cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DEA Based Benchmarking Models

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a methodology for identifying the efficient or best-practice frontier of decision making units (DMUs). It is required that all DMUs under consideration be evaluated against each other in a same pool. Adding or deleting an inefficient DMU does not alter the efficient frontier and the efficiencies of the existing DMUs. The inefficiency scores change only if the efficient frontier is altered. Benchmarking is the process of comparing a DMU’s performance to the best practices formed by a set of DMUs. DEA is also called “balanced benchmarking”, because DEA considers multiple performance metrics in a single model. Under such a notion, the best practices are the benchmarks identified by DEA. However, in a more general sense, best practices do not have to be identified by DEA—they can be existing “standards”. This chapter presents two DEA-based benchmarking approaches where one set of DMUs is compared (or benchmarked) against another. One approach is called “context-dependent” DEA where a set of DMUs is evaluated against a particular evaluation context. Each evaluation context represents an efficient frontier composed by DMUs in a specific performance level. The context-dependent DEA measures the attractiveness and the progress when DMUs exhibiting poorer and better performance are chosen as the evaluation context, respectively. The other approach consists of a fixed benchmark model and a variable benchmark model where each (new) DMU is evaluated against a set of given benchmarks (standards).
An Exploration of the Psychosocial Characteristics of High Achieving Students and Identified Gifted Students Implications for Practice

High achieving students or “bright children” are often denied access to gifted services because they do not meet “gifted” criteria. Although psychosocial factors play an integral role in academic s...
Creating the Business Case for Achieving Health Equity

Health care organizations have increasingly acknowledged the presence of health care disparities across race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status, but significantly fewer have made health equity for diverse patients a true priority. Lack of financial incentives is a major barrier to achieving health equity. To create a business case for equity, governmental and private payors can: 1) Require health care organizations to report clinical performance data stratified by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. 2) Incentivize preventive care and primary care. Implement more aggressive shared savings plans, update physician relative value unit fee schedules, and encourage partnerships across clinical and non-clinical sectors. 3) Incentivize the reduction of health disparities with equity accountability measures in payment programs. 4) Align equity accountability measures across public and private payors. 5) Assist safety-net organizations. Provide adequate Medicaid reimbursement, risk-adjust clinical performance scores for sociodemographic characteristics of patients, provide support for quality improvement efforts, and calibrate cuts to Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments to the pace of health insurance expansion. 6) Conduct demonstration projects to test payment and delivery system reform interventions to reduce disparities. Commitment to social justice is essential to achieve health equity, but insufficient without a strong business case that makes interventions financially feasible.
Superoxide Dismutase Activity of Heart and Liver Tissue from Copper Deficient Rats

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is considered to have an important role in protecting cells against direct and indirect oxidative damage1–3. Total SOD activity is the result of the activities of a copper dependent enzyme (CuSOD), present primarily in the cytoplasm, and a manganese dependent enzyme(MnSOD), localized in the mitochondrial matrix4 The catalytic activity of CuSOD is inhibited by cyanide and this property is used to distinguish it from MnSOD.5
Phenotypic evolution, constant covariances, and the maintenance of additive variance

Theoretical work in evolutionary quantitative genetics concentrates on two problems: phenotypic evolution (including speciation) and the maintenance of the heritable variation on which evolution depends. I will argue that these problems are decoupled in practice, because detailed genetic models do not make useful predictions concerning the dynamics of the critical variance and covariance parameters that enter the evolution equations for means
NOTES ON THE GENERATION AND GROWTH OF OCEAN WAVES UNDER WIND ACTION

The basic problem of forecasting wind-generated waves is the development of equations which express the energy budget between wind and waves, and the derivation of physical laws governing the growth of the component wave trains. The waves can grow only in the case where the supply of energy by wind exceeds the loss of energy by friction and turbulence. Thus any attempt to calculate the growth of ocean waves under wind action requires a knowledge of the energy supply and the energy dissipation in every phase of wave development.
America Sneezes and the World Catches a Cold

One of the most far-reaching effects of globalization has been in the increasingly interdependency of national economies. These links are not new, but are much more extensive today. For instance, it has long been said in Canada that when America sneezes, Canada catches a cold. Separated by the longest undefended border in the world, and with 90% of the Canadian labor force residing within 100 miles of the border, it is not surprising that the economies of Canada and the United States are intertwined, and form the world’s largest bilateral trading partners.
Deep Brain Stimulation May Be Beneficial for Levodopa-Refractory Tremor in Benign Tremulous Parkinsonism (P4.335)

