cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Validation of the Gifted Rating Scales–School Form in China

The Gifted Rating Scales-School Form (GRS-S), a teacher-completed rating scale, is designed to identify five types of giftedness and motivation. This study examines the reliability and validity of a Chinese-translated version of the GRS-S with a sample of Chinese elementary and middle school students (N = 499). The Chinese GRSS was found to have high internal consistency. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis corroborated the six-factor solution of the original GRS-S. Comparison of the GRS-S scores and measures of academic performance provide preliminary support for the criterion validity of the Chinese-translated GRS-S. Significant age and gender differences on the Chinese GRS-S were found. Results provide preliminary support for the Chinese version of the GRS-S as a reliable and valid measure of giftedness for Chinese students.
Ray tracing methods for inverse problems

We discuss the origin, use and implementation of ray tracing methods for nonlinear inverse modelling problems associated with wave propagation phenomena. These methods have a long tradition in acoustic and elastodynamic wave propagation problems for various important applications, and they can surely be helpful in other realms, including electromagnetic wave propagation and diffusion dominated phenomena. The subjacent models used for forward simulation have increased in complexity and dimension as computer power has enabled us to solve such problems in an acceptable amount of time. Thus, we will devote part of this paper to discuss modelling issues and the parallel implementation of algorithms for applications in earth sciences.
Axiomatic definitions of programming languages, II

Sufficient conditions are given for partial correctness assertions to determine the input-output semantics of quite general classes of programming languages. This determination cannot be unique unless states which are indistinguishable by predicates in the assertions are identified. Even when indistinguishable states are identified, partial correctness assertions may not suffice to determine program semantics.
Noise Reduction in Support-Constrained Multi-Frame Blind-Deconvolution Restoration as a Function of the Number of Data Frames and the Support Constraint Sizes

We show that the amount of relative noise reduction in multi-frame blind deconvolution image restorations is greatest for just a few data frames and is a more complicated function of the support constraint sizes.
Founding Editorial: Higher Level Brain Function.

With the rapid growth of Affective, Cognitive, Developmental, and Social Neuroscience, the domain of Higher Level Brain Function has become of central importance to understanding the human brain. In this Domain we welcome papers using neuroimaging, genetics, pharmacology, and other methods in studies both directly involving the human brain as well as nonhuman animals. These studies may elucidate how the brain relates to thoughts, feelings, and complex behaviour. The Higher Level Brain Function Domain will be closely coordinated with the Cognition and other related Domains to ensure that all appropriate submissions are handled rapidly and effectively. As with other Domains, we hope to ensure that the Higher Level Brain Function Domain is a rapid communication environment for papers that have been thoroughly peer reviewed. While not all papers can be published, we would like to be prompt, clear, and helpful in dealing with each submission. We have a large and distinguished Editorial team working on this Domain that represents a range of research interests. We hope that this is reflected in the submissions that we receive.
Learning to localize detected objects

In this paper, we propose an approach to accurately localize detected objects. The goal is to predict which features pertain to the object and define the object extent with segmentation or bounding box. Our initial detector is a slight modification of the DPM detector by Felzenszwalb et al., which often reduces confusion with background and other objects but does not cover the full object. We then describe and evaluate several color models and edge cues for local predictions, and we propose two approaches for localization: learned graph cut segmentation and structural bounding box prediction. Our experiments on the PASCAL VOC 2010 dataset show that our approach leads to accurate pixel assignment and large improvement in bounding box overlap, sometimes leading to large overall improvement in detection accuracy.
Useful Field of View as a Reliable Screening Measure of Driving Performance in People With Parkinson's Disease: Results of a Pilot Study

Purpose: To determine the correlations of the Useful Field of View (UFOV), compared to other clinical tests of Parkinson's disease (PD); vision; and cognition with measures of on-road driving assessments and to quantify the UFOV's ability to indicate passing/failing an on-road test in people with PD. Methods: Nineteen randomly selected people with idiopathic PD, mean age = 74.8 (6.1), 14 (73.7%) men, 18 (94.7%) Caucasians, were age-matched to 104 controls without PD. The controls had a mean age of 75.4 (6.4), 59 (56.7%) men, 96 (92.3%) Caucasians. Both groups were referred for a driving evaluation after institutional review board approval. Results: Compared to neuropsychological and clinical tests of vision and cognition, the UFOV showed the strongest correlations (r > .75, p < 0.05) with measures of failing a standardized road test and number of driving errors. Among PD patients, the UFOV Risk Index score of 3 (range 1–5) was established as the optimal cutoff value for passing the on-road test, with sens...
The Impact of Launching Surgery at the District Level in Niger: Letter to the Editor

