cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of eggshell surface sanitization technologies and impacts on consumer acceptability

Shell eggs can be contaminated with many types of microorganisms, including bacterial pathogens, and thus present a risk for the transmission of foodborne disease to consumers. Currently, most United States egg processors utilize egg washing and sanitization systems to decontaminate surfaces of shell eggs prior to packaging. However, previous research has indicated that current shell egg sanitization technologies employed in the commercial egg industry may not completely eliminate bacteria from the surface of eggshells, and thus alternative egg sanitization technologies with the potential for increased microbial reductions on eggshells should be investigated. The objectives of this study were to compare the antimicrobial efficacy and consumer sensory attributes of industry-available eggshell sanitization methods (chlorine and quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC) applied via spray) to various alternative egg sanitization technologies. Eggs (White Leghorn hens; n=195) were obtained for evaluation of sanitizer-induced reduction in mesophilic aerobic bacteria (n=90) or inoculated Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) reduction (n=105). Sanitizing treatments evaluated in this experiment were: chlorine spray (100 ppm available chlorine), QAC spray (200 ppm), peracetic acid spray (PAA; 135 ppm) alone or in combination with ultraviolet light (UV; 254 nm), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2; 3.5% solution) spray in combination with UV (H2O2+UV). For enumeration of aerobic bacteria, eggs were sampled at 0, 7, and 14 days of storage at 4°C; surviving SE cells from inoculated eggs were enumerated by differential plating. Sensory trials were conducted to determine consumer liking of scrambled eggs made from eggs sanitized with chlorine, QAC, H2O2+UV, or no treatment (control). The H2O2 and UV treatment resulted in the greatest reductions in eggshell aerobic plate counts compared to other treatments throughout egg storage (P<0.05). All treatments utilized reduced SE below the limit of detection by eggshell rinse. There were no differences in consumers' liking of overall flavor between the 4 treatments evaluated. The application of H2O2+UV treatment to shell eggs represents a novel technology that could have important implications for egg quality and safety preservation.
Multiple Risks, Multiple Worries, and Adolescent Coping

Summary To describe the process that clinicians use to engage vulnerable urban adolescents in mental health counseling, the authors propose a tri-partite model of clinical engagement that takes into account: (1) consumer preference; (2) risk and worry; and (3) youth development (YD) perspectives. These conceptual lenses embody what adolescents want to talk about, their exposure to behavioral and environmental risks, and their coping and strengths. Based on responses given by urban adolescents seeking mental health services to a clinical self-assessment questionnaire (Adquest), this paper uses this tripartite model to summarize patterns of risk that service applicants experience, what they worry about, and how they cope. It explores the substructure of adolescent risk and vulnerability, through factor analysis of relevant items across a broad range of Adquest life areas, to develop a typology of adolescents by risk and worry. Patterns of coping and desire to talk across a range of life areas within this ty...
A 1 Production in Charge-Exchange Reactions

We have measured the cross section for production of events in the ${A}_{1}$ mass region for two reactions: (1) ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\rho}}^{0}p$ and (2) ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}n\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}{\ensuremath{\rho}}^{\ensuremath{-}}p$. The results of these experiments, both conducted at an incident pion momentum of \ensuremath{\sim}7 GeV/c, are interpreted within the framework of dual models of inelastic hadron collisions.
A transport medium for diagnostic virology.

SummaryA simple charcoal viral transport medium (CVTM) has been devised that permits the survival of representative viral agents for at least 3 weeks at ambient temperatures. Amies' bacterial transport medium was useful for the transporting of specimens containing adenovirus agents but the thioglycollate present in this medium is inhibitory to herpesvirus, Cozsackie virus and the myxoviruses. The use of DEAE-dextran as a detoxifying agent is limited because it is inhibitory to the myxoviruses.
Forced convection roasting at 200 degrees and 300 degrees F.

Forced convection heating shortens cooking time, due to faster heat penetration. However, slow heat penetration has been reported to have a tenderizing effect on meat. Are lower oven temperatures with forced convection desirable for institutional roasting of meat? These authors compared results of convection roasting at 200° and 300 °F., as to cooking losses and time, costs per serving, and acceptability.
Overcoming multidrug resistance: valspodar as a paradigm for nursing care.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To review the mechanisms of multidrug resistance (MDR) in human cancer and the clinical use of MDR modulators to overcome or reverse P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated MDR. DATA SOURCES Current literature, ongoing clinical trials, and clinical experience. DATA SYNTHESIS Agents, such as valspodar, that block the activity of P-gp can reverse or overcome MDR caused by overexpression of P-gp. The MDR modulator valspodar (PSC 833; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ) is examined as a model for establishing nursing guidelines for this new class of therapeutic agents. CONCLUSIONS The dose of some chemotherapy agents must be modified with concurrent valspodar administration. Studies examining the safety and efficacy of valspodar as a prototype of MDR modulators provide the basis for establishing nursing care guidelines. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE Nursing care for the administration of valspodar includes understanding patient selection, criteria, dosing, and administration; side-effect management; patient monitoring and follow-up; and patient education.
Noninvasive Oxygen Monitoring Techniques

