cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Low parental support in late adolescence predicts obesity in young adulthood; Gender differences in a 12-year cohort of African Americans

Background Most studies that have investigated the link between parenting behaviors and risk of obesity among offsprings have mostly used a cross-sectional design, enrolled Caucasian samples, focused on childhood obesity, and covered aspects of parenting behaviors that directly influence energy balance and food intake of the children. Thus, more longitudinal research is needed on how more general aspects of parenting influence obesity in young ethnic minority adults. The current longitudinal study aimed to test if baseline parental support predicts change in body mass index (BMI) of African Americans, and if this prediction varies based on gender of offspring.
Classifying student dialogue acts with multimodal learning analytics

Supporting learning with rich natural language dialogue has been the focus of increasing attention in recent years. Many adaptive learning environments model students' natural language input, and there is growing recognition that these systems can be improved by leveraging multimodal cues to understand learners better. This paper investigates multimodal features related to posture and gesture for the task of classifying students' dialogue acts within tutorial dialogue. In order to accelerate the modeling process by eliminating the manual annotation bottleneck, a fully unsupervised machine learning approach is utilized for this task. The results indicate that these unsupervised models are significantly improved with the addition of automatically extracted posture and gesture information. Further, even in the absence of any linguistic features, a model that utilizes posture and gesture features alone performed significantly better than a majority class baseline. This work represents a step toward achieving better understanding of student utterances by incorporating multimodal features within adaptive learning environments. Additionally, the technique presented here is scalable to very large student datasets.
A selective therapeutic approach to gastric cancer in a large public hospital.

Abstract Background : Gastric cancer is a common malignancy with a poor prognosis. The improved survival reported from Japan may be due to earlier detection or to more radical surgery, or both. The relevance of their methods to gastric cancer seen in Western countries is uncertain. Patients and methods : The study involved 204 patients with gastric carcinoma. Preoperative staging by computed tomography scan and endoscopic ultrasound showed that 120 patients (59%) had stage IV disease. Results : Curative resection was performed in 66 patients, palliative resection in 32, bypass/intubation in 39, chemotherapy alone in 41, and sup-portive treatment in 26. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was given to 40 of 66 patients treated with curative resection. The mortality of gastrectomy was 3%. Survival was significantly improved after curative resection compared with palliative resection, which in turn was improved over non-resectional or nonsurgical therapy. Postoperative morbidity included four intra-abdominal abscesses, all associated with splenectomy. Conclusions : Curative surgery for gastric cancer is worthwhile, but the advanced stage of the disease in a public hospital should encourage the establishment of a screening program in high risk populations.
Does the endovascular repair of aortoiliac aneurysms pose a radiation safety hazard to vascular surgeons

Objectives: Endovascular aortoiliac aneurysm (EAIA) repair uses substantial fluoroscopic guidance that requires considerable radiation exposure. Doses were determined for a team of three vascular surgeons performing 47 consecutive EAIA repairs over a 1-year period to determine whether this exposure constitutes a radiation hazard. Methods: Twenty-nine surgeon-made aortounifemoral devices and 18 bifurcated devices were used. Three surgeons wore dosimeters (1) on the waist, under a lead apron; (2) on the waist, outside a lead apron; (3) on the collar; and (4) on the left ring finger. Dosimeters were also placed around the operating table and room to evaluate the patient, other personnel, and ambient doses. Exposures were compared with standards of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Results: Total fluoroscopy time was 30.9 hours (1852 minutes; mean, 39.4 minutes per case). Yearly total effective body doses for all surgeons (under lead) were below the 20 mSv/y occupational exposure limit of the ICRP. Outside lead doses for two surgeons approximated recommended limits. Lead aprons attenuated 85% to 91% of the dose. Ring doses and calculated eye doses were within the ICRP exposure limits. Patient skin doses averaged 360 mSv per case (range, 120-860 mSv). The ambient (> 3 m from the source) operating room dose was 1.06 mSv/y. Conclusions: Although the total effective body doses under lead fell within established ICRP occupational exposure limits, they are not negligible. Because radiation exposure is cumulative and endovascular procedures are becoming more common, individuals performing these procedures must carefully monitor their exposure. Our results indicate that a team of surgeons can perform 386 hours of fluoroscopy per year or 587 EAIA repairs per year and remain within occupational exposure limits. Individuals who perform these procedures should actively monitor their effective doses and educate personnel in methods for reducing exposure. (J Vasc Surg 2000;32:704-10.)
Calcium, phosphorus, and amino acid digestibility in low-phytate corn, normal corn, and soybean meal by growing pigs.

