cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anomalous Alloy Properties in Mixed Halide Perovskites.

Engineering halide perovskite through mixing halogen elements, such as CH3NH3PbI3–xClx and CH3NH3PbI3–xBrx, is a viable way to tune its electronic and optical properties. Despite many emerging experiments on mixed halide perovskites, the basic electronic and structural properties of the alloys have not been understood and some crucial questions remain, for example, how much Cl can be incorporated into CH3NH3PbI3 is still unclear. In this Letter, we chose CsPbX3 (X = I, Br, Cl) as an example and use a first-principle calculation together with cluster-expansion methods to systematically study the structural, electronic, and optical properties of mixed halide perovskites and find that unlike conventional semiconductor alloys, they exhibit many anomalous alloy properties such as small or even negative formation energies at some concentrations and negligible or even negative band gap bowing parameters at high temperature. We further show that mixed-(I,Cl) perovskite is hard to form at temperature below 625 K, ...
Experience with a thrombin clotting time assay for measuring heparin activity.

A method for measuring heparin activity, the thrombin clotting time (TCT) has been employed over the past 10 years to monitor heparin therapy. The procedure as it has evolved requires thrombin and calcium, readily available reagents, which are stable under the conditions described. In comparison wiui other assays of heparin activity, the TCT provides greater specificity and convenience and permits quantitative determinations of heparin activity in terms of heparin antithrombin units.
PERCUTANEOUS FIXATION OF SCAPHOID FRACTURES

The scaphoid proximal pole and waist fractures presented here were treated by a novel dorsal percutaneous technique with arthroscopic assistance. All fractures healed, with good final functional results and no complications. The advantages of the dorsal percutaneous approach to scaphoid fixation are: (1) the proximal-to-distal placement of the guide pin and screw allow for more precise placement along the central axis of the scaphoid, which decreases healing time and reduces risk of screw thread exposure. (2) The dorsal approach avoids injuring the vulnerable volar ligament anatomy. And (3) the insertion of the screw from the proximal to distal direction allows the more rigid fixation of proximal scaphoid fractures. Arthroscopy allows confirmation of fracture reduction and screw implantation as well as evaluation of concurrent ligament injuries not detected with standard imaging. Percutaneous K-wires act as joysticks to reduce and compress fracture fragments prior to fixation. The presented technique allows for early, rigid internal fixation with minimal associated morbidity. Patients successfully treated with this technique include those with stable and unstable acute fractures of the scaphoid at all locations, including the proximal pole. Nondisplaced fractures that present with delayed or fibrous union without evidence of avascular necrosis, cyst formation, or bony sclerosis may also be treated with this technique. This technique allows for faster rehabilitation and an earlier return to work or avocation without restriction once CT scan confirms a solid union. Some articles document extraordinary rapid healing by standard radiographs; however, we caution that scaphoid bone healing cannot accurately be determined without CT scan. Percutaneous, arthroscopically assisted internal fixation by a dorsal approach may be considered in all acute scaphoid fractures selected for surgical fixation. The dorsal guidewire permits dorsal and volar implantation of a cannulated screw along the central axis of the scaphoid. This technique permits the reduction of displaced fractures and the stable repair of fractures of the proximal pole. In addition, selected scaphoid fibrous union or delayed union may also be repaired, with realistic expectations of healing. The proven benefits of the percutaneous technique include decreased soft tissue trauma; arthroscopic visualization of the fracture, ensuring anatomic reduction; and stable fixation, allowing early physical rehabilitation. The theoretical benefits of the technique include decreased risk of interruption of the tenuous scaphoid blood supply. Percutaneous internal fixation of scaphoid fractures provides faster rehabilitation, earlier return to work, and quicker bony union in most patients.
Entrepreneurial Persistence Through the Bureaucratic Age

Taking issue with such earlier theorists as Schumpeter, who believed that the rise of bureaucratic structures would stifle the innovative process that lies at the heart of capitalism and thus lead on to socialism, Professor Livesay discusses the careers of three innovative leaders who used the bureaucratic form of organization to keep innovation alive and to realize its implications. He argues that with shrewd leaders like Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford II (and less well-known ones like Howard Stoddard) at the helm, bureaucratic organizations have been the mechanism of highly dynamic policies rather than the agency of socialistic stasis.
Monolithic Low-Power 6-Gb/s Optical Transmitter for a Silicon HBT-Based Carrier Injection Electroabsorption Modulator

Photonic devices monolithically integrated with nanoscale electronic signal processing circuitry in silicon are emerging as a disruptive technology to reduce cost and improve optical system integration and performance. Silicon heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT)-based carrier injection electroabsorption modulators (EAMs) implemented in a commercial silicon process have several merits, including high speed, low power, low driving voltage, small footprint, and high modulation efficiency. A low-power high-speed optical transmitter driver module has been realized in a 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS process for an HBT-based carrier-injection-type modulator. The transmitter consists of a monolithic $2^{7}-1$ pseudorandom bit sequence generator and a driver circuit with digitally tuned preemphasis strength. With 1.5-V power supply, the transmitter circuit consumes 44.5 mW at an operating speed of 6 Gb/s.
Application of strip surface quality monitor system in Litho Line

The yield of CTP aluminum sheet production is less than moderate.Strip surface quality monitor system installed on the litho line is helpful to find and solve problems of the process and equipment of the previous procedures,increase production efficiency,override the traditional random mode for inspecting the surface defects of aluminum sheets and provide the complete record of sheet surface quality data,which is the reference for meeting the customer's requirement and settling objections over quality.
Beyond Best Practices: Lessons from Tina Stark About the First Day of Class

This Article reviews and expands the literature on best practices in a narrow subset -- the first day of class. As the same time it seeks to convey words of wisdom from one of the most well-known and highly-regarded legal educators: Tina Stark, a giant in transactional drafting. The first day of any law school class can be fraught with tension and nerves, even for professors. This article presents advice from Professor Stark, supplemented with guidance from best practices research, so that professors can take advantage of the opportunities that the first day of class offers to set the tone for a successful semester.
A prospective study of the effect of regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on ovarian cancer risk

B118 Background: Inflammation is hypothesized to be an important contributing mechanism in ovarian carcinogenesis. Ovulation resembles a localized inflammatory response and factors that suppress ovulation (e.g. pregnancy, oral contraceptive use, breastfeeding) or those that prevent inflammation-inducing substances from reaching the upper reproductive tract may decrease ovarian cancer risk (e.g. tubal ligation, hysterectomy) decrease ovarian cancer risk. Given the limited number of modifiable factors in ovarian cancer prevention, identifying whether regular use of commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs) protects against ovarian cancer through reducing of inflammation could have important public health impact. Few prospective studies have considered this association and their findings are inconclusive. We thus sought to examine the effects of regular use of NSAIDs on ovarian cancer risk in two large prospective cohorts of women from whom we collected and updated detailed information on NSAIDs use. >Methods: We prospectively assessed the effect of regular use of aspirin and non-aspirin NSAIDs on ovarian cancer risk among 197,835 participants of the Nurses Health Study and Nurses Health Study-II over 24 and 15 years of follow up, respectively. Information on aspirin and non-aspirin NSAIDs use was collected and updated biennially. Information on dose, frequency, and duration of use was obtained in most questionnaires and updated throughout follow-up. We used proportional hazards models to compare incidence rates of ovarian cancer between those who used NSAIDs at least twice a week against participants who did not, taking into account multiple potential confounders. >Results: A total of 727 confirmed cases of epithelial ovarian cancer were identified in both cohorts over 3,187,890 person-years. The hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence limits (CI) associated with regular use of aspirin and non-aspirin NSAIDs were 1.09 (0.91, 1.32) and 0.89 (0.65,1.23), respectively. There was no evidence of an effect of dose, frequency, or total duration of use of these agents on ovarian cancer risk as the corresponding hazards ratios were comparable to 1. Results were similar across different histologic types of ovarian tumors, though power was limited in these secondary analyses. There was no evidence of modification of the effect of NSAIDs use by body mass index, menopause status, oral contraceptive use, or regularity of menstrual cycle. >Conclusion: In this large, prospective, comprehensive study, we found no compelling evidence to support an association between regular use of aspirin or non-aspirin non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents and ovarian cancer risk.
Continued Sex-Differences in the Rate and Severity of Knee Injuries among Collegiate Soccer Players: The NCAA Injury Surveillance System, 2004–2009

We extend previous analyses and examined sex-differences in the rate and severity of knee injuries among collegiate soccer players between 2004 and 2009. Data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System (NCAA ISS) were used to calculate injury incidence density (ID) per 1 000 athletic exposures (AE). Multivariable regression modeling then tested the relation between sex and knee injury incidence and severity among all injured soccer players, while controlling for contact, setting, and division level, as well as for the interactions among these variables. The rate of knee injuries was 1.19 per 1 000 AEs in women and 0.91 per 1 000 AEs in men (RR=1.31, 95% Wald CI=[1.16, 1.47]). In the multivariable modeling, women continued to experience significantly higher odds of knee injury compared with men (aOR=1.44, 95% CI=[1.27,1.63]). Also, the adjusted odds of a knee injury that resulted in surgery remained higher in women compared with men (aOR=1.61 (1.00, 2.58), as well as the amount of time lost from participation (beta=0.129; p=0.05). Given the prominence of soccer play in the United States, continued efforts to evaluate and improve knee injury prevention practices and policies may be especially important for female players.
Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children and Adolescents

Autism spectrum disorder is a diagnosis that includes significant social communication deficits/delays along with restricted patterns of interests and behaviors. The prevalence of this diagnosis has increased over the past few decades, and it is unclear whether this is solely attributable to the increased awareness of milder forms of the disorder among medical providers. The current treatment options for the core symptoms of autism are limited to psychosocial therapies, such as applied behavior analysis. Medications have been most effective in treating the associated behavioral symptoms of autism, though studies have examined potential benefits in some of the core symptoms of autism with certain medications, especially the repetitive behaviors often seen with this diagnosis. Risperidone and aripiprazole are currently the only medications FDA approved for symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorders, targeting the irritability often seen with this diagnosis. Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder appear to be more susceptible to adverse effects with medications; therefore, initiation with low doses and titrating very slowly is recommended. Some complementary alternative treatments have been researched as possible treatments in autism, though evidence supporting many of these is very limited.
Cometabolic biodegradation of 1,2,3-trichloropropane by propane-oxidizing bacteria.

Abstract 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP) is an emerging groundwater pollutant and suspected human carcinogen. TCP, a recalcitrant contaminant, has been detected in the subsurface near TCP manufacture facilities and many superfund sites. Considering the toxicity and the occurence of TCP, there is a need to seek for cost-effective treatment technologies for TCP-contaminated sites. This paper investigated TCP biodegradation by propane-oxidizing bacteria (PrOB) which are known to express propane monooxygenase (PrMO). PrMO can cometabolically degrade many different contaminants. Four PrOB, Rhodococus jostii RHA1, Mycobacterium vaccae JOB5, Rhodococcus rubber ENV425 and one isolate Sphingopyxis sp. AX-A were examined for their ability to degrade TCP. All the four PrOB resting cells were able to degrade TCP. Strain JOB5 exhibited the best TCP degradation ability (vinitial = 9.7 ± 0.7 μg TCP (mg protein)−1h−1). No TCP was degraded in the presence of acetylene (an inhibitor for PrMO), suggesting that PrMO might be responsible for TCP degradation. Furthermore, competitive inhibition was observed between propane and TCP, and between trichloroethylene (TCE) and TCP.
Mortality and Androgen Deprivation Therapy as Salvage Treatment for Biochemical Recurrence after Primary Therapy for Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer.

Purpose: Androgen deprivation therapy is often used as salvage treatment in men with rising prostate specific antigen after initial radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy for clinically localized prostate cancer. Given the lack of evidence from general practice, we examined the association of salvage androgen deprivation therapy with mortality in an observational cohort study.Materials and Methods: From 3 managed care organizations we assembled a retrospective cohort of all 5,804 men with newly diagnosed localized prostate cancer from 1995 to 2009 who had a prostate specific antigen increase (biochemical recurrence) after primary radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy. The main outcomes were all-cause and prostate cancer specific mortality. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate mortality with salvage androgen deprivation therapy as a time dependent predictor.Results: Overall salvage androgen deprivation therapy was not associated with all-cause or prostate cancer specific mortality in the pros...
Amphibian (Xenopus laevis) tadpoles and adult frogs mount distinct interferon responses to the Frog Virus 3 ranavirus

Infections of amphibians by Frog Virus 3 (FV3) and other ranavirus genus members are significantly contributing to the amphibian declines, yet much remains unknown regarding amphibian antiviral immunity. Notably, amphibians represent an important step in the evolution of antiviral interferon (IFN) cytokines as they are amongst the first vertebrates to possess both type I and type III IFNs. Accordingly, we examined the roles of type I and III IFNs in the skin of FV3-challenged amphibian Xenopus laevis) tadpoles and adult frogs. Interestingly, FV3-infected tadpoles mounted type III IFN responses, whereas adult frogs relied on type I IFN immunity. Subcutaneous administration of type I or type III IFNs offered short-term protection of tadpoles against FV3 and these type I and type III IFNs induced the expression of distinct antiviral genes in the tadpole skin. Moreover, subcutaneous injection of tadpoles with type III IFN significantly extended their survival and reduced FV3 dissemination.
Analysis for Science Librarians of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics: New Phases of Matter

The Royal Swedish Academy of Science has awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2016 to three esteemed condensed matter physicists, David James Thouless (Emeritus, University of Washington)...
Classroom and School Predictors of Civic Engagement Among Black and Latino Middle School Youth.

This study used short-term longitudinal data to examine the contributions of democratic teaching practices (e.g., the Developmental Designs approach) and equitable school climate to civic engagement attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors among 515 Black and Latino middle school students (47.9% male). Concurrent experiences of democratic homeroom and classroom practices, and equitable school climate were associated with higher scores on each civic engagement component. The relation between classroom practices and civic attitudes was more robust when school climate was seen as more equitable. Longitudinally, homeroom practices and equitable school climate predicted higher civic attitudes 1 year later. Discussion focuses on civic attitudes and future research on school experiences that support civic engagement among youth of color.
Enhancement of multisubband electron mobility in hybrid double quantum well structure

We study enhancement of electron mobility in a MODFET by suggesting a hybrid double quantum well (HDQW) structure where one of the wells is square type while the other is parabolic. We consider the wells are of equal width w with side barriers being delta doped symmetrically. We analyze μ as function of w by considering double subband occupancy in which the intersubband effects contribute substantially. We compare our results with that of a square-DQW and parabolic-DQW in which both the wells are square type and parabolic type respectively. We show that μ (HDQW) > μ (PDQW) > μ (SDQW). The larger μ in h-DQW on the other hand is because of the reduction of the intersubband scattering rate matrix elements due to the asymmetric distribution of subband wave functions through structural asymmetry unlike that of the P- and SDQWs. Out results can be used for the performance enhancement of the quantum well FET devices.
Metabolic Interactions of Selenium with Cadmium, Mercury, and Silver

Until the discovery of the essentiality of selenium by- Schwarz and Foltz (1957), the only physiological significance of this element was thought to be its toxicity. The finding that selenium could prevent dietary liver necrosis in rats resulted in a reassessment of this element. Interestingly, this same year the properties of a newly discovered enzyme, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), were reproted (Mills, 1957). However, it took a decade and a half to discover that this enzyme has a relationship to selenium (Rotruck et al., 1973). GSH-Px has been shown to be a selenoenzyme, containing 4 g atoms of selenium/mole protein (Oh et al., 1974). Another equally important discovery was that selenium could counteract the toxicity of some heavy metals. Thus, this rather unusual feature of one element such as selenium, which is highly toxic itself at elevated levels, counteracting the toxicity of heavy metal stimulated intensive research on the relationship of selenium to other elements. The purpose of this review is to discuss some of the metabolic relationship of selenium to cadmium, mercury, and silver. A briefly discussion of some of these interactions has been presented previously (Ridlington and Whanger, 1981). Several reviews are available in the interactions of selenium with heavy metals, and these maybe useful for further reading (Parizek et al., 1971, 1974; Diplock, 1976; Rimerman et al., 1977; Whanger, 1981).
Characterization of organic light emitting diodes (OLED) using depth-profiling XPS technique

Abstract During the industrial development of solution processed organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), it has been found that inter-diffusion of active components between multi-layers leads to poor performance and decreased lifetime. Hence, characterization and understanding of interfacial chemistries between layers are of vital importance. In this regard, a series of solution printing processed and PVD-deposited OLED devices with different performance have been investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been applied to probe these complex organic layered systems and reveal their interfacial properties via polyatomic C 60 ion-beam chemical depth profiling. Our experimental results show that C 60 profiling technique can be successfully used to study organic layered materials while preserving the overall chemical structures. To better differentiate these thin OLED layers, we have further employed multivariate statistical methods to translate the depth chemical concentrations into layer behavior for the first time. The application of multivariate analysis to this data is able to elucidate the inter-diffusion across the interfaces for OLED devices.
The emergence of Mupirocin resistance among the clinical isolates of Staphylococci in a rural tertiary health-care centre of South India

INTRODUCTION: Mupirocin is mainly used for decolonisation of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among patients and health-care workers. However resistance originates from coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) and spreads to S. aureus by horizontal gene transfer. Hence, the present study was done to determine the overall prevalence of high- and low-level Mupirocin resistance among S. aureus and CoNS and correlate with the occurrence of Methicillin and inducible Clindamycin resistance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 100 consecutive, non-repetitive, clinical isolates of Staphylococci were obtained from various samples in a rural tertiary care hospital of Karnataka between August and September 2016. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (M100-S25, 2015) guidelines. Low- and high-level Mupirocin resistance was screened using 5 μg and 200 μg discs, respectively. RESULTS: Of 100 staphylococcal isolates, high-level Mupirocin resistance (MupRH) was detected in 13 isolates and low-level Mupirocin resistance (MupRL) was found in 4 isolates. Of 13 HLMR isolates, majority were CoNS (12 out of 13, 92.31%). Even in LLMR isolates, 75% (3 out of 4) were CoNS. All the HLMR and LLMR isolates were Methicillin resistant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: High prevalence of Mupirocin resistance was found in the present study. Hence, screening for Mupirocin resistance should be routinely done and the drug must be used judiciously.
La novelística feminista de Carmen Laforet y el género negro

In her five long novels, Carmen Laforet consistently attempted to find new narrative means of framing a feminist message. There exist studies of her use of the Bildungsroman, the Gothic, and Expressionism in Nada. This essay focuses on elements of detective fiction, especially the noir subgenre, in Laforet’s novelistic production, concentrating on Al volver la esquina published posthumously in 2004. The masculine protagonistnarrator moves in a world that is akin to those of North American noir films and novels in order to reveal his dilemma as a man of traditional Spanish masculinist values in a Spain that is beginning to experience the influence of other countries where gender roles are changing.
End Stage Renal Disease – Treatment Options: Dialysis Versus Transplant

Treatment option for patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) include dialysis and kidney transplantation. Patients with ESRD are at an increased risk for cardiovascular events, mortality and hospitalization. Kidney transplantation is considered to be the preferred method of treatment for patients with ESRD. With all treatment options there are desired and undesired effects. Compared to ESRD a patient after kidney transplantation lives longer, has better quality of life and incurs fewer costs. Also, certain parameters of chronic kidney disease (CKD) are better managed, or even halted, after Kidney transplantation include anemia, calcium phosphorus metabolism, and vascular calcification and undesired effects of Kidney transplantation include increased risk of infections, malignancy, fractures, obesity. Although mortality is significantly improved after kidney transplantation compared to dialysis but still transplant recipients carry 2–3 times higher mortality risk than general population. When comparing CKD with CKD after transplantation, rate of decline of estimated glomerular filtration rate was significantly lower in CKD after transplantation. However, they still could not benefit from long term allograft survival due to increased risk of mortality. Kidney transplant recipients are a unique subset of patients with multiple traditional risk factors as well as risk factors related to the transplant. Proper management and appropriate preventive health measures may improve long term patient and allograft survival.
Molecular characterization of renal medullary carcinoma (RMC).

4586 Background: RMC is a rare and highly aggressive malignancy that affects primarily young individuals with sickle cell trait. RMC usually presents at advanced stages and is universally fatal wit...
Casebook in Clinical Pharmacokinetics and Drug Dosing

Edited by Henry Cohen, M.S., Pharm.D., FCCM, BCPP, CGP, Published by McGraw-Hill Companies, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 45th Floor, New York, NY10020-1001, 2015. 285 p. Price $40.00 (soft cover) Description: This book is designed to teach the application of pharmacokinetic drug dosing through a
Sparking innovation among alien minds

This paper introduces a pragmatic framework for stimulating innovation in people who have little innovation experience - alien minds. It demonstrates that individual's innovation capacity can be activated or enhanced by clarifying misconception associated with innovation and using the framework. The introduced framework has three dimensions which correspond to different leverage in sparking innovative ideas: solution, problem and passion. Each dimension has its own delivery package and training focus. The interaction of the three approaches boosts the stimulant to mass innovation. Mini cases drawn from the application of the framework testify the feasibility for improvising innovation among alien minds.
Emotion and Motivation in Recovery and Adaptation after Brain Damage

As common as affective problems are after brain injury, it is rather surprising that they have not figured prominently in any major theory of recovery of function (see Stein et al., 1974; Finger, 1978). Emotional and motivational variables, however, have been recognized as important for adaptation to the permanent behavioral sequelae associated with various types of brain damage (e.g., Goldstein, 1942; Kotila et al., 1984; Prigatano et al., 1986).
Deliberation, Difference and Democratic Practice in Malawi

Since the introduction of multiparty politics in Malawi in 1994, grassroots communities have been engaged in dialogue on issues affecting democratic and national development processes in the country. This paper employs Martin Heidegger’s hermeneutics and James Paul Gee’s discourse analysis to examine community views regarding public deliberation as a form of political participation in Malawi. Heideggerian hermeneutics provides a foundation for Hans-Gorg Gadamer’s principles of philosophical hermeneutics that are limited to historicism, non-authorial intention, and the fusion of horizons. This study adopted Heideggarian phenomenology of Dasein (“being there”) as an interpretive framework to analyze interview text. This paper argues that the main issue for the grassroots communities in Malawi goes beyond democratic participation. Central to the interpretation of the communal dialogue is an understanding of the socio-cultural, economic and political atmosphere within which the Malawian grassroots social actors perform. As a way of understanding how citizens at the grassroots frame democratic participation in a volatile atmosphere, a study was conducted involving 30 citizens ranging from local villagers to government officials in select local councils in Malawi. This paper documents the analysis of citizen sentiments regarding some democratization problems facing local councils and their solutions. The study was guided by three main research questions: 1) What does civic participation mean for the citizens? 2) How do the citizens define social problems? 3) What needed to be done to facilitate effective participation by citizens?
The Cascading Effects of Externalizing Behaviors and Academic Achievement Across Developmental Transitions: Implications for Prevention and Intervention.

Children’s behavior and achievement problems are interrelated causes of distress for individuals, schools, and families, and generate long-term individual and societal costs. Yet, little is known about how the timing and direction of relationships involving achievement and problem behaviors (1) varies by standardized versus teacher ratings of achievement and (2) changes as students enter adolescence and begin secondary school. Using data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1048, 50.05% female), we employed longitudinal structural equation modeling to examine the relationship between externalizing behaviors and two forms of achievement from third through ninth grade. Results revealed that externalizing behaviors in grades three, five, and six directly and indirectly influenced teacher ratings of school achievement in grades 5, 6, and 9, and indirectly influenced standardized assessments of achievement over time. The reciprocal relationships involving externalizing behaviors and school achievement were especially strong from grade 6 to grade 9with their contemporaneous association peaking in grade 9. Demographic and maturational factors influenced the average levels of externalizing behaviors and achievement scores over development, but none altered the timing and direction of these relationships. Our findings highlight early adolescence as an important period for implementing evidence-based interventions related to the reduction of externalizing behaviors and improvements in achievement. Implications for prevention research, practice, and policy are discussed.
Imaging deeper, wider, and faster (Conference Presentation)

Brain research is a multi-disciplinary endeavor, and inspires the development of innovative measurement tools. Multiphoton microscopy is the go-to technique for high spatial resolution, deep imaging in scattering biological tissue, and relies heavily on the new development of ultrafast lasers that deliver high pulse energy, flexible repetition rate, and wide wavelength coverage. By pushing the boundaries of imaging depth and speed, multiphoton microscopy enables large-scale, non-invasive monitoring of brain activity in live animals, and is poised to play a major role in understanding how brains work.
Space Tourism: The Elusive Dream: edited by Erik Cohen and Sam Spector, Bingley, Emerald Publishing Limited, 2019, vi + 330 pp., $115 (hardback), ISBN 9781789734966

In their edited volume Space Tourism: The Elusive Dream, Erik Cohen and Sam Spector provide a much-needed multidisciplinary overview of the phenomenon of space tourism, its context, inspirations, c...
The modem tennis racket

The official rules of tennis give the racket manufacturer tremendous latitude in the parameters allowed in the design of the racket. Because of this, there have been major changes in tennis frames during the last 20 years. Virtually everything that can be changed has been changed, including the racket weight, mass distribution, stiffness, length, head size and shape, string pattern, moments of inertia, and material. To some degree, this change in racket design was fuelled by the availability of composite materials which allow the designer to construct rackets with these new shapes, sizes and weight distributions. On the other hand, there was an awareness that the dimensions of the “standard” wood racket that had been in use for 50 years, were neither sacred or optimal. The modern tennis racket attempts to have the three “sweet spots” located close to the same place (close to the center of the head), have a predictable response (even for slight miss-hits by the player), provide good ball speed without too much effort, be easy to manoeuvre, and not be the cause of injury to the arm or hand.
Electronic Cigarette and Vaping-Associated Lung Injury: Basic Information for Nurses

Abstract Electronic cigarette and vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI) is a more recent type of lung injury. Initial complaints of presenting patients include respiratory, gastrointestinal, and constitutional symptoms. Chest x-ray imaging studies show bilateral opacities, and computed tomography scans show diffuse, ground-glass opacities often with subpleural spacing. Through rigorous public health surveillance, ultimately, it was determined to be highly associated with the vaping of black-market THC liquid containing vitamin E oil. This article will address the types of devices used, the chemistry involved in vaping, the possible adverse effects, and the circumstances that led to this phenomenon.
Virtual Surgical Planning for Osseous Surgery to Manage Obstructive Sleep Apnea

The use of maxillofacial osteotomies for the treatment of dentofacial deformities has a long and storied history. Movement of the maxilla, mandible, and chin can be performed in all three planes of space in order to achieve the appropriate skeletal changes. Historically, surgeons anecdotally noted improvement in patient-reported signs and symptoms of daytime somnolence, snoring, and nighttime observations of apneic episodes by bed partners in a subset of their orthognathic surgical patients. As such, it becomes clear over time that osseous advancement of the facial bones could provide relief of airway obstruction. The use of maxillofacial osteotomies to manage the patient with PAP-intolerant obstructive sleep apnea has been validated both as a rescue treatment for patients failing other types of OSA procedures (such as UPPP) and as a primary treatment. Such treatments advance the osseous insertion points of soft tissues that support airway patency. Specifically, anterior movement of the maxilla advances the soft palate, superior aspect of the pterygomandibular raphe, and associated connections to the superior pharyngeal constrictor while also permitting intra-nasal modifications such as septoplasty, removal of bone spurs, osseous recontouring, and turbinoplasty. Advancement of the mandible and chin directly advances the attachments of the genioglossus, geniohyoid, mylohyoid, digastric muscles, and the inferior aspect of the pterygomandibular raphe.
Experimental investigation of the fluctuating static pressure in a subsonic axisymmetric jet

Measuring the fluctuating static pressure within a jet has the potential to depict in-flow sources of the jet noise. In this work, the fluctuating static pressure of a subsonic axisymmetric jet was...
Abstract 16462: Using Geospatial Mapping to Target Risk and Facilitate Placement of Community Health Workers, Educational Tools, and AHA Field Teams

Introduction: Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects 34.2 million Americans. Long-lasting or undiagnosed diabetes increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Geographic Inf...
Safety and Efficacy of Balloon Aortic Valvuloplasty Stratified by Acuity of Patient Illness

Balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) is often performed for patients with aortic stenosis who are not candidates for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) due to concomitant medical issues. H...
VPS29 exerts opposing effects on endocytic viral entry

Emerging zoonotic viral pathogens threaten global health and there is an urgent need to discover host and viral determinants influencing infection. We performed a loss-of-function genome-wide CRISPR screen in a human lung cell line using HCoV-OC43, a human betacoronavirus. One candidate gene, VPS29, was required for infection by HCoV-OC43, SARS-CoV-2, other endemic and pandemic threat coronaviruses as well as ebolavirus. However, VPS29 deficiency had no effect on certain other viruses that enter cells via endosomes and had an opposing, enhancing effect on influenza A virus infection. VPS29 deficiency caused changes endosome morphology, and acidity and attenuated the activity of endosomal proteases. These changes in endosome properties caused incoming coronavirus, but not influenza virus particles, to become entrapped therein. Overall, these data show how host regulation of endosome characteristics can influence viral susceptibility and identify a host pathway that could serve as a pharmaceutical target for intervention in zoonotic viral diseases.
Market volatility prediction based on long- and short-term memory retrieval architectures

Predicting market volatility is a critical issue in financial market research and practice. Moreover, in natural language processing, how to effectively leverage long- and short-term event sequences to predict market volatility is still a challenge. Especially, applying traditional recurrent neural networks (RNNs) on an extremely long event sequence is infeasible due to the high time complexity and the limited capability of the memory units in RNNs. In this paper, we propose a new deep neural network-based architecture named Long- and Short-term Memory Retrieval (LSMR) architecture to forecast short-term and mid-term volatility. LSMR architecture consists of three separate encoders, a query extractor, a long-term memory retriever, and a volatility predictor. The query extractor and the long-term memory retriever compose a long-term memory retrieval mechanism that enables the LSMR to handle the extremely long event sequences. Experiments on our novel news dataset demonstrate the superior performance of our proposed models in predicting highly volatile scenarios, compared to existing methods in the literature.
Communication technology use in post-divorce coparenting relationships: A typology and associations with post-divorce adjustment:

Divorced parents are increasingly expected to carry out shared physical custody of minor children by maintaining ongoing communication with their ex-spouse. Digital and cellular technologies have c...
An Agent-Based Simulation Model to Evaluate Contacts, Layout, and Policies in Entrance, Exit, and Seating in Indoor Activities Under a Pandemic Situation

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2 has dramatically changed the world and has been a severe health threat in 2020 and 2021. In this article, an agent-based simulation model of pedestrian dynamics is proposed for classroom-type indoor spaces (e.g., classroom, auditorium, food court, and meeting room), which will help organizations such as universities to evaluate alternative policies (namely entrance and exit policy, seating policy, and room layout) concerning the contact-caused risk associated with activities in such places during a pandemic situation. In particular, the proposed work focuses on solving the indoor seat allocation and traffic movement problem while practicing appropriate physical distancing measures. The proposed seating policy evaluates the distance of a seat from the doors and pathways facilitating the evaluation of contact-caused risk associated with the pathway and indoor area movement. Various statistics from two perspectives, risk, and logistics, are reported in the simulation results. The risk metrics used in evaluating different policies include average exposure duration and an average number of contacts with others. To develop a highly realistic crowd simulation considering physical distancing and human intervention nature, deadlock detection and resolution mechanisms are incorporated. From this study, it has been observed that the proposed social distancing (SD) seating policy and zonal exit policy can significantly reduce the contact number and exposure duration at a higher occupancy level. The proposed work helps the organizational policymakers to evaluate different policies and ensure the safe operation of the organizations under pandemic situations.
Electronic Structure Based Classification of Neurotransmitters and Related Drugs

ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE BASED CLASSIFICATION OF NEUROTRANSMITTERS AND RELATED DRUGS By Amrita Jha, M.S. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010. Major Director: Dr. Purusottam Jena, Distinguished Professor, Department of Physics A fundamental understanding of the relationship between structure and activity of neurotransmitters in the human brain is of vital importance for the design targeted drugs. Using density functional theory and hybrid exchange correlation energy functionals we have studied the structure-activity-relationships of some important neurotransmitters and selected drugs by calculating their absolute hardness (η) and absolute electronegativity (χ). A plot of the ηχ diagram allowed us to assign them into three distinct groups, namely, (i) Acetylcholine analogs (positively charged structure), (ii) GABA analogs (zwitterionic structures) and (iii) monoamines. The results suggest that brain stem is chemically soft because of distribution of monoaminergic nerve pathways. Prefrontal cortex is also chemically soft due to secretion of dopamine from mesocortical dopaminergic nerve A10, whereas neocortex is chemically hard due to presence of zwitterionic neurotransmitters. Target drugs (agonists/antagonists) can also be predicted by comparing the ηχ diagram of neurotransmitters with those of the drugs. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction
A Time Invariant Approach to Optimal Control and Estimation of Multirate Systems

This paper develops a methodology for a time invariant, single rate approach to optimal control and estimation of multirate systems. A predictor type estimator utilising all input and output samples is designed to estimate the state of the multirate system employed in the state variable feedback law when all sampling switches are synchronised.
Creating a cost-effective air-to-ground network simulation environment

Today's warfighter is increasingly dependent on networked systems and information from unmanned aerial vehicles to provide up-to-the-minute conditions on the battlefield; therefore the network must continually perform at optimum levels. One of the problems encountered in complex air-to-ground networks is that all possible hardware, software and network configurations that will be encountered in the field cannot be pretested; therefore there is a need to provide a method for studying the interaction among diverse hardware and software components and identifying potential network bottlenecks in air-to-ground networks and their causes before they become critical. In this paper, we demonstrate our accomplishments in building a robust and scalable simulation of an air-to-ground network environment based on wired and wireless network emulation using widely available software tools. We will also present our design for data capture and evaluation that support hypothetical, what-if scenarios for testing network performance bottlenecks.
The Ca2+-induced membrane transition in mitochondria: I. The protective mechanisms

Some physiological factors which control the rate of induction of the Ca2+-induced membrane transition (the term “Ca2+-induced membrane transition” is defined in the introduction) have been systematically investigated. To exclude the complicating factors of electron flow and energization, the transition was studied in mitochondria depleted of endogenous substrate, in the presence of uncoupler. In these mitochondria the transition could be induced by Ca2+, whether entry was mediated by ruthenium red-sensitive permeation or by A23187 facilitated diffusion. The rate of the transition was reduced fivefold by any agent which caused complete reduction of endogenous NAD. The rate of the transition was increased threefold by the exchange of endogenous ADP for phosphoenolpyruvate. A further increase was found on the addition of atractyloside, but bongkrekic acid caused inhibition. Addition of uncoupler to energized mitochondria when the endogenous NAD was already fully oxidized caused a stimulation of the transition. From these observations we conclude that mitochondria have a set of protective mechanisms (the term “protective mechanism” refers to the means by which these agents inhibit the Ca2+-induced transition; such a mechanism could be through allosteric interactions between the sites of binding of inhibitor and Ca2+; it would, however, be premature to conclude this on the basis of this paper) involving endogenous NADH, ADP, and energization which regulate the rate of the Ca2+-induced transition. ADP appears to work at two sites: one site which is internal, and another at the ADP/ATP translocase. In addition, we conclude that the transition requires neither electron flow nor energy, but rather the mere accessibility of some internal site to Ca2+. Finally, the key roles played by the protective agents in metabolism give the cell great potential flexibility in regulating the Ca2+-induced transition. This degree of control suggests that the transition has substantial physiological significance.
The Not-Too-Heavy Spanning Tree Constraint

We develop filtering algorithms for the Weight-Bounded Spanning Tree (WBST(G,T,I,W)) constraint, which is defined on undirected graph variables Gand T, a scalar variable Iand a vector of scalar variables W. It specifies that Tis a spanning tree of Gwhose total weight is at most I, where Wis a vector of the edge weights.
A Statistical Model of the Natural History of Cervical Carcinoma Based On a Prospective Study of 557 Cases

The authors statistical model for the natural history of cervical dysplasia was developed through an investigation of smears obtained by aspiration from the external cervical os from 557 patients at the Medical College of Virginia in Charlottesville and the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. No patient was admitted to the study without 3 abnormal smears. Follow-up was 1-4 months after admission diagnosis. Smears were classified according to a modification of the system presented by McKay et al. and Okagaki et al. The model assumes based on the data that a dysplastic lesion rarely spontaneously reverts to normal. The model further assumes that the probability of a lesion transiting from 1 stage to another is constant over time and that the behavior of a lesion during some time interval is independent of its behavior during a previous state. Transit (from 1 smear class to another) probabilities and rates (predicted mean times in months spent in each smear class having started in the given admission class before transit to the next higher smear class) are calculated. Thus the model seeks to provide predictive power to the physician presented with an abnormal smear. The predictions were consistent with the observed data and also with various studies of cervical dysplasia carcinoma in situ and invasive cervical carcinoma. The change from 1 stage in the natural history to another can be thought of as a process that is a function of 1) the probability of transition and 2) the induction time between the initiation of a stage and its ascertainment or transition to the next stage.