To the Editor: I read the interesting article by Sani et al. [1] published in this journal. I had a similar experience of launching surgery at the district level in Nigeria [2] but it had to be mobile since there was no government district hospital at that time. It is laudable that the Department of Surgery of the University of Niamey, Niger, and the Ministry of Health (MOH) had to undertake the training of experienced rural GPs for surgery at the district level. I believe it would be more appropriate to award a ‘‘Certificate of District Surgery’’ instead of the Capacity for District Surgery (CDS) which should be awarded by the university and not the MOH. The authors raised the question of recognition of the CDS outside of Niger. It does not really matter whether this qualification is recognized in Europe or in North America. What matters is that the training of human resources for health has to be guided by the local conditions and factors and not external factors. The idea of African nations copying training programs of Europe and North America may be one contributing factor to the low surgical and medical manpower in rural Africa. Almost all sub-Saharan African countries tend to follow the long surgical training programs of developed nations. This is unrealistic because of the peculiar problems in sub-Saharan Africa. I had consistently advocated for shorter postgraduate training programs for doctors in sub-Saharan Africa for primaryand secondary-level care until all developmental indices have engulfed the rural districts and regions, then adjustments can then be made [3, 4]. This is what occurred in Cuba over a long period. Today, Cuba has one of the most efficient health-care systems in the Caribbean and in the world. This is what sub-Saharan African countries have to do, to design their training programs to be in line with existing realities and not rely on recognition from external bodies. When your country’s educational programs can solve your country’s health problems, recognition will then follow, i.e., the reverse order.
A theoretical study of pagodane and related systems

Abstract The structure and thermochemistry of pagodane are studied by ab initio molecular orbital theory and molecular mechanics. Satisfactory agreement with the crystal geometry determined by X-ray diffraction and with the experimental heat of formation is obtained only at the highest level of theory used, HF/6-31G ∗ . The predicted ΔH o f of the 4,9-bis(methoxycarbonyl) derivative of pagodane is also in reasonable agreement with experiment, −114.1 vs −107.3 kcal mol −1 . In both cases, ΔH o f is derived from the ab initio energy by means of group equivalents. This method is also used to obtain the heat of formation of the bipentaprismane 2 .
Evaluation of mycobacteria growth indicator tubes for susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to isoniazid and rifampin

Abstract The reliability of mycobacteria growth indicator tubes (M git ) for determining the susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to isoniazid (0.1 μg/ml) and rifampin (2.0 μg/ml) was evaluated by comparing M git results to those obtained by the radiometric B actec TB method. We tested 29 isolates, many selected for resistance. The turnaround times were 3–8 days (median 6) for M git and 4–10 days (median 6) for B actec . Isoniazid results by both methods agreed for all isolates tested: 20 resistant and nine susceptible. Rifampin results agreed for 28 isolates: 10 resistant and 18 susceptible. One isolate yielded discrepant results: resistant to rifampin by B actec , but susceptible by M git . This isolate was also rifampin-resistant by the traditional Method of Proportion and when tested by the M git method using 1.0 μg/ml of rifampin. The M git system is a nonradiometric alternative to the B actec for rapid susceptibility testing of M. tuberculosis to isoniazid and rifampin; however, additional testing is needed to determine the optimal concentration of rifampin.
1-D Reversible Phase of Chemisorbed N2 on Stepped Pt Surfaces

The behavior of the N2 phase adsorbed exclusively on the steps of the Pt(335) and Pt(779) surfaces was studied at 88 K under N2 gas flux by reflection−absorption infrared spectroscopy and molecular beam adsorption experiments. Under equilibrium N2 pressure, the saturated 1-D chemisorbed layer is able to be additionally reversibly populated (by 2−20%). Under these conditions, fast isotopic exchange between 14N2 and 15N2 occurs. No chemisorption is detected on the terraces. The reversibly chemisorbed N2 species is spectrally indistinguishable from the irreversibly preadsorbed N2 (N−N frequency 2236−2230 cm-1) and therefore must be chemisorbed on vacant Pt step sites. The infrared feature undergoes a frequency decrease with increasing N2 coverage, which is a result of two opposite effects: a vibrational coupling shift (upward) and a dominant static shift (downward). The proposed kinetic model involving terrace- and step-bound precursors explains the experimentally observed Langmuirian adsorption isotherm fo...
Grouping by form in young infants: only relevant variability promotes perceptual learning.

Infants do not readily organize visual pattern information using form similarity: 3 to 4 month olds familiarized with arrays consisting of alternating columns or rows of a given element contrast do not display a subsequent preference for a novel organization of horizontal versus vertical bars. However, when array types composed of different element contrasts are presented during familiarization, infants perform successfully, indicating that variability in pattern information depicting an invariant structure promotes perceptual learning. In the current investigation, we examined whether the type of variability (relevant versus irrelevant) impacts this learning, as a way to understand the specificity and mechanism underlying the learning. In experiment 1, one group of infants (relevant variability) was familiarized with three element contrasts forming column-row arrays on different trials, and a fourth element contrast that formed an outer enclosing context on all trials. For the other group (irrelevant var...
Impact of foreign aid on the fiscal behavior of LDC governments

