cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Caregiver Input to Optimize the Design of a Pediatric Care Planning Guide for Rehabilitation: Descriptive Study.

Background: Participation and Environment Measure Plus (PEM+) is a guide that is compatible with the YC-PEM and may expedite care plan development and strengthen a patient’s engagement in discussions and decisions about their values, needs, and desires that shape meaningful care (ie, patient-centered care). Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of a stepwise process for building on a baseline assessment of young children's participation in activities to develop a care plan relevant to pediatric rehabilitation. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study design was employed using qualitative methods. Data were collected via Web-based technology and by telephone. Twenty-five caregivers of young children (9 with developmental delays, 16 without delays) and between 1 and 7 years were recruited from a subsample of parents who had previously enrolled in a Web-based validation of a PRO on children’s participation and provided consent for future contact. Each caregiver completed a demographic questionnaire and Young Children’s Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM) online, followed by a 20- to 60-min semistructured and audiotaped phone interview to review and build upon PRO results as summarized in an electronic report. Interview data were content coded to the interview guide and reviewed by multiple research staff to estimate feasibility according to stepwise completion rates, perceptions of difficulty in step completion, and perceptions of overall utility. Results: Half of the participants in the final study sample (N=25) fully completed a stepwise process of building on their baseline PRO assessment to develop an initial care plan for their child. In most cases, similar stepwise completion rates and trends in the approaches taken for step completion were found regardless of the child’s disability status. However, more parents of children with disabilities reported difficulties in rank ordering their priorities for change and identified child-focused strategies for goal attainment. Nearly 77% (19/25) of users were willing to use the process to develop and communicate intervention priorities and strategies with professionals, family, and friends. Conclusions: Results informed revisions to the care planning guide before usability and feasibility testing of an initial Web-based prototype that is now underway.
Innovative treatment of clinically diagnosed meniscal tears: a randomized sham-controlled trial of the Mulligan concept 'squeeze' technique.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of the Mulligan Concept (MC) ‘squeeze’ technique compared to a sham technique in participants with a clinically diagnosed meniscal tear. Methods: A multi-site randomized sham-controlled trial of participants (n = 23), aged 24.91 ± 12.09 years, with a clinically diagnosed meniscal tear were equally and randomly divided into two groups. Groups received a maximum of six treatments over 14 days. Patient outcomes included the numeric pain rating scale (NRS), patient-specific functional scale (PSFS), the disablement in the physically active (DPA) scale and the knee injury osteoarthritis outcome score. Data were analysed using univariate ANOVA, univariate ANCOVA, and descriptive statistics. Results: All participants in the MC ‘squeeze’ group met the discharge criteria of ≤2 points on the NRS, ≥9 points on the PSFS, and ≤34 points or ≤23 on the DPA Scale for chronic or acute injuries, respectively within the treatment intervention timeframe. A signifi...
Acoustic waveform inversion and uncertainty analysis for explosion yield estimation

Waveform inversion techniques are widely used to extract source information from acoustic signals. The methods exploit full-waveform information and provide further constraints on source inversion than other parameter-based inversions. Infrasound waveform inversion was recently applied to chemical explosions and showed promising results for the determination of explosion yield. The method can improve the accuracy of the estimated yield by using full 3-D numerical Green's functions and incorporating the propagation path effects into the inversion. However, the inversion results are often given without any uncertainty estimation, which is critical for a post-detonation forensic analysis. In this study, we evaluate the yield estimation errors associated with the uncertainty in the atmospheric representation. An ensemble of atmospheric realizations is obtained by adding random turbulence to an atmospheric model and the uncertainty of inversion solution depending on atmospheric variation is quantified. In addition, different atmospheric models derived from local weather data or numerical weather prediction models are validated for yield estimation by using a series of chemical explosion data.
Introduction to Digital Technologies in Craniomaxillofacial Surgery

The purpose of this textbook is to review digital technologies in craniomaxillofacial surgery that have become important new tools for surgeons. From the rapid development of new digital imaging technology such as cone beam CT (CBCT) to the software programs that are able to utilize their data, a wide variety of powerful applications have been developed. Examples of these applications include the use of virtual surgical planning (VSP) for the planning and intraoperative implementation of orthognathic surgery, resection and immediate reconstruction of tumors, distraction osteogenesis, cosmetic facial implants, dental implant placement, and facial fractures. Highly accurate 3D models and surgical templates can be fabricated to support these various craniomaxillofacial surgical procedures using stereolithographic and rapid printing. CBCT, which has become widely available as an outpatient office scanning procedure, has a significantly lower radiation exposure and provides high levels of 3D imaging at a reduced cost. Data from CBCT can be uploaded to various vendors for use with virtual surgical planning (VSP).
Structure of the RNA of Eukaryotic Viruses

The first natural homodisperse polyribonucleotides to become available for chemical characterization were the virion RNAs of plant viruses and certain animal viruses. The finding that the infectivity of many viruses, first of tobacco mosaic virus, was a property of their RNAs (Fraenkel-Conrat, 1956; Gierer and Schramm, 1956; Fraenkel-Conrat et al., 1957; Colter et al., 1957), and that these thus represented the first pure genes as well as mRNAs to become available, made studies of their nucleotide sequences obviously of great interest. The later and gradual realization that the virions of many other virus families, e. g., the rhabdo-, myxo-, paramyxo- and reoviridae, carried minus-strand or double-stranded RNAs which had to be transcribed before they could serve as messenger did not diminish the intrinsic importance and interest in their nucleotide sequence.
Context Matters for Nurses Leading Pain Improvement in U.S. Hospitals.

