cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analyzing Information Technology & Societal Interactions: A Policy Focused Theoretical Framework

Information technologies affect a variety of fundamental societal concerns, such as privacy and free speech. Policymakers currently analyze each societal concern as sui generis, ignoring commonalities among IT issues. This paper develops a comprehensive descriptive framework to address a variety of IT policy problems. The Information Technology and Societal Interactions (ITSI) framework theorizes how information technology develops, evolves, and influences society. This framework ties together several existing theoretical concepts, while translating them into a practical framework that policymakers can apply to real problems. The framework is illustrated by analyzing wireless security issues. The article seeks to move beyond Lessig's work by providing a clearer and more comprehensive view of how IT interacts with society. An urgent need has arisen for this type of theoretical framework. Unlike other fields, a compelling theoretical approach within IT law and policy does not exist. As a result, each policy issue is treated as unique and policymakers overlook commonalities. This occurs because the existing theoretical approaches, such as structuration and actor-network theory (ANT), fail to provide applicable models for addressing concrete problems. ITSI is inspired by structuration and ANT, but is tailored to the theoretical and practical needs for analyzing the interactions between IT and society. ITSI focuses on four main relationships within ITSI. These relations are: (1) how technology affects individuals, (2) how individuals reconfigure technology, (3) how developers shape technology, and (4) how society, in mass, can intervene and alter how technology operates. ITSI builds upon a large corpus of descriptive and normative scholarship by computer scientists, sociologists, communications scholars, and legal scholars. The contribution here does not define a new set of relationships between society and information technology, but explicates existing relationships and develops a descriptive framework that provides analytical insights. This article illustrates ITSI through an analysis of security issues involved in wireless technology. The analysis found that consumers are not provided with simple and effective security because of the increased reliance on user configuration. ITSI led to this finding; it would not have emerged using conventional policy analysis. ITSI also provides solutions to this problem. Instead of looking toward users to improve security, policymakers should look to manufacturers to develop APs that are secure by design. The analysis ends by pointing out a number of strategies to influence manufacturers to improve the design of wireless APs.
Evaluating the Performance of a Fracturing Treatment Design

This paper describes the combination of a Perkins–Kern–Nordgren (PKN) type model for hydraulic fracture propagation with a method for calculation of proppant transport and settling in order to simulate the dynamic growth, stress induced closure, and final geometry of vertically oriented two-dimensional fractures. A mathematical model is developed to describe the fracture growth, fluid flow, and proppant movement along with proppant settling and bank formation. A particle tracking method which uses the concept of pseudoparticles to represent the proppant phase is used for the computation of solids distribution within the fracture and the proppant bank growth. A technique for periodically combining the elements of the computational grid allows for reduced simulation time. Using the computational model, contraction of fracture dimensions after the end of pumping can be simulated in order to determine the final shape of the propped fracture. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to study the effects of pumping rate, inlet proppant concentration, and proppant particle size on the final fracture condition. To evaluate the efficacy of different treatment designs, the resulting geometry of the propped fracture dimensions and the achieved conductivities were compared. Based on the simulation results obtained, specific recommendations on how to avoid premature tip screen-out and achieve desired fracture conductivity are presented.
Area Selective Molecular Layer Deposition of Polyurea Films

Patterned organic thin films with submicrometer features are of great importance in applications such as nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. We present here a new approach for creating patterned organic films using area selective molecular layer deposition (MLD). MLD is a technique that allows for conformal deposition of nanoscale organic thin films with exceptional control over vertical thickness and composition. By expanding the technique to allow for area selective MLD, lateral patterning of the film can be achieved. In this work, polyurea thin films were deposited by alternating pulses of 1,4-phenylenediisocyanate (PDIC) and ethylenediamine (ED) in a layer-by-layer fashion with a linear growth rate of 5.3 A/cycle. Studies were carried out to determine whether self-assembled monolayer (SAM) formed from octadecyltrichlorosilane (ODTS) could block MLD on silicon substrates. Results show that the MLD process is impeded by the SAM. To test lateral patterning in MLD, SAMs were patterned onto silicon substr...
Effects of Frequency Sorting Towards Finding Optimal Organizations of Hierarchal File Structures

Browsing through a hierarchy of information is a common task, but the relationship between human performance and parameters of the hierarchy are still incompletely understood. Based on Cockburn, Gutwin, & Greenberg (2007), we developed a model of this task involving two components at each level of the hierarchy: visual search time and motor movement time. A Monte Carlo simulation of the model shows how the optimal breadth of a hierarchal structure depends on both the size of the structure and how efficiently users perform the visual search. We fit a function to the Monte Carlo data which produced an optimum breadth consistent with the literature, and also shows analytically how properties like sorting can affect performance. The model indicates that the optimal hierarchy breadth depends heavily on the efficiency of the users' visual search; if the search can be sub-linear, then very broad hierarchies can be highly efficient.
Comments on the reggeized absorption and multiple-scattering models

In this paper we examine the assumptions under which the Reggeized absorption and elastic-multiple-scattering models can be said to unitarize a nonunitary Regge-pole amplitude. It is shown that one of these assumptions, the random-phase assumption, is poorly satisfied for πN CEX scattering.
Application of Electrochemical Redox Cycling: Toward Differentiation of Dopamine and Norepinephrine.

