cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SIMS/ARXPS—A New Technique of Retained Dopant Dose and Profile Measurement of Ultralow-Energy Doping Processes

A newly developed surface analysis technique, which combines secondary ion mass spectrometry with angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, was used to achieve more accurate results of the retained impurity doses and profiles for ultralow-energy implants, including conventional beamline implant and plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII). Using this method, it has been found that the B2H6 (diborane) PIII demonstrates thicker native oxide and much more B dose loss during rapid thermal processing and surface-cleaning treatments than conventional beamline ion implantation, due to the higher surface B concentration. In order to match the electrical parameters of the device, PIII must consider higher nominal dose to compensate the B loss.
Role of Endocrinologists in Eliminating Health Care Disparities

Objective: To review some of the persistent disparities in health and health care in the United States related to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, with a focus on diabetes mellitus and obesity, and to discuss the role of endocrinologists in preventing these disparities. Methods: Some of the efforts made by the US government, such as public health strategies, to address health disparities are outlined, and statistics about diabetes and obesity are presented. Results: The elimination of health disparities, recognized as a national challenge for decades, is a national priority as defined in the national goals for Healthy People 2010. Health disparities refer to the differences in the quality of health and health care access and outcomes across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Such disparities may be related to the patient (education, socioeconomic status, environment, language), the health care system (location, structural barriers, financial resources), or the provider, including a lack of diversity in the health care workforce. Endocrinologists are responsible for the care of many patients with chronic diseases, including obesity and diabetes mellitus. Both of these chronic diseases are diagnosed with increased frequency in minority populations and are preventable, difficult to manage, and associated with many complications and high health care costs. Conclusion: The role of endocrinologists is to provide equitable, affordable, accessible, high-quality, timely, cost-effective, and culturally sensitive health care. They must be involved in population health decisions and development of optimal health care policy so that endocrine disorders can ultimately be prevented. In addition, they must educate themselves, their patients, and the community regarding maintenance of healthy lifestyles to prevent complications.
Case-Based Design Facilitated by the Design Exemplar

Case Base Design (CBD) systems aid designers in addressing new design problems by allowing the designers to search previously stored valid designs, retrieve the ones that satisfy or nearly satisfy the problem specifications, and adapt the cases to the new requirements. Many existing systems use ad-hoc functions and algorithms to perform these tasks. The design exemplar is introduced as a tool to index, query, and transform design cases in CBD. Unlike other approaches, design exemplars rely on a generic domain independent representation of entities and their relationships and are evaluated by a general algorithm based upon constraint validation and satisfaction. A retrieval mechanism of archived 3D knowledge as facilitated by the design exemplar is described. Sample sessions for the retrieval tool are provided.
Stakeholder Perceptions of Risk Associated with Human–Black Bear Conflicts in New York's Adirondack Park Campgrounds: Implications for Theory and Practice

Abstract New York State's Adirondack Park is home to an estimated 6,000 black bears (Ursus americanus), about 75% of the state's total population. Human–bear interactions at the Park's nearly 100 campgrounds are commonplace. Some interactions are conflicts that include risks to personal safety and property damage. Between 19 June 2003 and 18 August 2003, we interviewed 54 Adirondack Park campers and caretakers at 7 campgrounds to determine stakeholder-perceived risks. We structured interviews to assess 9 possible constructs influencing risks not yet reported in the literature for human–bear conflicts from campground stakeholders' perspectives: volition of exposure; certainty; feelings of dread; perceived frequency of exposure to risk; responsiveness of black bear managers; trust in black bear managers; familiarity of risk; natural causes of risk; and control over risk. Overall, perceived risk associated with human–bear conflict was low. Evidence-based analysis revealed 8 of 9 constructs to be salient. We ...
Steroid modulation of electrochemically-induced gonadotropin release in the male rat.

Electrochemical stimulation (ECS) of the medial preoptic area (MPOA) in the male rat produced an attenuated release of pituitary FSH and LH analagous to that induced in the female during Diestrus I and II. However, orchidectomy followed by estradiol-benzoate replacement resulted in a massive release of LH following ECS; FSH was again minimally responsive. Electrode implantation without ECS (sham control) was without effect upon either gonadotropin. Results indicate that the male rat can be provoked to a massive release of LH by ECS when an estrogen environment is provided; androgens appear to interfere. We also conclude that the MPOA connection for releasing-hormone secretion is intact in the male rat, and is sensitive to an external stimulus.
Abducens Nerve Avulsion and Facial Nerve Palsy After Temporal Bone Fracture: A Rare Concomitance of Injuries.