Abstract Background: Pain continues to be a problem in hospitalized patients. Contextual factors contribute to the success of pain quality improvement efforts. Aims: This paper describes nurse team leaders’ perceptions of organizational context and factors perceived to help and hinder the process of leading a unit-based improvement effort focused on pain. Design: Qualitative descriptive design. Setting: Interviews took place over the telephone. Participants: Nurses from 106 hospitals across the United States. Methods: Investigators interviewed 125 nurses leading a unit-based pain quality improvement project in partnership with the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators. Lewin’s Field Theory guided a thematic analysis. Results: Key contextual factors related to the amount of change in the health care environment and characteristics of the organization and providers. Helping forces included characteristics of nurses, teamwork, a culture of quality, opportunities for learning, pain management resources, and accountability for pain management. Hindering forces included: barriers to involvement, attitudes and relationships, lack of knowledge, and types of patients. Conclusions: Overcoming the pervasive barriers of constant change and lack of staff involvement while also capitalizing on the culture of quality and characteristics of the health care team may further enhance and sustain improvement efforts related to pain management of hospitalized patients. New models for influencing quality improvement could be strengthened with involving frontline staff in both planning and implementation of improvement efforts. Clinical Implications: Because of the diverse responses, it is recommended that each unit conduct a force-field analysis to guide successful implementation of improvement efforts.
High molecular weight hyaluronan ameliorates allergic inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness in the mouse.

Allergic asthma is a major cause of morbidity in both pediatric and adult patients. Recent research has highlighted the role of hyaluronan (HA), an extracellular matrix glycosaminoglycan, in asthma...
Simultaneous LC-MS/MS analysis of simvastatin, atorvastatin, rosuvastatin and their active metabolites for plasma samples of obese patients underwent gastric bypass surgery.

Abstract Statins, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, are considered the first line treatment of hyperlipidemia to reduce the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. The prevalence of hyperlipidemia and the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases are higher in obese patients. Published methods for the quantification of statins and their active metabolites did not test for matrix effect of or validate the method in hyperlipidemic plasma. A sensitive, specific, accurate, and reliable LC–MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantification of simvastatin (SMV), active metabolite of simvastatin acid (SMV-A), atorvastatin (ATV), active metabolites of 2-hydroxy atorvastatin (2-OH-ATV), 4-hydroxy atorvastatin (4-OH-ATV), and rosuvastatin (RSV) was developed and validated in plasma with low (52–103 mg/dl, 300 mg/dl) levels of triglyceride. The column used in this method was ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 × 100 mm I.D., 1.7 μm). A gradient elution of mobile phase A (10 mM ammonium formate and 0.04% formic acid in water) and mobile phase B (acetonitrile) was used with a flow rate of 0.4 ml/min and run time of 5 min. The transitions of m/z 436.3 → 285.2 for SMV, m/z 437.2 → 303.2 for SMV-A, m/z 559.2 → 440.3 for ATV, m/z 575.4 → 440.3 for 2-OH-ATV and 4-OH-ATV, m/z 482.3 → 258.1 for RSV, and m/z 412.3 → 224.2 for fluvastatin (internal standard, IS) were determined by Selected Reaction Monitoring (SRM) method to detect transitions ions in the positive ion mode. The assay has a linear range of 0.25 (LLOQ) −100 ng/ml for all six analytes. Accuracy (87–114%), precision (3–13%), matrix effect (92–110%), and extraction recovery (88–100%) of the assay were within the 15% acceptable limit of FDA Guidelines in variations for plasma with both low and high triglyceride levels. The method was used successfully for the quantification of SMV, ATV, RSV, and their active metabolites in human plasma samples collected for an ongoing clinical pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study on patients prior to and post gastric bypass surgery (GBS).
Spinal Hyper-Excitability and Altered Muscle Structure Contribute to Muscle Hypertonia in Newborns After Antenatal Hypoxia-Ischemia in a Rabbit Cerebral Palsy Model