Nine growing barrows were equipped with a T-cannula in the distal ileum and used to deter- mine apparent ileal (AID) and apparent total-tract di- gestibility (ATTD) coefficients of Ca and P in low-phy- tate corn, normal corn, soybean meal, and in diets where soybean meal was mixed with low-phytate corn or normal corn. The AID and the standardized ileal digestibility coefficients (SID) of CP and AA also were determined. The animals (initial BW = 29.3 ± 1 kg) were allotted to a 9 × 9 Latin square with nine diets and nine periods. Three diets contained low-phytate corn,normalcorn,andsoybeanmealastheirsolesource of CP, AA, Ca, and P, respectively. Three additional diets were identical to these diets except that limestone and monosodium phosphate were added. Two diets con- tained low-phytate corn or normal corn and soybean meal, limestone, and monosodium phosphate, and the final diet was a N-free diet. The AID and ATTD of Ca were higher (P < 0.05) for low-phytate corn than for normal corn (70.0 and 69.1% vs. 47.4 and 49.6%, respec- tively). The AID and ATTD forCa in soybean meal (50.9 and 46.7%, respectively) did not differ from values for normal corn but were lower (P < 0.05) than for low- phytate corn. The AID and ATTD for P from low-phy- tate corn (56.5 and 54.5%, respectively) were greater (P < 0.05) than from normal corn (28.3 and 28.8%, re- spectively), whereas soybean meal had intermediate AID and ATTD for P (37.2 and 38.0%, respectively). The AID and ATTD of P increased (P < 0.05) when monosodium phosphate was added to normal corn (44.9 and 49.8%, respectively) and soybean meal (49.6 and 46.2%, respectively), but adding monosodium phos- phate to low-phytate corn, did not alter either AID (49.7%) or ATTD (50.7%) of P. No differences between AID and ATTD for Ca or P within the same diet were observed. The AID of Arg, Asp, Gly, Ile, Lys, Phe, Thr, and Val were greater (P < 0.05) in low-phytate corn than in normal corn. The AID of all AA in soybean meal were greater (P < 0.05) than in both types of corn, with the exception of Ala, Cys, Leu, and Met. The SID of Lys, Phe, and Thr were higher (P < 0.05) in low-phytate corn than in normal corn. Because low-phytate corn has a higher digestibility of Ca and P, less inorganic Ca and P need to be supplemented to diets containing low-phytate corn than to those containing normal corn, and P excretion may be decreased when low-phytate corn is used in the diet.
Profile of children placed in residential psychiatric program: association with delinquency, involuntary mental health commitment, and reentry into care

This study examined characteristics and profiles of youth receiving services in 1 of Florida's Medicaid-funded residential mental health treatment programs--State Inpatient Psychiatric Program (SIPP)--between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2008 (N=1,432). Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to classify youth, and 3 classes were identified: Children With Multiple Needs, Children With No Caregivers, and Abused Children With Substantial Maltreatment History. The results of LCA showed that Children With Multiple Needs experienced the greatest risk for adverse outcomes. Compared with youth in the other 2 classes, these children were more likely to get readmitted to SIPP, more likely to become involved with the juvenile justice system, and more likely to experience involuntary mental health assessments. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Integration, phylogeny, and the hominid cranial base

Basicranial features were examined in catarrhine primates and early hominids in order to demonstrate how information about morphological integration can be incorporated into phylogenetic analysis. Hypotheses purporting to explain the functional and structural relationships of basicranial characters were tested using factor analysis. Characters found to be functionally or structurally related to each other were then further examined in order to determine whether there was evidence that they were phylogenetically independent. If phylogenetic independence could not be demonstrated, then the characters were presumed to be integrated and were grouped into a complex. That complex was then treated as if it were a single character for the purposes of cladistic analysis. Factor analysis revealed that five basicranial features may be structurally related to relative brain size in hominoids. Depending on how one defines phylogenetic independence, as few as two, or as many as all of those characters might be morphologically integrated. A cladistic analysis of early hominids based on basicranial features revealed that the use of integrated complexes had a substantial effect on the phylogenetic position of Australopithecus africanus, a species whose relationships are poorly resolved. Moreover, the use of complexes also had an effect on reanalyses of certain published cladistic data sets, implying that those studies might have been biased by patterns of basicranial integration. These results demonstrate that patterns of morphological integration need to be considered carefully in all morphology-based cladistic analyses, regardless of taxon or anatomical focus. However, an important caveat is that the functional and structural hypotheses tested here predicted much higher degrees of integration than were observed. This result warns strongly that hypotheses of integration must be tested before they can be adequately employed in phylogenetic analysis. The uncritical acceptance of an untested hypothesis of integration is likely to be as disruptive to a cladistic analysis as when integration is ignored.
Introduction to the Sientra high-strength cohesive gel implants supplement.

