cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Complementary and Conventional Medicine Use Among Youth With Recurrent Headaches

OBJECTIVE: To identify prevalence and patterns of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among youth with recurrent headaches (HA) and evaluate associations with co-occurring health problems and limitations as well as with the use and expenditures for conventional medical care. METHODS: Variables were constructed for youth aged 10 to 17 by using linked data from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey and the 2008 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey. Bivariate, logistic, and 2-part regression analyses were used. RESULTS: Of the 10.6% of youth experiencing HA, 29.6% used CAM, rising to 41% for the many HA sufferers who also experienced difficulties with emotions, concentration, behavior, school attendance, or daily activities. Biologically based products (16.2%) and mind-body therapies (13.3%) were most commonly used, especially by the 86.4% of youth with HA experiencing at least 1 other chronic condition. Compared with non-CAM users, youth with HA who used CAM also had higher expenditures for and use of most types of conventional care. CONCLUSIONS: CAM use is most common among youth with HA experiencing multiple chronic conditions and difficulties in daily functioning. Associations among CAM use, multiple chronic conditions, and higher use of conventional care highlight the need for medical providers to routinely ask about CAM use to meet the complex health needs of their patients and facilitate the optimal integration of care. Research is needed to identify models for coordinating complementary and conventional care within a medical home and to understand the health benefits or risks associated with CAM use in conjunction with conventional treatments for patients with HA.
Hormonal control of sexual behavior in the female rat: molecular, cellular and neurochemical studies.

The present era of molecular research on steroid hormone action originates from the demonstration that there are intracellular protein receptors that bind steroid hormones and carry them to sites in cell nuclei where they regulate gene expression (Jensen and Jacobson, 1962; Toft and Gorski, 1966; Jensen et al., 1968; O’Malley and Means, 1974). Researchers of steroid hormone action in brain tissue have taken advantage of this revolution in biochemistry and cell biology and have found a way to understand the actions of gonada! and adrenal steroids on neural cells in cellular and molecular terms. However, the road has not been an easy one. The difficulties stem from the extreme complexity and anatomical heterogeneity of the brain, and the precise and highly localized neural networks involved in governing behavior. There also have been conceptual problems caused by a common tendency to regard the hormone as a stimulus and the behavior it regulates as a response, a relationship that implies temporal immediacy. However, because a hallmark of steroid hormone-regulated behaviors is their long latency and duration in relation to hormone priming, it has been necessary to look at the role of hormones in a different light. More than 40 years ago, the preeminent pioneer in elucidating hormones’ effects on behavior, Frank Beach, anticipated the current view of steroid hormone action by writing:
Necessary and sufficient conditions for consensus over random independent and identically distributed switching graphs

In this paper we consider the consensus problem for stochastic switched linear dynamical systems. For discrete- time and continuous-time stochastic switched linear systems, we present necessary and sufficient conditions under which such systems reach a consensus almost surely. In the discrete-time case, our assumption is that the underlying graph of the system at any given time instance is derived from a random graph process, independent of other time instances. These graphs can be weighted, directed and with dependent edges. For the continuous-time case, we assume that the switching is governed by a Poisson point process and the graphs characterizing the topology of the system are independent and identically distributed over time. For both such frameworks, we present necessary and sufficient conditions for almost sure asymptotic consensus using simple ergodicity and probabilistic arguments. These easily verifiable conditions depend on the spectrum of the average weight matrix and the average Laplacian matrix for the discrete-time and continuous-time cases, respectively.
A Combinatorial Test Suite Generator for Gray-Box Testing

In black-box testing, the system being tested is typically characterized as a number of inputs, where each input can take one of a number of values. Thus each test is a vector of input settings, and the set of possible tests is an N dimensional space, where N is the number of inputs. For example, an instance of a simulation of a crew exploration vehicle's (CEV) launch pad abort scenario can have 76 floating-point inputs. Unfortunately, for such a large number of inputs only a small percentage of the test space can be actually tested. This paper characterizes levels of partial test space coverage and presents Testgen, a tool for generating a suite of tests that guarantees a level of test space coverage, which a user can adapt to take advantage of knowledge of system internals. This ability to adapt coverage makes Testgen a gray-box testing tool.
Economic Performance, Individual Evaluations, and the Vote: Investigating the Causal Mechanism

While there are many studies on the impact of the economy on elections, there is little evidence on the full mechanism of economic voting implied by performance-based theories of elections. Addressing the scarcity of evidence on the mechanism, this study provides the first estimates of the linkage between macroeconomic performance, individual economic evaluations, and vote choice. Building on recent advances in the statistical analysis of causal mechanisms, we conduct a causal mediation analysis in a data set covering 151 surveys in 18 countries. We find that the effect of economic performance on the incumbent vote is largely accounted for by voters’ retrospective evaluations of the national economy. The effect is stronger in contexts where policymaking power is concentrated rather than dispersed. Altogether, the results imply that the performance-based channel of voting is more relevant in accounting for election outcomes than suggested by recent individual-level studies.
Primary afferent axons in the tract of lissauer in the monkey