Rabbit kits after global antenatal hypoxic-ischemic injury exhibit motor deficits similar to humans with cerebral palsy. We tested several mechanisms previously implicated in spinal hyper-excitability after perinatal brain injury that may explain muscle hypertonia in newborns. Stiffness of hind limb muscles during passive stretch, electromyogram, and spinal excitability by Hoffman reflex, were assessed in rabbit kits with muscle hypertonia after global hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and naive controls. Affected muscle architecture, motoneuron morphology, primary afferents density, gliosis, and KCC2 expression transporter in the spinal cord were also examined. Decrease knee stiffness after anesthetic administration was larger, but residual stiffness was higher in hypertonic kits compared to controls. Hypertonic kits exhibited muscle shortening and atrophy, in both agonists and antagonists. Sarcomere length was longer in tibialis anterior in hypertonic kits than in controls. Hypertonic kits had decreased rate dependent depression and increased Hmax/Mmax in H-reflex. Motor neuron soma sizes, primary afferent density were not different between controls and hypertonic kits. Length of dendritic tree and ramification index were lower in hypertonic group. Gene expression of KCC2 was lower in hypertonic kits, but protein content was not different between the groups. In conclusion, while we found evidence of decreased supraspinal inhibitory control and increased excitability by H-reflex that may contribute to neuronal component in hypertonia, increased joint resistance to stretch was explained predominantly by changes in passive properties of muscles and joints. We did not find structural evidence of increased sensory afferent input or morphological changes in motoneurons that might explain increased excitability. Gliosis, observed in spinal gray matter, may contribute to muscle hypertonia.
Liquid Metal-Microelectronics Integration for a Sensorized Soft Robot Skin

Progress in soft robotics depends on the integration of electronics for sensing, power regulation, and signal processing. Commercially available microelectronics satisfy these functions and are small enough to preserve the natural mechanics of the host system. Here, we present a method for incorporating microelectronic sensors and integrated circuits (ICs) into the elastomeric skin of a soft robot. The thin stretchable skin contains various solid-state electronics for orientation, pressure, proximity, and temperature sensing, and a microprocessor. The components are connected by thin-film copper traces wetted with eutectic gallium indium (EGaIn), a room temperature liquid metal alloy that allows the circuit to maintain conductivity as it deforms under mechanical loading. In this paper, we characterize the function of the individual sensors in air and water, discuss the integration of the microelectronic skin with a shape-memory actuated soft gripper, and demonstrate the sensorized soft gripper in conjunction with a 4 degree-of-freedom (DOF) robot arm.
Palliative Care Referrals for Advanced Non–small-cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): Patient and Provider Attitudes and Practices

Abstract Background Early palliative care (PC) improves quality of life and prolongs survival for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Despite these benefits, patient- and provider-specific barriers lead to underutilization of PC. To investigate these barriers, this 2 part study surveyed United States oncologists and patients with NSCLC. Patients and Methods Oncologists in the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer membership directory were surveyed on referral practice and attitudes regarding the role of PC for patients with NSCLC. Patients with advanced NSCLC at the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center were surveyed separately regarding their understanding of PC and factors influencing them to seek referral. Results Of 279 oncologists, 93 responded. Eighty-three percent believe definitive evidence exists supporting early PC; however, in practice, oncologists only refer an average of 19% of patients at diagnosis. Reasons for not referring included lack of symptoms (56%), belief that oncologists can manage PC independently (46%), not wanting to burden patients with appointments (41%), concern that referral may not be well received (38%), and long wait times (20%). Of 100 patients with NSCLC, 64% were unfamiliar with PC. Six percent had seen a PC provider. Ninety-eight percent of patients would accept referral if recommended by their oncologist. Patients desired referral for uncontrolled pain (95%), weak support system (86%), other cancer-related symptoms (85%), goals of care discussion (76%), and depression/anxiety (76%). Conclusion Although most oncologists acknowledge benefits of early PC for patients with metastatic NSCLC, a minority of patients are referred. Few patients with NSCLC are familiar with PC, but most are interested in referral.
Relationship Between Burnout, Professional Behaviors, and Cost-Conscious Attitudes Among US Physicians

Despite the importance of professionalism, little is known about how burnout relates to professionalism among practicing physicians. To evaluate the relationship between burnout and professional behaviors and cost-conscious attitudes. Cross-sectional study in a national sample of physicians of whom a fourth received a sub-survey with items exploring professional behaviors and cost-conscious attitudes. Responders who were not in practice or in select specialties were excluded. Maslach Burnout Inventory and items on professional behaviors and cost-conscious attitudes. Among those who received the sub-survey 1008/1224 (82.3%) responded, and 801 were eligible for inclusion. Up to one third of participants reported engaging in unprofessional behaviors related to administrative aspects of patient care in the last year, such as documenting something they did not do to close an encounter in the medical record (243/759, 32.0%). Fewer physicians reported other dishonest behavior (e.g., claiming unearned continuing medical education credit; 40/815, 4.9%). Most physicians endorsed cost-conscious attitudes with over 75% (618/821) agreeing physicians have a responsibility to try to control health-care costs and 62.9% (512/814) agreeing that cost to society is important in their care decisions regarding use of an intervention. On multivariable analysis adjusting for personal and professional characteristics, burnout was independently associated with reporting 1 or more unprofessional behaviors (OR 2.01, 95%CI 1.47–2.73, p < 0.0001) and having less favorable cost-conscious attitudes (difference on 6–24 scale − 0.90, 95%CI − 1.44 to − 0.35, p = 0.001). Professional burnout is associated with self-reported unprofessional behaviors and less favorable cost-conscious attitudes among physicians.
¡Aleatorízalo! Sobre Poor Economics

