cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Management of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure in the Newborn: Impact of Lecture-based Interactive Workshops on Training for Neonatal Intensive Care Nurses

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine how training imparted via structured workshops related to management of continuouspositive airway pressure in the newborn affects the knowledge of neonatal intensive care nurses. Methods: A group of nurses attended an interactive lecture-based workshop on management of continuous positive airway pressure in the newborn. The nurses in question had accepted an invitation to the presentation prior to the training event. Information on the participants’ differentiating features was collected via a questionnaire prepared by the researchers themselves. An evaluation of the nurses’ knowledge on the subject was performed through a multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ) prepared by the researchers in relation to the literature. After the MCQ wasprepared, it was mailed to experts in Turkey (7 people) and experts from abroad (5 people), and their opinions were considered. In light of their suggestions, the MCQ was given its final form and the number of questions was set at 20. The MCQ consisting of 20 questions was answered by the participants before and after the interactive workshop. The participants were not informed as to whether or not the test would be repeated after the training. Results: Thirty-six nurses from the neonatal unit took part in the study. Each question in the MCQ was considered as one (1) point. The maximum possible score on the test was 20. There was a significant improvement in the mean test score after the lecture, when compared to the pre-lecture score (Mean = 19.6, SD=0.8 vs. Mean =13.1, SD=3.0, P<0.001). Conclusions: A lecture-based inter active workshop on management of continuous positive airway pressure in newborns helps to improve nurses’ knowledge. It also helps to overcome deficiencies in nurse training. DOI: 10.5294/aqui.2016.16.2.4
From farm to fork: how spatial-temporal data can accelerate foodborne illness investigation in a global food supply chain

Foodborne disease is a global public health problem that affects millions of people every year. During a foodborne illness outbreak, rapid identification of contaminated food is vital to minimize illness, loss and impact on society. Public health officials face a significant challenge and long delays in obtaining critical information to help identify a contaminated product using traditional methods such as surveys and questionnaires. We propose a novel approach mapping geo-coded sales data against geo-coded confirmed case reports, which has the potential to reduce the time required for foodborne illness investigation. Using real grocery retail scanner data with spatial information from Germany, we have implemented a likelihood-based framework to study how such spatial data can be used to accelerate the investigation during the early stages of an outbreak. Our analysis shows that after receiving as few as 10 laboratory confirmed case reports it is possible to narrow the investigation to approximately 12 suspect products with the contaminated product included in this subset 90% of the time for approximately 80% of food products studied.
Advanced positive airway pressure modes: adaptive servo ventilation and volume assured pressure support.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Volume assured pressure support (VAPS) and adaptive servo ventilation (ASV) are non-invasive positive airway pressure (PAP) modes with sophisticated negative feedback control systems (servomechanism), having the capability to self-adjust in real time its respiratory controlled variables to patient’s respiratory fluctuations. However, the widespread use of VAPS and ASV is limited by scant clinical experience, high costs, and the incomplete understanding of propriety algorithmic differences in devices’ response to patient’s respiratory changes. Hence, we will review and highlight similarities and differences in technical aspects, control algorithms, and settings of each mode, focusing on the literature search published in this area.Areas covered: One hundred twenty relevant articles were identified by Scopus, PubMed, and Embase databases from January 2010 to 2016, using a combination of MeSH terms and keywords. Articles were further supplemented by pearling. Recommendations were based ...
Coordinated Concurrent Programming in Syndicate

Most programs interact with the world: via graphical user interfaces, networks, etc. This form of interactivity entails concurrency, and concurrent program components must coordinate their computations. This paper presents Syndicate, a novel design for a coordinated, concurrent programming language. Each concurrent component in Syndicate is a functional actor that participates in scoped conversations. The medium of conversation arranges for message exchanges and coordinates access to common knowledge. As such, Syndicate occupies a novel point in this design space, halfway between actors and threads.
Visualization by Demonstration: An Interaction Paradigm for Visual Data Exploration

Although data visualization tools continue to improve, during the data exploration process many of them require users to manually specify visualization techniques, mappings, and parameters. In response, we present the Visualization by Demonstration paradigm, a novel interaction method for visual data exploration. A system which adopts this paradigm allows users to provide visual demonstrations of incremental changes to the visual representation. The system then recommends potential transformations ( Visual Representation, Data Mapping, Axes, and View Specification transformations ) from the given demonstrations. The user and the system continue to collaborate, incrementally producing more demonstrations and refining the transformations, until the most effective possible visualization is created. As a proof of concept, we present VisExemplar, a mixed-initiative prototype that allows users to explore their data by recommending appropriate transformations in response to the given demonstrations.
Seismic hazard evaluation

