cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using semi-experts to derive judgments on word sense alignment: a pilot study

The overall goal of this project is to evaluate the performance of word sense alignment (WSA) systems, focusing on obtaining examples appropriate to language learners. Building a gold standard dataset based on human expert judgments is costly in time and labor, and thus we gauge the utility of using semi-experts in performing the annotation. In an online survey, we present a sense of a target word from one dictionary with senses from the other dictionary, asking for judgments of relatedness. We note the difficulty of agreement, yet the utility in using such results to evaluate WSA work. We find that one's treatment of related senses heavily impacts the results for WSA.
Development of the Neonatal Intestinal Microbiome and Its Association With Necrotizing Enterocolitis.

Abstract Purpose Neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) remains the most devastating gastrointestinal disease for premature infants. In the United States alone, NEC affects >4000 premature infants yearly, has a mortality rate of nearly 33%, and costs the health care system >$1 billion annually. Although NEC has been actively researched for several decades, its pathophysiology remains elusive. One potential mechanism suggests that disruption of the normal neonatal intestinal bacterial flora induces a proinflammatory state, allowing translocation of pathogens across the intestinal epithelia. Disruption of the normal intestinal flora (dysbiosis) is associated with many human diseases. Thus, it is a reasonable hypothesis that dysbiosis may play an important role in the development of NEC. This hypothesis is supported by evidence that probiotic use in premature infants can prevent the development of NEC. Although the role of probiotics and NEC is covered in other reviews, this review instead focuses on normal bacterial colonization in both term and preterm infants and on the association of dysbiosis and the development of NEC. Methods PubMed was queried with the use of the following key search terms: NEC, neonatal microbiome, fetal microbiome, maternal microbiome, neonatal dysbiosis, and microbiome ontogeny. Relevant literature was reviewed and selected for inclusion in accordance with the objectives of the article according to the authors’ discretion. Articles that made key salient points in review articles were further pulled from PubMed. Findings Although the onset of NEC is thought to involve bacteria, the mechanisms behind their involvement remain unclear. Research to date has failed to identify a single causative organism, and current theories and data now indicate that a disruption of the host intestinal flora is associated with the onset of disease. Recent reports have found that a bloom of Proteobacteria, specifically Enterobacteriacae species, occurs just before the diagnosis of NEC. Whether this is a causative event or merely a marker of intestinal disease is still unclear. Implications Because of the complexity of these interactions, it is vital that we continue to investigate the host-bacterial axis in the developing intestine in both humans and in animal models.
Networked Employment Discrimination

Employers often struggle to assess qualified applicants, particularly in contexts where they receive hundreds of applications for job openings. In an effort to increase efficiency and improve the process, many have begun employing new tools to sift through these applications, looking for signals that a candidate is “the best fit.” Some companies use tools that offer algorithmic assessments of workforce data to identify the variables that lead to stronger employee performance, or to high employee attrition rates, while others turn to third party ranking services to identify the top applicants in a labor pool. Still others eschew automated systems, but rely heavily on publicly available data to assess candidates beyond their applications. For example, some HR managers turn to LinkedIn to determine if a candidate knows other employees or to identify additional information about them or their networks. Although most companies do not intentionally engage in discriminatory hiring practices (particularly on the basis of protected classes), their reliance on automated systems, algorithms, and existing networks systematically benefits some at the expense of others, often without employers even recognizing the biases of such mechanisms. The intersection of hiring practices and the Big Data phenomenon has not produced inherently new challenges. While this paper addresses issues of privacy, fairness, transparency, accuracy, and inequality under the rubric of discrimination, it does not pivot solely around the legal definitions of discrimination under current federal anti-discrimination law. Rather, it describes a number of areas where issues of inherent bias intersect with, or come into conflict with, socio-cultural notions of fairness.
Things Not Nice: An Essay on Civil Government

This essay argues that the biblical view does not permit civil government to punish all socially harmful wrongs.
Creation of a wiki-based code snippet repository

My goal in this project was to create a wiki-style code snippet repository that would provide users the ability to query and contribute snippets of useful source code. This project addresses the challenge of software reuse amongst software developers.
Replicating the Performance Evaluation of an N-Body Application on a Manycore Accelerator

Reproducibility for High Performance Computing (HPC) systems has been discussed for some time already, but more work should be carried out to cover the latest accelerators that equip the fastest supercomputers such as the ones listed in Top500. In this paper, we perform a replication of a performance evaluation carried out using an N-Body Open MP parallel application on a XeonPhi accelerator. We also compare the obtained performance with a similar N-Body CUDA application. Besides encountering intriguing results about the Xeon Phi on the number of hardware threads, our comparison against Nvidia boards using the same load shows that the execution Xeon Phi is slower than on Nvidia K20 and GTX760 accelerators.
Influence of Electric Fields and Surface Chemistry on Ice Nucleation Kinetics