Welcome to the Aesthetic Surgery Journal supplement devoted to Sientra (Santa Barbara, CA) fifth-generation cohesive round and shaped silicone gel implants. Implant technology has most certainly advanced over the past 2 decades, and with recent United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, plastic surgeons in the US now have the opportunity to offer their patients new technologies that have been available in much of the world for some time. As such, the articles in this supplement will be of particular interest to surgeons within the US who are just beginning to gain experience with these new devices. The 4 articles in this supplement address 2 key foci related to these devices: the first is to communicate long-term data related safety and efficacy, and …
Courtroom, Classroom, Commitment: Using Special Education and Disability Rights to Keep Youth Out of Secure Facilities

Youth with disabilities or special education needs involved in the delinquency system must be provided with the services, protections, and rights ensured by IDEA, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504) throughout their contact with the system. As a matter of law, all state juvenile justice stakeholders, as state agents, have a duty to identify school-aged children in need of special education services to ensure that they receive the services to which they are entitled. As a matter of best practices, the defenders must advocate for and the court must consider a youth’s educational and mental health needs throughout adjudication.It is particularly critical for defenders to raise special education and disability rights issues at adjudication, disposition, and post-disposition because these are three moments in the delinquency process when court decision makers are considering client abilities and educational connections. At adjudication the court should be made aware of any limitations or disabilities that could have impacted youth conduct at the time of the offense. Advocating for an appropriate disposition and placement in the least restrictive environment that addresses a youth’s individual special education, mental health, and behavioral needs is imperative to ensure successful rehabilitation and re-entry. Defenders who can help clients attain educational success will be well positioned to argue for post-disposition release from court intervention.All juvenile justice stakeholders have an obligation to ensure that the educational, behavioral, and mental health needs of children involved in the delinquency system are met, but juvenile defenders play an especially critical role. Part I of this article explores how defenders can secure special education and related services for their delinquency clients regardless of the post-disposition placement. This section discusses a variety of tools available to defenders to better advocate on behalf clients so that the youth’s special education and rehabilitative needs are met while they are in the state’s custody. Part II of this article examines the IDEA, ADA, and Section 504 rights and provisions pertaining to all adjudicated youth eligible for special education and related services. This section also discusses case law addressing disabilities and special education needs. Finally, Part III considers the obstacles defenders may need to navigate when asserting the need for appropriate educational, behavioral, and mental health services.Securing appropriate services, particularly individualized counseling and therapy, psychological services, transitional services, and vocational training, for children with special education needs involved with the juvenile justice system is vital to meeting their rehabilitation needs. Advocating for these services needs to be part of defenders’ common practice in the delinquency courtroom.
In their Own Words: Using First-Year Teacher Blogs to Prepare Preservice Educators

﻿Teacher-preparation programs strive to bridge the gap between theory and practice, and to prepare preservice teachers for the challenges and realities of the classroom. As budgets tighten and the alternative and online preparation of teachers becomes more common, field experiences in classrooms are increasingly limited. Creatively bridging the gap between theory and practice using teacher-created blogs provides preservice teachers the opportunity to gain insight into the challenges and life of teachers as well as the chance to reflect and make connections between coursework and their future profession. Although preservice teachers are often required to create blogs, little attention has been given the use of teacher blogs as a part of course readings and discussions, or as a supplement or replacement for field experiences. The purpose of the present study was to first explore the impact first-year teacher blogs had on pre-service teacher perceptions of the classroom, and then to determine if reading, analyzing and reflecting on the blogs impact how students perceive the applicability and utility of course content. Participants were 58 undergraduate preservice teachers seeking initial certification and enrolled in an educational psychology course at the regional campus of a public midwestern university in the United States. Results indicated that the teacher-created blogs impacted preservice teacher reflection and refinement of the realities of the classroom, and that reading teacher accounts via blogs facilitated realistic expectations of the challenges facing novice teachers. The finding may prove useful in that utilizing blogs may be helpful in situations when courses are on-line, or do not include the recommended opportunity for practical classroom interaction (Cheng & Tang, 2008).
The efficacy and tolerance of intranasal interferons: studies at the Common Cold Unit

Intranasal sprays of interferons (IFNs) given one day before and for three days after virus challenge can protect human volunteers from infection with rhinoviruses, coronavirus, and influenza. Longer dosage of IFN gives rise to nasal symptoms and signs such as bloodstained nasal discharge. More effective IFNs and regimes are therefore needed. IFN beta is active but the degree to which it will irritate the nose is unknown. Combining IFNs with synthetic antiviral drugs can produce synergistic increases in antiviral activity. It is suggested that these increases may be exploited in future experiments.
Producing desirable bodies: Boundary work in a lesbian niche dating site:

This article presents an in-depth case study of the way contemporary lesbians use labels in the niche dating site, “WomynLink.com.” Drawing on five months of online ethnography between November 201...
A time series data transformation engine for non-programmer end users

With high networking connectivity and low-cost, high-grade sensors, production environments continue to collect abundant amounts of process data. While data acquisition and archiving systems are exceptional at collecting and storing time series data from disparate sources, the raw data from these systems are rarely presented in a format that is directly meaningful for end users. Decision makers often require to combine, interpolate, and transform the otherwise uninformative raw data in order to bring context and meaning to them. To this end, this paper presents the design and integration of an automated data calculation engine with an existing web-based data acquisition and visualization system called CLICS. At the core of the engine is an expression language for the specification of transformation/calculation formulae over time series data. With the calculation engine, a user can interactively specify a formula to transform multiple existing time series to create a new one that is significantly easier to understand and manipulate, or calculate a single value using a formula. To illustrate the communicative power of the engine, specific case examples are presented relating to three interconnected facilities (a greenhouse, a food waste digester, and an energy cabin) that are designed for conducting research and educational activities in energy efficiency and environmental sustainability on a university campus.
The right to read—Reemphasized

When I accepted the invitation last Spring to address this, the Twenty-First Annual Meeting of the Orton Society, I expected to be coming here as United States Commissioner of Education reporting in my official capacity on the progress of the Right to Read effort. But something happened on the way to the Shoreham! Let me assure you, however, that being now a former Commissioner of Education has in no way diminished my interest in the Right to Read effort, nor weakened my determination to do everything in my power to help achieve its goals. You will understand, I am sure, that I come to you as a generalist among specialists and have no qualifications as an expert in the field of reading. My decision to make reading the primary focus of my efforts in Washington stemmed not from any particular understanding of the problem of reading failures, but rather from experiences throughout my years of educational administration which had deeply impressed upon me the disastrous effects of this shortcoming of our educational system. It was my belief that a nation-wide emphasis upon reading would accomplish two objectives: first, it would ensure that one of the primary functions of the education system would be more universally carried out; and second, it would strengthen the entire system by helping to restore confidence in its effectiveness.
Value of three Protein Rations in Maintaining Honeybee Colonies in Outdoor Flight Cages

SummaryWhen three protein rations were fed to 20 colonies of honeybees in outdoor flight cages, the ration containing 17% pollen was consumed in greater amounts than rations containing no pollen, and the colonies receiving it produced significantly more brood than the others. However, brood rearing in all caged colonies was far below that in uncaged colonies. The dry weight and nitrogen content of emerging bees from colonies fed the three rations did not differ significantly. Seven uncaged colonies not supplied with supplementary food always had a greater area of sealed than of unsealed brood, but the position was reversed in the caged colonies, indicating that some of their larvae died before sealing. Neither the brood-rearing pattern, nor the brood areas, of the caged colonies followed the seasonal trend displayed by the uncaged colonies.
The Limits of Multipartyism

The most recent political reforms in Kenya and Uganda have addressed previously neglected aspects of participation and contestation. The 1997 constitutional reforms in Kenya created a more level electoral playing field and prepared the ground for an opposition victory in 2002. While multipartyism and electoral contestation are now well established in Kenyan politics, the constitutional reforms have begun to address issues of participation and the constitutional balance between different institutions of the government. In Uganda, the recent political reforms have addressed the issue of contestation and are likely to result in a return to multipartyism by 2006. Transnational activism played again a diminished role in shaping the direction of regime change. After a period of mobilization focused on atrocities committed by rebel groups in northern Uganda, NGOs begun more recently to challenge the authoritarianism of the Museveni government.
Detailed speciation and reactivity characterization of fuel-specific in-cylinder reforming products and the associated impact on engine performance

