cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surface heat flux estimation with wind-profiler/RASS and radiosonde observations

A bulk ABL similarity approach was used to make regional estimates of the sensible heat flux by combining surface temperature measurements with mixed layer temperature and wind speed profiles. The mixed layer profiles were measured by a 915 MHz Profiler/Radio Acoustic Sounding System and by radiosondes in north-central Oklahoma at the ARM Southern Great Plains CART Central Facility. A comparison of calculated sensible heat flux values with regional mean values measured at two ground stations showed good agreement with r=0.88 and r=0.76 for the 915 MHz profiler and the radiosonde data sets, respectively. Estimates of friction velocity u* by means of radiosonde wind profiles gave good results when compared to values measured by an surface eddy correlation system with a correlation coefficient r=0.77. However, u* values obtained from wind profiles measured by the 915 MHz profiler were underestimated, because these velocity measurements were systematically too small. The results also show that the 915 MHz Profiler/Radio Acoustic Sounding System is capable of providing the needed temperature measurements to make reasonable regional estimates of sensible heat flux.
Interpersonal Counterproductive Work Behaviors: Distinguishing Between Person-Focused Versus Task-Focused Behaviors and Their Antecedents

This study proposes a nuanced perspective for conceptualizing interpersonal counterproductive work behaviors (ICWBs) by distinguishing them into behaviors that hinder other workers’ task performance (task-focused ICWBs), and those that are personal in nature (person-focused ICWBs). A relational stress perspective is adopted to examine work-based dependence relational stressor and negative-affect relational stressor as predictors of each category of behavior, with trait competitiveness as a moderator. Deductive and inductive approaches were used to generate items measuring each type of ICWBs, and the two-factor ICWB structure was validated using data from 136 respondents. Data from a different sample of 125 employees from two organizations were used to test the hypothesized model. Work-dependence relational stressor predicted task-focused ICWBs, while negative-affect relational stressor predicted both forms of ICWBs. Trait competitiveness moderated these relationships in different ways. This study addresses researchers’ call for fine-grained research that examines specific forms of CWBs and their underlying causes. It demonstrates that ICWBs can go beyond the traditional person-focused behaviors that target other workers’ well-being, to encompass task-focused behaviors that directly impact their performance. By revealing that different relationships at work predict such behaviors, this study informs organizations on how to manage and deter such behaviors among employees. This is the first study to distinguish ICWBs into those that are task-focused and person-focused, to provide a validated measure of these two types of behaviors, and to propose and test a model where workplace relationships differently predict such behaviors, moderated by individual’s competitiveness.
Correction for population stratification in random forest analysis.

Background Population structure (PS), including population stratification and admixture, is a significant confounder in genome-wide association studies (GWAS), as it may produce spurious associations. Random forest (RF) has been increasingly applied in GWAS data analysis because of its advantage in analysing high dimensional genetic data. RF creates importance measures for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which are helpful for feature selections. However, if PS is not appropriately corrected, RF tends to give high importance to disease-unrelated SNPs with different frequencies of allele or genotype among subpopulations, leading to inaccurate results. Methods In this study, the authors propose to correct for the confounding effect of PS by including the information of PS in RF analysis. The correction procedure starts by extracting the information of PS using EIGENSTRAT or multi-dimensional scaling clustering procedure from a large number of structure inference SNPs. Phenotype and genotypes adjusted by the information of PS are then used as the outcome and predictors in RF analysis. Results Extensive simulations indicate that the importance measure of the causal SNP is increased following the PS correction. By analysing a real dataset, the proposed correction removes the spurious association between the lactase gene and height. Conclusion The authors propose a simple method to correct for PS in RF analysis on GWAS data. Further studies in real GWAS datasets are required to validate the robustness of the proposed approach.
Genomics, genetic epidemiology, and genomic medicine

Medical science is on the threshold of unparalleled progress as a result of the advent of genomics and related disciplines. Human genomics, the study of structure, function, and interactions of all genes in the human genome, promises to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. This opportunity is the result of the recent completion of the Human Genome Project. It is anticipated that genomics will bring to physicians a powerful means to discover hereditary elements that interact with environmental factors leading to disease. However, the expected transformation toward genomics-based medicine will occur over decades. It will require efforts of many scientists and physicians to begin now to sort out the vast amounts of information in the human genome and translate it to meaningful applications in clinical practice. Meanwhile, practicing physicians and health professionals need to be trained in the principles, applications, and limitations of genomics and genomic medicine. Only then will we be in a position to benefit patients, which is the ultimate goal of accelerating scientific progress in medicine. In this inaugural article, we introduce and discuss concepts, facts, and methods of genomics and genetic epidemiology that will be drawn on in the forthcoming topics of the clinical genomics series.
Joint dictionary learning and topic modeling for image clustering