As this article demonstrates, tremendous progress has been made in the techniques of oxygen measurement and monitoring over the past 50 years. From the early developments during and after World War II, to the most recent applications of solid state and microprocessor technology today, every patient in a critical care situation will have several continuous measurements of oxygenation applied simultaneously. Information therefore is available readily to alert personnel of acute problems and to guide appropriate therapy. The majority of effort to date has been placed on measuring oxygenation of arterial or venous blood. The next generation of devices will attempt to provide information about living tissue. Unlike the devices monitoring arterial or venous oxygen content, no "gold standards" exist for tissue oxygenation, so calibration will be difficult, as will interpretation of the data provided. The application of these devices ultimately may lead to a much better understanding of how disease (and the treatment of disease) alters the utilization of oxygen by the tissues.
Conceptual Elements for Performance Assessment for Faculty and Student Learning

This conceptual chapter clarifies elements for performance assessment that hold promise for designing performance assessments, including capstone and portfolio assessments. Elements were originally determined by Alverno College faculty from their practice in 1973 and combined with an internal and external literature review of relevant theoretical frameworks across time. This literature review included many early citations of such concepts as active learning, self-reflection and self-monitoring, assessment and judgment in relation to criteria, and the role of samples of performance in assessment. For this chapter, citations from literature external to the College and Alverno literature have been recently reviewed and illuminated for the following elements of performance assessment, also articulated as learning processes, transformative learning cycles, and learning outcomes. (1) Self-reflection on learning own abilities; (2) Self assessing performance and using feedback to improve it over time; (3) Learners developing metacognitive performance; (4) Learners developing professional expertise; and (5) Learners developing identity as a self-sustained and unique learner, contributor, and professional.
Effective Thinking Strategy: Five Elements to Facilitate Ideation

The focus of this paper is to provide a framework to suggest that effective thinking is an essential element to the ideation and innovation process. The review of the case study found that a range of elements need to be established in order to support collaborative creativity. Though the aspects of diversity and professional expertise were present, the lack of core knowledge, unity of thought, communication, reflection and appreciation of failure and positive questioning led to the poor output of the team interaction. The paper also provided a foundation of recommendations for future research to build upon as means to determine the impact of effective thinking behaviors on the ideation process.
Existence of stationary bargaining equilibria

Abstract This paper addresses the question of existence of stationary Markov perfect equilibria in a class of dynamic games that includes many known bargaining models and models of coalition formation. General sufficient conditions for existence of equilibria are currently lacking in a number of interesting environments, e.g., models with non-convexities, consumption lower bounds, or an evolving state variable. The main result establishes existence of equilibrium under compactness and continuity conditions, without the structure of convexity or strict comprehensiveness used in the extant literature. The proof requires a precise selection of voting equilibria following different proposals using a generalization of Fatou's lemma.
Masculine Gender Role Stress and Substance Abuse Among Substance Dependent Males

Masculine gender role stress (MGRS) occurs in men who are highly committed to the male role. We hypothesized that among substance dependent men, high MGRS men would show more severe alcohol and drug abuse than low MGRS men. Additionally, we explored the types of substance abuse triggers to which high MGRS men are most vulnerable and their confidence in coping with these triggers. Our results indicate that high MGRS males had more severe alcohol dependence and, among drug dependent individuals, more severe drug dependence than did low MGRS men. Additionally, high MGRS men were found to be more likely to abuse substances in response to negative emotions, physical discomfort, conflict, and the belief that they can control their substance use.
Quasi-one-dimensional modeling of pressure effects in supersonic nozzles

Abstract In this paper, a quasi-one-dimensional approach to account for the effects of contour on pressure profiles in supersonic nozzles is presented. The isentropic pressure equation is coupled with Stodola's area–Mach number equation, the normal shock relations, and the geometric profile to evaluate the pressure profile for a variety nozzle designs. The present study utilizes fundamental fluid relations which normally only vary with the area ratio; however, through the reintroduction of the axial coordinate, the effect of the nozzle contour on the pressure profile can be evaluated. To demonstrate the method, the pressure profiles in planar ramp, conical, and planar trumpet-bell nozzles are calculated. The planar trumpet-bell nozzle results are compared to a computational simulation with good agreement in both the subsonic and supersonic pressure profiles. An adjustment to the pressure ratio model is proposed which increases the agreement with the simulation results.
Incipient Separation in Laminar Ramp-Induced Shock-Wave/Boundary-Layer Interactions

Incipient separation in laminar, ramp-induced shock-wave/boundary-layer interactions is examined using numerical solutions of the triple-deck equations and the full set of governing equations for c...
Salt-Assisted Ultrasonicated De-Aggregation and Advanced Redox Electrochemistry of Detonation Nanodiamond.