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of foreign aid on the behavior of the recipient governments. Specifically, we look at a sample of less-developed countries in South and Southeast Asia and study their response to foreign aid received. Their response is measured in terms of their public investment and consumption as well as taxation. Our paper attempts to make two new contributions to the literature. First, we try to estimate the impact of foreign aid on a sample of five South and Southeast Asian countries. Secondly, we improve on the earlier method of a combination of single-equation and two-step least squares by estimating the whole system with a nonlinear three-step least squares method. The results confirm the hypothesis that aid does affect consumption, investment and taxation of these governments, but they also show that the relationship is a complex one. In particular, grants and loans have different effects on investment and taxation.
Anti-Ro(SS-A) HLA-DR3-Positive Women: The Interrelationship Between Some ANA Negative, SS, SCLE, and NLE Mothers and SS/LE Overlap Female Patients

During the past 15 years, the clinical spectrum associated with the anti-Ro(SS-A) antibody response has been defined. Various clinical presentations, including subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus, the neonatal lupus syndrome, the Sjogren's syndrome/lupus erythematous overlap syndrome, and primary Sjogren's syndrome, have been detected in association with the anti-Ro(SS-A) response. The anti-Ro(SS-A) antibody response is associated with the HLA-DR2 and HLA-DR3 phenotypes. There is now a good deal of evidence to suggest that many anti-Ro(SS-A)-positive HLA-DR3 women are genetically closely related, sharing in common an enriched frequency of the HLA-DR3-linked B8, DQw2, and DRW52 phenotypes. DNA sequence studies have confirmed this genetic relationship. These studies have led us to the following conclusions. 1) The HLA-DR2 and HLA-DR3 associations with systemic lupus erythematosus and the HLA-DR3 association with Sjogren's syndrome are related to the anti-Ro(SS-A) antibody response and not to the clinical disease expression. 2) HLA-DR3 anti Ro-positive female patients with first-degree Sjogren's syndrome, subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus, or Sjogren's syndrome, or who are asymptomatic, are immunogenetically closely related even though the clinical presentations are strikingly different. All these HLA-DR3 anti-Ro(SS-A) antibody-positive women are at risk to give birth to a child with the neonatal lupus syndrome.
The interaction of calcium with gangliosides in bilayer membranes

We studied the binding of calcium to bilayer membranes formed from mixtures of phosphatidylcholine and mono-, di-, or trisialoganglioside by measuring its effect on the electrophoretic mobility of multilamellar vesicles and the conductance of planar bilayers. In 0.001 M monovalent salt solutions the surface potential is small and millimolar concentrations of calcium are required to affect these parameters. The strong apparent binding of calcium we observed at low ionic strength could be due to the nonspecific accumulation of calcium in the electrical diffuse double layer. To distinguish between this nonspecific effect and binding of calcium to the membrane, we substituted dimethonium for calcium. Dimethonium is a divalent cation that screens negative charges but does not bind to lipids. We also examined the effect of replacing phosphatidylcholine by monoolein: calcium binds to phosphatidylcholine but not to monoolein. We describe our electrophoretic mobility results by combining the Poisson-Boltzmann and Navier-Stokes equations with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. We conclude that calcium binds weakly to gangliosides with an intrinsic association constant of < 100 M−1, which is similar to the association constant of calcium with phospholipids.
Tensor propagator for iterative quantum time evolution of reduced density matrices. II. Numerical methodology

In a recent Letter [Chem. Phys. Lett. 221, 482 (1994)], we demonstrated that the dynamics of reduced density matrices for systems in contact with dissipative harmonic environments can be obtained in an iterative fashion by multiplication of a propagator tensor. The feasibility of iterative procedures in reduced dimension spaces arises from intrinsic features of the dissipative influence functional in Feynman’s path integral formulation of quantum dynamics. Specifically, the continuum of frequencies characteristic of broad condensed phase spectra disrupts phase coherence to a large extent, such that the dynamics of an augmented reduced density tensor becomes Markovian. In a preceding article [J. Chem. Phys. 102, 4600 (1995)] we examined in detail the formal properties of the tensor propagator. In the present paper we show that the tensor propagator can be further decomposed into a product of small rank tensors, resulting in an extremely simple and efficient numerical scheme that scales almost linearly with...
Kinetics of the gas-phase reactions of alkylnaphthalenes with O3, N2O5 and OH radicals at 298 ± 2 K

Abstract Rate constants for the gas-phase reactions of the OH radical with 1-methylnaphthalene and of N 2 O 5 with 1- and 2-methylnaphthalene and 2,3-dimethylnaphthalene have been determined at 298 ± 2 K by use of relative rate techniques. The rate constants determined were: for the reaction of OH radicals with 1-methylnaphthalene, (5.30 ± 0.48) × 10 −11 cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 ; for the reaction of N 2 O 5 with 1-methylnaphthalene, 2-methylnaphthalene and 2,3-dimethylnaphthalene, (3.3 ± 0.7) × 10 −17 , (4.2 ± 0.9) × 10 −17 and (5.7 ± 1.9) × 10 −17 cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 , respectively. In addition, an upper limit to the rate constant of 1.3 × 10 −19 cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 was measured for the reaction of O 3 with 1-methylnaphthalene at 298 ± 2 K. These data, when combined with data from previous literature, allow the atmospheric gas-phase removal processes of these alkylnaphthalenes to be quantified.
Reduction in portal vein blood flow by somatostatin.

