cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Strange Birth and Unlikely History of Constitutional Equality

When the Constitution or plan of government for the new nation was written in Philadelphia in 1787 it recognized slavery as legal in several ways. The Southern states wanted their many slaves counted equally with whites. -Jamar Lee, tenth grade, Olney School, Philadelphia, 1987 Most Americans remember Thomas Jefferson's dictum that "all men are created equal." Many of us believe that it is part of the United States Constitution. The hard fact is, of course, that the word "equality" appears only once in the 1787 document, and it does not apply to individuals. Indeed, during most of American history, framers of constitutions, lawmakers, and judges avoided committing the nation to the protection of individual equality. They proclaimed neither formal equality (the appearance of equal treatment of individuals) nor substantive equality (the identical treatment of individuals), for legal equality was not generally acceptable as a social or political goal before the Civil War. The Reconstruction amendments wrote individual equality into the Constitution, but judicial interpretation limited its scope. Only in the mid-twentieth century did the courts decisively expand the definition and protection of equality. Thus equality, long important in American political rhetoric, has become a core constitutional value only in the last half century, and its future is uncertain. Today, not many lawyers, much less law students or concerned citizens, can find the single reference to "equality" in the text of the original Constitution. Surprisingly, it appears in Article V, the amendment article, which defines the three unamendable provisions of the Constitution: the slave trade clause, the application of the three-fifths clause to taxation, and the representation of states in the Senate. Constitutional equality, as expressed literally in the text fashioned by the Framers, was no more than equal representation for all states in the upper house of the naThis essay, in an abridged form, was delivered as the presidential address of the Organization of American Historians at Reno, March 25, 1988. Stanley N. Katz is senior fellow of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and is president of the American Council of Learned Societies.
A Vision and Roadmap for Increasing User Autonomy in Flight Operations in the National Airspace

The purpose of Air Transportation is to move people and cargo safely, efficiently and swiftly to their destinations. The companies and individuals who use aircraft for this purpose, the airspace users, desire to operate their aircraft according to a dynamically optimized business trajectory for their specific mission and operational business model. In current operations, the dynamic optimization of business trajectories is limited by constraints built into operations in the National Airspace System (NAS) for reasons of safety and operational needs of the air navigation service providers. NASA has been developing and testing means to overcome many of these constraints and permit operations to be conducted closer to the airspace user's changing business trajectory as conditions unfold before and during the flight. A roadmap of logical steps progressing toward increased user autonomy is proposed, beginning with NASA's Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR) concept that enables flight crews to make informed, deconflicted flight-optimization requests to air traffic control. These steps include the use of data communications for route change requests and approvals, integration with time-based arrival flow management processes under development by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), increased user authority for defining and modifying downstream, strategic portions of the trajectory, and ultimately application of self-separation. This progression takes advantage of existing FAA NextGen programs and RTCA standards development, and it is designed to minimize the number of hardware upgrades required of airspace users to take advantage of these advanced capabilities to achieve dynamically optimized business trajectories in NAS operations. The roadmap is designed to provide operational benefits to first adopters so that investment decisions do not depend upon a large segment of the user community becoming equipped before benefits can be realized. The issues of equipment certification and operational approval of new procedures are addressed in a way that minimizes their impact on the transition by deferring a change in the assignment of separation responsibility until a large body of operational data is available to support the safety case for this change in the last roadmap step.This paper will relate the roadmap steps to ongoing activities to clarify the economics-based transition to these technologies for operational use.
Plutonium Release Fractions from Accidental Fires

This paper summarizes the results of an independent review of information from the available literature on plutonium release parameters obtained in worldwide studies on accidental fires that might ...
Microearthquake S-wave observations from 0 to 1 km in the Varian well at Parkfield, California