Objective: To report a case with benign tremulous parkinsonism (BTP) successfully treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy and review the literature. Background: BTP is characterized by prominent resting tremor. Rigidity and bradykinesia are usually subtle. The tremor is often problematic because it is refractory to dopaminergic therapy. The symptoms either do not progress or progress very slowly. It is controversial whether BTP is a distinct disorder or simply a variant of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: We present a case of BTP with levodopa-refractory resting tremor in which the tremor was completely resolved after DBS therapy. Then, we reviewed previously reported cases with BTP in the literature, focusing on the results of dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging, pathological analyses, and effects of DBS. Results: A 57-year-old, left-handed man had a 3-year history of severe and functionally disabling resting tremor in his left hand. He also had very mild rigidity and bradykinesia. Tremor did not respond to any medications, including large doses of levodopa/carbidopa. He had a strong family history of PD and tremor. DAT imaging showed reduced tracer uptake in the putamen bilaterally, but there was less uptake on the right side. After DBS, his tremor had markedly subsided. Seventeen of 26 BTP cases (65[percnt]) have been reported to have had reduced striatal tracer uptake on DAT imaging, and 16/21 (76[percnt]) cases with a clinical diagnosis of BTP were reported to have pathologically-confirmed PD in another case series. Additionally, some BTP cases have had mutations in causative genes of PD such as LRRK2 and parkin . All of the reported cases with BTP treated by DBS had favorable results albeit follow-up periods were variable in each case. Conclusions: Although heterogeneous, BTP may be a variant of PD. DBS could be beneficial to patients with BTP despite poor responsiveness to levodopa. Disclosure: Dr. Konno has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ross has nothing to disclose. Dr. Wharen has nothing to disclose. Dr. Uitti has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Neurology. Dr. Wszolek has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Parkinsonism & Related Disorders and the European Journal of Neurology. Dr. Wszolek has received royalty payments for the discovery of LRRK2 gene mutations.
A compact FMCW interrogator of microstrip antenna for foot pressure sensing

This paper presents a compact antenna-sensor interrogator for pressure sensing. A Frequency Modulated Continue Wave (FMCW) generator was developed to detect antenna-sensor's resonant frequency, which encodes the pressure information. The power consumption of this generator is less than 160mW and can be powered by a 3.7V portable lithium battery. In the paper, the operation principle of this FMCW interrogator is firstly explained. Subsequently, the design, simulation and validation of the FMCW generator are described. Finally, static pressure tests were performed to validate the performance of the proposed FMCW interrogator. The results were compared with those from Network Analyzer (VNA) measurements to demonstrate its accuracy.
Resistance of Tetrahymena to ricin, a toxic enzyme from Ricinuscommunis

Abstract The protozoan Tetrahymena pyriformis was found to be resistant to the toxic action of ricin in vivo . Isolated Tetrahymena ribosomes were strongly resistant to the A subunit of ricin when tested in a cell free protein synthesis system under different conditions and also lacked the ability to bind A chain stoichometrically. This suggests that Tetrahymena is resistant in vivo because it contains a ribosome which is not susceptible to the toxic action of ricin.
Differences in the survival rate between premenopausal and post menopausal women with gastric cancer: U.S. SEER database.

e15092 Background: Gastric cancer is the fourth most common malignancy in the world, The presence of estrogen receptor alpha (ER a) and estrogen receptor beta (ER b) have been reported in cell and ...
From “Experiments of Concern” to “Groups of Concern”: Constructing and Containing Citizens in Synthetic Biology:

Synthetic biology represents a recent and explicit attempt to make biology easier to engineer, and through this to open up the design space of genetic engineering to a wider range of practitioners ...
CO2 Mineral Sequestration in Naturally Porous Basalt

Continental flood basalts are extensive geologic features currently being evaluated as reservoirs that are suitable for long-term storage of carbon emissions. Favorable attributes of these formations for containment of injected carbon dioxide (CO2) include high mineral trapping capacity, unique structural features, and enormous volumes. We experimentally investigated mineral carbonation in whole core samples retrieved from the Grand Ronde basalt, the same formation into which ∼1000 t of CO2 was recently injected in an eastern Washington pilot-scale demonstration. The rate and extent of carbonate mineral formation at 100 °C and 100 bar were tracked via time-resolved sampling of bench-scale experiments. Basalt cores were recovered from the reactor after 6, 20, and 40 weeks, and three-dimensional X-ray tomographic imaging of these cores detected carbonate mineral formation in the fracture network within 20 weeks. Under these conditions, a carbon mineral trapping rate of 1.24 ± 0.52 kg of CO2/m3 of basalt per...
Mediation Effect of Physical Activity on Obesity in Black Women.

Abstract Background and objective Sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, physical activity, diet, and nutrients are important in the understanding of obesity. The possibly direct or indirect nature of the associations among these factors and the eventual link to obesity is not well understood. In this study, we assess the indirect association between socio-demographic factors and obesity. Design A case-control study involving African American women conducted at Howard University Cancer Center. Participants and methods One hundred ninety eight participants gave information on anthropometric measurements, intake of dietary supplements and nutrients, socio-demographic factors (age, marital status, income and education) and physical activity. Path analysis was utilized to assess associations between socio-demographic factors and obesity through physical activity, dietary supplements and nutrients, smoking or alcohol consumption. Main results The mean age of the participants was (55 ± 12 years), with 50% being obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). Obesity level decreased by approximately 7% for every one level increase in education via its prior effect on vigorous physical activity. Age had a significant positive indirect effect on obesity through vigorous physical activity – with obesity levels increasing by approximately 6% for every one year increase in age via its prior effect on vigorous physical activity. Conclusions Vigorous physical activity mediates the association between education and age on obesity.
Methodology for quantitative assessment of combat casualty care

Evaluating proficiency in simulation-based combat casualty training includes the assessment of hands-on training with mannequins through instructor observation. The evaluation process is error-pron...
Neurotoxic and neuroprotective roles of nitric oxide in cerebral ischaemia.

