cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Detection of hearing loss with ipsilateral acoustic reflex thresholds.

This study consisted of two experiments both of which involved measurement of the ipsilateral acoustic reflex threshold (ART). In Experiment I, ipsilateral ARTs were measured in normal-hearing adults for a 2 000-Hz tone and computer-generated complex stimuli of varying bandwidth. Results of this experiment revealed that the bandwidth effect for the ipsilateral ART was similar to the contralateral effect. The ART decreased monotonically as a function of bandwidth of the reflex-eliciting stimulus. Results of Experiment II indicated that ipsilateral ARTs successfully differentiated between normal hearing and significant hearing loss, in difficult-to-test groups of young children, when used with the bivariate plotting procedure. In addition, obtaining reflexes ipsilaterally, rather than contralaterally, appeared to have advantages with this population. The ipsilateral test apparatus is less cumbersome, the possibility of calibration error from a malpositioned contralateral earphone is eliminated and the child...
Analyst forecast performance on banks: does experience matter?

In this paper we investigate the relation between analysts' forecast performance and the opacity of a company; in particular, we compare analysts' forecast accuracy between Bank Holding Companies (BHCs) and non-financial companies. During the period of 1999 to 2004, forecast accuracy on banks is better than forecast accuracy on non-financial firms; however, analysts forecast accuracy for banks is significantly worse for the period of 2005 to 2008. In addition, while analysts' experience is positively associated with their forecast performance for non-financial firms, there is no evidence that experience improves forecast accuracy for BHCs. That is, BHCs are more difficult to understand during current crisis, and that prior experience does not help as much compared to non-financial firms. Our results suggest an increase in uncertainty risk for BHC's leading up to the recent financial crisis.
Treatment of brodifacoum overdose with prothrombin complex concentrate

Purpose A case of brodifacoum overdose and its treatment with prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) are reported. Summary A 44-year-old Caucasian woman weighing 62 kg arrived at the emergency department with a chief complaint of lower left leg pain for two days. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen revealed perihepatic fluid collection (likely a hematoma), a small-bowel intramural hematoma, and blood in the paracolic gutter. A CT scan of the patient’s left foot showed soft tissue swelling without evidence of fracture or dislocation. The patient was diagnosed with left extremity compartment syndrome secondary to hematoma and trauma. The patient had a history of depression and anxiety and eventually admitted to ingesting large doses of brodifacoum the week prior with suicidal intentions. The patient was treated with phytonadione 20 mg i.v., 1 unit of fresh frozen plasma (FFP), and 1 unit of packed red blood cells. Laboratory test values measured in the intensive care unit revealed an International Normalized Ratio (INR) of 15, a prothrombin time of >120 seconds, and a partial prothromboplastin time of >180 seconds. After consulting with a local poison center, phytonadione 50 mg i.v., PCC 3100 units, and 4 units of FFP were immediately administered to reverse the patient’s coagulopathy. The dose of oral phytonadione was lowered based on INR stability. Once the coagulopathy was stabilized, the patient was transferred to an inpatient psychiatric facility on phytonadione 10 mg daily orally to maintain a stable INR. Conclusion A 44-year-old woman who intentionally ingested brodifacoum was successfully treated with phytonadione, PCC, and FFP.
Basic studies of extrusion of rubber compounds in a pin barrel extruder

Abstract An experimental study of the flow, pumping, and mixing characteristics of three different rubber-carbon black compounds in a model pin barrel extruder is presented. These are a model SBR/BR passenger tire compound, a NR truck tire compound, and a NBR mechanical goods compound. Comparisons are made of the initial extruder without pins or slices/grooves in the screw flights, an extruder containing slices or grooves in its flights, and a pin barrel extruder. It is found for each compound that introducing slices in screw flights improves mixing/homogenization and decreases pumping ability. Introduction of pins improves mixing/homogenization and has little effect on pumping. The homogenization is best for the passenger tire tread compound and worst for the NBR mechanical good compound.
Unit Hydrographs for Urbanizing Watersheds

One of the basic tools utilized in the computation of stream discharges in the unit hydrograph. In cases where no discharge data are available in the immediate area of interest, the derivation of the necessary unit hydrographs have been subjective and unreliable. It would seem that if a more rigorous mathematical approach to the problem were taken, more reliable results might be expected.
Tendon Volume Determination on Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Supraspinatus Tendinopathy.

