in wetted bentonite and hectorite confirmed conditions favorable for precipitation and sorption of transuranics. Values of Kd > 2000 ml/g were measured for Pu and Am. Calculated estimates of the effectiveness of a one-foot-thick backfill barrier are presented. They show that the breakthrough of Pu and other transuranics (Kd = 2000 ml/g) can be delayed for 104 to 105 years. The breakthrough of most fission products (Kd = 200 ml/g) can be delayed for 103 to 104 years, sufficient time for them to decay to very low concentrations. A backfill barrier can contribute significantly to a radioactive waste isolation system.
Wikis: Developing pre-service teachers’ leadership skills and knowledge of content standards

In this initial phase of our multi-year research study we set out to explore the development of leadership skills in our pre-service secondary teachers after using an online wiki, Wikispaces. This paper presents our methods for preparing a group of 13 mathematics and 3 science secondary pre-service teachers to demonstrate the essential knowledge, skills and dispositions of beginning teacher leaders. Our findings indicate the pre-service teachers' overall satisfaction with demonstrating leadership through collaborative practices. They were successful in these new roles as teacher/collaborator within the context of communication about content standards. Though the candidates participated in other collaborative tasks, this effort was noted for bringing together technology, content standards and leadership qualities that are critical for beginning teachers. Implications for addressing the preservice teachers' development of leadership skills, as they become professional teachers will be shared.
Same-Sex Parent Socialization: Understanding Gay and Lesbian Parenting Practices as Cultural Socialization

ABSTRACTCultural socialization refers to the processes by which parents communicate cultural values, beliefs, customs, and behaviors to their children. To date, research on cultural socialization has focused primarily on racial- and ethnic-minority families, and more contemporary studies have examined these practices among international and transracial adoptive families. In general, four main themes have emerged in the literature: Cultural Socialization, Preparation for Bias, Promotion of Mistrust, and Egalitarianism. Since families with same-sex parents continue to experience stigma in society, there is reason to believe these parents engage in cultural socialization strategies specifically around issues of sexual orientation. Yet, current research on cultural socialization has not explicitly investigated same-sex parenting. Thus, the present study examined same-sex parent socialization among families headed by sexual-minority parents (52 fathers, 43 mothers) using a preexisting socialization framework. ...
Beyond medicine: healing power in the doctor-patient relationship.

Healing power in the doctor-patient relationship is addressed to physicians in physical health care and to medical students but is of equal importance to dentists, social workers, nurses, and teachers in the field of physical health care. The presentation points up that in the relationship between physician and patient certain phenomena occur that are comparable to responses in the relationship between the psychoanalyst and analysand, such as transference and countertransference. This indicates that the physician in physical health care in effect is involved in some kind of psychotherapy. Aspects of the art of medicine are described. Emphasis is on the potential for patients' physical health improvement—placebo effect—when the providers' perception extends beyond focus on physical symptoms and disorders and includes attention to the patients' psychological and emotional needs.
Secretory component production by immature rat uteri and uterine epithelial cells in culture

The present studies demonstrate that incubation of uteri from immature rats treated with estradiol for 1, 2 or 3 days in vivo, results in the accumulation of increasing amounts of secretory component in culture media relative to saline controls. In addition, our findings indicate that isolated uterine luminal epithelial cells cultured on a matrix-coated permeable surface with separate apical and basolateral secretory compartments release secretory component into culture media (apical chamber) both prior to and following their growth to confluence.
Autologous Bone Marrow Cells for Chronic Ischemic Heart Failure

Bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMCs) were used as the initial cell population for examining cell therapy in heart failure patients because of their accessibility and their heterogeneous composition of stem and progenitor cells. A myriad of clinical trials of unfractionated BMCs and selected BMC populations have shown the safety of cell therapy in these patients. Although potential efficacy of this approach has been demonstrated, the benefits of BMC therapy in heart failure patients have been limited and varied. Nevertheless, these clinical trials have provided the foundation upon which the field of cell therapy can advance. Here, we present a discussion of those trials and the future direction of stem cell therapy in patients with heart failure.
Prejudice, Discrimination, and the Preferred Approach to the Patient with Obesity

