cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Oil Spill Dispersants: Boon or Bane?

Dispersants provide a reliable large-scale response to catastrophic oil spills that can be used when the preferable option of recapturing the oil cannot be achieved. By allowing even mild wave action to disperse floating oil into tiny droplets (<70 μm) in the water column, seabirds, reptiles, and mammals are protected from lethal oiling at the surface, and microbial biodegradation is dramatically increased. Recent work has clarified how dramatic this increase is likely to be: beached oil has an environmental residence of years, whereas dispersed oil has a half-life of weeks. Oil spill response operations endorse the concept of net environmental benefit, that any environmental costs imposed by a response technique must be outweighed by the likely benefits. This critical review discusses the potential environmental debits and credits from dispersant use and concludes that, in most cases, the potential environmental costs of adding these chemicals to a polluted area are likely outweighed by the much shorter residence time, and hence integrated environmental impact, of the spilled oil in the environment.
Long-term performance of 4 K Gifford-McMahon refrigerators on the BIMA array

Eight radio telescopes in the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Array (BIMA) are outfitted with 4 K Gifford-McMahon refrigerators. The refrigerators cool superconducting detectors (SIS mixers) on the radio receivers; the heat load at 4 K is 10 to 20 mW. The refrigerators were constructed by welding third stages onto standard CTI model 1020 cryocoolers; Er3Ni or ErNi spheres are used as the low temperature regenerators. The refrigerators are operated almost continuously; one has been in service for 4 years. Maintenance consists of disassembling the cold heads every 1 to 2 years to clean out water and dust.
Towards Realization of a Control-Commnunication Framework for Interactive Power Networks

Smart grids in near future will be expected to provide high fidelity power-flow control, self healing, and energy surety and energy security anytime and anywhere. This will require a ubiquitous framework of distributed control-communication supported by pervasive computation and sensing technologies. However, effective operation of such an integrated control-communication framework will need i) a "joint" optimization strategy that ensures an optimal balance between performance of the control system under stability bound and the dynamic network capacity of the communication network; and ii) a mechanism for partitioning the functionality to achieve a distributed or pseudo-decentralized implementation. In this paper, some of these issues have been raised and an outine on the first-step approach has been provided along with case studies involving homogeneous inverter network and a scaled microgrid. A novel nodal architecture has been proposed as well to demonstrate a possible approach towards implementation of the control-communication framework.
Gait Patterns After Bariatric Surgery

Compared to normal walking, obesity is associated with a slower, stiffer, more careful gait, posing a major challenge to mobility and physical function. Obese gait also contributes to knee osteoarthritis onset and progression, further limiting mobility and generating an obesity–immobility feedback loop that diminishes health-related quality-of-life and can lead to significant disability. Restoration of normal gait reduces functional disability among patients and is central to physical activity for postsurgical weight maintenance, and should therefore be considered a critical outcome of bariatric surgery. Six studies of postsurgical walking gait all show significant recovery of gait and function over postsurgical time periods ranging from 3 months to 5 years. Despite these promising outcomes, much work remains to be done to gain a better understanding of variation in the functional outcomes of bariatric surgery, and how best to improve gait rehabilitation for individual patients.
Emotion Regulation Therapy: A Mechanism-Targeted Treatment for Disorders of Distress.

“Distress disorders,” which include generalized anxiety disorder and major depression are often highly comorbid with each other and appear to be characterized by common temperamental features that reflect heightened sensitivity to underlying motivational systems related to threat/safety and reward/loss. Further, individuals with distress disorders tend to utilize self-referential processes (e.g., worry, rumination, self-criticism) in a maladaptive attempt to respond to motivationally relevant distress, often resulting in suboptimal contextual learning. Despite the success of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) for emotional disorders, a sizable subgroup of patients with distress disorders fail to evidence adequate treatment response. Emotion Regulation Therapy (ERT) is a theoretically-derived, evidence based, treatment that integrates principles (e.g., skills training, exposure) from traditional and contemporary therapies with findings from basic and translational affective science to offer a framework for improving intervention by focusing on the motivational responses and corresponding regulatory characteristics of individuals with high levels of chronic distress. Open and randomized controlled trials have demonstrated preliminary support for the utility of ERT as reflected by strong effect sizes comparable to and exceeding established intervention approaches. In addition, pilot findings support the role of underlying proposed mechanisms in this efficacious response. This article presents the functional model associated with ERT and describes the proposed mechanisms of the treatment. Additionally, a clinical case is presented, allowing the reader to gain a greater applied understanding of the different components of the ERT model and treatment.
Moving up, feeling down: Socioemotional health during the transition into college

