cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Approximate maximum principle for discrete approximations of optimal control systems with nonsmooth objectives and endpoint constraints

The paper studies discrete/finite-difference approximations of optimal control problems governed by continuous-time dynamical systems with endpoint constraints. Finite-difference systems, considered as parametric control problems with the decreasing step of discretization, occupy an inter- mediate position between continuous-time and discrete-time (with fixed steps) control processes and play a significant role in both qualitative and numerical aspects of optimal control. In this paper we derive an enhanced version of the Approximate Maximum Principle for finite-difference control systems, which is new even for problems with smooth endpoint constraints on trajectories and occurs to be the first result in the literature that holds for nonsmooth objectives and endpoint constraints. The results obtained establish necessary optimality conditions for constrained nonconvex finite-difference control systems and justify stability of the Pontryagin Maximum Principle for continuous-time systems under discrete approximations.
Reliability and safety analysis in medical applications of computer technology

Analysis approaches that can be used in the design of computer-based systems for medical applications are described. The major contributions are the definition of safety and the development of analysis techniques which allow safety to be quantified. The results presented are of particular importance in medical applications where the inappropriate operation of the computer system can be catastrophic. A microprocessor-based controller developed for an electric wheelchair is described and used as an example to illustrate the basic concepts and modeling techniques. The results demonstrate that reliability considerations alone are insufficient to evaluate the effectiveness of a given design; safety must also be considered to ensure that the best design is selected for a given application. >
Test and Product Review: Pediatric Attention Disorders Diagnostic Screener.

A comprehensive evaluation of the PADDS indicated that it can be a useful and efficient instrument. It attempts to integrate parent and teacher ratings and three executive functioning tasks together to strengthen the diagnosis of ADHD. The strength of the PADDS is in having multiple sources of data in one system and being able to provide stepwise calculations of likelihood ratios. Thus, it is easy for the clinician to understand the cumulative effects, whether positive or negative. This tool exhibits potential for the field, though psychometric studies and analyses need to be completed to further establish its effectiveness and accuracy in the identification of children with ADHD.
Woman President: Confronting Postfeminist Political Culture. By Kristina Horn Sheeler and Karrin Vasby Anderson. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2013. 242 pp.

Woman President: Confronting Postfeminist Political Culture. By Kristina Horn Sheeler and Karrin Vasby Anderson. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2013. 242 pp. Why has America yet to elect a woman president? By assembling the disparate discourses of women presidential candidates--campaign oratory, political journalism, punditry, and popular culture--Kristina Horn Sheeler and Karrin Vasby Anderson have written a solidly scholarly book that seeks answers to this question. In doing so, Woman President takes the reader from Victoria Woodhull's radical outspokenness to Hillary Clinton's carefully choreographed Internet announcement speech of 2008. The book focuses on the backlash against female presidential candidates, or their "presidentiality," as the authors consistently write (p. 1). Sheeler and Anderson argue that there is an "undeclared war" (p. 3) against the American woman president, and in each chapter they present the many weapons used in that war. In the first chapter, the authors explore the constraint of the pioneer as a frame for women presidential candidates. This frame, the authors assert, "has been applied to each woman candidate for the U.S. presidency since the nineteenth century" (p. 17), and erodes her credibility by accentuating the oddity of a woman as president. The authors do a fine job of arguing that what seems like an accolade--being the first in uncharted waters--instead becomes a liability, as it more often than not makes each woman seem more a novelty than a viable candidate. The authors also deconstruct four women presidential candidates' announcement speeches to determine how each woman managed the pioneer metaphor to position herself as a presidential candidate--choosing Victoria Woodhull, Shirley Chisholm, Elizabeth Dole, and Carol Moseley-Braun as the rhetors. The longest chapter in the book, on fictional portrayals of the presidency, argues that viewing women presidents on screen is a propositional argument that women can serve as chief executives. The analysis asserts that television and film are good vehicles for negotiating the multiple perspectives of women and the presidency. This chapter is entertaining, but of course, one must first accept the argument that these screen portrayals matter. If the reader accepts that screen appearances do make an impact on the electability of women presidential candidates, then the authors' considerable attention to those portrayals will be convincing. In contrast, the chapter on presidential campaign oratory offers a less comprehensive analysis of the words of women candidates. A review of convention speeches of candidates from 1980 to 2008 demonstrates a consistent attempt to masculinize the male nominees as a means of showing their fitness for office. …
Computing sparse permanents faster

Bax and Franklin (2002) gave a randomized algorithm for exactly computing the permanent of any n × n zero-one matrix in expected time exp[-Ω(n1/3/(2lnn))]2n. Building on their work, we show that for any constant C > 0 there is a constant e > 0 such that the permanent of any n × n (real or complex) matrix with at most Cn nonzero entries can be computed in deterministic time (2 - e)n and space O(n). This improves on the Ω(2n) runtime of Ryser's algorithm for computing the permanent of an arbitrary real or complex matrix.
Multimodal detection and recognition performance of sonar operators