In the last 10 years, prejudice against obesity has increased by 66 %. Obesity bias and discrimination is widespread both in society and among healthcare workers. In the healthcare environment, bias leads to inconsistent evaluation and management of obesity, discourages the patient from seeking care, and increases the cost of care. To eliminate bias, practitioners and staff must first identify their personal attitudes and misinformed beliefs about obesity. This can be done through the use of specific survey tools. Physicians and health care staff can then learn nonjudgmental ways of talking effectively with patients using motivational interviewing techniques (MIT) and self-determination theory. After that, a framework can be developed that provides consistent, blameless, sensitive, and effective care for those patients who suffer from obesity. An important part of that unbiased framework of care is routine clinical measurements of each person’s level of obesity through the universal use of Weight Related Health Indicators (WRHI) (i.e. measurements of BMI, Waist Circumference and Body Fat Percentage). Many overweight patients are in denial or simply unaware of their level of obesity and their potential health risks. Thus, measuring and recording the patient’s WRHI and then sharing that information with the patient every time they encounter the healthcare system is of paramount importance if we want the patient to be fully informed and engaged in their own care.
Deconstructing Social Class Identity and Teacher Privilege in the Second Language Classroom

Through a pedagogical lens, this literature review highlights how social class, as a primary analytical construct for understanding identity in English language learner instruction, interacts with teacher class identity while creating implications for teaching and learning. In the past two decades, race, class, and gender have been the foci in TESOL identity research, yet race and gender have often been privileged as primary constructs of analysis while class is relegated to tertiary status. The article reviews poststructuralist identity theories in linguistics/TESOL to analyze the concept of multiple subjectivities as dynamic, shifting, conflicting, and situated in particular sociohistorical contexts. Then, through a multidisciplinary approach, the author discusses teacher identity conceptualization and draws from TESOL research on race/racial privilege to illustrate ways in which teacher privilege may result from student positionality based on social class for English language learners in primary and secondary public schools. Concluding with implications for the field, the author suggests future avenues of research on social class in the second language classroom.
“Do not call them bastards”: Shakespeare as an invasive species

This essay assesses two dominant modes of understanding William Shakespeare’s effect on world cultures. Those two modes are anchored on the ideas of tradition and commerce. Each offers valuable insight but also carries with it inherent limitations. This essay borrows from recent interdisciplinary work on ecosystems to offer a third way of approaching the life of Shakespeare’s work in the centuries after his death. We suggest that this third mode, which can be called “naturecultural”, offers fresh ethical perspectives on Shakespeare’s life in contemporary culture. This article is published as part of a collection to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
Antenatal palliative care consultation: implications for decision-making and perinatal outcomes in a single-centre experience.

Background Some pregnant patients with complex fetal anomalies meet with paediatric palliative care subspecialists prior to delivery, but referral to antenatal palliative care consultation (APCC) is not standard. Little is known about its role in perinatal decision-making. Methods A single-centre retrospective cohort study was undertaken for patients referred for outpatient antenatal counselling by a neonatologist over a two-and-half-year period. Patients also receiving APCC were compared with infants with similar prognoses who did not. Outcomes assessed included antenatal decision-making, obstetric and neonatal outcomes. Results 24 (17%) of the 144 referred fetuses received APCC; nearly all had been given the prognoses of ‘non-survivable’ or ‘uncertain, likely poor’. Fetal or neonatal outcome included: fetal demise 5 (21%), in-hospital death 16 (67%) and survival to discharge (DC) 3(12%). 24 fetuses with similarly poor prognoses were not referred, but had similar outcomes: fetal demise 5 (21%), in-hospital death 16 (67%) and survival to DC 3 (12%). Those with APCC were more likely to choose comfort care than those without (67% vs 17%, p . Less racial diversity was noted in the group receiving APCC. Infants with identified/suspected genetic syndromes were more likely to receive consultation despite similar mortality to the remaining cohort. Conclusions Long-term outcomes with and without APCC were similar for infants with poor prognoses, though non-survivors with APCC were more likely to have a comfort care plan and shorter time to in-hospital death.
Moral Foundations of Forgiving in the Workplace

Offensive behavior can create problems in the workplace. How victims cope with such behavior creates a range of individual, relational, and organizational consequences. Coping practices such as avoidance and forgiveness are products of individual characteristics and organizational values and norms. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between coping practices and conflict-related values, norms, and practices across four organizations. The results point to a need to examine how emotion management, coping practices, and organizational values and expectations are interrelated.
Cosmic Ray Shower Profile Track Finding for Telescope Array Fluorescence Detectors

