cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An overview of the Gamma Database Machine

Gamma is a relational database machine that utilizes dataflow query processing techniques. Selection query results are presented which show that response time increases in a linear fashion as the size of the input relations increase and that speedup is linear as processors are added. The authors present results from a performance analysis of join queries. Speedups very close to linear are attained as processors are added. >
Design a Biologically Inspired Nanostructured Coating for Better Osseointegration

To date, there are a strikingly growing number of patients who need various orthopedic implants. However, traditional orthopedic implants face many complications such as infection and implant loosening which may lead to implant failures. Conventional metal implants such as titanium were chosen for orthopedic applications mainly based on their excellent mechanical properties and biological inertness. Since natural bone matrix is nanometer in dimension, it is desirable to design a biologically inspired nanostructured coating that can turn conventional inert titanium surfaces into biomimetic active interfaces, thus enhance bone cell adhesion and osseointegration. For this purpose, we designed a biomimetic nanostructured coating based on nanocrystalline hydroxyapatites (nHA) and single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Specifically, nHA with good crystallinity and biomimetic dimensions were prepared via a wet chemistry method and hydrothermal treatment; and the SWCNTs were synthesized via an arc plasma method with or without magnetic fields. TEM images showed that the hydrothermally treated nHA possessed regular rod-like nanocrystals and biomimetic nanostructure. In addition, the length of SWCNTs can be significantly increased under external magnetic fields when compared to nanotubes produced without magnetic fields. More importantly, our results showed that the above nHA and SWCNTs nanomaterials can greatly promote osteoblast (bone-forming cell) adhesion on titanium in vitro, thus holding great promise to improve osseointegration and lengthen the lifetime of current orthopedic implants.
Calcium Reduces the Increased Fecal 1,2-sn-Diacylglycerol Content in Intestinal Bypass Patients: A Possible Mechanism for Altering Colonic Hyperproliferation

Abstract Diacylglycerol (DAG) is a second messenger for protein kinase C, an enzyme with a key role in cellular signal transduction and growth control. In previous studies, it was demonstrated that DAG is produced by intestinal microflora. Bacterial DAG production is increased by bile acids and phospholipids, both of which may be precipitated by calcium. We have demonstrated that fecal total lipids, bile acids, and rectal epithelial proliferation are increased in intestinal bypass (IB) patients. Calcium was shown to alter fecal lipid composition and to reduce cell proliferation. In the present study, fecal DAG content and 14 C-labeled DAG, 14 C-phosphatidylcholine, and 14 C-phosphatidylinositol metabolism were measured in 24-h stool collections in 15 stable IB patients before and after 3-month therapy with oral elemental calcium, 2.4 or 3.6 g/day. Fecal DAG concentration and output in IB patients were >25- and >200-fold greater than in normal controls. Oral calcium markedly reduced fecal DAG concentration and output and increased DAG, phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidylinositol metabolism without enhancing DAG production. We conclude that fecal DAG content is markedly elevated post-IB and that calcium supplementation in these patients reduces fecal DAG and accelerates bacterial metabolism of DAG and its precursors. In separate studies, we have found that calcium supplementation also decreases rectal hyperproliferation in IB patients. Taken together, these findings suggest that a high luminal level of DAG enhances colonic cell proliferation and that calcium reduces cell proliferation in part by decreasing the level of DAG.
Calculation of timing and amplitude jitter in dispersion-managed optical fiber communications using linearization

An approach based on linearization that allows us to calculate the timing and amplitude jitter for arbitrary pulse shapes in dispersion-managed fibers is developed. We apply this approach to calculate the jitter for dispersion-managed soliton, return-to-zero (RZ), and nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) transmission formats. We then estimate the bit error rates. The approach described here yields more precise results than Monte Carlo simulations at a fraction of the computational cost.
A Fast 1-D Serial-Parallel Systolic Multiplier

Based on the modified Booth's algorithm, a fast 1-D serial- parallel systolic multiplier is designed for multiplying two's complement numbers. The circuit with countercurrent data flow pattern accepts the multiplicand serially, the multiplier in parallel, and outputs the product serially. It requires a complementer and N/2 cells, each of which contains a ripple-carry adder and some gates, where N is restricted to even. The number of clocks required to multiply an n-bit (n ≤ N) multiplier and an m-bit multiplicand is equal to n + m − 1, and independent of the circuit size N.
Non-breaking and breaking solitary wave run-up