Moving from high school to college is a critical juncture in socioemotional health, and how young people fare likely depends on their academic settings and experiences. To examine variation in trajectories of depressive symptomatology among a sample of US youth who transition from high school into college, this study applied growth mixture modeling to data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, which revealed multiple patterns of symptomatology over time that ranged from healthy to unhealthy. Adolescents appeared to have the healthiest trajectories when they experienced consistently competitive academic settings in high school and college. Overall, transitioning into college was a period of socioemotional vulnerability for some and wellbeing for others, but challenging curricula and contexts across this transition could differentiate between the two.
Annals for Hospitalists Inpatient Notes - Perioperative Medicine—The Past, Present, and Future of Cardiovascular Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction Strategies

As the field of hospital medicine moves into its third decade, it is worthwhile to reflect on the evolution of perioperative cardiovascular risk stratification and risk reduction measures, and to l...
Sexual Activity Recommendations in High-Risk Pregnancies: What is the Evidence?

Abstract Background While sexual activity in normal, healthy pregnant women is safe, concern regarding elements of the sexual act have led to restrictions in pregnancies experiencing complications that are frequently insufficiently addressed in clinical practice. Aim To comprehensively review the literature for evidence that supports or refutes specific sexual activity restrictions in high-risk pregnancy conditions. Methods A search of PubMed, MEDLINE, Ovid, UpToDate, Google Scholar, and Google for relevant publications related to any aspect of sexual activity affecting high-risk pregnancies complicated by history of pre-term delivery, shortened cervix, presence of cerclage, pre-mature rupture of membranes, placenta abruption, placenta previa, multiple gestation, or history of classical cesarean section was performed. Outcomes The scientific evidence on the pathophysiology of sexual activity and specific high-risk pregnancies, and their interaction. Results Despite expert opinion restricting sexual acts or intercourse, there are minimal published data that specifically address sexual activity in high-risk pregnancies. Conclusions Clinicians need to engage in conversations regarding specific sexual activity for patients experiencing complications in pregnancy. Recommendations for or against restricting sexual activity should be based on evidence-based guidelines. Significant advances in this area of obstetrics are necessary to make validated recommendations. MacPhedran S. Sexual Activity Recommendations in High-Risk Pregnancies: What is the Evidence? Sex Med Rev 2018;6:343–357.
Practice Facilitators’ and Leaders’ Perspectives on a Facilitated Quality Improvement Program

PURPOSE Practice facilitation is a promising approach to helping practices implement quality improvements. Our purpose was to describe practice facilitators’ and practice leaders’ perspectives on implementation of a practice facilitator–supported quality improvement program and describe where their perspectives aligned and diverged. METHODS We conducted interviews with practice leaders and practice facilitators who participated in a program that included 35 improvement strategies aimed at the ABCS of heart health (aspirin use in high-risk individuals, blood pressure control, cholesterol management, and smoking cessation). Rapid qualitative analysis was used to collect, organize, and analyze the data. RESULTS We interviewed 17 of the 33 eligible practice leaders, and the 10 practice facilitators assigned to those practices. Practice leaders and practice facilitators both reported value in the program’s ability to bring needed, high-quality resources to practices. Practice leaders appreciated being able to set the schedule for facilitation and select among the 35 interventions. According to practice facilitators, however, relying on practice leaders to set the pace of the intervention resulted in a lower level of program intensity than intended. Practice leaders preferred targeted assistance, particularly electronic health record documentation guidance and linkages to state smoking cessation programs. Practice facilitators reported that the easiest interventions were those that did not alter care practices. CONCLUSIONS The dual perspectives of practice leaders and practice facilitators provide a more holistic picture of enablers and barriers to program implementation. There may be greater opportunities to assist small practices through simple, targeted practice facilitator–supported efforts rather than larger, comprehensive quality improvement projects.
Portugal’s Immigration and Integration Policies: a Case Apart?

Most countries in Europe have seen the rise of anti-immigrant political parties in recent years and many have implemented more restrictive immigration measures. Portugal has moved in the opposite direction, seeking to produce some of the best practices and laws on immigration and immigrant integration. Traditional theories of immigration policy fail to account for the Portuguese case, and regional models of immigration overlook ways in which Portugal diverges. Instead, Portuguese policies are best understood as the product of (1) a political consensus on immigration that derives in part from Portugal’s social-revolutionary democratic transition; (2) innovative institutions that enjoy both autonomy and political support, enable a “whole-of-government” approach, and mediate social pressures created by immigration; and (3) leadership choices made by politicians, bureaucrats, and civil society groups to forge consensus and seek inclusion. The Portuguese case signals the importance of adopting other lenses for the comparative study of immigration policies that go beyond regional models and highlight policy similarities among countries from distinct regions.
Middle School Students’ Use of Property Knowledge and Spatial Visualization in Reasoning About 2D Rotations

In recent years, there has been increased attention on teaching transformational geometry. There is also increased recognition of the importance of spatial reasoning in mathematics and science. As a way of integrating research on these interconnected topics, we investigated middle school students’ developing understanding of geometric rotations in the plane as they were working in a special dynamic geometry environment.
Accelerated and Premature Aging Characterizing Regional Cortical Volume Loss in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection: Contributions From Alcohol, Substance Use, and Hepatitis C Coinfection.

