cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differences in home food availability of high- and low-fat foods after a behavioral weight control program are regional not racial

Background Few studies, if any, have examined the impact of a weight control program on the home food environment in a diverse sample of adults. Understanding and changing the availability of certain foods in the home and food storage practices may be important for creating healthier home food environments and supporting effective weight management.
Single-particle state mixing and Coulomb localization in two-electron realistic coupled quantum dots

The exchange coupling in a realistic double quantum dot system is computed as a function of the gate confinement and magnetic field using a hybrid multiscale approach where the many-body Schrodinger equation is solved exactly within the full quantum dot device environment. It is found that at zero magnetic field the exchange energy varies from meV to sub-μeV value as the confinement gate biases (tunneling barrier) are changed and the system is driven from a single quantum dot to two coupled quantum dots. At the same time the magnetic field of the singlet-triplet transition is weakly affected by the changes and remains at about 1 T in the same range of the gate biases. The small values of the exchange coupling in this structure are attributed to the large inter-electron separation arising when the Coulomb repulsion dominates tunneling. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Relationship management: A call for fewer influence attempts?

Abstract Using data from a nationwide survey of 349 beer distributors we test two sets of hypotheses: (1) frequency of coercive and noncoercive influence strategy use impacts the level of commitment, trust, and satisfaction in marketing distribution systems, and (2) influence strategy use interacts with relationship structure (relationalism) to determine channel commitment, trust, and satisfaction. The results of the first set of hypotheses suggest that, independent of relationship structure, a supplier's use of noncoercive strategies is associated with increased distributor commitment, trust, and satisfaction, while coercive strategies are associated with reduced levels of commitment and trust. The results also confirm the hypothesis that in highly relational systems, increases in noncoercive influence attempts negatively impact trust and satisfaction. Thus, high levels of relationalism reverse the initial positive impact of noncoercive influence attempts. These findings support the proposition that more communication is not always better. Once relational norms develop in a channel relationship, increases in the supplier's use of either coercive or noncoercive influence attempts negatively impact the relationship.
Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi Nucleic Acids after Antibiotic Treatment Does Not Confirm Viability

The persistence of dormant, noncultivable Borrelia burgdorferi after ceftriaxone treatment was examined. B. burgdorferi isolates were cultivated in Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly medium in the presence or absence of ceftriaxone, and cultures were monitored for up to 56 days. Viability of B. burgdorferi was assessed by subculture, growth, morphology, and pH (as a surrogate for metabolic activity). In addition, the presence of B. burgdorferi DNA and mRNA was assayed by PCR and by real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR, respectively. Spirochetes could not be successfully subcultured by day 3 after exposure to ceftriaxone. In cultures treated with ceftriaxone, the pH of the culture medium did not change through day 56, whereas it declined by at least 1 pH unit by 14 days in untreated cultures. These results suggest that B. burgdorferi viability is rapidly eliminated after antibiotic treatment. Nevertheless, DNA was detected by B. burgdorferi-specific PCR for up to 56 days in aliquots from both ceftriaxone-treated and untreated cultures. In addition, although ceftriaxone treatment resulted in a reduction in the quantities of transcript for ospC, ospA, flaB, and pfk, certain mRNAs could be detected through day 14. Transcript for all 4 genes was essentially undetectable after 28 days of treatment. Taken together, the results suggest that B. burgdorferi DNA and mRNA can be detected in samples long after spirochetes are no longer viable as assessed by classic microbiological parameters. PCR positivity in the absence of culture positivity following antibiotic treatment in animal and human studies should be interpreted with caution.
Identification of a regulatory protein required for pressure-responsive gene expression in the deep-sea bacterium Photobacterium species strain SS9

Here, we report the characterization of a gene necessary for hydrostatic pressure regulation of gene expression in the deep-sea bacterium Photobacterium species strain SS9. The deduced amino acid sequence of the gene product shares extensive similarity to ToxR, a transmembrane DNA-binding protein first discovered as a virulence determinant in the pathogenic bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Changes in hydrostatic pressure induce changes in both the abundance and the activity of the SS9 ToxR protein (or the activity of a ToxR-regulated protein). As with other high-pressure-inducible phenomena observed in higher organisms, anaesthetics antagonize high-pressure signalling mediated by ToxR. It is suggested that SS9 ToxR has evolved the ability to respond to pressure-mediated alterations in membrane structure. V. cholerae and SS9 also share similarity in a ToxR-regulated protein, indicating that part of the ToxR regulon is conserved in diverse members of the family Vibrionaceae. The SS9 ToxR system represents a useful model for studies of signal transduction and environmental adaptation in the largest portion of the biosphere, the deep sea.
Restricted nutrient intake does not alter serum-mediated measures of implant response in cell culture