Nanodiamond particles form agglomerates in the dry powder state and this poses limitation to the accessibility of their diamond-like core thus dramatically impacting their technological advancement. In this work, we report de-agglomeration of nanodiamond (ND) by using a facile technique namely, salt-assisted ultrasonic de-agglomeration (SAUD). Utilizing ultrasound energy and ionic salts (sodium chloride and sodium acetate), SAUD is expected to break apart thermally treated nanodiamond aggregates (~50–100 nm) and produce an aqueous slurry of de-aggregated stable colloidal nanodiamond dispersions by virtue of ionic interactions and electrostatic stabilization. Moreover, the SAUD technique neither has toxic chemicals nor is it difficult to remove impurities and therefore the isolated nanodiamonds produced are exceptionally suited for engineered nanocarbon for mechanical (composites, lubricants) and biomedical (bio-labeling, biosensing, bioimaging, theranostic) applications. We characterized the microscopic structure using complementary techniques including transmission electron microscopy combined with selected-area electron diffraction, optical and vibrational spectroscopy. We immobilized SAUD produced NDs on boron-doped diamond electrodes to investigate fundamental electrochemical properties. They included surface potential (or Fermi energy level), carrier density and mapping electrochemical (re)activity using advanced scanning electrochemical microscopy in the presence of a redox-active probe, with the aim of understanding the surface redox chemistry and the interfacial process of isolated nanodiamond particles as opposed to aggregated and untreated nanoparticles. The experimental findings are discussed in terms of stable colloids, quantum confinement and predominantly surface effects, defect sites (sp2–bonded C and unsaturated bonds), inner core (sp3–bonded C)/outer shell (sp2–bonded C) structure, and surface functionality. Moreover, the surface electronic states give rise to midgap states which serve as electron donors (or acceptors) depending upon the bonding (or antibonding). These are important as electroanalytical platforms for various electrocatalytic processes.
Multiple herbivores and coevolutionary interactions in an Ipomopsis hybrid swarm

Studies focusing on pairwise interactions between plants and herbivores may not give an accurate picture of the overall selective effect of herbivory, given that plants are often eaten by a diverse array of herbivore species. The outcome of such interactions may be further complicated by the effects of plant hybridization. Hybridization can lead to changes in morphological, phenological and chemical traits that could in turn alter plant–herbivore interactions. Here we present results from manipulative field experiments investigating the interactive effects of multiple herbivores and plant hybridization on the reproductive success of Ipomopsis aggregata formosissima X I. tenuituba. Results showed that ungulate herbivores alone had a net positive effect on plant relative fitness, increasing seed production approximately 2-fold. Caterpillars had no effect on plant relative fitness when acting alone, with caterpillar-attacked plants producing the same number of flowers, fruits and seeds as the uneaten controls. Caterpillars, however, significantly reduced flower production of ungulate browsed plants. Flower production in these plants, however, was still significantly greater (approximately 1.7-fold greater) than uneaten controls, likely leading to an increase in reproductive success through the paternal component of fitness given that fruit and seed production was not significantly different from that of herbivore-free controls. Although results suggest that herbivore imposed selection is pairwise, ungulates likely have a large influence on the abundance of, and hence the amount of damage caused by, caterpillar herbivores. Thus, because of the ecological interactions between ungulates and caterpillars, selection on Ipomopsis may be diffuse rather than pairwise, assuming such interactions translate into differential effects on plant fitness as herbivore densities vary. Plant hybridization had no significant effect on patterns of ungulate or caterpillar herbivory; i.e., no significant interactions were detected between herbivory and plant hybridization for any of the fitness traits measured in this study nor did plant hybridization have any significant effect on host preference. These results may be due to patterns of introgression or the lack of species-specific differences between I. aggregate formosissima and I. tenuituba. Plant hybridization per se resulted in lowered reproductive success of white colored morphs due in part to the effects of pollination. Although it appears that there would be strong directional selection favoring darker flower colors due to the lower reproductive success of the white colored morphs in the short run, the natural distribution of hybrids suggest that over the long run selection either tends to average out or there are no fitness differences among morphs in most years due to the additive fitness effects of hawkmoth and hummingbird pollinators.
Enhanced hotspot detection through synthetic pattern generation and design of experiments