The main thrust of the present study was to determine the numbers of primary afferent fibers in the tract of Lissauer in the monkey. The findings are that approximately 40% of the axons in the tract of Lissauer are primary afferent axons from a single segment, and approximately another 40% are primary afferents from segments cranial and caudal to the segment under consideration. Presumably, the remaining 20% are propriospinal axons. There is relatively little difference in the proportions of primary afferents in medial as opposed to lateral parts of the tract, and in this respect the monkey differs somewhat from the rat and cat. Thus in the monkey the tract of Lissauer should probably be regarded as a primary afferent pathway with the propriospinal fibers forming a distinct but relatively minor component of the tract.
Societal rule evaluations: Adolescent offenders' reasoning about moral, conventional, and personal rules

This study investigated adolescent offenders' (81 felons and 83 misdemeanants) evaluations of three types of societal rules (moral, conventional, and personal) on dimensions pertaining to importance, sanctions, authority, and individual choice. In addition, participants selected the acts which should be under personal jurisdiction. Participants provided reasons (i.e., justifications) to support their evaluations. The judgment evidence suggests that the moral rules were considered the most important, the transgressions the most wrong, the violators the most deserving of punishment, and the acts the least acceptable when permitted by an authority. With regard to these same dimensions, conventional rules and violations were ranked second; whereas, the personal rules were ranked third. Offender status differences were obtained for importance ratings and for deservedness of punishment. Justifications for moral events reflected reasoning from both the moral (e.g., other's welfare) and conventional (e.g., social order) domains. Reasoning about conventions involved both conventional and personal concerns; whereas, justifications about personal issues focused on individual prerogatives. The implications of these data are discussed..
Anticoagulation-related outcomes in patients receiving warfarin after starting levofloxacin or gatifloxacin.

Study objective To compare anticoagulation-related outcomes in patients receiving stable dosages of warfarin who started levofloxacin or gatifloxacin therapy. Design Retrospective medical record review. Setting Veterans Affairs medical center. Patients Of 92 patients receiving the same dosages of warfarin for at least 4 weeks before starting antibiotic therapy, 54 received levofloxacin between January and September 2003, and 38 received gatifloxacin between January and September 2004. Measurements and main results Data were obtained through the hospital's pharmacy, laboratory, and general patient databases and through electronic medical records. The INRs evaluated were prefluoroquinolone use, defined as the last INR measured before the start of antibiotic therapy (up to 4 wks earlier), and postfluoroquinolone use, defined as any INR measured during antibiotic therapy through 1 week after discontinuation of the antibiotic. Analyzed outcomes included the percentage of patients with postfluoroquinolone INRs that were above 4, that exceeded the therapeutic goal, or that exceeded the goal by more than 1 point; INR changes of more than 0.5, 1, or 1.5 points above the INR before fluoroquinolone use; major or minor bleeding events; requirement for vitamin K administration; warfarin dosage reduction or withholding doses; and warfarin-related hospital, emergency, or urgent care admissions or visits. No significant differences were noted in baseline characteristics with regard to age, sex, prefluoroquinolone INR, or anticoagulation indications between the two groups. The percentage of patients with a postfluoroquinolone INR above 4 was 2% (1 of 54 patients) in the levofloxacin group versus 21% (8 of 38 patients) in the gatifloxacin group (p=0.003). The percentage of patients receiving vitamin K in the levofloxacin and gatifloxacin groups was 0% (0 of 54 patients) and 11% (4 of 38, p=0.026), respectively. For the other anticoagulation-related outcomes, no significant differences were noted between the groups. Conclusion Patients receiving warfarin who take gatifloxacin may be at higher risk for an INR above 4 compared with those taking levofloxacin. Close monitoring of warfarin therapy while concomitantly receiving gatifloxacin is warranted.
Isotope dilution GC/MS determination of anandamide and other fatty acylethanolamides in rat blood plasma

Anandamide and allied fatty acylethanolamides (AEs) may act as signalling molecules in brain and peripheral tissues. In the present study, we describe an electron-impact gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method based on isotope dilution, which may be used for the identification and quantification of anandamide and other AEs in biological matrices. The calibration curves for standard AEs were linear over the range 0-1000 pmol (r2 = 0.99) with a coefficient of variation of 4% at 2.5 pmol. Detection and quantification limits were in the high fmol to low pmol range for all AEs. Using this method we measured nanomolar concentrations of three endogenous AEs in deproteinated rat blood plasma (anandamide: 5.2 pmol/ml; palmitylethanolamide: 16.7 pmol/ml; oleylethanolamide: 8.1 pmol/ml). These results are consistent with a regulatory role of anandamide and other AEs in peripheral tissues.
Regulation of type 1 fimbriae by unlinked FimB- and FimE-like recombinases in uropathogenic Escherichia coli strain CFT073.