Abstract Background Life expectancy of successfully treated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–infected individuals is approaching normal longevity. The growing HIV population ≥50 years of age is now at risk of developing HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder, acquiring coinfection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), and engaging in hazardous drinking or drug consumption that can adversely affect trajectories of the healthy aging of brain structures. Methods This cross-sectional/longitudinal study quantified regional brain volumes from 1101 magnetic resonance imaging scans collected over 14 years in 549 participants (25 to 75 years of age): 68 HIV-infected individuals without alcohol dependence, 60 HIV-infected individuals with alcohol dependence, 222 alcohol-dependent individuals, and 199 control subjects. We tested 1) whether localized brain regions in HIV-infected individuals exhibited accelerated aging, or alternatively, nonaccelerated premature aging deficits; and 2) the extent to which alcohol or substance dependence or HCV coinfection altered brain aging trajectories. Results The HIV-infected cohort exhibited steeper declining volume trajectories than control subjects, consistently in the frontal cortex. Nonaccelerated volume deficits occurred in the temporal, parietal, insular, and cingulate regions of all three diagnostic groups. Alcohol and drug dependence comorbidities and HCV coinfection exacerbated HIV-related volume deficits. Accelerated age interactions in frontal and posterior parietal volumes endured in HIV-infected individuals free of alcohol or substance dependence and HCV infection comorbidities. Functionally, poorer HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder scores and Veterans Aging Cohort Study indices correlated with smaller regional brain volumes in the HIV-infected individuals without alcohol dependence and alcohol-dependent groups. Conclusions HIV infection itself may confer a heightened risk of accelerated brain aging, potentially exacerbated by HCV coinfection and substance dependency. Confirmation would require a prospective study with a preinfection baseline.
Coordinating on Reducing Advertising: Carbonated Soft Drinks Industry andCombating Obesity

With the rise in obesity levels across the nation, policy makers and public interest groups are taking more interest in advertising of unhealthful foods. The Better Business Bureau has formed the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), which has recruited carbonated soft drink (CSD) manufactures to voluntarily restrict their advertising directed at children less than 12 years of age. This research explores the effects of the CFBAI on firm level advertising to children and adults using nonlinear time series processes. Estimated ARCH processes are significant in all models and capture varying pulse-advertising strategies by all major firms. We find that the market leader does in fact reduce its advertising to both adults and children and the second largest firm reduces advertising to adults. Advertising for the non-participating firm, however, increased for adults following the ban. The results emphasize the potential benefits and difficulty of coordinating cooperative behavior in this type of industry. It appears that policy strategies of this nature may be more effective if directed at industries as a whole and not at individual firms.
UniFrame: A Unified Framework for Developing Service-Oriented, Component-Based Distributed Software Systems

Abstract : This chapter introduces the UniFrame approach to creating high quality computing systems from heterogeneous components distributed over a network. It describes how this approach employs a unifying framework for specifying such systems to unite the concepts of service-oriented architectures, a component-based software engineering methodology and a mechanism for automatically finding components on a network in order to assemble a specified system. UniFrame employs a formal specification language to define the components and serve as a basis for generating glue/wrapper code that connects heterogeneous components. It also provides a high level language for the system developer to use for inserting code in a created system to validate it empirically and estimate the quality of service it supports. The chapter demonstrates how a comprehensive approach, which involves the practicing community as well as technical experts, can lead to solutions of many of the difficulties inherent in constructing distributed computing systems.
Determination of Sediment Sound Speed Profiles Using Caustic Range Information

A method for determining sediment sound speed profiles is described. It employs measurements, obtained at various receiver heights, of ranges to the caustic which is formed due to a positive gradient in the sediment. The bottom profile can then be obtained from equations, derived using the WKB approximation, which relate the parameters of the water-bottom profile to the caustic range and source/receiver heights. Using an existing result, the theory is presented for the case of an isovelocity ocean overlying a sediment half-space with a linear gradient and continuous sound speed at the water-bottom interface. A new theoretical result is derived for the linear gradient case with a discontinuity at the water-bottom interface. The method is illustrated using data at 220 Hz.
Detection of Sickle a- or $#{176}-Thalassemia by Studies of Globin Biosynthesis