Publisher Summary Nitric oxide (NO), the first of a new class of neuromediators, is an inorganic gas that is ubiquitously synthesized in mammalian tissues. Following its generation by NO synthase (NOS), NO readily diffuses beyond its site of origin to influence adjacent cells. Because of its high affinity for iron and thiol groups, NO binds to biomolecules and by so doing, regulates a broad spectrum of physiological functions, such as blood pressure, vascular tone and permeability, penile erection, and neurotransmission. When continuously synthesized in great abundance, NO can be cytotoxic. NO generated by constitutive NOS can be toxic under energy-compromised conditions. Some of the existing controversies have been clarified by experiments in mutant mice with deletions of the gene-encoding neuronal NOS or endothelial NOS (eNOS). The data strongly suggest that NO produced by neurons contributes to ischemic damage, whereas NO generated by the endothelium affects stroke outcome more favorably.
The Impact of Delivery in a Rural County on a Cohort of Women Living with HIV Infection and Their Infants.

PURPOSE: We sought to determine if infants born in rural counties had an increased risk of contracting HIV. METHODS: Data were obtained from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control for all women living with HIV delivering from 2004 to 2014. In this retrospective cohort study, maternal and neonatal outcomes from urban and rural counties were compared. Binomial statistical analyses were conducted using Wilcoxon Rank Sum Tests, χ2 or Fisher's exact tests. Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate factors associated with perinatal HIV infection. FINDINGS: Six hundred and sixty‐six women living with HIV had 868 pregnancies and delivered 885 infants; 17% (148) were born in rural counties. Eleven infants (1.2%) were diagnosed with perinatal HIV infection. The proportion of women taking antenatal antiretroviral therapy (ART) was similar between rural and urban counties (84% vs 87%; P = .3), but women in urban counties were more likely to have an HIV RNA viral load <40 copies/mL before delivery (32% vs 42%; P = .05). Factors associated with perinatal HIV infection were intra‐ and postpartum maternal HIV diagnosis (aOR 61.4 [95% CI: 6.7‐562.5]; P < .001), parenteral drug use (aOR 7.5 [1.6‐34.7]; P = .01), and preterm birth (<37 weeks gestation) (aOR 4.6 [1.2‐17.8]; P = .3). CONCLUSIONS: Delivery in a rural county was not associated with an increased risk of perinatal HIV transmission. Women delivering in rural counties taking ART were less likely to have HIV viral suppression, which is a risk factor for perinatal HIV infection.
Beyond Intrapersonal Cognitive Consistency: Shared Reality and the Interpersonal Motivation for Truth

Cognitive consistency theories have been traditionally conceived of at the intrapersonal level: consonance/dissonance, balance/imbalance, congruity/incongruity, and so on, are discussed and studied...
Transcranial magnetic stimulation: comparison of 15 coils with 50 MRI derived head models.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) has been gaining popularity for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) due to its non-invasive, painless and out-patient nature[1]. It also under investigation as a therapeutic tool for treating other psychiatric and neurological disorders such migraines, Schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). TMS is based on the principal of Faraday's law in which a large amount of current is passed through coils to generate time varying magnetic fields, thus inducing electric fields in the brain. There are several coils commercially available for both clinical and research studies which provide stimulation profiles that are characteristically unique in both stimulation intensity and focality. Understanding how stimulation characteristics differ between coils is important for researchers and clinicians as they attempt to choose a coil whose stimulation profile is best for a specific use case. Differences in coils have been characterized in detail in both spherical models, and in a single heterogeneous head model, but never with a population-based modeling approach [2], [3]. It is well known within the TMS community that anatomical variability, including brain-scalp distance, cerebrospinal fluid, and gyral anatomy, exists between individuals and thus contributes to varying stimulation profiles[4–6]. Population-based modeling approaches that utilize many head models, can illustrate the effects of this anatomical variability in order to see group average stimulation characteristics. Here, we use population-based modeling with 50 unique, heterogeneous head models to calculate the induced electric field in TMS from 15 coil designs. The models used in this study were taken from the Population Head Model repository [5], and contain anatomical components for skin, skull, cerebrospinal fluid, grey matter, white matter, cerebellum, and ventricles. Simulations utilizing low-frequency magneto-quasi-static solvers were used in SEMCAD X to calculate the induced electric field from various coil designs. Parameters were calculated in post-processing describing stimulation intensity (both in brain and scalp), spread (both surface and volumetric), and “hot spot” location are used to illustrate similarities and differences between these coils. Figure 1 illustrates four coils positioned on the vertex of a MRI derived head model. In this study, simulations were ranboth over the vertex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for all subjects and all coil designs to give perspective from two different locations of stimulation. The results described in this study will serve as a guide for both researchers and clinicians wanting to understand the differences between coils stimulation profiles.
Correction to: A study on the role of articular cartilage soft tissue constitutive form in models of whole knee biomechanics.