Continuous technology scaling and the introduction of advanced technology nodes in Integrated Circuit (IC) fabrication is constantly exposing new manufacturability issues. Design hotspots are one of such problems, which are a result of complex design and process interactions. These hotspots are known to vary from design to design and foundries expect such hotspots to be predicted early and corrected in the design stage itself, as opposed to a process fix for every hotspot, which would be intractable. Various efforts have been made in the past to address this issue by using a known database of hotspots as a source of information. Most of those works use either Machine Learning (ML) or Pattern Matching (PM) techniques to identify and predict hotspots in new incoming designs. Almost all of those methods suffer from high false-alarm rates, mainly because (i) they are oblivious to the root causes of hotspots, and (ii) a large hotspot database to learn from is generally not available. In this work, we try to address these limitations by using novel hotspot Design of Experiments (DOEs) and synthetic pattern generation approaches. We analyze the effectiveness of the proposed method against the state-of-the-art on a 45nm process, using industry standard tools and designs.
Where Are the Generalized Outcomes? (An Examination of Instructional Objectives).

It is argued that behavioral objectives will be most useful when they are not only technologically adequate and include functional target behaviors, but when generalization is explicitly specified as a desired educational outcome as well. This investigation was undertaken to determine whether IEP objectives for selected pupils in participating schools included generalization as an outcome of instruction. It was found that although a considerable number of objectives related to the development of potentially functional skills, very few suggested the desirability of generalized performance. Possible reasons for the omission of generalized outcomes are discussed and recommendations are provided for the construction of objectives.
Loop Electro-Excision Procedure (LEEP)

Loop electro-excision procedure (LEEP) may be considered one of the earliest office-based procedures used to treat precancerous conditions of the uterine cervix. Development of this procedure from an operative to office-based diagnostic and therapeutic procedure has had a transformative effect on treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. The procedure is easily accomplished with local anesthesia and has been shown to be expeditious and relatively pain-free. Complications are rare and the procedure allows for evaluation of pathologic tissue with straightforward follow-up. LEEP is one of the first office-based procedures that should be a mainstay treatment for all gynecologists.
Activation and Densensitization in Bacterial Chemotaxis

Bacterial chemotaxis allows cells to respond to over 35 different There are transmembrane cell surface The bound state of the receptor intracellular protein kinase that can phosphorylate two chemotaxis system components, the CheY and the CheB proteins. When CheY is phosphorylated it modulates bacterial flagellar rotation and thus effects the cells’ movement. When CheB is phosphorylated it increases its ability to modify the cell surface receptor and change its sensitivity. A model for the integration of these steps into a scheme that can explain the dynamic range, rapid response and sensitivity of the bacterial sensory system is described. This represents one example of a much larger group of “two component” sensory systems in bacteria.
Vacuum Steam Treatment Eradicates Viable Bretziella fagacearum from Logs Cut from Wilted Quercus rubra

Methyl bromide (MB) fumigation is required for U.S. Quercus log exports due to concern over unintentional spread of Bretziella fagacearum. MB alternatives are needed due to the chemical's ability to damage the earth's ozone layer. Vacuum steam (VS) is an environmentally friendly method that was evaluated for its ability to eradicate B. fagacearum in logs (24 to 61 cm diameter; 1.7 to 1.9 m long) obtained from Q. rubra that had wilted following natural infection (NI) or artificial inoculation (AI). Five replicate loads of two NI and one AI logs were VS-treated at 56°C for 30 min and 60°C for 60 min (at 5.0 cm sapwood depth). Mean frequencies of pretreatment fungus colonization ranged from 12.5 to 24.4% in NI and 29.4 to 45.6% in AI logs based on isolation from wood chips of inner and outer sapwood, respectively, of two disks per log. Frequencies of pathogen DNA detection were similar to those for isolation. No viable pathogen or its DNA were detected in posttreatment logs. Treatment times ranged from 5 to 9 h for the 56°C/30 min schedule and from 8 to 10 h for the 60°C/60 min schedule. Based on these results, VS is worthy of further development as a MB alternative.
Energy-conserving Galerkin approximations for quasigeostrophic dynamics

Abstract A method is presented for constructing energy-conserving Galerkin approximations in the vertical coordinate of the full quasigeostrophic model with active surface buoyancy. The derivation generalizes the approach of Rocha et al. (2016) [1] to allow for general bases. Details are then presented for a specific set of bases: Legendre polynomials for potential vorticity and a recombined Legendre basis from Shen (1994) [2] for the streamfunction. The method is tested in the context of linear baroclinic instability calculations, where it is compared to the standard second-order finite-difference method and to a Chebyshev collocation method. The Galerkin scheme is quite accurate even for a small number of degrees of freedom N , and growth rates converge much more quickly with increasing N for the Galerkin scheme than for the finite-difference scheme. The Galerkin scheme is at least as accurate as finite differences and can in some cases achieve the same accuracy as the finite difference scheme with ten times fewer degrees of freedom. The energy-conserving Galerkin scheme is of comparable accuracy to the Chebyshev collocation scheme in most linear stability calculations, but not in the Eady problem where the Chebyshev scheme is significantly more accurate. Finally the three methods are compared in the context of a simplified version of the nonlinear equations: the two-surface model with zero potential vorticity. The Chebyshev scheme is the most accurate, followed by the Galerkin scheme and then the finite difference scheme. All three methods conserve energy with similar accuracy, despite not having any a priori guarantee of energy conservation for the Chebyshev scheme. Further nonlinear tests with non-zero potential vorticity to assess the merits of the methods will be performed in a future work.
Smurf: self-service string matching using random forests