This paper reviews concepts and trends in seismic hazard characterization that have emerged in the past decade and identifies trends and concepts that are anticipated during the coming decade. New methods have been developed for characterizing potential earthquake sources that use geological and geodetic data in conjunction with historical seismicity data. Scaling relationships among earthquake source parameters have been developed to provide a more detailed representation of the earthquake source for ground motion prediction. Improved empirical ground motion models have been derived from a strong motion data set that has grown markedly over the past decade. However, these empirical models have a large degree of uncertainty because the magnitude - distance - soil category parameterization of these models often oversimplifies reality. This reflects the fact that other conditions that are known to have an important influence on strong ground motions, such as near(halt rupture directivity effects, crustal waveguide effects, and basin response effects, are not treated as parameters of these simple models Numerical ground motion models based on seismological theory that include these additional effects have been developed and extensively validated against recorded ground motions, and used to estimate the ground motions of past earthquakes and predict the ground motions of future scenario earthquakes. The probabilistic approach to characterizing the ground motion that a given site will experience in the future is very compatible with current trends in earthquake engineering and the development of building codes. Performance based design requires a more comprchensive representation of ground motions than has conventionally been used. Ground motions estimates are needed at multiple annual probability levels, and may need to be specified not only by response spectra but also by suites of strong motion time histories for input into time-domain non-linear analyses of structures.
Automated portable instruments for quantitative measurements of nuclear materials holdup and in-process inventories

Summary form only given. Portable gamma-ray spectroscopy instrumentation has been combined with a versatile mechanical system and sophisticated software package to produce an automated instrument for determination of quantities of nuclear materials deposited in process equipment. The mechanical system enables using high-resolution spectroscopy methods in the variety of measurement locations and detector positions required to perform quantitative assays of nuclear materials holdup and in-process inventories. The, software automates the electronics setup, data acquisition, and analysis, output of results, and storage of results and spectra, as well as quality and measurement control tests and compensation for gain drift and rate loss. The analysis, which is based on a systematic method of generalizing the geometries of the nucl,ear material deposits, provides quantitative assay results at the time of the measurement. The software enables portable measurements to be performed in rapid succession with full utilization of readout and storage capabilities. >
Normal Growth and Development of the Female

Growth and development is a continuous process that begins at the moment of conception, accelerates during the antenatal period, continues rapidly during infancy and then through childhood and puberty. During puberty, the secondary sexual characteristics appear and mature, the adolescent growth spurt takes place, fertility is attained, and significant physical, psychological, and behavioral changes occur, transforming the child into an adult.
In the Shadow of the Omnipresent Claw: A Reply to Professors Cherry & Wong

As the American economy continues to totter against an ever-growing populist momentum, it seems likely that clawback mechanisms of various sorts will be put to increasing use in the coming months and years. Very generally, a clawback attempts to regain previously conferred monies or benefits following a certain triggering event, usually involving some change in circumstances. In a sense, clawbacks offer the opportunity for a “do-over” — a convenient antidote to both the uncertainty that characterizes American financial markets and the calls for accountability that grow louder with each corporate misstep, real or perceived. This Response to Clawbacks: Prospective Contract Measures in an Era of Excessive Executive Compensation and Ponzi Schemes by Professors Cherry and Wong challenges the academic community to address a number of questions that remain unsettled, as clawbacks have been subject to neither rigorous analytical scrutiny nor definition and exposition. While it seems intuitive that the retroactive imposition of clawbacks, by legislation or otherwise, is less desirable than more prospective efforts, the complexity of the subject matter demands more than a reflexive call for the organic inclusion of clawback provisions in investment contracts or compensation agreements as a matter of course.This Response proceeds in three parts. Part I introduces the basic framework through which the Article’s authors analyzed the uncertain world of clawbacks. This section very briefly recounts the Madoff and AIG affairs and introduces the mechanics of the clawback in the less controversial context of the long-established preference period immediately preceding a firm’s bankruptcy filing. Part II examines the lens through which Professors Cherry and Wong suggest that market participants understand, interpret and employ clawbacks. This section also introduces the primary shortcoming of their approach — its latent subjectivity. Part III offers additional critiques, primarily concerned with the practical difficulties in realizing the robust and developed clawback regime the authors envision. Finally, the Response concludes with a warning that the clawback does not represent the magic bullet it might first appear to be. And, we should resist reflexively embracing its application absent careful consideration and deliberation.
Applying Quantitative CT Image Feature Analysis to Predict Response of Ovarian Cancer Patients to Chemotherapy