The majority of studies on ice formation have attempted to prevent or reduce ice build-up; very few studies have focused on promoting ice nucleation which would have applications in appliances, cryopreservation, and pharmaceutical freeze-drying. Such studies are also relevant to the synthesis of methane hydrates for natural gas transportation. This paper details a fundamental study on the influence of interfacial electric fields on ice nucleation promotion.Electrofreezing, i.e. applying an electric field has been shown to electrically induce nucleation of supercooled water. The freezing temperatures of supercooled water can thus be increased via electrofreezing. However, the mechanisms responsible for elevating the freezing temperature are unclear. Typically, bare electrodes are submerged in water, which creates a volumetric electric field in water. With this type of electric field, the application of a voltage can result in multiple phenomena such as current flows, chemical reactions and gas bubble formation or growth. It is unclear whether electrofreezing is the result of the electric field or the current flow-related secondary phenomena.In the present work, the role of electric fields and surface charge on electrofreezing is isolated by studying electrofreezing of water droplets on a dielectric layer. This dielectric layer blocks current and creates an interfacial electric field with a build-up of electric charge at the solid-fluid interface. Ultra-high electric fields of up to 80 V/μm were applied, which is one order of magnitude higher than in previous studies. Infrared (IR) thermography was used to capture ice nucleation and determine the electrofreezing temperature. The results show that the electric fields alone can elevate the freezing temperature of water by as much as 15 °C; however, this effect saturates at electric fields of approximately 20–40 V/μm. Also, the electrofreezing effect was found to be polarity independent. Therefore, it is hypothesized that the mechanism underlying electrofreezing is a reduction in the Gibbs free energy for ice crystal nucleation. Furthermore, by intentionally creating pinholes in the dielectric layer, which creates current paths, the influence of electric current on electrofreezing was also studied. It was observed that electric currents and/or other secondary effects, such as bubble generation, further increased the electrofreezing temperatures.Overall, this work fills many existing gaps in the current understanding of electrofreezing. It is seen that both the electric field and electric current influence electrofreezing; however, the physical mechanisms are different.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Aminoaciduria in experimental lead poisoning.

SummaryA “generalized” aminoaciduria occurs in lead-intoxicated rats characterized by a 1- to 3-fold elevation in renal clearances of most amino acids. The increase in histidine clearance is exceptionally large, whereas, changes in glycine and valine clearances are slight. Tyrosine clearance is actually decreased.Plasma glycine is greatly increased; lesser increases in plasma threonine and lysine were found. Plasma levels of other amino acids were the same or less than those of control rats.The increase in renal clearances of amino acids is thought to result from impaired renal tubular reabsorption secondary to an effect of lead on the metabolism of proximal renal tubular lining cells. Hyperglycinemia may be prerenal reflecting the defect in prophyrin synthesis known to occur in lead poisoning. It is also suggested that the formation of metal-amino acid complexes may contribute to the excessive aminoaciduria.
Conditional Mediation Models of Intersecting Identities Among Female Asian International Students

This study investigated how gender, racial, and nationality discrimination were related to the life satisfaction of female Asian international students directly and indirectly through loneliness, as well as how these pathways differed as a function of gender, racial, and nationality in-group solidarity. Participants were 216 female Asian international students from two public universities. Results demonstrated that all three types of discrimination predicted decreased life satisfaction. Loneliness mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and life satisfaction. In addition, these mediation pathways differed as a function of in-group solidarity (e.g., sense of attachment to one’s racial group), providing evidence for conditional mediation effects. Gender solidarity was a protective factor that mitigated feelings of loneliness when experiencing gender discrimination, whereas racial and nationality solidarity were risk factors for decreased life satisfaction when experiencing loneliness. We ...
A cross-sectional analysis of family medicine publications in the indexed medical literature.

BACKGROUND Publications are important to the academic development of the field of family medicine. Not all manuscripts written by family physicians or family medicine faculty are published in family medicine journals. The purpose of this study was to determine where manuscripts generated by US family medicine department faculty are being published. METHODS A MEDLINE search was performed for all English language articles published in 1979 and 1989. The search technique involved identifying articles that included the words "family" and "medicine" or "family" and "practice" in the institution field of the MEDLINE index. All identified articles were then manually reviewed to confirm authorship by family medicine department faculty. Article types were classified according to previously published schemata. RESULTS The research identified 178 articles from 1979 and 328 articles form 1989. In 1979, 52% of the articles had been published in family medicine journals. In 1989, the percentage was exactly 50%. Biomedical articles comprised the largest category (approximately half) of articles. Educational articles were the second most common type. CONCLUSIONS The number of publications generated by family medicine faculty has grown, as has the number (but not the percentage) of articles published in non-family medicine journals.
Highlights from the Updated Joint ASNC/SNMMI PET Myocardial Perfusion and Metabolism Clinical Imaging Guidelines

