cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Investigating the Extremes of Antibiotic Use with an Epidemiologic Framework

Benchmarks for judicious use of antimicrobials are needed. Metrics such as defined daily doses (DDDs) and days of therapy (DOTs) quantify antimicrobial consumption. However, benchmarking with these metrics is complicated by interhospital variability. Thus, it is important for each hospital to monitor its own temporal consumption trends. Time series analyses allow trends to be detected; however, many of these methods are complex. We present simple regressive methods and caveats in using them to define potential antibiotic over- and underutilizations.
A Continuity Outlet Boundary Condition for the Lattice Boltzmann Method

A continuity outlet boundary condition for the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is proposed based on the assurance of the mass conservation of the system. The main advantage of the proposed boundary condition over the conventional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques is that the macroscopic properties, e.g. velocity, pressure etc. are not needed to be prescribed at the outlet, these properties are automatically calculated with the imposed boundary condition. This is especially useful in practice where the macroscopic properties at the outlet are difficult or impossible to be measured and described as in the biological flows. In order to test the feasibility of the proposed method, the LBM simulations are first verified for its capability to simulate flow in a symmetrically bifurcated channel. Then asymmetrically bifurcated geometries representing the blood vessels have been designed with different bifurcation angles. The new boundary condition is also tested for multi-component LBM simulations. For these cases, LBM predictions have been compared with the predictions for the commercial CFD software, namely ANSYS FLUENT at different Reynolds numbers. The results show that there is a good agreement between the LBM and FLUENT predictions, and this proves the capability of the proposed boundary condition as a viable method that can be used in practice.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Prediction of rock brittleness using nondestructive methods for hard rock tunneling

Abstract The material and elastic properties of rocks are utilized for predicting and evaluating hard rock brittleness using artificial neural networks (ANN). Herein hard rock brittleness is defined using Yagiz' method. A predictive model is developed using a comprehensive database compiled from 30 years' worth of rock tests at the Earth Mechanics Institute (EMI), Colorado School of Mines. The model is sensitive to density, elastic properties, and P- and S-wave velocities. The results show that the model is a better predictor of rock brittleness than conventional destructive strength-test based models and multiple regression techniques. While the findings have direct implications on intact rock, the methodology can be extrapolated to rock mass problems in both tunneling and underground mining where rock brittleness is an important control.
EFFECT OF BILIRUBIN ON BINDING OF THYROXINE BY HUMAN SERUM ALBUMIN.

SummaryThe effect of bilirubin on the binding of thyroxine by human serum albumin has been studied by means of equilibrium dialysis. The results show that bilirubin can displace thyroxine from binding sites on albumin.
Deep appreciation for a freakish crab

![][1] Many important insights in biology have been gained through the study of anomalous, or so-called ‘freak’, animals. An early example of the quest to reconcile such mutants is William Bateson's 1894 book Materials for the Study of Variation . In this imposing 600 page tome,
An Analysis of the Impacts of Health Insurance Rebate Initiatives on Community Supported Agriculture in Southern Wisconsin

Since 2005, four insurance providers in southern Wisconsin have offered rebates to policyholders who subscribe to a local community supported agriculture (CSA) operation. Rebate program participants rely on the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition (MACSAC) — an organization that supports CSA farms and educates consumers about local food systems — to connect the insurance companies with CSA growers and consumers and to manage various aspects of the CSA rebate program, including vetting participating farms. The rebate makes fresh, seasonal, locally and organically grown fruits and vegetables more accessible to consumers by reducing the cost of a CSA share by up to 40%. As a result, CSA members report increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, one of the main goals of the program. With marketing overseen by MACSAC and the insurance companies, the rebate program has led to a reduction in the amount of time growers spend on advertising their operations and recruiting CSA members and has contributed to increased member retention from year to year. Additionally, both the number of MACSAC member farms and the total number of shares offered by these farms have increased substantially since the rebate program's inception. These trends reduce some of the risk growers face and allow them to expand production in order to serve a larger consumer base. These outcomes associated with the MACSAC organization and the insurance rebate program indicate the success of the program, the importance of MACSAC as an organizing body, and the potential for implementing the program among national providers and in other locations where community supported agriculture is prevalent.
Accretional History of Earth

Earth was formed by the accretion of small objects with compositions similar to extant meteorites. Compositions of a wide variety of meteorite types are well established, including their contents of volatile elements such as carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen. Mixtures of meteorites have been proposed that produced chemistries comparable to the bulk Earth. Comparisons to currently infalling meteorites, as suggested by the Antarctic Meteorite Collection, support this general idea. The volatile element abundances of suitable meteorite mixtures suggest they could easily be the source of Earth’s volatile inventory (as contained in the present atmosphere, oceans and volatile-bearing rocks). The amount of meteoritic material necessary to produce the near-surface volatiles is only about 1% of Earth’s mass, indicating that just the tail-end of accreting material is all that is necessary, and that Earth may have lost a large fraction of its original volatile inventory, perhaps in the moon-forming-impact. Because accretion may have extended for tens of millions of years after the MFI, the late accreting material would have impacted an earth with a solidified surface, probably covered by a more or less global (if shallow) ocean left over from earlier impacts or resulting from degassing of the earliest part of the late impactors. This history, and the chemical composition of the likely late impacting meteorite mix, places strong constraints of the chemical conditions of primordial degassing and the chemical makeup of the earliest atmosphere and ocean.
Runaway electrons and magnetic island confinement