Rationale and Objectives The study aimed to investigate the role of applying quantitative image features computed from computed tomography (CT) images for early prediction of tumor response to chemotherapy in the clinical trials for treating ovarian cancer patients. Materials and Methods A dataset involving 91 patients was retrospectively assembled. Each patient had two sets of pre- and post-therapy CT images. A computer-aided detection scheme was applied to segment metastatic tumors previously tracked by radiologists on CT images and computed image features. Two initial feature pools were built using image features computed from pre-therapy CT images only and image feature difference computed from both pre- and post-therapy images. A feature selection method was applied to select optimal features, and an equal-weighted fusion method was used to generate a new quantitative imaging marker from each pool to predict 6-month progression-free survival. The prediction accuracy between quantitative imaging markers and the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) criteria was also compared. Results The highest areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve are 0.684 ± 0.056 and 0.771 ± 0.050 when using a single image feature computed from pre-therapy CT images and feature difference computed from pre- and post-therapy CT images, respectively. Using two corresponding fusion-based image markers, the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve significantly increased to 0.810 ± 0.045 and 0.829 ± 0.043 (P Conclusions This study demonstrated the feasibility of predicting patients' response to chemotherapy using quantitative imaging markers computed from pre-therapy CT images. However, using image feature difference computed between pre- and post-therapy CT images yielded higher prediction accuracy.
Antibiotic prophylaxis for surgical site infections as a risk factor for infection with Clostridium difficile.

Objective We aimed to measure the association between 2013 guideline concordant prophylactic antibiotic use prior to surgery and infection with Clostridium difficile. Design We conducted a retrospective case-control study by selecting patients who underwent a surgical procedure between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2013. Setting Large urban community hospital. Patients Cases and controls were patients age 18+ years who underwent an eligible surgery (i.e., colorectal, neurosurgery, vascular/cardiac/thoracic, hysterectomy, abdominal/pelvic and orthopedic surgical procedures) within six months prior to infection diagnosis. Cases were diagnosed with C. difficile infection while controls were not. Methods The primary exposure was receiving (vs. not receiving) the recommended prophylactic antibiotic regimen, based on type and duration. Potential confounders included age, sex, length of hospital stay, comorbidities, type of surgery, and prior antibiotic use. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using logistic regression. Results We enrolled 68 cases and 220 controls. The adjusted OR among surgical patients between developing C. difficile infection and not receiving the recommended prophylactic antibiotic regimen (usually receiving antimicrobial prophylaxis for more than 24 hours) was 6.7 (95% CI: 2.9–15.5). Independent risk factors for developing C. difficile infection included having severe comorbidities, receiving antibiotics within the previous 6 months, and undergoing orthopedic surgery. Conclusions Adherence to the recommended prophylactic antibiotics among surgical patients likely reduces the probability of being case of C. difficile. Antibiotic stewardship should be a priority in strategies to decrease the morbidity, mortality, and costs associated with C. difficile infection.
Improving sparsity in time and space via self-triggered sparse optimal controllers

We consider the optimal control of linear timeinvariant (LTI) systems via self-triggered sparse optimal control (SSOC) laws. Our control objective is to design an optimal control law which stabilizes the LTI system for all initial conditions, requires less sensing, minimizes communication requirements between the subsystems, minimizes the number of active actuators, and provides guaranteed closed-loop performance bounds. To achieve such control objectives, we formulate a sequence of ?o-regularized linear-quadratic optimal control problems, wherein the objective is to optimize a cost function which involves three penalizing terms: one for maximizing the inter-execution time, another one for minimizing the number of nonzero elements of the state feedback gain, and the last one for minimizing the number of active actuators. Deriving a lower bound on inter-execution times, we propose a scheme to solve this problem. First, the relaxation is utilized to cast the problem as a semi-definite program (SDP) to compute a feedback gain while the inter-execution time is kept fixed. Second, a nonlinear equation is solved to determine the inter-execution time while the feedback gain is kept fixed. The proposed SSOC law is feasible and results in a stabilizing sequence of sparse optimal controllers. Additionally, the performance of the resulting closed-loop system does not exceed a prespecified performance bound. By numerical simulations, sparsity in time/space is improved compared to periodic time-triggered LQR design. Moreover, a tradeoff between prespecified performance bound and sparsity in time/space is observed. Finally, the paper is concluded by drawing some future directions.
Risk of Cardiovascular Outcomes among Psoriasis Patients Treated with Biologics and Other Systemic Agents.