A simple cosmic ray track finding pattern recognition analysis (PRA) method for fluorescence detectors (FD) has been developed which significantly improves Xmax resolution and its dependence on energy. Events which have a clear rise and fall in the FD view contain information on Xmax that can be reliably reconstructed. Shower maximum must be extrapolated for events with Xmax outside the field of view of the detector, which creates a systematic dependence on the fitting function. The PRA method is a model and detector independent approach to removing these events, by fitting shower profiles to a set of triangles and applying limits on the allowable geometry.
Some Basic Discussion of Differential and Integral Equations

This chapter provides an introduction to the main types of problems which motivate the techniques developed throughout the textbook. Some general discussion of problems involving ordinary differential equations, partial differential equations, and integral equations is given, in order to establish notations, review needed background material, and explain some of the basic ways that such problems are classified. The chapter concludes with some discussion of the concepts of well-posed and ill-posed problems.
Propagation of threading dislocations in heteroepitaxial diamond films with (111) orientation and their role in the formation of intrinsic stress

In the present study, systematic correlations were revealed between the propagation direction of threading dislocations, the off-axis growth conditions, and the stress state of heteroepitaxial diamond on Ir/YSZ/Si(111). Measurements of the strain tensor e by X-ray diffraction and the subsequent calculation of the tensor of intrinsic stress σ showed stress-free samples as well as symmetric biaxial stress states for on-axis samples. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) lamellas were prepared for plan-view studies along the [ 1 ¯ 1 ¯ 1 ¯] direction and for cross-section investigations along the [11 2 ¯] and [1 1 ¯0] zone axes. For samples grown on-axis with parameters which avoid the formation of intrinsic stress, the majority of dislocations have line vectors clearly aligned along [111]. A sudden change to conditions that promote stress formation is correlated with an abrupt bending of the dislocations away from [111]. This behaviour is in nice agreement with the predictions of a model that attributes...
Variations in biocorona formation related to defects in the structure of single walled carbon nanotubes and the hyperlipidemic disease state

Ball-milling utilizes mechanical stress to modify properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) including size, capping, and functionalization. Ball-milling, however, may introduce structural defects resulting in altered CNT-biomolecule interactions. Nanomaterial-biomolecule interactions result in the formation of the biocorona (BC), which alters nanomaterial properties, function, and biological responses. The formation of the BC is governed by the nanomaterial physicochemical properties and the physiological environment. Underlying disease states such as cardiovascular disease can alter the biological milieu possibly leading to unique BC identities. In this ex vivo study, we evaluated variations in the formation of the BC on single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) due to physicochemical alterations in structure resulting from ball-milling and variations in the environment due to the high-cholesterol disease state. Increased ball-milling time of SWCNTs resulted in enhanced structural defects. Following incubation in normal mouse serum, label-free quantitative proteomics identified differences in the biomolecular content of the BC due to the ball-milling process. Further, incubation in cholesterol-rich mouse serum resulted in the formation of unique BCs compared to SWCNTs incubated in normal serum. Our study demonstrates that the BC is modified due to physicochemical modifications such as defects induced by ball-milling and physiological disease conditions, which may result in variable biological responses.
Sourcing of Steam and Electricity for Carbon Capture Retrofits

This paper compares different steam and electricity sources for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) retrofits of pulverized coal (PC) and natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plants. Analytical expressions for the thermal efficiency of these power plants are derived under 16 different CCS retrofit scenarios for the purpose of illustrating their environmental and economic characteristics. The scenarios emerge from combinations of steam and electricity sources, fuel used in each source, steam generation equipment and process details, and the extent of CO2 capture. Comparing these scenarios reveals distinct trade-offs between thermal efficiency, net power output, levelized cost, profit, and net CO2 reduction. Despite causing the highest loss in useful power output, bleeding steam and extracting electric power from the main power plant to meet the CCS plant's electricity and steam demand maximizes plant efficiency and profit while minimizing emissions and levelized cost when wholesale electricity prices are below 4.5 and 5.2 US¢/kWh for PC-CCS and NGCC-CCS plants, respectively. At prices higher than these higher profits for operating CCS retrofits can be obtained by meeting 100% of the CCS plant's electric power demand using an auxiliary natural gas turbine-based combined heat and power plant.
Virtual Vitriol: A Comparative Analysis of Incivility Within Political News Discussion Forums

The potential of online discussion for political engagement, expression of opinions, and participation has been lauded by both scholars and journalism practitioners, but accusations of incivility w...
Immunologically-mediated pituitary-adrenal activation.