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) will periodically define new guidelines or update prior guidelines for nuclear medicine practice, independently or in collaboration with other organizations, to help advance the science of nuclear medicine and to improve the quality of
A graduate curriculum in emergency public health

The increase in adverse health impacts of disasters has raised awareness of the need for education in the field of emergency public health. In the past, most traditional models of graduate education in schools of public health have not incorporated the theory and practice of disaster public health into their curricula. This paper describes the development of a curriculum in emergency public health within a US masters program in public health, and provides a description of the courses that comprise an area of specialization in the field. The interdisciplinary nature of the faculty, close ties with public health practitioners, and practical applications of the nine courses in this program are highlighted. The curriculum is presented as one model that can be used to meet the educational needs of professionals who will assume the responsibility for planning for and responding to the public health impacts of mass-populations disasters.
Prospects for New Dielectric Solid-State Lasers

The structure/kinetic properties of classes of light emitting ionic complexes in dielectric solids will be portrayed as a framework in the search for novel dielectric solid state lasers.
Thematic analysis of barriers and facilitators to implementation of neonatal resuscitation guideline changes

Objective To evaluate experiences regarding implementation of Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) guideline changes in the context of a collaborative quality improvement (QI) project. Study design Focus groups were conducted with local QI leaders and providers from nine sites that participated in a QI collaborative. Thematic analysis identified facilitators and barriers to implementation of NRP guideline changes and QI in general. Results Facilitators for QI included comparative process measurement and data tracking. Barriers to QI were shifting priorities and aspects of the project that seemed inefficient. Specific to NRP, implementation strategies that worked involved rapid feedback, and education on rationale for change. Changes that interrupted traditional workflow proved challenging to implement. Limited resources and perceptions of increased workload were also barriers to implementation. Conclusion Collaborative QI methods are generally well accepted, particularly data tracking, sharing experience and education. Strategies to increase efficiency and manage workload may facilitate improved staff attitudes toward change.
Adverse events associated with a large dose of intravenous lipid emulsion for suspected local anesthetic toxicity.

AbstractBackground: Intravenous lipid emulsion (ILE) has gained favor as a rescue treatment for cardiovascular collapse due to intravenous local anesthetic overdose, however, goals of ILE therapy are still being defined. We describe a case of a girl given 66 mL/kg of 20% lipid emulsion (ILE) in the treatment of presumed mepivacaine toxicity.Case report: An 11-year-old girl weighing 55.6 kg developed pallor, rolling back of the eyes, and rhythmic muscle twitching after receiving a mandibular nerve block injection with a 1.8 mL ampule of 3% mepivacaine. With concern for persistent seizures she was given three 1 mL/kg boluses of ILE, followed by an infusion of 0.25 mL/kg/min. The total dose ultimately administered was 3670 mL (66 mL/kg) over 7 h. A serum triglyceride concentration, drawn 2 h after cessation of ILE infusion, was estimated to be 16,583 mg/dL (429 mmol/L) after several dilutions; her blood was grossly lipemic. Notable signs included hypersomnolence, tachypnea, and tachycardia. Other complicatio...
Nonparametric maximum likelihood approximate message passing

Generalized approximate message passing (GAMP) is an effective algorithm for recovering signals from noisy linear measurements, assuming known a priori signal distributions. However, in practice, both the signal distribution and noise level are often unknown. The EM-GM-AMP algorithm integrates GAMP with the EM algorithm to simultaneously estimate the signal distribution and noise variance while recovering the signal. EM-GM-AMP is built on the assumption that the signal is drawn from a sparse Gaussian mixture. In this paper, we propose nonparametric maximum likelihood-AMP (NPML-AMP) for estimating an arbitrary signal distribution in this setting. In addition to providing more flexibility (and performance improvements), we argue that the nonparametric approach actually simplifies implementation and improves stability by leveraging approximate convexity, which is not available in the sparse Gaussian mixture formulation of EM-GM-AMP. We also propose a simplified noise variance estimator for use in conjunction with NPML-AMP (or EM-GM-AMP). A comprehensive numerical study validates the performance of NPML-AMP algorithm in reaching nearly minimum mean squared error (MMSE) under various signal distributions, noise levels, and undersampling ratios.
ACP-OPLL photonic IC with no balanced photodetection for high dynamic range RF photonic links