Background Avulsion of the abducens nerve in the setting of geniculate ganglion injury after temporal bone fracture is unreported previously. We discuss clinical assessment and management of a patient with traumatic avulsion of cranial nerve (CN) VI in the setting of an ipsilateral CN VII injury after temporal bone fracture and call attention to this unusual injury. Case Description A 26-year-old man suffered a temporal bone fracture after a motor vehicle accident and developed diplopia and right-sided facial droop. Six weeks after the accident, the patient was readmitted with worsening diplopia and ipsilateral facial weakness. He demonstrated absent lateral gaze on the right suggestive of either restrictive movement or right. CN VI Deficit In addition, he had right-sided facial palsy graded as 6/6 House-Brackmann. High-resolution computed tomography demonstrated a right-sided longitudinal otic capsule-sparing temporal bone fracture that propagated into the facial nerve canal and geniculate fossa. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed discontinuity of the right CN VI between the pons and the Dorello canal, as well as injury to the ipsilateral geniculate ganglion. CN VII was intact proximally, from the pons through the internal auditory canal. Consensus was reached to proceed with conservative management. At 13 months after injury, the patient reported 1/6 House-Brackmann with no improvement in CN VI function. Conclusions This case illustrates 2 subtle findings on imaging with potential therapeutic implications, notably the role of surgical intervention for facial nerve palsy.
Secretion of the extracellular domain of the human insulin receptor from insect cells by use of a baculovirus vector.

To explore the utility of the baculovirus/insect-cell system for the expression of a soluble secreted human insulin-receptor (hIR) extracellular ligand-binding domain, we have engineered a recombinant virus encoding an hIR deletion mutant which is truncated eight residues from the beginning of the predicted transmembrane domain (i.e. 921 residues). Within 24 h after infection of Sf9 cells with virus, insulin-binding activity begins to accumulate in the culture medium, and reaches a maximum between 48 and 72 h. The intracellular transit and processing of this secreted receptor, designated ‘AchIR01’, is quite slow. After 24 h in pulse-chase experiments approximately 50% of the metabolically labelled protein is still inside the cell. This protein accumulates as a non-cleaved hIR precursor which is glycosylated, but the carbohydrate is entirely endoglycosidase H (endoH)-sensitive (i.e. high mannose). Approximately one-half of the receptor in the culture medium (i.e. approximately 25% of the total) is in the form of non-cleaved precursor, and about one half of its carbohydrate chains are now endoH-resistant. The remainder of the protein is proteolytically processed hIR (alpha-plus truncated beta-subunits). None of these hIR species exhibit O-linked carbohydrate. Only the processed form of the receptor in the medium binds insulin. This insulin-binding protein is secreted as a dimer (alpha beta)2, and binds insulin with an affinity which is comparable with that of both the wild-type hIR as well as the secreted form of the hIR expressed in mammalian cells. Despite the rather inefficient processing and altered glycosylation of the AchIR01 protein in insect cells, this high-affinity insulin-binding protein accumulates in the medium at levels (mg/litre) of about 100 times that achieved in a mammalian-cell system.
Positive Limitations on the Scope of Redistribution in Market-Oriented Economies

This paper aims to study the following positive question: If some of the central features of a market-oriented economy are explicitly taken into account, then what is the extent to which government policy can or can not reduce economic inequalities in such an economy? It is shown that several qualitative observations about the scope of redistribution can be made based almost entirely on the government budget constraint. We examine the role of bureaucratic and administrative costs in inhibiting redistribution: bureaucratic inefficiencies not only reduce the scope of redistribution but, because of these costs, no redistribution is possible under a range on policies. Also, the presence of alternative transactions (that is, semi-legal or illegal transactions induced by government policies) is likely to reduce the scope of the redistribution. These and other similar observations apply to a wide range of policies (they do not depend, for instance, on the shape of various tax or subsidy schedules). For restricted policy environments (where, because of bureaucratic and informational costs, only limited types of instruments are feasible), the paper illustrates how explicit assessment of the scope of redistribution can be made. Under plausible assumptions, it turns out that the scope of redistribution is quite limited in such environments. The economic issues which our analysis raises have potential implications for several important controversies (including the debate on the virtues of market versus socialist economies). Some of these implications are discussed in the paper.
Association of Ultrasound Characteristics With Extranodal Extension in Metastatic Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Importance The presence of extranodal extension (ENE) in metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has emerged as an important prognostic factor, independently associated with tumor persistence after initial resection, decreased likelihood of complete biochemical response, and worse cause-specific survival. Therefore, the ability to determine ENE before surgery is desirable and advantageous but to date has not yet been evaluated. Objective To evaluate the use of preoperative ultrasound characteristics in predicting pathologic ENE in patients with metastatic PTC. Design, Setting, and Participants Single-institutional, retrospective analysis of patients with metastatic PTC between December 1, 2007, and May 31, 2012. The dates of the analysis were September 1, 2014, to July 31, 2015. Clinicodemographic and histopathologic data were extracted. Preoperative ultrasound images were scored for characteristics of interest by 2 independent radiologists masked to radiology and pathology reports. The setting was an academic tertiary care center. Patients were excluded if they were younger than 18 years, did not have clinical or imaging follow-up after surgery, were found to have histologic diagnoses other than PTC, or were being treated for recurrent disease. Exposures Preoperative ultrasound and neck dissection. Main Outcomes and Measures Association of ultrasound characteristics with ENE. Results Data from 29 patients with metastatic PTC and available preoperative ultrasound images and pathologic data from neck dissection were included. The patients had a median age at diagnosis of 47 years (age range, 19-85 years); and 76% (22 of 29) were female. Among 29 patients, 11 (38%) had ENE. There were no significant differences in distributions of clinicodemographic or histopathologic characteristics between patients with vs without ENE. The following ultrasound characteristics were significantly associated with ENE positivity: node matting (odds ratio [OR], 6.67; 95% CI, 1.01-44.10; P = .049), presence of node matting or cystic areas (OR, 11.70; 95% CI, 1.85-74.19; P = .009), composite score of 3 or more ultrasound characteristics (OR, 14.00; 95% CI, 2.06-95.09; P = .007), and presence of node matting, perinodal edema, unclear margins, or cystic areas (OR, 10.00; 95% CI, 1.05-95.24; P = .045), as well as presence of node matting, perinodal edema, or unclear margins (OR, 7.07; 95% CI, 1.17-42.85; P = .03). A composite score of 3 or more ultrasound characteristics had the highest accuracy (79.3%) for predicting ENE positivity. Conclusions and Relevance This study identifies preoperative ultrasound characteristics of metastatic PTC that are significantly associated with pathologically determined ENE and supports prospective analyses to further evaluate this use of preoperative ultrasound.
Do stock returns hedge inflation at long horizons