The electrochemical redox cycling behavior of dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), and their mixture was investigated using coplanar gold microband electrode arrays at four generator-collector gap conditions (4, 12, 20, and 28 μm). This method provides opportunity for differentiating the catecholamines in mixtures by monitoring the current at collector electrodes activated at different distances from generator electrodes. It takes advantage of the ECC′ mechanism associated with the electrochemical oxidation of catecholamines, in which DA and NE have rate constants that differ by a factor of 7.5 for the first order intramolecular cyclization (C) following electron transfer (E). Collector electrodes activated at different distances from the generators were used to examine the process of the following chemistry at different time points, because spatial relationships are related to temporal ones through diffusion. Solutions of artificial cerebral spinal fluid containing 50 μM DA, 50 μM NE, and a DA–NE mixture ...
331 COCHLEAR NERVE DEFICIENCY AS A SIGN OF CHARGE SYNDROME.

The CHARGE syndrome is a distinct pattern of malformation consisting of retinal colobomas, heart malformations, choanal atresia, growth/developmental retardation, genital defects, and ear abnormalities, including sensorineral deafness. Formerly called an association, CHARGE is a discrete enough pattern to be considered a syndrome in the true sense of the term. Recently mutations of the CHD7 gene have been discovered to account for the majority of patients with this phenotype. Also of note, recent proposals of diagnostic criteria have included vestibular dysplasias, especially absence of the semicircular canals, as a cardinal feature, and have emphasized the inner ear findings of CHARGE. We have evaluated 2 infants with CHARGE who have absence of the cochlear nerve on MRI. The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss these patients. Documentation of these findings helps expand the spectrum on inner ear dysplasias of the syndrome. The 2 unrelated patients, a boy and a girl, both presented to the NICU with multiple congenital anomalies and met criteria for CHARGE: retinal colobomas (2/2), heart malformations (2/2: ASD and ASD/VSD/coart), severe-profound congenital hearing loss (2/2), absence of the semicircular canals (2/2), characteristic external ear (2/2), and micropenis in the boy. Both had normal HRB chromosomes and FISH22 studies. The 2 patients were ascertained as part on the Hearing Assessment Team and are enrolled in the CDC-funded Etiology of Hearing Loss Study. MRI of the temporal regions showed absence of the cochlear nerve (unilateral in 1 patient and bilateral in the other). While cochlear dysplasias and absence of the semicircular canals are well known in CHARGE, cochlear nerve deficiency is not well documented. This finding, along with the other inner ear findings, can support the diagnosis. The otologic manifestations of CHARGE are unique as most syndromes involve the external/middle ear or the inner, not both. Understanding the role of CHD7 in the pathogenesis of the phenotype may provide insights into inner ear development.
Clinical experience with risperidone

Recent clinical experiences with risperidone including controlled trials, clinical observations, and reports of side effects are reviewed. The controlled trials indicate that risperidone is an effective antipsychotic that may have advantages over conventional antipsychotics for treating both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. A number of clinical reports indicate that risperidone is also effective for psychotic illnesses that result from other disorders. Risperidone has a relatively mild side effect profile when compared with conventional antipsychotics.
Target-Setting versus a Calculus of Benefits and Costs

We have advocated above that expenditures on human development should be based in part on a calculus of benefits and costs. We are, of course, aware that it often is difficult to measure accurately the benefits of investing in people — the costs are relatively easy — but none the less we believe that all investment projects, be they additions to the stock of human, physical or natural capital, should be subjected to similar scrutiny and should be required to pass the same test. The intellectual discipline required by a calculus of benefits and costs forces analysts to make hidden assumptions explicit, enables policymakers to compare on an equal basis the alternative uses of public funds and can help prevent a waste of scare investment resources. Whether the decision rule is a benefit-cost ratio greater than one, or a positive net present value or an internal rate of return greater than a predetermined value is a secondary matter. The important thing is that a genuine effort be made to calculate benefits and costs rather than rely on intuition, common sense or political expediency.
Training in remote database server administration

This chapter introduces the development of a Unix Lab at the Department of Information Systems at California State University, Los Angeles. It also describes the lab's impact on our curriculum and the future plans for the inclusion of remote access and wireless technology.
Aerobic Oxidation of Olefins and Lignin Model Compounds Using Photogenerated Phthalimide-N-oxyl Radical

A metal-free protocol to generate phthalimide-N-oxyl (PINO) radicals from N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) via a photoinduced proton-coupled electron transfer process is reported. Using donor-substituted aromatic ketones, such as 4,4′-bis(diphenylamino)benzophenone (DPA-BP), PINO radicals are efficiently produced and subsequently utilized to functionalize olefins to afford a new class of alkyl hydroperoxides. The DPA-BP/NHPI/O2 photocatalytic system exhibits high efficiency toward the aerobic oxidation of β-O-4 lignin models.
TNFα Mediated Facilitating Cell Enhancement of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Function in Vivo and In Vitro Involves Bcl-3.