Abstract In-cylinder reforming of a gasoline pilot fuel injection during the negative valve overlap (NVO) period of an engine cycle can be used to alter the fuel-air mixture reactivity in low-temperature gasoline combustion (LTGC). In the present study, the impact of the NVO reformate on main-period engine performance was evaluated experimentally for four single-component surrogate gasoline fuels ( iso -octane, n -heptane, ethanol, and 1-hexene) using a custom alternate-fire sequence. For each fuel, the NVO injection mass was held constant as the main-period injection mass was varied. The constant NVO injection mass allowed the NVO reformate product stream to be separately characterized in detail using photoionization mass spectrometry (PIMS). PIMS measurements were performed to characterize the NVO reformates of the four fuels used for main-period engine performance testing, as well as two additional fuels: cyclohexane and a toluene/ n -heptane blend. All experiments were conducted using a direct-injection, single-cylinder research engine equipped with a custom dump valve apparatus used to perform bulk gas sampling at the end of the NVO period. A constant volume, adiabatic, single-zone reactor model with detailed chemical kinetic mechanisms was used to evaluate the reactivity of each NVO reformate compared to the unreformed parent fuel, the impact of specific species on reformate reactivity, and to examine the factors that influence main-period engine performance. The PIMS measurements and reactor model analysis indicated that all tested fuels (except n -heptane) exhibit increased reformate reactivity as compared to the unreacted parent fuel through production of more reactive species, namely acetylene, acetaldehyde, propene, and allene. Main-period engine performance was impacted by changes in reactivity from the reformate fraction of total fueling and compressed temperature (through the ratio of specific heats and differences in charge cooling from the main injection). iso -Octane was found to have the largest benefit in reactivity as the reformate fraction of total fueling increased. Alternatively, increases in reactivity for ethanol were primarily due to decreased charge cooling while reactivity increases for 1-hexene were dictated by increased ratio of specific heats. This paper demonstrates that NVO-generated reformate can improve main-period reactivity through both chemical and thermal effects, although significant NVO-period heat losses reduce total-cycle engine thermal efficiency.
Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Although operative intervention is infrequently required, upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a common reason for general surgery consultation. Patients typically present with coffee ground emesis or frank hematemesis; however, patients with bright red blood per rectum may also be hemorrhaging from an upper gastrointestinal location, which is defined as proximal to the ligament of Treitz. Significant acute hemorrhage may cause hemodynamic instability. The surgical service may provide their expertise in the resuscitation of the unstable patient whether or not an operative intervention is ultimately necessary.
Longitudinal Analysis of Mouse SDOCT Volumes

Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT), in addition to its routine clinical use in the diagnosis of ocular diseases, has begun to find increasing use in animal studies. Animal models are frequently used to study disease mechanisms as well as to test drug efficacy. In particular, SDOCT provides the ability to study animals longitudinally and non-invasively over long periods of time. However, the lack of anatomical landmarks makes the longitudinal scan acquisition prone to inconsistencies in orientation. Here, we propose a method for the automated registration of mouse SDOCT volumes. The method begins by accurately segmenting the blood vessels and the optic nerve head region in the scans using a pixel classification approach. The segmented vessel maps from follow-up scans were registered using an iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm to the baseline scan to allow for the accurate longitudinal tracking of thickness changes. Eighteen SDOCT volumes from a light damage model study were used to train a random forest utilized in the pixel classification step. The area under the curve (AUC) in a leave-one-out study for the retinal blood vessels and the optic nerve head (ONH) was found to be 0.93 and 0.98, respectively. The complete proposed framework, the retinal vasculature segmentation and the ICP registration, was applied to a secondary set of scans obtained from a light damage model. A qualitative assessment of the registration showed no registration failures.
Measurement Theory-Based Trust Management Framework for Online Social Communities

We propose a trust management framework based on measurement theory to infer indirect trust in online social communities using trust’s transitivity property. Inspired by the similarities between human trust and measurement, we propose a new trust metric, composed of impression and confidence, which captures both trust level and its certainty. Furthermore, based on error propagation theory, we propose a method to compute indirect confidence according to different trust transitivity and aggregation operators. We perform experiments on two real data sets, Epinions.com and Twitter, to validate our framework. Also, we show that inferring indirect trust can connect more pairs of users.
ImmunoPET Imaging of CTLA-4 Expression in Mouse Models of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) is expressed on the surface of activated T cells and some tumor cells, and is the target of the clinically approved monoclonal antibody ipilimumab. In this study, we investigate specific binding of radiolabeled ipilimumab to CTLA-4 expressed by human non-small cell lung cancer cells in vivo using positron emission tomography (PET). Ipilimumab was radiolabeled with 64Cu (t1/2 = 12.7 h) through the use of the chelator 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) to formulate 64Cu-DOTA-ipilimumab. CTLA-4 expression in three non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines (A549, H460, and H358) was verified and quantified by Western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). A receptor binding assay was utilized to monitor the binding and internalization of 64Cu-DOTA-ipilimumab in the NSCLC cell lines. Next, the biodistribution of 64Cu-DOTA-ipilimumab was mapped by longitudinal PET imaging up to 48 h after injection. Ex vivo biodi...
Trusted Interconnections Between a Centralized Controller and Commercial Building HVAC Systems for Reliable Demand Response