Perhaps the most interesting recent observation concerning interactions between the immune and neuroendocrine systems is the finding that such communication is bidirectional. That is, while it is generally accepted that the neuroendocrine system can regulate immunologic functions, it is only now becoming apparent that the immune system can regulate neuroendocrine functions. In the latter instance, the best studied system seems to be immunologic activation of the pituitary adrenal axis. Initial data supporting such activation was the observation of an elevation of circulating glucocorticoid hormones which coincided with peak antibody titers during an immune response.1 Subsequently, this effect was in part attributed to a factor(s) of unknown composition which was derived from activated leukocytes.2 We now know that there are a number of well defined immunologically-derived molecules which are involved in a lymphoid pituitary adrenal axis and can account for the earlier observations. These molecules include lymphokines and monokines as well as leukocyte-derived neuroendocrine peptide hormones. This article will review the various pathways by which the immune system can activate the pituitary adrenal axis.
Edge clearance effects on the added mass and damping of beams submerged in viscous fluids

Abstract Submerged structures that vibrate with a free boundary in close proximity to a comparatively rigid wall are commonly found in engineered systems. The confinement of the fluid in the gap can strongly influence the fluid added mass and damping associated with the structural vibration. Here, this influence is studied for submerged slender beams vibrating parallel to a wall, with small clearance between a lengthwise edge of the beam and the wall. The fluid–structure system is modeled using the Fourier transformed Stokes equations in two dimensions for incompressible viscous fluids. Added mass and damping are calculated with the use of a hydrodynamic function across a large range of Reynolds numbers and edge clearances. Relative to a previously studied case in which beams vibrate transversely to a rigid wall, the effects of the clearance gap in the present configuration — while significantly milder — are also more complicated. The results indicate that for a given Reynolds number, there is often a discrete gap height that maximizes fluid added mass or damping. This is in contrast to many other configurations where added mass and damping increase monotonically for fixed Reynolds number and increasing fluid confinement. A high-order polynomial is fit to the numerical results to facilitate their practical use. Experiments conducted in both water and vegetable oil validate the theoretical results across a wide parameter space.
THE GORGONIAN-OVULID ASSOCIATIONS OF AN INTERTIDAL CORAL COMMUNITY ON PENANG ISLAND, WEST MALAYSIA

Over parts of the rocky north shore of Penang Island, West Malaysia, and Pulau Tikus, a small island one mile offshore from Penang, coral communities (Gorgonacea, Alcyonacea, Scleractinia) may be found in the turbid inshore waters. These corals are bathed by the waters of the Muda River system on the mainland and by the waters fluxing through extensive mangal along the mainland and around Penang Island. The diverse components of the coral community are truly intertidal being exposed during spring low tides throughout the year. It appears as though the gorgonians of the coral community are unusual in their diversity and intertidal distributions. So, too, does it appear, are the ovulid gastropods associated with the gorgonians. I will, both orally and visually, described the Penang-Pulau Tikus intertidal coral community, elaborate on the gorgonians and their associated ovulid snails, and discuss the stresses placed upon the complex by man.
NOAA’s Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS®)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS®) is an integrated system of sensors concentrated in seaports that provide accurate and r...
Augmented Reality for Enabling Smart Nuclear Infrastructure