Abstract Approaches to enhance engraftment of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are of primary interest in BM transplantation. CD8+TCR− facilitating cells (FC) improve HSC engraftment in allogeneic recipients without causing graft versus host disease. FC also significantly enhance the engraftment of limiting numbers of HSC in syngeneic recipients, suggesting that FC act directly on HSC. We therefore analyzed the mechanism for FC-mediated effects on HSC. We found that FC increased the ability of purified HSC to generate colonies in both the CFC and CAFC/LTC-IC assays, confirming a direct effect of FC on different HSC compartments. Co-incubation of HSC with FC for 18 or 40 hours significantly increased the survival of HSC and their subsequent ability to generate CFC at these same time points. We determined that the anti-apoptotic effect of FC on HSC was associated with the up regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-3 transcripts. We postulated here that the effect of FC on HSC was due to cytokine secretion. As FC produce TNFα after CpG ODN stimulation and TNFα has various activities on HSC, we evaluated the role of TNFα on FC function. FC were sorted from TNFα deficient mice and the facilitative activity of FC on HSC engraftment was assessed. FC from TNFα deficient mice were impaired in facilitating HSC engraftment in both the syngeneic and allogeneic models, suggesting a role for TNFα in FC function. Notably, TNFα transcripts were present in FC by 16 hours of co-incubation of FC + HSC and FC produce TNFα (surface and intra-cellular) when in contact with HSC. Furthermore, when TNFα was blocked (using anti-TNFα mAb), FC from wild type mice lost the ability to increase HSC clonogenicity (from 38.2±13.6 CFC/1000 HSC in HSC alone to 65.7 ± 22 for HSC + FC and 38.2 ± 19.6 for FC pre-incubated 1 hour with anti-TNFα mAb before incubation with HSC). Moreover, anti-TNFα mAb also blocked the ability of FC to up-regulate Bcl-3 transcripts in HSC. In conclusion, FC act directly on HSC via several mechanisms to maintain the balance between proliferation/differentiation/survival of HSC. One central mechanism implicates TNFα production by FC, which may protect HSC from undergoing apoptosis by up-regulating anti-apoptotic transcripts (e.g. Bcl-3). These findings may have great impact for the use of accessory cells in HSC transplantation, especially when numbers of HSC are limiting.
Pedagogies of the futures: Shifting the educational paradigms

Focusing on an educational paradigm rooted in critical pedagogy, the socratic method, futures studies, and peace education, this essay takes the position that classrooms of the future should be transformed into safe harbors where students are afforded the opportunity to explore, deconstruct and share knowledge of themselves, their experiences, and the world in which they live. Drawing upon experience as a professor of futures studies, peace studies, and international relations, the author argues that, regardless of the subject being taught, students should be active participants in a classroom environment where the professor guides understanding primarily as an individual contributor. The essay embodies Einstein’s assertion that “we can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them”, by arguing that in such ‘incubatorial’ classrooms, students and teachers strive, together, to evolve their mutual understanding of the world, which, as knowledge, forms a basis for their collective reality.
Care for Family Caregivers

Between 15 and 44 million Americans─approximately one person in every four households─provide long-term, unpaid care for chronically ill or dying relatives. This chapter addresses the plight of those people who care for chronically ill or dying relatives. The chapter begins by reviewing reasons why families have a duty to care for their ill or dying. The chapter then describes typical aspects of family caregiving including care tasks, stressors, potential stress relievers, and impact on caregivers. Next the chapter describes family caregiving with the dementias, the fatal diseases for which the most data on the topic exist. (I believe caregiving with the dementias often resembles caregiving with other fatal diseases such as the cancers and the organ system failures. Many lessons about caregiving with the dementias should apply equally well to those other diseases.) The chapter then discusses interventions aimed at supporting family caregivers of dying patients and closes with suggestions about how health professionals (HPs) in particular can help. To illustrate many of its points, the chapter uses an elderly man who suffers a hip fracture and then requires family care at home for many months. He develops a dementia in the meantime and finally dies after a severely debilitating stroke.
Real Examples of Translation