Intravenous somatostatin boluses produced striking diminution in portal vein blood flow in dogs (maximally 40–55%). This effect was of rapid onset, without observable changes in hepatic artery flow, systemic blood pressure, pulse or central venous pressure. The duration of action was short, but could be sustained by continuous intravenous infusion. These observations are consistent with an endocrine role of somatostatin in the regulation of nutrient balance.
"Shocking" Masculinity: Stanley Milgram, "Obedience to Authority," and the "Crisis of Manhood" in Cold War America

Stanley Milgram's study of "obedience to authority" is one of the best-known psychological experiments of the twentieth century. This essay examines the study's special charisma through a detailed consideration of the intellectual, cultural, and gender contexts of Cold War America. It suggests that Milgram presented not a "timeless" experiment on "human nature" but, rather, a historically contingent, scientifically sanctioned "performance" of American masculinity at a time of heightened male anxiety. The essay argues that this gendered context invested the obedience experiments with an extraordinary plausibility, immediacy, and relevance. Immersed in a discourse of masculinity besieged, many Americans read the obedience experiments not as a fanciful study of laboratory brutality but as confirmation of their worst fears. Milgram's extraordinary success thus lay not in his "discovery" of the fragility of individual conscience but in his theatrical flair for staging culturally relevant masculine performances.
An automated method for software controlled cache prefetching

As the gap between cycle time and main memory access time increases, memory system performance becomes increasingly important. The trend to higher instruction level parallelism with superscalar processors puts even higher demands on the memory system. Prefetching is a common strategy to tolerate this increased memory latency. This paper presents a software only technique to prefetch data to the CPU cache before it is needed in order combat this problem. The software prefetching technique presented is motivated by emulation of a hardware stride prediction table (SPT). Performance similar, and in some cases superior, to the hardware based technique is achieved with no additional hardware costs. In the first step, a simulation of the hardware SPT is conducted to identify where useful prefetches are best added. In the next step, software prefetches are added to the executable code. The technique is automated and could be implemented by a compiler as a two phase optimization of a profile step followed by an optimization step. Data is presented for both SPEC95 and multimedia benchmarks. In the best case, a performance improvement of 2.78X is observed over the same code with no prefetching at no extra hardware costs.
Tbx3: A new trick for an ‘old’ myocyte?

This editorial refers to ‘T-box transcription factor TBX3 reprogrammes mature cardiac myocytes into pacemaker-like cells’ by M.L. Bakker et al ., doi:10.1093/cvr/cvs120. Tbx3: a new trick for an ‘old’ myocyte? Well, not quite … Tbx3 is a T-box transcription factor that is expressed in the pacemaking and conduction system myocytes beginning during early embryonic stages of cardiac development.1 When expressed in embryonic atrial chamber myocytes, ectopic induction of spontaneous pacemaking activity in atrial myocardium was observed in vivo , thereby suggesting that Tbx3 can ‘impose’ pacemaking capability upon otherwise unsuspecting working myocytes.2 Bakker et al. 3 test the hypothesis that Tbx3 would also be able to induce pacemaker activity in mature adult cardiac myocytes. Like the proverbial ‘old dog’, however, it appears that it is also difficult to teach old myocytes this new trick. Bakker et al .3 show that while Tbx3 does repress certain genes typically excluded from pacemaking centres such as those encoding the gap junction proteins connexin 40 (Cx40) and connexin 43 (Cx43) in adult mouse atrial myocytes, it failed to induce the pacemaker channel protein encoded by the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated 4 ( Hcn4 ) gene. Consequently, no spontaneous sinusoidal action potentials characteristic of those typically observed in sinoatrial node pacemaking myocytes …
Covert Marketing Unmasked: A Legal and Regulatory Guide for Practices That Mask Marketing Messages

Abstract Masked marketing—one form of covert marketing—involves marketing communications that appear to be from independent third parties rather than from product marketers. This article presents a typology of masked marketing practices, illustrating whether they may be deceptive to consumers. To accomplish this, the authors apply the Federal Trade Commission's three-part definition of deception (i.e., misleadingness, reasonable consumer, and materiality) in the evaluation of such practices. The article concludes with policy recommendations including areas for further research.
SULF2 expression by immunohistochemistry and overall survival in oesophageal cancer: a cohort study