During nutritional stress, reduced intake may reduce the efficacy of anabolic implants. This study was conducted to evaluate basic cellular responses to a growth promotant implant at two intake levels. Sixteen crossbred steers (293 ± 19.3 kg) were used to evaluate the impact of anabolic implants in either an adequate or a restricted nutritional state. Steers were trained to individual Calan gates, and then randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Treatments consisted of: presence or absence of an anabolic growth implant (Revalor-XS, 200 mg TBA and 40 mg estradiol; IMPLANT or CONTROL) and a moderate energy, pelleted, starting cattle diet fed at either 2.0 × or 1.0 × maintenance energy (NEM) requirements (HIGH or LOW). Serum (d 0, 14, and 28) was used for application to bovine muscle satellite cells. After treatment with the serum (20% of total media) from the trial cattle, the satellite cells were incubated for 72 h. Protein abundance of myosin heavy chain (MHC), phosphorylated extracellular signal-related kinase (phospho-ERK), and phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin (phospho-mTOR) were analyzed to determine the effects of implant, intake, and their interaction (applied via the serum). Intake had no effect on MHC (P = 0.85) but IMPLANT increased (P < 0.01) MHC abundance vs. CONTROL. Implant status, intake status, and the interaction had no effect on the abundance of phospho-ERK (P ≥ 0.23). Implanting increased phospho-mTOR (P < 0.01) but there was no effect (P ≥ 0.51) of intake or intake × implant. The nearly complete lack of interaction between implant and nutritional status indicates that the signaling molecules measured herein respond to implants and nutritional status independently. Furthermore, results suggest that the muscle hypertrophic effects of anabolic implants may not be mediated by circulating IGF-1.
Optical properties of the output of a high-gain, self-amplified free-electron laser

The temporal structure and phase evolutions of a high-gain, self-amplified free-electron laser are measured, including single-shot analysis and statistics over many shots. Excellent agreement with the theory of free-electron laser and photon statistics is found.
The Benefits of Being Present: Mindfulness and Its Role in Psychological Well-Being

Mindfulness is an attribute of consciousness long believed to promote well-being. This research provides a theoretical and empirical examination of the role of mindfulness in psychological well-being. The development and psychometric properties of the dispositional Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) are described. Correlational, quasi-experimental, and laboratory studies then show that the MAAS measures a unique quality of consciousness that is related to a variety of well-being constructs, that differentiates mindfulness practitioners from others, and that is associated with enhanced selfawareness. An experience-sampling study shows that both dispositional and state mindfulness predict self-regulated behavior and positive emotional states. Finally, a clinical intervention study with cancer patients demonstrates that increases in mindfulness over time relate to declines in mood disturbance and stress. Many philosophical, spiritual, and psychological traditions emphasize the importance of the quality of consciousness for the maintenance and enhancement of well-being (Wilber, 2000). Despite this, it is easy to overlook the importance of consciousness in human well-being because almost everyone exercises its primary capacities, that is, attention and awareness. Indeed, the relation between qualities of consciousness and well-being has received little empirical attention. One attribute of consciousness that has been much-discussed in relation to well-being is mindfulness. The concept of mindfulness has roots in Buddhist and other contemplative traditions where conscious attention and awareness are actively cultivated. It is most commonly defined as the state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present. For example, Nyanaponika Thera (1972) called mindfulness “the clear and single-minded awareness of what actually happens to us and in us at the successive moments of perception” (p. 5). Hanh (1976) similarly defined mindfulness as “keeping one’s consciousness alive to the present reality” (p. 11). Recent research has shown that the enhancement of mindfulness through training facilitates a variety of well-being outcomes (e.g., Kabat-Zinn, 1990). To date, however, there has been little work examining this attribute as a naturally occurring characteristic. Recognizing that most everyone has the capacity to attend and to be aware, we nonetheless assume (a) that individuals differ in their propensity or willingness to be aware and to sustain attention to what is occurring in the present and (b) that this mindful capacity varies within persons, because it can be sharpened or dulled by a variety of factors. The intent of the present research is to reliably identify these inter- and intrapersonal variations in mindfulness, establish their relations to other relevant psychological constructs, and demonstrate their importance to a variety of forms of psychological well-being.
Systemic Vulnerability and the Origins of Developmental States: Northeast and Southeast Asia in Comparative Perspective