While the concept of translation is relatively new, there have been attempts in the past to convert basic criminological knowledge into policy and practice. One of these efforts began in the 1970s when correctional research findings were interpreted as “nothing works.” This prompted the federal and many state governments to restructure their sentencing laws, and it spawned a number of important academic works offering fresh rationales for penal policies. Another example from history is efforts by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to improve juvenile justice decision-making through the translation of research on minorities and girls in the system. More recently, concerns over mass incarceration and recidivism have brought about efforts to improve the reentry of offenders back into the community. These actual examples show the challenges and opportunities of translation.
Flexible Fitting of Atomic Models into Cryo-EM Density Maps Guided by Helix Correspondences

Although electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) has recently achieved resolutions of better than 3 A, at which point molecular modeling can be done directly from the density map, analysis and annotation of a cryo-EM density map still primarily rely on fitting atomic or homology models to the density map. In this article, we present, to our knowledge, a new method for flexible fitting of known or modeled protein structures into cryo-EM density maps. Unlike existing methods that are guided by local density gradients, our method is guided by correspondences between the α-helices in the density map and model, and does not require an initial rigid-body fitting step. Compared with current methods on both simulated and experimental density maps, our method not only achieves greater accuracy for proteins with large deformations but also runs as fast or faster than many of the other flexible fitting routines.
Serine/threonine phosphatase 5 (PP5C/PPP5C) regulates the ISOC channel through a PP5C-FKBP51 axis.

Pulmonary endothelial cells express a store-operated calcium entry current (Isoc), which contributes to inter-endothelial cell gap formation. Isoc is regulated by a heterocomplex of proteins that i...
Specification-Modeling Methodologies for Reactive-System Design

The goal of this paper is to investigate the state-of-the-art in specification-modeling methodologies applicable to reactive-system design. By combining the specification requirements of a reactive system and the desirable characteristics of a specification-modeling methodology, we develop a unified framework for evaluating any specification-modeling methodology applicable to reactive-system design. A unified framework allows the designer to look at the spectrum of choices available and quickly comprehend the suitability of a methodology to the specific application. Using the unified framework, we study a number of representative methodologies, identifying their respective strengths and weaknesses when evaluated for the desired characteristics. The differences and relationships between the various methodologies is high lighted. We find our framework to be quite useful in evaluating each methodology. A summary of our observations is presented, together with recommendations for areas needing further research in specification modeling for reactive systems. Two such areas are improving model continuity and providing better complexity control, especially across different abstraction levels and modeling domains. We also present a description of each methodology studied in the unified framework.
The Lived Experience with Christianity and Teenage African-American Females' Perceptions of their Self-Esteem

The purpose of this study was to discover the connection between the lived experiences with Christianity of teenage African-American females ages 16 to 18 and their self-esteem by exploring their l...
Mapping the neutrino floor for direct detection experiments based on dark matter-electron scattering

We study the discovery reach of future Dark Matter (DM) Direct Detection experiments using DM-electron scattering in the presence of the solar neutrino background. At these low energies traditional methods for nuclear and electronic recoil discrimination fail, implying that the neutrino- nucleus scattering background can be sizable. We calculate discovery limits based on ionization values of signal and background, and quantify the dependence on the ionization model. Moreover, we explore how the dependence of the DM cross section discovery limits varies with exposure, electronic/nuclear recoil discrimination, DM form factors, and DM astrophysical uncertainties.
Reactions at Alkali Metal-Glass Interfaces

The discovery of solids which exhibit high ionic conductivity has stimulated efforts to construct high energy density batteries utilizing such solids as the electrolytes [1]. The most common of these include alkali ion conductors such as polycrystalline Na β-alumina and NASICON. More recently, glasses in the form of borates, silicates, phosphates and others have also been shown to exhibit extremely high Li, Na, and Ag ion conductivity and are reviewed in a recent article by the authors [2]. Since glasses are isotropic and may be fabricated easily into complex shapes they would appear to be highly attractive alternatives to some of the polycrys-taline electrolytes mentioned above. Although a number of glassy electrolytes possess the required high ionic conductivities for cell operation, little or no information is available with regards to their corrosion resistance against potential reactants such as alkali metals, alloys and fused salts. As part of a program to investigate the potential of lithium borate based glasses as solid electrolytes, we have begun to investigate the reactions that occur at the glass-liquid lithium interface under both quiescent and ionic current flow conditions.
Learning With Bayesian Networks

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a knowledge representation, called a Bayesian network, that allows one to learn uncertain relationships in a domain by combining expert domain knowledge and statistical data. A Bayesian network is a graphical representation of uncertain knowledge that most people find easy to construct directly from domain knowledge. In addition, the representation has formal probabilistic semantics, making it suitable for statistical manipulation. Over the past decade, the Bayesian network has become a popular representation for encoding uncertain expert knowledge in expert systems. More recently, researchers have developed methods for learning Bayesian networks from a combination of expert knowledge and data. The techniques that have been developed are new and still evolving, but they have been shown to be remarkably effective in some domains. Learning using Bayesian networks is similar to that using neural networks. The process employing Bayesian networks, however, has two important advantages: (1) one can easily encode expert knowledge in a Bayesian network, and use this knowledge to increase the efficiency and accuracy of learning; and (2) the nodes and arcs in learned Bayesian networks often correspond to recognizable distinctions and causal relationships.
Genetic Rearrangements of Human Immunoglobulin Genes