Objectives Oesophageal cancer is the eighth most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide, and there is a need for biomarkers to improve diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. Sulfatases 2 (SULF2) is an extracellular endosulphatase that regulates several signalling pathways in carcinogenesis and has been associated with poor prognosis. This study evaluates the relationship between SULF2 expression by immunohistochemistry and overall survival in patients with oesophageal cancer. Design Cohort study. Setting Single tertiary care centre. Participants We included patients who underwent esophagectomy for invasive oesophageal adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma at a tertiary care centre from 1997 to 2006. We excluded patients with recurrent oesophageal cancer or less than 3 mm invasive tumour on H&E stained slide. A section from each paraffin-embedded tissue specimen was stained with an anti-SULF2 monoclonal antibody. Outcome measures A pathologist blinded to overall survival determined the percentage and intensity of tumour cells staining. Vital status was obtained through the Social Security Death Master File, and overall survival was calculated from the date of surgery. Results One-hundred patients with invasive oesophageal cancer were identified, including 75 patients with adenocarcinoma and 25 patients with squamous cell carcinoma. The squamous cell carcinoma samples had a higher mean percentage and intensity of tumour cells staining compared with the adenocarcinoma samples. After adjusting for age, sex, race, histological type, stage and neoadjuvant therapy, for every 10% increase in percentage of tumour cells staining for SULF2, the HR for death increased by 13% (95% CI 1.01 to 1.25; p=0.03). Conclusions The majority of adenocarcinoma samples and all of the squamous cell carcinoma samples had SULF2 staining. The percentage of tumour cells staining for SULF2 was significantly associated with overall survival. Thus, SULF2 is a potential biomarker in oesophageal cancer and may have an important role in the management of patients with this disease.
Intravenous procainamide for the conversion of new onset atrial fibrillation in the emergency department setting

A common problem seen by emergency physicians, that of new onset atrial fibrillation, and a unique approach to its emergency department management are discussed. In hemodynamically stable patients with new onset atrial fibrillation, an attempt at chemical cardioversion can be made in the emergency department with intravenous procainamide at a rate of 20 mg/min to a maximum dose of 20 mg/kg if accompanied with careful monitoring of blood pressure and cardiac rhythm. If cardioversion is successful, such individuals may not require hospitalization if they are less than 65 years of age and without evidence of organic heart, lung, or thyroid disease.
Contributions of Nitric Oxide and Prostanoids and Their Signaling Pathways to the Renal Medullary Vasodilator Effect of U46619 (9-11-Dideoxy-11α,9a-Epoxymethano-Prostaglandin F2a) in the Rat

We recently demonstrated that U46619 (9-11-dideoxy-11α,9a-epoxymethano-prostaglandin F2a) evoked a medullary vasodilation and a reduction in blood pressure despite a potent cortical vasoconstriction in the anesthetized rat. The present study tested the hypothesis that nitric oxide (NO) and prostanoids contribute to U46619-induced increase in medullary blood flow (MBF). U46619 at 1, 3, and 5 μg/kg increased MBF (above basal values) by 16 ± 3, 45 ± 10, and 58 ± 8 perfusion units, respectively, and increased NO current in the medulla by 17 ± 4, 34 ± 7, and 60 ± 12 pA, respectively. N ω-l-Nitro-arginine methyl ester (5 mg/kg), the inhibitor of NO production, attenuated the increase in MBF (75 ± 8%, p < 0.05) as did indomethacin (10 mg/kg), the inhibitor of cyclooxygenase (38 ± 5%, p < 0.05), suggesting the involvement of NO and dilator prostanoids. H-Arg-Lys-Arg-Ala-Arg-Lys-Glu-OH, a synthetic peptide and selective inhibitor of cGMP-dependent protein kinase, attenuated U46619-induced medullary perfusion (52 ± 6%, p < 0.05), but H-89 (( N -[2-(( p -bromocinnamyl)aminoethyl)]-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide hydrochloride), a cell-permeable, selective, and potent inhibitor of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A, was without effect. Glybenclamide, a KATP channel blocker, also blunted the increase by U46619 in MBF (58 ± 7%, p < 0.05). These data suggest that NO and prostanoids contribute to U46619-induced medullary perfusion and that the effects of these mediators are coupled to activation of protein kinase G and KATP channels but not protein kinase A.
Determining the Ideal Strategy for Ventilator-associated Pneumonia Prevention. Cost-Benefit Analysis.

Rationale: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common healthcare-associated infection with high associated cost and poor patient outcomes. Many strategies for VAP reduction have been evaluated. However, the combination of strategies with the optimal cost–benefit ratio remains unknown.Objectives: To determine the preferred VAP prevention strategy, both from the hospital and societal perspectives.Methods: A cost–benefit decision model with a Markov model was constructed. Baseline probability of VAP, death, reintubation, and discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU) alive were ascertained from clinical trial data. Model inputs were obtained from the medical literature and the U.S. Department of Labor; a device cost was obtained from the manufacturer. Sensitivity analyses were completed to test the robustness of model results.Measurements and Main Results: Overall least expensive strategy and the strategy with the best cost–benefit ratio, up to a willingness to pay threshold of $50,000–100,000 per c...
Key principles for a national clinical decision support knowledge sharing framework: synthesis of insights from leading subject matter experts