Genomic DNA sequence analysis of the uropathogenic Escherichia coli strain CFT073 revealed that besides the fimB and fimE recombinase genes that control the type 1 pilus fim phase switch, there are three additional fimB- and fimE-like genes: ipuA, ipuB, and ipbA. Alignment of the predicted amino acid sequences showed that the five recombinases range in sequence similarity from 63 to 70%. An epidemiological survey indicates that ipuA and ipuB are present and linked next to the dsdCXA locus in 24 of 67 uropathogenic E. coli strains but are found in only 1 of 15 normal human fecal isolates. The ipbA sequence located next to the betABIT locus was found in 42 of 67 uropathogenic isolates and 8 of 15 of the commensal strains. We show that two of these recombinases, those encoded by ipuA and ipbA, can function at the type 1 pilus fim switch. In a CFT073 deletion mutant lacking all five recombinase genes, recombinant ipuA or ipbA provided in trans inverted the fim element from the off state to the on state. When a fim OFF CFT073 ΔfimBE mutant was used to infect the urinary tracts of mice, a switch to the fim on state was detected within 24 h in bacteria recovered from urine, the bladder, and the kidneys. A fim OFF CFT073 ΔfimBE ipuB ipbA mutant also demonstrated the ability to switch from the fim off state to the on state during mouse infection. CFT073 recombinase mutants derived from isolates in either the fim on or off state showed a reciprocal relationship for motility. Switches from a nonmotile to a motile phenotype and from a fim on to off genotype were observed in fim ON CFT073 ΔfimBE ipuAB ipbA mutants when ipuA or fimB was provided in trans. Together these results indicate that ipuA has fimB-like on-to-off and off-to-on fim switching activity and that ipbA has the ability to switch fim from the off to the on orientation.
Ontogeny of humoral heart rate regulation in the embryonic mouse

Catecholamines, acetylcholine, and adenosine are known to influence cardiac function, yet the effects of these agents on mammalian embryonic myocardium are largely unknown. To address this issue, w...
Editorial-A Major Milestone: Transportation Science Turns Fifty

It is a great honor and privilege to be serving as Editor-in-Chief of Transportation Science this year, as the journal is celebrating its 50th anniversary. In the past half-century, Transportation Science has steadily built up its reputation and is now considered to be among the top journals, if not the best journal, in the area of transportation science, and, more broadly, the area of logistics. This is reflected in the journal’s latest impact factor. On http://www.impact-factor.org Transportation Science now has an impact factor of 3.043, which is higher than all the members of the Transportation Research family (Transportation Science’s main competitors) and is also higher than Management Science and Operations Research. Of course, we cannot let this momentous occasion go by without acknowledging past successes, and, maybe equally, if not more important, looking at what lies ahead. To acknowledge the past, the editorial team has chosen 12 Transportation Science Classics: articles that have appeared in Transportation Science in the last 50 years and have had, each in their own way, a strong impact on the science and/or practice of transportation and logistics. These Transportation Science Classics are available on the journal’s website and can be downloaded free of charge during 2016. We gratefully acknowledge the support of INFORMS, which has helped make this possible. Of course, with so many groundbreaking and excellent quality articles, published over so many years, choosing 12 Transportation Science Classics was challenging and involved making difficult decisions. The selection was guided by the following principles. Even though overview and survey articles are important, valuable, and often highly cited, they were excluded. Highly cited papers (either in terms of total number of citations or in terms of number of annual citations) were prime candidates. However, the impact of an article is not always captured by the number of citations, so a few articles have been included because several editorial board members felt they needed to be. In the end, the articles represent most, but not all, of the research areas that have contributed and continue to contribute to the success of the journal. The Transportation Science Classics can be found below (in order of appearance):
Validating Test Score Meaning and Defending Test Score Use: Different Aims, Different Methods.

Advances in validity theory and alacrity in validation practice have suffered because the term validity has been used to refer to two incompatible concerns: (1) the degree of support for specified ...
Volunteer Tourism: Popular Humanitarianism in Neoliberal Times

Volunteer Tourism: Popular Humanitarianism in Neoliberal Times is a thought-provoking monograph that critically examines the assumption that volunteer tourism fosters helping those in need in the g...
Regulation of branched-chain 2-oxo acid dehydrogenase activity during exercise.

The levels of the branched-chain amino and oxo acids were measured in muscle and plasma after exercise and 10 min postexercise. Leucine was increased in both muscle and plasma after exercise and 10...
Drivers of promiscuous soybean associated rhizobia diversity in un-inoculated soil in Malawi