We present the design, fabrication and measurement of the first attenuation-counter-propagating optical-phase-locked-loop (ACP-OPLL) photonic IC without balanced photodetectors for high dynamic range RF photonic links. The novel ACP-OPLL design significantly reduces fabrication complexity, cost and optical loss. Preliminary measurement showed improved SFDR performance.
Differential release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens evoked by low-versus high-frequency medial prefrontal cortex stimulation

Abstract The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) coordinates goal-directed behaviors, which may be mediated through mPFC regulation of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Furthermore, frequency-specific oscillatory activity between the frontal cortex and downstream structures may facilitate inter-region communication. Although high-frequency (e.g., 60 Hz) mPFC stimulation is known to increase basal dopamine levels in the NAc, little is known about how phasic dopamine release is affected by mPFC stimulation. Understanding the frequency-specific control of phasic dopamine release by mPFC stimulation could elucidate mechanisms by which the mPFC modulates other regions. It could also inform optimization of deep brain stimulation for treatment of neurological disorders. Objective The goal of this work was to characterize the frequency response of NAc dopamine release resultant from mPFC stimulation. We hypothesized that the magnitude of dopamine release in the NAc would increase with increasing stimulation frequency. Methods Electrical stimulation of the mPFC of anesthetized rats was delivered at 4–60 Hz and at varying durations while measuring NAc dopamine release with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. Results mPFC stimulation resulted in phasic dopamine release in the NAc. Furthermore, 20 Hz stimulation evoked the largest peak response for stimulation intervals >5 s when compared to higher or lower frequencies. Conclusions Activation of the mPFC drives dopamine release in the NAc in a complex frequency- and duration-dependent manner. This has implications for the use of deep brain stimulation treatment of disorders marked by dopaminergic dysregulation, and suggest that mPFC may exert more specialized control over neuromodulator release than previously understood.
The Trouble With Quantifiers: Exploring Children's Deficits in Scalar Implicature.

Adults routinely use the context of utterances to infer a meaning beyond the literal semantics of their words (e.g., inferring from "She ate some of the cookies" that she ate some, but not all). Contrasting children's (N = 209) comprehension of scalar implicatures using quantifiers with contextually derived ad hoc implicatures revealed that 4- to 5-year-olds reliably computed ad hoc, but not scalar, implicatures (Experiment 1). Unexpectedly, performance with "some" and "none" was correlated (Experiments 1 and 2). An individual differences study revealed a correlation between quantifier knowledge and implicature success (Experiment 3); a control study ruled out other factors (Experiment 4). These findings suggest that some failures with scalar implicatures may be rooted in a lack of semantic knowledge rather than general pragmatic or processing demands.
Underestimation of Unplanned Readmission after Colorectal Surgery: A National Analysis

Background A significant proportion of postoperative readmission occurs at a different hospital and is therefore missed by current benchmarking. There are no national studies tracking readmission at different hospitals after colorectal surgery. This study aimed to determine the national burden of postoperative colorectal readmission, including readmission to a different hospital. Study Design The 2013 to 2014 Nationwide Readmissions Database was queried for adults undergoing colorectal surgery. The outcome of interest was 30-day unplanned readmission. Risk factors were identified. Results There were 79,098 patients admitted during the study period, with 7.1% (n = 5,591) readmitted and of those, 10.2% (n = 569) readmitted to a different hospital. Risk factors for readmission to a different hospital included admission to a high-volume hospital (odds ratio [OR] 1.49 [95% CI 1.17 to 1.91], p Conclusions The burden of readmission to a different hospital after colorectal surgery is significant and disproportionately affects high-volume hospitals. Current quality metrics underestimate readmission, failing to capture the subpopulation readmitted to a different hospital. Interventions designed to prevent readmission need to be tailored to the unique risk factors described for different hospital readmission. Benchmarking not measuring different hospital readmission is inaccurate and should be modified.
Abstract MP70: Impact of Cardiovascular Health Metrics on Life Expectancy and All-cause Mortality in Middle-aged and Elderly Men and Women