Objective To identify key principles for establishing a national clinical decision support (CDS) knowledge sharing framework. Materials and methods As part of an initiative by the US Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) to establish a framework for national CDS knowledge sharing, key stakeholders were identified. Stakeholders' viewpoints were obtained through surveys and in-depth interviews, and findings and relevant insights were summarized. Based on these insights, key principles were formulated for establishing a national CDS knowledge sharing framework. Results Nineteen key stakeholders were recruited, including six executives from electronic health record system vendors, seven executives from knowledge content producers, three executives from healthcare provider organizations, and three additional experts in clinical informatics. Based on these stakeholders' insights, five key principles were identified for effectively sharing CDS knowledge nationally. These principles are (1) prioritize and support the creation and maintenance of a national CDS knowledge sharing framework; (2) facilitate the development of high-value content and tooling, preferably in an open-source manner; (3) accelerate the development or licensing of required, pragmatic standards; (4) acknowledge and address medicolegal liability concerns; and (5) establish a self-sustaining business model. Discussion Based on the principles identified, a roadmap for national CDS knowledge sharing was developed through the ONC's Advancing CDS initiative. Conclusion The study findings may serve as a useful guide for ongoing activities by the ONC and others to establish a national framework for sharing CDS knowledge and improving clinical care.
Effective Theory of Excitations in a Feshbach-Resonant Superfluid

A strongly interacting Fermi gas, such as that of cold atoms operative near a Feshbach resonance, is difficult to study by perturbative many-body theory to go beyond mean-field approximation. Here I develop an effective field theory for the resonant superfluid based on broken symmetry. The theory retains both fermionic quasiparticles and superfluid phonons, the interaction between them being derived nonperturbatively. The theory converges and can be improved order by order, in a manner governed by a low energy expansion rather than by a coupling constant. I apply the effective theory to calculate the specific heat and discuss the theory with a recent heat capacity experiment.
On logarithmic complementary sensitivity integrals for MIMO systems

Bode and Poisson type integral inequalities for the complementary sensitivity function are derived in this paper for multi-input multi-output systems, which generalize earlier work of a similar nature but only applicable to single-input single-output systems. The results characterize how open loop nonminimum phase zeros may adversely affect a system's performance, and how each of the zeros may couple with other nonminimum phase zeros and unstable poles to impose a severe limitation on the achievable performance quantified by the complementary sensitivity function, to which the zero directions are seen to play a central role.
User involvement in the education of mental health nurses. An evaluation of possibilities

The central argument of this paper is that the substantive empower ment of users of mental health services can be most effectitely achieved by employing service users as educators of neophyte menta...
Identifying and mitigating biases in EHR laboratory tests

Display Omitted Laboratory test measurement patterns provide separate information from test's values.Measurement patterns are shaped by the healthcare process and patient health states.We found 3 laboratory measurement patterns: outpatient, inpatient, mixture of both.Without separating ordering reasons, using lab tests in research can bias results. Electronic health record (EHR) data show promise for deriving new ways of modeling human disease states. Although EHR researchers often use numerical values of laboratory tests as features in disease models, a great deal of information is contained in the context within which a laboratory test is taken. For example, the same numerical value of a creatinine test has different interpretation for a chronic kidney disease patient and a patient with acute kidney injury. We study whether EHR research studies are subject to biased results and interpretations if laboratory measurements taken in different contexts are not explicitly separated. We show that the context of a laboratory test measurement can often be captured by the way the test is measured through time.We perform three tasks to study the properties of these temporal measurement patterns. In the first task, we confirm that laboratory test measurement patterns provide additional information to the stand-alone numerical value. The second task identifies three measurement pattern motifs across a set of 70 laboratory tests performed for over 14,000 patients. Of these, one motif exhibits properties that can lead to biased research results. In the third task, we demonstrate the potential for biased results on a specific example. We conduct an association study of lipase test values to acute pancreatitis. We observe a diluted signal when using only a lipase value threshold, whereas the full association is recovered when properly accounting for lipase measurements in different contexts (leveraging the lipase measurement patterns to separate the contexts).Aggregating EHR data without separating distinct laboratory test measurement patterns can intermix patients with different diseases, leading to the confounding of signals in large-scale EHR analyses. This paper presents a methodology for leveraging measurement frequency to identify and reduce laboratory test biases.
Biodegradable polymers as biomaterials

Abstract During the past two decades significant advances have been made in the development of biodegradable polymeric materials for biomedical applications. Degradable polymeric biomaterials are preferred candidates for developing therapeutic devices such as temporary prostheses, three-dimensional porous structures as scaffolds for tissue engineering and as controlled/sustained release drug delivery vehicles. Each of these applications demands materials with specific physical, chemical, biological, biomechanical and degradation properties to provide efficient therapy. Consequently, a wide range of natural or synthetic polymers capable of undergoing degradation by hydrolytic or enzymatic route are being investigated for biomedical applications. This review summarizes the main advances published over the last 15 years, outlining the synthesis, biodegradability and biomedical applications of biodegradable synthetic and natural polymers.
Transforming Leadership Identity in a Virtual Environment Learning About the Leading Self