Background The risk for cardiovascular events associated with systemic therapies for psoriasis, including biologics, is unclear. Methods We used administrative data from Medicare 2006 through 2011 to identify psoriasis patients who initiated systemic treatments. We estimated incidence rates of hospitalized myocardial infarction, stroke, and a composite cardiovascular disease outcome, adjusting for potentially confounding factors. Results There were 28,878 initiations of psoriasis treatments. Rates of myocardial infarction were highest for methotrexate (10.32/1000 patient-years, 95%CI 8.55-12.46) and numerically lower for biologics. Patterns were similar for stroke and the composite cardiovascular disease outcome. After multivariable adjustment, there were no significant differences between systemic therapies for any of the outcomes studied. Conclusions In this cohort of predominantly older psoriasis patients, there was no elevated nor protective risk of cardiovascular or stroke events associated with systemic therapies for psoriasis compared to conventional treatments.
Ending analysis: The case of Karl

Karl is a tall, attractive man, a designer, who was in his early fifties when we met. He was in a state of turmoil. His wife and he had been in a roiling crisis for at least a year. Now, she was ab...
LONGITUDINAL AORTIC ROOT GROWTH IN CHILDREN WITH LOEYS-DIETZ SYNDROMES 1,2, AND 4

Reports suggest that patients with TGFBR1, TGFBR2 , and TGFB2 variants causing Loeys-Dietz Syndromes (LDS) 1,2, and 4 respectively are prone to rapid aortic root (AR) dilation and aortic dissection, although growth by gene over time in children has not been well-described. Patients were identified
Histological Criteria that Distinguish Human and Mouse Bone Formed Within a Mouse Skeletal Repair Defect

The effectiveness of autologous cell-based skeletal repair continues to be controversial in part because in vitro predictors of in vivo human bone formation by cultured human progenitor cells are n...
Context and quality estimation in video for enhanced event detection

Numerous practical applications for automated event recognition in video rely on analysis of the objects and their associated motion, i.e., the kinematics of the scene. The ability to recognize events in practice depends on accurate tracking objects of interest in the video data and accurate recognition of changes relative to the background. Numerous factors can degrade the performance of automated algorithms. Our object detection and tracking algorithms estimate the object position and attributes within the context of a dynamic assessment of video quality, to provide more reliable event recognition under challenging conditions. We present an approach to robustly modeling the image quality which informs tuning parameters to use for a given video stream. The video quality model rests on a suite of image metrics computed in real-time from the video. We will describe the formulation of the image quality model. Results from a recent experiment will quantify the empirical performance for recognition of events of interest.
Smoke-Free Moms: Financial Rewards for Smoking Cessation by Low-Income Rural Pregnant Women.

Introduction Maternal smoking places the child at risk during pregnancy and postpartum. Most women who quit smoking do so early when they first learn of pregnancy. Few low-income women quit once they enter prenatal care. The purpose of this study is to test in a clinical prenatal care setting the effectiveness of the Smoke-Free Moms intervention, which provides pregnant women a series of financial incentives for smoking cessation. Study design A prospective nonrandomized controlled trial that collected control population data of smoking-cessation rates at each clincal visit during pregnancy and postpartum with usual smoking counseling in 2013–2014. In 2015–2016, the same data were collected during the implementation of the Smoke-Free Moms intervention of financial incentives. Data analysis occurred in 2017. Setting/participants Women who were smoking at the first prenatal visit at four federally qualified health centers in rural New Hampshire. Intervention All women received 5A's smoking counseling from clinic staff. At each clinic visit, with point-of-care confirmed negative urinary cotinine, intervention women received gift cards. Main outcome measures Cotinine confirmed smoking cessation without relapse: (1) during pregnancy and (2) smoking cessation in both pregnancy and postpartum. Results Of 175 eligible pregnant women enrolled, 134 women were followed to the postpartum visit (Intervention n=66, Control n=68). The quit rates during pregnancy did not differ between groups (Intervention 36.4%, Control 29.4%, p=0.46). However, significantly more intervention mothers quit and continued as nonsmokers postpartum (Intervention 31.8%, Control 16.2%, p=0.04). In a logistic regression model including baseline sociodemographic, depressed mood, stress, and readiness to quit items, confidence in being able to quit predicted both cessation outcomes. The financial incentive intervention was an independent predictor of cessation in pregnancy through postpartum. Conclusions Financial incentives with existing smoking-cessation counseling by staff in low-income clinical prenatal programs led to cessation that continued during the postpartum period. Further study in larger populations is indicated.
Optimization of Quantitative Phase Microscopy reveals new features of the growth rate of adherent mammalian cells

The regulation of growth is fundamental to cell size control. Lack of sufficient accuracy in the measurement of the growth rate of adherent cells through the cell cycle has thwarted the understanding of how such cell populations maintain a stable size distribution. The accuracy of Quantitative Phase Microscopy (QPM) is just shy of the accuracy needed to resolve the principle features of mammalian cell growth and perhaps to reveal new ones. Based on our analysis of the source of errors in QPM we both improved image processing algorithms and automated cell tracking software, making it suitable for longitudinal and large scale applications. Using these tools we revealed a remarkable a series of episodes of the convergence of cell growth rate, which may play a large role in the control of cell size variability.
Social network isolation mediates associations between risky symptoms and substance use in the high school transition