ABSTRACTWe investigate the long-horizon relationship between market returns and inflation in the United States. Conventional tests for long horizon predictability may reject the null too frequently when the predictor variable is highly persistent and endogenous and there are overlapping observations. We use a recently developed econometric technique designed to overcome these problems. We find little to no evidence that securities are able to hedge inflation.
Sports in American History: From Colonization to Globalization

This is a book review of Sports in American History for thirdspace's forthcoming issue on gender, sport and the Olympics. It is written for a feminist theory and culture audience.
Ligand-induced active sites: reactivity of iodine-protected aluminum superatoms with methanol.

The quantum states in metal clusters are bunched into electronic shells as in atoms. Ligands including halogens or thiols modify the electronic structure through bonding, resulting in stable clusters with filled electronic shells that are resistant to oxygen etching. We demonstrate that the stabilization afforded by ligands is partially confounded because the ligands perturb the charge density of the metallic core, inducing Lewis acid–base sites that make the cluster reactive in a protic environment. We demonstrate the importance of induced active sites by studying the reactivity of methanol with two classes of iodine-passivated aluminum cluster anions: Al13Ix–, which has a closed geometric shell, and Al14Iy–, which has an adatom-decorated core. Two adjacent ligands on the closed geometric shell of Al13– activate the cluster, while in Al14I3– the I induces an active site on the adatom, making the cluster reactive, explaining ligand-protected clusters’ preference for closed geometric shells.
Population Growth of Xylocoris flavipes : 1 Influence of Temperature and Humidity 2

Life tables and tables of age-specific fecundity were constructed for the predaceous bug Xylocoris flavipes (Reuter) for temperatures ranging from 20 to 35°C and for relative humidities ranging from 32 to 98%. These tables were used to calculate the innate capacity for increase, the finite rate of increase, the generation time, the gross rate of reproduction, and the net rate of reproduction. the results indicated that X. flavipes is capable of population increase over nearly the entire range of temperature and humidity examined. The optimum conditions for increase lie between 29 and 31°C and between 60 and 80% RH.
Managing public resources: budget execution

Much of the budgeting literature has focused on the questions of “how” budgets are prepared and “how” budget decisions are made. Minimal attention has been directed to “how” budgets are executed. This paper focuses on this issue with special emphasis on state government budget execution processes. The paper provides an overview of the similarities and differences of state and federal budget execution follows by an assessment of how state balanced budget requirements place special responsibilities on state budget offices to monitor “within” budget execution year expenditures and revenues. Actions which may be taken to insure that state budgets are balanced are discussed. These actions are enumerated and analyzed in terms of legislative and executive branch authority and responsibility shifts.
Parametric Analysis on the Stability of Long-Span Rigid-Frame Bridge during Cantilever Construction

Aiming at the stability of long-span prestressed concrete rigid-frame bridge during its cantilever construction,this paper investigates the effects of several dominant factors on the stability by means of the buckling theory,the deflection theory,the elasticity-plasticity theory and the collapse theory.Such factors are geometric nonlinearity,material nonlinearity,geometric imperfection,concrete crush,concrete crack,aggregate interlocking,etc.The effects of the initial pier deflection,the construction load type and the rigidity of tied-beam on the stability of long-span prestressed concrete rigid-frame bridge during cantilever construction phase are discussed in detail.Analysis and study results show that the mechanical characteristics of reinforced concrete have significant impact on the stability of long-span prestressed concrete rigid-frame bridge during cantilever construction phase.Structure stability coefficient decreases with the increase of the initial pier deflection according to parabola curves.The relationship between the rigidity of tied-beam and structure stability coefficient is in index curve.The unsymmetrical construction loads is dangerous to the stability of long-span prestressed concrete rigid-frame bridge during cantilever construction phase.
Body composition of postpubertal gilts at nutritionally induced anestrus.