Scholars of development have learned a great deal about what economic institutions do, but much less about the origins of such arrangements. This article introduces and assesses a new political explanation for the origins of “developmental states”—organizational complexes in which expert and coherent bureaucratic agencies collaborate with organized private sectors to spur national economic transformation. Conventional wisdom holds that developmental states in South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore result from “state autonomy,” especially from popular pressures. We argue that these states' impressive capacities actually emerged from the challenges of delivering side payments to restive popular sectors under conditions of extreme geopolitical insecurity and severe resource constraints. Such an interactive condition of “systemic vulnerability” never confronted ruling elites in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, or Thailand—allowing them to uphold political coalitions, and hence to retain power, with much less ambitious state-building efforts.Authors listed alphabetically. We are grateful to the following for helpful comments: Cliff Carrubba, Eric Hershberg, Dave Kang, Stephan Haggard, Linda Lim, Greg Noble, Kristen Nordhaug, John Ravenhill, Eric Reinhardt, Dani Reiter, Tom Remington, Michael Ross, Randy Strahan, Judith Tendler, and two anonymous reviewers. Special thanks to David Waldner, whose book inspired this article and who graciously provided important insights.
Enabling e-Business Transformation through Alliances: Integrating Social Exchange and Institutional Perspectives

e-Business transformation has become a critical imperative for most organizations today. However these transformations require specific skills, capital, information, technology, access to markets, and core resources that many traditional firms lack. To obtain these resources and capabilities, firms are increasingly turning to external arrangements, such as alliances. Our understanding of why firms choose a particular e-business alliance form over others in such a relationship is limited. Drawing upon social exchange and institutional theories, we examine how partner relatedness and institutional factors drive the choice of e-business alliance form. Results from 1,381 e-Business alliances provide a strong first reflection of the impacts of factors on the choice of e-Business alliance form.
Barriers to and Facilitators in the Implementation of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Youth Anxiety in the Community

Objective:The study examined, from the perspective of therapists, the barriers to and facilitators in implementing cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxious youths in community settings.Methods:Fifty therapists (43% of the original training sample of 115 providers) participated in a follow-up interview two years after training and consultation. They reported on barriers to and facilitators in implementation of CBT for youths with anxiety.Results:Qualitative analyses identified numerous barriers and facilitators, including client factors (for example, motivated clients facilitated the use of CBT, whereas clients with complex issues and numerous psychosocial stressors hindered its use), intervention factors (the structure of CBT helped facilitate its use for some providers, whereas others reported feeling constrained by such structure), and organizational factors (for example, the absence of support within one’s institution served as a barrier, whereas supervision supporting the use of CBT facilitated ...
Individual Offending, Routine Activities, and Activity Settings : Revisiting the Routine Activity Theory of General Deviance

Objectives:To examine whether a diverse range of both structured and unstructured routine activities is associated with offending, and whether activities have crime-specific effects.Method:Data on 15-year-olds from the fourth wave of the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime were analyzed (minimum n = 3,064). Principal components analyses identified core routine activities. Random intercepts logistic regression models examined their associations with assault, fare evasion, shoplifting, vandalism, and drug use.Results:Core routine activities identified were hanging around with friends locally, hanging around away from home, nightlife, cultural and consumer activities, and involvement in youth clubs and sports. All had associations with offending, though effects varied by offense. For example, involvement in youth clubs and sports was positively associated with assault and fare evasion; involvement in nightlife was positively associated with assault and drug use; and hanging out with friends locall...
Discourse, institutional identities and intractable planning disputes: The case of Interstate I-710

This article argues that parties to planning disputes assume policy positions in concordance with institutional identities that are informed by reigning planning discourses. Building on the work of Kenneth Burke and its advancement through the perspective of positionality in socio-linguistics, a case study of the dispute around the completion of highway I-710 through South Pasadena, California, is used to illustrate how the potential for intractability increases when discourses are mutually reinforcing of a particular positionality. However, avenues to reconciliation can be found in exploiting constructive dispositions suggested by particular discourses in contingent discursive settings. The article ends by reinforcing that policy-makers pay increased attention to the discursive context of planning disputes.
Single-Molecule Measurement of Protein Folding Kinetics

In order to investigate the behavior of single molecules under conditions far from equilibrium, we have coupled a microfabricated laminar-flow mixer to a confocal optical system. This combination enables time-resolved measurement of Forster resonance energy transfer after an abrupt change in solution conditions. Observations of a small protein show the evolution of the intramolecular distance distribution as folding progresses. This technique can expose subpopulations, such as unfolded protein under conditions favoring the native structure, that would be obscured in equilibrium experiments.
Optimal-control theory applied to ship maneuvering in restricted waters

Ship drivers have long understood that powerful interaction forces exist when ships operate in close proximity to rigid boundaries or other vessels. Controlling the effects of these forces has been traditionally handled by experienced helmsmen. The purpose of this study is to apply modern optimal-control theory to such maneuvering scenarios in order to show that helmsmen may some day be replaced by modern controllers. The maneuvering equations of motion are cast in a linear state-space framework, permitting the design of a linear quadratic (LQ) controller. The hydrodynamic effects are modeled using potential-flow theory in order to simulate the interaction forces and test the performance of the controller. This study demonstrates that the linear quadratic regulator effectively controls ship motions due to the presence of a boundary or other vessel over a broad range of speeds and separation distances. Viscous effects are modeled by equivalent linearization and, when compared to the effective damping introduced by the controller, are shown to be insignificant.
Patient risk factors and surgical morbidity after regional lymphadenectomy in 204 melanoma patients