The current study examined whether social status and social integration, two related but distinct indicators of an adolescent's standing within a peer network, mediate the association between risky symptoms (depressive symptoms and deviant behavior) and substance use across adolescence. The sample of 6,776 adolescents participated in up to seven waves of data collection spanning 6th to 12th grades. Scores indexing social status and integration were derived from a social network analysis of six schools and subsequent psychometric modeling. Results of latent growth models showed that social integration and status mediated the relation between risky symptoms and substance use and that risky symptoms mediated the relation between social standing and substance use during the high school transition. Before this transition, pathways involving deviant behavior led to high social integration and status and in turn to substance use. After this transition, both deviant behavior and depressive symptoms led to low social integration and status and in turn greater substance use. These findings suggest that the high school transition is a risky time for substance use related to the interplay of increases in depressive symptoms and deviant behavior on the one hand and decreases in social status and integration on the other.
Management of Sex Offenders in Community Settings

After a number of high-profile, sexually violent crimes against children in the 1980s and 1990s, reducing sexual violence became a legislative priority in the United States. Because most sex offenders return to the community at some point after conviction, both state and federal laws were passed addressing not only their sentencing but also their management upon release from incarceration. This chapter reviews and critically evaluates several approaches to the community management of adult sex offenders that resulted from this surge in legislation. First, sex offender recidivism data are briefly reviewed. Next, specific community management techniques are examined, including registration and notification, residency restrictions, and electronic monitoring. Then, two integrative approaches to sex offender community management, the containment model and Circles of Support and Accountability, are assessed. And finally, overall conclusions regarding community management of sex offenders and recommendations for future research are offered.
Predicting implementation of an empirically supported treatment for cancer patients using the theory of planned behavior.

Background There is a continuing gap between the availability of cancer control empirically supported treatments (ESTs) to address psychological needs of cancer patients and their dissemination to and implementation by providers in the community. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), with constructs of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions, is used to understand the pathways to and prediction of providers' behavior, that is, implementation of a cancer control EST and its provision to patients. Purpose The purpose of the study was to prospectively test the TPB in predicting providers' usage of a cancer-specific EST, the biobehavioral intervention (BBI). Method Providers (N = 166) were trained. At training's end, providers completed measures of attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and intentions to use the BBI, and their supervisors completed measures of attitudes operationalized as subjective norms. Providers were followed up and 4 months later reported their usage of the BBI with patients in the last 2 months. Regression-based path analyses tested attitudes, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and intentions as predictors of BBI usage and for the possible effect of intentions as a mediator. Results Provider's BBI usage was high, delivered to 65.6% of patients. Providers' attitudes toward the BBI (b = .006; 95% confidence interval [CI: .002, .010]) and subjective norms (supervisors' attitudes toward providers' EST usage; b = .021; 95% CI [.007, .034]) predicted usage. Intentions predicted usage in univariate analyses but was not a mediator for usage. Conclusions Use of theory in implementation science can test and identify variables key to implementation success. Here the TPB identified providers' and supervisors' attitudes as predictors of EST usage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Real Talk About Fake News: Identity Language and Disconnected Networks of the US Public’s “Fake News” Discourse on Twitter:

This article studies “fake news” beyond the consumption and dissemination of misinformation and disinformation. We uncover how the term “fake news” serves as a discursive device for ordinary citize...
Prospects for Platinum and Platinum Group Metal Monolayer Electrocatalysts

A short analysis of the outlook for platinum group metal monolayers in electrocatalysis. Platinum monolayer electrocatalysts represent an extraordinarily attractive approach to synthesizing electrocatalysts that promise to profoundly impact the science and technology of electrocatalysis. Cores can be nanoparticles of different compositions, sizes, and shapes. Several synthetic procedures have been developed to create nanoparticle cores and to place Pt monolayers using the galvanic displacement of an underpotentially deposited Cu monolayer by a Pt monolayer. In addition to electrocatalysis, this method is already broadly applied in metal deposition processes. Further improvements of these catalysts can be achieved by optimizing synthesis procedures and by fine-tuning the Pt monolayer-support interaction. Recycling Pt can be very efficient, close to 90%, which, combined with monolayer approach, indicates that its small natural abundance should not limit its applications. Furthermore, the monolayer electrocatalyst approach can facilitate the application of electrocatalysts based on very rare noble metals such as Os, Ir, and Pd, where price and inadequate stability have limited their applications in the past.
American Counterterrorism: The Triangle of Detention, Interrogation and Trial