A new Bayesian model is proposed, integrating dictionary learning and topic modeling into a unified framework. The model is applied to cluster multiple images, and a subset of the images may be annotated. Example results are presented on the MNIST digit data and on the Microsoft MSRC multi-scene image data. These results reveal the working mechanisms of the model and demonstrate state-of-the-art performance.
A study of West Virginia State Police Academy graduates' perceptions of their degrees of competence and the relevance of the Marshall University Community and Technical College police science curriculum

A Study of West Virginia State Police Academy Graduate’s Perceptions of Their Degrees of Competence and the Relevance of the Marshall University Community and Technical College Police Science Curriculum This study investigated the perceptions of graduates of the West Virginia State Police Academy regarding the relevance of the higher education police science curriculum as well as their perceived degrees of competence. The population of the study consisted of four selected cadet classes that were employed full time as West Virginia State Police Troopers in February 2003, N=153. Participants completed a survey questionnaire adapted from Brand & Peak (1995). Additionally, three open-ended questions were addressed by the survey. The survey measured the graduates' perception of the relevance of coursework and their degrees of competence. Data analyses suggested the graduates perceived the curriculum as relevant as well as perceiving themselves to be competent graduates.
TYPICAL AND ATYPICAL PRESENTATIONS OF GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE: The Role of Esophageal Testing in Diagnosis and Management

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common disease with many typical and atypical forms of presentation. In the classic presentations of GERD with heartburn and regurgitation, esophageal testing, except for endoscopy, is only required for poorly responding patients or prior to surgical therapy. The atypical presentations of GERD, including chest pain, asthma, and ear, nose, and throat complaints, frequently are not associated with heartburn or regurgitation. Esophageal testing, particularly 24-hour pH monitoring is key to making the diagnosis and ensuring adequate acid suppression.
OutFOXing Myeloid Cells in Atherosclerosis With FoxOs

Compelling experimental and human studies implicate myeloid-driven inflammation as a significant component in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis and a range of other chronic inflammatory diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome. Indeed, elevated circulating white blood cell (WBC) count is a strong predictor of coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality independent of traditional risk factors, an association that has been observed across sexes, age, and diverse ethnic populations over the past 4 decades.1,2 Elevated monocyte counts may also correlate with cardiovascular risk better than other WBC subsets.3 Accumulating studies have recognized specific circulating myeloid cells, such as Ly-6C+ monocytes in mice and CD14+CD16+ subsets in humans, as potential instigators of atherosclerotic lesion formation and insulin resistance.4 The importance of the number of peripheral monocytic cells as a contributor to lesion formation was highlighted, in part, using op/op mice that bear a mutation in the coding region for macrophage colony-stimulating factor; op/op mice bred onto atherosclerotic-prone mice exhibited marked reductions in lesion formation.5 Subsequent experimental studies demonstrated that reduction in the number of peripheral myeloid cells in the circulation pharmacologically also attenuated the development of vascular inflammatory disease.6 However, identification of the downstream transcriptional regulators that govern peripheral myeloid cell numbers and function in the context of atherosclerosis remain poorly understood. Article, see p 992 In this issue of Circulation Research , Tsuchiya7 reveals an important role for the forkhead box O (FoxO) family of transcription factors, namely FoxO1, FoxO3a, and FoxO4, in controlling the number of circulating myeloid cells and effects on atherosclerosis and insulin resistance. Specifically, myeloid ablation of all 3 FoxO isoforms increased the proliferation rate of granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (GMPs) in the bone marrow, resulting in elevated peripheral numbers of monocytes …
Influence of Spermatozoa Numbers and Insemination Frequency on Fertility in Dwarf Broiler Breeder Hens

Abstract The effects of hen age (28 to 31 vs. 49 to 52 weeks of age), sperm concentration (dose used for artificial insemination), and frequency of insemination on fertility and embryonic survival of dwarf broiler breeder hens were examined. Hens in Groups 1 and 2 were inseminated weekly with single doses of either 250 million (Group 1) or 125 million (Group 2) sperm during the 4 weeks of each period. Hens in Groups 3 and 4 were inseminated every other week with duplicate doses on 2 consecutive days, with 250 million sperm/dose in Group 3 and 125 million/dose in Group 4. Hens in Groups 5 and 6 were inseminated weekly with either 250 million (Group 5) or 125 million (Group 6) sperm/dose, except the 1st week of each period when they received duplicate doses as in Groups 3 and 4. In Groups 1 and 2, insemination with weekly single doses of semen (250 or 125 million sperm) had no significant effect on fertility of young or old hens. Percent fertility during the 2nd week after artificial insemination was lower in Group 4 than in Group 3 (73.0 vs. 82.9 in young hens and 70.4 vs. 80.7 in old hens). There were no significant differences in fertility between semen doses or age periods in Groups 5 and 6. In these two groups, overall fertility ranged from 94.3 to 95.9%. Complementary studies on individual fertility and embryonic survival showed the beneficial effects of duplicate followed by single inseminations of moderate doses (125 million sperm) practiced at weekly intervals in old hens. This method should be of practical application in commercial practice.
Intergovernmental Management: A View from the Bottom