Increasing legume cultivation and yields on smallholder farms is challenged by low soil rhizobia bacteria populations and limited access to rhizobia inoculants. However, by understanding the environmental drivers of rhizobia diversity in un-inoculated soils to improve nodulation success for smallholder farmers. Soils were collected from 39 smallholder farms in the Ekwendeni region of northern Malawi. Soils were categorized by cropping history and analyzed for Mehlich-3 phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, particle size distribution, organic matter (OM) content and pH. Rhizobia bacteria were isolated using Tropical Glycine cross (TGx) soybean (Glycine max) variety 1740-2F as a trap crop. Genomic fingerprints of extracted rhizobia were created using rep-PCR with the BOX A1R primer and diversity indexes calculated from resulting fingerprints. Genomic fingerprinting of rhizobia resulted in 32 clusters with 70 % fingerprint similarity. Soil OM and carbon strongly influenced the presence of 6 clusters, Ca of 4 clusters, pH of 3 clusters, and Mg, K, Clay of three clusters each. Recent soybean production resulted in a greater number of nodules (16) than other histories (10), and uncultivated soils had a different rhizobia community structure than cultivated soils. Soil rhizobia are subject to a complex ecology in which plant communities as well as OM, clay, and nutrient (Mg, K, Fe and P) content select for community structure. Identifying the drivers and preferred environments of high performing rhizobia strains could improve nodulation in low-input agriculture environments.
Phytochrome Regulation of Plant Development at the Whole Plant, Physiological, and Molecular Levels

Of the many environmental factors which play a role in the survival, growth, and reproduction of green plants, light is among the most crucial. Not only does it drive the process of photosynthesis, through which its energy is transduced through the photosynthetic pigments into usable chemical form, but it also provides vital environmental information which can affect seed germination, leaf growth, stem growth, flowering, and a host of other processes. Such effects of light, in which it provides an environmental cue to trigger a given response, rather than providing a direct energy source for the response itself, collectively define the field of photomorphogenesis. An excellent series of review articles on photomorphogenesis was recently edited by Shropshire and Mohr (1983).
Sex differences in the social behavior of juvenile spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)

Previous studies indicate adult spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) display marked sex differences, including some that may emerge early in life. However, the social behavior of juvenile spider monkeys and potential sex differences has not been adequately studied. Sex differences in the social behavior and proximity patterns of individually recognized juvenile black-handed spider monkeys (A. geoffroyi ornatus) were examined at El Zota Biological Field Station in Costa Rica. Both males and females exhibited sex-typical differences. Only females initiated grooming. Females centered interaction around their mothers and female peers, while males interacted more with adult and juvenile males. Juvenile males were also found in significantly larger parties than females, and were in parties containing adult males significantly more than females. The results of this study indicate that juvenile spider monkeys begin to exhibit sex-typical behaviors at an early age, and that these behavioral patterns prepare them for the social challenges of adulthood.
The Year Leading to a Supereruption.

Supereruptions catastrophically eject 100s-1000s of km3 of magma to the surface in a matter of days to a few months. In this study, we use zoning in quartz crystals from the Bishop Tuff (California) to assess the timescales over which a giant magma body transitions from relatively quiescent, pre-eruptive crystallization to rapid decompression and eruption. Quartz crystals in the Bishop Tuff have distinctive rims (<200 μm thick), which are Ti-rich and bright in cathodoluminescence (CL) images, and which can be used to calculate Ti diffusional relaxation times. We use synchrotron-based x-ray microfluorescence to obtain quantitative Ti maps and profiles along rim-interior contacts in quartz at resolutions of 1–5 μm in each linear dimension. We perform CL imaging on a scanning electron microscope (SEM) using a low-energy (5 kV) incident beam to characterize these contacts in high resolution (<1 μm in linear dimensions). Quartz growth times were determined using a 1D model for Ti diffusion, assuming initial step functions. Minimum quartz growth rates were calculated using these calculated growth times and measured rim thicknesses. Maximum rim growth times span from ~1 min to 35 years, with a median of ~4 days. More than 70% of rim growth times are less than 1 year, showing that quartz rims have mostly grown in the days to months prior to eruption. Minimum growth rates show distinct modes between 10−8 and 10−10 m/s (depending on sample), revealing very fast crystal growth rates (100s of nm to 10s of μm per day). Our data show that quartz rims grew well within a year of eruption, with most of the growth happening in the weeks or days preceding eruption. Growth took place under conditions of high supersaturation, suggesting that rim growth marks the onset of decompression and the transition from pre-eruptive to syn-eruptive conditions.
Radio receiver design for Unmanned Aerial wildlife tracking

The use of radio collars is a common method wildlife biologists use to study behavior patterns in animals. Tracking a radio collar from the ground is time consuming and arduous. This task becomes more difficult as the size and output power decreases to accommodate animals as small as an iguana. Our solution is to fly a low cost Unmanned Aerial System equipped with a sensitive receiver chain to locate several transponders at once. The challenge is that the system needs to be low cost and be able to detect the transponder within a range of tens of feet. Initial ground tests indicate that the system was able to detect a collar 70 feet away for under $100.
Joinpoint regression analysis to evaluate traffic public health policies by national temporal trends from 2000 to 2015