Eight years after 9/11, American counterterrorism policy is in a state of extraordinary flux. More precisely it is still in its infancy. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11 President Bush declared ‘war on terrorism’, established a torture based interrogation regime, signed an Executive Order creating Military Commissions and put a price on Bin-Laden’s head. These policies - articulated and implemented without consulting Congress - represent the ‘unitary executive’ theory articulated by Professor John Yoo. While the Congress was largely silent, the Supreme Court’s approach has been halting at best, confused at worst. In other words, the Executive branch under President Bush was largely free from the checks and balances regime as articulated in the U.S. Constitution. Separation of powers, according to the Bush Administration, relegated the Congress and the Court to the ‘sidelines’ of counterterrorism. Historians will debate the efficacy and effectiveness of this paradigm, law academics will discuss its legality, security experts will examine whether expanded executive powers enhanced counterterrorism, comparativists will inquire whether models implemented by other countries could not have been tweaked rather than re-inventing the wheel, and the general public will ask ‘are we safe’. Suffice it to say, the debate ahead of us is long, complicated and fraught with political overtones. In the meantime, the Obama Administration has an extraordinarily full plate of demanding decisions. With respect to counterterrorism, the President must address core issues and resolve long simmering dilemmas. While examining the actions of the Bush Administration is important, resolving existing conundrums is essential.
Phenotypic and Functional Characterization of Double Negative B Cells in the Blood of Individuals With Obesity

We have previously shown that obesity is associated with increased secretion of IgG antibodies with anti-self-reactivity. In this paper, we confirm and extend our previous findings. We show that the plasma of individuals with obesity is enriched in autoimmune antibodies whose levels are positively associated with blood frequencies of the subset of Double Negative (DN) B cells, which is the most pro-inflammatory B cell subset. We also show that DN B cells, significantly increased in the blood of obese versus lean individuals, are characterized by higher expression of immune activation markers and of the transcription factor T-bet, both associated with autoimmunity. The removal of DN B cells from the peripheral B cell pool significantly decreases in vitro secretion of anti-self IgG antibodies. These results altogether confirm the crucial role of DN B cells in the secretion of anti-self IgG antibodies in individuals with obesity.
Process induced multi-layered Titanium – Boron carbide composites via additive manufacturing

Abstract Laser engineered net shaping (LENS) processing of an in-situ Ti-B4C composite, results in the natural formation of a novel periodically layered structure, when a mixture of Ti powders and B4C powders are used as a feedstock. One of the layers predominantly consisted of TiB2 and inter-dendritic TiC phases, while the other alternating layer exhibited a rather complex microstructure, comprising of TiB, TiC, partially melted-B4C and α-Ti phases. Increasing the laser power (300–700 W) results in an increase in the height/thickness of these layers, as well as the number density of in-situ formed ceramic precipitates (TiB, TiC) in the TiB + TiC + α-Ti layer. Additionally, the Heipel-Roper theory of weld pool dynamics was employed to rationalize the unconventional microstructural evolution in these multi-layered LENS processed Ti-B4C composites. Microhardness and wear properties revealed that among the three powers, the 700 W condition exhibited the best combined wear and hardness which can be attributed to reduced porosity, and an increase in hardness of both layered regions due to an increase in number density of precipitates in the TiB + TiC + α-Ti layer. Such AM process induced naturally layered composites open up a new avenue for design and development of hybrid materials for future engineering applications.
Processing and microstructure of ZrB2–SiC composite prepared by reactive spark plasma sintering

Abstract In-situ formation of ZrB2–SiC composites was investigated by reactive spark plasma sintering of precursor powders according to the reaction B4C + 2ZrC + 3Si → 3SiC + 2ZrB2. The reaction and process presented here involves a diffusion reaction between B4C and ZrC which facilitates the formation of ZrB2, while liquid phase sintering of silicon facilitates atomic diffusion and combines with free C from the B4C and ZrC reaction to form SiC within minutes of heating and there were some residual unreacted precursor materials. An interpenetrating matrix of ZrB2–SiC was formed that shows increased fracture toughness (6.03 ± 0.45 MPa m1/2) despite relatively low density (95 %).
Confidence in Merit-Based Public Administration in the Context of Right-Wing Authoritarian Populism:

The rise of right-wing authoritarian populism (RWAP) challenges modern democratic governance and the legitimacy of a career-service, nonpartisan, merit-based public administration—hallmarks of mode...
Abstract 219: Activity-Dependent Capillary Hyperemia in The Brain Is Not Regulated by Pericytes