Trained sonar operators participated in a detection and classification task. Stimuli were presented in three conditions: auditory and visual modalities independently and simultaneously (multimodal). The signal-to-noise ratio (SIN) was continually increased during a trial, and the elapsed time as well as the SIN level at detection and classification were recorded. The best modality for target detection was found to be target specific. However, the multimodal condition was not significantly different from the single best modality and, therefore, should be used for initial target detection in the operational setting. Differences from findings in previous studies are discussed.
The Cost of Free Web Tools

Most users assume that their use of Internet services is implicitly private and anonymous, so it can be quite eye-opening to find out how much about ourselves and our companies we reveal by seemingly innocuous words we use to search, the maps we view, and the other "free" services we use on the Internet. The Internet has become one of the most central aspects of our world, and we react to both the mundane and important events in our personal and professional lives by turning to it. Unfortunately, these events, great or small, continue to exist for an indeterminately long time period on the service providers' servers. Providers of free Web-based applications aren't simply offering their tools as a public service. However altruistic they might be in some regards, these companies have legal obligations to their shareholders to make profits. Although various business models exist for advertising in connection with "free" services, the consistent bottom line is that Web-based companies depend on being able to convince advertisers that it's worth their money to have their ads presented on Web pages and emails. Free Web-based services aren't really free: users pay for them with micropayments of information that add up to a significant sum.
Safety and Learning

Following the campus shooting at Virginia Tech University, I was interviewed by a fine Washington Post reporter, Margaret Webb Pressler (2007). The focus of the interview was to reassure children t...
Regulatory control of the terminal complement proteins at the surface of human endothelial cells: neutralization of a C5b-9 inhibitor by antibody to CD59

Functionally inhibitory antibody to the plasma membrane complement inhibitor CD59 has been used to investigate control of the terminal complement proteins at the endothelial cell surface. Antibodies against purified human erythrocyte CD59 (polyclonal anti-CD59 and monoclonal antibodies [MoAbs] 1F1 and 1F5) were found to bind specifically to monolayers of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells, and by Western blotting to recognize an 18- to 21-Kd endothelial protein. When bound to the endothelial monolayer, anti-CD59 (immunoglobulin G or Fab fragment) potentiated membrane pore formation induced upon C9 binding to C5b-8, and augmented the C5b-9-induced cellular responses, including stimulated secretion of von Willebrand factor and expression of catalytic surface for the prothrombinase enzyme complex. Although potentiating endothelial responses to the terminal complement proteins, anti-CD59 had no effect on the response of these cells to stimulation by histamine. Taken together, these data suggest that human endothelial cells express the CD59 cell surface inhibitor of the terminal complement proteins, which serves to protect these cells from pore-forming and cell-stimulatory effects of the C5b-9 complex. These data also suggest that the inactivation or deletion of this cell surface regulatory molecule would increase the likelihood for procoagulant changes in endothelium exposed to complement activation in plasma.
Model Based Inference in the Life Sciences: A Primer on Evidence

Introduction: Science Hypotheses and Science Philosophy.- Data and Models.- Information Theory and Entropy.- Quantifying the Evidence About Science Hypotheses.- Multimodel Inference.- Advanced Topics.- Summary.
Delayed pneumothorax after percutaneous lung biopsy in the state of California

documentation in anticipation of future ICD-10 adoption. Standardized templates were then cross-mapped with corresponding procedure codes allowing auto-population upon dictation initiation. Results: Monthly coding addenda were reviewed preand poststandardized reporting template implementation. Preimplementation, the average number of monthly studies marked for review was 14.2 (range 1⁄4 3 – 31). During the four-month post-implementation period, the average number of monthly studies marked for review was 1.3 (range 1⁄4 0 – 2), a statistically significant reduction utilizing the unpaired t-test (p 1⁄4 0.004). Moreover, dictations marked for review utilizing the new reporting templates were subsequently analyzed and appropriate corrections made. Conclusions: Collaborative development of standardized reporting templates can dramatically reduce the number of required addenda thereby improving billing practices, staff workflow, and the quality and accuracy of interventional reporting. Ancillary benefits include the inclusion of relevant coding documentation for ICD-10 (laterality, chemoembolization history, etc.). Auto-population of common procedures also benefits new residents rotating through the division by providing a framework for each procedure and clearly delineating the necessary procedural information.
Abstract B111: Disparities in colorectal cancer: Who receives screening?