A series of 204 melanoma patients were studied six months or longer after regional lymph node dissection of the neck (N = 48), axilla (N = 98) and groin (N = 58) in order to determine the degree of morbidity and analyze for risk factors associated with these procedures. Only one-quarter of the patients experienced wound-related, short-term complications that were common at all sites; however, these rarely resulted in long-term functional deficits. Seromas (22%), temporary nerve dysfunction or pain (14%), and wound infections (6%) were the most frequent short-term complications. Wound complications extended the mean hospital stay by 0.6 to 4.8 days. Residual lymphedema of the leg was measurable in 26% of groin dissection patients after six months or longer; most of the edema was confined to the thigh. Only 8% of patients had significant functional deficit from lymphedema. The risk of developing at least one complication for all patients was increased for obese patients (P = 0.05) and increasing age (P = .01). These risk factors should be considered when evaluating melanoma patients for regional lymph node dissection.
Behavior of Cyclic Fatigue Cracks in Monolithic Silicon Nitride

Cyclic fatigue-crack propagation behavior in monolithic silicon nitride is characterized in light of current fatiguecrack growth models for ceramics toughened by grainbridging mechanisms, with specific emphasis on the role of load ratio. Such models are based on diminished cracktip shielding in the crack wake under cyclic loads due to frictional-wear degradation of the grain-bridging zone. The notion of cyclic crack growth promoted by diminished shielding is seen to be consistent with measured (long-crack) growth rates, fractography, in situ crack-profile analyses, and measurements of back-face strain compliance. Growth rates are found to display a much larger dependence on the maximum applied stress intensity, Kmax than on the applied stress-intensity range, ΔK, with behavior described by the relationship da/dN ∞ K29maxΔK1.3. Fatigue thresholds similarly exhibit a marked dependence on the load ratio, R=Kmin/Kmax; such effects are shown to be inconsistent with traditional models of fatigue-crack closure. In particular, when characterized in terms of Kmax growth rates below ∼10−9 m/cycle exhibit an inverse dependence on load ratio, an observation which is consistent with the grain-bridging phenomenon; specifically, with increasing R, the sliding disance between the grain bridges is decreased, leading to less frictional wear, and hence less degradation in shielding, per loading cycle. The microstructural origins of such behavior are discussed.
Affine models for motion and shape recovery

This paper presents an affine model for 3-D motion and shape recovery using two perspective views and their relative 2-D displacement field. The 2-D displacement vectors are estimated as parameters of a 2-D affine model that generalizes standard block matching by allowing affine shape deformations of image blocks and affine intensity transformations. The matching block size is effectively found via morphological size histograms. The parameters of the 3-D affine model are estimated using a least-squares algorithm that requires solving a system of linear equations with rank three. Some stabilization of the recovered motion parameters under noise is achieved through a simple form of MAP estimation. A multi-scale searching in the parameter space is also used to improve accuracy without high computational cost. Experiments on applying these affine models to various real world image sequences demonstrate that they can estimate dense displacement fields and recover motion parameters and object shape with relatively small errors.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The life and legacy of William T. Bovie

This Historian's Address, presented at the North Pacific Surgical Association 2012 meeting, held in Spokane, Washington, on November 9, 2012, briefly reviews the life and surgical contributions of the inventor William T. Bovie and his collaboration with Dr Harvey Cushing, which led to the widespread acceptance of surgical electrocautery for dissection and hemostasis.
Relevance of cosmeceuticals to the dermatologic surgeon.

Background. The dermatologic surgeon is the dermatologist with special expertise in the surgical care of the health and beauty of the skin. Objectives, Methods, Results. There is no better arena for the use of topical regimens to preserve skin quality than in the time interval devoted to before and after care with respect to surgical procedures. Conclusion. Many of these regimens can be tailor devised with topical drugs and cosmeceuticals together in proper balance in the patient's best interest for affordable health care. HAROLD J. BRODY, MD, HAS INDICATED NO SIGNIFICANT INTEREST WITH COMMERCIAL SUPPORTERS.
Fluctuations in number of water molecules confined between nanoparticles.