Globin synthesis studies are useful in the analysis of thalassemia syndromes. We have applied globin synthesis and free a-chain pool studies of peripheral blood to characterize hematologic disorders where a- or�- thalassemia was present in com- bination with HbS or HbC. In 60 non- thalassemic controls, the $/a specific activity ratio was 1.O� ± 0.06 (SD). In three patients with HbS-fi#{176}-thalassemia, the ( � + 'y)/a ratios were 0.48-0.67. In fouratients with HbSS-a-thalassemia, theIa ratio was 1.26± 0.18 (1.13- 1.53). The radioactive free a-chain pool in three patients with HbS-fi#{176}-thalassemig was elevated (35.1%-53.0%), while three patients with HbSS-a-thalassemia had decreased free radioactive a-chain pools (3.2%-6.4%); both were signifi- cantly different from the mean 1 5 .1 % ± 2.6%) of the 1 7 iron-sufficient controls. Simultaneous studies of the fraction of newly synthesized a chain contained in the free a-chain pool in peripheral blood and bone marrow demonstrated that this fraction was larger in peripheral blood than in marrow, and that the differences between thalassemia patients and con- trols previously found in bone marrow using these methods were also present in peripheral blood. The results indicate that even when family studies are not possible, patients with HbS in combination with a- or �1#{176}-thalassemia can be differentiated from those with homozygous sickle cell disease by globin synthesis and free a-chain pool studies using peripheral blood. LOBIN SYNTHESIS has been extensively studied in patients with thalas- semia. Blacks with a- or f3-thalassemia trait exhibit a wide range of globin synthesis ratios, overlapping normal and abnormal values in whites.' � These findings raise the question ofwhether the differentiation of sickling disorders in association with a- or j3-thalassemia from homozygous sickle cell disease may be possible on the basis ofglobin synthesis studies alone. A significantly larger free radioactive ct-chain pool is present in the marrow of patients with f�-thalassemia trait or Hb Lepore trait than in nonthalassemic controls4 and a smaller pool than normal is found in a-thalassemia.5'6 Although the bone marrow free radioactive a-chain pool may be useful in differentiating sickling syndromes with thalassemia from those without thalassemia, a method using peripheral blood would be more convenient and less painful. In the present study peripheral blood was used instead of marrow to de- termine the fraction of newly synthesized a chain in the free a-chain pool in
oDesk: Changing How the World Works

It is 2010, and Gary Swart, CEO of oDesk, is contemplating the next steps for his organization. Founded in 2004 in California, oDesk operates an online marketplace that matches Employers with Contractors. oDesk provides fact-based information on Contractors, including experience, skills, and certifications, to Employers, who use this information as a basis for interviewing and hiring Contractors. oDesk's online marketplace also includes a payment platform and tools that allow Employers to audit and verify Contractors' work and time sheets. oDesk collects commissions, approximately 10% of gross services, on all work that goes through its platform. oDesk has enjoyed robust growth since its inception and to date has focused on a very distinct market segment: small and medium-sized employers, Contractors who provide computer programming services, and U.S.-based employers hiring overseas Contractors. Swart believes that the time has come for oDesk to expand beyond this niche, but he is concerned about maintaining oDesk's strong reputation and market positioning and, as such, he wants to grow in a very focused manner. Should oDesk expand its customer focus to include large employers? Broaden the services its marketplace offers beyond computer programming? Widen its geographic reach? Each of these growth options offers opportunities and entails costs. Swart considers each of these in turn.Learning Objective:Understand challenges associated with leading and growing an innovative organization.
Spatial and Temporal Variation in the Nature of Pleistocene Pluvial Phase Environments Across North Africa

Pleistocene-aged fluvial, lacustrine, and spring sediments across North Africa record times of enhanced rainfall relative to the present. Much, though not all of the preserved record, is found near modern oases or extant (sometimes seasonal) bodies of water. Pluvial phase indicators point to a variety of environmental conditions during humid events; reconstructed Pleistocene lakes range in size from several square kilometers to tens of thousands of square kilometers, and from long-lived perennial freshwater lakes, to large brackish lakes, to seasonal playas. Spring-fed wetlands would also have been a relatively common feature of pluvial phase environments. In most localities that record more than one pluvial phase, sedimentological and geochemical evidence suggests humid events following ~70 ka were less intense than those associated with Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, though distributions of dates on these humid phases indicate they were still significant and continent-wide. Comparison of the timing of humid phases across the region is made possible through compilation of U-series, TL, and OSL dates on sediments indicative of relatively wet conditions. Available geochronological data suggest that the western Sahara and Mediterranean North Africa exhibit different climatic variation than the rest of the region, perhaps tied to the influence of Mediterranean rainfall.
The Jeremiah Metzger Lecture: avian influenza.