We argue that more attention should be devoted to developing self-service string matching (SM) solutions, which lay users can easily use. We show that Falcon, a self-service entity matching (EM) solution, can be applied to SM and is more accurate than current self-service SM solutions. However, Falcon often asks lay users to label many string pairs (e.g., 770-1050 in our experiments). This is expensive, can significantly compound labeling mistakes, and takes a long time. We developed Smurf, a self-service SM solution that reduces the labeling effort by 43-76%, yet achieves comparable F1 accuracy. The key to make Smurf possible is a novel solution to efficiently execute a random forest (that Smurf learns via active learning with the lay user) over two sets of strings. This solution uses RDBMS-style plan optimization to reuse computations across the trees in the forest. As such, Smurf significantly advances self-service SM and raises interesting future directions for self-service EM and scalable random forest execution over structured data.
Accelerating distributed stochastic gradient descent with adaptive periodic parameter averaging: poster

Communication overhead is a well-known performance bottleneck in distributed Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD), which is a popular algorithm to perform optimization in large-scale machine learning tasks. In this work, we propose a practical and effective technique, named Adaptive Periodic Parameter Averaging, to reduce the communication overhead of distributed SGD, without impairing its convergence property.
Femoral Neuropathy: A Rare Presentation of Retroperitoneal Hematoma with Review of Literature

Hematomas in close compartments and in pelvic gutters are always challenging to treat and diagnose. A young female on apixaban for recently diagnosed pulmonary thromboembolism (PE) presented to us for the complaints of right sided lower limb weakness. Neurological examination was positive for the right femoral nerve distribution deficit. Computed tomography (CECT) showed large right sided iliopsoas hematoma. Anticoagulation was stopped and was given blood transfusions with which she improved without need of any surgical evacuation. We hereby aim to enrich the understanding of our readers regarding this topic with a review of our experience and other recent publications in medical literature. It is important for the internists to be aware of varied and atypical presentations of retroperitoneal hematoma (RPH) especially following surgical/orthopaedic procedures or in association with anticoagulants and antiplatelets.
Group activities and game-based learning to keep students connected to their academic communities: Innovation in teaching delivery or learning technology

Challenges experienced by students with online teaching include maintaining connectivity to the academic community. To overcome students feeling ‘silo-ed’ and to maintain their motivation, the faculty at Butler University enhanced group activities with game-based learning. Group activities included problem-based learning exercises and students working together to expand concept maps. These provided the opportunity for students to interact with the content, to interact with their peers and to interact with faculty. Students found these group activities effective ways of applying their knowledge in a timely manner. Game-based learning platforms that were utilised included quizzes that took place in-class as well as during review sessions. These enabled students to keep abreast of the material they were learning in class and identify gaps in their comprehension. The quizzes generated dynamic class discussions which enabled students to learn from each other.
Innovation or Renovation in Criminal Procedure: Is the World Moving Toward a New Model of Adjudication?

A universal system of criminal procedure offers the allure of efficiency, predictability, and enhanced crime control. For the first time in modern history, universality seems achievable. The criminal procedures employed by the world’s major legal systems are converging. What was once distinctively “civil” or “common law” is now a blend of the two. The adversarial adjudicative approach of most common law countries now can be found in the most unlikely places, and civil law characteristics adorn the processes of some of the world’s most aggressively adversarial systems. While this movement has not gone unnoticed, the pace of change has accelerated, and the ways in which it has manifested itself have increased. This article begins by revealing how little systems actually differ in practice. It then analyzes how the gap that remains between these systems is closing by examining three illustrations of convergence: the growing use of lay judges and juries in civil law countries, the Italian reform movement incorporating adversarial techniques in a traditionally nonadversarial system, and the modernization of Chinese criminal procedure.Following or perhaps leading this trend are a new breed of “hybrid” legal systems that borrow freely from several legal traditions and invent procedures freely. Beginning with the creation of multinational and supranational criminal tribunals following the end of World War II, new institutions and processes have been developed to deal with regional and international violations. Among the most important examples of the movement toward hybridization and multinational adjudication is the Corpus Juris project. Little known in the United States, this proposal represents a controversial effort within the European Union to harmonize – and perhaps to universalize – the criminal processes related to protecting the Community’s financial interests. Only some of the recommendations resulting from Corpus Juris have been instituted, but it nevertheless continues to impact thinking about unification and reform. Several tribunals already function with regional and international jurisdiction. The European Court of Human Rights, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and the International Criminal Court have somewhat distinctive rules of procedure, but all blend the traditions of the major legal systems in a slightly different mix.Will the trend toward adversarial trials and hybrid rules of adjudication eventually produce, as some have predicted, a universal system? This article explains not only the influences propelling countries toward a similar view of criminal procedure, but also why that movement is inherently limited and unlikely to produce universality.
The Clinical Management of the Alcoholic and Substance abuse Patient