The immunoglobulin (Ig) genes ultimately responsible for the generation of antibody diversity and thus the uniqueness or idiotype of each individual molecule produced are organized in a subsegmental, discontinuous fashion in their germ-line form.(1–4) As we will explore, the design of these coding gene subsegments and even the probable mechanisms for their DNA assemblage have been remarkably conserved over evolutionary time.(5–9) This elaborate system utilizes movable gene subsegments, flexibility at the sites of their recombination, and somatic mutation to maximize the number of unique antibody molecules that can be generated from a necessarily limited amount of germline material. While the somatic process of gene recombination creates an amazing diversity of products, these rearrangements have also proven to be rather error-prone. Multiple, alternative chances and choices for assembling an Ig gene appear to compensate for these abortive attempts. We will show that the assemblage of Ig gene subsegments occurs in a sequential fashion during early B-cell development and helps ensure that the final B cell makes but a single Ig molecule. This hierarchy of Ig gene recombination events, mandatory during B-cell development, has proved of great importance in assessing the clonality and stage of differentiation of a variety of human neoplasms. Following the rearrangements that generate the antibody diversity and idiotypes necessary for immune regulation, the Ig gene loci may at times undergo an additional recombination. As we will see, this latter rearrangement is one between chromosomes and results in the translocation of a cellular oncogene to an Ig gene locus within certain human B-cell malignancies.
Brain Neurodynamic and Tensor Calculus

This chapter presents the neurodynamic of brain as a part of a geometric space. Logic is not only true and false but new topics in logic as fuzzy set and many valued logic extend the simple idea of true and false to values or coordinates in geometric space where the true and false are positions in this space. Thus, the holistic approach to Fuzzy and many value logic of the agent can be well represented by geometry of agent knowledge. We assume that Logic is included into the neurodynamic of the Brain.
Active symbolism: toward a new theoretical paradigm for statistical cartography

Conventional cartography practices situate a cartographer in a computer environment in which choices are made about a limited number of map characteristics. A map is then produced using these choic...
THE IMPACT OF MACROECONOMIC FACTORS ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED AIRLINES OPERATING INTO KENYA

Purpose: The growth of economy is argued to have a positive impact on financial performance of various key sectors. Economic growth is measured using indicators such as the GDP growth rate, inflation rate, interest rates, exchange rates, money supply among others. This study focused on investigating the impact of global and origin countries GDP growth, Inflation rates and interest rates on net income of selected airlines that operate into Kenya. Methodology: Data on macroeconomic factors was collected from World Bank website for the period of between 2005 and 2014. Data on airlines net income was collected from the published financial statements for the period 2005 to 2014. The published financial statements were audited and as such their use increased the reliability and validity of the findings and conclusions. Audited statements of comprehensive income, statements of financial position, of the selected airlines were collected from their respective websites. Statistical methods correlation and regression analysis were used to test the relationship between the macroeconomic indicators and net income of airlines. Results: The results revealed a negative significant relationship between origin inflation and net income of airlines. The results further revealed a negative and significant relationship between origin interest rates and net income of the airlines. The relationship between origin GDP growth and net income of the airlines was insignificant at 5% significant level. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy : This study recommends that investors in aviation industry should heavily invest when the macroeconomic fundamentals such as interest rates and inflation rates of origin countries are strong to be able to reap high profitability from airlines. Again, investors should invest more when the global economy is performing well so as to reap maximum profits from airlines destined to Kenya. That the key indicators and determinants for investment decision making in the aviation industry are the Global GDP, Global inflation, Country of Origin interest rates and inflation rates.
The use of biocompatible crystalline substrates for the heterogeneous nucleation and polymorphic selection of indomethacin

A heteroepitaxial nucleation approach was applied to control the nucleation rates and to selectively nucleate a single form of indomethacin (IMC). Six organic functional crystalline substrates, L-glutamic acid (GLU), L-threonine (THR), allantoin (ALT), xanthine (XAN), biotin (BIO) and L-histidine (HIS) were selected as substrates. The efficacy of each substrate in promoting the nucleation of IMC was examined with a high throughput microscopic method. The polymorphic selectivity of each substrate towards the stable γ-form and the metastable α-form of IMC was investigated with a combination of microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction. Induction experiments in ethanol demonstrated that all used substrates were highly effective in enhancing the nucleation rates of IMC. GLU showed complete selectivity towards the formation of γ-IMC, and HIS increased the phase selectivity towards the metastable form by 33% compared to the homogeneous nucleation in ethanol. The combinatorial effect of the presence of HIS and supersaturation of the solvent in promoting the polymorphic selection towards the metastable form was also investigated. Furthermore, Raman spectroscopy-based crystal face indexing was conducted to identify the in contact faces for the substrate and IMC and demonstrated that the major driving force for phase selective epitaxial growth in these organic molecular systems is the level of the functional group match at the substrate–solute interface.
Policy Brief: Using ESSA to Improve Secondary English Learners' Opportunities to Learn through Course Taking.