Schein contends that “unless leaders become learners themselves … acknowledg[ing] vulnerabilities and uncertainties—then transformational learning will never take that leads to transformative learning, the authors engaged educational leadership doctoral students in an Experimental Simulation, using masked identities in a virtual environment. In order for students to fully examine the how of their knowing—to let go of a set of well practiced good student behaviors and risk personal discomfort required for reflection and transformation, the instruction included the Interactive Learning Model.©” The learning experience offered clear evidence that when individuals engage in experiential learning that disrupts a carefully crafted student identity and that experience is supported by enhanced knowledge of the learning self, facilitated reflection can lead to a marked shift in both learner and leader identity.
Trophoblast biology: Forum introduction

In mammals, a carefully orchestrated dialogue between the mother and conceptus (embryo/fetus and associate extraembryonic membranes) is initiated during the peri-implantation period of pregnancy as the trophoblast develops, functions to signal pregnancy recognition, and initiates implantation. The purpose of this Forum is to highlight comparative aspects of trophoblast morphogenesis and function in mammals.
Premature menopause or early menopause: long-term health consequences

Objective: To review and summarize current evidence on the health consequences of premature menopause and early menopause. Methods: We reviewed existing literature and combined graphically some results from the Mayo Clinic Cohort Study of Oophorectomy and Aging. Results: Premature menopause or early menopause may be either spontaneous or induced. Women who experience premature menopause (before age 40 years) or early menopause (between ages 40 and 45 years) experience an increased risk of overall mortality, cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases, psychiatric diseases, osteoporosis, and other sequelae. The risk of adverse outcomes increases with earlier age at the time of menopause. Some of the adverse outcomes may be prevented by estrogen treatment initiated after the onset of menopause. However, estrogen alone does not prevent all long-term consequences, and other hormonal mechanisms are likely involved. Conclusions: Regardless of the cause, women who experience hormonal menopause and estrogen deficiency before reaching the median age of natural menopause are at increased risk for morbidity and mortality. Estrogen treatment should be considered for these women, but may not eliminate all of the adverse outcomes.
Peterson, A. T., J. Soberón, R. G. Pearson, R. P. Anderson, E. Martínez-Meyer, M. Nakamura, and M. B. Araújo. 2011. Ecological Niches and Geographic Distributions. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 314 pp. ISBN-978-0-691-13686-8 (hardbound); ISBN-978-0-691-13688-2 (paper). $49.50 (paper), $80.00 (hardbound).

A. T. Peterson, J. Soberon, R. G. Pearson, R. P. Anderson, E. Martinez-Meyer, M. Nakamura, M. B. Araujo. 2011. Ecological Niches and Geographic Distributions. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 314 pp. ISBN-978-0-691-13686-8 (hardbound); ISBN-978-0-691-13688-2 (paper). $49.50 (paper), $80.00 (hardbound). The past decade has seen the blooming of a new, interdisciplinary field in which developments in museum informatics, climate modeling, and geographic information system technologies have been combined, allowing for novel examination of species' ecological niches and distributions. These techniques, variously referred to as bioclimatic envelope modeling, habitat suitability modeling, ecological niche modeling, or species distribution modeling, have so far lacked a comprehensive guide summarizing critical concepts, practical considerations, and application examples. Although a recent book has been published that gives some introduction to these concepts (Franklin 2010), this new book by A. Townsend Peterson and 6 coauthors unparalleled in their modeling experience is a much-needed primer and synthesis of this new field. This book is laid out in 3 sections, and begins with a thorough explanation of ecological modeling theory before stepping through the process of assembling and evaluating distribution models and describing an overview of applications. The opening theory chapters are invaluable introductions to the field. Chapter 2 may not be new material to many mammalogists, as it describes the Grinnellian and Eltonian niche concepts with their emphasis … *Correspondent: ewaltari{at}ccny.cuny.edu
The Tragicomedy of Legitimation Jurisprudence after Watson v. Holder

This article painstakingly reviews the statutes, jurisprudence, and potential litigation strategies relating to proving derivative citizenship, when "legitimation" is disputed.Legitimacy sounds like an old-fashioned legal concept, but “legitimation,” or the lack thereof, nevertheless has serious immigration consequences. Whether an out-of-wedlock child is “legitimated” may determine if he or she is able to acquire citizenship at birth abroad through a U.S.-citizen parent or through a parent's naturalization. It also may determine whether an alien relative petition can be approved so that a noncitizen can immigrate to the United States. As the importance of legitimacy to other areas of the law decreases, it has grown increasingly difficult to interpret and apply the relevant immigration provisions.
angsd‐wrapper: utilities for analysing next‐generation sequencing data