Summary Careful evaluation of patients in the oral and maxillofacial surgery practice is important in identifying the substance-abusing patient. The surgeon must become comfortable asking questions in a nonthreatening manner to elicit this history. Once properly identified and evaluated, appropriate steps to manage the patient allow a successful outcome with minimal risk to both the patient and the surgeon.
Relative Risk of Intimate Partner Violence According to Access to Instrumental Social Support Among Pregnant Women in Eswatini Whose Partners Do and Do Not Drink Alcohol.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects one in three women around the world and is the tenth leading cause of death for women in Africa aged 15 to 29 years. Partner alcohol use, access to social support, and poverty all affect women's likelihood of experiencing violence. We sought to understand how partner alcohol use differentially affected the hypothesized association between a protective role of instrumental social support (in the form of food or financial loans) against IPV for a clinic-based sample of women in the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland). We use cross-sectional data from a parent study of women recruited from urban and rural antenatal clinics in Eswatini (n = 393) to calculate the association between experiencing IPV and perception of one's ability access to large cash loans, small cash loans, and food loans-both for the full sample and stratified by partner alcohol use. In fully adjusted models, the perception that one could access loans of food or money was associated with decreased relative risk of IPV for all women. These associations were modified by partner alcohol use. Access to instrumental support (loans of food or money) is associated with decreased risk of IPV, but this association varies according to the type of loan and whether or not a woman's partner drinks alcohol. Economic empowerment interventions to reduce IPV must be carefully tailored to ensure they are appropriate for a woman's specific individual, relationship, and community context.
Measuring investor relations and financial communication: an empirical test of scales of public relations

Os modelos de relacoes publicas tornaram-se um dos paradigmas mais pesquisados no campo das relacoes publicas. No entanto, depois que os modelos foram reconceituados em dimensoes, os pesquisadores focados no desenvolvimento de modelos/dimensoes praticamente desapareceram. Este estudo, entretanto, poe a prova os modelos/dimensoes reconceituados: as escalas de relacoes publicas. Este estudo relata o primeiro teste empirico das escalas de relacoes publicas, aplicando-as a uma das especializacoes de relacoes publicas, as relacoes com investidores.
Missing Women in Tech: The Labor Market for Highly Skilled Software Engineers

This paper examines the behavior of job seekers and recruiters in the labor market for software engineers. I obtained data from a recruiting platform where individuals can self-report their compute...
Evaluation of Two New Scales Assessing Driving Anger: The Driving Anger Expression Inventory and the Driver's Angry Thoughts Questionnaire

This study assessed the validity of the Driving Anger Expression Inventory (DAX) and Driver's Angry Thoughts Questionnaire (DATQ). Scales within the DAX and DATQ appeared to assess separate, correlated constructs. Aggressive forms of thinking and anger expression correlated positively with each other, trait driving anger, aggressive and risky behavior, some crash-related conditions, general trait anger, and general forms of anger expression. Positive, constructive forms of thinking and anger expression correlated positively with each other, but minimally or negatively with other variables. Specific aggressive forms of thinking and anger expression formed stronger links with each other than other forms of expression, supporting the discriminant validity of the DATQ and DAX. Hierarchical regressions with DATQ and DAX scales entered after other variables showed that they added explained variance above and beyond other measures, supporting the discriminant and incremental validity of these scales. It was concluded that the DAX and DATQ have utility for researchers and clinicians interested in angry drivers.
Fusion of waveform LiDAR data and hyperspectral imagery for land cover classification

Abstract Current research into the fusion of hyperspectral imagery (HI) and full waveform LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) has relied on first processing the full waveform LiDAR (FWL) data to a set of discrete returns before merging because the data structure and sampling interval of HI and FWL are distinctly different. However, additional information about target properties can potentially be recovered if the waveform shape is preserved in the fusion process. This paper proposes a “voxelization” method to register FWL data to HI by dividing the waveform data into voxels, and then synthesizing all waveforms which intersect a voxel column into one three-dimensional superposition waveform: the synthesized waveform (SWF). A vertical energy distribution coefficients (VEDC) feature is proposed for extracting features from SWF, and then the SWF and HI are fused to form a complete feature space for classification. A pairwise classifier was adapted and completed using both Maximum Likelihood and Support Vector Machine classifiers for the combined SWF/HI features. Results show that this method of generating SWF from FWL data can effectively preserve information from the original waveforms, and the fusion of SWF and HI enhanced land cover classification compared to both using either data set alone or the merging of HI with a discrete LiDAR return point cloud.
Kinetic competition in vitro between phosphoenolpyruvate synthetase and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex from Escherichia coli.