In the past 16 years, a variety of factors might have impacted traffic accidents in Chile. In order to identify and quantify differential rates of change over time this study employed a novel analytic method to assess temporal trends in traffic morbi-mortality. Overall death and injury rates and associated to alcohol per 100,000 inhabitants were monitored between 2000 and 2015. Joinpoint regression was used to calculate annual percent changes (APCs) and average APCs. Permutation tests were used to determine joinpoints. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The rate of traffic deaths related to alcohol declined from 2006 until 2015 at a rate of 9.53% per year. The rate of traffic injuries related to alcohol decreased at a rate of 4.32% per year since 2008 to 2015. The use of the most sensitive approach to trend analysis brings new ele-ments to form the epidemiological analyses in Chile and similar countries.
Nrf2/ARE pathway attenuates oxidative and apoptotic response in human osteoarthritis chondrocytes by activating ERK1/2/ELK1-P70S6K-P90RSK signaling axis

Abstract Nrf2, a redox regulated transcription factor, has recently been shown to play a role in cartilage integrity but the mechanism remains largely unknown. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial disease in which focal degradation of cartilage occurs. Here, we studied whether Nrf2 exerts chondroprotective effects by suppressing the oxidative stress and apoptosis in IL-1β stimulated human OA chondrocytes. Expression of Nrf2 and its target genes HO-1, NQO1 and SOD2 was significantly high in OA cartilage compared to normal cartilage and was also higher in damaged area compared to smooth area of OA cartilage of the same patient. Human chondrocytes treated with IL-1β resulted in robust Nrf2/ARE reporter activity, which was inhibited by pretreatment with antioxidants indicating that Nrf2 activity was due to IL-1β-induced ROS generation. Ectopic expression of Nrf2 significantly suppressed the IL-1β-induced generation of ROS while Nrf2 knockdown significantly increased the basal as well as IL-1β-induced ROS levels in OA chondrocytes. Further, Nrf2 activation significantly inhibited the IL-1β-induced activation of extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways as determined by inhibition of DNA fragmentation, activation of Caspase-3,−8,−9, cleavage of PARP, release of cytochrome-c, suppression of mitochondrial dysfunction and mitochondrial ROS production in OA chondrocytes. Nrf2 over-expression in OA chondrocytes increased the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins while pro-apoptotic proteins were suppressed. Importantly, Nrf2 over-expression activated ERK1/2 and its downstream targets-ELK1, P70S6K and P90RSK and suppressed the IL-1β-induced apoptosis whereas inhibition of ERK1/2 activation abrogated the protective effects of Nrf2 in OA chondrocytes. Taken together, our data demonstrate that Nrf2 is a stress response protein in OA chondrocytes with anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic function and acts via activation of ERK1/2/ELK1-P70S6K-P90RSK signaling axis. These activities of Nrf2 make it a promising candidate for the development of novel therapies for the management of OA.
mRNA processing: The 3′-end justifies the means

The U1A protein regulates the activity of poly(A) polymerase by interacting with an RNA element in the 3′ untranslated region of its mRNA. The structure of the trimolecular complex made up of two U1A molecules bound to the target RNA explains the cooperative regulation in this system.
“Empirical Literalism”: Mathematical Versus Experimental Physics in France, 1790–1830

Well before 1790 Paris had become the social and intellectual center for scientific life in Europe. It remained at the center until after 1830. Because this era in the scientific life of France has been seen as the source of modern physics, we need to examine the workings of Parisian scientific institutions and the practices of mathematicians and experimental physicists. What, precisely, did this band of intensely competitive men change in their mathematical and physical heritage from the eighteenth century? After examining the social and political structures of scientific Paris and their workings, we will turn to a series of problems and prize-essay questions of the era. In France the solutions to these problems were the occasions for fierce contests over the practices and future of both physics and mathematics. The solutions also disclose what was accomplished in this era in terms of changing the relationships between mathematics and experimental physics. The mathematization of electrostatics by Poisson, and Fourier’s work on the conduction of heat through solids, will help us distinguish the technical mathematician of the early nineteenth century from the theoretical physicist of a later era. Similarly, the development of the wave theory of light and subsequent work in France on elasticity will separate mathematicians from experimentalists and reveal the changes in physics by 1830.
Growth and production of enterotoxins A and D by Staphylococcus aureus in salad bar ingredients and clam chowder

Growth and production of enterotoxins A and D (SEA, SED) by two strains of Staphylococcus aureus were determined in salad bar ingredients and clam chowder. Salad bar ingredients included lettuce, canned black olives, canned green olives, tomato, green pepper, blue cheese salad dressing, blue cheese crumbles, celery, and croutons. Total S. aureus were determined by plate count on Baird-Parker agar. Enterotoxins were quantified by using an ELISA technique. S. aureus did not survive in salad dressing, with pH 4.3. With the exception of olives and blue cheese, S. aureus survived on all ingredients for more than 12 h. After 24 h, the total number of cells decreased on most of the ingredients. S. aureus grew well on green pepper during the first 24 h, reaching 105 CFU/g, but no enterotoxins were detected. S. aureus also increased in moist and dry plain croutons, but there was no detectable production of enterotoxins. S. aureus growth was excellent in clam chowder with cell counts exceeding 108 CFU/g after 12 h at 42°C. Production of SEA and SED began shortly after 3 h. Maximal levels of SEA and SED were 0.29 and 1.6 ng/g, respectively, after 12 h. In brain heart infusion broth, the production of SEA and SED reached 21.9 and 36.3 ng/ml, respectively, after 24 h at 37°C.
Context, Opportunity, and Demands: Satisfaction with Work-Life Balance in 26 Countries1