Dynamic smart grid operations require that utilities that incorporate intermittent renewable energy resources provide creative and inclusive solutions to reduce and shift electrical demand. Commercial building HVAC systems have been used as a dispatchable load, but are limited by the lack of interoperability. Increased operability can be achieved using a secure and reliable interconnection device, which can provide direct bidirectional communications between the utility and the building automation system (BAS) controllers. This paper developed and tested a building automation intrusion detection system (BAIDS) that can provide a cyber-secure connection between public and private BAS networks. The BAIDS was used in a hardware-in-the-loop experiment that connected an actual photovoltaic array with a BAS control test bed and a building zone model. The BAIDS device allowed for critical control signals to pass from the public network directly to a fan controller in a BAS private network. At the same time, the BAIDS device provided intrusion detection monitoring to identify malicious activity. The network traffic was evaluated using an adaptive resonance theory (ART) artificial neural network. The ART algorithm was able to learn normal traffic activity on the private and public networks. The algorithm was then used to detect unauthorized attempts to access the interconnection device and a malicious cyber-physical attack on the BAS.
Pre-Processing Censored Survival Data Using Inverse Covariance Matrix Based Calibration

Censoring is a common phenomenon that arises in many longitudinal studies where an event of interest could not be recorded within the given time frame. Censoring causes missing time-to-event labels, and this effect is compounded when dealing with datasets which have high amounts of censored instances. In addition, dependent censoring in the data, where censoring is dependent on the covariates in the data leads to bias in standard survival estimators. This motivates us to develop an approach for pre-processing censored data which calibrates the right censored (RC) times in an attempt to reduce the bias in the survival estimators. This calibration is done using an imputation method which estimates the sparse inverse covariance matrix over the dataset in an iterative convergence framework. During estimation, we apply row and column-based regularization to account for both row and column-wise correlations between different instances while imputing them. This is followed by comparing these imputed censored times with the original RC times to obtain the final calibrated RC times. These calibrated RC times can now be used in the survival dataset in place of the original RC times for more effective prediction. One of the major benefits of our calibration approach is that it is a pre-processing method for censored data which can be used in conjunction with any survival prediction algorithm and improve its performance. We evaluate the goodness of our approach using a wide array of survival prediction algorithms which are applied over crowdfunding data, electronic health records (EHRs), and synthetic censored datasets. Experimental results indicate that our calibration method improves the AUC values of survival prediction algorithms, compared to applying them directly on the original survival data.
Here or There: Recent U.S. Immigrants' Medical and Dental Tourism and Associated Factors.

Applying Andersen’s health care utilization model, this paper shows the prevalence of immigrants’ medical and dental tourism and associated factors. An analysis of the 2003 New Immigrant Survey data shows that about 17% of immigrants received medical care in a foreign country, whereas about one-third obtained dental care outside the United States. Latino immigrants have a higher prevalence of both types of tourism than their Asian counterparts. Race, level of education, and health insured status are commonly associated with medical and dental tourism. The findings contribute to the scarce literature on immigrants’ health care utilization and medical and dental tourism.
Emergency Department Visits For Firearm-Related Injuries In The United States, 2006–14

Firearm-related deaths are the third leading cause of injury-related deaths in the United States. Yet limited data exist on contemporary epidemiological trends and risk factors for firearm-related ...
Introducing sit-stand desks increases classroom standing time among university students

Abstract Excessive sedentary behavior has been associated with many negative health outcomes. While an understudied health topic, there is evidence that university students are excessively sedentary. Sit-stand desks have been shown to reduce sedentary time among pre-university students (ages 5–18 years) and sedentary workers but have not been tested in university classrooms. This study tested the effects of introducing sit-stand desks into a university classroom on student's classroom sitting and standing behaviors. Using a cross-over design, students received access to both traditional seated desks and sit-stand desks for six weeks. Data were collected between September and December, 2016. We recruited 304 healthy undergraduate university students enrolled in one of two small (25 seats) classrooms at a large Midwestern university during the fall of 2016. Average minutes of standing/hour/student, average percent class time spent standing, and the number of sit-stand transitions/student/hour were directly observed with video camera surveillance. Participants stood significantly more (p
Exploring how understandings from abstract algebra can influence the teaching of structure in early algebra

Empirical work connecting content knowledge to teaching practice has become increasingly important in discussions around a professional knowledge base for teaching. This paper aims to continue that work, reporting a single exploratory case study of one elementary mathematics teacher. The purpose of the study was to explore how introducing teachers to advanced mathematics, particularly ideas in abstract algebra, might inform and influence their instructional practices for teaching early algebra topics about arithmetic structure. The findings indicate that instructional practices did change, especially in ways that more explicitly incorporated structure in early algebra with students, and fostered increased reasoning and sense-making about these ideas. Implications for mathematics teacher education are discussed.
‘My family is making me sick’ – but, for both him and her?: examining the effect of gender on the association between close relationships and health

Using a biopsychosocial health approach, we examine the role of close relationships on health for men and women. With a cross-sectional US sample (N = 872), we examine a structural model to determi...
This, that, and it in spoken American English: a demonstrative system of gradient focus