Purpose: We investigated the combined impact of 7 ideal cardiovascular health metrics on life expectancy and lifetime risk of all-cause mortality in middle-aged and elderly US men and women. Methods: Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine the associations of single and combined number of 7 health metrics and all-cause mortality after adjustment for multiple risk factors. Survival analysis (modified version) was used to compute lifetime risk of all-cause mortality at 40 years of age to 80, with death free of chronic diseases as a competing event. We followed 7,848 men and women, aged 40 to 80 years, who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. All participants completed baseline lifestyle factors and lifestyle behavior questionnaires. The 7 ideal cardiovascular health metrics were defined as physically active, never smoked, a healthy diet, waist girth ( Results: During an average of 13.2 years of follow-up (103,851 person-years), there were a total of 2,297 all-cause deaths (915 CVD, 546 cancer, 210 respiratory disease, 86 diabetes mellitus). After adjustment for multiple risk factors, men and women with all 6 or 7 combined ideal health metrics had a 68% (95% CI: 43% to 83%) lower risk of all-cause mortality compared with men and women with zero ideal health metrics. The lifetime risks of all-cause mortality (at 40 years of age) across 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 or 7 ideal health metrics were (95% CI) 60.2% (55.6, 64.8), 51.9% (48.4, 55.4), 43.6% (40.3, 46.9), 37.1% (33.0, 41.3), 35.1% (29.6, 40.5), 33.8% (24.8, 42.8), and 19.4% (5.1, 33.7), respectively. Men and women with increasing number ideal health metrics had a substantially lower lifetime risk of all-cause mortality. Men and women with 6 or 7 compared with 0 combined ideal health metrics had a longer life expectancy by 13.5 years (95% CI: 6.8 to 19.5 years). Approximately 53% (95% CI: 15% to 74%) of all-cause deaths might have been avoided if men and women had adopted all 6 or 7 combined health factors and healthy lifestyle behaviors. Conclusion: Adopting the AHA’s 7 ideal cardiovascular health metrics is associated with lower lifetime risk of all-cause mortality and longer life expectancy in middle-aged and elderly US men and women.
Protean possibilities: attending to affect in collaborative research – a reply to Valdimar Halldórsson

This is a reply to:Halldorsson, Valdimar J. 2017. “Affective collaboration in the West Fjords of Iceland.” Global Discourse 7(4): 548–564. https://doi.org/10.1080/23269995.2017.1355096
White-Light Emission from Layered Halide Perovskites.

ConspectusWith nearly 20% of global electricity consumed by lighting, more efficient illumination sources can enable massive energy savings. However, effectively creating the high-quality white light required for indoor illumination remains a challenge. To accurately represent color, the illumination source must provide photons with all the energies visible to our eye. Such a broad emission is difficult to achieve from a single material. In commercial white-light sources, one or more light-emitting diodes, coated by one or more phosphors, yield a combined emission that appears white. However, combining emitters leads to changes in the emission color over time due to the unequal degradation rates of the emitters and efficiency losses due to overlapping absorption and emission energies of the different components. A single material that emits broadband white light (a continuous emission spanning 400–700 nm) would obviate these problems.In 2014, we described broadband white-light emission upon near-UV excita...
The genetics of dementia with Lewy bodies

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), the most common non-AD neurodegenerative disease has in the past several decades attracted the attention of the neurological scientific community due to its highly negative impact on the quality of life of both the affected individuals and those caring for them. The strong hereditary component in related conditions such as PD and AD and the description of a number of DLB families suggest that genetic factors may play a role in the pathogenesis of DLB. This chapter focuses on currently proposed causal and risk genes and their role in the pathophysiology of DLB, discusses the feasibility of genetic therapy and genetic testing in the diagnostic and treatment of DLB and provides directions for future research. While no single mutation is specific enough to support its regular use in the diagnosis/treatment of DLB, identification of combinations of causative gene or single-gene point mutations and risk genes interfering with the pathogenesis of DLB may help elucidate the genetic mechanisms involved in DLB and inform development of gene-specific therapies.
Welcome to the Volume

Welcome to the fifth volume of the International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement ( IJRSLCE ), the annual, online, peer-reviewed publication of the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE), the premier network for scholars studying teaching, learning, and researching in community engagement and civic and public life. The purpose of IJRSLCE is to make available to educational practitioners, researchers, and policymakers current, high-quality research and theory on service-learning and campus-community engagement.
Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind: Surveying Library Use Among Students Studying Abroad

Abstract Pepperdine University's six international campus libraries are not staffed by librarians. However, the library serves overseas students with small print collections, course specific LibGuides and highly trained student assistants. A goal of the LibGuides and student workers is to make students aware of library resources and services while studying abroad. Students studying overseas were surveyed to determine their use and awareness of library resources. In addition, to determine if the library could have an important role in supporting study abroad programs, students were asked if they had research assignments that required outside resources. While the results of the survey revealed that the majority of students are aware of library resources and services, the library should take additional steps to better serve overseas students.
Role of pH and Collector Concentration in Separation of Phosphates from Dolomitic Gangue Using DDA-HC1

Separation of apatite from dolomitic gangue using dodecylamine hydrochloride (DDA-HCl) as the collector has been studied through flotation experiments. Two regions of selectivity were predicted from flotation results; however, on separate mineral species, in subsequent mixed mineral tests, lower separation efficiency was obtained. Flotation results are explained in terms of the solution chemistry of the surfactant and dissolution behavior of the minerals.
Chapter 41 Diseases of the nerves in the pelvic girdle and lower limbs