The run-up of non-breaking and breaking solitary waves on a uniform plane beach connected to a constant-depth wave tank was investigated experimentally and numerically. If only the general characteristics of the run-up process and the maximum run-up are of interest, for the case of a breaking wave the post-breaking condition can be simplified and represented as a propagating bore. A numerical model using this bore structure to treat the process of wave breaking and subsequent shoreward propagation was developed. The nonlinear shallow water equations (NLSW) were solved using the weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) shock capturing scheme employed in gas dynamics. Wave breaking and post-breaking propagation are handled automatically by this scheme and ad hoc terms are not required. A computational domain mapping technique was used to model the shoreline movement. This numerical scheme was found to provide a relatively simple and reasonably good prediction of various aspects of the run-up process. The energy dissipation associated with wave breaking of solitary wave run-up (excluding the effects of bottom friction) was also estimated using the results from the numerical model.
Sex-Specific Associations of Gestational Glucose Tolerance With Childhood Body Composition

OBJECTIVE To examine the associations of maternal gestational glucose tolerance with offspring body composition in late childhood. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Among 958 women in the prebirth cohort Project Viva, glucose tolerance was assessed in the 2nd trimester by nonfasting 50-g 1-h glucose challenge test (GCT), followed if abnormal by fasting 100-g 3-h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). We categorized women as normoglycemic (83.3%) if GCT was ≤140 mg/dL, isolated hyperglycemia (9.1%) if GCT was abnormal but OGTT normal, intermediate glucose intolerance (IGI) (3.3%) if there was one abnormal value on OGTT, or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) (4.5%) if there were two or more abnormal OGTT values. Using multivariable linear regression, we examined adjusted associations of glucose tolerance with offspring overall ( N = 958) and central ( N = 760) adiposity and body composition using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measured at the school-age visit (95 ± 10 months). RESULTS Compared with that in the male offspring of normoglycemic mothers, DXA fat mass was higher in male offspring of GDM mothers (1.89 kg [95% CI 0.33–3.45]) but not in male offspring of mothers with IGI (0.06 kg [−1.45 to 1.57]). DXA trunk-to-peripheral fat mass, a measure of central adiposity, was also somewhat higher in male offspring of GDM mothers (0.04 [−0.01 to 0.09]). In girls, DXA fat mass was higher in offspring of mothers with IGI (2.23 kg [0.12–4.34]) but not GDM (−1.25 kg [−3.13 to 0.63]). We showed no association of gestational glucose tolerance with DXA lean mass. CONCLUSIONS In this study, only male offspring of GDM mothers manifested increased adiposity, whereas only female offspring of mothers with IGI did so. Sex differences in glycemic sensitivity may explain these findings.
Guillain-Barré Syndrome, Influenza, and Influenza Vaccination: The Epidemiologic Evidence

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is the most common cause of acute flaccid paralysis worldwide, and is thought to be immune-mediated. It is preceded by upper respiratory or gastrointestinal infection in about two-thirds of cases and is associated with some viral infections, including influenza. GBS has also been associated with the 1976 swine-influenza vaccine. Thereafter, some studies have shown a small increased risk of GBS following receipt of seasonal and 2009 H1N1 monovalent influenza vaccines. Studies over the years have also shown an increased risk of GBS following influenza infection, and the magnitude of risk is several times greater than that following influenza vaccination. Because GBS is rare, and even rarer following vaccination, it is difficult to estimate precise risk. We try to shed light on the complex relationship of GBS and its association with influenza and influenza vaccines over the past 35 years.
BGP convergence delay after multiple simultaneous router failures: Characterization and solutions

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the default routing protocol between various autonomous systems (AS) in the Internet. In the event of a failure, BGP may repeatedly withdraw routes to some destinations and advertise new ones until a stable state is reached. It has been found that the corresponding convergence delay could stretch into hundreds of seconds or more for isolated outages and can lead to high packet drop rates. Previous studies on BGP failures have looked at isolated failures scenarios. In this paper we characterize BGP convergence delay for multiple failure scenarios. We show that the convergence delay depends on a variety of topological and BGP parameters, and can be substantial for large failures. We also observe that the Minimum Route Advertisement Interval (MRAI) and the processing overhead at the routers during the re-convergence have a significant effect on the BGP convergence delay. We propose two new schemes to bring down the processing overload at BGP routers, resulting in reduced convergence delays. We show that these schemes, combined with the tuning of the MRAI value, accelerate the BGP convergence process significantly, and can thus limit the impact of multiple simultaneous failures.
Likelihood Ratio Tests Under Local and Fixed Alternatives in Monotone Function Problems

We focus on a class of non-standard problems involving non-parametric estimation of a monotone function that is characterized by n 1/3 rate of convergence of the maximum likelihood estimator, non-Gaussian limit distributions and the non-existence of ffiffiffi p -regular estimators. We have shown elsewhere that under a null hypothesis of the type w(z0) ¼ h0 (w being the monotone function of interest) in non-standard problems of the above kind, the likelihood ratio statistic has a � universallimit distribution that is free of the underlying parameters in the model. In this paper, we illustrate its limiting behaviour under local alternatives of the form wn(z), where wn(AE) and w(AE) vary in O(n � 1/3 ) neighbourhoods around z0 and wn converges to w at rate n 1/3 in an appropriate metric. Apart from local alternatives, we also consider the behaviour of the likelihood ratio statistic under fixed alternatives and establish the convergence in probability of an appropriately scaled version of the same to a constant involving a Kullback-Leibler distance.
Phase relations of Fe-Si alloy in Earth's core