Activity-dependent increases in blood flow comprise the basis for functional brain imaging and are considered a hallmark of normal brain function. The central dogma of blood flow regulation states that flow changes effected by arteriolar tone drive functional hyperemia and that the capillary bed is a passive conduit for hyperemia resulting from upstream vasodilation. Recent evidence has begun to challenge this convention in cerebral blood flow control and suggests that pericytes may dilate capillaries during functional hyperemia, but whether pericytes can regulate flow of individual red blood cells (RBCs) through capillaries during sensory stimulation is unknown. Using high-speed two-photon microscopy in a live mouse model, we document that increases in RBC flow velocity and RBC flux through capillaries were detected within 1.0 second after sensory stimulation, and that the observed activity-evoked capillary hyperemia did not depend on the presence of a pericyte. We further report that local application of vasorelaxants shown to relax pericytes ex vivo did not alter resting RBC velocity in capillaries in vivo and did not affect sensory stimulation-evoked capillary RBC velocity increases. These findings support the hypothesis that cerebral capillary hyperemia occurs rapidly after sensory input, but fail to provide evidence for dynamic pericyte-dependent regulation of capillary functional hyperemia during brain activation. These results provide novel insight into the fundamental mechanisms underlying brain capillary blood flow regulation and have significant implications for targeting the disruption of cerebral microvascular blood flow characteristic of ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes.
Heterogeneous Modeling Support for Embedded Systems Design

Effective design of embedded computer systems requires considering information from multiple domains in a model-centered approach. Using a model-centered approach, the system designer defines and composes models representing multiple system perspectives throughout the design, implementation and testing process. Rosetta is a heterogeneous systems-level modeling language designed to support specification and analysis of complex, computer-based systems. Rosetta provides a model-centered specification capability that allows specifiers to define and combine system models. Users define models, called facets, and assemble those models to define components and systems using facet composition. Each facet model is written with reference to a domain that defines a vocabulary and semantics for the model definition. To model interaction between specifications from different domains, Rosetta provides an interaction definition mechanism based on institution theory. The Rosetta model-centered specification approach allows systems designers to specify many domains of interest from many perspectives and supports predictive design analysis at the systems-level.
What front-line CBO staff can tell us about culturally anchored theories of behavior change in HIV prevention for Asian/Pacific Islanders

Few rigorously tested primary prevention programs have been developed to prevent HIV infection among immigrant communities in the United States. This is in part because of the lack of culturally specific behavioral theories that can inform HIV prevention for immigrant communities in the United States. This article aims to develop such theories for a population—Asian/Pacific Islanders (A/PIs) immigrant communities—who have been overlooked in theory development and program evaluation. Frontline community-based organization (CBO) peer educators, an underutilized source of expertise regarding cultural factors specific to HIV infection among A/PI communities, are the sample of study Asian/Pacific Islander peer educators working at an urban AIDS service organization devoted to health promotion for this population; (N=35). They were interviewed to examine (1) detailed narratives describing instances of behavior change and (2) culturally anchored theories of behavior change which the narratives imply. Theories of the influence of positive cultural symbols on the taboo of HIV/AIDS, moderators of the effectiveness of social network influences on behavior change, and setting- and community-level processes predicting HIV risk behavior were implicit in the peer educators' narratives. Implications for future research, methodology and prevention practice are discussed.
MVDR adaptive sidelobes: extending Ruze's formula and providing an exact calculation of the probability of sidelobe suppression

Exact finite sum expressions for the probability density function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) for the magnitude response of the SCB MVDR beamformer are derived. Exact expressions for the mean and variance of this beam pattern are given which generalize and extend the classical results of Ruze (1952) as well as those of Gilbert and Morgan (1955) to this MVDR processor. These tools allow the exact prediction of the likelihood of interference in a given direction obtaining a specified level of sidelobe or mainlobe suppression by the adaptive beamformer. Sample support and degrees of freedom can be chosen to meet specifications with a certain level of probability. These useful calculations are facilitated by judicious exploitation of Sehlafli's contour integral representation for the modified Bessel function.
Similarity of taste reactivity responses to alcohol and sucrose mixtures in rats.

The orofacial responses of rats following infusion of taste solutions were examined in two experiments. In the first experiment, naive rats were presented with a 6% alcohol solution and three sucrose mixtures (sucrose combined with quinine hydrochloride, hydrochloric acid, and sodium chloride, respectively) on separate trials and the resulting taste reactivity was examined. The only difference among the solutions was that alcohol elicited a significantly larger number of aversive responses (e.g., gapes, passive drips) than the sucrose mixtures. In the second experiment, naive rats were trained to avoid 6% alcohol using standard conditioned aversion procedures; rats were then tested for reactivity to the three sucrose mixtures and the alcohol solution. With the alcohol solution, trained rats displayed significantly fewer ingestive responses and significantly more aversive responses than control rats. The response of trained rats to the sucrose + quinine solution was similar to that of alcohol: fewer ingestive responses and more aversive responses than control rats. The number of aversive responses to the alcohol and the sucrose + quinine mixture by the trained rats did not differ significantly. Reactivity to the sucrose + hydrochloric acid and sucrose + sodium chloride solutions did not differ between trained rats and control rats. The results suggest that a sucrose + quinine solution has a perceived taste (as revealed by elicited orofacial reflexes) similar to alcohol and that the sucrose mixture is avoided by rats with alcohol aversions because it is unpalatable.
Hematite reactivity with supercritical CO2 and aqueous sulfide