Based on a reader comment, it has become clear that, in the originally published version of the article, Fig. 1 was published with incorrect anatomical labels.
Concurrent Ipsilateral Tibial Shaft and Distal Tibial Fractures in Pediatric Patients: Risk Factors, Frequency, and Risk of Missed Diagnosis.

Background The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of concurrent ipsilateral distal tibial fractures with tibial shaft fractures in the pediatric population; to identify patient and fracture characteristics that increase the likelihood of a concurrent fracture; and determine if any of these concurrent distal tibial fractures were missed on initial radiographic examination. Methods Retrospective chart review was done to identify patients 5 to 17 years old who were treated for a tibial shaft fracture at a large, Level 1 free-standing children's hospital and an outpatient orthopaedic practice between 2008 and 2016. Patient and fracture characteristics were recorded. Results Of 517 fractures (515 patients), 22 (4.3%) had concurrent ipsilateral distal tibial fractures: 11 triplane, 5 medial malleolar, 3 bimalleolar, and 2 Tillaux (Salter-Harris III) ankle fractures, and 1 Salter-Harris II distal tibial fracture. Age was the only patient characteristic significantly associated with a second, more distal fracture: patients with both fractures were older (12.7 y) than those with an isolated tibial shaft fracture (11 y). There was no difference in the rate of distal tibial fractures between high-energy and low-energy mechanisms of injury and no differences in the rate of open injuries or the presence of a fibular fracture. Patients with a tibial shaft fracture at the junction of the middle and distal thirds were significantly more likely to have a concurrent distal tibial fracture; oblique and spiral fracture patterns were more frequent in the group with concurrent distal tibial fractures than in the isolated tibial shaft fracture group. Conclusions In our series, 36% of the concurrent distal tibial fractures were not diagnosed until chart review for this study, which suggests the need for ankle-specific imaging in certain patients. We recommend ankle-specific imaging when an oblique or spiral tibial shaft fracture is located at the junction of the middle and distal thirds of the tibia or in patients in whom a distal tibial fracture is suspected because of pain, swelling, or bruising. Level of evidence Level III-retrospective comparative study.
Nursing means putting the patient first, wherever we are in the world

Sean Morton, Senior Lecturer, School of Health and Social Care at Lincoln University (SMorton@lincoln.ac.uk), describes what he has learned in 20 years of working with and teaching nurses from the ...
Classification of radial solutions to equations related to Caffarelli–Kohn–Nirenberg inequalities

This article studies the qualitative and quantitative properties of radial solutions to an elliptic equation related to the Euler–Lagrange equations for certain sharp Caffarelli–Kohn–Nirenberg inequalities. Namely, we examine the equation $$\begin{aligned} -\hbox {div} (|x|^{a} D u ) = |x|^{b}u^{p}, ~ u > 0,\, \text{ in } \mathbb {R}^N, \end{aligned}$$where $$p > 1$$, $$N \ge 2$$, $$N-2+a \ge 0$$ and $$b > - N$$. The main results establish the properties of radially symmetric solutions including existence, uniqueness, and classification results as well as results on the asymptotic and intersecting behaviour of such solutions.
Introduction to the Biology of Hydrothermal Vents

A search for hydrothermal vents forming metal deposits led to the unexpected discovery of dense beds of clams, mussels, and vestimentiferan worms on the Galapagos Rift in 1977. The clams were first seen in photographs taken by Deep Tow (Lonsdale, 1977) and the whole vent community was later observed from ALVIN (Corliss and Ballard, 1977; Corliss et al., 1979). Subsequent expeditions in 1979 to the Galapagos Rift and in 1982 to the Guaymas Basin, 11–13°N and 21°N on the East Pacific Rise included ecologists, microbiologists, systematists, physiologists, and biochemists.
The Career Mentoring Workshop: A Second-Generation EDGE Program

The EDGE program, originally founded to provide support for women entering doctoral programs in the mathematical sciences, has had a dramatic, positive impact on the mathematics community well beyond its program participants. Many of the women who have participated in the EDGE summer sessions have not only successfully earned doctorates in the mathematical sciences, but have subsequently assumed leadership roles in new outreach efforts aimed at diversifying the United States mathematics community. In this paper, we examine in more detail the impact of the author’s—an EDGE alumna and current Associate Professor of Mathematics—efforts to diversify the mathematics community by way of founding the Career Mentoring Workshop (CaMeW) for women completing their math doctorates. Lessons learned, including challenges and successes, will be shared for others who may consider initiating similar outreach efforts. CaMeW is an example of a “second-generation EDGE program,” that is a program founded by an EDGE alumna who is actively working to diversify the math community.
Co-dominant anatomically disparate lichens converge in hydrological functional traits