Background: Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality in the United States. It is estimated that approximately 142,570 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed and over 51,000 will die in 2010. Further, African Americans are diagnosed at later stages and suffer disproportionately higher mortality rates from colon cancer. Despite the increased attention to the importance of colorectal cancer screening, the American Cancer Society reports half of the US population has not been tested. The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of individuals who receive three common screening methods for colorectal cancer: Fecal occult blood test (FOBT), sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy Methods: Data were drawn from the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). Following the American College of Gastroenterology Guidelines, a total of 4,464 participants aged from 45 to 75 years were selected for secondary data analysis. The selected sample included both men and women participants whose mean age was 58.89 (±8.41) with approximately 59.7% female, 74.1% Caucasian and 9.3% African American. Logistic regressions were performed to determine significant predictors of having fecal occult testing, colonoscopy, and sigmoidoscopy. Results: Odds of having FOBT, colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy was increased among older individuals with higher education. FOBT was higher among females and those with insurance compared to those without (both p Conclusion: Those who were older and more educated are more likely to participate in colorectal screening. Higher income was associated with both colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy screening procedures with insurance also being significant for colonoscopy. African American men, who are at greater risk for colorectal morbidity and mortality, are significantly less likely to have participated in screening using a sigmoidoscopy. Socioeconomic dividers which often parallel health disparities e.g. income, education and insurance are similarly associated with colorectal cancer screening participation. Understanding the characteristics of individuals who choose to participate in colorectal cancer preventive screenings could contribute to the development of interventions and or policies geared toward those who do not. Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2010;19(10 Suppl):B111.
Value-focused framework for defining landscape-scale conservation targets

Conservation of natural resources can be challenging in a rapidly changing world and require collaborative efforts for success. Conservation planning is the process of deciding how to protect, conserve, and enhance or minimize loss of natural and cultural resources. Establishing conservation targets (also called indicators or endpoints), the measurable expressions of desired resource conditions, can help with site-specific up to landscape-scale conservation planning. Using conservation targets and tracking them through time can deliver benefits such as insight into ecosystem health and providing early warnings about undesirable trends. We describe an approach using value-focused thinking to develop statewide conservation targets for Florida. Using such an approach allowed us to first identify stakeholder objectives and then define conservation targets to meet those objectives. Stakeholders were able to see how their shared efforts fit into the broader conservation context, and also anticipate the benefits of multi-agency and -organization collaboration. We developed an iterative process for large-scale conservation planning that included defining a shared framework for the process, defining the conservation targets themselves, as well as developing management and monitoring strategies for evaluation of their effectiveness. The process we describe is applicable to other geographies where multiple parties are seeking to implement collaborative, large-scale biological planning.
Brief Notes: Air pollution and ventilation in a deep valley

A simplified model for the pollution and ventilation of a deep valley by a polluting plant is studied.
Distal Tibia Shaft Fracture Treated with Plate Fixation

A 33-year-old woman who denied past medical history was brought to the trauma bay by ambulance with left leg pain after being struck while on her bicycle by an automobile. She had deep wounds on her left posterior calf and medial ankle. She was neurovascularly intact (motor and sensory) to the left distal extremity with minimal-to-moderate swelling and soft compartments to palpation. Radiographs demonstrated left distal tibial shaft and tibial plateau fractures. The only other injury was a superficial abrasion to her chin. She was cooperative with the exam and hemodynamically stable. No other major injuries were identified.
Stimulant Medication for ADHD

The use of stimulant medication by primary care physicians in treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was evaluated by a random national survey of family practitioners and direct screening of 457 patients in midwestern cities and is reported from the Division of Developmental Disabilities, Departments of Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine University of Iowa, Iowa City and Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington.
The Professional Sequence and High-Impact Teaching: The Introductory Course

Bailey and Tate explain the implementation of several high-impact elements, such as activities that have applications to settings on and off campus, frequent performance feedback, diversity, and considerable time spent on meaningful tasks, built into the introductory field experience course within the Family Studies’ three-course professional sequence. They explain how field work, experiential activities, structured journaling, and work group learning communities are high-impact learning experiences that initiate Family Studies students at Central Michigan University into the field of human services. They also discuss challenges, such as critical self-reflections and group work, and the support system created to overcome the challenges.
A Pilot Trial To Assess College Student’s Willingness To Donate Blood.