The breakup of magnetic surfaces is a central feature of ITER planning for the avoidance of damage due to runaway electrons. Rapid thermal quenches, which lead to large accelerating voltages, are thought to be due to magnetic surface breakup. Impurity injection to avoid and to mitigate both halo and runaway electron currents utilizes massive gas injection or shattered pellets. The actual deposition is away from the plasma center, and the breakup of magnetic surfaces is thought to spread the effects of the impurities across the plasma cross section. The breakup of magnetic surfaces would prevent runaway electrons from reaching relativistic energies were it not for the persistence of non-intercepting flux tubes. These are tubes of magnetic field lines that do not intercept the walls. In simulations and in magnetic field models, non-intercepting flux tubes are found to persist near the magnetic axis and in the cores of magnetic islands even when a large scale magnetic surface breakup occurs. As long as a few...
Syndapin/SDPN-1 is required for endocytic recycling and endosomal actin association in the Caenorhabditis elegans intestine

Syndapin/Pascin family F-BAR domain proteins bind directly to membrane lipids and are associated with actin dynamics at the plasma membrane. Previous reports have also implicated mammalian syndapin 2 in endosome function during receptor recycling, but precise analysis of a putative recycling function for syndapin in mammalian systems is difficult because of syndapin effects on the earlier step of endocytic uptake, and potential redundancy among the three separate genes that encode mammalian syndapin isoforms. Here we analyze the endocytic transport function of the only C. elegans syndapin, SDPN-1. We find that SDPN-1 is a resident protein of the early and basolateral recycling endosomes in the C. elegans intestinal epithelium, and sdpn-1 deletion mutants display phenotypes indicating a block in basolateral recycling transport. sdpn-1 mutants accumulate abnormal endosomes positive for early endosome and recycling endosome markers that are normally separate, and such endosomes accumulate high levels of basolateral recycling cargo. Furthermore, we observed strong colocalization of endosomal SDPN-1 with the F-actin biosensor Lifeact, and found that loss of SDPN-1 greatly reduced Lifeact accumulation on early endosomes. Taken together our results provide strong evidence for an in vivo function of syndapin in endocytic recycling, and suggest that syndapin promotes transport via endosomal fission.
Discretionary Accruals, Earnings Management, and Earnings Benchmarks

This study examines whether firms just above and just below three earnings benchmarks (loss avoidance, earnings changes, and analyst forecast) have differing levels of discretionary accruals. If discretionary accruals are a measure of earnings management, then firms above (benchmark beaters) and firms below a benchmark should have differing levels of discretionary accruals. Dechow et al. (2003) investigate a similar question for the loss avoidance benchmark (earnings levels). They find that firms just above the loss avoidance benchmark do not have discretionary accruals that are significantly different than firms just below the benchmark. However, they do not consider firms just below the loss avoidance benchmark that might be using discretionary accruals to avoid missing an alternative benchmark. I find that after I remove firms that might be using discretionary accruals to beat an alternative benchmark from the firms that just missed the loss avoidance benchmark, firms just above the benchmark have significantly higher discretionary accruals. I find similar results for the earnings changes and analyst forecast benchmarks. These findings are consistent with firms managing earnings to beat earnings benchmarks.
Telomere elongation and Telomerase activity in Normal and Cancer cell lines: HEK-293, HeLa and A549

Telomerase, an eukaryotic ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex, consists of an essential RNA template and a reverse transcriptase termed as human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). By using this reverse transcriptase enzyme, telomerase RNP maintains its telomeric length in all cancer cells and in few stem cells. As cells age, telomerase level decreases and telomere get shorten, leading to senescence. Presence of telomerase helps delay the senescence due to active production of telomere, leading to cell turning malignant and eventually cancerous. In this experiment, we would investigate the telomerase activity tested using q PCR and telomerase level using western blot in three different cell lines, HEK-293, HeLa and A549. Hypothesis: - Where HEK-293 cells have longer telomeres and higher telomerase activity, HeLa and A549 cell lines will have varied length of telomere but higher telomerase activity.
Civility, Taiwanese Civility, and the Taiwanese Civility Reconstructed by Mainland Chinese