Phase relations of an Fe0.85Si0.15 alloy were investigated up to 240 GPa and 3000 K using in situ X-ray diffraction in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell. An alloy of this composition as starting material is found to result in a stabilized mixture of Si-rich bcc and Si-poor hcp Fe-Si phases up to at least 150 GPa and 3000 K, whereas only hcp-Fe0.85Si0.15 is found to be stable between approximately 170 GPa and 240 GPa at high temperatures. Our extended results indicate that Fe0.85Si0.15 alloy is likely to have the hcp structure in the inner core, instead of the previously proposed mixture of hcp and bcc phases. Due to the volumetric dominance of the hcp phase in the hcp + bcc coexistence region close to the outer-core conditions, the dense closest-packed Fe-Si liquid is more relevant to understanding the properties of the outer core.
Baseline silent cerebral infarction in the Asymptomatic Carotid Atherosclerosis Study.

In a group of patients with high-grade asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis, we prospectively determined the prevalence and radiological characteristics of clinically asymptomatic brain infarction evident on computed tomography. Risk factors and extent of carotid disease were also determined.Patients randomized into the Asymptomatic Carotid Atherosclerosis Study (ACAS) underwent a neurological history, a detailed stroke/transient ischemic attack questionnaire, and a detailed neurological examination. Computed tomography scans were examined by standardized criteria developed as part of a quality-control program supervised by a neuroradiologist. The presence, location, and size of all cerebral infarctions evident by computed tomography were determined.Among 1132 patients, 848 had no history of stroke or transient ischemic attack. One hundred twenty-six patients (15%) had a silent infarct; 95 (11%) had one, 24 (3%) had two, and 7 (1%) had three or more infarcts. The infarct size was small and deep for 117 pa...
Terrestrial Applications of Remote Sensing

Each day, millions of individual images and observations collect an enormous variety of information about the Earth’s surface and subsurface. This routine surveillance enables the monitoring and modeling of ecosystem health, detecting seismic activity, identifying surface vegetation, promoting sustainable agriculture, and characterizing the physical and social vulnerability of human settlements.
Abstract TMP44: Incidence and Case Fatality at the County Level as Contributors to Geographic Disparities in Stroke Mortality: The REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study

Introduction: The CDC provides smoothed county-level estimates of stroke mortality, with higher mortality in the Southeastern Stroke Belt, but showing substantial heterogeneity of both within and outside the Stroke Belt. It is unknown if geographic variations in stroke mortality are attributable to geographic variations in incidence of stroke or case fatality from stroke. Methods: The CDC county-level estimated stroke mortality was the primary predictor variable. After adjustment for demographics, the hazard ratio (HR) of death from stroke in REGARDS (having an adjudicated stroke and dying within 90-days) was estimated for 1/1,000 difference in CDC county-level stroke mortality. The risk of incident stroke was similarly characterized by the HR for any adjudicated stroke (fatal or non-fatal), and case fatality estimated by the odds ratio for death within 90-days of an adjudicated stroke. Results: CDC-reported county-level stroke mortality (per 1,000/yr) averaged 0.91 (range 0.26 - 2.52) for whites and 1.37...
Entrepreneurship and Institutions: The Missing Factors in Explaining the Competitiveness of the EU Regions?

This paper uses panel data regression analysis to investigate the impact of entrepreneurship and institutions on the competitiveness of the European Union (EU) regions. It also employs data envelopment analysis to assess the efficiency of each EU region in converting each factor of competitiveness into competitive performance. The results clearly establish entrepreneurship and the national-level institutional environment as key drivers of EU regional competitiveness. This paper also finds that in boosting their competitive performance, lagging EU regions should target both increasing the availability and enhancing the efficiency with which they use the levels available of both entrepreneurship and institutions.
Photodissociation dynamics of gaseous CpCo(CO)2 and ligand exchange reactions of CpCoH2 with C3H4, C3H6, and NH3.

The photodissociation dynamics of CpCo(CO)2 was studied in a molecular beam using photofragment translational energy spectroscopy with 157 nm photoionization detection of the metallic products. At 532 and 355 nm excitation, the dominant one-photon channel involved loss of a single CO ligand producing CpCoCO. The product angular distributions were isotropic, and a large fraction of excess energy appeared as product vibrational excitation. Production of CpCO + 2CO resulted from two-photon absorption processes. The two-photon dissociation of mixtures containing CpCo(CO)2 and H2 at the orifice of a pulsed nozzle was used to produce a novel 16-electron unsaturated species, CpCoH2. Transition metal ligand exchange reactions, CpCoH2 +L → CpCoL + H2 (L = propyne, propene, or ammonia), were studied under single-collision conditions for the first time. In all cases, ligand exchange occurred via 18-electron association complexes with lifetimes comparable to their rotational periods. Although ligand exchange reactions were not detected from CpCoH2 collisions with methane or propane (L = CH4 or C3H8), a molecular beam containing CpCoCH4 was produced by photolysis of mixtures containing CpCo(CO)2 and CH4.
Financial Management Practices of Socially Responsible Entrepreneurs