Abstract Background: Nationally, African Americans are significantly underrepresented in community blood donation programs. The need to understand the willingness to donate blood among African Americans is essential. In this study, we explore factors that serve as motivators and barriers to blood donation identified by college students at two Historical Black Colleges/Universities (HBCUs). Methods: HBCU students at least 18 years of age were given the opportunity to complete a paper-based or on-line 41-item questionnaire to assess the participant's demographic background, donation frequency, motivators and barriers toward donation, knowledge and beliefs regarding blood donation, and specific behavioral practices. No personal identifiers were used. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted to describe the sample. Results: 409 individuals completed the survey. 95% self-identified as African-American and 45% of college students reported previously donating blood. Student's felt that incentives, personal requests to donate from blood centers, blood drives sponsored by campus organizations, and the university involvement in promoting blood drives were significant motivating factors for donating blood (p Conclusions: College students are willing to donate blood based on convenience, accessibility, and support from their university. Campus-based recruitment methods geared towards students, specifically those of African American descent, may prove beneficial for increasing the general pool of African American blood donors. Significant relationships between barriers, motivators, and donor status Χ2 Sig. Barriers against blood donation Too painful 60.20 .000 Would feel faint, dizzy, or nauseated 42.15 .000 Will lose valuable time from school/work 16.82 .002 Previously been told not to donate 8.49 .004 Takes too long 37.41 .000 Motivators toward blood donation Incentive for donating 14.56 .006 Personal request to donate from blood center 10.15 .038 Blood drive sponsored by campus organization 26.29 .000 University involvement in promoting blood drives 5.36 .021 *p
Drugs for the overactive bladder: are there differences in persistence and compliance?

The overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome, characterized by urinary urgency with or without urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) and usually associated with increased daytime frequency and nocturia (1), is a common condition worldwide. Independent of the methodology used (telephone survey, postal survey) several epidemiologic studies in Europe, Canada, the United States, and Japan have shown the OAB syndrome to be present in 8.0% to 16.5% of adults, with similar rates between men and women (2,3).
Three Liberal-But Mistaken Arguments for Same-Sex Marriage

The constitutional argument for legally recognizing same-sex relationships as "marriages" is a straightforward non-discrimination claim: because there is no relevant difference between the capacity of same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples for marriage, restrictive laws arbitrarily withhold the recognition and benefits which legal marriage entails. If the statutory category-in this case, a couple's sex-does not contribute to the realization of any legitimate state goal, the law lacks a basis in reason. And, it is unconstitutional. As the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concluded in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the state "failed to identify any constitutionally adequate reason for denying civil marriage to same-sex couples." As a result, same-sex marriage debuted in Massachusetts.
The Question Concerning a Vital Technology: Heideggerian Influences on the Philosophy of Andrew Feenberg

This chapter brings out the aspects of Heidegger’s phenomenological ontology, early and late, that have influenced Feenberg’s social phenomenology of technology. In the first part of the chapter I evaluate the influence that Heidegger’s concept of the enframing (Ge-stell) exerts on Feenberg’s philosophy of technology. In the second part I discuss the influence of Heidegger’s early phenomenology (interpreted by Feenberg as a phenomenology of action based on the model of craftwork) on Feenberg’s phenomenology of technical action. These two influences, I argue, converge in Feenberg’s instrumentalization theory, later rearticulated as the functionalization theory of technology. Combining this two-tiered theory about the function and meaning of modern technical devices and production with Marcuse’s call for an “aesthetic Lebenswelt” leads Feenberg to articulate a new form of rationality. This new form of rationality includes a reformation of technical design that reflects life-affirming aesthetic and political values and possibilities.
What Controls the Acute Viral Infection Following Yellow Fever Vaccination

Does target cell depletion, innate immunity, or adaptive immunity play the dominant role in controlling primary acute viral infections? Why do some individuals have higher peak virus titers than others? Answering these questions is a basic problem in immunology and can be particularly difficult in humans due to limited data, heterogeneity in responses in different individuals, and limited ability for experimental manipulation. We address these questions for infections following vaccination with the live attenuated yellow fever virus (YFV-17D) by analyzing viral load data from 80 volunteers. Using a mixed effects modeling approach, we find that target cell depletion models do not fit the data as well as innate or adaptive immunity models. Examination of the fits of the innate and adaptive immunity models to the data allows us to select a minimal model that gives improved fits by widely used model selection criteria (AICc and BIC) and explains why it is hard to distinguish between the innate and adaptive immunity models. We then ask why some individuals have over 1000-fold higher virus titers than others and find that most of the variation arises from differences in the initial/maximum growth rate of the virus in different individuals.
Insulin Access to Skeletal Muscle is Preserved in Obesity Induced by Polyunsaturated Diet.