Objective To determine the supraspinatus tendon volume using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in dogs with non-calcified supraspinatus tendinopathy (NCST), in dogs with orthopedic disease other than NCST, and in healthy dogs. Study Design Case series. Animals Twenty-two dogs (18 client-owned dogs; 4 purpose-bred dogs). Methods Dogs undergoing shoulder MRI were categorized as NCST if they were diagnosed with NCST only, had histologic confirmed diagnosis, underwent surgical treatment, and were available for follow-up longer than 4 months. Dogs with MRI performed for a forelimb lameness because of a diagnosis other than NCST were categorized as orthopedic control (OC). Healthy dogs from an unrelated study were categorized as healthy controls (HC). Tendon volume was determined from MRI using public domain software and compared across categories. Results The study included 9 NCST dogs, 9 OC dogs, and 4 HC dogs. The median tendon volume for NCST was 1,323 mm3, OC was 630 mm3, and HC was 512 mm3. The volume was significantly higher in the NCST than OC (P = .0012) and HC (P = .003). There was no difference between OC and HC (P = .76). Conclusion Dogs diagnosed with NCST had higher supraspinatus tendon volumes compared to dogs with other orthopedic disorders and healthy dogs.
Religious orientations and the targets of discrimination.

In this study, fundamentalism, extrinsic, intrinsic, and quest religious orientations were used to predict discriminatory attitudes toward blacks, women, homosexual persons, and communists. The four discriminations yielded a strong "general tendency to discriminate" factor, while residuals for each scale reflected unique discriminatory attitudes toward each group. As predicted, fundamentalism correlated positively with all discriminatory attitudes and with the general tendency but was negatively correlated with residual anti-black attitudes. Quest (especially with a revised scale) correlated negatively with all discriminatory attitudes, even with fundamentalism controlled, but predicted a general "Don't discriminate!" attitude rather than positive attitudes toward particular groups. Several sex differences emerged for extrinsic and intrinsic religion: Analyses with three extrinsic religion subscales found that social-extrinsic and personal-extrinsic religion predicted males' discrimination, while religious seriousness predicted females' discrimination. Also, intrinsic religion was positively related to discriminatory attitudes for females but not males, though these relationships vanished when fundamentalism was controlled.
The effects of size, shape, and surface composition on the diffusive behaviors of nanoparticles at/across water–oil interfaces via molecular dynamics simulations

We have employed molecular dynamics simulations to systematically investigate the effects of nanoparticles’ structural and chemical properties on their diffusive behaviors at/across the water–benzene interface. Four different nanoparticles were studied: modified hydrocarbon nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 1.2 nm (1.2HCPs), modified hydrocarbon nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 0.6 nm (0.6HCPs), single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), and buckyballs. We found that the diffusion coefficients of 0.6 and 1.2HCP were larger than the corresponding values predicted using the Stokes–Einstein (SE) equation and attributed this deviation to the small particle size and the anisotropy of the interface system. In addition, the observed directional diffusive behaviors for various particles were well-correlated with the derivative of the potential of mean force (PMF), which might indicate an effective driving force for the particles along the direction perpendicular to the interface. We also found that nanoparticles with isotropic shape and uniform surface, e.g., buckyballs, tend to have smaller diffusion coefficients than those of nanoparticles with comparable dimensions but anisotropic shapes and non-uniform surface composition, e.g., SWCNT and 0.6HCP. One possible hypothesis for this behavior is that the “perfect” isotropic shape and uniform surface of buckyballs result in a better-defined “solvation shell” (i.e., a shell of solution molecules), which leads to a larger “effective radius” of the particle, and thus, a reduced diffusion coefficient.
A Short History of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

A comprehensive account of the history of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a difficult endeavor, considering the long history of the entity and several misunderstandings that persist to this day. Our modern conceptualizations of the pathophysiology, epidemiology, and treatment have evolved, extending from its earliest description in literature from the nineteenth century with behavioral observation of abnormal breathing during sleep to scientific advances made over recent decades with recognition of different syndromes associated with abnormal breathing and sleep. There have been lessons on the nature of hypoventilation and sleepiness, the role of carbon dioxide retention and sleep fragmentation, increasingly sophisticated monitoring, nuanced redefinition of terms, debates on the underlying airway mechanics, new treatments, and recognition of the prevalence and long-term consequences. This knowledge serves as a cornerstone in the practice of sleep medicine, and a reflection on its history enhances the appreciation and understanding of the relationship between sleep and breathing.
Percutaneous Radiofrequency Sacral Rhizotomy in the Treatment of the Hyperreflexic Bladder

Percutaneous radiofrequency rhizotomy was performed on 7 patients with a hyperreflexic bladder to augment bladder capacity and to make intermittent clean catheterization more feasible or stop precipitous micturition. Urodynamic evaluations were done before and after rhizotomy. A successful result was achieved in 6 patients. Patient selection and methodology are discussed and some of the previously reported series of rhizotomies are compared to the present study.
Chapter 7 – How to Stay Current with JDBC