Epiphytic lichens play a key hydrological role in ecosystems by intercepting and retaining water. These attributes can be characterized at an individual thallus scale by considering the retention and loss rates of water, themselves influenced by growth form and anatomy. We compared the hydrological attributes (water-holding capacity and standard drying rate) of two common northern temperate-boreal lichen genera, Evernia and Usnea, which differ greatly in internal anatomy. Despite conspicuous morphological and anatomical differences between the taxa that were hypothesized to affect thallus-water dynamics, their hydrological traits were found to be remarkably similar. This suggests either limited influence of internal anatomy on these ecologically relevant traits or convergence in hydrological attributes in co-occurring taxa.
Information Technology (IT) enabled crowdsourcing: A conceptual framework

Abstract IT-enabled crowdsourcing is defined as technology-enabled outsourcing of tasks through an open call to the masses via the internet. Crowdsourcing is an IT artifact that has gone beyond the traditional boundaries of an organization to a much broader context. Over the past decade, research and practice on crowdsourcing have continued to grow, evolve, and revolutionize the way work gets done. Although numerous studies have been conducted in this area, our understanding of the main components involved in crowdsourcing processes remains limited. The goal of the current study is to conduct a structured literature review and synthesize the available crowdsourcing literature and applications in one coherent conceptual framework. The framework identifies the main elements involved in the crowdsourcing process and its characteristics. This framework extends the field of Information Systems (IS) and would help us better understand this phenomenon. Furthermore, the results of this study could potentially fill the knowledge gap in the crowdsourcing literature by identifying the main characteristics of a crowdsourcing process as a legitimate, IT-enabled form of problem-solving. Our results would also help organizations to leverage crowdsourcing more efficiently.
RFID Coupled Passive Digital Ammonia Sensor for Quality Control of Packaged Food

In this paper, an RFID coupled batteryless digital sensor tag is proposed for detecting Ammonia in packaged food. An interdigitated capacitive sensor coated with a thin film of Polyaniline(PANi) that has a higher affinity towards Ammonia is used as a sensing element. To determining the sensitivity of the sensing element, (i) Wireless Near field Short range technique (Capacitance change), and (ii) Direct Probing (Resistance change) techniques are evaluated. The short range technique consists of an inductor coupled to the interdigitated capacitor to form an LC tank and the resonance (capacitance) change due to Ammonia loading is read using a pick-up coil. The direct probe technique uses two wires to measure the resistance across the interdigitated capacitor as a function of Ammonia concentration. Among the two techniques, for demonstrating long range sensing with digitization, direct probing is chosen as this is more stable and can detect a minimum of 3 ppm of Ammonia at room temperature with a response time of 30 min and recovery time of 60 min. The long range approach consists of an RF front end with an antenna and an energy harvester and a low power digital backend that converts the sensor data into bits for transmission. The entire system is passive in nature and does not require an external power supply for operation making it a low cost and simple solution that can be easily integrated as part of the RFID infrastructure. The ID integrated sensor tags are used for a myriad of quality control applications across the food supply chain spectrum.
Soil sorption characteristics of benzobicyclon hydrolysate and estimated leaching risk in soils used for rice production

Environmental context The behaviour of herbicides in the environment is largely determined by the partitioning of the compounds between soil solids and soil solution. We determined that the rice herbicide-metabolite benzobicyclon hydrolysate partitions more into soil solution, and does so increasingly as pH increases. These results indicate that benzobicyclon hydrolysate is a risk for leaching in much of the rice-producing area in the US mid-South. Abstract Benzobicyclon hydrolysate (BH) is the major metabolite and active molecule in the pro-herbicide benzobicyclon (BZB), which is pending registration for use in US mid-Southern rice (Oryza sativa L.) production. The current study objectives were to (i) determine BH soil sorption coefficients; (ii) quantify relationships among BH sorption and soil properties; and (iii) estimate leaching potential using calculated retardation factors (RFs). Sorption coefficients for 10 representative Arkansas rice-production soils were determined by batch-equilibration experiments. Soil sorption (KD = 0.25–44.3 mL g−1), soil organic carbon partitioning (KOC = 28.2–7480 mL g−1), and soil organic matter partitioning (KOM = 17.9–2580 mL g−1) coefficients were negatively correlated with soil pH (r = −0.93 – −0.94). Clay and silt were significant secondary regression parameters, accounting for up to 93 % of the variation in KD in combination with pH. Clay and silt effects on sorption coefficients increased when regression analyses excluded the lowest pH soil. Soil sorption coefficients were greater in soils with clay ≥27 %, which may be a useful parameter for informing herbicide-use rates. Using the calculated RF’s, the estimated depth of leaching over the growing season exceeded the assumed 15-cm plough layer depth in eight of the 10 soils, and only two of the 10 soils had an estimated time to plough layer breakthrough less than the typical six-month growing season (April–September) under average water flux conditions. The results suggest that BH leaching below the plough layer is a potential risk for much of the rice-producing area in the US mid-South.
Chapter 51 – Lipoprotein Disorders