An experiment using comparative slaughter was conducted to examine the relationship between occurrence of nutritionally induced anestrus in postpubertal gilts and chemically determined body composition and body composition changes. Thirty-nine Duroc x (Yorkshire x Landrace) gilts, each having experienced three or more estrous cycles, were used. Nine gilts were chosen randomly, weighed, ultrasonically scanned for 10th rib backfat thickness, and slaughtered to determine initial body composition. Remaining gilts were allotted randomly to five dietary treatments, four characterized as severely energy restrictive (RES; .25, .50, .75, and 1.0 mcal of ME/d) and a control (3.4 Mcal of ME/d). Dietary treatments provided equal amounts of protein (50 g), minerals, and vitamins daily. Individual serum progesterone levels were determined every 3 d using RIA and gilts were considered anestrous when concentrations were .10) on the quantity of body protein or fat lost, or on the quantity of body protein or fat remaining at anestrus. However, individual body protein and body fat contents of RES gilts at slaughter revealed that anestrus occurred at a wide range of body compositions, from 13.4 to 20.2 kg of protein and .36 to 27.0 kg of fat. This wide range of individual values suggests that estrous activity in the mature gilt is not controlled by specific threshold levels of body reserves.
Against the Conventionalist Turn in Legal Theory: Dickson on Hart on the Rule of Recognition

Anglophone philosophy of law is remarkably focused on one book – The Concept of Law by H.L.A. Hart. This may be a mistake. It is hard to imagine a single book – much less an introductory work for undergraduates written almost fifty years ago – playing a comparable role in, say, the philosophy of language or mind. But given that The Concept of Law does occupy such an important place in the philosophy of law, it is all the more important to get what Hart said in the book right. Julie Dickson’s recent article does, in a way that has importance for the field more generally.
Migrant melodrama and the political economy of suffering

This article deploys the term “migrant melodrama” to describe contemporary cultural production that trains a melodramatic imagination on migrants. It argues that migrant melodrama often reconfigures suffering as a necessary step in the progress toward inclusion and belonging. To interrogate this assumption, the article analyzes three prominent examples of migrant melodramas that feature children traveling north across national borders without adult caretakers: the 2006 journalistic narrative Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother, by Sonia Nazario; a 2009 HBO documentary film inspired by Nazario’s book, Which Way Home, directed by Rebecca Cammisa; and the 2007 fictional film Under the Same Moon, directed by Patricia Riggen. The article proposes that migrant melodrama plays a role in the commodification and circulation of undocumented migrant suffering in a global market, a phenomenon that the author terms “the political economy of suffering.” Performances of s...
DNA Antisense Therapy for Asthma

Publisher Summary It is important to control asthma not only because it currently necessitates millions of dollars in prescription drug expenditure each year, but also because it causes loss of time from work, severely affects family life and the ability of patients to continue work and impedes a reduction in the high cost of medical health care placed upon hospitals and emergency rooms. Prevention of asthma now seems as important as treatment of asthma with medications. Avoidance of allergens, medications and allergy immunotherapy to prevent or reduce inflammation remain pre-eminent in the formulation of treatment guidelines for asthma. An antisense oligonucleotide (ODN) is designed to target the human adenosine A 1 receptor is found serendipitously to correspond to a region of complete homology for the rabbit adenosine A 1 receptor. This unique homology between human and rabbit in the the target mRNA for the adenosine A 1 receptor (not found in rat, bovine or other species in which the receptor has been cloned) permitted the use of the antisense ODN in the allergic rabbit model of human asthma.
The Role of Endovascular In Situ Revascularization in the Treatment of Arterial and Graft Infections

Mycotic aneurysms and prosthetic graft infections are traditionally treated with excision of the infected tissue or graft, often requiring anatomical or extraanatomical bypass, carrying significant morbidity and mortality. Currently, the role of endovascular repair without excision in this setting has yet to be defined. We present 2 case scenarios, whereby mycotic pseudoaneurysms were successfully treated with endovascular stent-graft coverage and to present an in-depth review of endovascular in situ revascularization in the treatment of arterial and graft infections. There are data to support the use of stent grafting in mycotic aortic and iliac aneurysms, lower and upper extremity native arterial infections, lower extremity prosthetic bypass infections, and infections of carotid artery aneurysms. It is our belief that this technique may be utilized as primary therapy if there is no significant contamination and certainly serves an essential role in acute rupture or hemorrhage. In situations where there is significant tissue infection, stent grafting should be considered as a bridge if traditional excision is warranted.
Extrusion modifies some physicochemical properties of milk protein concentrate for improved performance in high-protein nutrition bars.