OBJECTIVE Diets high in saturated fat induce obesity and insulin resistance and impair insulin access to skeletal muscle, leading to reduced insulin levels at the muscle cell surface available to bind insulin receptors and induce glucose uptake. In contrast, diets supplemented with polyunsaturated fat improve insulin sensitivity (SI) and reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes. It was hypothesized that a diet high in polyunsaturated fat would preserve SI and insulin access to muscle, as compared with a diet high in saturated fat. METHODS After 12 weeks of control, saturated (LARD), or polyunsaturated (salmon oil [SO]) high-fat diet feeding, muscle SI and insulin access to skeletal muscle were measured by using lymph, a surrogate of skeletal muscle interstitial fluid. RESULTS Both high-fat diets induced similar weight gain, yet only LARD impaired SI. Hyperinsulinemia in the LARD group did not induce an increase in basal interstitial insulin, suggesting reduced insulin access to muscle after LARD, but not after SO. CONCLUSIONS A diet high in polyunsaturated fat does not impair insulin access to muscle interstitium or induce insulin resistance as observed with a saturated fat diet, despite similar weight gain. Future studies should determine whether dietary SO supplementation improves impairments in insulin access to skeletal muscle.
On the Power of Massive Text Data

The real-world big data is largely unstructured, dynamic, and interconnected, in the form of natural language text. It is highly desirable to transform such massive unstructured data into structured knowledge. Many researchers and practitioners rely on labor-intensive labeling and curation to extract knowledge from unstructured text data. However, such approaches may not be scalable to web-scale or adaptable to new domains, especially considering that a lot of text corpora are highly dynamic and domain-specific. We argue that massive text data itself contains a large body of hidden patterns, structures, and knowledge. Equipped with domain-independent and domain-specific knowledge-bases, a promising direction is to develop more systematic data mining methods to turn massive unstructured text data into structured knowledge. We introduce a set of methods developed recently in our own group on exploration of the power of big text data, including mining quality phrases using unsupervised, weakly supervised and distantly supervised approaches, recognition and typing of entities and relations by distant supervision, meta-pattern-based entity-attribute-value extraction, set expansion and local embedding-based multi-faceted taxonomy discovery, allocation of text documents into multi-dimensional text cubes, construction of heterogeneous information networks from text cube, and eventually mining multi-dimensional structured knowledge from massive text data. We show that massive text data itself can be powerful at disclosing patterns, structures and hidden knowledge, and it is promising to explore the power of massive, interrelated text data for transforming such unstructured data into structured knowledge.
Heart Rate as Prognostic Marker and Therapeutic Target In MODS

As early as 1945, the importance of resting heart rate as a prognostic factor was described in a retrospective analysis among the US-military, showing a higher probability of retirement from active military service with a resting heart rate of more than 100 bpm in a routine examination [1]. A high heart rate is an independent risk factor for adverse cardiovascular events and total mortality in patients with coronary artery disease [2], chronic heart failure [3] and in the general population (Fig. 1) [4]. Open image in new window Fig. 1 Heart rate and all cause mortality (mean and standard deviation) in men in a general population. Data from the FINRISC-study [4]
Neo-Adjuvant chemotherapy for organ preservation with high dose continuous infusion of Cisplatin, 5-Fluorouracil, and Mitoguazone for head and neck cancer : a preliminary report

Traditionally, patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer have been treated with surgery and/or radiation therapy. Recently, neo-adjuvant chemotherapy has been used in an effort to preserve organ function. We conducted a study designed to test an intensive regimen of induction chemotherapy/radiation therapy in patients with newly diagnosed disease, with feasability of organ preservation as an endpoint.
Metal Metal Bonds in Edge Sharing Bioctahedra

This lecture reviews and illustrates our understanding of how pairs of metal atoms interact within the structural framework of an edge-sharing bioctahedron. Examples of d0-d0, d1-d1, d2-d2, d3-d3, d4-d4 and d5-d5 systems are cited. The simplest approach to the bonding is to consider only the overlaps of pairs of d orbitais to give σ, π, δ, δ*, π* and σ* orbitais, increasing in energy in that order. This picture is unsatisfactory because there are interactions of d orbitais with filled ligand orbitais that may alter this ordering of the levels. Some results of MO calculations at the Fenske-Hall level illustrate this. It is also important to realize that the structures of compounds cannot be meaningfully compared unless the compounds are homologous, in the sense of having the same set of ligand atoms and the same formal oxidation state for the metal atoms. One such series is provided by the M2Cl6(R2PCH2PR2)2 molecules. The structural results for these suggest a level order of σ << π< δ* < δ < π* << σ*.
“A rape was reported”: construction of crime in a university newspaper

Historically, the news media have engaged in high rates victim blaming in their reporting of sexual assaults. However, in recent years, gains in civil rights and renewed attention to Title IX may m...
Stereoselective Synthesis of Natural and Non-natural Thomsen-nouveau Antigens and Hydrazide Derivatives

A selective glycosylation strategy enabling access to all stereochemical combinations of tumor associated Thomsen-nouveau (Tn) antigen, d-GalNAc-O-Ser/Thr, has been developed. The key component for selectivity is the phthalimide-protected d- or l-amino acid acceptors which allow access to α- or β-anomers in excellent yields (72–96%) and selectivity (∼100%) when appropriate C-2 substitution is installed. The glycoamino acid intermediates were divergently converted to Tn-based carboxylates or to hydrazides by tandem Pd–C debenzylation followed by treatment with hydrazine hydrate or hydrazine hydrate treatment alone.
Influences of language input and production on the language skills of Persian-English bilingual immersion preschool children