Abstract Phosphoenolpyruvate synthetase (PEP synthetase) and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, both partially purified from lactate-grown Escherichia coli B, were assayed simultaneously in the same reaction mixture to evaluate some of the factors that must affect the partition of pyruvate between degradation and biosynthesis in vivo. The enzymes responded independently to control parameters; thus, under assay conditions in vitro there were no protein-protein interactions that affected the kinetic properties of the enzymes. When equal activities of the enzymes were present in the absence of modifiers, the two reactions proceeded at equal velocities (corresponding to equipartition of pyruvate between degradation and biosynthesis) at an energy charge value of about 0.85. At higher values of charge, conversion to PEP (which would lead in vivo to biosynthesis) predominates, and at lower values of charge the partition favors conversion to acetyl coenzyme A (which would lead in vivo to degradation of substrate and regeneration of ATP). Inhibitors of PEP synthetase (PEP, oxalacetate, and α-ketoglutarate) alter the partition ratios, increasing the fraction converted to acetyl coenzyme A at all values of energy charge. Acetyl coenzyme A, which inhibits the first enzyme of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, has the opposite effect on the partition ratio. In cultures growing on glucose, PEP synthetase has no apparent function, and the ratio of pyruvate dehydrogenase activity to that of PEP synthetase was between 10 and 20 in such cultures. In lactate-grown cultures this ratio was as high as 4 at early stages, but fell to 0.5 during growth. These variations in relative enzyme levels, together with the responses to adenylate energy charge and feedback inhibition reported here, seem well adapted for controlling the partitioning of pyruvate between degradation and biosynthesis as appropriate to the momentary metabolic needs of the cell.
Mathematical Models in Geography

This article explores the role of mathematical modeling within human geography. The focus is thematic in nature providing an overview of a highly diverse literature. The approaches to modeling in geography are organized as a typology that classifies models according to genre and applications. Key methodological challenges that distinguish geographic modeling from that practiced in other social science disciplines are discussed. These include issues related to spatial dependence, changes in geographical scale as well as the question of local contextual effects, and their treatment in geographical models. This article ends with some comments about the future prospects for geographical modeling.
Evaluating the Real Estate Journals: The Mainstream Finance Perspective

This study examines the real estate journals and discipline from the unique perspective of mainstream finance faculty. The entire academic membership of the Financial Management Association (FMA) i...
Youth News Perceptions and Behaviors Online: How Youth Access and Share Information in a Chicago Community Affected by Gang Violence

Informed by our own research and practice, the brief aims to discuss how youth define news, where they get their news from, what role social media plays in their news-seeking behavior, and why they might prefer one medium over another, depending on the context. The brief includes insights and quotes gathered through a series of in-person focus group interviews (which included a questionnaire), putting our findings in dialogue with existing literature as well as data gathered by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Six focus group interviews with 47 youth in Chicago were conducted by the Youth and Media team. The sample was primarily composed of African-American (50%) and Latino (43.5%) youth, ranging in age from 14 to 19, with a mean age of 15.74 (SD=1.29). The sample was comprised of 14 males (29.8%) and 33 females (70.2%). Most participants came from communities located on the West and South sides of Chicago, and although we did not have reliable data on their socio-economic status, it is highly likely that most participants live in low-income communities. Because our sample had very specific demographic characteristics, it is improbable that this sample can be considered representative of all Chicago youth.
Path to plastics composed of ligninsulphonates (lignosulfonates)