Intergovernmental management is more than just intergovernmental relationships involving the federal government. Though Professor McGuire agrees that the federal government has become more intrusive and opportunistic since the mid-20th century—resulting in less cooperative intergovernmental relations—he argues that collaborative management is much more prevalent than it is depicted in Dr. Conlan’s analysis. A bottom-up view suggests that local and regional activity can be both opportunistic and collaborative, and such a perspective must be considered in any discussion of managing federalism.
Stock Rationing in an M/Ek/1 Make-to-Stock Queue

This paper considers the stock rationing problem of a single-item, make-to-stock production system with several demand classes and lost sales. When demand is Poisson and processing time has an Erlang distribution, we show that a single-state variable called work storage level can be employed to completely capture the information regarding inventory level and the status of current production. The optimal rationing policy can be characterized by a sequence of monotone critical work storage levels. For each demand class, there exists a work storage level at or below which it is optimal to start rejecting the demand of this class in anticipation of future arrival of higher-priority demands. The optimal production policy can also be characterized by a critical work storage level. Our numerical examples indicate that a critical stock level policy, which ignores information on the status of current production, performs very well.
Bias associated with mining electronic health records.

Large-scale electronic health record research introduces biases compared to traditional manually curated retrospective research. We used data from a community-acquired pneumonia study for which we had a gold standard to illustrate such biases. The challenges include data inaccuracy, incompleteness, and complexity, and they can produce in distorted results. We found that a naive approach approximated the gold standard, but errors on a minority of cases shifted mortality substantially. Manual review revealed errors in both selecting and characterizing the cohort, and narrowing the cohort improved the result. Nevertheless, a significantly narrowed cohort might contain its own biases that would be difficult to estimate.
A Combined Local and Nonlocal Closure Model for the Atmospheric Boundary Layer. Part I: Model Description and Testing

The modeling of the atmospheric boundary layer during convective conditions has long been a major source of uncertainty in the numerical modeling of meteorological conditions and air quality. Much of the difficulty stems from the large range of turbulent scales that are effective in the convective boundary layer (CBL). Both small-scale turbulence that is subgrid in most mesoscale grid models and large-scale turbulence extending to the depth of the CBL are important for the vertical transport of atmospheric properties and chemical species. Eddy diffusion schemes assume that all of the turbulence is subgrid and therefore cannot realistically simulate convective conditions. Simple nonlocal closure PBL models, such as the Blackadar convective model that has been a mainstay PBL option in the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5) for many years and the original asymmetric convective model (ACM), also an option in MM5, represent large-scale transport driven by convective plumes but neglect small-scale, subgrid turbulent mixing. A new version of the ACM (ACM2) has been developed that includes the nonlocal scheme of the original ACM combined with an eddy diffusion scheme. Thus, the ACM2 is able to represent both the supergrid- and subgrid-scale components of turbulent transport in the convective boundary layer. Testing the ACM2 in one-dimensional form and comparing it with large-eddy simulations and field data from the 1999 Cooperative Atmosphere–Surface Exchange Study demonstrates that the new scheme accurately simulates PBL heights, profiles of fluxes and mean quantities, and surface-level values. The ACM2 performs equally well for both meteorological parameters (e.g., potential temperature, moisture variables, and winds) and trace chemical concentrations, which is an advantage over eddy diffusion models that include a nonlocal term in the form of a gradient adjustment.
A Guide for Developing Social and Leisure Programs for Students with Autism

The lack of social, social communication, and leisure skills appears to be a major reason for autistic people to fail in their families, schools, and jobs. Clearly, if autistic people are to be kept in our communities, the teaching of these skills must be a priority. If age-appropriate leisure skills are not taught and generalized in real community environments, then the myth of incompetence that surrounds severely handicapped people will be perpetuated (Wehman, Schleien, & Kiernan, 1980). This chapter presents suggestions from a guide that has been developed for teaching social, social communication, and leisure skills to autistic students.
Axitinib (AG-013736; AG) in combination with paclitaxel (P)/carboplatin (C) in patients (pts) with advanced solid tumors