The working definitions of civility in modern Western societies and in Taiwan share the essential elements of respect, tolerance, and due consideration of strangers as well as of acquaintances. Yet, unlike American civility, which emphasizes equality, social distance, and impersonalization, the Taiwanese model of civility embraces mutuality and closeness as well as hierarchy in interpersonal relations. Mainland visitors to Taiwan embrace this distinctive feature of civility in Taiwan and then further reconstructed it into an idealized model. In this process of imagining and reconstructing Taiwanese civility, the preservation of Chinese traditional culture has emerged as a new defining feature of Taiwanese society. While most mainlanders uphold Taiwan as a praiseworthy example for the future of Chinese culture and society, their reconstructed Taiwanese civility has encountered criticism and resistance from public opinion leaders as well as ordinary people from Taiwan.
Structure-Function Correlation of Photoactive Ionic pi-Conjugated Binary Porphyrin Assemblies

We present the first detailed structure-function study of a photoconducting ionic porphyrin supermolecular assembly, fabricated from tetra(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphyrin (TMPyP) and tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TSPP) in a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio. Rod like crystals large enough for single crystal diffraction studies were grown by utilizing a nucleation and growth model described in our previous work. The unit cell of the TMPyP:TSPP crystals is monoclinic P21/c and the cell constants are a = 8.3049(11) A, b = 16.413(2) A, c = 29.185(3) A, β = 92.477(9)°. These crystals have smooth well defined facets and their internal structure consists of highly organized molecular columns of alternating porphyrin cations and anions that are stacked face to face. For the first time crystal morphology (habit) of an ionic porphyrin solid is predicted by using the crystal structure data and applying attachment energy (AE) model. The predicted habit is in good agreement with the experimental structural morphology observed in AFM and SEM images of the TMPyP:TSPP crystalline solid. The TMPyP:TSPP crystals are non-conducting in the dark and are photoconducting. The photoconductive response is significantly faster with excitation in the Q-band (Red) than with excitation in the Soret band (blue). DFT calculations were performed to determine their electronic band structure and density of states. The TMPyP:TSPP crystalline system is a useful model structure that combine the elements of molecular organization and morphology along with theory and correlate them with electronic and optical electronic properties.
Pediatric Quality Improvement Engagement In The Community Setting

Abstract Providing safe, high quality care to pediatric patients is a core goal for all healthcare systems. To this end, robust quality improvement and patient safety methodologies have been developed to improve pediatric patient care in academic medical centers. However, given that the majority of pediatric patients are first seen in emergency departments (EDs) in community hospitals rather than academic pediatric medical centers, there is an urgent need to adapt these methodologies to the community ED environment. In this review, we begin to address these issues by looking to successful quality improvement and patient safety initiatives for lessons that can be adapted to the unique challenges and opportunities encountered in community healthcare settings.
The color of fat: racializing obesity, recuperating whiteness, and reproducing injustice

ABSTRACTI argue here that even sympathetic representations of obesity as a pathology most prevalent among black and Latina/o women and children can help reproduce racial injustice. At a time when fatness is deeply stigmatizing, fat bodies denote civic unfitness, and high white obesity rates jeopardize whiteness, raced and gendered obesity discourses effectively reify white superiority and maintain white dominance. They function as a racial project in two ways. First, they fortify white normativity by associating nonwhiteness with fatness and pathology and by exalting “white” consumption practices. Second, because they unfold in a political context pervaded by welfare-queen imagery, these discourses forge a new public identity of black womanhood, the obese black woman, which revives tropes of black women as insatiable, lazy bad mothers who deplete the state and economy. This imagery invites and justifies discriminatory and exclusionary practices that sustain structural racial inequality. To combat rather t...
Anti-Virulence Factor Therapeutics

There is little doubt that the startling increases in the prevalence and diversity of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens, which are leading to the significant loss of effective antibiotics to treat bacterial infections, are one of the most, if not the most, critical threats to the health of the entire world population. “We risk being in a post-antibiotic world,” said Thomas Frieden, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Fortune, May 27, 2016). Dr. Frieden also stated that “It basically shows us that the end of the road isn’t very far away for antibiotics – that we may be in a situation where we have patients in our intensive care units, or patients getting urinary-tract infections for which we do not have antibiotics” (Washington Post, May 27, 2016). These remarks were in reference to the first identification of a colistin-resistant E. coli isolate in the USA, which the study’s authors state “heralds the emergence of a truly pan-drug resistant bacteria” (McGann et al. 2016). Former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon remarked: “Antimicrobial resistance poses ‘a fundamental, long-term threat to human health, sustainable food production and development.’ It is not that it may happen in the future. It is a very present reality – in all parts of the world, in developing and developed countries; in rural and urban areas; in hospitals; on farms and in communities, we are losing our ability to protect both people and animals from life-threatening infections” (SG/SM/18107-DEV/3241; 21 September 2016).
An Ultrastrong Double-Layer Nanodiamond Interface for Stable Lithium Metal Anodes