This paper examines the business practices of socially re sponsible entrepreneurs with particular focus on activities that directly impact their companies' finances. We collect case studies of 30 recog nized socially responsible entrepreneurial firms from a wide range of industries. We analyze how and to what extent the entrepreneurs and their companies balance their profit objectives with their social or envi ronmental goals. Our results indicate that the companies pursue profits in manners comparable to those of most conventional businesses. How ever, we learn that our companies make certain deliberate exceptions in their business practices to exercise their beliefs, although such ac tions may reduce profits. We also observe the entrepreneurs making ef forts to identify situations that simultaneously increase the companies' profits and serve their causes. Most companies choose to stay private and commit to building an enduring organization rather than pursue the conventional exit strategies. Finally, we find that many of the compa nies in our list commit themselves to and proactively manage formal ized giving programs.
Date: A Digital Audio System for Television

A multi-channel PCM high-quality audio transmission system (for use on terrestrial and satellite radio-relay video facilities) has been developed for diplexing up to four 15-kHz audio channels onto a single video channel. This system, called DATE (Digital Audio for Television), was developed to provide a combined audio-with-video transmission system. The system has two sections: the ADA (analog-digital-analog) which converts the program audio into binary information and then back into audio; and the modem which provides the 5.5-MHz digital sub-carrier used to convey the binary audio information.
Variation of Hyporheic Potential among Urban Region Streams: Implications for Stream RestorationHyporheic Potential in Urban Streams

Bidirectional (hyporheic) exchange of water between stream channels and sediments benefits stream ecosystems, yet the effects of urbanization on such exchange are poorly understood. Exchange is controlled by a set of geomorphic parameters collectively defined as “hyporheic potential,” including sediment hydraulic conductivity ( K ), vertical undulations of the streambed ( VC ), and channel sinuosity ( S ). We measured these hyporheic potential metrics in 10 stream reaches with varying percent impervious surface (0–47 percent) in their contributing watersheds. We performed linear regression between hyporheic potential metrics and two metrics of urbanization: percent impervious in the watershed and average riparian forest buffer width. We found that most trends between hyporheic potential metrics and both urbanization metrics were noisy, with low r 2 . Furthermore, hyporheic potential varied as much among our streams as in non-urban studies, and K varied as much within stream reaches as between stream reaches. These results collectively indicate that the effects of urbanization on hyporheic potential in our streams were minimal and that urbanization may not heavily constrain hyporheic exchange. Nevertheless, we did find that S increased with impervious cover in the contributing watershed, consistent with higher urban storm flows leading to sinuosity adjustments to reduce channel slope. Urbanization may therefore enhance hyporheic potential under certain circumstances, and bears further study. Furthermore, there may be value in increasing the benefits of hyporheic exchange above existing levels through “hyporheic enhancement.” Because K varied more among streams than VC, which varied more than S , efforts to enhance hyporheic exchange may have greatest effect if they manipulate K .
Near-Earth water sources: Ethics and fairness☆

Abstract There is a small finite upper bound on the amount of easily accessible water in near-Earth space, including water from C-type NEAs and permanently shadowed lunar craters. Recent estimates put this total at about 3.7 × 10 12 kg . Given the non-renewable nature of this resource, we should begin thinking carefully about the regulation of near-Earth water sources (NEWS). This paper discusses this issue from an ethical vantage point, and argues that for the foreseeable future, the scientific use of NEWS should be prioritized over other potential uses of NEWS.
Rescuing Aggregation-Prone Proteins in Escherichia coli with a Dual His 6 -MBP Tag

Insolubility of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli is a major impediment to their production for structural and functional studies. One way around this problem is to fuse an aggregation-prone protein to a highly soluble partner. E. coli maltose-binding protein (MBP) is widely recognized as a premier solubilizing agent. In this chapter, we describe how to construct dual His6-MBP-tagged fusion proteins by Gateway(®) recombinational cloning and how to predict their yield and solubility. We also describe a simple and rapid procedure to test the ability of a His6-MBP fusion protein to bind to Ni-NTA resin and to be digested by tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease, along with a method to assess the solubility of the target protein after it has been separated from His6-MBP.
Polarized and magic angle fifth-order 2D electronically non-resonant Raman scattering from CS2

We have successfully used phase matching considerations to provide significant discrimination against cascaded lower-order responses and measured the direct fifth-order response from the intermolecular motions in liquid CS2. Here we report the measured polarized and magic angle responses and discuss comparisons with simulations.
Characterization of the Fluorescent Spectra and Intensity of Dabigatran and Dabigatran Etexilate: Application to HPLC Analysis with Fluorescent Detection†.