This work presents a novel, comprehensive framework that leverages emerging augmented reality headset technology to enable smart nuclear industrial infrastructure that a human can easily interact with to improve their performance in terms of safety, security, and productivity. Nuclear industrial operations require some of the most complicated infrastructure that must be managed today. Nuclear infrastructure and their associated industrial operations typically features stringent requirements associated with seismic, personnel management (e.g. access control, equipment access), safety (e.g. radiation, criticality, mechanical, electrical, spark, and chemical hazards), security (cyber/physical), and sometimes international treaties for nuclear non-proliferation. Furthermore, a wide variety of manufacturing and maintenance operations take place within these facilities further complicating their management. Nuclear facilities require very thorough and stringent documentation of the operations occurring within these facilities as well as maintaining a tight chain-of-custody for the materials being stored within the facility. The emergence of augmented reality and a variety of Internet of Things (IoT) devices offers a possible solution to help mitigate these challenges. This work provides a demonstration of a prototype smart nuclear infrastructure system that leverages augmented reality to illustrate the advantages of this system. It will also present example augmented reality tools that can be leveraged to create the next generation of smart nuclear infrastructure. The discussion will layout future directions of research for this class of work.
Preparing for Peritoneal Dialysis

Abstract Preparation for home dialysis begins with a robust modality education program because patients cannot make a decision regarding the type of dialysis if they are not provided adequate information. This requires infrastructure that some programs do not have, as well as nephrologists who are welcoming and receptive to their patients' choice of home dialysis. Unfortunately, many dialysis patients in the US do not recall receiving much information about peritoneal dialysis (PD), indicating that the process is often inadequate. This is one barrier to PD. Another is the nephrologist. The nephrologist is the most important influence regarding the decision for PD, so it is critically important that the nephrologist be trained in PD sufficiently to eliminate biases. The program must have the infrastructure to provide robust and comprehensive modality education to patients and their support persons. This includes a one-on-one session with an educator (often a nurse), videos, visits to a home program, peer-to-peer discussion with a PD patient, and follow-up with the nephrologist. Because many patients with advanced chronic kidney disease present urgently with signs and symptoms that require rapid dialysis implementation, an in-house education program is desirable but requires an investment in a nurse educator on site. Once the decision is made to start PD, arrangements are made for PD catheter placement. In most centers, scheduling this procedure can be delayed, so careful planning is necessary. Some innovative programs incorporate interventional nephrologists or radiologists in the program who can place PD catheters and thus ensure that rapid start PD is available. These approaches have been shown to greatly increase PD program size and allow a higher proportion of patients to choose PD at the outset. Use of the buried catheter technique is another approach that may facilitate timely PD start. The home dialysis program must be supported by the dialysis provider or hospital or institution, as appropriate. Adequate staffing is critical to the success of the program, allowing time for training (which is usually one on one), and for meeting the regulations in place for home programs. Space for the home program is also essential, with room for private training and for clinic visits.
Inquiry and critical thinking skills for the next generation: from artificial intelligence back to human intelligence

Along with the increasing attention to artificial intelligence (AI), renewed emphasis or reflection on human intelligence (HI) is appearing in many places and at multiple levels. One of the foci is critical thinking. Critical thinking is one of four key 21st century skills – communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. Though most people are aware of the value of critical thinking, it lacks emphasis in curricula. In this paper, we present a comprehensive definition of critical thinking that ranges from observation and inquiry to argumentation and reflection. Given a broad conception of critical thinking, a developmental approach beginning with children is suggested as a way to help develop critical thinking habits of mind. The conclusion of this analysis is that more emphasis should be placed on developing human intelligence, especially in young children and with the support of artificial intelligence. While much funding and support goes to the development of artificial intelligence, this should not happen at the expense of human intelligence. Overall, the purpose of this paper is to argue for more attention to the development of human intelligence with an emphasis on critical thinking.
Distributed Estimation via Opinion Dynamics

Distributed networks comprising decision-making units of variable competence are used to perform a sequence of tasks. Estimation of the local competences based solely on comparisons of local decisions on dynamically changing tasks is necessary for improving decision aggregation performance. This paper addresses distributed estimation of local competences on networks of heterogeneous decision-making units. We propose an order-preserving metric that depends on the local network structure to measure the competence of each node in the network instantaneously. We investigate two regimes of operation: First, the tasks are received at low frequency, or sequentially, hence the network can reach a consensus in-between tasks. Second, tasks are received at high frequency, or in batches, in which case, the network reaches to a consensus after tasks are processes locally.
Body Size, Growth, and Longevity in Northern Map Turtles (Graptemys geographica) in Indiana