Summary Effective stabilization of lithium metal has been hindered by the exacting requirements for the protection layer. Among all materials, the mechanical strength and electrochemical inertness of diamond is a prime candidate for lithium stabilization. Herein, we successfully rendered this desirable material compatible as lithium metal interface, which strictly satisfied the critical requirements. Our interface possessed the highest modulus among all the lithium coatings (>200 GPa), which can effectively arrest dendrite propagation. Since pinholes are the major failure mechanisms of artificial interfaces, a novel double-layer design was proposed to enhance the defect tolerance, enabling uniform ion flux and mechanical properties as confirmed by both simulation and experiments. Thanks to the multifold advantages of our interface design, high Coulombic efficiency of >99.4% was obtained at 1 mA cm−2; and more than 400 stable cycles were realized in prototypical lithium-sulfur cells with limited lithium, corresponding to an average anode Coulombic efficiency of >99%.
Neuroendocrine Correlates of Aging in the Male

Prominent age-associated changes occur in the male reproductive system. With aging, normal men experience a gradual decrease in both sexual activity (Figure 1) and in the interest in sexual performance (Kinsey et al., 1948). Despite the fact that occasional cases of fertility persisting in men in their nineties have been reported, fertility rates decline in men during the normal aging process (Harman, 1978). Similarly, in other mammals such as rats and nonhuman primates, various measures of male sexual activity and fertility decline with aging. Rates of contact with females, mounting, and ejaculation all decrease in normal old animals (Larsson and Essberg, 1962; Phoenix and Chambers, 1982).
Is the priority review voucher program stimulating new drug development for tropical diseases

Congress created the tropical disease priority review voucher program to stimulate new drug development for tropical diseases. An analysis of the pharmaceutical pipeline indicates that the development of drugs for these tropical diseases has increased. However, the effects of the program are not uniform across all diseases, as malaria and tuberculosis have seen significant new drug development, while other diseases have not.
Adopting mixed methods for research topics in teaching Chinese as a second/foreign language

Mixed methods research (MMR) is expanding across various disciplines, and some researchers in the field of teaching and learning Chinese as a foreign or second language (CFL/CSL) have tried to adopt this approach. Drawing from Plano Clark and Ivankova (2016) the socio-ecological framework of MMR, this paper synthesizes the application of MMR in CFL/CSL studies and highlights issues informative for future CFL/CSL researchers and MMR methodologists. Specifically, this paper discusses first the patterns of research questions, participants, and settings, and second the definition of MMR, the rationale for using MMR, the design of MMR, the intersection of MMR with other approaches, and the quality of meta-inferences in the included studies. It concludes that although there are a certain number of studies which use MMR to investigate CFL/CSL topics, however, many aspects in the application of MMR are still open to discussion. Future studies in CFL/CSL which use MMR should be aware of the essence of mixing two strands of methods and of the meta-inferences quality.
Assessment of a Risk Index for Suicide Attempts Among US Army Soldiers With Suicide Ideation: Analysis of Data From the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS).

Importance The Department of Veterans Affairs recently began requiring annual suicide ideation (SI) screening of all patients and additional structured questions for patients reporting SI. Related changes are under consideration at the Department of Defense. These changes will presumably lead to higher SI detection, which will require hiring additional clinical staff and/or developing a clinical decision support system to focus in-depth suicide risk assessments on patients considered high risk. Objective To carry out a proof-of-concept study for whether a brief structured question battery from a survey of US Army soldiers can help target in-depth suicide risk assessments by identifying soldiers with self-reported lifetime SI who are at highest risk of subsequent administratively recorded nonfatal suicide attempts (SAs). Design, Setting, and Participants Cohort study with prospective observational design. Data were collected from May 2011 to February 2013. Participants were followed up through December 2014. Analyses were conducted from March to November 2018. A logistic regression model was used to assess risk for subsequent administratively recorded nonfatal SAs. A total of 3649 Regular Army soldiers in 3 Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) surveys who reported lifetime SI were followed up for 18 to 45 months from baseline to assess administratively reported nonfatal SAs. Main Outcomes and Measures Outcome was administratively recorded nonfatal SAs between survey response and December 2014. Predictors were survey variables. Results The 3649 survey respondents were 80.5% male and had a median (interquartile range) age of 29 (25-36) years (range, 18-55 years); 69.4% were white non-Hispanic, 14.6% were black, 9.0% were Hispanic, 7.0% were another racial/ethnic group. Sixty-five respondents had administratively recorded nonfatal SAs between survey response and December 2014. One additional respondent died by suicide without making a nonfatal SA but was excluded from analysis based on previous evidence that predictors are different for suicide death and nonfatal SAs. Significant risk factors were SI recency (odds ratio [OR], 7.2; 95% CI, 2.9-18.0) and persistence (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.0-6.8), positive screens for mental disorders (OR, 26.2; 95% CI, 6.1-112.0), and Army career characteristics (OR for junior enlisted rank, 30.0; 95% CI, 3.3-272.5 and OR for senior enlisted rank, 6.7; 95% CI, 0.8-54.9). Cross-validated area under the curve was 0.78. The 10% of respondents with highest estimated risk accounted for 39.2% of subsequent SAs. Conclusions and Relevance Results suggest the feasibility of developing a clinically useful risk index for SA among soldiers with SI using a small number of self-report questions. If implemented, a continuous quality improvement approach should be taken to refine the structured question series.
High-rate stabilization of primary sludge in a single-chamber microbial hydrogen peroxide producing cell