Background: Extruded and ground milk protein concentrate powders, specifically those with 800 g kg-1 protein (i.e. MPC80), imparted softness, cohesion and textural stability to high-protein nutrition (HPN) bars. The present study evaluated some physicochemical properties of extruded and conventionally produced (i.e. spray-dried) MPC80 to explain these improvements. Protein chemical changes and aggregations within MPC80-formulated HPN bars during storage were characterized.; Results: Extruded MPC80 powders had broader particle size distribution (P < 0.05) and smaller volume-weighted mean diameter (P < 0.05) than the spray-dried control. Loose, tapped and particle densities increased (P < 0.05) and correspondingly occluded and interstitial air volumes decreased (P < 0.05) after extruding and milling MPC80. Extrusion decreased water holding capacity (P < 0.05) and solubility (P < 0.05), yet improved the wettability (P < 0.05) of MPC80. MPC80 free sulfhydryl (P < 0.05) and free amine (P < 0.05) concentrations decreased after extrusion. Sulfhydryl and amine concentrations changed (P < 0.05) and disulfide-linked and, more prominently, Maillard-induced aggregates developed during HPN bar storage.; Conclusion: Extrusion and milling together changed the physicochemical properties of MPC80. Chemical changes and protein aggregations occurred in HPN bars prepared with either type of MPC80. Thus, the physicochemical properties of the formulating powder require consideration for desired HPN bar texture and stability. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.; © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
Equilibrium ratio of hydrocarbons and non-hydrocarbons at reservoir conditions: Experimental and modeling study

Abstract Determination of equilibrium composition for various multi-phase systems is important in the context of thermodynamics. Three methods are generally employed to calculate the gas/liquid equilibrium compositions; namely, empirical graphs, correlations, and equations of state (EOSs). Empirical graphs and correlations are simple and fast in terms of calculation procedure. Furthermore, using an EOS requires an initial guess, which is usually obtained via empirical correlations. In this study, the gas-oil composition of 10 different crude oils (20–40 °API) are experimentally determined by a gas chromatography (GC) apparatus within a temperature range of 600–1212 °R and a pressure range of 14.7–7000 psi. A robust predictive model is then proposed to estimate the equilibrium ratios (K i ) of hydrocarbons and non-hydrocarbons. This model is generated by utilizing the least squares support vector machine (LSSVM), while genetic algorithm (GA) is used for selection and optimization of hyper parameters (γ and σ 2 ) that are embedded in the LSSVM model. The coefficient of determination (R 2 ) for the introduced model is 0.9991 and 0.9979 and the mean squared error (MSE) is 0.00074 and 0.044 for the hydrocarbons and non-hydrocarbons, respectively. The proposed model is simple to use and exhibits high accuracy and reliability, which can have various applications in chemical and petroleum industries where the thermodynamic equilibrium is maintained.
Descent Theory Formalism

Throughout this chapter R → S will be a faithfully flat ring extension. If M is an S-module, then M ⊗ R S is an S ⊗ R S-module in two ways, directly and by the twist in S⊗S; that is, (a⊗b)(m⊗s) may be am⊗ bs or bm⊗as. In general these two structures are not Isomorphic; if for instance M = S/I, then the annihilator of M ⊗ S is I ⊗ S in one structure and S⊗ I in the other.
Parametric study of air curtain door aerodynamics performance based on experiments and numerical simulations

Air curtains have been widely used to reduce infiltration through door openings and save heating/cooling energy in different types of buildings. Previous studies have found that there exist three aerodynamics conditions: optimum condition (OC), inflow break-through (IB), and outflow break-through (OB) conditions, which are important for categorizing air curtain performance subject to such key parameters including supply speed and angle, and presence of a person during an actual operation. However, few studies have focused on the effects of these parameters on air curtain performance in terms of resisting infiltration and reducing exfiltration. This research presents a parametric study of air curtain performance based on reduced-scale experiments and full-scale numerical simulations. It was found that increasing air curtain supply angle improves air curtain performance when it is operated under the OC and IB conditions but creates excessive exfiltration under the OB condition. Increasing supply speed of air curtain generally improves the air curtain performance whereas this improvement deteriorates with the increase of supply angle under the OB condition. The presence of person, either directly under or below the air curtain, almost has no effect on the infiltration/exfiltration during the OC condition. Moreover, the person in the doorway can block airflow from both directions, contributing to less infiltration under the IB condition and less exfiltration under the OB condition than without the person. This study provides valuable insights into air curtain aerodynamics performance under different operational conditions and key contributing parameters.
Optimization of 3D Print Material for the Recreation of Patient-Specific Temporal Bone Models.