Book review of "Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty", by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo.
Genetics of Togaviruses

Genetic analysis of togaviruses is unlikely to make any substantial new contribution to our understanding of the discipline of genetics. Rather, it should provide a fuller understanding of the structure, replication, and pathogenesis of these viruses. A brief review of the structure and biochemistry of togaviruses may be useful as a background against which both the progress and the unresolved problems of togavirus genetics can be viewed. An earlier volume in this series presents a more comprehensive survey (Pfefferkorn and Shapiro, 1974).
NJSAA Research Grant Now Available to Students of NJ Studies

The New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance is now offering a $300 grant to support research on any aspect of New Jersey. It is open to high school and college students. NJ Studies sits down with the man behind the award, Gary Saretzky, to discuss why he believes we should invest in the future in this way.
Effect of Pre-Rigor Deboning and Storage Time on the Growth of Salmonella and E. Coli in Various Stages of Beef Sausage Production

ObjectivesSalmonella and Escherichia coli are the two most common bacterial pathogens found in ground beef. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of pre-rigor deboning and storage time on the growth of Salmonella and E. coli in various stages of beef sausage production, including grinding, salting, and batter production.Materials and MethodsFive 24 mo old Holstein steers were slaughtered and the left chuck primals were deboned, ground, and salted (1.5%) within 2 h post-mortem (pre-rigor treatment), whereas the right chuck primals were processed at 72 h post-mortem (post-rigor treatment) without immediate salting. Ground beef was processed into sausage batter on d 7 post-mortem, during which the salting of post-rigor meat was performed separately from batter formulation. At each stage (grinding, salting, and batter production), twelve 25-g samples of lean (GB), salted lean (SB), and batter (BB) were withdrawn for each primal. The samples were inoculated with a cocktail of Nalidixic acid resistant Salmonella (S. Typhimurium, S. Enteritidis, and S. Braenderup) and generic E. coli in buffered peptone water to achieve a final inoculum concentration of approximately 3 log CFU/g of sample. Inoculated samples were stored at 4°C for 0, 3, 7, and 10 d (a triplicate per time point). Enumeration was performed on XLD (Salmonella) and EMB (E.coli) agars containing 50 ppm of Nalidixic acid. A randomized complete block design with a split-plot of time and the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) was used to analyze data. Statistical significance was determined at P ≤ 0.05.ResultsTime of deboning and storage time did not influence E. coli counts (P > 0.284). Salmonella count in the pre-rigor GB was 3.5 log CFU/g, less than that in the post-rigor GB (3.6 log CFU/g; P = 0.014), which might be a result of small variability in the current study and might not be practical for the meat industry. Pre-rigor deboning did not affect Salmonella counts in SB and BB (P > 0.965) and neither did storage time in GB, SB, and BB (P > 0.089). Salmonella counts were less (P < 0.001) in SB (3.2 log CFU/g) and BB (3.1 log CFU/g) than in GB (3.6 log CFU/g).ConclusionResults indicated that salting and batter formulation had a greater impact on Salmonella counts (0.4- to 0.5-log CFU/g reduction) than rigor state of the raw meat material.
A Begomovirus Nuclear Shuttle Protein-Interacting Immune Hub: Hijacking Host Transport Activities and Suppressing Incompatible Functions

Begomoviruses (Geminiviridae family) represent a severe constraint to agriculture worldwide. As ssDNA viruses that replicate in the nuclei of infected cells, the nascent viral DNA has to move to the cytoplasm and then to the adjacent cell to cause disease. The begomovirus nuclear shuttle protein (NSP) assists the intracellular transport of viral DNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and cooperates with the movement protein (MP) for the cell-to-cell translocation of viral DNA to uninfected cells. As a facilitator of intra- and intercellular transport of viral DNA, NSP is predicted to associate with host proteins from the nuclear export machinery, the intracytoplasmic active transport system, and the cell-to-cell transport complex. Furthermore, NSP functions as a virulence factor that suppresses antiviral immunity against begomoviruses. In this review, we focus on the protein-protein network that converges on NSP with a high degree of centrality and forms an immune hub against begomoviruses. We also describe the compatible host functions hijacked by NSP to promote the nucleocytoplasmic and intracytoplasmic movement of viral DNA. Finally, we discuss the NSP virulence function as a suppressor of the recently described NSP-interacting kinase 1 (NIK1)-mediated antiviral immunity. Understanding the NSP-host protein-protein interaction (PPI) network will probably pave the way for strategies to generate more durable resistance against begomoviruses.
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and Traumatic Stress: Probable Risk Factors and Correlates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak, which first began in December 2019 in China, has since become a global health crisis with vast and devastating consequences for individuals and societie...
Partnering to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening: Perspectives of Community Advisory Board Members.