We used molecular dynamics computer simulations to study the character of interactions between two nanoscale graphene plates in water and also between plates made of “carbon” atoms that have differ...
NOTES ON COLORADO FUNGI V: PHYSARUM ALPESTRE, A NEW SPECIES

An examination of numerous collections (including type material) of Physarum alpinum (Myxo? mycetes or Mycetozoa) showed that this taxon, as currently circumscribed, encompasses two distinct entities. One of these is segregated and described here as a new species, P. alpestre. The two species are described, illustrated, compared, and contrasted.
The Sales Manager's Bases of Social Power and Influence upon the Sales Force:

The relationships between the sales manager's social power bases and the salesperson's satisfaction with supervision, role clarity, and propensity to leave the organization are empirically analyzed...
The use of bacteriocin-producing Pediococcus acidilactici to control postprocessing Listeria monocytogenes contamination of frankfurters

The ability of a bacteriocin-producing Pediococcus acidilactici to control postprocessing Listeria monocytogenes contamination of frankfurters was examined. Bacteriocin-producing P. acidilactici JD1-23 or its plasmid-cured derivative JD-M and a five-strain composite of L. monocytogenes were inoculated onto fully processed frankfurters. Under normal storage conditions at 4°C under vacuum, L. monocytogenes without added pediococci grew from an initial level of 104 CFU/g to a final level of 106 CFU/g over 60 d, with a lag time of 20-30 d. Under the same conditions, high levels (107 CFU/g) of either pediococcal strain inhibited growth of L. monocytogenes up to 60 d, although no reduction of cells occurred. With low levels of pediococci (103-104 CFU/g), Listeria grew, although the lag time was increased, and a bacteriocin effect was observed on frankfurters inoculated with JD1-23. In additional experiments done at 4°C and 15°C under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, levels of 107-108 CFU/g of either pediococci were observed to control Listeria growth on frankfurters at 15°C under anaerobic conditions for up to 15 d. At 4°C under aerobic conditions, L. monocytogenes grew on frankfurters inoculated with JD-M, while JD1-23 inhibited growth of the organism up to 30 d. At 15°C under aerobic conditions, L. monocytogenes grew in the presence of either pediococci, although a bacteriocin effect was indicated. Package atmosphere was observed to affect L. monocytogenes growth on this product.
Detection of influenza by real time RT-PCR is not affected by delays in respiratory specimen processing

Sample processing for real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) based diagnostic assays requires stabilizing sample ribonucleic acid (RNA) in lysis buffer prior to testing. The stability of viral RNA prior to processing is difficult to assure. It is unknown whether clinical sample integrity is compromised by delays in processing, as may occur due to weekends and holidays. We sought to examine the integrity of respiratory specimens with variable processing times. Upper respiratory specimens were collected during three influenza seasons 2009-2012 and tested for influenza virus and internal control human RNase P (RNP) RNA by rRT-PCR. Time to processing was measured in hours from specimen collection to placement in lysis buffer. Six hundred thirty-five (11.4%) of 5,583 samples were influenza positive. Mean and median times to processing were 11.5 hr and 6.0 hr, respectively (min 0.1 hr, max 105.2 hr). There were no significant associations between time to processing and presence of RNP (OR = 1.0, P = 0.740), or detection of influenza (OR = 1.0, P = 0.060). Longer duration of illness was associated with a lower likelihood of influenza detection (OR = 0.92, P < 0.001) and with increased influenza A cycle threshold (Ct) values (P < 0.001), while older age was associated with increased influenza B Ct values (P = 0.001), indicating the presence of less amplifiable RNA. Delays in time to processing of upper respiratory specimens up to 105 hr were not associated with decreased detection of amplifiable RNA, suggesting specimen integrity is not compromised by such delays. J. Med. Virol. 88:1891-1895, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Design of robust fault-tolerant H~∞ control systems based on LMI

In this paper, robust fault-tolerant H∞control for linear uncertain systems is studied. Based on LMI and Lyapunov method, a sufficient condition of robust stability for linear uncertain systems with sensor failure is presented. A numerical examples are given to illustrate the design procedure and its effectiveness.
Submillisecond Dynamics of Mastoparan X Insertion into Lipid Membranes.

The mechanism of protein insertion into a lipid bilayer is poorly understood because the kinetics of this process is difficult to measure. We developed a new approach to study insertion of the antimicrobial peptide Mastoparan X into zwitterionic lipid vesicles, using a laser-induced temperature-jump to initiate insertion on the microsecond time scale and infrared and fluorescence spectroscopies to follow the kinetics. Infrared probes the desolvation of the peptide backbone and yields biphasic kinetics with relaxation lifetimes of 12 and 117 μs, whereas fluorescence probes the intrinsic tryptophan residue located near the N-terminus and yields a single exponential phase with a lifetime of 440 μs. Arrhenius analysis of the temperature-dependent rates yields an activation energy for insertion of 96 kJ/mol. These results demonstrate the complexity of the insertion process and provide mechanistic insight into the interplay between peptides and the lipid bilayer required for peptide transport across cellular me...
Diabetic Vitrectomy Update

There have been considerable recent advances in vitrectomy tools and techniques for treating the complications of diabetic retinopathy. It is essential to recognize that to a substantial extent, a diabetic patient requiring vitrectomy indicates a failure of the diabetic screening process, patient education, medical management, retinopathy screening, and/or laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy. Early detection of clinically significant macular edema and intervention with focal laser is a remarkable success story as is pan-retinal photocoagulation for proliferative retinopathy. Prevention of retinopathy is better for the patient than laser treatment, which is, in turn, far less invasive than vitrectomy.
Effects of Molecular Geometry on the Properties of Compressed Diamondoid Crystals.