This study investigates the effect of sludge stabilization at high rates on a single-chamber microbial hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) producing cell (sMPPC). Unlike a typical microbial fuel cell operation, the use of the sMPPC focuses on sludge treatment instead of power generation. Two different porous separators between the anode and the cathode, glass fiber (GF) and stitchbond polyester fabric (SPF), as well as two circuit modes, closed and open, were explored. The sMPPC in the open-circuit mode (no current generation) had a COD removal rate of 0.89 g COD per L per day (removal flux of 22 g COD per m−2 d−1) due to only passive oxygen diffused through the air-cathode. The sMPPC in the closed-circuit mode equipped with SPF increased the removal rate up to 2.4 g COD per L per day (loading rate of 5 g COD per L per day). The high removal rate resulted from current production, oxygen diffused through the air-cathode, and H2O2 produced, and was higher than that of a conventional anaerobic digester. This arrangement achieved a 52% VSS removal rate and 1.2 × 105 most probable number per gram solids of fecal coliforms, and the values met two important requirements (pathogen indicators and vector attraction reduction) for class B biosolid production. The microbial community in the sMPPC showed stratification of microorganisms at the anode, supporting its crucial roles in aerobic metabolism as well as anaerobic hydrolysis, fermentation, and anode respiration. We demonstrate for the first time how the sMPPC allows direct sludge stabilization at higher organic loads than traditional anaerobic digesters.
Evaluating the Safety of Active Surveillance: Outcomes of Deferred Radical Prostatectomy after an Initial Period of Surveillance.

Purpose:As enrollment in active surveillance expands, it is increasingly important to assess the potential risks of deferred treatment. We evaluated the risk of prostate specific antigen recurrence...
Dynamic analysis of aboveground open-top steel tanks subjected to wind loading

Abstract Aboveground steel tanks are prone to buckle under wind loading if they are empty. Geometrically nonlinear explicit dynamic analysis of empty open-top tanks subjected to wind loading are conducted using finite element analysis (FEA). Tanks with five different height to diameter aspect ratios, 4.0, 2.0, 1.0, 0.4, and 0.2, are adopted. Tanks are subjected to a gust of wind which fluctuates in magnitude over time to investigate whether a minor fluctuation, 10% of the average pressure, will trigger resonant behavior. Tanks with geometrical imperfections are also investigated using both dynamic analysis and static geometrically nonlinear analysis including imperfection (GNIA). It is found that, no matter if the tank does or does not have geometrical imperfections, resonance is not observed. Thus, a static analysis may be adequate for a practical tank design. The natural vibration frequencies of empty open-top tanks are studied as well, and comparisons with theoretical solutions and FEA results from the literature are presented. The effective modal mass is discussed to investigate the dynamic characteristics of the tanks examined. Insights for conducting an explicit dynamic analysis, including converged mesh size and time step limits, are also presented.
Exploring the Relationship Between Intimate Partner Sexual Assault, Severe Abuse, and Coercive Control

It is estimated that more than 7 million women in the United States have been sexually assaulted by an intimate partner. Women who have experienced intimate partner sexual assault (IPSA) report physical violence that is twice as severe when compared to women who have not experienced IPSA. There is a strong relationship between severe physical intimate partner violence, IPSA, and intimate terrorism/coercive control, which is explored throughout this chapter. In situations of severe abuse, abusive men may perpetrate IPSA as a mechanism of intimate terrorism/coercive control. Intimate terrorism involves a pattern of abusive tactics employed to control and manipulate the survivor’s actions, relationships, and activities. Coercive control describes a pattern of violence, intimidation, isolation, and control where the main goal is to degrade, isolate, and deprive women of their rights to physical security, dignity, and respect. This chapter presents a conceptual argument situated within the context of coercive control. It explores how the detrimental emotional, physical health, and behavioral consequences of IPSA minimize survivors’ capacity to live full, autonomous lives, and help to perpetuate abusive men’s domination. This chapter also analyzes how diminished help-seeking among IPSA survivors exacerbates coercive control limiting survivors’ ability to keep themselves safe from harm.
Redesigning the Downtown of an Expansive Sunbelt City: The Phoenix Case

ABSTRACTNon-motorized traffic safety is a major public health concern, especially in the sprawling sunbelt cities of the United States. Phoenix is ranked quite high on the number of pedestrian and ...
Consonant spaces and topological games

Abstract We establish and investigate a connection between the subject areas of topological games and consonant spaces. In particular, we show that a subspace A of a compact metric space is consonant exactly when its complement B has the property that Player One has no winning strategy in the topological game where Player One plays an open k-cover of B and Player Two picks an element of the k-cover in each round. Here Player One wins when the choices of Player Two fail to cover B.
Beyond the Classroom: The Intergenerational Effect of Incarceration on Children’s Academic and Nonacademic School-Related Outcomes in High School:

The author uses strategic comparison regression and the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 11,767) to explore the effect of parental incarceration on academic and nonacademic outcomes in high school. This method compares youth whose parents were incarcerated before the outcomes are measured with those whose parents will be incarcerated after. The author examines most recent grades and a range of nonacademic outcomes, such as truancy, involvement in school activities, and suspension. Results indicate that the associations between parental incarceration and grades are largely accounted for by selection, but associations between parental incarceration and nonacademic processes persist. Maternal incarceration holds particular importance for behavioral outcomes (fighting and truancy), and paternal incarceration holds particular importance for behavioral, connectedness, and disciplinary outcomes. Researchers examining the intergenerational consequences of incarceration should examine school contexts beyond the classroom and explore the pathways through which this disadvantage occurs.
Solidification and heat treatment simulation for aluminum alloys with scandium addition through CALPHAD approach

Abstract Scandium, and scandium combined with zirconium, improves multiple properties of aluminum based alloys. In this work, we performed solidification and heat treatment simulations for studying precipitation kinetics of Al3Sc crystals within the framework of CALPHAD approach on novel candidate alloy compositions from our previous work belonging to 2XXX, 6XXX and 7XXX class of aluminum alloys. In our previous work, computational study was performed on stability of various stable and metastable phases along with thermodynamically stable Al3Sc phase in heat-treatable aluminum alloys of 2XXX, 6XXX and 7XXX series by application of several concepts of artificial intelligence on phase stability data generated under the framework of CALPHAD approach. We considered 12 elements for 2XXX, 10 elements for 6XXX and 11 elements for 7XXX class of alloys, thus selected a comparatively large multicomponent system when compared to works reported on aluminum alloys through CALPHAD approach. In 2XXX and 7XXX series, both Sc and Zr were included, while in 6XXX series only Sc was added. Software Thermocalc was used to generate phase stability data. For proper precipitation of Al3Sc crystals during heat treatment, it is important that Al3Sc is present in the melt. Hence, solidification simulation (Scheil–Gulliver) was performed, followed by heat treatment simulation at various temperatures for a few candidate alloys belonging to these three series of aluminum alloys with Sc added. Additional strengthening phases were also considered in aluminum base alloys of these three series in our previous work. The presented computational approach can be useful and can be used as a screening tool for selecting a chemical composition and heat treatment protocol prior to performing experiments.
Chapter 2 – ISA Server 2006 Client Types and Automating Client Provisioning

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses ISA Server 2006 Client types and automating client provisioning. Computers that go through the ISA server to access resources outside their networks fall into one or more ISA Server 2006 client type categories, which includes the SecureNAT client, the Firewall client, the Web Proxy client. A SecureNAT client is any device configured with a default gateway address that can route Internet-bound connections through the ISA Server 2006 firewall. The primary purpose of the SecureNAT client configuration is to enable non-Microsoft operating systems to access a broader range of protocols than is supported by the Web Proxy client configuration. The ISA Server 2006 Firewall client uses an improved Remote Winsock Proxy Protocol that encrypts the communication channel between the Firewall client and the ISA Server 2006 firewall's Firewall service. The Firewall Client software adopts the centralized settings configured by the ISA Server 2006 computer. The configuring DHCP Servers to Support Web Proxy and Firewall Client Autodiscovery is also elaborated in the chapter.
How to minimize the pain of local anesthetic administration

Expertise in the delivery of effective local analgesia is critical to the success of in-office procedures. Here's how to optimize patient outcomes and satisfaction.
Overview of Experimental Tests of the Interacting Boson Approximation (IBA)

A broad overview is presented of the principal tests to date of the IBA, for both even and odd nuclei, and including the evidence concerning the possible existence of the recently proposed super-symmetries. Although some details are presented, the aim is rather to survey the principal characteristics of the model, to assess the overall quality and extent of the agreement with experiment, and to indicate where further testing would be most useful.
Deep Learning Based Prediction of Perovskite Lattice Parameters from Hirshfeld Surface Fingerprints

This Letter describes the use of deep learning methods on Hirshfeld surface representations of crystal structure, as an automated means of predicting lattice parameters in cubic inorganic perovskit...
Air-Filtering Masks for Respiratory Protection from PM2.5 and Pandemic Pathogens

Air-filtering masks, also known as respirators, protect wearers from inhaling fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in polluted air, as well as airborne pathogens during a pandemic, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Fibrous medium, used as the filtration layer, is the most essential component of an air-filtering mask. This article presents an overview of the development of fibrous media for air filtration. We first synthesize the literature on several key factors that affect the filtration performance of fibrous media. We then concentrate on two major techniques for fabricating fibrous media, namely, meltblown and electrospinning. In addition, we underscore the importance of electret filters by reviewing various methods for imparting electrostatic charge on fibrous media. Finally, this article concludes with a perspective on the emerging research opportunities amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Evolution and Impact of Wi-Fi Technology and Applications: A Historical Perspective

The IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networking (WLAN), commercially known as Wi-Fi, has become a necessity in our day-to-day life. Over a billion Wi-Fi access points connect close to hundred billion of IoT devices, smart phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, smart TVs, video cameras, monitors, printers, and other consumer devices to the Internet to enable millions of applications to reach everyone, everywhere. The evolution of Wi-Fi technology also resulted in the first commercial piloting of spread spectrum, high speed optical communications, OFDM, MIMO and mmWave pulse transmission technologies, which then became more broadly adopted by cellular phone and wireless sensor networking industries. The popularity and widespread Wi-Fi deployment in indoor areas further motivated innovation in opportunistic cyberspace applications that exploit the ubiquitous Wi-Fi signals. The RF signal radiated from Wi-Fi access points creates an “RF cloud” accessible to any Wi-Fi equipped device hosting or supporting these opportunistic applications. Wi-Fi positioning and location intelligence were the first popular opportunistic applications of Wi-Fi’s RF cloud. Today, researchers are investigating opportunistic applications of Wi-Fi signals for gesture and motion detection as well as authentication and security. This paper provides a holistic overview of the evolution of Wi-Fi technology and its applications as the authors experienced it in the last few decades.
Synthesizing Research of Mathematical Modeling in Early Grades

This book chapter addresses the need to investigate current mathematics education research and synthesizes knowledge shared in studies of mathematical modeling in the early grades. To stimulate a conversation around newly established research on mathematical modeling, we examined research articles about mathematical modeling that were published in eight mathematics education journals from recent years (2000 to 2017). By identifying emerging features from the selected studies (n = 28), seven commonalities were determined, namely, (a) young learners’ progress in developing mathematical models, (b) features of mathematical modeling activities that supported student learning, (c) teachers’ development through the implementation of mathematical modeling, (d) features of mathematical modeling activities that supported teacher learning, (e) engineering-based mathematical modeling, (f) science-based mathematical modeling, and (g) socially and personally relevant mathematical modeling. The critical aspects of these studies which may guide future research on early mathematical modeling were synthesized. A review and synthesis of these common features will allow for effective use of research findings about mathematical modeling in primary grades and will also provide timely resources and guidelines for early-career researchers exploring mathematical modeling.
Minimal Overhead Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer Via I/O Integrated Data Converter Enabled by Field Programmable Voltage Offset

As optical reflectometers become more mature technologies, their capabilities are reaching new highs; however, modern designs not only push the performance of the systems, but also the cost and form-factor. As a result, many of the proposed high-performance devices have not been widely adopted for industry use. This paper takes a step back and not only demonstrates a high-performance optical time-domain reflectometer but does so using components that are already in existence in a communication network, such as transmitter optical sub-assembly (TOSA), receiver optical sub-assembly (ROSA), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) and system-on-chip (SoC) architecture. Thus, it is possible for this design to be integrated in any fiber-optic transceiver in the future. This is enabled by the field programmable voltage offset (FPVO) calibration capabilities of an internal input buffer, typically used to compensate for process variations, which can be used to achieve a reconfigurable and chip-integrated small signal data converter. Using this data converter in an optical time-domain reflectometer, a minimal overhead design is realized with an optical power sensitivity of-52dBm and dynamic range of 23.5dB.
Ca(2+) signaling mechanisms in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells.

Calcium (Ca2+) is a crucial intracellular messenger in physiological aspects of cell signaling. Adrenal chromaffin cells are the secretory cells from the adrenal gland medulla that secrete catecholamines, which include epinephrine and norepinephrine important in the ‘fight or flight’ response. Bovine adrenal chromaffin cells have long been used as an important model for secretion ­(exocytosis) not only due to their importance in the short-term stress response, but also as a neuroendocrine model of neurotransmtter release, as they have all the same exocytotic proteins as neurons but are easier to prepare, culture and use in functional assays. The components of the Ca2+ signal transduction cascade and it role in secretion has been extensively characterized in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells. The Ca2+ sources, signaling molecules and how this relates to the short-term stress response are reviewed in this book chapter in an endeavor to generally ­overview these mechanisms in a concise and uncomplicated manner.
High-speed extended-term time-domain simulation for online cascading analysis of power systemalysis of Power System

A high-speed extended-term (HSET) time domain simulator (TDS), intended to become a part of an energy management system (EMS), has been newly developed for use in online extended-term dynamic cascading analysis of power systems. HSET-TDS includes the following attributes for providing situational awareness of high-consequence events: i) online analysis, including n-1 and n-k events, ii) ability to simulate both fast and slow dynamics for 1-3 hours in advance, iii) inclusion of rigorous protection-system modeling, iv) intelligence for corrective action ID, storage, and fast retrieval, and v) high-speed execution. Very fast on-line computational capability is the most desired attribute of this simulator. Based on the process of solving algebraic differential equations describing the dynamics of power system, HSET-TDS seeks to develop computational efficiency at each of the following hierarchical levels, i) hardware, ii) strategies, iii) integration methods, iv) nonlinear solvers, and v) linear solver libraries. This thesis first describes the Hammer-Hollingsworth 4 (HH4) implicit integration method. Like the trapezoidal rule, HH4 is symmetrically A-Stable but it possesses greater high-order precision (h) than the trapezoidal rule. Such precision enables larger integration steps and therefore improves simulation efficiency for variable step size implementations. This thesis provides the underlying theory on which we advocate use of HH4 over other numerical integration methods for power system time-domain simulation. Second, motivated by the need to perform high speed extended-term time domain simulation (HSET-TDS) for on-line purposes, this thesis presents principles for designing numerical solvers of differential algebraic systems associated with power system time-
Environmental regulation of the fim switch controlling type 1 fimbrial phase variation in Escherichia coli K-12: effects of temperature and media.

Expression of type 1 fimbriae in Escherichia coli K-12 is phase variable and associated with the inversion of a short DNA element (switch). The fim switch requires either fimB (on-to-off or off-to-on switching) or fimE (on-to-off switching only) and is affected by the global regulators leucine-responsive regulatory protein (Lrp), integration host factor (IHF), and H-NS. Here it is shown that switching frequencies are regulated by both temperature and media and that these effects appear to be independent. fimE-promoted on-to-off switching occurs far more rapidly than previously estimated (0.3 per cell per generation in defined rich medium at 37 degrees C) and faster at lower than at higher temperatures. In direct contrast, fimB-promoted switching increases with temperature, with optima between 37 and 41 degrees C. Switching promoted by both fimB and fimE is stimulated by aliphatic amino acids (alanine, isoleucine, leucine, and valine), and this stimulation requires lrp. Furthermore, lrp appears to differentially regulate fimB- and fimE-promoted switching in different media. Images
An overview and evaluation of the oncology family caregiver project: improving quality of life and quality of care for oncology family caregivers.

Rarely do people go through the cancer experience alone. In fact, cancer is referred to as a disease affecting the family who travel the cancer journey together [1,2,3]. Across the cancer care trajectory, family caregivers (FC) provide the vast majority of home care [4,5,6,7,8]. With over 1.5 million new cancer diagnoses each year and more than 12 million cancer survivors [9], it is estimated that two of every three American families will at some time have at least one family member diagnosed with cancer. With the current trends of earlier discharge from acute care hospitals and the increase in home care, more adult children are becoming involved in caring for a physically dependent parent. Additionally, advances in cancer treatment have led to increased survivorship, which in turn has led to caregiving demands that may exist for several months to years. These trends along with the ongoing change in reimbursement, have contributed to a shift in the burden of care from the health care professionals to the patients and their FC [10,11]. It is important to recognize that FC typically put the needs of their loved one before their own needs [12,13]; and when providing complex care for an extended period of time, they are at increased health risk, due to the limited time to rest, engage in self-care activities, or to seek medical help when they need it [14,15]. Furthermore, many in the aging FC population have chronic health problems such as arthritis, diabetes, or hypertension which can be made worse by the stress of caregiving [5,16]. Between the years, 2005 and 2030 the number of older adults in the United States will almost double, making up 20% of the population. Over half of all cancers occur in those 65 and older [9]. The average age of FC caring for adults is 49 years old [17]. Although intensely affected by a loved one’s cancer diagnosis, FC have received negligible attention [2]. The “Improving the Quality of Life and Quality of Care of Oncology Family Caregivers” training program is a NCI supported project (R25CA132664) which educates oncology professionals to improve support and resources for FC. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the project and present an evaluation of the first3 courses training healthcare professionals.
Instructor and Group Process Roles in Computer-Based Training

success of self-paced methods, including various forms of CBT, two of the factors consistently related to successfully implemented self-paced courses were adequate opportunities for student/instructor interactions and the incorporation of group activities within individualized training (McCombs, Back, & West, 1984). The purposes of this article are to explore theoretical reasons for these findings and to suggest practical means for incorporating instructor and group activities within an individualized CBT context.
d-Alanine Carboxypeptidase and Cell Wall Cross-Linking in Bacillus subtilis

Abstract Inhibition of d-alanine carboxypeptidase in Bacillus subtilis by 95% caused no measurable change in the degree of cross-linking of the peptidoglycan.