Given the burgeoning literature on the workfamily nexus, the dearth of scholarship on satisfaction with work-life balance is surprising. In this paper, we use multi-level models to build on the Dem...
Accurate, Timely, Reliable: A High Standard and Elusive Goal for Traveler Information Data Quality

In this paper, we demonstrate the difficulty of conducting spatio-temporal data quality control for sensor data. Our motivation is the provision of quality traveler information by departments of transportation. We show that assessment of accuracy of air temperature requires robust methods that go beyond the identification of outliers and inliers to mitigate the impact of bad data and bad metadata. We give a representative approach and demonstrate the challenges of assessment, particularly in the presence of incorrect data quality labels and the absence of ground truth for this air temperature data. Our approach is model-based and can be used to estimate not only outliers versus inliers, but also degree of outlyingness. It can not only be used to identify bad data in general as well as bad metadata. We evaluate our approach against other methods that use interpolation to model the data. We use an Area Under the ROC (AUROC) analysis to compare methods when data quality labels are provided. We use mean-squared-error and t-tests to compare methods both when labels are provided and when not. We measure scalability using computation time.
The advantages of combining mobile technology and audience response systems

Abstract This study examines the impact of integrating mobile technology with audience response systems (ARS) on students’ performance and experience. By comparing students in classes using traditional single-purpose ARS (Clicker) with students in classes using mobile technology-based ARS (Mobile ARS), we find that the latter earned, on average, 3.6 percent more on their final examinations and reported a more positive experience in three different financial accounting courses. Our findings suggest that the benefits of ARS technology documented by prior studies not only survived but were also strengthened by combining ARS technology and mobile technology. Leveraging the two technologies within the classroom environment appears to provide an advantageous platform that improves students’ grade performance and classroom experience.
Analysis of fire frequency on the Talladega National Forest, USA, 1998-2018

Fire is an essential ecological process and management tool for many forested landscapes, particularly the pine (Pinus spp.) forests of the southern USA. Within the Talladega National Forest in Alabama, where restoration and maintenance of pine ecosystems is a priority, fire frequency (both wild and prescribed) was assessed using a geographical process applied to a fire history database. Two methods for assessing fire frequency were employed: (1) a simple method that utilised the entire range of years acknowledged in the database and (2) a conservative method that was applied only the date of the first and last fires recorded at each location. Analyses were further separated by (a) method of mean fire return interval calculation (weighted by area or Weibull) and (b) fire season interval with analyses conducted on growing season and dormant season fires. Analyses of fire frequency for national forest planning purposes may help determine whether a prescribed fire program mimics ecological and historical fire frequencies and meets intended objectives. The estimated fire return interval was between ~5 and 6.5 years using common, straightforward (simple) methods. About one-third of the forest receives no fire management and about half of the balance has sufficiently managed fuels.
Determinants of the Willingness to Pay for Public Sector Health Care Services: An Empirical Study of Rural and Urban Communities in Nigeria

The adoption of user charges in the consumption of public health care services in Nigeria has been questioned on many grounds, one of which is, the willingness to pay for these services, especially given the high rate of poverty being experienced in the Nigerian economy. While out-of-pocket expenses dominate in households’ payment for health care services in Nigeria, the proportion of Nigerians living in poverty (both in the rural and urban areas) kept increasing every year as indicated by the incidence of poverty data. This unswerving increase in the poverty rate does influence the households’ ability and willingness to pay these charges in Nigeria. Accordingly, this study, using both primary and secondary data, examined the determinants of households’ willingness to pay for public health care services in Nigeria and evaluate the extent to which these factors affect households’ willingness to pay in both urban and rural areas. The findings show that the willingness to pay increased with income in all the cases considered. Distance ranks high as one of the most important price factors that influences the willingness to pay more in public sector health care services for rural dwellers while quality of care was momentous for urban respondents.
Evaluation of the Truvian Easy Check COVID-19 IgM/IgG Lateral Flow Device for Rapid Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Detection.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the analytical and clinical performance of the Truvian Easy Check coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) IgM/IgG anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody test.Serologic assays have become increasingly available for surveillance through the Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization in the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. However, widespread application of serologic assays has been curbed by reports of faulty or inaccurate tests. Therefore, rapid COVID-19 antibody tests need to be thoroughly validated prior to their implementation. METHODS: The Easy Check device was analytically evaluated and its performance was compared with the Roche Elecsys anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody assay. The test was further characterized for cross-reactivity using sera obtained from patients infected by other viruses. Clinical performance was analyzed with polymerase chain reaction-confirmed samples and a 2015 prepandemic reference sample set. RESULTS: The Easy Check device showed excellent analytical performance and compares well with the Roche Elecsys antibody assay, with an overall concordance of 98.6%. Clinical performance showed a sensitivity of 96.6%, a specificity of 98.2%, and an overall accuracy of 98.1%. CONCLUSIONS: The Easy Check device is a simple, reliable, and rapid test for detection of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity, and its performance compares favorably against the automated Roche Elecsys antibody assay.
Clean Room Classification