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the clinical applications of the various electrophysiological tests for neuropathy in the pelvic girdle and lower limbs. The most common neuropathy in the lower extremities is peroneal neuropathy, followed by femoral, sciatic, and posterior tibial neuropathies, in that order. Technical details of the various electrophysiological techniques and normal values are discussed. Peroneal neuropathy (i.e., common peroneal neuropathy) is the most common compression neuropathy in the lower extremities. It is a common cause of foot drop and is usually caused by compression at the fibular head. Theoretically, it is clinically characterized by weakness of the anterior tibialis and peroneus muscles and sensory impairment in the territory of the superficial peroneal nerve (lower lateral aspect of the calf). Classically, the deep peroneal branch is more involved than the superficial branch in this neuropathy.
What Is Evidence-Based Medicine, and How Does It Apply to Critical Care?

Before medicine developed its scientific basis of pathophysiology, clinical practice was learned empirically from the events of daily experience in diagnosing and treating the maladies patients presented. Students learned as apprentices to clinicians, observing the phenomena of disease, the skill of diagnosis and treatment, and the outcomes of different remedies. Sir William Osier’s classic textbook of medicine was based almost entirely on his “personal experience correlated with the general experience of others” With advances in our understanding of human physiology and the pathophysiologic basis of disease, these remedies fell by the wayside and treatment became based on modalities of treatment that were shown to interrupt or otherwise modify the disease process. Until recently, it was considered sufficient to understand the disease process in order to prescribe a drug or other form of treatment. However, when these treatment modalities were subjected to randomized, controlled clinical trials (RCTs) examining clinical outcomes and not physiological processes, the outcome was not always favorable. The RCT has become the reference in medicine by which to judge the effect of an intervention on patient outcome, because it provides the greatest justification for conclusion of causality, is subject to the least bias, and provides the most valid data on which to base all measures of the benefits and risk of particular therapies. Numerous ineffective and harmful therapies have been abandoned as a consequence of RCTs, while others have become integral to the care of patients and have become regarded as the standard of care. Intuition, anecdotes, common sense, personal biases, and clinical experience can no longer be used to justify clinical decisions or therapeutic policies. Every decision that the clinician makes must be based on sound scientific evidence (a collection of anecdotes is not scientific evidence).
Interactions between Georgia Salt Marshes and Coastal Waters: A Changing Paradigm

Salt marsh estuaries on the Georgia coast have been sites of classic studies leading to broad generalizations about the functioning of shallow estuarine ecosystems and the exchange of material between salt marshes and coastal waters. Several recent studies have suggested that these fundamental concepts need to be reevaluated. Not only are we uncertain as to the quantities of material fluxing in coastal ecosystems, we are also unsure of even the basic directions and mechanisms of exchange. Along the Georgia coast, the idea that salt marshes enrich coastal waters by the outwelling of organic detritus has been revised. The emerging concepts concerning these systems include: 1) algal-derived organic matter, from phytoplankton and benthic diatom photosynthesis within the estuary and just offshore, forms the bulk of organic seston, 2) vascular plant detritus is largely accumulated and consumed in marsh and estuarine sediments, 3) estuarine food webs are much more complex than has been thought, and 4) the most important roles of salt marshes in estuarine food webs are as refuges and feeding habitat for young and small animals, and as exporters of protein in the form of fish, crabs, and shrimp to coastal waters.
Removal of Serum Hepatitis Antigen from Factor IX with an Immunoadsorbent

Factor IX is a commercial plasma product which is associated with a high incidence of serum hepatitis. There is a substantial amount of circumstantial evidence suggesting that serum hepatitis is transmitted either by the serum hepatitis antigen (HAA) itself or by a virus of which the serum hepatitis antigen is a part.
Perceptions of Policy

Conceptualisations of policy vary across the field of education policy research, and sometimes even within a particular study (Ozga 1990). While understandings of policy have certainly developed and expanded over time, this is not to declare that there is a unified view on what policy ‘is’. Older ideas are not automatically supplanted by newer concepts as they emerge.
Correlates of fruit and vegetable intake among adolescents. Findings from Project EAT.