Abstract High-gain three-component seismometers from 0- to 1-km deep along the Varian A-1 well at Parkfield, California, were used to record the waveforms of nearby microearthquakes. Despite being in the thick Tertiary sediments of the Parkfield Syncline, the S -wave amplification at this site is only about a factor of 3. The spectral content and spectral ratios of S waves along the well show that the average Qs in the top 1 km at this site is 37, with the Qs in different subintervals varying between 8 and 65. Based on initial S -wave polarizations, a complex S -wave velocity structure must exist at and below the Varian site. This structure appears to include position-dependent anisotropy as well as steep lateral velocity gradients. At a depth of 1 km, S -wave splitting parallel and normal to the San Andreas fault zone is consistently observed. This splitting scales at roughly 0.01 sec/km. Subsequent to the split S waves, the particle motion seems to be controlled by event focal mechanism. Above 1 km, the upgoing S waves attenuate and change directions of polarization, with a new splitting rate of 0.1 sec/km. Uniquely, for some events on the San Andreas fault immediately below the Varian site, large, post- S -wave signals with normal dispersion are present. We propose that these phases are fault-zone guided waves channeled from the San Andreas fault to the Varian site along the Gold Hill fault.
John Bates Clark: A Life, 1847–1938

John Bates Clark, the first United States economist to reach a position of prominence within this profession, was raised in an archetypal New England Puritan environment in Providence, Rhode Island. Within its Congregationalist household the family maintained a strict religious regimen that included daily prayer and a scrupulous observance of the sabbath, but there was more to such an environment than this: Equal emphasis was placed on intellectual growth as well as ‘ … keenness in the pursuit of individualistic commercial enterprise’ (A. Clark, 1938, p. 5).1
Periodic Motions to Chaos in Pendulum

It is not easy to find periodic motions to chaos in a pendulum system even though the periodically forced pendulum is one of the simplest nonlinear systems. However, the inherent complex dynamics of the periodically forced pendulum is much beyond our imaginations through the traditional approach of linear dynamical systems. Until now, we did not know complex motions of pendulum yet. What are the mechanism and mathematics of such complex motions in the pendulum? The results presented herein give a new view of complex motions in the periodically forced pendulum. Thus, in this paper, periodic motions to chaos in a periodically forced pendulum are predicted analytically by a semi-analytical method. The method is based on discretization of differential equations of the dynamical system to obtain implicit maps. Using the implicit maps, mapping structures for specific periodic motions are developed, and the corresponding periodic motions can be predicted analytically through such mapping structures. Analytical bifurcation trees of periodic motions to chaos are obtained, and the corresponding stability and bifurcation analysis of periodic motions to chaos are carried out by eigenvalue analysis. From the analytical prediction of periodic motions to chaos, the corresponding frequency-amplitude characteristics are obtained for a better understanding of motions’ complexity in the periodically forced pendulum. Finally, numerical simulations of selected periodic motions are illustrated. The nontravelable and travelable periodic motions on the bifurcation trees are discovered. Through this investigation, the periodic motions to chaos in the periodically forced pendulums can be understood further. Based on the perturbation method, one cannot achieve the adequate solutions presented herein for periodic motions to chaos in the periodically forced pendulum.
Nanoparticle exposures from nano-enabled toner-based printing equipment and human health: state of science and future research needs

AbstractToner formulations used by laser printers (LP) and photocopiers (PC), collectively called “toner-based printing equipment” (TPE), are nano-enabled products (NEP) because they contain several engineered nanomaterials (ENM) that improve toner performance. It has been shown that during consumer use (printing), these ENM are released in the air, together with other semi-volatile organic nanoparticles, and newly formed gaseous co-pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOC). The aim of this review is to detail and analyze physico-chemical and morphological (PCM), as well as the toxicological properties of particulate matter (PM) emissions from TPE. The review covers evolution of science since the early 2000, when this printing technology first became a subject of public interest, as well as the lagging regulatory framework around it. Important studies that have significantly changed our understanding of these exposures are also highlighted. The review continues with a critical appraisal of the m...
Robust Bayesian Estimation in Causal Two-Stage Least Squares Modeling with Instrumental Variables

In causal randomized experiments or psychological trials, the two-stage least squares (2SLS) model with instrument variables (IVs) is a widely used approach to address the issue of treatment endogeneity. The IVs are used to estimate a part of the causal effect whose estimation is not affected by the violation of the linearity assumption in the causal model, and the causal effect of interest in the 2SLS model becomes the local average treatment effect (LATE). Because practical data usually violate the normality assumption, the LATE estimate from the traditional normal-distribution-based method may be inefficient or even biased. This study proposes a robust Bayesian estimation method using Student’s t distributions to model data with heavy tails or containing outliers and compares the performance of the proposed robust method to that of the traditional normal-distribution-based method. A Monte Carlo simulation study is conducted and shows that the proposed robust method outperforms the traditional method when data are contaminated. The robust method provides more accurate and efficient LATE estimates and better model fits and thus is recommended to be used in general in the 2SLS modeling with IVs.
Using claims data linked with electronic health records to monitor and improve adherence to medication