The purpose of this study was to better understand bilingualism in Persian-English preschool-aged children, and how their language performance across two domains of language related to their language production and parental language input. Participants were 15, 2- through 5-year old Persian-English bilingual children attending a Persian immersion preschool in the U.S. The participants completed a battery of language tasks in English and Persian and participants’ parents provided language input and production information. Data indicate that greater input in the heritage language outside school, Persian, will likely lead to better Persian skills, while greater English input may negatively affect the children’s Persian skills. Participants received consistent native-level Persian input in school, yet the results suggest that Persian as a heritage language in the U.S. may be susceptible to the same vulnerability that affects other non-mainstream languages.
Business Development Companies – The Basics

Business Development Companies (“BDCs”) are a type of closed end investment company, created when Congress amended the Investment Company Act of 1940 in 1980. BDCs were first created to make it easier to invest in venture capital pools and private equity investments. Over the past decade, interest in BDCs has increased. BDCs provide funding to small and mid-sized businesses. Following the financial crisis, BDCs were able to provide loans to businesses that may not have been able to receive financing from more traditional sources. In 2009, the first non-traded public BDCs were issued, raising almost $100 million that year. The following year, sales more than tripled to $369 million. Non-traded BDCs hit their peak in 2014, raising $5.5 billion. In 2020, broker-dealers sold only $362.3 million of non-traded BDCs, the lowest volume since 2010. This article describes the regulations that govern BDCs: federal, state, and SRO. Next, the article examines recent enforcement actions concerning the sale of BDCs by broker-dealers. Finally, the article discusses concerns raised by the sale of non-traded BDCs to investors.
Effects of crack morphology on soil carbon flux dynamics in a dryland vertisol

Abstract CO2 flux in dryland ecosystems is typically limited by soil carbon release, resulting in pulses of flux with precipitation and transitions between low and high moisture. Soil crack morphology, which shifts distinctly between these wet and dry periods, can introduce additional complexity to the magnitude and dynamics of CO2 flux, though its full effects remain unknown. In this study, we combine analyses of minute-scale temperature profile fluctuations in a model soil fracture with CO2 flux measurements in Kenyan vertisols with known differences in crack morphology. We show that flux enhancements due to crack morphology are due to thermal convection and are driven by depth and aperture. Combined with elevated levels of carbon in the soil, fluxes can consistently increase several orders of magnitude. However, limitations imposed on either axis of soil mechanics or soil carbon release modulate the magnitude of CO2 flux and increase variability. Our results provide a stronger integration of the role that soil structure plays on dryland CO2 flux dynamics.
Computer-assisted instruction appears to improve reading skills in students with intellectual disabilities, despite challenges with research design to establish efficacy

Q Does the Headsprout® Early Reading (HER) program improve the reading skills of children who have mild to moderate intellectual disabilities and attend self-contained special education schools? De...
Optimization framework and clustering-based algorithm for energy-aware adaptive sensing

Abstract The problem of controlling the operation of the multiple sensors in a monitoring network is one of jointly optimizing for both information requirements and energy constraints. These goals conflict with each other — increasing the sampling rate collects more data but this consumes energy and hence reduces system lifetime. On the other hand, sampling at a higher rate when the environment is not changing does not generate more useful information. This work presents a general data-centric framework for adaptive sensing that brings together both information requirements and energy constraints in an optimization problem for generating sensor control actions. Clustering of correlated sensors is proposed as a solution for this framework where the collected data is periodically used to learn the relationship between sensors and energy parameters. Control is divided into periods of full sensing and periods of approximation. During periods of full sensing, measurements collected from all sensors are used to compute pair-wise correlations which are then used as the distance metric for clustering. A regression function is learned to approximate the measurement of a sensor given its past sensor measurements and the measurements of another sensor in the cluster. The control framework is evaluated using a publicly-available dataset of approximately 2.4 million sensor readings collected from 54 sensors over a period of approximately 35 days. The parameter space of the clustering-based adaptive sensing policy is systematically explored using this dataset. The framework enables a point on the energy-information trade-off curve to be quantified for different choices of policy parameters.
Radiographic Indices Are Not Predictive of Clinical Outcomes Among 1735 Patients Indicated for Hip Arthroscopic Surgery: A Machine Learning Analysis:

Background:The relationship between the preoperative radiographic indices for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) and postoperative patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) scores continues...
AVERAGE-RESONANCE METHOD OF NEUTRON-CAPTURE $gamma$-RAY SPECTROSCOPY: STATES OF $sup 106$Pd, $sup 156$Gd, $sup 158$Gd, $sup 166$Ho, AND $sup 168$Er.