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) defines engagement in research as the meaningful involvement of patients, caregivers, clinicians, insurers, and others throughout the entire...
Management of Cardiac Sarcoidosis after Orthotopic Heart Transplant: A Multi-Institutional Experience

Purpose Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) is a chronic granulomatous disease of uncertain etiology that has the potential to recur in transplanted hearts. Practice guidelines outlining the optimal care of CS patients do not currently exist for heart transplant recipients. We therefore conducted an online survey of heart transplant providers to gain insight into current practice patterns. Methods An online survey was distributed to members of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. It consisted of 16 questions designed to classify provider type, location and management preferences. Differences between groups were analyzed for significance using Chi-square and/or Fisher exact tests. Results 82 providers from 49 different transplant centers responded to our survey. Among respondents, 56 (69%) were cardiologists, 11 (13.1%) advanced practice providers, and 3 (3.6%) surgeons. A significantly greater percentage of centers maintained their CS versus non-CS patients on lifelong prednisone (58.2% vs 4.9%, p Conclusion A significantly greater proportion of CS patients are maintained on lifelong prednisone post-OHT compared to non-CS patients. For routine monitoring of CS recurrence, cardiac MRI and PET appear to be the preferred modalities for assessing CS recurrence in the allograft. However, a significant percentage of providers do not routinely monitor for CS recurrence post-OHT.
Association Between Dynamic Parasympathetic Reactivity to Frustration and Children’s Social Success with Peers in Kindergarten

The inability to regulate affective arousal in the context of frustration may jeopardize children’s ability to form successful friendships, especially as new peer groups are formed during the transition to kindergarten. While substantial research has utilized teacher reports of children’s socioemotional behavior, there is less empirical evidence on the peer perspective. The present study utilized data from n = 235 kindergarteners (54% high in disruptive behavior) recruited for a multicomponent intervention. We examined whether physiological reactivity to frustration was associated with children’s social success. Peer nominations of liking or disliking to play with the child were used to compute a social preference score, where negative values reflect greater rejection than acceptance. Multilevel growth modeling was employed to capture changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity across a manipulated inhibitory control task administered in 3 blocks, with differing algorithms embedded to induce affect: points were earned in the 1st and 3rd blocks (reward) and lost during the 2nd block (frustration). Groups did not differ in RSA reactivity during the 1st block, but children who experience greater peer rejection showed significant decreases in RSA (increases in arousal) across frustration. This increased arousal persisted across the 3rd block despite the reinstatement of reward, indicating a greater degree of reactivity and a lack of recovery relative to peer-accepted children. Teacher screenings of disruptive behavior only partially aligned with peer ratings of acceptance, highlighting the benefits of leveraging peer report to capture regulatory functioning and identify children for intervention recruitment.
Suzanne Jacob Translations from Poèmes I

Jeanine Hathaway currently enjoys professor emerita status from Wichita State University, having taught creative writing and literature there. She was a poetry mentor in Seattle Pacific University’s MFA Program. Hathaway is the author of the autobiographical novel Motherhouse (1992), the 2001 Vassar Miller Poetry Prize-winning The Self as Constellation (2002), and a chapbook, The Ex-Nun Poems (2011) HYPERLINK: https://www.jeaninehathaway.com"https://www.jeaninehathaway.com. Wilson Baldridge participated in all three international colloquia on Deguy's work (Paris, 1995; Cerisy, 2006; Bordeaux, 2011) and composed the biographical section of Les ecrits de Michel Deguy (IMEC, 2002). Recumbents, his translation of Deguy’s Gisants together with the interpretive afterword by Jacques Derrida‚ "How to Name" (Wesleyan, 2005), received the 2006 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation. His list includes "Savoir, inventer" in the Grand Cahier Michel Deguy & "Lumiere et revelation dans Sans retour" in Michel Deguy, l'allegresse pensive.
The Practical Library Trainer