Lipoprotein disorders are reviewed including lipoprotein structure and metabolism, transport of dietary lipids, apolipoproteins in the nervous system, tocopherols, apoprotein B, disorders of high-density lipoproteins, and the description of a patient who has no expression of apolipoprotein E.
The Effects of Federal Research and Development Subsidies on Firm Commercialization Behavior

ABSTRACT This paper assesses the longer term (up to 14 years) causal impact of federal research and development (R&D) subsidies on firms’ commercialization behavior. The data are for small firms which applied to the 1998-2000 Advanced Technology Program (ATP) competitions. A variant of the research design pioneered by Heckman (1979) allows for selection bias to be controlled for. Commercialization behavior is operationalized as the number of new product announcements related to the technology a firm mentions in its ATP proposal(s). The major finding is that receiving an ATP award has a positive and significant causal impact on a firm's commercialization behavior.
Calcifying Fibrous Tumor Complicated by Empyema

Calcifying fibrous tumor (CFT) is a rare, benign proliferation of fibroblasts and inflammatory cells that is non-invasive and usually arises in deep tissue structures. Due to its overall paucity, no accurate incidence has been reported yet. We understand this disease via a handful of case studies published in the medical literature, first of them being from 1988. Earlier known as 'pseudotumor', it was recently given its name due to the potential of recurrence and multifocal involvement. We describe the case of a 43-year-old Hispanic male who presented with a large symptomatic pleural-based mass which turned out to be CFT and was later complicated by empyema. Our aim is to increase awareness about this rare disease and throw light upon its benign nature, despite an alarming and suspicious appearance on imaging. Due to the large size of our patient's mass (largest reported yet), he needed extensive chest wall reconstruction, leading to complications requiring additional invasive procedures. This underscores the importance of early diagnosis and treatment which can reduce the need for aggressive surgical manipulation and avoid postoperative complications, thereby providing high-value care. Treating physicians should be mindful of this, in order to prompt early recognition to ensure effective patient care.
Association Between Sleep Times and Seclusion and Restraint Events in an Inpatient Pediatric Psychiatric Hospital: A Retrospective Chart Review.

Objective To examine demographic characteristics of patients who experience seclusion and restraint (S&R) events in a pediatric psychiatric inpatient setting and assess whether sleep time 24 hours prior and after the occurrence of an S&R event was different from average sleep time during hospitalization. Methods Charts from an acute care inpatient child and adolescent psychiatric unit from 2012 to 2014 were reviewed. A paired samples t test was performed to look for significant differences in sleep time 24 hours prior to S&R versus average sleep times for the same patients during hospitalization. Results A total of 232 S&R events occurred between 2012 and 2014. Of the incidents, 172 involved children who were ≤ 12 years old, and 178 incidents involved male patients. A paired sample t test revealed a significant mean (SD) decrease in sleep time prior to S&R (9.5 [2.24]) compared to average sleep time during hospitalization (10.07 [1.08], t₂₀₅ = -3.722, P Conclusions The study results reveal a statistically significant reduction in sleep time 24 hours prior to an S&R event compared to average sleep duration during hospitalization. The association between sleep times and subsequent problem behaviors in an inpatient setting require further evaluation.
Comparison of the Rogers Test and the City College of New York Physical Proficiency Test as Bases for Classifying Students for Activity in Physical Education

(1940). Comparison of the Rogers Test and the City College of New York Physical Proficiency Test as Bases for Classifying Students for Activity in Physical Education. Research Quarterly. American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation: Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 144-149.
Epithelialized tunnels are a source of inflammation in hidradenitis suppurativa.

Background Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), also known as acne inversa, is a chronic, painful, and burdensome inflammatory disease manifesting in nodules and abscesses, with progression to chronically draining tunnels in later-stage disease. Objective We sought to determine whether HS tunnels are immunologically active participants in disease activity. Methods Skin biopsy specimens were obtained by using ultrasound guidance in untreated patients with HS and those enrolled in an open-label study of brodalumab ( ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03960268) for patients with moderate-to-severe HS. Results Immunohistochemistry of HS biopsy specimens demonstrated that the epithelialized HS tunnels recapitulate the psoriasiform epidermal hyperplasia morphology of the overlying epidermis, displaying molecular inflammation, including S100A7 (psoriasin) positivity, as well as features of epidermal skin, including loricrin, filaggrin, lipocalin-2, and Melan-A positive cells. Tunnels were associated with increased infiltration of T cells, dendritic cells, and neutrophils; formation of neutrophil extracellular traps, and increased expression of psoriasiform proinflammatory cytokines. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering demonstrated a separation of HS samples based on the presence or absence of tunnels. Tunnels isolated by microdissection had higher levels of epithelium-derived inflammatory cytokines compared with the overlying epidermis and healthy controls. Clinically, the size and draining of the tunnels were decreased with treatment with the IL-17RA antagonist brodalumab. Conclusion These data suggest that tunnels are a source of inflammation in HS.
George P. Fletcher and Richard V. Meyer, editors, Law and The Bible, Volume One: A Collective Genesis (Book Review)