High-throughput sequencing has changed many aspects of population genetics, molecular ecology and related fields, affecting both experimental design and data analysis. The software package angsd allows users to perform a number of population genetic analyses on high-throughput sequencing data. angsd uses probabilistic approaches which can directly make use of genotype likelihoods; thus, SNP calling is not required for comparative analyses. This takes advantage of all the sequencing data and produces more accurate results for samples with low sequencing depth. Here, we present angsd-wrapper, a set of wrapper scripts that provides a user-friendly interface for running angsd and visualizing results. angsd-wrapper supports multiple types of analyses including estimates of nucleotide sequence diversity neutrality tests, principal component analysis, estimation of admixture proportions for individual samples and calculation of statistics that quantify recent introgression. angsd-wrapper also provides interactive graphing of angsd results to enhance data exploration. We demonstrate the usefulness of angsd-wrapper by analysing resequencing data from populations of wild and domesticated Zea. angsd-wrapper is freely available from https://github.com/mojaveazure/angsd-wrapper.
Optimizing UAV systems for rapid survey and reconstruction of large scale cultural heritage sites

Recording geometrically and aesthetically accurate models of cultural heritage sites is important for both their conservation and understanding of historical importance. Rapid imaging systems are required to capture models efficiently so that large sites can be documented with sufficient resolution. Increasing availability of consumer-level drones has fostered digital data collection to replace traditional surveying methods. While such systems allow photogrammetric data to be gathered, they often prove inadequate for large scale rapid imaging. We propose an aerial system infrastructure based on: adapted aerial platforms; optimizations for flight path generation and UAV operations; high-bandwidth LTE transmission; methods of efficient point cloud generation, to rapidly document large scale heritage sites.
Effects of moisture on (La, A)MnO3 (A = Ca, Sr, and Ba) solid oxide fuel cell cathodes: a first-principles and experimental study

One of the major challenges in developing clean, environmentally friendly energy technologies such as solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is performance degradation at higher temperatures. Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathode degradation in the presence of moisture is one of the major concerns. Combining computational and experimental studies provides a comprehensive picture of the interaction between moisture and lanthanum manganite based SOFC cathodes. To better understand the surface chemistry, (La, A)MnO3 (A = Ca, Sr and Ba) (001) surfaces are explored using first-principles calculations. This computational study suggests that dissociative adsorption of water molecules is favored on (La, A)O-terminated (001) surfaces. The covalently unsaturated surface terminal O atom (via strong H-bond) attracts one of the H atoms of the water molecule, with a subsequent breakup of the water molecule into H+ and OH− groups. The surface should also be significantly enriched with A-site dopants under all realistic conditions, with all the three dopants driven to segregate to the surface over a wide range of T–pH2O conditions. Atomic force microscopy reveals just such a segregation of dopants to the surface of doped LaMnO3, enhanced in the presence of moisture. It is hypothesized that the interplay of the resulting oxygen vacancy defects and moisture from the operating environment further drives cationic surface segregation, ultimately degrading catalytic activity. In addition to providing insights into the surface chemistry, this combined experimental and computational investigation opens pathways for designing new materials with enhanced catalytic functionality.
Parameterization of Microphysical Processes in Convective Clouds in Global Climate Models

AbstractThe microphysical processes inside convective clouds play an important role in climate. They directly control the amount of detrainment of cloud hydrometeor and water vapor from updrafts. The detrained water substance in turn affects the anvil cloud formation, upper-tropospheric water vapor distribution, and thus the atmospheric radiation budget. In global climate models, convective parameterization schemes have not explicitly represented microphysics processes in updrafts until recently. In this paper, the authors provide a review of existing schemes for convective microphysics parameterization. These schemes are broadly divided into three groups: tuning-parameter-based schemes (simplest), single-moment schemes, and two-moment schemes (most comprehensive). Common weaknesses of the tuning-parameter-based and single-moment schemes are outlined. Examples are presented from one of the two-moment schemes to demonstrate the performance of the scheme in simulating the hydrometeor distribution in convect...
Agustí, J., and M. Antón. 2002. Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe. Columbia University Press, New York, 313 pp. ISBN 0-231-11640-3, price (hardcover), $39.50

J. Agusti, M. Anton. 2002. Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe. Columbia University Press, New York, 313 pp. ISBN 0-231-11640-3, price (hardcover), $39.50. Mammoths, sabertooths, and hominids is intended for a wide range of readers who are interested in the last 65 million years of mammalian evolution in Europe, with Europe defined broadly to include the area from Iberia to the Urals and Georgia. The book is divided into 7 chapters, 1 each on the Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene, and 2 on the Miocene, 1 covering the early to middle Miocene and the other the late Miocene. To cover this broad sweep of time, the authors limit their coverage of systematics and phylogeny (focusing the discussion primarily at the generic level and limiting their coverage of generic origins to those instances that shed light on matters of biogeography or paleoenvironmental conditions) and take a relatively broad chronological focus. Rather than describing the numerous climatic trends, glaciations, immigrations, emigrations, and extinctions that are known to have occurred in each period, the authors cover broader trends, emphasizing the climatic and ecological state of affairs at the beginning, middle, and end of each period. The study gives balanced attention to herbivores, carnivores, insectivores, and omnivores as well as to large and small species. Primates, including humans, receive coverage, but not at the expense of other groups. On those few occasions when it is relevant …