Objective:Identify the 3D printed material that most accurately recreates the visual, tactile, and kinesthetic properties of human temporal boneSubjects and Methods:Fifteen study participants with ...
Neurologic Evaluation of the Equine Head and Neurogenic Dysphagia

Neurologic evaluation should be performed in horses with diseases of the head. Although neurologic examination should focus on assessing behavior, mental status, and cranial nerve evaluation, evaluation of neurologic function of other body regions should be performed. Neurologic evaluation of the head can be performed expediently by practitioners to provide useful diagnostic and prognostic information. The numerous causes of dysphagia can be classified as obstructive, painful, or neurogenic. Common causes of neurogenic dysphagia are summarized, and methods for initial diagnosis and management are described. Maintaining adequate nutrition and preventing aspiration pneumonia are principal concerns in managing horses with neurogenic dysphagia.
Introduction to the Special Issue on Higher Education in Africa: Global Perspectives

The global landscape for higher education continues to experience widespread reforms and globalization is believed to underlie much of the change. Responses to the influences of globalization at the institutional, national, and international arenas have been multiple and varied. In Europe, the Bologna Process and its related initiatives represent a restructuring of higher education systems toward more convergence to increase global competitiveness. The impacts of these reforms reverberated throughout the global higher education ecosystem, the culmination of which has been, among other things, a growing focus on student learning outcomes. The contributions in this special issue engage a wide variety of topics related to the influences of globalization and internationalization on higher education in Africa. The common theme knitting the contributions together is that the drivers of reforms in African higher education are not fundamentally different from elsewhere.
Blood pressure lowering medication initiation and fracture risk: a SWAN pharmacoepidemiology study.

We examined the fracture risk after initiation of blood pressure–lowering drugs compared with initiation of antidepressants. Multivariable regression models demonstrated an increased risk of fracture among women initiating a blood pressure–lowering medication (HR 1.73, 95% CI 1.02–2.95). This is likely related to an increased risk of falls. Initiation of blood pressure–lowering drugs has been associated with fractures in several studies, presumably due to an increase in the risk of falls. However, these studies used self-controlled designs without active comparators. We examined the risk of fractures after initiation of blood pressure lowering drugs compared with initiation of antidepressants. Women participants in the Study of Women Across the Nation (SWAN) were potentially eligible if they initiated blood pressure–lowering or antidepressant drugs during follow-up. To reduce the risk of confounding, we estimated a propensity score that included potential confounders including age, menopausal status, osteoporosis, and osteoporosis medication use. The propensity score was used to match subjects in both groups and we then constructed multivariable logistic regression models comparing the risk of any fracture. Sensitivity analyses assessed a limited range of fractures less likely related to trauma. Among the 3302 potentially eligible women participating in the SWAN cohort, we were able to propensity-score match 289 women who initiated a blood pressure–lowering medication with 289 who initiated an antidepressant. Multivariable logistic regression models demonstrated an increased risk of fracture among women initiating a blood pressure lowering medication (OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.02–2.95). After excluding fractures of the digits and face, the results were similar (OR 1.57, 95% CI 0.88–2.81). There was evidence of an increased risk in fractures among women initiating blood pressure–lowering medications compared to those initiating antidepressants. This is likely related to an increased risk of falling.
Light-headedness and bradycardia in a 72-year-old woman.

Complete heart block is a form of atrioventricular (AV) dissociation, but not all AV dissociation is complete heart block.
The feasibility of a multidisciplinary group therapy clinic for the treatment of nonepileptic seizures

A high percentage of patients presenting to epilepsy centers have a functional neurological disorder with apparent seizures, ultimately diagnosed as nonepileptic seizures (NES). Meta-analyses suggest that psychological treatment is required, but this treatment is not reliably available, resulting in reentry of these patients to neurology clinics and urgent care settings, reducing access for these services to patients with epilepsy and resulting in inadequate psychological care for patients with NES. A sustainable, group therapy-focused treatment clinic for patients with NES was developed as a combined effort between the departments of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Colorado Hospital, consisting of a full psychiatric evaluation, a five-week psychoeducational group, a 12-week psychodynamic therapy group, individual therapy, medication management, and family assessment. One hundred and six patients were treated in this clinic between July 2016 and October 2018. Patient retention after referral for treatment was 89/136 (65.4%), and group therapy adherence was 89/106 (84.0%). Healthcare utilization, used as a proxy to demonstrate worth, decreased during and after treatment. Analysis of the 106 treated patients elucidates other clinical characteristics of this population, including psychiatric comorbidities and specific medication classes at time of NES diagnosis. We conclude that this clinic model is feasible for recruiting, retaining, and engaging patients in appropriate treatment for their NES.
The Comparison of Latent Variable Propensity Score Models to Traditional Propensity Score Models under Conditions of Covariate Unreliability

AbstractPropensity score (PS) methods are implemented by researchers to balance the differences between participants in control and treatment groups that exist in observational studies using a set ...
Association between Human Leukocyte Antigen Type and Keratinocyte Carcinoma Risk in Renal Transplant Recipients.