* Acknowledgments * Introduction * Chapter 1. Preparing the Library for a Staff Training Program * Types of Staff Training * The Role of a Training Administrator (TA) * Establishing a Funding Level * Checklist for Sustainability of a Library Staff Training Program * Chapter 2. Recruitment and Retention of Library Staff: Can These Issues Benefit from a Staff Training Program? * Recruitment * Retention * Competency Development * Chapter 3. Suggestions for a Comprehensive Training Program for Library Staff * Components * Budget Issues * Program Evaluation * Dissemination * Sustainability * Chapter 4. The Workplace As Learning Place * Steps in Creating an Integrated Learning Environment * "Blended Learning" to Keep the Staff Engaged * What Are the Latest Trends? * Chapter 5. Train the Trainer: The In-House Training Opportunity * Training Programs * Engaging the Learner * Chapter 6. The Conference As a Continuing Education Opportunity * Reasons to Attend a Conference or Seminar * Planning for the Conference * Selected Conferences * Receiving Continuing Education Credit * Chapter 7. The ROI Report and E-Training * Measuring the Benefits of E-Training * What is ROI? * Two Suggested Examples of the ROI Formula * Practical Elements for Calculating ROI * Chapter 8. Is the Library Continuing Education Program Working? Evaluating the Training Program * Why a Questionnaire? * ASTD Evaluation Tools * Failures of Evaluation * Key Questions to Ask * Chapter 9. Library Training: A Future Perspective * Overcoming Resistance to Training * Elements in Planning the Library for the Future * Retaining the Library Staff for the Future * The Future of Training Library Staff * Chapter 10. Delivering Blended Learning to Library Staff in Southeast Florida: A Case Study * Southeast Florida Library Information Network (SEFLIN) * A Scalable Program * Why Blended Learning? * Web-Based Learning * Instructor-Led E-Learning * Teleconferences * Compressed Video * Streaming Media * Classroom-Based Technology-Assisted Formats * The Future of Technology-Based Training * Appendix A. ROI Courses Offered at U.S. Business Schools * Appendix B. Train-the-Trainer Degrees, Certificates, Workshops, and Courses * Appendix C. Staff Training Outcomes Survey Questionnaire * Template 1 * Template 2 * Appendix D. A Sample User Survey for Online Learning * Appendix E. A Sample Needs Assessment Survey for Blended Learning * Notes * Selected Training Bibliographies * Leadership Development * Training Budgets * Value of Training * Linking Training to Your Library's Mission and Vision * Starting a Training Program * ROI * Additional Selected Bibliography on ROI * Recruitment and Retention Issues * Train the Trainer * Selected Annotated Bibliography of Donald L. Kirkpatrick's Published Works * Index * Reference Notes Included
Is Good Governance Always Good? Performance Position, Performance Pressure, and Innovation Performance

Is good governance good for innovation? Innovation requires tolerance for failure, but increased tolerance is also prone to moral hazard, resulting in a tension in the effects of improving governance on innovation. We leverage behavioral models of performance evaluation, specifically the non-linear increase in managerial benefits of beating the industry performance benchmark, to hypothesize that managerial incentives for risk-taking and moral hazard vary based on a firm’s relative performance position. As a result, increasing managerial entrenchment actually fosters innovation in firms that face the risk of closely missing the industry benchmark but has detrimental effects in firms with limited risk of falling below the benchmark. We find empirical support based on staggered adoptions of anti-takeover laws and different types of institutional ownership and suggest the need to consider dynamic implications of governance choice.
LAWYERS AND PROFESSIONAL AUTONOMY: REFLECTIONS ON CORPORATE LAWYERING AND THE DOCTRINE OF INFORMED CONSENT

Professor Jay Katz's book The Silent World of Doctor and Pa­ tient! continues his exploration of decisionmaking between doctors and patients. He argues that the doctrine of informed consent has been so far only a fiction or mirage,2 but that it can develop into a viable principle committed to shared decisionmaking between doctors and their patients. For this to happen, we have to understand the historical and psychological barriers to increasing patient participation in deci­ sionmaking. The book is, therefore, devoted to considering these barri­ ers, particularly the psychological ones. Much of what Professor Katz says is relevant to lawyers. In this article, however, I am not going to consider in general the question whether the doctrine of informed consent should be applied to lawyers or what the current state of the law is. I have attempted to do this elsewhere.3 Neither am I going to discuss the historical or psychologi­ cal barriers to its implementation. What I wish to discuss in this arti­ cle is whether there are differences between doctors and lawyers that might create additional barriers or reasons against the application of informed consent to lawyers even if one accepts, as I do, most of Pro­ fessor Katz's arguments as they apply to doctors. The difference I will focus on can be illustrated by a story that
Efficiency, Exchange, and Auction: Philosophic Aspects of the Economic Approach to Law

Conversational literacy in neoclassical welfare economics is an apparent prerequisite to gainful employment in American law schools. Loose talk of efficiency, cost-minimization, and the liability rule/property rule distinction punctuates faculty lounge discussions. There is simply no denying that the new law and economics has arrived. So it is a fond (if only temporary) farewell to Rawls and Nozick, and a warm welcome to Coase, Pigou, Calabresi, and Posner. The new law and economics is not without critics, however. There is a growing literature which represents the view that law and economics ought to be relegated to a suitable place in the history of intellectual fads--the sooner, the better. Much of what has been written against law and economics, however, is based on unsympathetic, insensitive, and largely superficial understandings of the central works in the field. Unfortunately, much of what is written in the name of law and economics is equally insensitive to the limits within which economic analysis might prove fruitful. As unsound criticisms and unwarranted extensions of the economic approach to law mount, the time appears ripe for an examination of its analytic framework. Three distinct but related activities fall within the domain of law and economics: two of these are analytic in nature, one is normative. Analytic law and economics may be either descriptive or positive. Descriptive law and economics is concerned with the principle of economic efficiency as an explanatory tool by which existing legal rules and decisions may be rationalized or comprehended. Richard Posner's
Chemistry and Metabolism of 3-Deoxy-d-mannooctulosonic Acid II. PRACTICAL SYNTHESIS AND STABILITY