Poor adherence to medication is a serious problem in the United States, leading to complications and preventable hospitalizations, particularly for patients with chronic diseases. Interventions hav...
Feasibility of a Grocery Store Tour for Parents and Their Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the feasibility of a grocery store tour for parents and their adolescents being led by adults or adolescent peers. Design Randomized controlled pilot study with surveys at baseline and post-program, and at 3- and 6-month follow-up. Setting Midwestern midsized grocery stores. Participants Sixty-one parents and their 71 11- to 14-year-old adolescents. Intervention Nutrition education during 1 90-minute grocery store tour. Main Outcome Measures Process observations and participants' tour perceptions provided fidelity outcomes. Questionnaires quantitatively assessed participants' knowledge, self-efficacy, and tour strategy use. Analysis Chi-square and McNemar tests were used to analyze categorical data, and Kruskal–Wallis, Wilcoxon signed-rank, and Mann-Whitney U tests were employed for continuous variables (significance at P Results Over 90% of tour tasks were rated as completed well for adult and peer leaders. Participants had positive tour perceptions but noted deficiencies in teen leaders' knowledge and leadership skills. Overall, parents and adolescents retained increased self-efficacy from pre-tour to post-tour intervals. Despite limited knowledge retention, parents reported they had increased (6.5 ± 4.19) healthful grocery shopping behaviors in the 6 months after the intervention. Conclusions and Implications Peers may feasibly lead grocery store tours but they may need additional resources and support to be highly effective.
On a Vacation Queue Approach to Queue Size Computation for a Signalized Traffic Intersection

Abstract We propose a vacation queue model for a signalized traffic intersection to elucidate intra-cycle queue size variations. Each incoming street to the intersection is modeled to experience Poisson arrivals, and to have finite queue capacity; vehicles arriving to full queue are dropped. Under a fixed-time policy, the queue size dynamics on each street are decoupled. Motivated by vacation queues, an imbedded Markov chain corresponding to queue sizes at the end of cycles is considered, whose transition probabilities are computed from analytical transient solutions of M/D/1/N queues. Sufficient conditions for convergence to steady-state distributions are provided for fixed-time policy. Simulations suggest consistency between the queue sizes computed by the proposed model, and the Webster and time-dependent traffic queue models.
Building a Culture of Engagement through Participatory Feedback Processes

ABSTRACTIn response to school environments in which teachers and students feel disconnected from the learning process, we developed a three-part curriculum feedback system with the goal of creating a school-wide culture of engagement through participatory feedback processes. Here we describe the barriers to participation and ownership that are addressed by our curriculum feedback process, provide a rationale for each component of the multi-prong feedback process, and illustrate how each part of the feedback system was implemented in our pilot schools. We argue that addressing feedback regularly, optimizing the process to be user-friendly, and demonstrating appreciation for positive and constructive feedback can help any curriculum supervisor foster a school-wide culture of engagement among teachers and students.
A Community and Medical Library Collaboration to Address Senior Caregivers Barriers to Health Services Access

This describes an outreach program to improve access to community resources and online health information for the lay public and professionals engaged in caregiving to seniors. An academic health s...
Morphologic Studies of Alcoholic Liver Injury

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the morphologic studies of alcoholic liver injury. The initial morphologic lesion in the liver produced by chronic alcohol abuse is excess fat deposition. In some alcoholics, fatty liver is followed by alcoholic hepatitis and/or cirrhosis. One of the characteristics of alcoholic hepatitis is Mallory's alcoholic hyaline, which may represent overproduction of a normally occurring protein, namely, that of the intermediate filament. Whereas early cirrhosis is of the regular type, the later variety is irregular, owing to hyperplastic nodular regeneration and remodeling of collagenous septa. Electron microscopically, alcoholic liver injury is characterized by enlarged and misshapen mitochondria, decreased rough endoplasmic reticulum, increased smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and focal cytoplasmic degradation. Fatty liver and ultrastructural changes have been produced by alcohol feeding independent of nutritional factors in some animals and man. The entire morphologic spectrum of alcoholic liver injury has been produced in the baboon. Hemochromatosis and primary hepatic carcinoma may be late complications of alcoholic cirrhosis.
Elastodynamic Stress Intensity Factors for an Interface Crack in a Layered Half Space