This work on law and the Bible is an uncommonly useful, accessible, and appropriate work on the founding text of Judeo-Christian notions of good and evil, determinism and free will—in essence, the natural order of human civilization and its relationships with God. This presumptive first of many volumes to come, edited by two renowned Catholic scholars, is written with highly illustrative language as well as evocative accompanying imagery.
Why do Americans use marijuana

Abstract Background Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States; yet, little is known about why adults use it. We examined the prevalence of past-month marijuana use by users’ reasons for use—medical, recreational, and both—and identified correlates of each group. Methods Data from 20 states, which participated in the 2017–2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and fielded the marijuana use module, and multinomial logistic regression analysis were used to identify risk factors for past-month marijuana use by reason for use. User profiles were developed to illustrate how states’ policy environments influenced reported reasons for use. Results The average predicted probabilities of past-month marijuana use for medical, recreational, and both reasons were 28.6 %, 38.2 %, and 33.1 %, respectively. Age, gender, marital and employment status, income, mode and frequency of administration, and health status were associated with reasons for use. The reasons that young adult males who were infrequent marijuana users and binge drinkers gave for their marijuana use varied by state policy environment—in legal states, the average predicted probabilities were 5.3 % lower for recreational reasons and 5.0 % higher for both reasons. Reported reasons for past-month marijuana use did not significantly differ by state policy environment among daily users who were older women in poor mental and physical health. Discussion Significant differences existed in the characteristics of past-month marijuana users by reasons for use. Our estimates can serve as a baseline against which post-legalization marijuana users’ reasons for use can be compared as state policy environments shift.
Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae infection impedes Pseduomonas aeruginosa colonization and persistence in mouse respiratory tract

Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) experience lifelong respiratory infections which are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. These infections are polymicrobial in nature wherein the predominant bacterial species changes as patients age. Young patients have populations dominated by pathobiont such as nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), that are eventually supplanted by pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa), which are more typical of late-stage CF disease. In this study, we investigated how initial colonization with NTHi impacts colonization and persistence of Pa in the respiratory tract. Analysis of polymicrobial biofilms in vitro by confocal microscopy revealed that NTHi promoted greater levels of Pa biofilm volume and diffusion. However, sequential infection of mice with NTHi followed by Pa showed significant reduction in Pa in the lungs as compared to infection with Pa alone. Coinfected mice also had reduced severity of airway tissue damage and lower levels of inflammatory cytokines as compared mice infected with Pa alone. Similar results were observed using heat-inactivated NTHi bacteria prior to Pa introduction. Based on these results, we conclude that NTHi can significantly reduce susceptibility to subsequent Pa infection, most likely due to immune priming rather than a direct competitive interaction between species. These findings have potential significance with regard to therapeutic management of early life infections in patients with CF
The Rule-Making Authority and Separation of Powers in Connecticut

This article, originally published in 1975, is a critical review of the Connecticut Supreme Court's judgment in State v. Clemente,166 Conn.501,353 A.2d 723 (1974) in which the Court held, as matter of state constitutional law, that the superior courts had exclusive power to make rules of practice and procedure and, as a consequence, that any statutes regulating that subject were unconstitutional and void. I provide the background to the Connecticut Constitution of 1818 in which the relevant separation of powers provision originated. I then examine the process by which the provision was approved in the constitutional convention of that year. I conclude that the framers intentionally chose a flexible approach, one that maintained the distinctly primary authority of the legislature. I then examine the relevant Connecticut case law, one that was, until well into the twentieth century, faithful to that original constitutional allocation and that, on occasion, explicitly acknowledged legislative authority over rules of practice and procedure. I follow with a summary of the practice in other American jurisdictions. While several states do reserve procedural rule formulation for the courts, that choice is, unlike Connecticut's, almost always express in the the state constitutional text. Lastly, I summarize the values usually associated with separation of powers. I conclude that the state of affairs created by the Clemente decision, an exclusive and unreviewable judicial power over an important field of law, is inconsistent with those values.
FATIGUE DAMAGE IN SEISMIC STRUCTURES

LOW-CYCLE FATIGUE DAMAGE FACTORS ARE COMPUTED FOR SINGLE- DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM SYSTEMS SUBJECTED TO ACCELEROGRAMS OF THE EL CENTRO EARTHQUAKE (NS COMPONENT) OF MAY 18, 1940, AND THE TAFT EARTHQUAKE (S69 DEGREE E COMPONENT) OF JULY 21, 1952. TWO INTERRELATED HYSTERESIS LOOPS, NAMELY, LOAD MAXIMUM STRAIN CURVE AND DEFLECTION-MAXIMUM STRAIN CURVE, ARE PROPOSED FOR COLUMNS WITH AN AVERAGE WIDE-FLANGE SECTION. THESE HYSTERESIS LOOPS ARE USED FOR FINDING THE TIME HISTORY OF MAXIMUM STRAINS IN THE SHEAR TYPE FRAME UNDER EARTHQUAKE LOADS. THE HISTORY OF PLASTIC STRAINS IS THEN USED TO COMPUTE THE CORRESPONDING CUMULATIVE DAMAGE FACTOR OF THE STRUCTURE. VARIABLES STUDIED INCLUDE FREQUENCY (IN THE ELASTIC RANGE) AND THE YIELD LOAD OF THE STRUCTURE. NUMERICAL RESULTS SHOW THAT (1) IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A STRUCTURE TO FAIL IN LOW-CYCLE FATIGUE UNDER SEISMIC LOADS, AND (2) THIS TYPE OF STRUCTURAL FAILURE CANNOT BE PREDICTED JUST BY STUDYING THE MAXIMUM STRUCTURAL DISPLACEMENTS OF THE STRUCTURE./ASCE/
Current Concepts in the Management of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia in Infants