Abstract Background This study aims to identify correlates of fruits and vegetables from within the domains of personal factors (taste preferences, health/nutrition attitudes, weight/body concerns, and self-efficacy), behavioral factors (meal frequency, fast food intake, and weight control behaviors), and socio-environmental factors (social support for healthy eating, family meal patterns, food security, socio-economic status, and home availability of fruits/vegetables). This study further aims to identify correlates of home availability and taste preferences for fruits/vegetables, and to explore patterns of interaction between availability and taste preferences. Methods The population included 3957 adolescents from 31 public middle and high schools in Minnesota. Structural equation modeling was used for model testing. Results The strongest correlates of fruit/vegetable intake were home availability of fruits/vegetables and taste preferences of fruits/vegetables. The final model explained 13% of the variance in fruit/vegetable intake, 45% of the variance in home availability, and 28% of the variance in taste preferences. Correlates of home availability included social support for healthy eating, family meal patterns, family food security, and socio-economic status. Correlates of taste preferences included health/nutrition attitudes and home availability of fruits/vegetables. A test of interaction effects indicated that when home availability of fruits/vegetables was low, intake patterns did not differ, regardless of taste preferences. In contrast, even when taste preferences for fruits/vegetables were low, if fruits/vegetables were available, intake increased. Conclusions Interventions to increase fruit/vegetable intake in adolescents need to target socio-environmental factors such as greater availability of fruits/vegetables.
Enhanced Recovery After Surgery and Multimodal Strategies for Analgesia

Enhanced recovery after surgery is an evidence-based, multimodal approach to the perioperative care of a patient undergoing surgery. These pathways seek to attenuate the stress response to surgery facilitating postoperative recovery. Analgesia is a critical component of these pathways, because optimal pain relief is critical for patients to mobilize quickly after surgery, preventing such complications as infection and thromboembolism. Traditional analgesic regimens for major surgery rely heavily on opioids to provide analgesia but can cause a wide range of serious side effects, delaying recovery. Enhanced recovery protocols should incorporate multimodal analgesic strategies that minimize opioid use and optimize analgesia.
International academic partnership: Case study in South Africa

Abstract Tourism is a very important industry for the economy of South Africa. With the growth of international and domestic visitors, qualified and skilled human resources are increasingly essential to further support the tourism industry. Human capacity development with respect to vocational and managerial education is central to the tourism industry in South Africa. Academic institutions play a crucial role in developing and delivering training and education via short courses, certificate programs, and academic degrees there. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a multi-year partnership project between the University of Florida in Gainesville, U.S., and Tshwane University of Technology in Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa. The objectives of the academic partnership are to strengthen teaching, research, service, and faculty development initiatives in tourism management in South Africa. Based on mutually identified objectives, this paper provides a descriptive narrative associated with its execution. The engaged process, progress, and products, inclusive of challenges, offer an established example with respect to developing and sustaining international academic linkages in tourism education.
A Field Test of Subliminal Self-Help Audiotapes: The Power of Expectancies:

In the face of evidence to the contrary, consumers continue to believe in the efficacy of subliminal message self-help (SMSH) audiotapes. The authors contend that the value consumers attribute to t...
Entomological Research in the Classroom: The Dispersal of Biological Control Agents

Biological experiments involving animals in K–12 classrooms can be time consuming or logistically difficult. Insects are small and easy to obtain, making them suitable for classroom use. We provide an experiment using insects that will teach students how to use the scientific method to formulate and test a hypothesis. The experiment is based on a case study involving an insect used as a biological control agent that targets an invasive weed, and the rigor of the experiment can easily be tailored to different grade levels. Using ∼1 m2 arenas set up in the classroom, students measure insect jumping or walking distances as a proxy for dispersal capabilities in the field, and more advanced classes can investigate variables that affect jumping or walking distance and direction.
Ferromagnetic Spin-1/2 Dimers with Strong Anisotropy in MoCl5

The pentachloride MoCl5 adopts several molecular crystal structures, all comprising isolated Mo2Cl10 units with well-separated Mo–Mo magnetic dimers. Using magnetization measurements, single-crysta...
Determination of tobacco alkaloid enantiomers using reversed phase UPLC/MS/MS.

Abstract Nʹ-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN), a carcinogenic tobacco-specific Nʹ-nitrosamine (TSNA), is on the FDA list of harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs). Nornicotine, a product of the demethylation of nicotine, is the immediate alkaloid precursor for NNN formation. Nicotine, nornicotine and NNN are optically active. The accumulation of the isomers of nicotine, nornicotine, and NNN impacts their biological activity. In this paper, we report the determination of tobacco alkaloid enantiomers (including nicotine, nornicotine, anabasine, and anatabine) in samples of different tobacco lines using a reversed phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer (UPLC/MS/MS) method. Current method demonstates excellent detection capability for all alkaloid enantiomers, with correlation coefficients (r2) > 0.996 within their linear dynamic ranges. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) of all analytes are less than 10 ng/mL and 30 ng/mL, respectively. In addition, their recovery and coefficient of variation (CV%) are within 100–115% and 0.2–3.7%, respectively. The method validated in this paper is simple, fast, and sensitive for the quantification of alkaloid enantiomers in tobacco leaf and has been applied to investigations of tobacco alkaloid enantiomer ratios in different tobacco lines and tobacco products.
Analysis and Categorization of Drive-by Download Malware