Abstract 3-Deoxy-d-mannooctulosonate (KDO) has been synthesized as the crystalline ammonium salt in good yield by the condensation of arabinose with sodium oxalacetate. The product was purified by chromatography on Dowex 50-carbonate columns followed by chromatography on cellulose. The crystalline product was stable at room temperature but was unstable in aqueous acidic or alkaline solutions. KDO decomposed slowly in neutral aqueous solution.
Models for the Structure and Dynamics of Near Wall Turbulence

The dynamics of near wall turbulence is characterized by intermittent bursts during which fine scale turbulence is produced. Bursting events have been observed in low dimensional dynamical models built from empirical eigen functions of the proper orthogonal decomposition (Lumley 1967). Severely truncated models have been derived and studied by Aubryet al. (1988) which did not account for streamwise variations in an explicit way so that all structures were infinitely long. In the present work, we are investigating the persistency of intermittent behavior in higher dimensional models. First, the new truncations account for streamwise variations. Intermittent behavior persists in all the models, but can be of different nature. In particular, the non zero streamwise modes become excited during the bursts so that infinitely long streamwise rolls burst in the streamwise direction into smaller scales. In all cases, intermittency seems to be due to homoclinic cycles connecting hyperbolic fixed points or complicated (apparently chaotic) limit sets. In the latter case, the elongated rolls are no longer steady between the bursts but randomly active, as they should be. The influence of another proper orthogonal mode (I.E. Smaller structures in the normal direction) is also investigated: bursts still occur in the same way, the second mode participating most of the time. Finally, a coherent structure study is performed in these models in order to connect our findings to those of other researchers. Most structures experimentally observed are clearly identified, I.E. streaks, streamwise rolls, horseshoe vortical structures and shear layersS
Varactor-tuned coupled resonator front-end bandpass filters for cognitive radio applications

The design, implementation and measurement results of varactor-tuned, three coupled resonator, bandpass filters for cognitive radio applications are described. Two distinct filters, one covering 176 MHz-216 MHz and the other covering 476 MHz-698 MHz is described. The filters were implemented using commercially available surface mount components on an FR-4 printed circuit board. The purpose of the bandpass filters is to provide selectivity in the front-end and provide protection from interferers. The two filters improved the intermodulation rejection of the receiver by 24 dB and 27 dB respectively.
Proximity tracking on time-evolving bipartite graphs

Given an author-conference network that evolves over time, which are the conferences that a given author is most closely related with, and how do they change over time? Large time-evolving bipartite graphs appear in many settings, such as social networks, co-citations, market-basket analysis, and collaborative filtering. Our goal is to monitor (i) the centrality of an individual node (e.g., who are the most important authors?); and (ii) the proximity of two nodes or sets of nodes (e.g., who are the most important authors with respect to a particular conference?) Moreover, we want to do this efficiently and incrementally, and to provide “any-time” answers. We propose pTrack and cTrack, which are based on random walk with restart, and use powerful matrix tools. Experiments on real data show that our methods are effective and efficient: the mining results agree with intuition; and we achieve up to 15∼176 times speed-up, without any quality loss.
How to Do Things with an Infinite Regress

Scientific methods may be viewed as procedures for converging to the true answer to a given empirical question. Typically, such methods converge to the truth only if certain empirical presuppositions are satisfied, which raises the question whether the presuppositions are satisfied. Another scientific method can be applied to this empirical question, and so forth, occasioning an empirical regress. So there is an obvious question about the point of such a regress. This paper explains how to assess the methodological worth of a methodological regress by solving for the strongest sense of single-method performance that can be achieved given that such a regress exists. Several types of regresses are “collapsed” into corresponding concepts of single method performance in this sense. The idea bears on some other issues in the philosophy of science, including Popper’s falsificationism and its relationship to Duhem’s problem.
Concurrent filtering and smoothing

This paper presents a novel algorithm for integrating real-time filtering of navigation data with full map/trajectory smoothing. Unlike conventional mapping strategies, the result of loop closures within the smoother serve to correct the real-time navigation solution in addition to the map. This solution views filtering and smoothing as different operations applied within a single graphical model known as a Bayes tree. By maintaining all information within a single graph, the optimal linear estimate is guaranteed, while still allowing the filter and smoother to operate asynchronously. This approach has been applied to simulated aerial vehicle sensors consisting of a high-speed IMU and stereo camera. Loop closures are extracted from the vision system in an external process and incorporated into the smoother when discovered. The performance of the proposed method is shown to approach that of full batch optimization while maintaining real-time operation.
Liquid nitrogen as fast high voltage switching medium