The therapeutic approach to congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) has shifted from one of immediate repair to management of pulmonary hypertension, physiologic stabilization, and delayed surgical repair. Lung hypoplasia, remodeled pulmonary vasculature, and ventricular dysfunction all contribute to the high morbidity and mortality associated with CDH. In addition, genetic syndromes associated with CDH can increase the incidence of serious anomalies and hence impact survival. Prenatal and postnatal management of infants with CDH is challenging in the best of circumstances and need multidisciplinary teams for optimal outcomes. However, advances using ultrasound and fetal MRI can predict prognosis and survival and plan for postnatal management. Survival rates for patients with CDH have increased for the past decade with better management at resuscitation; implementation of gentle ventilation strategies; and medical management of pulmonary hypertension, physiologic stabilization, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. However, follow-up of these infants for long-term morbidities is essential for optimal outcomes after discharge.
Macromolecular Communication between Nucleus and Cytoplasm

Bidirectional transport of macromolecules occurs through nuclear pores, which were first detected by electron microscopy. Interest in regulation of gene expression, curiosity to understand one of the few remaining uncharacterized translocons of eukaryotic cells, and the hope of ultimate therapeutic relevance have led to a period of intense investigation of these transport pathways. This article outlines the principal features of nucleocytoplasmic transport, highlights less well-understood related issues, and gathers thoughts pertaining to the evolutionary origin of the equipment that accomplishes transport. During the past half century, this field has added a major dimension to the understanding of what it means to be eukaryotic.
Geronimo. By Robert M. Utley. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012. Pp. xii, 333. $30.00.)

Geronimo has been the subject of numerous biographies and authored an autobiography that is still in print, so a reader may well ask, “Why do we need another?” Robert M. Utley's goal is to write a ...
The Contributions and Impact of Professor William H. Riker

This paper demonstrates the significant and extensive impactof W.H. Riker's works on the study of political science andpublic choice. We provide a citation analysis, peer reviews,and commentaries from former colleagues and students. Thecitation analysis shows that Riker's work has been cited morethan 3700 times by over 2000 different scholars in more than500 different journals. Peers, former colleagues and studentshighly respected him as a scholar and a person. Riker's mostsignificant intellectual contributions include using gametheory to analyze political behavior and incorporatingrational interest theory as a basis for the scientific studyof politics.
Increased plasma noncortisol glucocorticoid activity in open-angle glaucoma.

Total biologic plasma glucocorticoid activity of normal, ocular hypertensive, and open-angle glaucoma patients was compared using a glucocorticoid receptor-based competitive binding assay. Multiple linear-regression analysis was used to adjust for the effects of significant ocular and nonocular variables, including therapy for glaucoma. The glaucoma patients had significantly greater plasma glucocorticoid activities than did normal subjects. A comparison of receptor-based assay values to values obtained with a cortisol radioimmunoassay showed that significant amounts of biologic glucocorticoid activity in the plasma of the glaucoma patients could not be explained by cortisol alone. In the normal and ocular hypertensive groups, however, virtually all of the plasma glucocorticoid activity could be accounted for by cortisol. These results suggest that in open-angle glaucoma patients, noncortisol glucocorticoids are responsible for elevating biologic plasma glucocorticoid activity. Thus, open-angle glaucoma may be associated with a disturbance of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis that produces increased plasma levels of both cortisol and other noncortisol glucocorticoids. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 32:1600-1608,1991 The glucocorticoid cortisol has been implicated in the pathogenesis of ocular hypertension (OH) and primary open-angle glaucoma (OAG). 1 ' 2 Several clinical studies show that pharmacologic levels of glucocorticoids, given either topically to the eye or systemically, can raise intraocular pressure. 3 " 9 This elevation in intraocular pressure is often accompanied by visual field loss and optic disc changes characteristic of OAG. 10 Similarly, patients with Cushing's syndrome, also associated with an elevation of glucocorticoids, especially plasma cortisol, often have OAG. 11 " 13 Compared with normal individuals (NOR), patients with OH or OAG have significantly elevated levels of total plasma cortisol 1 ' 214 " 17 and greater amounts and higher percentages of free plasma cortisol. 18 Both OH and OAG may be associated with glucocorticoids other than cortisol. These glucocorticoids