A157 Background: AG isan oral, potent and selective inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1, 2, 3. An initial phase I study of single-agent AG in solid tumors identified 5 mg BID as the recommended phase II starting dose. A purpose of this phase I study was to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics (PK) of AG, P and C (individually and in combination) in pts with advanced solid tumors. Methods: Pts received AG BID orally in combination with P (200 mg/m2; 3-hour infusion) and C (AUC 6 mg*min/mL; 30-minute infusion) every 3 weeks. On chemotherapy days, pts received lead-in AG doses of 1 mg, 3 mg and 5 mg BID in cohorts 1, 2, and 3 respectively. AG was increased to 5 mg BID post the lead-in period for all cohorts. Results: 13 pts are evaluable with demographics M:F = 8:5; Caucasian 85%, median age 60 (range 37-75); PS 0-1 100%. Primary tumor sites: ovarian (3), NSCLC (2), melanoma (4), head and neck (2), RCC (1), unknown primary (1). Treatment-related adverse events (AEs) included hypertension (54%), fatigue (54%), hand-foot syndrome (38%), proteinuria (38%), diarrhea (31%), epistaxis (31%), and rash (31%). AEs were generally CTC grade 1-2 and manageable. One DLT of febrile neutropenic fever was observed. Antitumor activity included 1 CR, 6 PR, and 4 SD out of 13 evaluable patients. PK results were obtained from 12 pts to date. P and C PK parameters and plasma profiles were similar in the presence of AG in all three cohorts and were pooled across all 3 cohorts. Mean (±SD) plasma AUCinf for P alone without AG was 21983 ± 7346 vs 18984 ± 5969 ng.h/mL with AG. The mean AUCinf for C alone (measured as total platinum in plasma ultrafiltrate) without AG was 40467 ± 12089 vs 45690 ± 11653 ng.h/mL with AG. All other PK parameters for P and C were similar with and without AG. In addition, AG plasma PK parameters and plasma profiles at all 3 doses appeared unchanged with and without P/C. Conclusion: The combination of AG at a starting dose of 5 mg BID with P/C is feasible and appears to have promising antitumor activity. Mean PK parameters of AG (up to the full 5 mg BID starting dose) and P/C are unaltered when administered in combination.
PORTER: a Prototype System for Patient-Oriented Radiology Reporting

To empower patients to participate in their medical care and decision-making, effective communication is critical. In radiology, the clinical report is the primary medium of communication. Although radiologists historically have authored reports with the referring provider as the intended reader, patients increasingly access the reports through portals to electronic health record systems. We developed a system named PORTER (Patient-Oriented Radiology Reporter) to augment radiology reports with lay-language definitions. Our IRB-approved, HIPAA-compliant study protocol analyzed 100 knee MRI reports from an academic medical center to identify the most commonly utilized terms. A glossary of 313 terms was constructed to include definitions of the terms and, where available, links to reference sources and public-domain images. Flesch-Kincaid readability scores were computed to assure that definitions were readable at or below 10th-grade reading level. The system provided an interactive web site to view outpatient knee MRI exams. After logging in with their exam ID number and date of birth, patients viewed their report annotated with definitions from the glossary. Applicable images were displayed when the user's mouse hovered over a glossary term. This patient-oriented system can help empower patients to better understand their radiology results.
Abstract W P149: Ethnic Disparities In Stroke Related In-Hospital Mortality In Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Background: Improved strategies are needed to stratify the risk of stroke in atrial fibrillation. While stroke-related mortality is higher in African Americans, it is unclear whether stroke related mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation differs among different ethnicities. We aim to study race/gender disparities in stroke related in-hospital mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation. Method: Data were obtained from the California State Inpatient Database between 2008-2011, using appropriate ICD-9 codes. Frequencies and descriptive analysis adjusting for influence of comorbidities and confounders were utilized. Age and ICD-9 codes for hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure and prior stroke were used to calculate the CHADS2 score of patients with atrial fibrillation. A multivariate Cox regression model was used to further explore the relationship. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. We hypothesized that higher CHADS2 scores increase the risk of stroke among African Americans due to increased disease burden. Results: Between 2008 and 2011, 18,089 patients with atrial fibrillation had a stroke, 70% were Whites, 5% African Americans, 15% Hispanics and 10% Asians. 57% were females, and 66% of the population were 75 years of age and older. After adjusting for baseline demographics, there was no significant difference in the the odds of in-hospital stroke mortality, with Whites taken as reference (African Americans OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.83-1.05; Hispanics OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.94-1.10; Asians OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.98-1.17). There was no significant difference in the odds of in-hospital stroke mortality between males and females (Males OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.92-1.02). Conclusion: Our results indicate that in a large, statewide database, the in-hospital stroke mortality among the different races with stroke during hospitalization was not significantly different as compared to Whites.
Urate Transporters: Transforming the Face of Hyperuricemia and Gout