This chapter discusses JDBC 3.0, javax.sql Package, java.sql, Java Server Pages (JSPs), and security. JDBC 3.0 is to round out the API by filling in smaller areas of missing functionality. As such, it does not have a major impact on an introductory work; however, further work almost certainly requires JDBC 3.0. Basic JDBC functionality is not changed by the JDBC 3.0 API; however, certain desirable features are available. Further, the chapter discusses javax.sql, much of which is based on using general DataSource objects instead of just databases. In fact, a DataSource object is similar to the DriverManager class in the java.sql package. As SQL has continued to expand, one of the improvements is its ability to represent more complex data. Specifically, there is an SQL type called ARRAY. The ARRAY type allows arrays to be stored as elements in a row. Another expanded data type captured in java.sql is the character large object (CLOB) interface. CLOBs are useful for storing very large character constructs. Next, the chapter discusses JSPs that are designed for dynamically generated Web content. A single JSP file contains both Java and HTML. When the file is requested, the web server executes the Java and outputs the created HTML. Finally, the chapter discusses security that is one of the most crucial aspects of connecting a database to the Internet. Security applies both to information sent from the user to the database, and to the database itself.
Replacement of the Bryostatin A- and B-Pyran Rings With Phenyl Rings Leads to Loss of High Affinity Binding With PKC.

We describe a convergent synthesis of a bryostatin analogue in which the natural A- and B-ring pyrans have been replaced by phenyl rings. The new analogue exhibited PMA like behavior in cell assays, but failed to maintain high affinity binding for PKC, despite retaining an unaltered C-ring ‘binding domain’
Seizure prediction using long-term fragmented intracranial canine and human EEG recordings

This paper presents a novel patient-specific algorithm for prediction of seizures in epileptic patients. Spectral power features, including relative spectral powers and spectral power ratios, and cross correlation coefficients between all pairs of electrodes, are extracted as two independent feature sets. Both feature sets are selected independently in a patient-specific manner by classification and regression tree (CART). Selected features are further processed by a second-order Kalman filter and then input independently to three different classifiers which include AdaBoost, radial basis function kernel support vector machine (RBF-SVM) and artificial neural network (ANN). The algorithm is tested on the intra-cranial EEG (iEEG) from the recent American Epilepsy Society Seizure Prediction Challenge database. Intracranial EEG was recorded from five dogs and two patients. These datasets have varying numbers of electrodes and are sampled at different sampling frequencies. It is shown that the spectral feature set achieves a mean AUC of 0.7538, 0.7739, and 0.7948 for AdaBoost, SVM, and ANN, respectively. The correlation coefficients feature set achieves a mean AUC of 0.6640, 0.7403, and 0.7875 for AdaBoost, SVM, and ANN, respectively. The combined best results which use patient-specific feature sets achieve a mean AUC of 0.7603, 0.8472, and 0.8884 for AdaBoost, SVM, and ANN, respectively.
API Platform and Data Handler

This chapter starts with API Platform Architecture and then gets into data handler pattern for integration of RESTful APIs with actual data sources within enterprise to make it more meaningful to the consumers through APIs.
Geriatric Hip Fracture Care: Fixing a Fragmented System.

Context Fragmentation in geriatric hip fracture care is a growing concern because of the aging population. Patients with hip fractures at our institution historically were admitted to multiple different services and units, leading to unnecessary variation in inpatient care. Such inconsistency contributed to delays in surgery, discharge, and functional recovery; hospital-acquired complications; failure to adhere to best practices in osteoporosis management; and poor coordination with outpatient practitioners. Objective To describe a stepwise approach to systems redesign for this patient population. Design We designed and implemented a comprehensive geriatric hip fracture program for patients aged 65 years and older at our academic Medical Center in October 2014. Key interventions included admission of all ward-status patients to the Orthopedics Service with hospitalist comanagement; geographic placement on the Orthopedics Unit; and standardized, evidence-based electronic order sets bundling geriatric best practices and a streamlined workflow for discharge planning. Main outcome measures Hospital length of stay. Results We identified 271 admissions among 267 patients between January 1, 2012, and March 31, 2016; of those, 154 were before and 117 were after program implementation. Mean hospital length of stay significantly improved from 6.4 to 5.5 days (p = 0.004). The 30-day all-cause readmission rate and discharge disposition remained stable. The percentage of patients receiving osteoporosis evaluation and treatment increased significantly. The rate of completed 30-day outpatient follow-up also improved. Conclusion Our comprehensive geriatric hip fracture program achieved and sustained gains in the quality and efficiency of care by improving fragmentation in the health care system.
Saliva and the Salivary Glands in the Elderly