Diamondoids are an intriguing group of carbon-based nanomaterials, which combine desired properties of inorganic nanomaterials and small hydrocarbon molecules with atomic-level uniformity. In this Letter, we report the first comparative study on the effect of pressure on a series of diamondoid crystals with systematically varying molecular geometries and shapes, including zero-dimensional (0D) adamantane; one-dimensional (1D) diamantane, [121]tetramantane, [123]tetramantane, and [1212]pentamantane; two-dimensional (2D) [12312]hexamantane; and three-dimensional (3D) triamantane and [1(2,3)4]pentamantane. We find the bulk moduli of these diamondoid crystals are strongly dependent on the diamondoids’ molecular geometry with 3D [1(2,3)4]pentamantane being the least compressible and 0D adamantane being the most compressible. These diamondoid crystals possess excellent structural rigidity and are able to sustain large volume deformation without structural failure even after repetitive pressure loading cycles. T...
Is a Full Cardiac Workup Indicated for Morbidly Obese Patients with Cardiac Disease

The decision to order preoperative laboratory tests for the obese patient with known cardiovascular disability must be predicated on the assumption that the results of testing will generate a change in anesthetic technique, type and extent of perioperative cardiovascular monitoring and possibly prompt therapeutic interventions before the intended surgical procedure. The single most important criterion for testing is that the results should contribute to improved perioperative cardiovascular outcome. The common practice of “routine testing”, based on excessive BMI, should be avoided.
Delhi's health system exceptionalism: inadequate progress for a global capital city.

Abstract Objectives India has proclaimed commitment to the goal of Universal Health Coverage and Delhi, the National Capital Territory, has increased investment in public health and other health services over the past decade. The research investigates whether Delhi's increased investment in health over this period is associated with a reduction in premature deaths, after the age of 1 year, which could have been avoided with better access to effective health care interventions (amenable mortality). Study design A population-based study of changes in amenable mortality (AM) in Delhi over the 2003–2013 period. Methods To calculate AM, a list of International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes from the published literature was relied upon. In defining AM in India, an upper age limit of 69 years was adopted, rather than the more common limit of 74 years. Population estimates and vital statistics were downloaded from the Delhi Statistical Handbook. Deaths by cause and age, including medical certification, are from the Vital Statistics site of the Delhi Government. To age-adjust these data, the direct method was employed, using weights derived from the 2010 United Nations world standard population. Results The research found that, between 2004 and 2013, the age-adjusted rate of AM rose from 0.87 to 1.09. The leading causes of death in both years were septicemia and tuberculosis. Maternal mortality is well above the global level for middle-income countries. Conclusion Recent investments in public health and health care and the capacity to leverage them to improve access to effective care have not been sufficient to overcome the crushing poverty and inequalities within Delhi. Large and growing numbers of residents die prematurely each year due to causes that are amenable to public health and health care interventions.
Enhancing the role of faith-based organizations to improve health: a commentary.

Researchers, policymakers, and community members increasingly recognize the potential to leverage faith-based organizations (FBOs) to improve health. This commentary complements Leyva and colleagues’ article on whether and how members of FBOs view such a role. The commentary draws on our 13+ years operating a faith-based and community-based research organization, Faith Moves Mountains, in the Appalachian context. Issues to be addressed in the further development of faith-based health promotion include sustainability; adherence to the evidence-based operations of interventions, training, and privacy and protection protocols; and understanding the changing landscape of American public life.
Numerical Analysis of Stochastic Differential Systems and its Applications in Finance

In this note, we provide a survey of recent results on numerical analysis of stochastic differential systems and its applications in Finance.
Small-Scale Die-Offs in Woodrats Support Long-Term Maintenance of Plague in the U.S. Southwest

Abstract Our longitudinal study of plague dynamics was conducted in north-central New Mexico to identify which species in the community were infected with plague, to determine the spatial and temporal patterns of the dynamics of plague epizootics, and to describe the dynamics of Yersinia pestis infection within individual hosts. A total of 3156 fleas collected from 535 small mammals of 8 species were tested for Y. pestis DNA. Nine fleas collected from six southern plains woodrats (Neotoma micropus) and from one rock squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus) were positive for the pla gene of Y. pestis. None of 127 fleas collected from 17 woodrat nests was positive. Hemagglutinating antibodies to the Y. pestis-specific F1 antigen were detected in 11 rodents of 6 species. All parts of the investigated area were subjected to local disappearance of woodrats. Despite the active die-offs, some woodrats always were present within the relatively limited endemic territory and apparently were never exposed to plague. Ou...
Appraising Black-Boxed Technology: the Positive Prospects