Keratinocyte carcinoma (KC), defined as squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma, is the most common malignancy among white, non-Hispanic renal transplant recipients. Although recent genome-wide association studies reported that class II HLA is associated with KC risk, epidemiologic data on HLA type and KC risk in renal transplant recipients is limited. Using an institutional cohort of white, non-Hispanic renal transplant recipients transplanted between 1993 and 2017, we examined the association between pretransplant molecular HLA types and KC risk. Posttransplant KCs were captured using the International Classification of Diseases codes and validated using pathology reports. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios of incident KC, squamous cell carcinoma, and basal cell carcinoma, adjusting for age, male sex, history of KC, Charlson comorbidity index, HLA mismatch, transplant type, year of transplant, and the type of immunosuppression. Among 617 subjects (mean age 53 years, 67% male), 10% developed posttransplant KC. Multivariable Cox regression analyses showed HLA-DRB1∗13 was associated with KC risk (hazard ratio, 1.84; 95% confidence interval, 1.00–3.38) and squamous cell carcinoma risk (hazard ratio, 2.24; 95% confidence interval, 1.12–4.49), whereas HLA-DRB1∗14 (hazard ratio, 2.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.14–6.91) was associated with basal cell carcinoma risk. Our findings suggest that a subset of renal transplant recipients with specific HLA polymorphisms may be at increased KC risk.
The Impact of the Cooperative Mentorship Model on Faculty Preparedness to Develop Online Courses

The 2017 survey of Faculty Attitude on Technology conducted by Insider Higher Ed reported on the low percentage of partnerships between university faculty and instructional designers in online course development. Experts said it is not a surprise because instructional designers are underutilized and their role in Higher Education is still not clear. This qualitative study examined the faculty members’ perceptions about their mentorship relations with instructional designers when they designed and developed asynchronous online courses. This study also explored factors that may lead to successful mentorship relationships between instructional designers as mentors and faculty members as mentees. Higher education administration, university faculty, and instructional designers will benefit from the results of this study.
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) exposure inhibits DNA methyltransferase activities and alters constitutive heterochromatin organization.

Abstract Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a persistent and widespread industry-made chemical. Emerging evidence indicates that PFOA exposure could be meditated through DNA methylation, yet, the molecular mechanisms governing the epigenetic states have not been well established. In this study, we investigated the epigenetic alterations and inhibitory mechanisms upon PFOA exposure by identifying changes related to DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) with fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and stimulated emission depletion nanoscopy in human breast epithelial cells (MCF7). PFOA exposure at 100 and 200 μM altered the mobility of DNMT3A and inhibited the enzymatic activity of DNMT, resulting in global DNA demethylation. Moreover, PFOA significantly altered the heterochromatin organization, as noted by the distribution profile of histone 3 lysine 9 tri-methylation (H3K9me3) at 200 and 400 μM exposure levels with super-resolution microscopy. An increased redistribution around the periphery of the nucleus was noted with a more diffused distribution beyond the 200 μM exposure. Overall, exposure of PFOA resulted in DNA demethylation accompanied by altered expression patterns of DNMT1 and DNMT3A. These findings provided new insights on the epigenetic alterations and revealed an altered heterochromatin packaging upon exposure to PFOA, implicating a mechanistic mode of action of DNA demethylation through direct impacts on DNMTs and increasing susceptibility to diseases such as cancer.
Impact of lossy compression of nanopore raw signal data on basecalling and consensus accuracy

Motivation Nanopore sequencing provides a real-time and portable solution to genomic sequencing, enabling better assembly, structural variant discovery and modified base detection than second generation technologies. The sequencing process generates a huge amount of data in the form of raw signal contained in fast5 files, which must be compressed to enable efficient storage and transfer. Since the raw data is inherently noisy, lossy compression has potential to significantly reduce space requirements without adversely impacting performance of downstream applications. Results We explore the use of lossy compression for nanopore raw data using two state-of-the-art lossy time-series compressors, and evaluate the tradeoff between compressed size and basecalling/consensus accuracy. We test several basecallers and consensus tools on a variety of datasets at varying depths of coverage, and conclude that lossy compression can provide 35–50% further reduction in compressed size of raw data over the state-of-the-art lossless compressor with negligible impact on basecalling accuracy (⁠≲0.2% reduction) and consensus accuracy (⁠≲0.002% reduction). In addition, we evaluate the impact of lossy compression on methylation calling accuracy and observe that this impact is minimal for similar reductions in compressed size, although further evaluation with improved benchmark datasets is required for reaching a definite conclusion. The results suggest the possibility of using lossy compression, potentially on the nanopore sequencing device itself, to achieve significant reductions in storage and transmission costs while preserving the accuracy of downstream applications. Availabilityand implementation The code is available at https://github.com/shubhamchandak94/lossy_compression_evaluation.
Guesthouse catering facility as an experience generator in electronic communication of hungarian rural tourism supply