Clean rooms are traditionally classified as either laminar flow or mixed flow rooms. Although these two types of rooms operate quite differently, they have generally been used in the same manner, with the same rules applying to both types, on the assumption that there was a unidirectional flow in both types. Experiments have shown that this is not the case in the mixed flow rooms. In some cases vertical counterflows have been shown to carry contaminants all the way to the ceiling of such rooms.In the dilution controlled clean room concept, the air is sufficiently stirred to achieve good mixing. With a homogeneous concentration of particles in the air, the steady state particle concentration can be calculated. Particle concentration may be controlled by adjusting the air flow to maintain the concentration at a constant value. Under these conditions, only enough air must be circulated to carry away the particles currently being generated. This means that energy consumption is directly related to the particl...
SomatoSim: precision simulation of somatic single nucleotide variants.

Somatic single nucleotide variants have gained increased attention because of their role in cancer development and the widespread use of high-throughput sequencing techniques. The necessity to accurately identify these variants in sequencing data has led to a proliferation of somatic variant calling tools. Additionally, the use of simulated data to assess the performance of these tools has become common practice, as there is no gold standard dataset for benchmarking performance. However, many existing somatic variant simulation tools are limited because they rely on generating entirely synthetic reads derived from a reference genome or because they do not allow for the precise customizability that would enable a more focused understanding of single nucleotide variant calling performance. SomatoSim is a tool that lets users simulate somatic single nucleotide variants in sequence alignment map (SAM/BAM) files with full control of the specific variant positions, number of variants, variant allele fractions, depth of coverage, read quality, and base quality, among other parameters. SomatoSim accomplishes this through a three-stage process: variant selection, where candidate positions are selected for simulation, variant simulation, where reads are selected and mutated, and variant evaluation, where SomatoSim summarizes the simulation results. SomatoSim is a user-friendly tool that offers a high level of customizability for simulating somatic single nucleotide variants. SomatoSim is available at https://github.com/BieseckerLab/SomatoSim .
Influence of Glass Fiber and Fly Ash on the Mechanical Properties of Concrete

Conservation of natural resources is the key requirement for maintaining ecological balance. Thus, there is a need to find alternate construction materials. In that direction, the present experimental investigation is carried out to investigate the mechanical properties of glass fiber reinforced fly ash concrete with fly ash replacement of 0%, 20% and 40% by weight of cement and addition of glass fibers of length 12 mm and diameter 14 micron in four different volume fractions of 0%, 0.5%, 1% and 1.5%. Compressive strength is measured by testing standard cubes (150 mm x 150 mm x 150 mm) at the age of 7, 28 and 56 days. Flexural strength is measured by testing standard prisms (100 mm x 100 mm x 500 mm) at the age of 28 and 56 days. Splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity are measured by testing standard cylinders (150 mm dia x 300 mm height) at the age of 28 and 56 days.
Chorioretinal paracoccidioidomycosis treated with intravitreal voriconazole and therapeutic vitrectomy.

Abstract Purpose To report a case of aggressive chorioretinal paracoccidioidomycosis requiring treatment with systemic antifungal agents, frequent intravitreal voriconazole injections, and surgical excision. Observations A Brazilian man in his mid-30s with a history of chronic, biopsy-proven cutaneous paracoccidioidomycosis, chronic sinusitis, and perichondritis secondary to paracoccidioidomycosis presented with profound vision loss. He was found to have significant vitreous inflammation and a large chorioretinal lesion in the posterior pole concerning for ocular involvement. He was treated initially with combined topical and systemic steroids as well as systemic antifungals and antibiotics, then with serial intravitreal voriconazole injections resulting in a significant reduction of intraocular inflammation and subretinal fluid. The residual tractional retinal detachment from the chorioretinal lesion was addressed surgically by pars plana vitrectomy. Conclusion and importance Intravitreal voriconazole can be an effective adjuvant treatment for the vitreous inflammation and subretinal fluid associated with chorioretinal paracoccidioidomycosis. Surgical intervention may be indicated in cases complicated by tractional retinal detachment.
Linear Stability of Axisymmetric Thermocapillary Convection in Crystal Growth