There is considerable interest in dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa) and its major metabolite, dabigatran, which has been shown to be an important inhibitor of thrombin and clotting. In this study, the fluorescent excitation and emission spectra of dabigatran and dabigatran etexilate were characterized. In addition, a ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using fluorescent detection was developed for the analysis of dabigatran. Dabigatran and dabigatran etexilate were found to have excitation and emission maxima of 310 and 375 nm and 335 and 400 nm, respectively. UPLC analysis of dabigatran standards and plasma dabigatran samples were analyzed on a reversed phase C-18 column with methanol-water (70:30, v/v) as the mobile phase. The lower limit of quantitation for dabigatran was 10.0 ng/mL for both the standards and plasma samples. Standard curves were linear from 10.0 to 1000.0 ng/mL (R2 = 0.995). Within-day coefficient of variations of the fluorometric method at 50.0, 100.0 and 500.0 ng/mL were 1.38%, 4.83% and 2.31%, respectively. The intense fluorescent properties of dabigatran permit the sensitive and specific UPLC or HPLC fluorescent analysis of dabigatran.
Technology Education Research: Potential Directions

Current educational reform proposals recognize the importance of understanding technology and have identified certain technological abilities as goals for all students. Important examples are the Benchmarks for Science Literacy of Project 2061 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, 1993) and the Standards for Technological Literacy of the International Technology Education Association (ITEA, 2000) . In the international arena the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has also recognized the urgency of technology literacy throughout its Innovations in Science and Technology Education series.
Behavior of Stainless Steel Columns and Beams

Use of stainless steel in structural applications is most economical in the form of light-gage members. In this type of construction, local buckling and post buckling strength is of major importance. Stainless steels are anisotropic, exhibit different shapes of stress-strain curves in tension and compression, are highly susceptible to cold work, and have low proportional limits. Because of the wide variation in properties this investigation is limited to Type 304, annealed and skin passed. Post buckling strength of stiffened, compressed plate elements is examined and experimental results are presented. The flexural strength and working load deflections of simply-supported hat section beams are calculated, using an effective width concept in the post buckling domain, and recognizing the nonlinearity of the stress-strain curves. Comparison with experimental results is given.
Mean-variance and value at risk in multi-armed bandit problems

We study risk-averse multi-armed bandit problems under different risk measures. We consider three risk mitigation models. In the first model, the variations in the reward values obtained at different times are considered as risk and the objective is to minimize the mean-variance of the observed rewards. In the second and the third models, the quantity of interest is the total reward at the end of the time horizon, and the objective is to minimize the mean-variance and maximize the value at risk of the total reward, respectively. We develop risk-averse online learning policies and analyze their regret performance. We also provide tight lower bounds on regret under the model of mean-variance of observations.
Barriers and Facilitators to Sustainment of an Evidence-Based Supported Employment Program

Large-scale initiatives to expand evidence-based practices are often poorly implemented and rarely endure. The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived barriers and facilitators to sustainment of an evidence-based supported employment program, Individual Placement and Support (IPS). Within a 2-year prospective study of sustainment among 129 IPS programs in 13 states participating in a national learning community, we interviewed IPS team leaders and coded their responses to semi-structured interviews using a conceptual framework adapted from another large-scale implementation study. Leaders in 122 agencies (95%) that sustained their IPS programs identified funding, prioritization, and workforce characteristics as both key facilitators and barriers. Additional key factors were lack of local community supports as a barrier and leadership and structured workflow as facilitators. Within the IPS learning community, team leaders attributed the sustainment of their program to funding, prioritization, workforce, agency leadership, and structured workflow. The actions of the learning community’s leadership, state governments, and local programs together may have contributed to the high sustainment rate.
Individual Differences in Cognition as Predictors of Driving Performance

The present study empirically examined the role of individual differences in working memory capacity and executive attention on driving performance. Forty participants first completed a series of t...
Trajectories of alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drug use in a diverse sample of young men who have sex with men.

Abstract Introduction Cross-sectional research has found that young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are more likely to engage in heavy drinking and to have higher rates of marijuana and other illicit drug use compared to their heterosexual peers, but considerably less is known about their patterns of substance use over time. Methods In this study, we combined two longitudinal samples of racially diverse YMSM (N = 552) and modeled their substance use trajectories from late-adolescence to young adulthood, including their frequency of alcohol use, frequency of marijuana use, and poly-drug use, using piecewise latent curve growth modeling to model change from ages 17–21 and change from ages 22–24. Results We found that all three substance use behaviors increased linearly over the adolescent-to-adult transition. The trajectories for all three substance use behaviors were significantly correlated from ages 17–21. Black YMSM had significantly lower growth from ages 17–21 in alcohol, marijuana, and poly-drug use compared to White YMSM. Hispanic/Latino YMSM had significantly higher growth from ages 22–24 in alcohol use but significantly lower growth in poly-drug use compared to White YMSM. YMSM with higher alcohol frequency slopes and YMSM with higher marijuana use slopes were more likely to have alcohol-related and marijuana-related problems, respectively, at the last wave of the study. Conclusions The results of the present study suggest that the transition from adolescence to adulthood for YMSM is a time of increasing and co-varying substance use and may be a critical period for substance use behaviors to grow into substance use problems.
Defining payments associated with the treatment of colorectal cancer.