The 2015 federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) affords states flexibility in adopting accountability measures that assess opportunity to learn, and requires that state and district leaders use ...
Notable Events in Physical Education: 1822-1972

(1972). Notable Events in Physical Education: 1822-1972. Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation: Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 65-66.
Principal Neurons in the Anteroventral Cochlear Nucleus Express Cell-Type Specific Glycine Receptor α Subunits

Signal processing in the principal neurons of the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN) is modulated by glycinergic inhibition. The kinetics of IPSCs are specific to the target neurons. It remains unclear what glycine receptor subunits are involved in generating such target-specific IPSC kinetics in AVCN principal neurons. We investigated the expression patterns of glycine receptor α (GlyRα) subunits in AVCN using immunohistochemical labeling of four isoforms of GlyRα subunits (GlyRα1-α4), and found that AVCN neurons express GlyRα1 and GlyRα4, but not GlyRα2 and GlyRα3 subunits. To further identify the cell type-specific expression patterns of GlyRα subunits, we combined whole-cell patch clamp recording with immunohistochemistry by recording from all three types of AVCN principal neurons, characterizing the synaptic properties of their glycinergic inhibition, dye-filling the neurons, and processing the slice for immunostaining of different GlyRα subunits. We found that AVCN bushy neurons express both GlyRα1 and GlyRα4 subunits that underlie their slow IPSC kinetics, whereas both T-stellate and D-stellate neurons express only GlyRα1 subunit that underlies their fast IPSC kinetics. In conclusion, AVCN principal neurons express cell-type specific GlyRα subunits that underlie their distinct IPSC kinetics, which enables glycinergic inhibition from the same source to exert target cell-specific modulation of activity to support the unique physiological function of these neurons.
Biological response to dissolved versus dispersed oil.

Abstract The water-soluble compounds of oil (e.g. low molecular weight PAHs) dissolve as a function of their physicochemical properties and environmental conditions, while the non-soluble compounds exist as dispersed droplets. Both the chemical and physical form of oil will affect the biological response. We present data from a mesocosm study comparing the microbial response to the water-soluble fraction (WSF), versus a water-accommodated fraction of oil (WAF), which contains both dispersed and dissolved oil components. WAF and WSF contained similar concentrations of low molecular weight PAHs, but concentrations of 4- and 5-ring PAHs were higher in WAF compared to WSF. Microbial communities were significantly different between WSF and WAF treatments, primary productivity was reduced more in WSF than in WAF, and concentrations of transparent exopolymeric particles were highest in WSF and lowest in the controls. These differences highlight the importance of dosing strategy for mesocosm and toxicity tests.
Examining the sustained use of a cognitive behavioral therapy program for youth with autism spectrum disorder and co-occurring anxiety

Abstract Background Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and anxiety has a strong evidence base. However, few studies have examined clinicians’ sustained use of CBT programs after training efforts have ended. The present study is a follow-up to a clinical trial that examined the implementation and treatment outcomes in response to a group CBT program for youth with ASD and co-occurring anxiety (i.e., Facing Your Fears; FYF). This study uses a mixed-methods approach to understand: 1) the percentage of clinicians who continue to use FYF at least four years after being trained in the program (i.e., sustainment); 2) adaptations that have been made to FYF in order to sustain its fit within clinical settings; and 3) factors that influence clinicians’ sustained use of FYF. Method Thirty of 34 clinicians who were initially trained to use FYF responded to a mixed-methods survey asking about their sustained use of the program, adaptations made to FYF, attitudes towards FYF, and perceived barriers to continued FYF use. Results Results demonstrated that a majority of clinicians reported that they continue to use the FYF program. Clinicians described that they continue to use FYF due to their perceptions of the program’s effectiveness, ease of use, and compatibility, but also made a variety of adaptations to FYF. Conclusion Results from the present study help to better understand factors impacting the sustained use of CBT for youth with ASD. They also highlight the importance of proactive efforts within clinical training to plan for intervention adaptation and to consider factors likely to impact program sustainment.
Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution in Neutral Water Catalyzed by a Cobalt Complex with a Softer Polypyridyl Ligand