Abstract Hematite nanoparticles were reacted in a solution containing sulfide in contact with supercritical CO 2 , to simulate conditions relevant to carbon dioxide sequestration in the Earth's subsurface. X-ray diffraction was used to identify reaction products. Rietveld analysis of the X-ray diffractograms and thermogravimetric analysis were used to estimate the amounts of reaction product formed. Under the experimental conditions used (70 °C), a near equimolar amount of siderite (FeCO 3 ) and pyrite (FeS 2 ) formed. The equimolar amounts of pyrite and siderite products were consistent with the stoichiometry associated with the following overall reaction, 2Fe 3+ + 2S 2− + CO 3 2– → FeS 2 + FeCO 3 . In situ infrared spectroscopy suggested that the conversion of the hematite was rapid and largely occurred within 4 h at 70 °C. Analysis of the reaction product with electron microscopy showed the presence of framboidal pyrite and rhombohedral siderite particles that were micron-sized. The observed morphologies suggest that the transformation from hematite to siderite occurred via a dissolution–reprecipitation reaction.
Where is the Standard? An Analysis of Size Adjectives as Degree Modifiers at the Semantic-Pragmatic Interface

Size adjectives in languages such as English or Mandarin Chinese can have degree readings when they modify gradable nouns. The determiner phrase 'big idiot,' for example, can characterize an individual with a high degree of idiocy. It has been argued in the literature that this degree use of size adjectives is available only for positive size adjectives (e.g. ＂big＂ and ＂huge＂), not for negative size adjectives (e.g. ＂small＂ and ＂tiny＂). Although this generalization holds in most cases, in this paper, I identify several ＂exceptional＂ cases where negative size adjectives indeed can felicitously modify gradable nouns. I propose an analysis at the interface between the semantics and pragmatics of gradability that can account for both the general applicability of the ＂Bigness Generalization＂ and the exceptional cases to it. A negative size adjective can serve as a degree modifier, except in those contexts where the standard for the negative size adjective falls below the standard for the gradable noun that is modified. Such exceptional contexts have a very wide distribution, leading to the perception of general applicability of the Bigness Generalization.
Neoglycophospholipids with Alkyl Spacers: Synthesis via an Improved Reductive Amination and Monolayer Properties

An efficient synthesis of neoglycophospholipids with variable length alkyl spacer chains is described. Neoglycophospholipids tethered by alkyl chains of 3, 5, 7, 10, and 16 methylene units were synthesized in good overall yields in four steps. The key intermediates, ω-oxoalkyl glycopyranosides, were synthesized in two steps by glycosidation of chloro (or ethylthio) glycosides with a diol followed by oxidation of the remaining hydroxy group to an aldehyde functionality. Conjugation of the ω-glycoalkyl aldehyde with distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine via an improved reductive amination procedure significantly enhanced efficiency and yields with respect to those from traditional procedures. The amphiphilic properties of the neoglycophospholipids were characterized at the air−water interface. While the carbohydrate head group had relatively little effect, the length of the alkyl spacer profoundly influenced surface area−pressure isotherms.
Supervector Bayesian speaker comparison

In this paper we propose fully Bayesian speaker comparison of supervectors, which we refer to as SV-BSC, as a method for estimating whether a test cut was generated by the same speaker as an enrollment set. We derive the SV-BSC log-likelihood ratio of same-speaker to different-speaker hypotheses, and present solutions for model training and Bayesian scoring. We then show that if speaker and channel variability are assumed to inhabit a total variability subspace, SV-BSC scoring reduces to a form which requires only low-computation subspace operations. Finally, we show that common speaker recognition techniques such as Joint Factor Analysis (JFA) and i-vector Probabilistic Linear Discriminant Analysis (PLDA) are approximations to this full solution under certain additional assumptions. Experiments on the NIST 2010 SRE show SV-BSC to outperform a PLDA system.
DEAF-1 function is essential for the early embryonic development of Drosophila.

Summary: The Drosophila protein DEAF-1 is a sequence-specific DNA binding protein that was isolated as a putative cofactor of the Hox protein Deformed (Dfd). In this study, we analyze the effects of loss or gain of DEAF-1 function on Drosophila development. Maternal/zygotic mutations of DEAF-1 largely result in early embryonic arrest prior to the expression of zygotic segmentation genes, although a few embryos develop into larvae with segmentation defects of variable severity. Overexpression of DEAF-1 protein in embryos can induce defects in migration/closure of the dorsal epidermis, and overexpression in adult primordia can strongly disrupt the development of eye or wing. The DEAF-1 protein associates with many discrete sites on polytene chromosomes, suggesting that DEAF-1 is a rather general regulator of gene expression. genesis 33:67–76, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.