One staple of living in our information society is having access to the web. Web-connected devices interpret our queries and retrieve information from the web in response. Today’s web devices even purport to answer our queries directly without requiring us to comb through search results in order to find the information we want. How do we know whether a web device is trustworthy? One way to know is to learn why the device is trustworthy by inspecting its inner workings (Lehrer The Monist, 78(2), 156–170 1995; Humphreys 2004, Episteme, 6(2), 221–229 2009). But ordinary users of web devices cannot inspect their inner workings because of their scale, complexity, and the corporate secrecy which enshrouds both the procedures by which the devices operate and the companies that make them (Pasquale 2015). Further piling on this predicament, authors have criticized web technology on the grounds that the invisibility of the web devices’ inner workings prevents users from critically assessing the procedures that produce a given output, in some cases, barring users from fulfilling their epistemic responsibilities (Simon Ethics and Information Technology, 12(4), 343–355 2010; Miller and Record Episteme, 10(2), 117–134 2013). I consider four broad kinds of reasons which we can acquire without inspecting the inner workings of black-boxed technology: individual understanding, expert testimony, testing through experience, and social vetting; and show how each is a viable method of appraising black-boxed technology. By deploying these methods, we can remain responsible inquirers while nonetheless benefitting from today’s epistemic resources on the web.
The Influence of the Microbiota on the Etiology of Colorectal Cancer

The microbiome of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is estimated to comprise 39 trillion organisms that act in a symbiotic relationship with the surrounding tissue cells to maintain homeostasis. Constituents of the gut microbiota occupy either a planktonic niche within the fecal stream, are adherent to the gut mucosa, or are associated with the mucous layer. Alterations in the gut microbiota at any of these levels, caused by the genetics of an individual or by environmental factors, can disturb this homeostatic relationship and promote disease such as colorectal cancer (CRC). CRC is the third most common form of cancer in both men and women and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the USA, representing a considerable disease burden. The intimate association between the microbiota and the cells of the colon sets the stage for a number of interactions that may contribute to carcinogenesis. Although only a few specific commensal species may play a direct causal role in CRC, more general shifts in the composition may promote local inflammation through the engagement of innate immune receptors encoded within the colonic tissue. Changes in gene expression within the microbiota may also be important as virulence factors are altered and metabolites are produced that may have detrimental effects on the tissue. In this chapter, we explore the theoretical bodyworks through which certain members of the microbiota are believed to cause CRC, the sensing of microbiota-associated molecular patterns by innate immune receptors known as toll-like-receptors (TLRs) and the various strategies aimed at manipulating the microbiota and targeting the TLRs, in the hope of developing new treatment approaches.
Industry Rotation and Time-Varying Sensitivity by VIX

In this article, the authors, one of whom was a doctoral student of Stephen A. Ross, investigate the cross section of industry returns and the effect of uncertainty as proxied by the VIX index. They find that different moments of the distribution of cross-sectional returns for industries are significantly correlated to both the change in VIX and the level of VIX. Furthermore, the size effect diminishes after controlling for the industry effect. The sensitivity to the change in VIX is time varying. Different VIX regimes and different events can alter industry sensitivities. Non-stationarity of the sensitivity may also introduce complexity on factor or smart beta strategies, which tilt toward a favorable risk premium factor. Finally, the authors propose a general approach for industry rotation.
Rats can replay episodic memories of past odors

Panoz-Brown et al. (Current Biology, 28, 1628-1634, 2018) present evidence to support the hypothesis that rats can replay their episode memory to determine which of a series of odors was at a particular location in the sequence. They also show that the hippocampus is likely involved in allowing the rats to replay those memories.
THE USE OF SEMI-PERMANENT MOUNTS IN SANITATION COLLABORATIVE WORK1

Due to the failure of technicians to agree on their results, it is very difficult to obtain significant answers to problems of sanitation analysis through collaborative tests. Much of the reason fo...
Comparison of current Federal Reference Methods for ambient lead measurements adjacent to a secondary lead smelter.