To explore the structure-function relationships of cobalt complexes in the catalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), we studied the substitution of a tertiary amine with a softer pyridine group and the inclusion of a conjugated bpy unit in a Co complex with a new pentadentate ligand, 6-[6-(1,1-di-pyridin-2-yl-ethyl)-pyridin-2-ylmethyl]-[2,2']bipyridinyl (Py3Me-Bpy). These modifications resulted in significantly improved stability and activity in both electro- and photocatalytic HER in neutral water. [Co(Py3Me-Bpy)(OH2 )](PF6 )2 catalyzes the electrolytic HER at -1.3 V (vs. SHE) for 20 hours with a turnover number (TON) of 266 300, and photolytic HER for two days with a TON of 15 000 in pH 7 aqueous solutions. The softer ligand scaffold possibly provides increased stability towards the intermediate CoI species. DFT calculations demonstrate that HER occurs through a general electron transfer/proton transfer/electron transfer/proton transfer pathway, with H2 released from the protonation of CoII -H species.
Association of Heel Bone Mineral Density With Incident Disability and Mortality in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Age-related bone loss is common in older adults. However, the association of low bone mass with incident disability and mortality is not well established. A sample of 738 participants in the Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP) was evaluated at baseline for bone mineral density (BMD) using quantitative ultrasound at the calcaneus. An annual interview assessed basic activities of daily living (BADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), mobility disability, and history of hip fracture. The associations between baseline BMD and risk of death; incident BADL, IADL, and mobility disability; and hip fracture were investigated using Cox hazard models, adjusting for age, sex, education, race, and body mass index (BMI). The robustness of our findings was evaluated by adjusting for confounding factors and health conditions including joint pain, musculoskeletal medications, smoking status, motor function, global cognition, falls, cardiovascular events, and diabetes. Participants were on average (mean ± SD) 80.9 ± 7.0 years old, 72% female, and 3.8% black, with a baseline BMI of 27.3 ± 5.4 kg/m2, and a baseline of BMD of 0.44 ± 0.14 g/cm2. In models adjusted for age, sex, education, race, and BMI, lower BMD was associated with a higher rate of death (hazard ratio [HR] 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-1.33), incident BADL disability (HR 1.20; 95% CI, 1.05-1.37), and hip fracture (HR 2.57; 95% CI, 1.72-3.82), but not of IADL disability (HR 1.00; 95% CI, 0.85-1.17) or mobility disability (HR 1.13; 95% CI, 0.97-1.32). The association between BMD and mortality was not significant in fully adjusted models, but the BMD and BADL associations remained significant in models adjusting for both demographic variables and BMD-modifying health conditions. BMD is associated with incident disability in older adults. © 2020 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Capturing Environmental Dimensions of Adversity and Resources in the Context of Poverty Across Infancy Through Early Adolescence: A Moderated Nonlinear Factor Model.

Income, education, and cumulative-risk indices likely obscure meaningful heterogeneity in the mechanisms through which poverty impacts child outcomes. This study draws from contemporary theory to specify multiple dimensions of poverty-related adversity and resources, with the aim of better capturing these nuances. Using data from the Family Life Project (N = 1,292), we leveraged moderated nonlinear factor analysis (Bauer, 2017) to establish group- and longitudinally invariant environmental measures from infancy to early adolescence. Results indicated three latent factors-material deprivation, psychosocial threat, and sociocognitive resources-were distinct from each other and from family income. Each was largely invariant across site, racial group, and development and showed convergent and discriminant relations with age-twelve criterion measures. Implications for ensuring socioculturally valid measurements of poverty are discussed.
Gaussian Process Regression and Classification using International Classification of Disease Codes as Covariates

International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes are widely used for encoding diagnoses in electronic health records (EHR). Automated methods have been developed over the years for predicting biomedical responses using EHR that borrow information among diagnostically similar patients. Relatively less attention has been paid to developing patient similarity measures that model the structure of ICD codes and the presence of multiple chronic conditions, where a chronic condition is defined as a set of ICD codes. Motivated by this problem, we first develop a type of string kernel function for measuring similarity between a pair of subsets of ICD codes, which uses the definition of chronic conditions. Second, we extend this similarity measure to define a family of covariance functions on subsets of ICD codes. Using this family, we develop Gaussian process (GP) priors for Bayesian nonparametric regression and classification using diagnoses and other demographic information as covariates. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms are used for posterior inference and predictions. The proposed methods are free of any tuning parameters and are well-suited for automated prediction of continuous and categorical biomedical responses that depend on chronic conditions. We evaluate the practical performance of our method on EHR data collected from 1660 patients at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) with six different primary cancer sites. Our method has better sensitivity and specificity than its competitors in classifying different primary cancer sites and estimates the marginal associations between chronic conditions and primary cancer sites.
On Properties of the mixed-Fractional Nonlinear Schr\"odinger Equation

Motivated by the appearance of the fractional Laplacian in many physical processes, recent work has emerged in particular on the properties of the fractional nonlinear Schrodinger equation. Specific to models in optics and photonics a variant of mixed degrees of fractionality prove to be of interest. This paper presents first results in this new regime.
Development of a psychological empowerment measure for youth in rural Guatemala.