Linear stability theory is applied to a basic state of thermocapillary convection occurring in a cylindrical half-zone of finite length to determine values of the Marangoni number above which instability is guaranteed. In an earlier work energy theory results had been presented. They yield Marangoni numbers below which the convection is stable under arbitrary perturbations. The least-stable mode in these results was never an axisymmetric one. Here, first results on the most unstable modes will be reported and the numerical procedure employed will be described in detail. Our results indicate that the instability is due to a subcritical Hopf bifurcationwhich breaks the axisymmetry of the basic state.
Spatial distribution of ph at mild steel surfaces using an iridium oxide microelectrode

Abstract : The distribution of pH near a metal surface indicates the positions of anodic (low pH) and cathodic sites high pH). A microsensor, small enough that the pH sensing tip is confined to the diffusion layer, can be use to monitor pH near metal surfaces. This paper describes the mapping of pH near water-immersed mild steel surfaces using miniaturized iridium/iridium oxide pH microelectrodes in conjunction with a computer controlled micropositioner and data acquisition system. Two systems were analyzed: (1) a bare mild steel coupon exposed to artificial seawater, and (2) a mild steel coup, first partially covered with the biopolymer, calcium alginate, and then exposed to artificial seawater. After 8 h exposure to seawater both coupons exhibited localized corrosion. On the coupon partially covered with calcium alginate gel, corrosion was limited to the area covered by biopolymer. On the the bare coupon, corrosion was widespread. pH mapping of the coupons showed that low pH regions were identified with the corroded areas, and high pH regions with the uncorroded areas. These observations demonstrate that, in the abiotic environment, anodic sites on a mild steel surface can be fixed by partially covering the metal with biopolymer
Chapter 2 Compression in 3-D integral equation modeling

Abstract The integral equations (IE) method is a powerful tool for forward electromagnetic (EM) modeling. However, due to a dense matrix arising from the IE formulation, practical application of the IE method is limited to modeling of relatively small bodies. The use of a compression technique can overcome this limitation. The compression transformation is formulated as a multiplication by a compression matrix. Using this matrix as a preconditioner to an integral equation, we convert the originally dense matrix of the problem to a sparse matrix, which reduces its size and speeds up computations. Thus, compression helps to overcome practical limitations imposed on the numerical size of the anomalous domain in IE modeling. With the compression, the flexibility of the IE method approaches that of finite-difference (FD) or finite-element (FE) methods, allowing modeling of large-scale conductivity variations.
Plasmolysis in Bacillus megaterium

Abstract Weibull, Claes (Central Bacteriological Laboratory of Stockholm City, Stockholm, Sweden). Plasmolysis in Bacillus megaterium. J. Bacteriol. 89:1151–1154. 1965.—Sucrose solutions stronger than 1 m caused plasmolysis in Bacillus megaterium strain M, whereas concentrated NaCl and KNO3 solutions were ineffective. In plasmolyzed cells, mesosome bodies were found in pockets between the cytoplasmic membrane and the cell wall. After plasmolysis, the cytoplasmic membrane appeared as a triple-layered structure, a “unit membrane.” Plasmolysis did not markedly influence the viability of the cells.
Catalytic Control of Hydrocarbons in Automotive Exhaust

Abstract Hydrocarbons in the atmosphere participate in a series of complex reactions leading to the formation of oxidant and therefore their emission is subject to stringent environmental control. The principal means for the control of hydrocarbons from mobile sources is catalytic removal. The catalytic reactivity of hydrocarbons varies widely with their chemical structure, the exhaust composition and the composition of the catalyst. The paper describes the intricate relationship between these factors and explains the processes taking place on the catalyst surface.
Can Copyright Become User-Friendly? Essay Review of Jessica Litman, Digital Copyright , Prometheus Books 2001

Professor Litman has written Digital Copyright for the general public, though lawyers, and especially copyright lawyers, would do well to read it. Professor Litman's message is straightforward: Copyright law is too complicated and counterintuitive. It has been written by and for copyright lawyers who represent many, but not all, of the players. Those left out include developers of new ways of communicating copyrighted works, and, most importantly, end users. But nowadays, copyright directly affects end users in ways more pervasive than could have been expected in the analog world. If copyright law doesn't make sense to those who are supposed to adhere to it, copyright will cease to be a meaningful constraint on users' activities. This review first briefly addresses Professor Litman's evocation of the copyright law-making process. Her discussion of legislative history presents a valuable and compelling account, especially for those unfamiliar with copyright law. But the most provocative portions of the book, to which this review will devote most attention, are the chapters in which Professor Litman (a) reviews and challenges various metaphors for copyright policy (Chapter 5, "Choosing Metaphors"); (b) in which she recounts the rocky relationship between copyright owners and developers of new technological means of disseminating works (Chapter 10, "The Copyright Wars"); and (c) in which she offers her own prescription for a simple, fair and workable copyright law (Chapter 12, "Revising Copyright Law for the Information Age"). Digital Copyright will not dispel disagreements about copyright's goals and proper scope; but because Professor Litman is such an effective advocate, she forces "copyright optimists" (such as this reviewer) to think harder about whether strong copyright protection remains desirable. This review therefore endeavors not only to present Professor Litman's arguments, but to offer some reasons for resistence to some of those claims.