The average-resonance method of neutron-capture $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray spectroscopy is critically examined by means of measurements on stable isotopes of palladium, gadolinium, holmium, and erbium. A mathematical model of the capture process is developed. This model shows that the intensities of the lines in average-resonance-capture spectra can yield the parities and set narrow limits on the spins of states in almost all nuclides with $Ag100$ if the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray strength function is a smooth function of $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray energy and if the random fluctuations in intensity result only from the Porter-Thomas distribution of partial radiation widths. The measurements give extensive data for $^{106}\mathrm{Pd}$, $^{156}\mathrm{Gd}$, $^{158}\mathrm{Gd}$, $^{166}\mathrm{Ho}$, and $^{168}\mathrm{Er}$, and some for $^{103}\mathrm{Pd}$, $^{105}\mathrm{Pd}$, $^{155}\mathrm{Gd}$, $^{157}\mathrm{Gd}$, $^{165}\mathrm{Er}$, $^{167}\mathrm{Er}$, and $^{169}\mathrm{Er}$. These data are examined for information relating to the mechanisms of radiative capture. All of the data are consistent with the hypothesis that the radiation widths are a smooth function of $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray energy and that the random fluctuations in intensity are well described by the Porter-Thomas distribution. The intensities of $E1$ transitions vary with $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray energy more rapidly than $E_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}^{}{}_{}{}^{3}$, as expected from a giant-resonance description of the radiative process. The intensity of $M1$ radiation was measured over a 2-MeV range for $^{106}\mathrm{Pd}$ and $^{168}\mathrm{Er}$, and the reduced $M1$ widths for $^{106}\mathrm{Pd}$ form a giant-resonance-like curve that peaks at \ensuremath{\sim}7.8 MeV. Ratios of widths for $E1$ and $M1$ radiation and for $E1$ and $E2$ radiation are obtained for several nuclides. These properties of radiative capture are used to obtain spectroscopic information about final states. The most complete results are for $^{166}\mathrm{Ho}$, for which 16 rotational bands are identified and interpreted in terms of the collective model. Similar but less extensive data are obtained for $^{156}\mathrm{Gd}$, $^{158}\mathrm{Gd}$, and $^{168}\mathrm{Er}$. The measurements on $^{106}\mathrm{Pd}$ show that the shapes of the observed $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray lines may be used to determine the parities of final states.
Using Particle Image Velocimetry to Determine Turbulence Model Parameters

The primary parameter of a standard k-ϵ model, Cμ, was calculated from stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV) data for a supersonic jet exhausting into a transonic crossflow. This required t...
Comparing perceptual category learning across modalities in the same individuals.

Category learning is a fundamental process in human cognition that spans the senses. However, much still remains unknown about the mechanisms supporting learning in different modalities. In the current study, we directly compared auditory and visual category learning in the same individuals. Thirty participants (22 F; 18–32 years old) completed two unidimensional rule-based category learning tasks in a single day – one with auditory stimuli and another with visual stimuli. We replicated the results in a second experiment with a larger online sample (N = 99, 45 F, 18–35 years old). The categories were identically structured in the two modalities to facilitate comparison. We compared categorization accuracy, decision processes as assessed through drift-diffusion models, and the generalizability of resulting category representation through a generalization test. We found that individuals learned auditory and visual categories to similar extents and that accuracies were highly correlated across the two tasks. Participants had similar evidence accumulation rates in later learning, but early on had slower rates for visual than auditory learning. Participants also demonstrated differences in the decision thresholds across modalities. Participants had more categorical generalizable representations for visual than auditory categories. These results suggest that some modality-general cognitive processes support category learning but also suggest that the modality of the stimuli may also affect category learning behavior and outcomes.
The Mayo Framework Is Bad for Your Health

This Article begins by providing a brief historical retrospective of the development of the patent eligibility doctrine, and then delves into the related questions of: (1) what are the Supreme Court’s policy objectives for the recent reinvigoration of the patent eligibility doctrine; and (2) has it achieved those objectives? The article then discusses three important out-standing questions regarding the application of the new test for patent eligibility: (1) what constitutes a natural phenomenon; (2) what constitutes an inventive step; and (3) what, if any, role does preemption play in the analysis? The article then provides four examples of recent lower court decisions that have applied the new test, often referred to as the Mayo Framework, in a literal manner. This application has resulted in the invalidation of claims directed towards processes that would have easily passed patent eligibility muster prior to the most recent wave of Supreme Court decisions. The Article concludes by suggesting that the Supreme Court should revisit the question of patent eligibility and re-articulate the standard in a manner better-suited to ensure the availability of meaningful patent protection for the next generation of innovation, particularly in the life sciences. If the Court fails to do so, Congress should seriously consider addressing the problem through an amendment of the statute.
Fluctuations in macular thickness in patients with diabetic macular oedema treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents.