Abstract Body size, growth, and longevity in Northern Map Turtles (Graptemys geographica) from Dewart Lake in northern Indiana were studied from 1979 to 2016. Based on captures of 214 males (72 rec...
A WPT/NFC-Based Sensing Approach for Beverage Freshness Detection Using Supervised Machine Learning

The massive deployment of wireless sensors is a fundamental piece in the growing internet of things (IoT) industry. Therefore, it is imperative to use already existing hardware to realize new sensing functions with very few or no hardware added. As wireless power transfer (WPT) and near field communication (NFC) become standard features in smart phones, this article investigates beverage freshness sensing based on the WPT/NFC technology compatible with smart phones. A circuit model for the beverage-coil interaction was developed and the performance of features from different nature (e.g., magnitude, amplitude, phase) for classification was analyzed and tested. Accuracies up to 96.7% were achieved using supervised machine learning for milk freshness classification, when 5 different types of milk were used and up to 100% when just 2% fat milk was used for classification. Additionally, the radio frequency bandwidth needed for classification was reduced to 10 MHz using singular value decomposition (SVD) and boxplot analysis without affecting the classification accuracy for two different methods of feature extraction.
African-Americans Have a Higher Propensity for Death from COVID-19: Rationale and Causation

The purpose of this article is to provide an understanding about the mechanisms that contribute to the proliferation of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality among high-risk populations, and especially African-Americans. African-Americans are succumbing to novel SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) at an alarming rate. Current data indicate that while African-Americans represent less than 13.4% of the United States' population, they account for one-third of more than 4.77 million persons with verified COVID-19 infections. Currently, more than 50,258 African-Americans have succumbed to the disease. African-Americans are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 to an extent unobserved in other racial/ethnic subgroups. In addition, this article describes the physiological event inflammation-mediation storming (cytokine storming). Social determinants of health such as income, education, and employment are hypothesized to impact cogent health care delivery for African-Americans. Included in this article are data on clinical outcomes that highlight the role of pre-existing (health disparities) conditions like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and lung disease, as barriers to optimal outcomes among African-Americans who are hospitalized with COVID-19. Also explored in this article is causation for vascular complications. A further aim of this article is to provide insight into cause and effect rationales for COVID-19 and health disparities, from both biosocial and health inequality perspectives. Linkages between these selected health disparities and COVID-19 are examined to determine possible deteriorating effects of COVID-19. Finally, techniques are offered to render culturally competent care to African-Americans diagnosed with COVID-19 who present concomitantly with health disparities.
Structured prostate MRI reporting: how and why

Over the past decade, the Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) has revolutionized the manner in which prostate cancer is screened for, detected, biopsied, and managed. The single greatest contribution of PI-RADS has been the standardization of interpretation and reporting of findings on MRI of the prostate. This standardization has led to the wide acceptance of the PI-RADS lexicon at a time when structured reporting templates are becoming more widespread in radiology and other medical fields. The author reviews the benefits of structured reporting templates with a focus on prostate MRI, prior studies on this topic, and details of a suggested template.
The Mechanisms Underlying External Financing and Capital Expenditures: Insights from Firm-Level Optimism/Pessimism

Prior literature documents a positive (negative) relation between past (future) stock returns and both external financing and capital expenditures. There has been much debate in the literature regarding the mechanisms driving these relations. In this study, we employ both a stock’s extreme return momentum and extreme trading volume to capture firm-level overpricing (underpricing) due to investor favoritism (neglect). We find that favoritism (neglect) is positively (negatively) associated with external financing decisions, and that the previously documented negative association between external financing and future stock returns is more pronounced in periods of favoritism. In contrast, after controlling for external financing, the positive (negative) association between favoritism (neglect) and capital expenditure decisions is attenuated, and we do not find the previously documented negative relation between capital expenditures and future stock returns. These findings suggest that financing decisions, but not capital expenditure decisions, are associated with managers’ exploitation of investor mispricing.
Dioxygen Activation Kinetics over Distinct Cu Site Types in Cu-Chabazite Zeolites