> …the causes which predispose to gout…are either such as produce an increased formation of uric acid in the system, or which lead to its retention in the blood. > > — A.B. Garrod, 1863 1 Although some readers of The Journal may find the September article by Torres, et al 2 a challenge, we believe the effort to persevere will be well worth it. This is because the report nicely illustrates how the burgeoning field of analysis of common variants in gene sequences (polymorphisms), when combined with scrupulous attention to the clinical characteristics of affected patients, can simplify and extend understanding of complicated disease mechanisms and, potentially, contribute to more informed clinical evaluation and management decisions. The disease at issue here is gout, an inflammatory metabolic disorder afflicting over 8 million of the estimated 40 million hyperuricemic American adults. Before discussing the Torres, et al report2, we present an historical overview of the pathogenesis of hyperuricemia and gout, with the aim of providing a context for work described therein. That hyperuricemia is a necessary, but not sufficient, risk factor for gout was postulated in 1859 and 1863 by A.B. Garrod1, who also proposed that crystals of “urate of soda” deposited in tissues were the cause of gouty inflammation and could remain for protracted periods, causing local destruction (tophaceous gout). An additional remarkable insight was that “…the kidneys are implicated in gout, probably in its early, but certainly in its chronic stages, and the renal affection, perhaps only functional at first, subsequently becomes structural….” As affirmed above, Garrod also clearly recognized the distinction between gout arising from uric acid overproduction and from impaired uric acid elimination. Garrod’s exposition of the hyperuricemia, urate crystal deposition, and acute and chronic inflammation pathogenetic triad in gout was verified and extended over the next century, particularly in the … Address correspondence to Dr. Becker, 237 East Delaware Place, Chicago, IL 60637-1713, USA. E-mail: becker{at}medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
EAP Research: The State of the Art

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are a popular form of employee benefit that provides counseling services for employees with personal problems that may affect them at work. Although most EAPs focus on problems related to substance abuse among employees, some EAP administrators have expanded their programs to include Wellness Programs for active fitness and health management and Health Promotion programs which educate employees about health, fitness, nutrition, and mental health concerns (Masi, 1984). By enhancing their programs, program administrators are reaching out to low risk employees that traditional EAPs do not normally contact This paper examines existing research on EAPs that may help explain the current status of the EAP profession and suggests areas for additional research with pragmatic applications.
PerfCompass: Online Performance Anomaly Fault Localization and Inference in Infrastructure-as-a-Service Clouds

Infrastructure-as-a-service clouds are becoming widely adopted. However, resource sharing and multi-tenancy have made performance anomalies a top concern for users. Timely debugging those anomalies is paramount for minimizing the performance penalty for users. Unfortunately, this debugging often takes a long time due to the inherent complexity and sharing nature of cloud infrastructures. When an application experiences a performance anomaly, it is important to distinguish between faults with a global impact and faults with a local impact as the diagnosis and recovery steps for faults with a global impact or local impact are quite different. In this paper, we present PerfCompass, an online performance anomaly fault debugging tool that can quantify whether a production-run performance anomaly has a global impact or local impact. PerfCompass can use this information to suggest the root cause as either an external fault (e.g., environment-based) or an internal fault (e.g., software bugs). Furthermore, PerfCompass can identify top affected system calls to provide useful diagnostic hints for detailed performance debugging. PerfCompass does not require source code or runtime application instrumentation, which makes it practical for production systems. We have tested PerfCompass by running five common open source systems (e.g., Apache, MySQL, Tomcat, Hadoop, Cassandra) inside a virtualized cloud testbed. Our experiments use a range of common infrastructure sharing issues and real software bugs. The results show that PerfCompass accurately classifies 23 out of the 24 tested cases without calibration and achieves 100 percent accuracy with calibration. PerfCompass provides useful diagnosis hints within several minutes and imposes negligible runtime overhead to the production system during normal execution time.
Skiing by the physically handicapped.

Physically handicapped individuals can ski by using ski sleds or three-track skiing. Skiing events and ski instruction programs for the disabled are described in detail. Participation in winter sports provides the handicapped individual with psychological impetus and rehabilitation.
Interaction of turbulent premixed flames with combustion products: Role of stoichiometry

Abstract Stabilization methods of turbulent flames often involve mixing of reactants with hot products of combustion. The stabilizing effect of combustion product enthalpy has been long recognized, but the role played by the chemical composition of the product gases is typically overlooked. We employ a counterflow system to pinpoint the effects of the combustion product stoichiometry on the structure of turbulent premixed flames under conditions of both stable burning and local extinction. To that end, a turbulent jet of lean-to-rich, CH 4 /O 2 /N 2 -premixed reactants at a turbulent Reynolds number of 1050 was opposed to a stream of hot products of combustion that were generated in a preburner. While the combustion product stream temperature was kept constant, its stoichiometry was varied independently from that of the reactant stream, leading to reactant-to-product stratification of relevance to practical combustion systems. The detailed structure of the turbulent flame front was analyzed in two series of experiments using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF): joint CH 2 O LIF and OH LIF measurements and joint CO LIF and OH LIF measurements. Results revealed that a decrease in local CH 2 O+OH and CO+OH reaction rates coincide with the depletion of OH radicals in the vicinity of the combustion product stream. These critical combustion reaction rates were more readily quenched in the presence of products of combustion from a stoichiometric flame, whereas they were favored by lean combustion products. As a result, stoichiometric combustion products contributed to a greater occurrence of local extinction. Furthermore, they limited the capacity of premixed reactants to ignite and of the turbulent premixed flames to stabilize. In contrast, lean and rich combustion products facilitated flame ignition and stability and reduced the rate of local extinction. The influence of the combustion product stream on the turbulent flame front was limited to a zone of approximately two millimeters from the gas mixing layer interface (GMLI) of the product stream. Flame fronts that were separated from the GMLI by larger distances were unaffected by the product stream stoichiometry.
Fluorescent flavonoids for endoplasmic reticulum cell imaging