Salivary secretory dysfunction and/or salivary gland pathology are conditions that can be found in all segments of the population. The aged are uniquely susceptible to some of these entities which may reflect manifestations of local, systemic or even imagined disorders. Many other salivary gland disease processes, both local and systemic, do not particularly seek out the elderly nor do they discriminate against them. In this chapter, attention will be focused on the great variety of disorders that concern the older patients who present for diagnosis and treatment in the Salivary Gland Center (SGC) of Columbia University College of Dental Medicine. Clinical, pathophysiologic and therapeutic considerations will be highlighted. Saliva is produced by three major paired salivary glands: the parotid, submandibular and sublingual glands. Small contributions are made by hundreds of accessory glands scattered throughout the oral cavity. These glands with their secretions are critical in maintaining both oral and systemic health. Saliva accomplishes this assignment by carrying out numerous functions. A prime function of saliva is to buffer endogenous and exogenous acids and thus inhibit dental demineralization. A significant complementary function, remineralization, is facilitated by the availability of salivary calcium and phosphate ions. Antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activities of saliva are mediated through salivary IgA, lactoferrin, lysozyme, peroxidase systems and histatins (Vissink, Spijkervet, & van nieuw Amerongen, 1996). Saliva also aids in mastication by softening foods while its role in lubrication is instrumental in the swallowing process. One simple measure of salivary hypofunction is observing the capacity of the patient to moisten and swallow a dry cracker. Futhermore, mucosal lubrication by saliva is important for a patient using a removable dental prosthesis. Saliva’s lubricating presence also acts to prevent glossodynia. Food digestion begins in the oral cavity with the ability of salivary amylase to metabolize carbohydrates. Taste is expedited because saliva dissolves the chemical tastants within food and delivers these to taste
Using Photo-Elicitation to Break the Silence

Inspired by my former students, who are now adults, I began researching the perspectives of individuals with intellectual disability on their quality of life. Even though communication for some individuals with disability can be difficult, my use of photo elicitation helped participants take abstract concepts and make them concrete, resulting in a multitude of stories, details of events, personal emotions and ideas from each, individual participant. These stories and details allowed me to share their story, a story that has been tucked away, hidden from society. This chapter explores the use of photo-elicitation with adults with Intellectual Disability (ID). Using Bronfenbrenner’s ecology theory (2006), I sought to discover how adults with ID perceive their Quality of Life (QoL). Stories and detailed information were elicited from the participants’ photos which resulted in observations, interviews, and additional photos, purposed for further elicitation, taken by the researcher. From these stories, I developed case studies that provide insight to the thoughts and perceptions of adults with intellectual disability on their quality of life, a story that has been historically undocumented.
Diagnosing sea ice from the north american multi model ensemble and implications on mid-latitude winter climate

Arctic sea ice plays an important role in the climate system, moderating the exchange of energy and moisture between the ocean and the atmosphere. An emerging area of research investigates how changes, particularly declines, in sea ice extent (SIE) impact climate in regions local to and remote from the Arctic. Therefore, both observations and model estimates of sea ice become important. This study investigates the skill of sea ice predictions from models participating in the North American Multi-Model Ensemble (NMME) project. Three of the models in this project provide sea-ice predictions. The ensemble average of these models is used to determine seasonal climate impacts on surface air temperature (SAT) and sea level pressure (SLP) in remote regions such as the mid-latitudes. It is found that declines in fall SIE are associated with cold temperatures in the mid-latitudes and pressure patterns across the Arctic and mid-latitudes similar to the negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation (AO). These findings are consistent with other studies that have investigated the relationship between declines in SIE and mid-latitude weather and climate. In an attempt to include additional NMME models for sea-ice predictions, a proxy for SIE is used to estimate ice extent in the remaining models, using sea surface temperature (SST). It is found that SST is a reasonable proxy for SIE estimation when compared to model SIE forecasts and observations. The proxy sea-ice estimates also show similar relationships to mid-latitude temperature and pressure as the actual sea-ice predictions.
Virtual Site OPLS Force Field for Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids

Molecular simulations of ionic liquids can provide deeper insight into the relationship between intermolecular interactions and macroscopic measurements for the solvents. However, many existing force fields have multiple shortcomings, including poor solvent dynamics, the underestimation of hydrogen-bonding strength, and errors in solvent interactions/organization. A new force field, called optimized potentials for liquid simulation-ionic-liquid virtual site (OPLS-VSIL), has been developed for imidazolium-based ionic liquids featuring a novel topology incorporating a virtual site bisecting the nitrogen atoms that offloads negative charge to inside the plane of the ring. Guided by free energy of hydration calculations, an empirically derived set of partial charges and nonbonded Lennard-Jones terms for both 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium and 11 different anions provided accurate bulk-phase ionic-liquid properties and produced radial distribution functions nearly indistinguishable from ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. For example, overall mean absolute errors (MAEs) of 3.1-3.4% were computed for the density, heat of vaporization, and viscosity of approximately 20 different ion pair combinations. Additional physical properties, such as, self-diffusion coefficients, heat capacity, and surface tension also gave significant MAE improvements using OPLS-VSIL compared to the existing fixed-charge ionic-liquid force fields. Local interactions, including cation-anion hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking between the imidazolium rings, were also accurately reproduced.
A Downward Spiral? Childhood Suspension and the Path to Juvenile Arrest:

There is growing concern that suspensions trigger a ‘‘downward spiral,’’ redirecting children’s trajectories away from school success and toward police contact. The current study tests this possibi...
The Applications of Monoclonal Antibodies in Neuro-Oncology

Central nervous system (CNS) malignancies represent one ofthe most devastating forms of cancer. Malignant gliomas, the most commonly occurring primary tumor of the CNS, have a particularly bleak prognosis despite surgery and combined radiation and chemotherapy (1, 2). Immunological approaches to diagnosis and treatment have seemed attractive, but in the past have been frustrated by technological limitations (3, 4). Monoclonal antibody methodology offers major advantages over conventional methods of antiserum production: a practically unlimited source of homogeneous, highly specific reagent which may be prepared using impure or complex antigens. This has led to a new age in neuroimmunology and neuro-oncology, with the potential for better understanding of the basic cell biology of CNS neoplasia, and for improvement in diagnosis, imaging, and therapy.
Topographic Analysis of the Choriocapillaris in Intermediate Age-related Macular Degeneration

Purpose To quantitate regional differences in the choriocapillaris (CC) of patients with intermediate age-related macular degeneration (iAMD), using swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) imaging. Design Cross-sectional study. Methods Subjects were imaged with the SS-OCTA system (PLEX Elite 9000, Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc, Dublin, California, USA). The CC en face images were first compensated for the signal attenuation caused by drusen by using the structural information from the same slab. Subsequently, for each eye, 2 compensated CC en face images generated from 2 different OCTA volume scan sets were registered and averaged. The averaged CC images were then exported to ImageJ and binarized for subsequent quantitative analysis. In addition to the analysis of the whole averaged CC en face image in iAMD eyes, quantitative analysis was also performed in 3 different regions: (1) drusen region, (2) 150-μm-wide ring around the drusen border, and (3) drusen-free region. Results Thirty eyes (30 patients) with iAMD and 30 healthy eyes from 30 controls were enrolled. Compared with controls, iAMD eyes displayed a lower number of signal voids (median and interquartile range [IQR]: 2561 and 2343-2746 vs 2734 and 2558-2834; P = .013), a greater signal void average size (median, IQR: 581.9 μm2, 466.1-726.9 μm2 vs 503.8 μm2, 429.1-576.8 μm2; P = .027), and a greater total signal void area (median, IQR: 26.0%, 22.1%-29.6% vs 23.8%, 21.2%-26.4%; P = .038). In multiple regression analysis, the presence of iAMD was not significantly associated with any of the CC variables. By contrast, the drusen region area was significantly associated with CC alterations. In the evaluation of the iAMD group, both the area underneath drusen and the 150-μm-wide ring region around drusen were characterized by an increased total signal void area (P = .005 and P = .045, respectively) vs the drusen-free region. Conclusions Intermediate AMD eyes demonstrated increased CC flow impairment, which co-localizes to the area of CC beneath and immediately surrounding drusen.
Openness to firearm storage safety as a suicide prevention tool among those exposed to suicide: The role of perceived closeness to the suicide decedent.

Abstract Background Exposure to suicide and closeness to a suicide decedent may be relevant to means safety, especially in firearm owners. This study examines how such factors are associated with firearm owners’ current firearm storage methods and openness to changing storage methods. Method 300 firearm owners completed a survey on Amazon's Mechanical Turk program; 176 participants reported being exposed to suicide. Perceived closeness was rated as Not at all close, Close, or Extremely Close. Results Those exposed to suicide were more open to secure storage and temporarily storing the firearm with a trusted individual to prevent someone else's suicide. Those close to the suicide decedent were more likely to use secure storage practices, more open to using secure storage methods to prevent their own and someone else's suicide, and had a higher degree of storage methods in place compared to those not close to the decedent. Limitations The sample may not be representative of all American firearm owners exposed to suicide. Conclusions Being close to a suicide decedent may influence firearm owners’ current storage practices and openness to changing storage methods. Such individuals may better relate to the suicide decedent and realize the significance of using secure storage methods to prevent suicide.
Particle Acceleration in Interacting Magnetic Flux Ropes

Magnetic flux ropes (or magnetic islands) are ubiquitous space plasma structures. Recent observations suggest that they are often associated with the acceleration of charged particles, but detailed acceleration mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we present PIC simulations studying particle acceleration due to magnetic flux ropes. We consider a simple 2D configuration of two-magnetic-island coalescence. Some electrons and protons are found to be accelerated to more than 10 times their initial kinetic energies at the end of the simulation. We use a particle tracing technique on the high-energy particles to clarify the associated acceleration mechanisms. We find that reconnection electric field and Fermi-type acceleration due to magnetic island contraction can explain the particle energy gain, which is consistent with previous simulation studies. Our results also suggest that electrons are more responsive to the island contraction mechanism compared to ions. An effective island contraction rate is derived from the simulation data. Finally we briefly discuss a statistical description of particle acceleration associated with interacting magnetic flux ropes, and how it can be connected to simulations.
It Is About Trust: Trust in Sources of Tobacco Health Information, Perceptions of Harm, and Use of E-Cigarettes.