Avian influenza has been identified as the major potential risk to the US. There have been three influenza pandemics in the past century, but the 1918–19 epidemic of “Spanish flu” dwarfs all others in terms of morbidity and mortality (Table 1). In the past two years there has been the rapid dissemination of Avian influenza (influenza A H5N1) among birds and a modest number of cases in people. Despite the relatively low attack rate, there are highly disturbing features: the mortality rate is reported at about 50%, there are clinical, pathologic and sequence analyses that show several features in common with the influenza strain of the 1918–19 pandemic, and this strain now appears to be widely distributed by uncontrollable flight patterns of migratory birds. The purpose of this report is to review the current knowledge of Avian influenza and the plans to control it. TABLE 1 Influenza pandemics
What Is This Book About

This book presents a uniquely human perspective on the quest to explore space and to understand the mysteries of the universe as seen through the lens of the arts and humanities, the social sciences, history, and futures studies. The contribution that the social sciences and the humanities have been allowed to make to space studies and actual space endeavors to date is very slight. In fact the contribution of these various disciplines is modest when compared to that of science, engineering, medicine, law, policy, and business. Yet, the systematic, early, and omnipresent inclusion of social science research and humanistic concerns into all future space activities is vital for the success of any space mission. Indeed, one of the best justifications for the international space station (ISS) – for example – should have been to perform good social science and humanistic research in preparation for space flights and settlements of longer duration elsewhere in the Solar System. And yet no such research has been conducted on the ISS. In contrast scores of biological, mechanical, and astronautical experiments have been carried out, while social science and humanistic research has largely been considered beyond the purview of most space agencies. It should be noted, however, that JAXA, the Japanese Space Agency, does have a series of poems called “renshi” written by ordinary people around the world on the Kibo module of ISS.
Aqueous-phase hydrodechlorination of trichloroethylene over Pd-based swellable organically-modified silica (SOMS): Catalyst deactivation due to chloride anions

Abstract Swellable-organically modified silica (SOMS) has been demonstrated to be an efficient catalyst scaffold for catalytic treatment of water contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE). In this study, deactivation characteristics of Pd-incorporated SOMS for aqueous-phase hydrodechlorination (HDC) of TCE were investigated. Pd/SOMS catalysts were exposed to highly-concentrated chloride solutions (up to 1 M NaCl or 0.01 M HCl) to examine the deactivation resistant behavior of Pd/SOMS. The commonly used HDC catalyst Pd/Al2O3 was also studied for comparison purposes. Pd/SOMS and Pd/Al2O3 in their pristine and treated states were tested for aqueous-phase HDC of TCE and characterized by several techniques including N2 physisorption, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS), and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) of adsorbed CO. The aqueous-phase treatments had a pronounced adverse effect on the textural properties of Pd/Al2O3, although the effect was independent of the type of the chloride precursor, NaCl or HCl. Treating Pd/Al2O3 with chloride-containing solutions lowered the catalytic activity due to formation of Pd-Cl complexes and active metal leaching. The leached Pd obtained from the treatment solution was shown to be inactive for aqueous-phase HDC of TCE. While Pd/Al2O3 underwent severe deactivation due to the chloride treatments, Pd/SOMS exhibited resistance to chloride deactivation and metal leaching. The chloride treatments did not impact the textural properties of Pd/SOMS. The achieved deactivation resistance was attributed to the novel characteristics of the SOMS support.
Morph-physiological responses of cotton interspecific chromosome substitution lines to low temperature and drought stresses

Limited knowledge about genetic and physiological traits associated with drought and low temperature stresses and narrow genetic diversity in Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) are serious impediments in its genetic improvement. The objectives of this research were to determine the genetic and physiological traits associated with drought and low temperature effects and to identify chromosomal effects on these traits using chromosome substitution (CS) lines from three alien species of Gossypium, G. barbadense, G. tomentosum, and G. mustelinum, respectively. Two experiments were conducted to study low temperature and drought stress effects during seedling emergence and early growth stages in 21 cotton CS-lines with parent, Texas Marker (TM)-1. In Experiment I, plants were grown at optimum (30/22 °C) and low (22/14 °C) temperature conditions under optimum water and nutrient conditions. In Experiment II, plants were grown at optimum water (soil moisture content of 0.167 m3 m−3) and in drought (soil moisture content 0.105 m3 m−3) conditions under optimum temperature conditions. Above- and below-ground growth traits including several root traits of the CS lines were assessed at 25 days after sowing. The findings suggest which substituted chromosome or chromosome segment from the alien species likely harbors one or more genes for higher and lower tolerance to low temperature, respectively. CS-T04 and CSB08sh showed higher and lower tolerance to low temperature, respectively and CS-T04 and CS-B22sh showed higher and lower tolerance, respectively, to drought. CS lines are valuable analytical tool and useful genetic resources for targeted exploitation of beneficial genes for drought and low temperature stresses in Upland cotton.
Policy mobilities and the sociomateriality of U.S. offshore aquaculture governance