Abstract Background While bundled payments aim to reduce variations in health care spending across the continuum of care, data reporting on variations in payments for privately insured patients undergoing treatment for colon cancer (CC) are lacking. The current study sought to characterize variations in payments received for the treatment of CC using a cohort of commercially insured patients. Methods Patients who underwent a colectomy for CC were identified using the MarketScan Database for 2010-2014. Multivariable regression analysis was used to calculate and compare risk-adjusted payments between patients. Results A total of 18,337 patients were identified who met inclusion criteria. The median risk-adjusted payment for surgery was $26,408 (IQR: $19,193-$38,037) ranging from $19,762 (IQR: $15,595-$25,636) among patients in the lowest quartile of payments to $33,809 (IQR: $24,783-$48,254) for patients in the highest (+△71.1%). The median risk-adjusted payment for chemotherapy was $70,090 (IQR: $57,813-$83,216); compared with patients in the lowest quartile of payments, payments associated with chemotherapy were 40.4% higher among patients in the highest quartile of payments (Q1 versus Q4: $56,827 [IQR: 49,173-65,353] versus $79,801 [IQR: 67,270-90,999]). When stratified by treatment type, patients in the highest two quartiles of risk-adjusted payments accounted for a total of 58.5% of all payments, whereas patients in the lower two quartiles of risk-adjusted payments accounted for only 41.5% of all payments. A younger patient age, increasing patient comorbidity and undergoing an open operation were associated with higher overall payments. Conclusions Wide variations in payments exist for the treatment for colon cancer. Episode-based bundle payments for surgery and chemotherapy may differentially impact reimbursement for CC.
The influence of anticipated pride and guilt on pro-environmental decision making.

The present research explores the relationship between anticipated emotions and pro-environmental decision making comparing two differently valenced emotions: anticipated pride and guilt. In an experimental design, we examined the causal effects of anticipated pride versus guilt on pro-environmental decision making and behavioral intentions by making anticipated emotions (i.e. pride and guilt) salient just prior to asking participants to make a series of environmental decisions. We find evidence that anticipating one’s positive future emotional state from green action just prior to making an environmental decision leads to higher pro-environmental behavioral intentions compared to anticipating one’s negative emotional state from inaction. This finding suggests a rethinking in the domain of environmental and climate change messaging, which has traditionally favored inducing negative emotions such as guilt to promote pro-environmental action. Furthermore, exploratory results comparing anticipated pride and guilt inductions to baseline behavior point toward a reactance eliciting effect of anticipated guilt.
From farmers to straw men: George Grey and the Mfengu crisis of 1854

In the spring of 1854, rumours of an impending Mfengu revolt swept through the Cape Colony of South Africa. Twenty years prior, Mfengu people had entered the Colony in hopes of securing land and we...
Quantifying meso-mammal cave use in central Texas

Knowledge of meso-mammal cave use is essential for natural resource managers, particularly in the management of endangered cave invertebrates. Scat left by meso-mammals represents significant nutrient inputs into the oligotrophic cave environment which can disrupt the invertebrate species composition and ecology. Since little is known about what constitutes typical timing or frequency of meso-mammal visitation, current management practices are largely speculative. Central Texas caves were historically associated with raccoons Procyon lotor, but with the loss of large predators and encroachment of woody vegetation, the now naturalized North American porcupine Erethizon dorsatum has become an established part of the local ecosystems whose effect on cave biology remains unknown. Our objective with this study was to quantify meso-mammal cave use according to seasons, time of day, weather conditions, as well ecological and physical cave characteristics. We monitored 30 caves by placing trail cameras at cave entrances for one year on Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis military base just north of San Antonio, Texas. North American porcupines, raccoons, and Virginia opossums Didelphis virginiana were the three most commonly photographed meso-mammals (>87%). All meso-mammal groups showed significantly different cave use according to season, weather, and cave characteristics. Data suggested most meso-mammals were using caves for denning while raccoons and Virginia opossums also were feeding on resident invertebrate and rodent populations. In particular, Virginia opossum and raccoon, both potential predators of endangered species, showed greater use of caves containing endangered species. The results from our study represent an initial step in understanding meso-mammal cave use in central Texas.
Interpersonal Mindfulness: Investigating Mindfulness in Interpersonal Interactions, co-Rumination, and Friendship Quality