Visualization of subcellular organelles in vivo is critical for basic biomedical research and clinical applications. Two new flavonoids with an amide substituent were synthesized and characterized. The flavonoids were nearly non-fluorescent in aqueous environment, but exhibited two emission peaks (one λem at 495-536 nm and the other at 570-587 nm) in organic solvents, which were assigned to the excited normal (N*) and tautomer (T*) emission. When the dyes were examined on oligodendrocyte cells, they were found to selectively accumulate in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a eukaryotic organelle involved in lipid and protein synthesis, giving fluorescence turn-on. The ER-selective flavonoids could be a valuable tool due to its low molecular mass (<500), large Stokes' shift, low toxicity, and biocompatibility.
Race Differentiation Based on Raman Spectroscopy of Semen Traces for Forensic Purposes

Several novel methods to determine externally visible characteristics of body fluid donors have been developed in recent years. These tests can help forensic investigators make predictions about the appearance of a suspect or victim, such as their sex, race, hair color, or age. While their potential benefit is undeniable, these methods destroy the physical evidence in the process. Raman spectroscopy has recently been used as a nondestructive technique to test for many of these characteristics. Here, we present the results from a study to determine the race of semen donors. Using Raman spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis, we were able to build a statistical model that accurately identified the race of all 18 semen donors in the calibration data set, as well as seven additional external validation donors. These results demonstrate Raman spectroscopy’s potential to differentiate Caucasian and Black semen donors using chemometrics.
Surface Induced Dissociation in Mass Spectrometry

The concept and exploitation of surface-induced ion dissociation as a means for fragmentation in mass spectrometry is described. The various types of reaction that can occur and the versions of instrumentation are both covered. A comparison is made with collision-induced dissociation. Some illustrative applications are given.
Relationship between degree of obstruction and airflow limitation in subglottic stenosis.

Objectives Subglottic stenosis (SGS) is one of the most common airway disorders in pediatric patients. Currently, treatment decisions rely primarily on the Cotton-Myer scale, which classifies SGS severity based on percentage reduction in airspace cross-sectional area (CSA). However, the precise relationship between upper airway resistance and subglottic CSA is unknown. We hypothesize that airway resistance can be described by the Bernoulli Obstruction Theory, which predicts that airway resistance is inversely proportional to airspace CSA ( R∝A-1) in cases of severe constriction. Methods Computed tomography (CT) scans of six healthy subjects and five SGS patients were used to create three-dimensional models of the respiratory tract from nostrils to carina. Cylindrical segments of varying lengths and varying diameters were digitally inserted in the subglottis of the healthy subjects to create simulated SGS models. Computational fluid dynamics simulations were run, and airway resistance was computed in the simulated SGS models and actual SGS models. Results Constriction diameter had a greater impact in airway resistance than constriction length. In agreement with the Bernoulli Obstruction Theory, airway resistance in the simulated SGS models was well represented by the power law R=aAb, where a is a constant and the exponent b ranged from -0.85 to -1.07. The percentage reduction in airflow (QOBSTRUCTIONQHEALTHY) at a constant pressure drop was found to be directly proportional to the percentage reduction in CSA (AOBSTRUCTIONAHEALTHY) in the limit of severe constrictions, namely QOBSTRUCTIONQHEALTHY=kAOBSTRUCTIONAHEALTHY, where k=2.25 ± 0.15. Airway resistances in the simulated SGS models were similar to resistances in models based on CT scans of actual SGS patients, suggesting that our simulated SGS models were representative of airway resistance in actual SGS patients. Conclusion Our computer simulations suggest that the degree of airflow limitation in SGS patients may be estimated based on anatomic measurements alone. Future studies are recommended to test these predictions in larger cohorts. Level of evidence 4. Laryngoscope, 128:1551-1557, 2018.
Apoptotic Regulatory T Cells Retain Suppressive Function through Adenosine.