Introduction Recent research has highlighted disparities in people who perceive as trustworthy sources of e-cigarette health information. Research has yet to examine if trusting a particular source of information is associated with use of e-cigarettes or perceptions of e-cigarette harm. We use a nationally representative survey of American adults to address these gaps in knowledge. Methods This study used data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (N = 3738). Logistic regression models were used to calculate odds of ever using e-cigarettes and perceived health harm of e-cigarettes. Trust in seven different sources of e-cigarette health information served as the independent variables. Models accounted for confounders. Results Trusting religious organizations "a lot" as sources of e-cigarette health information was associated with lower odds of ever using e-cigarettes and with lower odds of perceiving e-cigarettes as less harmful than conventional cigarettes. Trusting e-cigarette companies "a lot" as sources of e-cigarette health information was associated with lower odds of viewing e-cigarettes as harmful to health. Conclusion Trusting health information about e-cigarettes from sources in the medical or public health field was not associated with lower use of e-cigarettes or viewing e-cigarettes as more harmful. Trusting health information from e-cigarette companies yielded perceptions of e-cigarette harm that are consistent with messaging provided by these companies. Implications As use of e-cigarettes continues to climb, leveraging different modes of health communication will be critical to both discourage e-cigarette use among never-smokers and, potentially, to encourage use of e-cigarettes as an option to achieve smoking cessation or reduce the harm of tobacco products. Our findings suggest that religious organizations may be helpful in communicating anti-e-cigarette messages.
Single subunit degradation of WIZ, a lenalidomide- and pomalidomide dependent substrate of E3 ubiquitin ligase CRL4CRBN

Abstract Immunomodulators (IMiDs) are an effective class of drugs used to treat blood cancers. IMiDs are believed to work by recruiting protein targets containing a β-hairpin motif for ubiquitination by E3 ubiquitin ligase complexes composed of cereblon (CRBN), Cullin-4a (CUL4a), DNA Damage Binding protein-1 (DDB1), and Ring Box-1 (RBX1). The ubiquitinated protein is subsequently degraded by the proteasome. By characterizing the repertoire of proteins that show an increased physical association with CRBN after IMiD treatment, we identified a novel IMiD substrate, Widely Interspaced Zinc Finger Motifs (WIZ). WIZ contains a C2H2 zinc finger domain, like several other substrates that were previously characterized. We demonstrate that IMiDs stabilize physical association of WIZ with CRBN, deplete WIZ steady state protein levels in a way that is dependent on E3 ligase activity, and enhance the rate of its degradation. Notably, proteins that assemble with WIZ are co-recruited to CRBN by IMiDs but are not degraded, illustrating the potential of targeted protein degradation to eliminate individual subunits of a protein complex. These findings suggest that systematic characterization of the full repertoire of proteins that are targeted for degradation by IMiD compounds will be required to better understand their biological effects. Synopsis Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs) can be used to precisely target a subunit of a transcriptional complex for degradation in subpopulations of cells.
Delivering Performance Feedback to Teachers Using Technology-Based Observation and Coaching Tools

Effective professional development (PD) for teachers should be directly and intricately linked to their teaching practice. One way to link PD to practice is for administrators or coaches to provide...
Evaluation and selection of creative ideas in organizations

Creativity scholars suggest that innovation involves idea generation, idea evaluation and selection, and finally, idea implementation. Yet, until recently, creativity research has mostly focused on...
Bridging American and comparative research on political parties

We need a better bridge between the comparative study of political parties and the study of parties in the United States.The articles in this issue of JEPOP represent an attempt to build such a bri...
Syringomyelia in children with closed spinal dysraphism: long-term outcomes after surgical intervention