There is growing interest in understanding the ways in which mindfulness influences interpersonal relationships. Two studies investigated the relationship between a newly proposed construct, interpersonal mindfulness, and the quality of a best or close friend. Interpersonal mindfulness is conceptualized as mindfulness during interpersonal interactions and includes awareness of self and others, accompanied with the qualities of nonjudgmental and nonreactive presence. Study 1 showed that interpersonal mindfulness was correlated with friendship quality, while accounting for trait mindfulness. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings by identifying and testing three possible mediators (i.e., perspective taking, basic psychological need satisfaction, and empathy) of the association between interpersonal mindfulness and friendship quality. Interrelations with co-rumination, or excessive talk about problems, were examined as well. Investigation of the psychometrics of the interpersonal mindfulness scale provided initial support for the reliability and validity. Results suggest that (1) interpersonal mindfulness is uniquely associated with the interpersonal outcome of friendship quality (controlling for trait mindfulness), whereas trait mindfulness is uniquely associated with the intrapersonal outcomes of depression and anxiety (while controlling for interpersonal mindfulness), (2) interpersonal mindfulness moderates the association of co-rumination and friendship quality, and (3) the association of interpersonal mindfulness and friendship quality is mediated by perspective taking and psychological need satisfaction. Limitations and future directions, as well as potential applied applications, are discussed.
Creativity, Disability, Diversity, and Inclusion

The chapter begins a discussion of disability identity and representation. It focuses on strategies to creatively deconstruct disabling narratives. The chapter examines diversity awareness education approaches: culturally responsive, critical multicultural, oppositional, and post-oppositional. It describes the inclusion of difference. The chapter also describes educators who want to nurture students' creativity to take a constructive and socially participatory form. To do so, educators need to investigate disability as a site of creativity. Disability Art and Culture Project (DACP) utilizes the performing arts as a method of examining disability in relation to society. DACP also supports established and emerging artists, as well as the community at large, in developing knowledge and expression of disability culture and pride. DACP does anti-oppressive work with all ages through art installations, dance, poetry, life drawing open sessions, conferences, Internet projects, and research. DACP uses social media to share the work beyond the local to learn from the perspectives of individuals' experiences of disability identity.
FAA Advisory Circular 00–41 Quality System Certification Program

A new addition to the family of Quality System specifications shows its precocity by being more advanced than its predecessors. The certification program spreads the role of quality control from th...
Rapid clinical diagnostic variant investigation of genomic patient sequencing data with iobio web tools.

Introduction Computational analysis of genome or exome sequences may improve inherited disease diagnosis, but is costly and time-consuming. Methods We describe the use of iobio, a web-based tool suite for intuitive, real-time genome diagnostic analyses. Results We used iobio to identify the disease-causing variant in a patient with early infantile epileptic encephalopathy with prior nondiagnostic genetic testing. Conclusions Iobio tools can be used by clinicians to rapidly identify disease-causing variants from genomic patient sequencing data.
The impact of license plate recognition technology (LPR) on trust in law enforcement: a survey-experiment

We examine the extent to which individuals' knowledge of an advanced police technology (license plate recognition or "LPR") may impact perceptions of police. Technologies with the capacity to track individuals' movements are becoming increasingly common in police practice. Although these technologies may yield positive benefits, their use may also heighten community concerns about increased surveillance, data storage, and data security, thereby potentially negatively impacting community-police relationships. We utilize a survey-based experiment with randomized assignment of participants (n=405) to investigate the impact of individuals' knowledge of LPR use on a variety of police perceptions, including trust in police, community approval, respect for citizens, and respect for individual rights. Most respondents were unaware of LPR use prior to the survey. When compared with a control group, respondents who encountered brief mentions of LPR functions on the survey expressed significantly lower levels of trust in police. Additionally, "strong agreement" with other positive statements about police also appears to have declined in this sample in response to LPR information. Notably, the sample contained high pre-existing levels of trust and support for police, factors which may have moderated the impacts of LPR information. These results support the hypothesis that awareness of LPR use may negatively impact perceptions of police, including trust in police. More generally, although technologies like LPR represent technological innovations, they may also yield unintended consequences, including the potential to undermine police-community relations if adoption decisions are not accompanied by sufficient transparency or community support.
Care and the Practice of Data Science for Social Good

Data science is an interdisciplinary field that extracts insights from data through a multi-stage process of data collection, analysis and use. When data science is applied for social good, a variety of stakeholders are introduced to the process with an intention to inform policies or programs to improve well-being. Our goal in this paper is to propose an orientation to care in the practice of data science for social good. When applied to data science, a logic of care can improve the data science process and reveal outcomes of "good" throughout. Consideration of care in practice has its origins in Science and Technology Studies (STS) and has recently been applied by Human Computer Interaction (HCI) researchers to understand technology repair and use in under-served environments as well as care in remote health monitoring. We bring care to the practice of data science through a detailed examination of our engaged research with a community group that uses data as a strategy to advocate for permanently affordable housing. We identify opportunities and experiences of care throughout the stages of the data science process. We bring greater detail to the notion of human-centered systems for data science and begin to describe what these look like.
Intimacy, Otherness, and Alienation: The Intertwining of Nature and Consciousness