PURPOSE To evaluate retinal thickness fluctuations in patients with diabetic macular oedema (DMO) treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections. METHODS Visual acuity (VA) and central subfield thickness (CST) were collected at baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Retinal thickness fluctuation was quantified by standard deviation (SD) of CST across 12 months. A mixed effects regression model evaluated the relationship between CST SD and VA at 12 months. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to investigate predictors of CST SD. RESULTS Mean baseline and 12-month VAs were 63.5 ± 15.7 and 69.0 ± 13.8 Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) letters (change = +5.1 ± 16.1 letters, p < 0.001). Mean baseline and 12-month CSTs were 396.9 ± 109.7 and 337.7 ± 100.7 μm (change = -59.2 ± 114.8 μm, p < 0.001). Retinal thickness variability across the first 12 months was 59.4 ± 43.6 μm. Stratification of patient eyes by CST SD demonstrated 9.7 letters difference in 12-month VA between first and fourth quartiles. Significant predictors of CST SD include baseline CST, injection type, laser treatment, and DR stage. CONCLUSIONS Larger retinal thickness fluctuations are associated with poorer visual outcomes in eyes with DMO treated with anti-VEGF injections. Retinal thickness variability may be an important prognostic biomarker for DMO patients.
Links Between Oppositional Defiant Disorder Dimensions, Psychophysiology, and Interpersonal versus Non-interpersonal Trauma

The etiology of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is not well understood but appears to have both biologically-based roots and can develop following adverse experiences. The current study is the first to examine the interaction between biologically-based factors and type of trauma experience (i.e., interpersonal and non-interpersonal) and associations with ODD. The psychophysiological factors included baseline resting heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and cortisol. ODD was measured as two dimensions of irritable and defiant/vindictive. The sample included 330 children, 3–7 years-old, oversampled for a history of trauma. Results showed the interactions between baseline physiological arousal variables and trauma type in predicting ODD dimensions were not supported. However, the baseline RSA by trauma interaction was a significant predictor of defiance/vindictiveness among boys, but not girls, when interpersonal trauma was compared to controls. Several other gender differences emerged. Among boys, both interpersonal and non-interpersonal trauma were predictive of ODD dimensions; however, among girls, non-interpersonal trauma was not. Among girls, there was a significant negative bivariate relationship between baseline cortisol and irritability. Also, when the sample was restricted to those with interpersonal trauma only and controls, baseline RSA was negatively associated with irritability in girls only (controlling for trauma). Finally, retrospective reports revealed that children who met criteria for ODD diagnosis and experienced interpersonal trauma were more likely to exhibit ODD symptoms prior to their trauma compared to those who experienced non-interpersonal trauma. Results are discussed in the context of previous mixed findings, and avenues for future research are highlighted.
Raising Awareness of the Impact of Guilt and Shame on Counselor Education Students

A purposive sample of 560 counselor education students from 12 CACREP-accredited programs completed the Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale (GASP), an emotional and behavioral assessment of shame and g...
Minority carrier lifetime degradation in silicon due to thermally generated dislocations

Minority carrier lifetime uniformity is examined in processed silicon wafers containing thermally induced dislocations. The experimental method, which utilizes transient and steady-state measurements, includes open-circuit voltage decay (OCVD), junction current recovery (JCR), forward voltage drop, V F , and current-voltage characteristics on small-area p + -n diode arrays. The observation is made that the minority carrier lifetime profiles correlate with the distribution of dislocations revealed by preferential chemical etching and that general agreement exists among these measurement methods regarding the spatial uniformity of carrier lifetime. The authors conclude that the processing-induced dislocations degrade the carrier lifetime and possibly reduce the carrier mobility. Moreover, it is clearly demonstrated that a simple direct-current measurement such as V F can be used as an indicator of the lifetime variations across the processed wafer, particularly when a correlation between the minority carrier lifetime, τ, and V F is established experimentally.
Psychology of Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. It is unpredictable and a potentially disabling disease, with the severity and nature of symptoms varying. Clinically significant depression and anxiety are very common, although there is evidence these psychological conditions are undertreated. The lifetime prevalence rates for anxiety and depressive disorders are higher among MS patients compared to the general population and persons with other neurological disease. Treatment options include psychotherapy and psychopharmacological treatments, though there is limited clinical research. Demoralization and grief over MS-related losses are also common psychological reactions. MS can also have a psychological impact on family members, and they can experience similar emotional responses that patients do. Partners of MS patients experience emotional challenges, such as caregiver burden and changes in sexual relationships. However, many persons make positive psychological adjustments, use positive coping strategies, and find psychological benefits to the challenges presented by MS.