Based on the model of tourism experience components, the experience basis and experience generators allow the creation of experience promises, the formation of experience imagination and the realization of experience. The catering facilities of rural tourism cannot be considered as a part of the experience basis from the point of view of supply due to the legislative framework i.e. the limited availability of catering services. At the same time, demand considers as an essential supply element the countryside flavours, the tasting of traditional gastronomy in terms of both the endowment and the availability and from the professional point of view, the appearance of a supply element in rural tourism in Hungary is unquestionable. The exploratory research covers the entire range of qualified accommodation based on the FATOSZ (Hungarian National Association of Rural and Agrotourism) electronic communication database, analyses the experience promises based on the aspects developed according to the topic, identifying their experience basis or experience generator characteristics, looking for the relationship between quality and the gastronomic experiences.
Optimal Technology Adoption Subsidies with Consumer Switching Costs and Strategic Firms

This analytical modeling paper investigates optimal subsidies to promote adoption of a socially beneficial new technology in a market with consumer switching costs and strategic firms. For the firms, it explores the pricing decisions of an entrant selling the new technology and an incumbent selling an established technology. For the government, it analyzes optimal subsidies for old and new customers who are distinguished by switching costs. I assess how the firms' ability to price discriminate, and the government's ability to engage in policy segmentation, between old and new customers affect optimal subsidies and welfare outcomes. The model represents a duopoly with an entrant and incumbent selling horizontally differentiated products to both old customers, who face switching costs to adopt the new technology, and new customers, who do not. Given subsidies, I characterize equilibrium prices, market shares, and profits when the firms can and cannot price discriminate. Then, I analytically determine the optimal subsidy levels for old and new customers when the government can and cannot segment them. The only scenario with lower maximum achievable social welfare than the others occurs when firms can price discriminate but the government cannot set different subsidy levels for old and new customers. Although the government can overcome the effects of price discrimination, doing so requires the ability to practice policy segmentation and higher government expenditures on the subsidy program. Policymakers should find it easier and less costly to improve welfare through adoption subsidies if they can prevent price discrimination based on switching costs.
Quality of life in adolescents and young adults with and without Spina Bifida: An exploratory analysis.

Abstract Purpose The measurement of Quality of life (QOL) in adolescents and especially in adolescents with disabilities is limited, often by an assessment of function rather than perception. This analysis explores QOL in adolescents and young adults (AYA) with and without Spina Bifida (SB) from the perspective of AYA and their parents. Design and methods A descriptive study using content analysis was conducted as a component of a larger multi-site mixed-method study of secondary conditions and adaptation. Participants responded to a single open-ended question on the meaning of quality of life. Results Descriptive accounts from 209 families generated the following shared categories: an engaged family, a positive life, the goal of independence, being healthy, essential needs for living, having friends, relying on faith, and romantic relationships. A unique category emerged from parents, doing what AYA wants to do. Conclusions Family was the most frequently nominated component of QOL. The centrality of family in QOL is an important finding generally not assessed in measures of QOL or even less in health-related QOL instruments. Practice implications Findings illustrate the importance of evaluating overall QOL from the perspective of AYA and their parents.
Response surface method optimization of a natural gas engine with dedicated exhaust gas recirculation

Stoichiometric industrial natural gas engines rely on robust design to achieve consumer driven up-time requirements. Key to this design are exhaust components that are able to withstand high combus...
Bringing Behavior-Analytic Theory to Eco-driving Research: Verbal Rules Mediate the Effectiveness of Feedback for Professional and Civilian Drivers

Suboptimal efficiency in activities involving the consumption of fossil fuels, such as driving, contributes to a miscellany of negative environmental, political, economic, and social externalities. Demonstrations of the effectiveness of feedback interventions can be found in countless settings, as can demonstrations of individual differences in sensitivity to feedback interventions. Mechanisms providing feedback to drivers about fuel economy are becoming standard equipment in new vehicles but vary considerably in their constitution. A keystone of the philosophy of radical behaviorism and its related scientific discipline, behavior analysis, is the acknowledgment that verbal behavior plays a role in mediating individual responses to delayed contingencies. In the current feasibility study, samples of individuals’ verbal behavior (rules about how to drive efficiently) were collected in the context of two eco-driving feedback interventions—one with commercial fleet drivers and one with civilian drivers. Analysis revealed that the rate at which drivers generated novel verbal rules (per week) accounted for a substantial proportion of the variability in relative efficiency gains across participants. Findings support the utility of behavior-analytic conceptual tools in this field of research, such as the basic distinction between contingency-shaped and rule-governed behaviors and the elaboration of direct-acting and indirect-acting contingencies.