This chapter invites the reader to a phenomenological inquiry into the intimacy—or lack thereof—between human consciousness and nature. Intimacy is taken to be a direct, palpably felt connection between self and other, which ultimately are of one essence. The obstacles and challenges to intimacy with nature for people living in contemporary high-tech urban societies are seen as rooted in the separation of subject and object of consciousness endemic to how human consciousness is wired. The greatly elaborated forms of these obstacles in contemporary consciousness are traced through the phenomena of alienation, sensory shutdown, and hyper-reflexivity.
Prevention of malaria transmission around reservoirs: an observational and modelling study on the effect of wind direction and village location.

Summary Background Many large dams are constructed annually in Africa, with associated reservoirs that might exacerbate the risk of malaria in new villages built nearby. We aimed to investigate the heterogeneous risk of malaria around reservoirs related to the impact of wind direction on malaria transmission. Methods Between June 15, 2012, and April 22, 2015, we obtained field data on climate and hydrological conditions, and monitored Anopheles mosquito populations around the Koka reservoir in Ethiopia using in-situ weather stations, mosquito light traps, and larval dipping. The field data were used to calibrate a field-tested, spatially explicit mechanistic malaria transmission model, the Hydrology, Entomology, and Malaria Transmission Simulator (HYDREMATS), to investigate the effect of relative wind direction on malaria transmission and associated mechanisms. We combined our simulation results and observational data to assess the association between village location around a reservoir and risk of malaria. Findings HYDREMATS simulations showed that wind blowing from a village towards a reservoir increases the size of malaria vector populations, whereas wind blowing from a reservoir towards a village decreases the size of malaria vector populations, which was consistent with our field data. Larval mortality is low in locations with village-to-reservoir wind due to weak surface waves, and this wind direction creates conditions that enable mosquitoes to identify village locations more easily than in conditions caused by reservoir-to-village wind, which increases the size of malaria vector populations, and thus malaria transmission. Among the wind conditions investigated (0·5–5 m/s), the effect of CO2 attraction on the size of the Anopheles population was largest at wind speeds of 0·5 m/s and 1 m/s, decreasing with higher wind speed. At a wind speed of 5 m/s, the effect of CO2 attraction was negligible, whereas the effect of waves was strongest. The effect of advection on Anopheles population size was negligible at all wind speeds and wind directions. Interpretation The effect of wind on malaria transmission around reservoirs can be substantial. The transmission of malaria can be minimised if the location of villages situated near a reservoir is carefully considered. For areas in which the environmental conditions surrounding a resevoir are equal, villages should be located downwind of reservoirs to reduce the incidence of malaria, although further research will be required in locations where wind direction changes in different seasons. Funding US National Science Foundation , and Cooperative Agreement between the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE , and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA .
Outcomes of Bariatric Surgery Versus Medical Management for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Bariatric surgery improves type 2 diabetes (T2D) in obese patients. The sustainability of these effects and the long-term results have been under question. To compare bariatric surgery versus medical management (MM) for T2D based on a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 2 years of follow-up. Seven RCTs with at least 2-year follow-up were identified. The primary endpoint was remission of T2D (full or partial). Four hundred sixty-three patients with T2D and body mass index > 25 kg/m2 were evaluated. After 2 years, T2D remission was observed in 138 of 263 patients (52.5%) with bariatric surgery compared to seven of 200 patients (3.5%) with MM (risk ratio (RR) = 10, 95% CI 5.5–17.9, p < 0.001). Subgroup analysis of the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) showed a significant effect size at 2 years in favor of RYGB over MM for a higher decrease of HbA1C (0.9 percentage points, 95% CI 0.6–1.1, p < 0.001), decrease of fasting blood glucose (35.3 mg/dl, 95% CI 13.3–57.3, p = 0.002), increase of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (12.2 mg/dl, 95% CI 7.6–16.8, p < 0.001), and decrease of triglycerides (32.4 mg/dl, 95% CI 4.5–60.3, p = 0.02). Four studies followed patients up to 5 years and showed 62 of 225 patients (27.5%) with remission after surgery, compared to six of 156 patients (3.8%) with MM (RR = 6, 95% CI 2.7–13, p < 0.001). This meta-analysis shows a superior and persistent effect of bariatric surgery versus MM for inducement of remission of T2D. This benefit of bariatric surgery was significant at 2 years and superior to MM even after 5 years. Compared with MM, patients with RYGB had better glycemic control and improved levels of HDL and triglycerides.