This article examines the development of U.S. offshore aquaculture policy and governance through the lens of assemblage and mobility. It first characterizes the offshore aquaculture policy assembla...
Tracking changes in nutrient delivery to western Lake Erie: Approaches to compensate for variability and trends in streamflow

Abstract Tracking changes in stream nutrient inputs to Lake Erie over multidecadal time scales depends on the use of statistical methods that can remove the influence of year-to-year variability of streamflow but also explicitly consider the influence of long-term trends in streamflow. The methods introduced in this paper include an extended version of Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) modeling that explicitly considers nonstationary streamflow by incorporating information on changes in the frequency distribution of daily measured streamflow (discharge) over time. Soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) trends in annual flow-normalized fluxes (loads) at five long-term monitoring sites in the western Lake Erie drainage basin show increases of 109 to 322% over the period 1995 to 2015. About one-third of the increase appears attributable to increasing discharge trends, while the remaining two-thirds appears to be driven by changes in concentration versus discharge relationships reflecting higher concentrations for any given discharge during recent years. Trends in total phosphorus and three nitrogen parameters (total nitrogen, nitrate-nitrite, and total Kjeldahl nitrogen) at the 10 sites analyzed were much less pronounced, and commonly show decreases in concentration-discharge relationships accompanied by increases in discharge, resulting in little net change in total flux. Trends in monthly SRP fluxes and discharge, dissolved versus particulate fractions of nutrients, and N:P flux ratios were also evaluated. The methods described here provide tools to more clearly discern the effectiveness of nutrient-control strategies and can serve as ongoing measures of progress, or lack of progress, towards nutrient-reduction goals.
Proceedings of the 50th Annual Southeast Regional Conference

The ACM Southeast Conference began in 1962 as the Annual Meeting of the ACM Southeast Region. In the ACM organization at that time the US was partitioned into regions, with one representative from each region on the ACM Council. The first regional meeting/conference was organized by Charles Bradshaw, the Southeast Regional Representative at the time, and was held in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. There were several local ACM chapters in the region in 1962, and for the first several years the annual regional meeting/conference was hosted by one of the region's local chapters. The ACM Southeast Region Representative coordinated, and sometimes organized each conference. There were few academic programs, or even computing courses, in 1962, and local ACM meetings were attended by both practitioners and academics. Likewise the annual conferences in the early years were attended by both practitioners and academics, and although there were some theoretical papers, many were oriented toward current application issues. The exact date isn't clear, but eventually the "annual meeting" designation was replaced by "annual conference". The early conferences were hosted mostly by local chapters, but since 1987 each conference has been hosted by an academic institution. For some years after 1987, many conferences continued to be held in hotels, but for the past 15 years or so conferences have been held on a college or university campus. Practitioner attendance has declined to the point where all, or almost all, conference attendees are from academic institutions or research labs.
A Methodology For Studying Organizational Performance: A Multistate Survey of Front-line Providers

Background:Rigorous measurement of organizational performance requires large, unbiased samples to allow inferences to the population. Studies of organizations, including hospitals, often rely on voluntary surveys subject to nonresponse bias. For example, hospital administrators with concerns about p
Multi-parameter singular radon transforms I: The L 2 theory

The purpose of this paper is to study the L 2 boundedness of operators of the form f ↦ ψ(x) ∫ f (γ t (x))K(t)dt, where γ t (x) is a C ∞ function defined on a neighborhood of the origin in (t, x) ∈ ℝ N × ℝ n , satisfying γ 0(x) ≡ x, ψ is a C ∞ cut-off function supported on a small neighborhood of 0 ∈ ℝ n , and K is a “multi-parameter singular kernel” supported on a small neighborhood of 0 ∈ ℝ N . The goal is, given an appropriate class of kernels K, to give conditions on γ such that every operator of the above form is bounded on L 2. The case when K is a Calderon-Zygmund kernel was studied by Christ, Nagel, Stein, and Wainger; we generalize their conditions to the case when K has a “multi-parameter” structure. For example, when K is given by a “product kernel.” Even when K is a Calderon- Zygmund kernel, our methods yield some new results. This is the first paper in a three part series, the later two of which are joint with E. M. Stein. The second paper deals with the related question of L p boundedness, while the third paper deals with the special case when γ is real analytic.
Treatment of severe depression.