This paper provides an alternative analysis for the demonstrative system of reference in spontaneous oral discourse. The alternative model is based on interaction between and among participants and is intended to replace the traditional proximal/distal distinction which statistically centers around the speaker as the primary locus of information. In a move away from the static view of language which traditionalists seem to embrace by concentrating on a single participant orientation (in this case, the speaker) the model being proposed here takes into account additional factors such as the hearer, the relationships between speaker and hearer, as well as the continuum of information status vis a vis the referent, i.e., new(er) vs. (more) shared information, more important vs. less important information, and so forth. The paper proposes that these factors are crucial for an analysis which accounts for speaker choice of demonstrative reference terms, especially in oral discourse. It will be shown through various distributional tendencies, that the motivating factors underlying speaker choice of demonstrative has much to do with the concept of FOCUS, and that by using demonstrative markers in various ways, speakers are indexing hints of their personal stance with regard not only to their interlocutors, but to the referents being talked about as well.
Biological Systems: Multiscale Modeling Based on Mixture Theory

Scientific understanding of complex biological systems has recently benefited from mathematical and computational modeling. Classical biological studies are focused on observation and experimentation. However, mathematical modeling and computer simulation can provide useful guidance and insightful interpretations for experimental studies. Mathematical modeling can also be used to characterize complex biological phenomena, such as cell migration, cancer metastasis, tumor growth, bone remodeling, and wound healing. Since these phenomena occur over varying spatial and temporal scales, it is necessary to use multiscale modeling approaches. This book chapter provides an overview of multiscale mathematical methods for developing models for aforementioned biological phenomena based on so-called mixture theory. In Sect. 11.1, we cover the background about multiscale modeling in general applications as well as biology specific applications, Sect. 11.2 presents the multiscale computational methods and the challenges associated with modeling complex biological systems and processes, Sect. 11.3 presents theories and their applications of four example model problems, and Sect. 11.4 concludes with open questions in multiscale mathematical modeling, especially in biomedical areas.
Localized Moment and Spin-Glass-Like Behavior in Amorphous YFe2

Mossbauer studies reported in this paper were made on a bulk amorphous sample of YFe2(a-YFe2) prepared by rapid sputtering techniques at Battelle Northwest Laboratories1. Rare earth-Fe2 alloys prepared by that group have been shown to be structurally amorphous using neutron diffraction2 and x-ray diffraction3 techniques. Previous bulk magnetization4 and neutron diffraction measurements5 made on this same a-YFe2 sample have revealed anomalous magnetic behavior. The magnetization data taken in fields above 1000 Oe showed no evidence of a magnetic phase transition down to 3.5K, the lowest temperature used. Small angle neutron scattering5 showed an intense magnetic component at low temperatures with a broad peakoat T≅ 40K for the smallest used momentum transfer vector, q=0.04A−1. Below T≅ 50K a small magnetic hysteresis and remanent magnetization developed which increased at lower temperatures. The hysteresis, remanent magnetization and scattering peak were attributed to possible anisotropy effects. High field magnetization measurements at 1.5K and 60 kOe produced a moment of 1.1µB per iron atom, considerably less than the saturated value of about 1.7µB. This result was interpreted as indicating itinerant-moment rather than localized moment behavior for the iron magnetization. Spin-spin correlation lengths inferred from the neutron work varied from 8A to 6A between T~60 and 175K.
Health Effects Associated with Air Pollution in the Ural Mountains

Magnitogorsk is a city of 465,000 people that is choking under the cumulative load of pollution from 70 years of sustained production of iron and steel using less-thanadequate technologies. The main enterprise and principal employer in the city is the joint-stock company, “Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works”, which boasts of an history of decades of continuous production growth of all kinds of metal products. The sustained intensification of production processes peaked in 1989 when 7 4 million tons of coke, 11.7 million tons of cast-iron, 16.1 million tons of steel and 11.9 million tons of rolled stock poured out the various plants in the city (Starikov, 1997). Most of the growth was coaxed out plants that were built in the 1930s and were operated with little or no modifications to deal with the accompanying increase in emissions of toxic substances to the environment.
Rhetoric and Psychotherapy

This chapter describes the application of rhetorical analysis to the content of therapeutic dialogue. Rhetorical analysis as a method of analyzing verbal influence processes has been developed over a period of 2000 years and provides a rich framework for analyzing these processes. The majority of analyses of psychotherapeutic interactions have failed to provide a content-oriented basis for analyzing therapeutic interchanges. Rhetorical maneuvers in therapy have not been explicated. If we can develop an empirical approach for analyzing therapeutic transactions, we may be better able to identify effective therapist maneuvers and to subsequently teach them. This paper offers rhetorical concepts as hypotheses for explaining therapeutic impact. We have selected those rhetorical behaviors that on the basis of rhetorical theory seem relevant to the psychotherapeutic situation. Our purpose is to explicate specific therapist verbal behavior that might have influential effects on client behavior. The relationship between these rhetorical concepts and therapeutic outcome may later be tested empirically.
Educating patient-centered, systems-aware physicians: a qualitative analysis of medical student perceptions of value-added clinical systems learning roles