Objective The nature of the relationship between spinal cord syrinx and tethered cord is not well known. It is unclear if surgical cord untethering results in resolution or improvement of an associated syrinx. The objective of this study was to report the response of spinal cord syrinx to surgical cord untethering. Methods The authors retrospectively reviewed all patients with a syrinx and tethered cord who presented to a single institution over an 11-year interval. Patients with open neural tube defects were excluded. Thirty-one patients were identified, 25 of whom had both clinical and imaging follow-up after surgery. Patients were grouped according to etiology of the tethered cord. Clinical outcomes and syrinx characteristics were recorded. Results Of the 25 patients with tethered cord, 68% (n = 17) were male. The average age at presentation was 2.5 years (0-10.1 years) and age at surgery was 3.7 years (range 1 day to 17 years). Etiologies of tethered cord were lipomyelomeningocele (n = 8), thickened/fatty filum (n = 7), intradural lipoma (n = 5), myelocystocele (n = 2), meningocele (n = 2), and diastematomyelia (n = 1). Twenty-three of the patients underwent primary untethering, whereas 2 patients had received untethering previously at another institution. The average syrinx length and width prior to surgery were 4.81 vertebral levels (SD 4.35) and 5.19 mm (SD 2.55 mm), respectively. Conus level ranged from L1 to S3. Patients were followed for an average of 8.4 years (1.35-15.85 years). Overall there was no significant change in syrinx length or width postoperatively; the average syrinx length increased by 0.86 vertebral levels (SD 4.36) and width decreased by 0.72 mm (SD 2.94 mm). Seven of 25 patients had improvement in at least one presenting symptom, including scoliosis, weakness, bowel/bladder dysfunction, and pain. Eight patients had stable presenting symptoms. Six patients were asymptomatic and 5 patients had new or worsening symptoms, which included scoliosis, pain, or sensory changes. Conclusions Although some syrinxes improved after surgery for tethered cord, radiological improvement was not consistent and did not appear to be associated with change in clinical symptoms. The decision to surgically untether a cord should be focused on the clinical symptoms and not the presence of a syrinx alone. Further studies are needed to confirm this finding.
Negative correlation learning in the extreme learning machine framework

Extreme learning machine (ELM) has shown to be a suitable algorithm for classification problems. Several ensemble meta-algorithms have been developed in order to generalize the results of ELM models. Ensemble approaches introduced in the ELM literature mainly come from boosting and bagging frameworks. The generalization of these methods relies on data sampling procedures, under the assumption that training data are heterogeneously enough to set up diverse base learners. The proposed ELM ensemble model overcomes this strong assumption by using the negative correlation learning (NCL) framework. An alternative diversity metric based on the orthogonality of the outputs is proposed. The error function formulation allows us to develop an analytical solution to the parameters of the ELM base learners, which significantly reduce the computational burden of the standard NCL ensemble method. The proposed ensemble method has been validated by an experimental study with a variety of benchmark datasets, comparing it with the existing ensemble methods in ELM. Finally, the proposed method statistically outperforms the comparison ensemble methods in accuracy, also reporting a competitive computational burden (specially if compared to the baseline NCL-inspired method).
Thick Free-Standing Metallic Inverse Opals Enabled by New Insights into the Fracture of Drying Particle Films.

Metallic inverse opals are porous materials with enhanced mechanical, chemical, thermal, and photonic properties used to improve the performance of many technologies, such as battery electrodes, ph...
Rethinking the magnetic properties of lepidocrocite: A density functional theory and cluster expansion study

The iron oxy-hydroxide lepidocrocite ( γ-FeOOH) is an abundant mineral critical to a number of chemical and technological applications. Of particular interest are the ground state and finite temperature magnetic order and the subsequent impact this has upon crystal properties. The magnetic properties investigated in this work are governed primarily through superexchange interactions and have been calculated using density functional theory and cluster expansion methods. Quantification of these exchange terms has facilitated the determination of the ground state magneto-crystalline structure and subsequent calculation of its lattice constants, elastic moduli, cohesive enthalpy, and electronic density of states. Based upon the morphology and coupling constants, the Heisenberg quasi-1D spin 1/2 AFM chain model is justified. The resulting magnetic heat capacity vs temperature has been studied and the Neel temperature is obtained and in good agreement with experimental values. This resolves a long-standing discrepancy between the experimentally measured behavior and what might be expected from this class of mineral.
Attention Induced Trading and Returns: Evidence from Robinhood Users

We study the influence of financial innovation by fintech brokerages on individual investors’ trading and stock prices. Using data from Robinhood, we find that Robinhood investors engage in more attention-induced trading than other retail investors. For example, Robinhood outages disproportionately reduce trading in high-attention stocks. While this evidence is consistent with Robinhood attracting relatively inexperienced investors, we show that it can also be partially driven by the app’s unique features. Consistent with models of attention-induced trading, intense buying by Robinhood users forecast negative returns. Average 20-day abnormal returns are -4.7% for the top stocks purchased each day.
COVID-19 Severity Is Tripled in the Diabetes Community: A Prospective Analysis of the Pandemic's Impact in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE To quantify and contextualize the risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)–related hospitalization and illness severity in type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We conducted a prospective cohort study to identify case subjects with COVID-19 across a regional health care network of 137 service locations. Using an electronic health record query, chart review, and patient contact, we identified clinical factors influencing illness severity. RESULTS We identified COVID-19 in 6,138, 40, and 273 patients without diabetes and with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, respectively. Compared with not having diabetes, people with type 1 diabetes had adjusted odds ratios of 3.90 (95% CI 1.75–8.69) for hospitalization and 3.35 (95% CI 1.53–7.33) for greater illness severity, which was similar to risk in type 2 diabetes. Among patients with type 1 diabetes, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), hypertension, race, recent diabetic ketoacidosis, health insurance status, and less diabetes technology use were significantly associated with illness severity. CONCLUSIONS Diabetes status, both type 1 and type 2, independently increases the adverse impacts of COVID-19. Potentially modifiable factors (e.g., HbA1c) had significant but modest impact compared with comparatively static factors (e.g., race and insurance) in type 1 diabetes, indicating an urgent and continued need to mitigate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection risk in this community.
Productivity Growth and Convergence in Agriculture versus Manufacturing

PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH AND CONVERGENCE IN AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURING Will Martin and Devashish Mitra We examine the growth and convergence of total factor productivity in agriculture and manufacturing in a large sample of countries spanning a wide range of levels of development. In contrast with the widely held but rarely tested view that the rate of agricultural productivity growth is low, we find the rate of productivity growth in agriculture to be higher than in manufacturing both on average and for groups of countries at different stages of development. Further, there appears to be a stronger tendency for agricultural productivity levels to converge than is evident in manufacturing. It seems likely that these results reflect the important investments in agricultural research and development in recent decades.
Removing Race from eGFR calculations: Implications for Urologic Care.

Abstract Equations estimating the glomerular filtration rate are important clinical tools in detecting and managing kidney disease. Urologists extensively use these equations in clinical decision making. For example, the estimated glomerular function rate is used when considering the type of urinary diversion following cystectomy, selecting systemic chemotherapy in managing urologic cancers, and deciding the type of cross-sectional imaging in diagnosing or staging urologic conditions. However, these equations, while widely accepted, are imprecise and adjust for race which is a social, not a biologic construct. The recent killings of unarmed Black Americans in the US have amplified the discussion of racism in healthcare and has prompted institutions to reconsider the role of race in estimation of glomerular filtration rate equations and raced-based medicine. Urologist should be aware of the consequences of removing race from these equations, potential alternatives, and how these changes may affect Black patients receiving urologic care.
Timing characterization of fast hCMOS sensors

We describe a method of analyzing gate profile data for ultrafast x-ray imagers that allows pixel-by-pixel determination of temporal sensitivity in the presence of substantial background oscillations. With this method, systematic timing errors in gate width and gate arrival time of up to 1 ns (in a 2 ns wide gate) can be removed. In-sensor variations in gate arrival and gate width are observed, with variations in each up to 0.5 ns. This method can be used to estimate the coarse timing of the sensor, even if errors up to several ns are present.
Radium-223 Treated Primary Patient Bone Biopsy Analysis: Macro to Microscale Analyses and Dosimetry

531 Objectives: In nuclear medicine and radiation oncology, dosimetry has an important role in guiding clinical trial design in order to maximize the likelihood of a successful, minimally toxic intervention. For alpha particle-emitting radiopharmaceuticals, personalized dosimetry is challenging because of local activity distribution heterogeneity, the short range of alpha particles and challenges in noninvasive imaging. Existing small-scale dosimetry methods predominately rely on standardized anatomical models of healthy tissues. Moreover, the fundamental assumption in their approach is of a uniform distribution of emitters in the source volume and a calculation that gives the average absorbed dose to the target volume. To overcome these problems, we investigated the microscopic distribution of 223Ra in bone biopsies from patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Materials & Methods: Bone biopsies were obtained from four mCRPC patients under fluoroscopic guidance following a bone scan, 24h after injection of 223Ra. Blood samples were also collected at the same time. The 223Ra activity in each biopsy and blood sample was measured with a gamma-counter and evaluated with a high purity Germanium detector (Figure, a and c). Microsctructure images of the tissue was performed for each biopsy by µCT (20 µm resolution) (Figure, b). The samples were then cryosectioned and autoradiography was performed on the sections using a Cyclone PhosphorImager. The same sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE with other investigational alpha particle emitting therapies; to guide clinical application with adapted dosing; and ultimately for more effective application.
Populisme de gauche et conscience noire : race, histoire et pluralisme après Laclau et Mouffe

Dans la continuite de leurs travaux communs des annees 1980, Ernesto Laclau et Chantal Mouffe ont developpe parallelement une nouvelle theorie du populisme. Cet article la definit comme une double ontologie du politique, qui fait droit a la fois a l’inimitie, ou dimension dissociative, et a la deliberation, ou dimension associative du politique. Pour distinguer leur approche des populismes de droite, Laclau et Mouffe recourent a un anti-essentialisme intransigeant qui ecarte l’histoire des elements decisifs pour la construction d’un sujet politique. Ce faisant, ils assimilent les mouvements anticoloniaux et antiracistes consequents au conservatisme ou a la reaction. Une insuffisante problematisation de la question raciale et du militantisme antiraciste, souvent invoque mais jamais analyse par les auteurs, sont a la source de ces confusions. Cela exige une reformulation du populisme de gauche dont la question du pluralisme pourrait fournir le point de depart.