The properties of lignin-based polymeric materials depend on blend composition and casting conditions. When solution-cast at 150° and annealed at 180 °C, blends containing 85% w/w levels of methylated ball-milled softwood lignin can surpass polystyrene in tensile behaviour. It is more challenging to achieve similar results with comparable blends of ligninsulphonates, whether methylated or not. Nevertheless, 85% w/w ligninsulphonate-based materials containing miscible low-Tg polymers can match the tensile properties of polyethylene. The ligninsulphonate components themselves are assembled into 9–15 nm macromolecular entities, the integrities of which are maintained through strong noncovalent interactions between inner co-facially disposed aromatic rings. In contrast, the peripheral aromatic rings typically exhibit a greater incidence of less stable edge-on arrangements. An intriguing aspect of the materials that are composed solely of (unmethylated or methylated) ligninsulphonates is their insolubility in water. This observation is consistent with the absence of a discernible glass-transition temperature in the differential scanning calorimetric thermograms of ligninsulphonate-based materials when they prominently display domains maintained by strong interactions between co-facial aromatic rings. The demonstrated integrity of polymeric materials composed (almost) exclusively of simple lignin derivatives has far-reaching implications for the configurations of lignin macromolecules in general. Contrary to an enduring hypothesis proposed 55 years ago, polymer chains in lignin preparations are not covalently crosslinked, even though their conformations are clearly affected by powerful noncovalent forces between the aromatic substructures.
Analytical properties of the anisotropic PML constitutive tensors in curvilinear coordinates

The identification of the perfect matched layer (PML) absorbing boundary condition (ABC) as an analytic continuation (complex stretching approach) of Maxwell's equations (MEs) provided the basis for its extension to cylindrical, spherical, and 3D general orthogonal curvilinear coordinates (conformal mesh terminations). It was then shown that, to achieve a true PML in a curvilinear coordinate system, the metric of the space must also be properly modified since it is, in general, a function of the coordinates. The modification on the metric however, can be translated through simple field transformations to constitutive parameters of the artificial media, thereby allowing anisotropic curvilinear PML formulations. The mapping of the metric introduces additional richness in the formulation and a question naturally arises if these new artificial PML media retain the causality conditions observed by the original MEs. This leads to the study of the analytic properties of the PML tensor constitutive parameters on the complex /spl omega/ plane. We study these analytic properties for various coordinate systems. We point out conditions under which causality is violated and the consequences of on the dynamical stability on the PML-FDTD simulations. Throughout this work, the e/sup =-l/spl omega/t/ convention is used.
Role of the kidney in plasma glucose regulation during hyperglycemia

Little is known about the role of the kidney in plasma glucose regulation during hyperglycemia. We studied 12 overnight-fasted conscious dogs after either intrarenal (IR, n = 6) or peripheral (PH, ...
Extended Region of Nodulation Genes in Rhizobium meliloti 1021. I. Phenotypes of Tn5 Insertion Mutants

Rhizobium meliloti Nod(-) mutant WL131, a derivative of wild-type strain 102F51, was complemented by a clone bank of wild-type R. meliloti 1021 DNA, and clone pRmJT5 was recovered. Transfer of pRmJT5 conferred alfalfa nodulation on other Rhizobium species, indicating a role in host range determination for pRmJT5. Mutagenesis of pRmJT5 revealed several segments in which transposon insertion causes delay in nodulation, and/or marked reduction of the number of nodules formed on host alfalfa plants. The set of mutants indicated five regions in which nod genes are located; one mutant, nod-216, is located in a region not previously reported to encode a nodulation gene. Other mutant phenotypes correlated with the positions of open reading frames for nodH, nodF and nodE , and with a 2.2-kb EcoRI fragment. A mutant in nodG had no altered phenotype in this strain. One nodulation mutant was shown to be a large deletion of the common nod gene region. We present a discussion comparing the various studies made on this extended nod gene region.
Engineering the human pluripotent stem cell microenvironment to direct cell fate

Abstract Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including both embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, offer a potential cell source for research, drug screening, and regenerative medicine applications due to their unique ability to self-renew or differentiate to any somatic cell type. Before the full potential of hPSCs can be realized, robust protocols must be developed to direct their fate. Cell fate decisions are based on components of the surrounding microenvironment, including soluble factors, substrate or extracellular matrix, cell–cell interactions, mechanical forces, and 2D or 3D architecture. Depending on their spatio-temporal context, these components can signal hPSCs to either self-renew or differentiate to cell types of the ectoderm, mesoderm, or endoderm. Researchers working at the interface of engineering and biology have identified various factors which can affect hPSC fate, often based on lessons from embryonic development, and they have utilized this information to design in vitro niches which can reproducibly direct hPSC fate. This review highlights culture systems that have been engineered to promote self-renewal or differentiation of hPSCs, with a focus on studies that have elucidated the contributions of specific microenvironmental cues in the context of those culture systems. We propose the use of microsystem technologies for high-throughput screening of spatial–temporal presentation of cues, as this has been demonstrated to be a powerful approach for differentiating hPSCs to desired cell types.
Reflecting Usability Engineering Goals in Interlibrary Loan User Interfaces

Many interlibrary loan services have an online Web presence, ranging from a page of policy information to an entire Web-based system dedicated to providing interlibrary loan services. This article summarizes key themes and works in user-centered design theory and suggests ways to apply usability engineering goals to designing interlibrary loan online interfaces.