Regulatory T cells maintain tolerance and prevent autoimmunity, but their suppressive effects can hinder immune responses against cancer. In Nature Immunology, Maj et al., 2017 report that regulatory T cells can execute these actions through the nucleoside adenosine even after cell death.
A $K_{{u}}$ -Band CMOS FMCW Radar Transceiver for Snowpack Remote Sensing

This paper presents a $K_{u}$ -band (14–16 GHz) CMOS frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar transceiver developed to measure dry-snow depth for water management purposes and to aid in retrieval of snow water equivalent. An on-chip direct digital frequency synthesizer and digital-to-analog converter digitally generates a chirping waveform which then drives a ring oscillator-based $K_{u}$ -Band phase-locked loop to provide the final $K_{u}$ -band FMCW signal. Employing a ring oscillator as opposed to a tuned inductor-based oscillator (LC-VCO) allows the radar to achieve wide chirp bandwidth resulting in a higher axial resolution (7.5 cm), which is needed to accurately quantify the snowpack profile. The demonstrated radar chip is fabricated in a 65-nm CMOS process. The chip consumes 252.4 mW of power under 1.1-V supply, making its payload requirements suitable for observations from a small unmanned aerial vehicle.
Toward broadband vibration energy harvesting via mechanical motion-rectification induced inertia nonlinearity

Broad frequency bandwidth is a desired feature for most energy harvesting systems. Rotational electromagnetic generators are widely used in energy harvesting systems and the generator rotor is considered as an inerter. While a lot of research striving for increasing frequency bandwidth, we found out that the inerter makes the bandwidth narrow. To solve this problem, this paper proposes using inertia nonlinearity which is realized by mechanical motion rectification (MMR). The influence of the MMR on energy harvesting performance in inerter-based systems was numerically and experimentally investigated with harmonic excitations of constant displacement amplitude. Simulation is done by transforming the mechanical system to an analogous electrical system. The simulation results show that the bandwidth of the MMR based system is broader than that of the counterpart without MMR. System parameter was identified by parameter fitting and experiment was conducted to verify the numerical simulation. Moreover, in the MMR based system, the force transmitted from the harvester to the base was decreased compared to the counterpart without MMR. For excitations with constant force amplitude, MMR based energy harvesting systems also have much broader frequency bandwidth compared to the counterpart without MMR.
When is it best to learn with all worked examples

Worked examples have repeatedly demonstrated learning benefits in a range of studies, particularly with low prior knowledge students and when the examples are presented in alternating fashion with problems to solve. Recently, worked examples alternating with intelligently-tutored problems have been shown to provide at least as much learning benefit to students as all tutored problems, with the advantage of taking significantly less learning time (i.e., more efficiency) than all tutored problems. Given prior findings, together with the prevailing belief that students should be prompted to actively solve problems after studying examples, rarely have all worked examples been tried as a learning intervention. To test the conventional wisdom, as well as to explore an understudied approach, a study was conducted with 145 high school students in the domain of chemistry to compare alternating worked examples / tutored problems, all tutored problems, and all worked examples. It was hypothesized that the alternating condition would lead to better results (i.e., better learning and/or learning efficiency) than either all examples or all tutored problems. However, the hypothesis was not confirmed: While all three conditions learned roughly the same amount, the all worked examples condition took significantly less time and was a more efficient learning treatment than either alternating examples/tutored problems or all tutored problems. This paper posits an explanation for why this (seemingly) surprising result was found.
Using Article IV of the Illinois Constitution to Attack Legislation Passed by the General Assembly

Otto von Bismarck famously declared that “[l]aws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.”1 Imagine what the great nineteenth century Prussian would say today about the Illinois General Assembly. Each year, thousands of bills are introduced in the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate, and several hundred are usually passed and signed into law by the governor. Sometimes, those aggrieved by their enactment challenge the constitutionality of these bills. Many are familiar with the substantive bases for challenging a legislative enactment—it violates the First Amendment, or Equal Protection, or, in the case of tax legislation, the so-called Uniformity Clause. However, fewer people understand that it is also possible to challenge a legislative enactment on procedural grounds. Such a challenge can be raised when the process used by the General Assembly, and perhaps the governor, in conducting business and enacting laws is inconsistent with specific requirements set forth in article IV of the Illinois Constitution. Aggrieved parties and their attorneys should take note of these nonsubstantive provisions that provide alternative grounds on which newly enacted state laws may be invalidated. The procedural and substantive safeguards built into the legislative article of the constitution are the best, but perhaps most under-utilized, tools against the United States Supreme Court’s famous warning more than 140 years ago: “[n]o man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.”2 This Article will discuss the various methods that may be employed under article IV of the Illinois Constitution—the legislative article—for
Forensic Issues in Head Trauma

Specific concerns have arisen over the past few years in the application of the rapidly developing field of clinical neuropsychology to the legal setting. Due to the intrinsic nature of head trauma, a significant and increasing number of these types of cases eventually have legal implications.
I heard it through the grapevine: Where and what parents learn about youth mental health treatments.