Medical schools have a critical need to develop roles for students that are “value-added,” defined as “…experiential roles that can positively impact health outcomes while also enhancing student knowledge, attitudes, and skills in Clinical or Health Systems Science.” Following implementation of value-added clinical systems learning roles for all first-year students, authors investigated student perceptions of the educational value from these patient-centered experiences. Between 2014 and 16, authors collected logs from students following their working with patients; authors also performed six, 1:1 student interviews, which were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Authors used thematic analysis to explore students’ perceptions of the experience and educational benefits from these roles. Authors identified themes, and agreed upon results and quotations. A total of 792 logs from 363 patients and six interviews were completed and analyzed. Students reported six educational benefits of performing value-added clinical systems learning roles in the health system, including enhanced understanding of and appreciation for a patient’s perspective on health care and his/her health, barriers and social determinants of health, health care systems and delivery, interprofessional collaboration and teamwork, clinical medicine, and approach to communicating with patients. Students’ reported educational benefits from value-added clinical systems learning roles span several learning areas that align with clinical and Health Systems Science, i.e. the needs of future physicians. These roles have the potential to shift learning from the physician-centric identity to one more fully aligned with patient-centered, team-based providers, while also potentially improving health today.
ILC2s - resident lymphocytes pre-adapted to a specific tissue or migratory effectors that adapt to where they move?

A cardinal feature of the T-cell adaptive immune system is the antigen-dependent activation of naive T cells in secondary lymphoid sites, followed by the migration of the resultant effector cells through the efferent lymph to the blood and then into a peripheral tissue site of infection or tumor growth. In contrast, the current view of innate lymphocytes (ILCs), the innate counterparts of T cells, is that they are tissue-resident cells, adapted to their specific environments during development and performing their effector functions locally upon cytokine stimulation. Here we present recent findings that challenge the latter as defining the properties of ILCs, at least ILC2s. Our studies show that IL-25, administrated experimentally or generated in response to helminth infection, triggers local proliferation and activation of intestinal ILC2s that are the precursors to inflammatory ILC2 (iILC2) cells. These cells downregulate CD69 expression, upregulate S1P receptors and move across the villus lymphatic endothelium in an S1P-depndent manner. They subsequently enter the blood stream, through which they traffic to distant organs such as the liver and lung. In the lung, these iILC2 cells play a crucial role in host defense during the pulmonary stage of helminth infection. In the later stage of infection, a fraction of the iILC2 cells phenotypically convert into lung-resident natural ILC2 (nILC2)-like cells while another fraction homes back to their original location in the small intestine. These data support the view that ILC2s possess properties considered characteristic of adaptive T lymphocytes, namely local activation and distant effector function, but in response to alarm cytokines instead of specific antigen. These findings also raise questions about whether other ILC subsets show similar trafficking potential when suitably challenged, the extent to which such cells show plasticity in adapting to new tissue environments beyond the course of early development, and the relative roles of organ-resident versus migratory ILCs in host defense.
Genetic Liver-Specific AMPK Activation Protects against Diet-Induced Obesity and NAFLD.

The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a highly conserved master regulator of metabolism, whose activation has been proposed to be therapeutically beneficial for the treatment of several metabolic diseases, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD, characterized by excessive accumulation of hepatic lipids, is the most common chronic liver disease and a major risk factor for development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic conditions. To assess the therapeutic potential of AMPK activation, we have generated a genetically engineered mouse model, termed iAMPKCA, where AMPK can be inducibly activated in vivo in mice in a spatially and temporally restricted manner. Using this model, we show that liver-specific AMPK activation reprograms lipid metabolism, reduces liver steatosis, decreases expression of inflammation and fibrosis genes, and leads to significant therapeutic benefits in the context of diet-induced obesity. These findings further support AMPK as a target for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD.
Simultaneous Blind Deconvolution and Phase Retrieval with Tensor Iterative Hard Thresholding

Blind deconvolution and phase retrieval are both fundamental problems with a growing interest in signal processing and communications. In this work, we consider the task of simultaneous blind deconvolution and phase retrieval. We show that this non-linear problem can be reformulated as a low-rank tensor recovery problem and propose an algorithm named TIHT-BDPR to recover the unknown parameters. We include a series of numerical simulations to illustrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm.