cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A validational study of the WIST as a group‐administered instrument for assessment of schizophrenic thinking

The objective assessment of thought disorder in schizophrenia is problem matic in clinical psychology. Recently and individually administered instrument (WIST) was introduced as a brief, objective, and quantitative measure of schizophrenic thought processes. Possible shortcomings of the WIST are noted; experimental findings that concern extension to group testing conditions, convergent validity with another self-report measure of schizophrenia, and discriminant validity from intellectual level are presented.
Melatonin and human reproduction

In photoperiodic nonhuman mammals the secretion of melatonin from the pineal gland plays a major role in regulating reproductive physiology; in humans these relationships are less clear. The melato...
Towards robust gravitational wave detection with pulsar timing arrays

Precision timing of highly stable millisecond pulsars is a promising technique for the detection of very low frequency sources of gravitational waves. In any single pulsar, a stochastic gravitational wave signal appears as an additional source of timing noise that can be absorbed by the noise model, and so it is only by considering the coherent response across a network of pulsars that the signal can be distinguished from other sources of noise. In the limit where there are many gravitational wave sources in the sky, or many pulsars in the array, the signals produce a unique tensor correlation pattern that depends only on the angular separation between each pulsar pair. It is this distinct fingerprint that is used to search for gravitational waves using pulsar timing arrays. Here we consider how the prospects for detection are diminished when the statistical isotropy of the timing array or the gravitational wave signal is broken by having a finite number of pulsars and a finite number of sources. We find the standard tensor-correlation analysis to be remarkably robust, with a mild impact on detectability compared to the isotropic limit. Only when there are very few sources and very few pulsars does the standard analysis begin to fail. Having established that the tensor correlations are a robust signature for detection, we study the use of ``sky scrambles'' to break the correlations as a way to increase confidence in a detection. This approach is analogous to the use of ``time slides'' in the analysis of data from ground-based interferometric detectors.
Alveolar cell carcinoma. Diagnosis by lobar lavage.

A 54-year-old man was hospitalized because of progressive shortness of breath and a diffuse pulmonary infiltrate in a radiograph of his chest. His pulmonary dysfunction was characterized by a selective loss of vital capacity in comparison with residual volume, a marked right-left shunt, and a rapidly deteriorating pulmonary diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide. the diagnosis of alveolar cell carcinoma was established before death by light and electron microscopic studies of material obtained by lobar lavage with a cuffed bronchographic catheter after sputum and bronchoscopic washings had failed to reveal malignant cells.
The Functions of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry

The term consultation-liaison psychiatry encompasses two primary functions— that of a psychiatric specialist providing expert advice on the consultee’s patient, and that of a liaison or link. Historically, the liaison function indicated that the psychiatrist was stationed in and worked as a member of the medical team. Currently, the term has been expanded to indicate the educational and facilitative function of the consulting psychiatrist, that is, the linkage the psychiatrist provides the consultee between medical and psychiatric knowledge and skills on one hand, and the facilitation of communication and understanding that the psychiatrist provides between the patient and the health care personnel. Thus, the liaison function is inherent in the comprehensive approach utilized by the psychiatric consultant to the patient and the health care system.
Cognitive Assessment of Infants and Preschoolers with Severe Behavioral Disabilities

The area of behavioral disabilities is broad because of the range of disorders that have been identified. Therefore, differentiating among these disorders and identifying disordered children as being different from normals require a more extensive description of characteristics than would be necessary in other disability areas. The characteristics reviewed in this chapter include cognitive abilities as well as those related to cognitive and behavioral style. It is these latter characteristics that provide a basis for the identification of disordered children and of target behavior, whereas cognitive ability assessment provides some indication of prognosis and the framework for instructional programming.
Surface Reconstruction from Contours for Non-contact Fluorescence Molecular Tomography

We present an accurate surface extraction technique and demonstrate its use in complete-projection 360˚ non-contact Fluorescence Molecular Tomography (FMT) without matching fluids. This strategy is expected to yield unprecedented imaging performance in small animal FMT
Wipp Waste Package Testing on Simulated DHLW: Emplacement

Several series of simulated (nonradioactive) defense high-level waste (DHLW) package tests have recently been emplaced in the WIPP, a research and development facility authorized to demonstrate the safe disposal of defense-related wastes. The primary purpose of these 3-to-7 year duration tests is to evaluate the in situ materials performance of waste package barriers (canisters, overpacks, backfills, and nonradioactive DHLW glass waste form) for possible future application to a licensed waste repository in salt. This paper describes all test materials, instrumentation, and emplacement and testing techniques, and discusses progress of the various tests. These tests are intended to provide information on materials behavior (i.e., corrosion, metallurgical and geochemical alterations, waste form durability, surface interactions, etc.), as well as comparison between several waste package designs, fabrications details, and actual costs. These experiments involve 18 full-size simulated DHLW packages (approximately 3.0 m × 0.6 m diameter) emplaced in vertical boreholes in the salt drift floor. Six of the test packages contain internal electrical heaters (470 W/canister), and were emplaced under approximately reference DHLW repository conditions. Twelve other simulated DHLW packages were emplaced tinder accelerated-aging or overtest conditions, including the artificial introduction of brine, and a thermal loading approximately three to four times higher than reference. Eight of these 12 test packages contain 1500 W/canister electrical heaters; the other four are filled with DHLW glass.
Advanced Principles for Improving Database Design, Systems Modeling, and Software Development

Recent years have witnessed giant leaps in the strength of database technologies, creating a new level of capability to develop advanced applications that add value at unprecedented levels in all areas of information management and utilization. Parallel to this evolution is a need in the academia and industry for authoritative references to the research in this area, to establish a comprehensive knowledge base that will enable the information technology and managerial communities to realize maximum benefits from these innovations. Advanced Principles for Improving Database Design, Systems Modeling, and Software Development presents cutting-edge research and analysis of the most recent advancements in the fields of database systems and software development. This book provides academicians, researchers, and database practitioners with an exhaustive collection of studies that, together, represent the state of knowledge in the field.
First record of the genus Copturomorpha Champion from the United States and a new species from Texas (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Conoderinae)

I was recently sent for determination a series of a species of conoderine weevils collected in south Texas by Ed Riley of Texas A & M University, as part of a survey of the insect fauna of the region funded by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. To my surprise, these specimens represent an undescribed species and the first record of the primarily Neotropical genus Copturomorpha Champion in the United States.
Teaching Chemistry with a Biology Degree

The prevalence of out-of-field teaching—when a teacher is assigned a subject in which he or she is not prepared—has sparked concern around the world. Studies across many nations have shown that high percentages of teachers are assigned to teach out-of-field (Du Plessis, 2005; Ingersoll, 2008; Riordain & Hannigan, 2011; Tasmanian Audit Office, 2010).
Implementation and optimization of automated dispensing cabinet technology

Purpose A multifaceted automated dispensing cabinet (ADC) optimization initiative at a large hospital is described. Summary The ADC optimization project, which was launched approximately six weeks after activation of ADCs in 30 patient care unit medication rooms of a newly established adult hospital, included (1) adjustment of par inventory levels (desired on-hand quantities of medications) and par reorder quantities to reduce the risk of ADC supply exhaustion and improve restocking efficiency, (2) expansion of ADC “common stock” (medications assigned to ADC inventories) to increase medication availability at the point of care, and (3) removal of some infrequently prescribed medications from ADCs to reduce the likelihood of product expiration. The purpose of the project was to address organizational concerns regarding widespread ADC medication stockouts, growing reliance on cart-fill medication delivery systems, and suboptimal medication order turnaround times. Leveraging of the ADC technology platform’s reporting functionalities for enhanced inventory control yielded a number of benefits, including cost savings resulting from reduced pharmacy technician labor requirements (estimated at $2,728 annually), a substantial reduction in the overall weekly stockout percentage (from 3.2% before optimization to 0.5% eight months after optimization), an improvement in the average medication turnaround time, and estimated cost avoidance of $19,660 attributed to the reduced potential for product expiration. Conclusion Efforts to optimize ADCs through par level optimization, expansion of common stock, and removal of infrequently used medications reduced pharmacy technician labor, decreased stockout percentages, generated opportunities for cost avoidance, and improved medication turnaround times.
The role of student adaptability in interprofessional education

Abstract The current study investigated the influence of student adaptability and years in college on receptiveness to IPE training. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which a student's level of adaptability, predicted positive changes in their perceptions of teamwork, interprofessional cooperation, and professional autonomy after participation in a single case-based IPE forum. Secondly, the study investigated if using concept mapping as an instructional technique during an IPE activity influenced student perceptions of teamwork, interprofessional cooperation, and professional autonomy. Higher levels adaptability accounted for a significant portion of the variance in positive change in IEPs scores. Additionally, years in college along with level of adaptability accounted for additional variance in the positive change in IEP scores. There was no statistical difference found between the instructional groups regarding their IEPs scores.
The Practice of Hermeneutics: The Legal Text and Beyond

This article attempts to show the continuing practical relevance of hermeneutics through the example of legal interpretation. The article begins with the very concrete nature of legal hermeneutics that forms everyday legal practice—the interrelation of meaning and application— and expands at a more theoretical to show how legal hermeneutics, and hermeneutics more generally, offers what Ricoeur calls an interpretive “choice in favor of meaning.” The choice in favor of meaning underscores the restorative character of hermeneutics that legal hermeneutics can epitomize. The article concludes with some of the challenges facing contemporary legal hermeneutics.
Robust PCA: Low rank matrix estimation with hard or soft thresholding-based outlier rejection

We consider the robust PCA problem of recovering a low-rank matrix corrupted by Gaussian noise and large elementlevel outliers. Motivated by the sparse estimation literature, we consider outlier rejection schemes that apply hard or soft thresholding, respectively, to the elements of the data matrix to efficiently estimate the sparse component and then apply an SVD on the residual matrix to estimate the underlying low-rank component. We analyze the performance of the low-rank matrix thus estimated by comparing the asymptotic accuracy of the recovered subspace to that of an oracle estimator that replaces the a priori known outlier-corrupted entries of the data matrix with zeros and then applies an SVD to estimate the low-rank component. Our analysis reveals that, in the “not-too-sparse” outlier regime, both hard and soft thresholding asymptotically attain oracle performance. However, in the dense outlier regime, while hard thresholding again achieves oracle performance, soft thresholding does not and the estimated subspace is asymptotically orthogonal to the true underlying subspace. We validate our theoretical predictions with numerical simulations.
An apodized-imaged Hartmann mask for quantitative wavefront measurements in laser systems

A Hartmann mask with apodized holes is demonstrated for in-situ wavefront characterization in laser systems with existing near-field imaging diagnostics. Spatially dithered binary pixelated apertures alleviate diffraction effects and improve the measurement accuracy.
High-Content Screening in hPSC-Neural Progenitors Identifies Drug Candidates that Inhibit Zika Virus Infection in Fetal-like Organoids and Adult Brain

Summary Zika virus (ZIKV) infects fetal and adult human brain and is associated with serious neurological complications. To date, no therapeutic treatment is available to treat ZIKV-infected patients. We performed a high-content chemical screen using human pluripotent stem cell-derived cortical neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) and found that hippeastrine hydrobromide (HH) and amodiaquine dihydrochloride dihydrate (AQ) can inhibit ZIKV infection in hNPCs. Further validation showed that HH also rescues ZIKV-induced growth and differentiation defects in hNPCs and human fetal-like forebrain organoids. Finally, HH and AQ inhibit ZIKV infection in adult mouse brain in vivo. Strikingly, HH suppresses viral propagation when administered to adult mice with active ZIKV infection, highlighting its therapeutic potential. Our approach highlights the power of stem cell-based screens and validation in human forebrain organoids and mouse models in identifying drug candidates for treating ZIKV infection and related neurological complications in fetal and adult patients.
Reprint of “A parallel connectivity algorithm for de Bruijn graphs in metagenomic applications”

Abstract Dramatic advances in DNA sequencing technology have made it possible to study microbial environments by direct sequencing of environmental DNA samples. Yet, due to the huge volume and high data complexity, current de novo assemblers cannot handle large metagenomic datasets or fail to perform assembly with acceptable quality. This paper presents the first parallel solution for decomposing the metagenomic assembly problem without compromising the post-assembly quality. We transform this problem into that of finding weakly connected components in the de Bruijn graph. We propose a novel distributed memory algorithm to identify the connected subgraphs, and present strategies to minimize the communication volume. We demonstrate the scalability of our algorithm on a soil metagenome dataset with 1.8 billion reads. Our approach achieves a runtime of 22 min using 1280 Intel Xeon cores for a 421 GB uncompressed FASTQ dataset. Moreover, our solution is generalizable to finding connected components in arbitrary undirected graphs.
Clouds in Higher Education

North Carolina State University (NCSU) has been operating a production level cloud, called Virtual Computing Laboratory (VCL) since 2004. VCL is an award-winning open source cloud technology that at NC State delivers services ranging from single desktops (VDI), to servers to, high-performance computing (HPC) and data (HPD). It serves over 40,000 users and delivers about 250,000 service reservations per year along with 14+ million HPC/HPD CPU hours per year. Through the lens of VCL, this paper discusses the needs, possible needs, and future of cloud computing in higher education - the range and complexity of the services, the needed capabilities of the cloud architecture and implementation, and possible future development directions embodied in the Centennial campus model.
Geometry, Fields, and Spacetime

AbstractI present an argument against a relational theory of spacetime that regards spacetime as a ‘structural quality of the field’. The argument takes the form of a trilemma. To make the argument...
Angiogenesis antagonists: current clinical trials.

The Third Annual Cambridge Healthtech Institute symposium, entitled ‘Angiogenesis Antagonists: Current Clinical Trials, Drug Development and Regulatory Issues’, co-sponsored by the journal Angiogenesis and the Angiogenesis Foundation, convened on October 19 and 20 in Bermuda. The meeting attracted international experts from academia, the biopharmaceutical industry and the National Cancer Institute to share initial experiences in clinical trials of therapeutic modulation of angiogenesis. As molecular inhibitors move rapidly from the laboratory to the clinic, practical strategies were advanced to accelerate the introduction of the emerging class of pharmacological agents—angiogenesis antagonists. Themes of the meeting included: (1) An update of current clinical trials. (2) Specific disease/organ sites selected for anti-angiogenesis therapy. (3) Potential and actual toxicities. (4) The use of drug synergisms, combining angiogenesis antagonists with cytotoxic therapy. (5) Mechanisms for funding. (6) Overcoming regulatory hurdles to introduce new compounds.
Promoting Recovery from Drug Abuse: An Africentric Intervention:

This article describes the Engagement Project, a culturally congruent intervention in which Africentric concepts are applied in single-session counseling for African American drug users.
Material contacts under cyclic compression, studied in real time by electrical resistance measurement

Contacts of similar materials under cyclic compression below the yield stress were studied in real time by measurement of the contact electrical resistance. For all materials studied (steel, aluminum, copper, polymer and cement mortar), the contact resistance decreased upon loading in every load cycle. The resistance at the minimum stress of a cycle decreased upon load cycling for steel (at a sufficiently high stress amplitude), polymer-matrix composite and mortar due to plastic deformation at asperities, but increased upon cycling for aluminum and copper, probably due to surface oxidation and/or strain hardening. For steel and aluminum, the resistance at the maximum stress of a cycle increased upon load cycling, probably due to oxidation and/or strain hardening, and it took more stress for the resistance to decrease in a cycle as cycling progressed, probably due to strain hardening. For the polymer (thermoplastic), it took less stress for the resistance to decrease in a cycle as cycling progressed, probably due to enhancement of the molecular orientation perpendicular to the stress. For the mortar, the minimum resistance at the maximum stress increased slightly as cycling progressed, probably due to debris generation.
ANALYSIS OF LYMPH ABSORPTION AND FLOW THROUGH THE TERMINAL LYMPHATICS

A mathematical model of the terminal lymphatics is formulated using the principles of mechanics together with current notions in lymphology. The model specifically considers the role of anchoring filaments.
Dielectric Singularity of α − S n

The wave-number-dependent dielectric function $\ensuremath{\epsilon}(q)$ for the zero-gap semiconductor $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{n}$ has been calculated in the limit $q\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$. Because of the specific symmetry of the wave functions at the point of contact between the conduction and valence bands, $\ensuremath{\epsilon}(q)$ has a singularity of the form of $\frac{1}{q}$ in the long-wavelength limit. The screening of an impurity charge by this singular dielectric function is also discussed.
Relative Morse Theory

The reader who is interested only in Morse theory for singular spaces or for nonproper Morse function may skip this chapter. We will consider the Morse theory of a composition $$ X\xrightarrow{R}Z\xrightarrow{f}\mathbb{R} $$ which will eventually be used (in Part II, Sects. 5.1 and 5.1*, with Z = ℂℙ n ) to prove a conjecture of Deligne [Dl] concerning Lefschetz hyperplane theorems for a variety X and an algebraic map π: X → ℂℙ n . We will approximate the function f by a Morse function, although the composition fπ: X → ℝ is not Morse (or even Morse-Bott) in any reasonable sense. All attempts to prove Deligne’s conjecture by approximating fπ by a Morse function seem to end in failure because one loses curvature estimates on the Morse index of fπ. Instead, we are forced to “relativize” the Morse theory of f. Our main result is stated in Sect. 9.8.
An Abstraction Technique for Real-Time Verification

In real-time systems, correctness depends on the time at which events occur. Examples of real-time systems include timed protocols and many embedded system controllers. Timed automata are an extension of finite-state automata that include real-valued clock variables used to measure time. Given a timed automaton, an equivalent finite-state region automaton can be constructed, which guarantees decidability. Timed model checking tools like Uppal, Kronos, and Red use specialized data structures to represent the real-valued clock variables. A different approach, called integer-discretization, is to define clock variables that can assume only integer values, but, in general, this does not preserve continuous-time semantics. This paper describes an implicit representation of the region automaton to which ordinary model checking tools can be applied directly. This approach differs from integer discretization because it is able to handle real-valued clock variables using a finite representation and preserves the continuous-time semantics of timed automata. In this framework, we introduce the GoAbstraction, a technique to reduce the size of the state space. Based on a conservative approximation of the region automaton, GoAbstraction makes it possible to verify larger systems. In order to make the abstraction precise enough to prove meaningful properties, we introduce auxiliary variables, called Go variables, that limit the drifting of clock variables in the abstract system. The paper includes preliminary experimental results showing the effectiveness of our technique using both symbolic and bounded model checking tools.
Unresponsive Children and Powerless Adults

Picture a common scene in a pediatrician’s office. The waiting room is filled with an assortment of parents and children engaged in a variety of interactions. One set of parents is absorbed in magazines while their 4-year-old wanders through the room talking to everyone. A mother has her daughter close at her side as she points out magazine pictures to the child. Another mother is engaged in active combat with a 7-year-old boy who appears intent on touching every object in the room and getting onto or under every piece of furniture. “Johnny, leave that alone,” she implores plaintively in a weak voice. Johnny glances at her briefly but ignores her. She smiles nervously and comments to the woman in the next chair, “Boys. You can’t do anything with them. You’re lucky you have a girl. She sits there so nice and quiet.”
The Lithuanian family in its European context, 1800–1914: marriage, divorce and flexible communities

The author based this work on her earlier book Vedusiųjų visuome: Santuoka ir Skyrybos Lietuvoje (Vaga, 1999), written under the name of Marcinkevicienė. This book is not, however, merely a transla...
Tertiary Lymphoid Structures Among the World of Noncanonical Ectopic Lymphoid Organizations

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLOs), also known as ectopic lymphoid structures, are associated with chronic infections and inflammatory diseases. Despite their association with pathology, these structures are actually a normal, albeit transient, component of the immune system and facilitate local immune responses that are meant to mitigate inflammation and resolve infection. Many of the mechanisms controlling the formation and function of tertiary lymphoid structures have been identified, in part by experimentally triggering their formation using defined stimuli under controlled conditions. Here, we introduce the experimental and pathological conditions in which tertiary lymphoid tissues are formed, describe the mechanisms linked to their formation, and discuss their functions in the context of both infection and inflammation.
A Phase 2 Study of Post-Operative Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) for Solid Tumor Spine Metastases.

Purpose In patients with spinal instability, cord compression, or neurologic deficits, the standard of care is surgery followed by radiation therapy (RT). Recurrence rates after conventional RT remain high. The purpose of this study is to prospectively examine the efficacy of postoperative stereotactic body RT (SBRT) in patients who have undergone surgical intervention for spine metastases. We hypothesize that postoperative SBRT to the spine would be associated with higher local control than historical rates after conventional RT. Methods and Materials Thirty-five adult patients with a Karnofsky Performance Status score ≥40 and spine metastases from solid tumors with no prior overlapping RT and target volumes ≤3 consecutive vertebral levels were enrolled. Thirty-three patients were treated. Two patients underwent treatment to 2 target volumes for a total of 35 target volumes. All patients received SBRT 30 Gy in 5 fractions. Patients were followed with neurological examinations and computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging every 3 months. Neurologic function was assessed at the same time points using the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment score. Pain was rated according to the 10-point visual analogue scale and MD Anderson Cancer Center brief pain index. Toxicity was recorded according to National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events Version 4. The primary objective was the rate of radiographic local recurrence at 12 months after completion of SBRT. Results Patient characteristics were as follows: 34.3% had radioresistant primaries; 71.4% were ASIA E and the remainder ASIA D; and the median baseline Karnofsky Performance Status score was 70 (range, 50-100). Radiographic and symptomatic local control at 1 year were 90% (95% confidence interval, 76%-98%). The median time to recurrence in these 3 patients was 3.5 months (range, 3.4-5.8 months), all had radiosensitive tumors, and all recurrences were epidural. No patients experienced wound dehiscence, hardware failure, or spinal cord myelopathy. The median time to return to systemic therapy was 0.5 months (range, 0-9.4 months). Conclusions This prospective study of postoperative spine SBRT demonstrates excellent local control with low toxicity. These data suggest superior rates of local control compared with conventional RT; however, a formal comparative study is warranted.
The Politics of the Affordable Care Act

President Obama’s first order of duty was to stimulate the economy, but healthcare reform was not far behind. The goal of the Obama administration’s healthcare initiative was to merge the market forces of the health insurance industry with a national policy providing a safety net for people who lacked health insurance. In August 2009, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) passed away and his seat went to a Republican, stripping the Democrats of the 60 votes needed for cloture. The healthcare legislation was repackaged into two bills, a healthcare bill and a reconciliation bill. When both bills were signed by Obama in March 2010, the Affordable Care Act became law. The 2010 midterm elections featured every Republican candidate promising to repeal it and Republicans gained control of the House. In April 2015, Congress and the Obama administration agreed to repeal the sustainable growth rate formula replacing it with a new formula for reimbursing practitioners. In early 2016, Congress attempted to pass a bill repealing the ACA, but it was vetoed by the president. The ACA was a hot topic during the 2016 presidential election, with Republicans wanting to “repeal and replace” it and Democrats vowing to keep it. Its future is uncertain.
Phonological memory traces do not contain phonetic information

We use a “varying standards” oddball paradigm and compare two phonetically differing conditions to find evidence that the auditory cortex has access to discrete phonological representations when making predictions about incoming speech sounds. Brain responses were recorded with a 128-electrode EEG system as subjects passively listened to synthetic speech sounds from a /dae/-/tae/ continuum. Deviant stimuli were compared to a control condition to obtain a mismatch negativity (MMN) response, indicative of a “surprise” at a stimulus that deviates from the memory trace. We tested two conditions with phonetically different varying standards – a “low-T” condition with VOT values of 60, 65, and 70 ms, and a “high-T” condition with VOT values of 75, 80, and 85 ms. The amplitude of the mismatch response is generally sensitive to acoustic distance. If the memory trace generated by the auditory cortex contains phonetic information about the standards, then a difference in mismatch amplitude is expected. However, if a phonological memory trace is used, every standard will be represented identically and no difference in mismatch amplitude will be observed. We found no distance effect in our results, indicating an absence of fine-grained phonetic information. This supports the claim that the auditory cortex has access to phonological category representations.
In situ strain dependent electrochemical characterization of a stretchable-sliding battery

Stretchable batteries are needed to accommodate deformable geometries in tantalizing applications such as smart textiles, biomedical implants, and stretchable electronics. An increasing number of studies have focused on flexible and bendable batteries, but very few have investigated a stretchable lithium ion battery in which some or all components, including the electrodes, electrolyte, and encapsulation may be stretched. Here, we report the design, fabrication and characterization of a stretchable-sliding battery where the electrodes can slide, and the solid polymer electrolyte is stretched. The battery consists of a single solid polymer electrolyte film sandwiched between two sliding layered electrodes on each side. The two cathode layers are based on LiFePO4 active material, and the two anode layers are graphite based. The stretchable polymer electrolyte is composed of a specific blend of polyethylene oxide (PEO) of 100k and 600k molecular weights to enhance both the ionic conductivity and mechanical properties. Results show that the capacity of the stretchable-sliding battery increases at small tensile strains, but can degrade at larger strains. Tensile stress-strain curves of the stretchable battery and its components until failure are also presented. In situ strain-dependent electrochemical measurements provide critical insights on the stretching and sliding mechanisms in the battery. This study further validates the dual-functionality of the PEO solid electrolyte as both a stretchable film and a lithium ion conductor in a charged/discharged battery. This stretchable-sliding battery configuration can offer an experimental platform for in situ characterizations of solid polymer electrolyte films subjected to stretching inside an active electrochemical cell.
Building Family-Professional Partnerships with Culturally, Linguistically, and Economically Diverse Families of Young Children.

Tamara is a single mother of two children, Isaiah (2 years old) and RaShawn (5 years old). She recently noticed that Isaiah was not developing in the same ways his older brother did when he was Isa...
Silicon-based Ultimate Miniature Magnetic Inductors Technology for High-efficiency DC-DC Conversion

This paper presents the development of high frequency (>10MHz) silicon-based thin-film magnetic-core inductors for DC-DC converter applications with high conversion efficiency. These inductors were fabricated with far-BEOL compatible process on 300 mm wafers. With an improved laminated thinfilm magnetic core and thick electro-plated Cu windings, these inductors achieved a wide range of inductance ranging from 10 to 250nH, a high Q factor of up to 17, and a saturation current of up to 650 mA in a small area of 1mm2. These inductor properties translate to more than 90% inductor power efficiency in a multiple-phased 3.6V-to-1V DC-DC converter within a current range of 0.1A to 1A.
Fully Balanced SSFP Without an Endorectal Coil for Postimplant QA of MRI-Assisted Radiosurgery (MARS) of Prostate Cancer: A Prospective Study

Purpose To investigate fully balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) with optimized acquisition protocols for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based postimplant quality assessment of low-dose-rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy without an endorectal coil (ERC). Methods and Materials Seventeen patients at a major academic cancer center who underwent MRI-assisted radiosurgery (MARS) LDR prostate cancer brachytherapy were imaged with moderate, high, or very high spatial resolution fully bSSFP MRIs without using an ERC. Between 1 and 3 signal averages (NEX) were acquired with acceleration factors (R) between 1 and 2, with the goal of keeping scan times between 4 and 6 minutes. Acquisitions with R >1 were reconstructed with parallel imaging and compressed sensing (PICS) algorithms. Radioactive seeds were identified by 3 medical dosimetrists. Additionally, some of the MRI techniques were implemented and tested at a community hospital; 3 patients underwent MARS LDR prostate brachytherapy and were imaged without an ERC. Results Increasing the in-plane spatial resolution mitigated partial volume artifacts and improved overall seed and seed marker visualization at the expense of reduced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The reduced SNR as a result of imaging at higher spatial resolution and without an ERC was partially compensated for by the multi-NEX acquisitions enabled by PICS. Resultant image quality was superior to the current clinical standard. All 3 dosimetrists achieved near-perfect precision and recall for seed identification in the 17 patients. The 3 postimplant MRIs acquired at the community hospital were sufficient to identify 208 out of 211 seeds implanted without reference to computed tomography (CT). Conclusions Acquiring postimplant prostate brachytherapy MRI without an ERC has several advantages including better patient tolerance, lower costs, higher clinical throughput, and widespread access to precision LDR prostate brachytherapy. This prospective study confirms that the use of an ERC can be circumvented with fully bSSFP and advanced MRI scan techniques in a major academic cancer center and community hospital, potentially enabling postimplant assessment of MARS LDR prostate brachytherapy without CT.
Enhancing Shared Decision Making in a Chronic Population. Use of an Advance Directive Decision Aid for Patients with Heart Failure and Their Caregivers

Background Heart failure (HF) is a costly, progressive, symptomatic, and deadly condition affecting more than 6 million people in the United States. Despite evidence that advance care planning (ACP), including completion of an advance directive (AD), enhances decision-making quality and patient experience, completion rates remain low. ACP decision aids have been shown to improve the quality of decisions in other chronic illnesses, yet few have been tested in the HF population. Purpose This pilot study was designed to test the feasibility and acceptability of an Advance Directive Decision Aid (ADDA) in hospitalized patients with HF and their designated caregivers. The secondary aim was to describe the levels of decisional conflict (DC) and decisional regret (DR) associated with participating in ACP discussions and consideration of completing an AD. Methods Convenience sampling was used to recruit 30 dyads (patients with HF and their designated caregivers) from an academic medical center. Feasibility was assessed by tracking the enrolled, ineligible, and refusal rates, in addition to the time to deliver the intervention. Acceptability was assessed via completion of a follow-up survey and participation in an exit interview. The dyads were evaluated for DC and DR following delivery of the ADDA. Results For enrolled patients, mean age was 56.5 years (SD = 12.17), 73% were Caucasian, most were male (66.6%), 54% were diagnosed with HF Conclusions This pilot study revealed that the ADDA was feasible in clinical practice and acceptable to patients and caregivers. Younger patients were more likely to refuse the ADDA and caregiver regret was higher among caregivers than patients after viewing the ADDA. Patients remain fearful that completing an AD means death is imminent. Future research needs to be directed at breaking down the barrier to completing an AD and increasing completion rates, engaging the younger aged HF population, and understanding and decreasing caregiver regret.
“I Want to Advocate for Our Kids”: How Community-Based Organizations Broker College Enrollment for Underrepresented Students:

This exploratory study examines the role community-based organizations have in bridging low-income students of color to postsecondary institutions. Data came from interviews with organization staff...
Effective Fragment Potential-Based Molecular Dynamics Studies of Diffusion in Acetone and Hexane

To facilitate more reliable descriptions of transport properties in liquids, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed based on the effective fragment potential (EFP) method derived from first-principles quantum mechanics (in contrast to MD based upon empirically fitted potentials). The EFP method describes molecular interactions in terms of Coulomb, polarization/induction, dispersion, exchange-repulsion, and charge-transfer interactions. The EFP MD simulations described in this paper, performed on hexane and acetone, are able to track the mean-square displacement of molecules for sufficient time to reliably extract translational diffusion coefficients. The results reported here are in reasonable agreement with experiment.
Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) with bill deformity in Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Bill deformities have been documented in many avian species across the globe and can be caused by environmental or genetic conditions that may also reflect ecosystem health. We describe the first case of bill deformity in the genus Tyrannus, in a young male Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) that fledged from a nest in an industrial park in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The upper mandible of the bill was curved to the left and below the plane of the normal lower mandible making it unlikely that the individual would be able to forage normally and survive to adulthood. Genetic testing for evidence of hybridization with Scissor-tailed Flycatchers (T. forficatus) showed no sign of introgression, and it is unclear what caused the deformity.
Is Crowd Out A Problem In Recessions

The crowd out effects of the government deficit is tested by adding it to consumption and investment models which control extensively for other factors. Effects are calculated for recession and non-recession periods, and compared to models with average crowd out, and models without crowd out. Test results indicate 1) deficits crowd out private consumption and investment, are statistically significant, and add substantially to explained variance. They also predict “IS” curve coefficients better than no crowd out models. Crowd out was found to have roughly equal effects in recessions and non-recession periods. Government spending deficits were found to result in complete crowd out, tax cut deficits resulted in more than complete crowd out. Both findings consistent with crowd out theory. Increases in M2, especially it’s saving (Non-M1) components, in the three years prior to a deficit, were found to offset the crowd out effects of government spending deficits, but not the effects of tax cut deficits. M1 increases were not found effective in eliminating crowd out effects. Foreign borrowing can be used to supplement domestic saving, reducing the possibility of crowd out when deficits occur. This paper uses a one variable definition of the deficit (T-G). This implies marginal effects of spending and tax deficits are the same. In working Paper 1104 of this series, these two kinds of deficits are tested separately to determine if they have separate effects.
Antitrust Liability of Municipal Corporations: The Per Se Rule vs. the Rule of Reason - A Reasonable Compromise

per se approach to more realistic rule of reason analysis.,. This approach should bring more meticulous analysis of the economic realities of competitive restraints." On the other hand, the antitrust defendant should now be able to marshal more persuasive reasons to justify the restraint before succumbing to the compulsion of the per se rule. For the municipal defendant, the implications of the foregoing analysis are significant. First, the continued vitality of antitrust litigation against municipalities is assured. Second, a move away from frequent application of per se rules may accrue to the benefit of cities, because special economic considerations may be offered in their defense. Third, where possible per se violations are asserted, the preliminary inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the activity may be the only opportunity for municipalities to offer unique justifications in defense. Finally, after Professional Engineers,4 there is considerable doubt that the traditional rule of reason approach is flexible enough to take public interest factors into account. With this in mind, the next section of this article deals with the possibility of special treatment in the absence of a specific antitrust immunity. III. ANTITRUST ANALYSIS IN THE ABSENCE OF IMMUNITY As was the case in Lafayette, the issue of immunity frequently is raised on a motion for summary judgment or dismissal. There is thus sparse guidance from case law as to the method by which courts will apply antitrust law to municipalities." It is instructive to examine related cases applying antitrust law in the absence of immunity to entities other than municipalities. While the results in these cases may not be particularly encouraging to municipal defendants, they indicate that courts might consider distinctions between different types of enterprise. A. The Learned Professions Whatever hope there was for the existence of antitrust immunity for the learned professions was effectively eliminated by the decision in Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar." In that case, fee schedules for member attor52. Bock, An Economist's View of the Supreme Court's Recent Antitrust Decisions, 47 ABA ANTITRUST L.J. 829, 830 (1978).
Verification & validation : Process and levels leading to qualitative or quantitative validation statements

The concepts of Verification and Validation (V&V) can be oversimplified in a succinct manner by saying that verification is doing things right and validation is doing the right thing. In the world of the Finite Element Method (FEM) and computational analysis, it is sometimes said verification means solving the equations right and validation means solving the right equations. In other words, if one intends to give an answer to the equation 2+2=, then one must run the resulting code to assure that the answer 4 results. However, if the nature of the physics or engineering problem being addressed with this code is multiplicative rather than additive, then even though Verification may succeed (2+2=4 etc), Validation will fail because the equations coded are not those needed to address the real world (multiplicative) problem. When this simple explanation of V&V is extended to the multidimensional world of nonlinear FEM with multiple application scenarios, the V&V process becomes complicated very quickly. It is essentially impossible to fully verify a code or fully validate a model. The appropriate Level of V&V is a function of the time available to do the V&V evaluations, and this should in turn be a function of the Risk that will be incurred if the V&V is not done, or the risk that will be mitigated if a given level of V&V is done. We will describe a process for V&V based on Levels (with a fractional rating system from 0 to 1). V&V Levels can provide a necessary first step beyond yes or no in answering the question of whether a capability has been verified or validated. We then discuss a 4-step quantitative implementation for V&V once a given Level has been chosen. Next, we provide short examples from metal forming, crashworthiness, and engine performance of the different process Levels for V&V, and the qualitative and quantitative statements that can be credibly made as a function of the V&V Level assessed. We suggest that one of the key end products of V&V is to provide the information needed for predictive adequacy for the intended application, and that adequacy is a balance between rigor and expediency obtained from risk management.
Electron Transport in Chloroplasts III. THE ROLE OF PLASTOQUINONE C

Abstract Extraction of freeze-dried chloroplasts for 4 hours with heptane at 22° removes up to 90% of the plastoquinones without significant extraction of chlorophyll. Photoreduction of indophenol and of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate is decreased after extraction. The photoreduction of NADP with ascorbate and indophenol as electron donor is restored by plastoquinone C, whereas photoreduction of indophenol or NADP with water as electron donor requires both plastoquinones A and C for restoration. The restoration of NADP photoreduction with ascorbate and tetramethylphenylenediamine as electron donor is not restored by plastoquinones A and C, but is restored by a red protein, rubimedin, which is released from the chloroplasts during the extraction treatment. Other lipid material from the heptane extract may also be necessary to complement the rubimedin effect. Rubimedin also increases the amount of NADP reduction by water above the restoration obtained with plastoquinones A and C. A split pathway of electron transport is proposed, part going through plastoquinones A and C and part through rubimedin. Indophenol would react with the electron transport chain at plastoquinone C.
Damping of Frames with Constrained Viscoelastic Layers

The damping of a steel braced frame with a vertical layer of visco-elastic material is quantified by computing steady-state responses to harmonic lateral loadings. Viscoelastic constitutive equations are used to model all materials. It is found that the constrained viscoelastic layer significantly increases the damping of the frame while causing a tolerable loss in lateral stiffness. The static behavior of the frame is found to be analogous to that of coupled shear walls. It is observed that weighing each material's damping contribution by its strain energy and summing contributions to obtain the total damping, significantly overestimates the true damping of the composite frame. In general, it is determined that such a method is inappropriate for series systems in which some materials are highly damped while others are only slightly damped. Issues other than damping which relate to the feasibility of the concept are briefly considered.