ABSTRACTThe United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reduced their National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for lead (Pb) an order of magnitude to a concentration level of 0.15 micr...
Daily heat treatment maintains mitochondrial function and attenuates atrophy in human skeletal muscle subjected to immobilization

Limb immobilization results in substantial decreases in skeletal muscle size, function, and metabolic capacity. To date, there are few, if any, interventions to prevent the deleterious effects of l...
Chest radiograph image enhancement with wavelet decomposition and morphological operations

Medical image processing algorithms significantly affect the precision of disease diagnostic process. This makes it crucial to improve the quality of a medical image with the goal to enhance perceivability of the points of interest in order to obtain accurate diagnosis of a patient. Despite the reliance of various medical diagnostics on utilize X-rays, they are usually plagued by dark and low contrast properties. Sought-after details in X-rays can only be accessed by means of digital image processing techniques, despite the fact that these techniques are far from being perfect. In this paper, we implement a wavelet decomposition and reconstruction technique to enhance radiograph properties, some of which include contrast and noise, by using a series of morphological erosion and dilation to improve the visual quality of the chest radiographs for the detection of cancer nodules.
Comparison of four heterogeneity measures for meta-analysis.

RATIONALE, AIMS, AND OBJECTIVES Heterogeneity is a critical issue in meta-analysis, because it implies the appropriateness of combining the collected studies and impacts the reliability of the synthesized results. The Q test is a traditional method to assess heterogeneity; however, because it does not have an intuitive interpretation for clinicians and often has low statistical power, many meta-analysts alter to use some measures, such as the I2 statistic, to quantify the extent of heterogeneity. This article aims at providing a summary of available tools to assess heterogeneity and comparing their performance. METHODS We reviewed four heterogeneity measures (I2 , RI , RM , and Rb ) and illustrated how they could be treated as test statistics like the Q statistic. These measures were compared with respect to statistical power based on simulations driven by three real-data examples. The pairwise agreement among the four measures was also evaluated using Cohen's κ coefficient. RESULTS Generally, RI was slightly more powerful than the Q test, while its type I error rate might be slightly inflated. The power of I2 was fairly close to that of Q. The RM and Rb statistics might have low powers in some cases. Because the differences between the powers of I2 , RI , and Q were often tiny, meta-analysts might not expect I2 and RI to yield significant heterogeneity if the Q test failed to do so. In addition, I2 and RI had fairly good agreement based on the simulated meta-analyses, but all other pairs of heterogeneity measures generally had poor agreement. CONCLUSION The I2 and RI statistics are recommended for measuring heterogeneity. Meta-analysts should use the heterogeneity measures as descriptive statistics which have intuitive interpretations from the clinical perspective, instead of determining the significance of heterogeneity simply based on their magnitudes.
First reported case of diphallia in Corynorhinus townsendii

We describe the first reported case of diphallia in a bat, Corynorhinus townsendii, captured during fall swarming at a hibernaculum in northern Utah, USA. Upon examination, we determined that one phallus was functional, as evidenced by production of urine, while the secondary phallus appeared to be overgrown with skin. A review of the medical literature relevant to diphallia suggests that this is a case of pseudodiphallia with a bifid shaft. We hypothesize that this morphological deformity likely has a low impact on the survival of this individual but may act as a physical barrier to copulation. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of diphallia in bats.
Coretet: A Dynamic Virtual Musical Instrument for the Twenty-First Century

Coretet is a virtual reality musical instrument that explores the translation of performance gesture and mechanic from traditional bowed string instruments into an inherently non-physical implementation. Built using the Unreal Engine 4 and Pure Data, Coretet offers musicians both a flexible and articulate musical instrument to playas well as a networked performance environment capable of supporting and presenting a traditional four-member string quartet. Building on traditional stringed instrument performance practices, Coretet was designed as a futuristic ‘21st Century’ implementation of the core gestural and interaction modalities that generate musical sound in the violin, viola and cello. Coretet exists as a client-server software system designed to be controlled using an Oculus Rift head-mounted display (HMD) and the Oculus Touch hand-tracking controllers. The instrument and performance environment are built using the Unreal Engine 4. Gesture and audio output is generated using interaction data from the engine streamed to a Pure Data (PD) [2] server via Open Sound Control (OSC) [3]. Within PD, gestural control data from Coretet is processed and used to control a variety of audio generation and manipulation processes including the [bowed~] string physical model from the Synthesis Toolkit (STK) [1].
A Prediction Model for the Type of Consumer Willing to Travel to and Live on Mars

Technological advancements in space travel have brought the concept of private, commercial space transportation closer to reality. Companies such as Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are working to offer commercial, low orbit space flights to paying customers, and SpaceX is even considering private trips to Mars. As these developments become closer to reality, an essential and missing gap in the literature relates to identifying what type of person would be willing to travel to and live on Mars. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a statistical model to identify the significant predictors of a participant's willingness to travel to and live on Mars with 536 participants. The findings from the study indicate that nine of the 18 variables were significant predictors. Model fit was assessed through three measures and found to exist for the statistical model. The paper concludes with a discussion of the significant predictors, practical applications, and recommendations for future research.