A significant minority of depressed outpatients and a vast majority of those hospitalized for depression can be considered severely ill. Severe depressive states are quite heterogeneous and include the more classical subforms (e.g., melancholia or psychotic depression) as well as various comorbid presentations. This article reviews the classification, phenomenology, pathophysiology, and treatment of severe depression.
Unitary Representations of the Baumslag–Solitar Group on the Cantor Set

The Cantor Set supports a Borel probability measure known as the Hutchinson measure which satisfies a well known fixed point relationship (Hutchinson in Indiana University Math J 30(5):713–747, 1981). Previously it has been shown by Jorgensen and Dutkay that the Cantor set can be extended to an inflated Cantor set, $${\mathcal {R}}$$, on a subset of the real line, which supports an extended Hutchinson measure $${\bar{\mu }}$$ (Dutkay and Jorgensen in Rev. Mat. Iberoamericana 22(1):131–180, 2006). Unitary dilation and translation operators can be defined on $$L^2({\mathcal {R}}, {\bar{\mu }})$$ which satisfy the Baumslag–Solitar group relation, and give rise to a filtration of the Hilbert space $$L^2({\mathcal {R}}, {\bar{\mu }})$$ called a multi-resolution analysis (Dutkay and Jorgensen 2006). The low pass filter function corresponding to this construction can be used to produce a measure, m, on a compact topological group called the 3-solenoid, denoted $${\mathcal {S}}_3$$ (Dutkay in Trans Am Math Soc 358(12):5271–5291, 2006). The Hilbert space $$L^2({\mathcal {S}}_3, m)$$ also admits a unitary representation of the Baumslag–Solitar group, and there exists a generalized Fourier transform between $$L^2({\mathcal {R}}, {\bar{\mu }})$$ and $$L^2({\mathcal {S}}_3,m)$$ (Dutkay 2006). In this paper, we build off of Jorgensen and Dutkay’s work to show that the unitary operators on $$L^2({\mathcal {S}}_3,m)$$ mentioned above are related to each other via a family of partial isometries, which satisfy properties resembling the Cuntz relations.
Cancer Care for All? Tales of Caring for Undocumented Patients with Cancer.

This commentary describes the barriers undocumented immigrants to the United States face when trying to access health care and highlights the downstream consequences of these barriers on the health system and on health care providers.
Value of clinical treatment score post-5 years (CTS5) for late relapse risk assessment in patients with early-stage HER2+ breast cancer (BC) in the north central cancer treatment group (NCCTG) N9831 (Alliance) trial.

529Background: Multiple prognostic models exist to predict late relapse risk in early stage hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer (BC). The CTS5 is one such model that has been validated in...
Relative contributions to overall impact of stuttering in adults using the overall assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES).

Abstract Purpose Comprehensive assessment of stuttering requires consideration of a wide range of behaviors that impact outcomes, and the Overall Assessment of the Speaker’s Experience of Stuttering (OASES) is an assessment tool that accomplishes such. The purpose of this study was to determine how the individual components of the test contribute to the OASES’ impact score. Method Data collected at a university speech-language and hearing clinic from 29 adults were used for a relative weight analysis (RWA). RWA was utilized to determine the relative contributions of the OASES’ subtests to the OASES’ impact score. Confidence intervals for the individual relative weights were calculated for each OASES subtest and significance tests based on bootstrapping with 10,000 replications. Results Differences were present in contributions of the OASES’ subtests to the OASES’ overall impact score, where the following explained a significant amount of variance in the OASES’ impact score: Speaker’s Reactions; Daily Communication; and Quality of Life. However, contribution of the subtest, “General Information”, was not significant. Conclusion Through examination of relative contributions to the impact of stuttering using the OASES, this project has identified differences in contributors to the overall impact of the disorder of stuttering. This information is beneficial to researchers and clinicians alike in that it gives specific guidance into what determines increased impact in adults who stutter (AWS). Future works should pursue clarification of these differences with an end goal of identifying and overcoming barriers to positive outcomes while also identifying and nurturing facilitators to optimal management.
A tool to prepare educators for ethical dilemmas

As sites for preparing students to become engaged citizens, schools often face ethical conflicts mirrored in the larger society. During the highly contentious 2016 presidential campaign and electio...
E-Liquid Containing a Mixture of Coconut, Vanilla, and Cookie Flavors Causes Cellular Senescence and Dysregulated Repair in Pulmonary Fibroblasts: Implications on Premature Aging

Electronic cigarette (e-cig) usage has risen dramatically worldwide over the past decade. While they are touted as a safe alternative to cigarettes, recent studies indicate that high levels of nicotine and flavoring chemicals present in e-cigs may still cause adverse health effects. We hypothesized that an e-liquid containing a mixture of tobacco, coconut, vanilla, and cookie flavors would induce senescence and disrupt wound healing processes in pulmonary fibroblasts. To test this hypothesis, we exposed pulmonary fibroblasts (HFL-1) to e-liquid at varying doses and assessed cytotoxicity, inflammation, senescence, and myofibroblast differentiation. We found that e-liquid exposure caused cytotoxicity, which was accompanied by an increase in IL-8 release in the conditioned media. E-liquid exposure resulted in elevated senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity. Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) induced myofibroblast differentiation was inhibited by e-liquid exposure, resulting in decreased α-smooth muscle actin and fibronectin protein levels. Together, our data suggest that an e-liquid containing a mixture of flavors induces inflammation, senescence and dysregulated wound healing responses.
Transferable Molecular Model of Woven Covalent Organic Framework Materials.