Compact pulsed power systems require new switching technologies. For high voltages, liquid nitrogen seems to be a suitable switching medium, with high hold-off voltage, low dielectric constant, and no need for pressurized systems as in high pressure gas switches. The discharge behavior in liquid nitrogen, such as breakdown voltages, formative times, current rise as function of voltage, recovery, etc. are virtually unknown, however. The phenomenology of breakdown in liquid nitrogen is investigated with high speed (temporal resolution &#60; 1 ns) electrical and optical diagnostics, in a coaxial system with 50-Ohm impedance. Discharge current and voltage are determined with transmission line type current sensors and capacitive voltage dividers. The discharge luminosity is measured with photomultiplier tubes. Preliminary results of self-breakdown investigations (gap 1 mm, breakdown voltage 44 kV, non-boiling supercooled nitrogen) show a fast (2 ns) transition from an unknown current level to several mA, a long-duration (100 ns) phase with constant current superimposed by ns-spikes, and a final fast transition to the impedance limited current during several nanoseconds. The optical measurements will be expanded toward spectroscopy and high speed photography with the aim of clarifying the overall breakdown mechanisms, including electronic initiation, bubble formation, bubble dynamics, and their role in breakdown, for different electrode geometries (different macroscopic field enhancements).
Sepsis stimulates release of myofilaments in skeletal muscle by a calcium-dependent mechanism

Sepsis is associated with a pronounced catabolic response in skeletal muscle, mainly reflecting degradation of the myofibrillar proteins actin and myosin. Recent studies suggest that sepsis-induced muscle proteolysis may reflect ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent protein breakdown. An apparently conflicting observation is that the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway does not degrade intact myofibrils. Thus, it is possible that actin and myosin need to be released from the myofibrils before they can be ubiquitinated and degraded by the proteasome. We tested the hypothesis that sepsis results in disruption of Z-bands, increased expression of calpains, and calcium-dependent release of myofilaments in skeletal muscle. Sepsis induced in rats by cecal ligation and puncture resulted in increased gene expression of micro-calpain, m-calpain, and p94 and in Z-band disintegration in the extensor digitorum longus muscle. The release of myofilaments from myofibrillar proteins was increased in septic muscle. This response to sepsis was blocked by treating the rats with dantrolene, a substance that inhibits the release of calcium from intracellular stores to the cytoplasm. The present results provide evidence that sepsis is associated with Z-band disintegration and a calcium-dependent release of myofilaments in skeletal muscle. Release of myofilaments may be an initial and perhaps rate-limiting component of sepsis-induced muscle breakdown.
Molecularly thin nanoparticles from cellulose: isolation of sub-microfibrillar structures

We have succeeded in isolating nanostructures from never-dried cellulose wood pulp, in sheet-form that have sub-microfibril dimensions (single to double digit A thickness with 100’s of nm in length). A recently developed oxidation procedure by Saito and co-workers (Biomacromolecules 2006, 7:1687–1691) combined with extensive ultrasonication was used to liberate nanoscale cellulose fibrils. We show structures, as determined with atomic force microscopy, that compose the well-known cellulose microfibril, which are tenfold thinner than previous reports on nanoscale celluloses. This work provides indirect evidence in support of, and is consistent with, the hypothesis that the intersheet van der Waals bonding of the cellulose fibril is significantly weaker than the intrasheet hydrogen bonding of the cellulose microfibril. The structures are facile to isolate, contain enormous specific surface area with rich chemical functionality providing potential for numerous novel applications.
A polynomial-time computable curve whose interior has a nonrecursive measure

Abstract A polynomial-time computable simple curve is constructed such that its measure in the two-dimensional plane is positive. This construction is applied to prove the following two results: 1. 1) there exists a polynomial-time computable simple closed curve in the two-dimensional plane such that the measure of its interior region is a nonrecursive real number; 2. (2) there exists a polynomial-time computable simple curve in the two-dimensional plane such that its length is finite but is a nonrecursive real number.
Reproductive tract anomalies in mice after prenatal exposure to DES

Mice were injected prenatally with diethylstilbestrol (DES), using various treatment schedules to see if anomalies could be induced comparable to those seen in DES-exposed women. Among 96 female offspring, the only tumors of the reproductive tract observed within 14 months of age were two benign tumors of the ovary. However, three other types of anomalies were identified among 20 mice in which the reproductive tract was sectioned. Adenosis occurred with a frequency of 40% in the upper half of the vagina, especially in the fornices. Large, transverse ridges of the vaginal mucosa were present in five mice. Metaplasia of the cervical squamo-columnar junction was seen in 80% of the sectioned reproductive tracts. These anomalies are similar in morphology and frequency to those seen in women exposed prenatally to DES. Thus, an animal model has been discovered in which the developmental origin and eventual fate of these anomalies can be studied.