With the increase in the usage of websites as the main source of information gathering, malicious activity especially drive-by download has exponentially increased. A drive-by download refers to unintentional download of malicious code to a user computer that leaves the user open to a cyberattack. It has become the preferred distribution vector for many malware families. The purpose of this research is to analyze the malware that were obtained from visiting approximately 100,000 malicious URLs and running these binaries in sandboxes and then analyzing their runtime behavior with a software tool (YARA) to categorize them and classify the malware family to which they belong. Out of the 1414 executables (binaries), 1000 binaries were executed and 99 were identified as false-positive. Out of the 901 binaries, 867 of them were identified as Trojan Horse and we were able to identify 53 type of malware families, with one particular family, Kyrptik, being the largest. It is concluded that about 12% of the binaries were having office macros that were establishing C2 servers once they were executed in Microsoft Word/Excel. Also, a total of 105 binaries which had the same name and were extracted from the same website but had different hashes and the mean difference between the first store and the last store was 17 days and about 5% of these binaries were showing different results from the first store of the binary to the last store of the binary were also identified.
Accurate and Versatile Solutions for Probe–Fed Microstrip Patch Antennas and Arrays

ABSTRACT Full-wave solutions for probe–fed microstrip patch antennas and arrays have been receiving a great deal of attention in the literature recently [1–25], In this article, we review previous solutions and their limitations, and describe a very accurate and versatile solution that has been developed by the authors. Applications of our approach to several specific geometries have appeared [20–24] or will appear [25] in the literature. Therefore, this paper focuses on the general features of our technique and its relationship to other approaches. In particular, we discuss infinite phased arrays of probe–fed patches in detail, and give results showing the effect of a cover layer on array performance.
Real-Time Contingent Feedback to Enhance Punching Performance

Reinforcement has been shown to change exercise behavior, often in contingency management programs. In this study, boxers received conjugate reinforcement-like performance feedback through both visual cues and changes to music. A device made music speed contingent on punching speed, and the music volume contingent on punching force. Participants could see green or red cues for being above or below a goal. Multiple baseline design and reversal designs were used to evaluate the effectiveness of our audio-visual intervention in increasing the speed and force of punches for eight participants. Punching force and speed appeared to increase for five of the eight participants compared to punching performance when using unaltered music alone in baseline.
DDX5 promotes oncogene C3 and FABP1 expressions and drives intestinal inflammation and tumorigenesis

Tumorigenesis in different segments of the intestinal tract involves tissue-specific oncogenic drivers. In the colon, complement component 3 (C3) activation is a major contributor to inflammation and malignancies. By contrast, tumorigenesis in the small intestine involves fatty acid-binding protein 1 (FABP1). However, little is known of the upstream mechanisms driving their expressions in different segments of the intestinal tract. Here, we report that the RNA-binding protein DDX5 binds to the mRNA transcripts of C3 and Fabp1 to augment their expressions posttranscriptionally. Knocking out DDX5 in epithelial cells protected mice from intestinal tumorigenesis and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. Identification of DDX5 as a common upstream regulator of tissue-specific oncogenic molecules provides an excellent therapeutic target for intestinal diseases.
A Statistical Wavelet-Based Process for Systems Catastrophic Failure Precursor Detection

As a consequence of the recent deregulation in the electrical power production industry, new private entrepreneurs with no prior experience in the power plant operation have entered into the power generation business. They hedge the business risks by outsourcing the operation and maintenance activities to third party service providers with whom they share risks/rewards of plant performance. The main maintenance providers are the original equipment manufacturers, who are responsible for the majority of the cost associated with unplanned outages. With the cost-benefit of preventing such unplanned outage as a gas turbine compressor failure hovering around the twenty million dollars mark, techniques for detecting failure precursors to avoid or limit the number of systems catastrophic failure are necessary. In this paper, a methodical process is proposed to detect precursory events that lead to catastrophic systems failure. The wavelet packet transform is used to perform multi-resolution analysis of gas turbines health, condition and vibration sensors data to extract their signal features. Then the probabilistic principal component analysis is utilized to fuse them into a few uncorrelated variables. Next a one-dimensional signal representing the multi-variables data is computed. After that the statistical process control techniques is applied to set the anomaly threshold. Finally, a Bayesian hypothesis testing method is applied for abnormality detection to the monitored signal. As a proof of concept, the proposed process is successfully applied to a gas turbine compressor failure precursor detection.