Two woven covalent organic framework materials (COF-505 and COF-506) have been synthesized since 2016, and the latter demonstrated the ability to take up dyes and other small molecules. This opens the door to applications such as separations, sensing, and catalysis. However, accelerating the design of future woven materials by changing the chemistry of the "threads" will require a computational model for these materials. Since no such atomic-scale model exists, we have developed a protocol for optimizing a force field for woven materials which can be used as the input to molecular dynamics simulations. Their high density and elasticity made these COFs challenging to model at a semiempirical level. Our modeling approach required simultaneous optimization of lattice parameters and elasticity using density functional theory-derived energy barriers and available experimental results. We used this force field, parameterized to fit COF-505, without change, to predict the structure of COF-506. This model allowed us to predict an anisotropy in 505's elasticity and preferred directions for diffusion which cannot be seen experimentally. The pore size distribution for 506 is dominated by small pores (80% <10 A dia.), though 5% of the pores are up to 20 A in diameter. We confirmed the experimental result that gases (barring helium) do not diffuse appreciably in COF-505. We validated our (unaltered) force field model to accurately predict experimental uptake data for tetrahydrofuran and methyl orange dye in COF-506. We proposed an atomic-scale mechanism by which COF-505 becomes metallated and demetallated. In addition, in advance of experimental studies, we determined the ability of 505 to incorporate other metals, such as Zn and Fe, which might be considered artificial photosynthesis agents. These predictions validate that Cu was a particularly appropriate choice of metal center for the synthesis, showcasing the ability of this model to play a role in designing woven materials a priori.
Adoption of Lightning Safety Best-Practices Policies in the Secondary School Setting.

Context Lightning-related injuries are among the top 10 causes of sport-related death at all levels of sport, including the nearly 8 million athletes participating in US secondary school sports. Objective To investigate the adoption of lightning safety policies and the factors that influence the development of comprehensive lightning safety policies in United States secondary schools. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Secondary school. Patients or other participants Athletic trainers (ATs). Main outcome measure(s) An online questionnaire was developed based on the "National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Lightning Safety for Athletics and Recreation" using a health behavior model, the precaution adoption process model, along with facilitators of and barriers to the current adoption of lightning-related policies and factors that influence the adoption of lightning policies. Precaution adoption process model stage (unaware for need, unaware if have, unengaged, undecided, decided not to act, decided to act, acting, maintaining) responses are presented as frequencies. Chi-square tests of associations and prevalence ratios with 95% CIs were calculated to compare respondents in higher and lower vulnerability states, based on data regarding lightning-related deaths. Results The response rate for this questionnaire was 13.43% (n = 365), with additional questionnaires completed via social media (n = 56). A majority of ATs reported maintaining (69%, n = 287) and acting (6.5%, n = 27) a comprehensive lightning safety policy. Approximately 1 in 4 ATs (25.1%, n = 106) described using flash to bang as an evacuation criterion. Athletic trainers practicing in more vulnerable states were more likely to adopt a lightning policy than those in less vulnerable states (57.4% versus 42.6%, prevalence ratio [95% CI] = 1.16 [1.03, 1.30]; P = .009). The most commonly cited facilitator and barrier were a requirement from a state high school athletics association and financial limitations, respectively. Conclusions A majority of ATs related adopting (eg, maintaining and acting) the best practices for lightning safety. However, many ATs also indicated continued use of outdated methods (eg, flash to bang).
Assessment and utility of 2 Chlamydia trachomatis Pgp3 serological assays for seroprevalence studies among women in the United States.

Abstract Two plasmid gene protein (Pgp3)-based serological assays, the Pgp3-ELISA and multiplex bead assay (Pgp3-MBA), were compared and used to estimate seropositivity of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) among females 14 to 39 years old participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2013–2016. Of the 2,201 specimens tested, 502 (29.5%, 95% CI 27.6–31.5) were positive using Pgp3-ELISA and 624 (28.4%, 95% CI 26.5–30.3) were positive using Pgp3-MBA. The overall agreement between the assays was 87.7%. Corresponding nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) results were available for 1,725 specimens (from women 18–39 years old); of these, 42 (2.4%, 95% CI 1.8–3.3) were CT NAAT-positive. Most of the CT NAAT-positive specimens had corresponding positive serological assay results; 33 (78.6%, 95% CI 62.8–89.2) were Pgp3-ELISA-positive and 36 (85.7%, 95% CI 70.8–94.1) were Pgp3-MBA-positive. Although Pgp3-ELISA and Pgp3-MBA demonstrated equivalent performance in this study, an advantage of the Pgp3-MBA over Pgp3-ELISA is that it is well suited for high sample throughput applications.