Cu-exchanged zeolites activate dioxygen to form active sites for partial methane oxidation (PMO), nitrogen oxide decomposition, and carbon monoxide oxidation. Apparent rates of O2 activation depend both on the intrinsic kinetics of distinct Cu site types and the distributions of such sites within a given zeolite, which depend on the density and arrangement of the framework Al atoms. Here, we use hydrothermal synthesis methods to control the arrangement of framework Al sites in chabazite (CHA) zeolites and, in turn, the distinct Cu site types formed. Time-resolved in situ resonance Raman spectroscopy reveals the kinetics of O2 adsorption and activation within these well-defined Cu-CHA materials and the concomitant structural evolution of copper-oxygen (CuxOy) complexes, which are interpreted alongside Cu(I) oxidation kinetics extracted from in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Raman spectra of several plausible CuxOy species simulated using density functional theory suggest that experimental spectra (λex = 532 nm) capture the formation of mono(μ-oxo)dicopper species (ZCuOCuZ). Transient experiments show that the timescales required to form CuxOy structures that no longer change in Ra-man spectra correspond to the durations of oxidative treatments that maximize CH3OH yields in stoichiometric PMO cycles (approximately 2 h). Yet, these periods extend well beyond the timescales for the complete conversion of the initial Cu(I) intermediates to their Cu(II) states (<0.3 h, reflected in XANES spectra), which demonstrates that CuxOy complexes continue to evolve structurally following rapid oxidation. The dependence of ZCuOCuZ formation rates on O2 pressure, H2O pressure, and temperature are consistent with a mechanism in which ZCuOH reduce to form ZCu+ sites that bind molecular oxygen and form ZCu-O2 intermediates. Subsequent reaction with proximate ZCu+ form bridging peroxo dicopper complexes that cleave O-O bonds to form ZCuOCuZ in steps facilitated by water. These data and interpretations provide evidence for the chemical processes that link rapid and kinetically irrelevant Cu oxidation steps (frequently probed by XAS and UV-Vis spectroscopy) to the relatively slow genesis of reactive Cu complexes that form CH3OH during PMO. In doing so, we reveal previously unrec-ognized complexities in the processes by which Cu ions in zeolites activate O2 to form active CuxOy complexes, which under-score the insight afforded by judicious combinations of experimental and theoretical techniques.
False negative point-of-care urine pregnancy tests in an urban academic emergency department: a retrospective cohort study.

Study objective To determine the prevalence of false negative point-of-care (POC) urine pregnancy tests among emergency department (ED) patients and among those with abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding. Methods We identified all female patients, ages 14-50 years without prior hysterectomy who had a negative POC urine pregnancy test (beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin [β-hCG]) performed by trained clinical staff in the ED between September 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018, as well as a subgroup we defined a priori as "high risk" for early pregnancy complications based on a triage chief complaint (text) of abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding. We identified those with a positive urine β-hCG, serum β-hCG >5 mIU/mL, or a diagnosis of pregnancy within 3 months of the initial ED visit (index visit). We used structured chart review with American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology guidelines to determine pregnancy diagnosis and outcomes (ectopic, intrauterine, abnormal including spontaneous abortion, and unknown), the date of conception, and whether the pregnancy was present at the index visit. Results Of 10,924 visits with a negative urine pregnancy test result that were screened for a pregnancy outcome, 171 (1.6%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.4, 1.8) had a pregnancy present at the index visit. Diagnoses were ectopic (n = 12, 7.0%), intrauterine (n = 71, 41.5%), abnormal (n = 77, 45.0%), and unknown (n = 11, 6.4%). Of the 2732 patients with high-risk complaints, 97 (3.6%, 95% CI = 2.9, 4.3) had a pregnancy present at the index visit (relative risk of a pregnancy diagnosis 3.9, 95% CI = 2.9,5.3), including 10/12 ectopic (83%), 58/77 abnormal (75%), and 25/71 intrauterine pregnancies (35%). Serum β-hCG ranged from 2 mIU/mL to above assay (median = 119.5, interquartile range = 957.5). Conclusion Although false negative urine pregnancy tests were uncommon, multiple pregnancy diagnoses were missed, including ectopic pregnancies. False negatives were more common among patients with abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding. Concurrent serum β-hCG levels demonstrated a broad distribution.
Advanced Computer Architectures