Psychological empowerment (PE) is conceptualized as a context-dependent construct, yet few have studied its applicability to youth in international settings. The current study used a participatory approach to design a measure of empowerment for youth from a rural, Indigenous community in Guatemala and aimed to compare this new measure to extant measures. Youth co-researchers (aged 19-22) collaborated in the development of four culturally relevant empowerment scales through a formative process involving classroom observations and focus groups. Newly developed scales and two widely used, extant scales were administered to a school-based sample of 273 youth (mean age = 14.7, SD = 1.6). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) showed that one of the newly developed PE scales called Self-Efficacy for Community Action (SECA), which was moderately correlated with the extant scales, appeared to more effectively capture empowerment in the local context than the extant measures. These results support the notion that PE is contextually dependent and suggest that youth participation may aid in instrument design.
Advanced Diabetes Technology Remains Underutilized in Underserved Populations: Early Hybrid Closed-Loop System Experience at an Academic Safety Net Hospital.

We retrospectively evaluated outcomes of the Minimed Medtronic 670G system in an academic urban safety-net population of adults with type 1 diabetes, between September 2016 and January 2020. Among ...
Small car air cushion performance considerations

A critical performance issue in the development of any air cushion restraint system is the dicotomy that exists between the inflation rate required to meet the 30 mph frontal, rigid barrier restraint performance requirements and the effect that this parameter has on increasing the risk of deployment-induced injuries to out-of-position occupants. In general, small cars experience greater vehicle deceleration levels than large vehicles in FMVSS 208, 30 mph frontal, rigid barrier tests due to tighter packaging of their front-end components. In order to meet the FMVSS 208 performance requirements for such cars, the small car air cushion must be thicker and inflated faster than the large car air cushion. Such air cushion technology will increase the risk of life-threatening, deployment-induced injuries to out-of-position occupants of the small car. A harm reduction analysis is done that indicates that a greater benefit can be derived from installing a large car air cushion technology in a small car than from installing the same air cushion technology in a large car, even though the FMVSS 208 restraint performance requirements are not met when installed in the small car. This statement is true for any occupant restraint system (belts, passive interiors) identically applied to both the large and small car since small car occupants will always be exposed to more severe collision severities due to the car's lighter mass and reduced front-end crush space. Based on the analyses presented, it is suggested that performance requirements addressing deployment-induced injury concerns of out-of-position occupants be added to FMVSS 208 for evaluating air cushion restraints and that the FMVSS 208, 30 mph frontal, rigid barrier test conditions be changed to a frontal test of equal collision severity for all car sizes.
Developmental Epidemiology of Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities: An Emerging Discipline*

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the developmental epidemiology of mental retardation. In the field of mental retardation, counting is not always the norm. Researchers and practitioners within the mental retardation/developmental disabilities (MR/DD) field rely on general senses of problems, clinical hunches, and longstanding experience un-tempered by actual numbers. However, given the rise of a formal subfield and of technical and technological advances, better and more complete counting is needed for a wide variety of medical and nonmedical events. Developmental epidemiology of MR/DD is a field that is poised, primed, and ready to go forward. New findings are arising, more researchers are working on these issues, and increasing numbers of databases allow for the examination of epidemiological questions within the MR/DD population. New statistical techniques are being developed every year, even as computing power multiplies exponentially. Although one may be partial to any number of metaphors, the field of developmental epidemiology of mental retardation is moving forward, advancing, and progressing.
On the periodic points of functions on a manifold

In a conference on fixed point theory, B. Halpern of Indiana University considered the problem of reducing the number of periodic points of a map by homotopy. He also asked whether the number of periodic points of a function could be increased by a homotopy. In this paper, we will show that for any map on a closed manifold, an arbitrarily small perturbation can always create infinitely many periodic points of arbitrarily high periods.
The synthesis and characterization of two new 19-vertex metallaborane clusters: [B18H20Ni(η5- C5H5)]-1 and [B18H19(2-THF)Ni(η5- C5H5)]

Abstract Two new 19-vertex metallaboranes, [B18H20Ni(η5-C5H5)][N(CH3)4] and [B18H19(2-THF)Ni(η5-C5H5)], were isolated from the reaction of anti-B18H22 with nickelocene, [Ni(η5-C5H5)2], in high yields. The complexes were characterized by multinuclear NMR (1H, 13C, 11B), IR and UV–vis spectroscopy. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses of these new complexes confirmed their structures as 19-vertex conjuncto-metallaborane clusters.