Objective This study investigates where parents learn about, and what parents know about child mental health services. Parents who are better informed about mental health services may be more likely to utilize services for their children. Methods In a national online survey, 196 parents of children between the ages of 4 and 17 years reported on their information-seeking behaviors and their familiarity and experience with psychosocial approaches. Results Parents reported utilizing multiple information sources with mental health providers, pediatricians, and social networks being the most prominent. Parents' trust in different sources varied, with parents generally trusting healthcare professionals the most. Parents exposed to mental health services were more aware of specific therapeutic approaches. Conclusions Data on how parents receive and understand mental health-related information contributes to ongoing dissemination and implementation efforts.
The labor of care: filipina migrants and transnational families in the digital age/A nation on the line: a nation on the line: call centers as postcolonial predicaments in the Philippines

Jan M. Padios and Valerie Francisco-Menchavez vividly illuminate in each of their ethnographic accounts the effects of globalization on the daily lives of Filipinos, both migrant and nonmigrant, by...
Capacitive Coupling in EMI Filters Containing T-Shaped Joint: Mechanism, Effects, and Mitigation

The attenuation performance of an electromagnetic interference filter can be significantly degraded by coupling, parasitics, and frequency-dependent nonlinearity, especially in high frequency (HF) range. This article reveals and investigates a mutual capacitive coupling effect in the popular filter structures with T-shaped joint. The mechanism is explained and the impact on filter attenuation is analyzed, which show this coupling is the dominant cause of performance degradation of T-shaped filters and a major cause for other T-shape-related filters. The effect patterns for both common-mode (CM) and differential-mode (DM) filters are analytically derived and further examined in multistage filter structures. Mitigation solutions using PCB slits and grounded shielding are proposed to improve filter transfer gain up to 30 dB in the HF range. A topological strategy is also presented, further enhancing filter attenuation. In addition, the impact of relative positions of the inductors on the coupling capacitance is discussed, and five positions are experimentally studied and compared. Experimental results obtained from three-phase LCL and LCLC filters verify the significance of this coupling and the effectiveness of the mitigation methods.
Tool to improve qualitative assessment of left ventricular systolic function

Interactive online learning tools have revolutionized graduate medical education and can impart echocardiographic image interpretive skills. We created self-paced, interactive online training modules using a repository of echocardiography videos of normal and various degrees of abnormal left ventricles. In this study, we tested the feasibility of this learning tool. Thirteen anesthesia interns took a pre-test and then had 3 weeks to complete the training modules on their own time before taking a post-test. The average score on the post-test (74.6% ± 11.08%) was higher than the average score on the pre-test (57.7% ± 9.27%) (P < 0.001). Scores did not differ between extreme function (severe dysfunction or hyperdynamic function) and non-extreme function (normal function or mild or moderate dysfunction) questions on both the pre-test (P = 0.278) and post-test (P = 0.093). The interns scored higher on the post-test than the pre-test on both extreme (P = 0.0062) and non-extreme (P = 0.0083) questions. After using an online educational tool that allowed learning on their own time and pace, trainees improved their ability to correctly categorize left ventricular systolic function. Left ventricular systolic function is often a key echocardiographic question that can be difficult to master. The promising performance of this educational resource may lead to more time- and cost-effective methods for improving diagnostic accuracy among learners.
Early weight gain predicts treatment response in adolescents with anorexia nervosa enrolled in a family‐based partial hospitalization program

Objective Improved treatment outcome in family-based treatment (FBT) for anorexia nervosa (AN) is predicted by weight gain occurring early in the course of treatment (i.e., about 4 lbs by week 4). Although prior work suggests that early weight gain in higher levels of care (e.g., partial hospitalization programs [PHP]) predicts weight restoration at discharge, no study has examined the specific rate of gain within FBT-informed PHP programs that best predicts treatment response. Method This study examined rate of weight gain in pounds and percent expected body weight (EBW) that predicts positive outcome in 70 patients (M age = 15.49 years, SD = 2.56) with AN who were enrolled in a family-based PHP. Results Receiver operator characteristic analyses demonstrated that changes in %EBW during weeks 2-5 were more useful than changes in weight in predicting positive outcome. Gaining at least 8.9 pounds or over 8% of EBW in the first 4 weeks of treatment significantly predicted positive outcome. Discussion Findings suggest that positive outcome in an FBT-informed PHP is predicted by rapid weight gain in the initial weeks of treatment. Research is needed to identify specific family and patient characteristics that facilitate weight gain and to develop corresponding interventions to improve outcome.
Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (Revised)

This chapter discusses technical aspects of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (revised) including instrumentation and equipment; patient positioning; dissection; pouch, Roux limb and alimentary limb, gastrojejunostomy, and jejuno-jejunostomy and common channel creation; hemostasis, EGD, and drainage; and wound closure.
Fiber bundle codes: breaking the n1/2 polylog(n) barrier for Quantum LDPC codes

We present a quantum LDPC code family that has distance Ω(N3/5/polylog(N)) and Θ(N3/5) logical qubits, where N is the code length. This is the first quantum LDPC code construction that achieves distance greater than N1/2 polylog(N). The construction is based on generalizing the homological product of codes to a fiber bundle.