Despite the tremendous advances in performance enabled by modern architectures, there are always new applications and demands arising that require ever-increasing capabilities. Keeping up with these demands requires a deep-seated understanding of contemporary architectures in concert with a fundamental understanding of basic principles that allows one to anticipate what will be possible over the system's lifetime. Advanced Computer Architectures focuses on the design of high performance supercomputers with balanced coverage of the hardware, software structures, and application characteristics.This book is a timeless distillation of underlying principles punctuated by real-world implementations in popular current and past commercially available systems. It briefly reviews the basics of uniprocessor architecture before outlining the most popular processing paradigms, performance evaluation, and cost factor considerations. This builds to a discussion of pipeline design and vector processors, data parallel architectures, and multiprocessor systems. Rounding out the book, the final chapter explores some important current and emerging trends such as Dataflow, Grid, biology-inspired, and optical computing. More than 220 figures, tables, and equations illustrate the concepts presented.Based on the author's more than thirty years of teaching and research, Advanced Computer Architectures endows you with the tools necessary to reach the limits of existing technology, and ultimately, to break them.
Confronting Violence Face to Face

Violence . A Micro-sociological Theory. By Randall Collins . Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2008. 579 pp. $45, £26.95. ISBN 9780691133133. Examining photographic, video, forensic, and ethnographic evidence of a wide range of violent situations (from schoolyard bullying to armed conflict), the author argues that violence is not easily triggered and often injures unintended victims.
An immunologic method of pregnancy destruction and contraception

Abstract An antibody produced in the rabbit against a protein derived from the human placenta, human placental lactogen (HPL), was injected into pregnant rats. A total of 205 rat pregnancies, including appropriate controls, were studied. The anti-HPL-treated animals never gave birth to any litters, and, usually within a month after a normal period of gestation, normal estrous cycling recurred. Though these treated rats accepted males in succeeding cycles and were impregnated many times, implantation did not occur during the 11 succeeding months these animals were individually caged with a male and checked daily.
The Student TechCorps: providing experiential learning opportunities to students in Computing and Information Science

Approximately three years ago, faculty in Lock Haven University's Business Administration, Computer Science and Information Technology Department established the Student TechCorps, a group of majors in Computing and Information Science who serve as technology consultants and tutors to faculty and staff. In this paper, we describe the process of setting up the group and the results of work done by the group to date.
Wisdom in Multicultural Counseling: The Omitted Ingredient

This study explored the relationship between wisdom and multicultural counseling expertise. Wisdom was defined by Hanna, Bemak, and Chi-Ying Chung (1999) and measured by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (Hy & Loevinger, 1996) and multicultural counseling expertise was measured by the Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Survey (D’Andrea, Daniels, & Heck, 1990) among counselors-in-training. Specifically the study consisted of 45 counselors-in-training and was conducted based on the assumption that the acquisition of wisdom was the primary tool used by ancient civilizations to teach healers about human conditions. The findings indicated that levels of wisdom were statistically significant and accounted for 14% of the explained variance in the Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Survey (D’Andrea et al., 1990).
Obliteration of symptomatic Schatzki rings with jumbo biopsy forceps (with video)

A Schatzki ring is a submucosal, fibrotic thickening located at the gastroesophageal junction. Endoscopic treatment traditionally involves disruption of the ring. Many approaches have been described including bougies, balloons, biopsies, and diathermic monopolar incision. While all of these approaches are effective in the short-term, recurrence is common. The objective of our study was to evaluate the feasibility of complete excision of the ring using jumbo cold biopsy forceps. Our main outcome measurements were the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of complete obliteration of Schatzki rings using jumbo cold biopsy forceps. We designed an observational study using a standard protocol for patient management and data collection using a university hospital as our setting. We followed 10 patients with dysphagia due to a Schatzki's ring, six of whom had previously undergone bougienage or balloon dilation. Five patients were on maintenance therapy with a proton pump inhibitor and one with an H2 blocker. Complete endoscopic obliteration of the Schatzki rings with a cold jumbo biopsy forceps was achieved in all 10 patients requiring a mean of 9.8 biopsies (range 8-12). Omeprazole (20 mg twice daily) was prescribed after the procedure. All 10 patients demonstrated improvement in dysphagia after treatment, which persisted during a mean follow-up time of 379 days (range 63-496 days). There were no serious complications. The limitations of our study include lack of a control group, a small sample size, and being a single-institution study. We concluded that complete Schatzki ring obliteration with jumbo cold biopsy forceps is a safe, feasible, and effective endoscopic treatment.