Many structures, both man-made and of natural origin, are composed of different elastic materials formed in layers. Often the layers are bonded together along common faces, but it can happen that the bonding is not perfect and flaws occur as cracks or regions of poor bonding in the interface. It is of importance to be able to detect these interface cracks, and one of the most practical methods for accomplishing this, in the cases of engineering interest, utilizes the scattering of elastic waves and the subsequent detection of these scattered waves by appropriate transducers. The goal of this work is to contribute to the theoretical basis for detecting the interface flaw by these means.
Detectors for the Quantized Electromagnetic Field

After a quick review of classical electromagnetism, the concept of the photon as the quantum of the electromagnetic field is introduced, followed by a discussion of the interaction of photons with matter. Specializing then to the case of visible and near-visible radiation, detectors which are capable of registering single quanta are described, showing the wide range of possibilities which are open to the interested experimenter. Advantages and disadvantages of each as well as practical suggestions are provided. Finally we take a look at relatively novel devices with bright futures.
Endophthalmitis following cataract surgery and intracameral antibiotic: Moxifloxacin resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis.

Abstract Purpose To describe an immunosuppressed patient who developed acute-onset postoperative endophthalmitis caused by a moxifloxacin-resistant strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis after cataract surgery despite the use of intracameral moxifloxacin. Observations A 76-year old woman with a history of birdshot chorioretinopathy controlled on systemic immunosuppression underwent uneventful cataract surgery in her right eye. Compounded intracameral moxifloxacin 0.2 cc of 1mg/0.1mL (Edge Pharmacy, Syracuse, NY) was injected intraoperatively as prophylaxis, and the patient was placed on a standard regimen of trimethoprim-polymyxin b (10000-0.1unit/mL) and prednisolone acetate 1% postoperatively. Four days later, the patient experienced a sudden decrease in vision in the right eye. Anterior chamber inflammation, vitritis, and vasculitis were seen in the operated eye. The patient underwent a vitreous tap and intravitreal injections of vancomycin (1mg/0.1mL), ceftazidime (2.25mg/0.1mL), and dexamethasone (0.4mg/0.1mL). Cultures grew Staphylococcus epidermidis, resistant to moxifloxacin (MIC ≥8mg/L). The inflammation resolved over two months. Eight months later, the patient underwent uncomplicated cataract surgery in the left eye. Intracameral antibiotics were not used, however her systemic immunosuppressive therapy was held for several weeks perioperatively. One year after the initial surgeries, the patient had an uncorrected visual acuity of 20/20 in each eye. Conclusions and Importance S. epidermidis, the most common cause of postoperative endophthalmitis, is increasingly resistant to fluoroquinolones. Adequate concentrations of intracameral antibiotics need to be achieved in order to exceed minimal inhibitory concentration values of the targeted pathogen. Although intracameral moxifloxacin has been reported to decrease the rate of endophthalmitis after cataract surgery, it does not eliminate the risk.
Data journalism and black-boxed data sets:

This study explores the level of scrutiny data journalists from national, local, traditional and digital outlets apply to data sets and data categories, and reasons that scrutiny varies. The study ...
Utilization of a Model Cocoa Fermentation System and Roasting to Assess Differences Among Bioactive Compounds and Bioactivity of Cocoa Through Variable Processing Conditions (FS07-04-19)

Cocoa beans (Theobroma cacao) are a highly concentrated source of dietary flavanols that undergo processing steps, to enhance sensory characteristics. Although it is widely accepted that preservation of native cocoa flavanols is critical for retaining bioactivity, it is possible that reactions occurring throughout cocoa processing may generate compounds with novel activities, potentially preserving or enhancing bioactivity. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of fermentation and roasting on levels of flavanols and bioactivity of cocoa. Combinations of fermentation and roasting parameters were employed via a controlled laboratory fermentation model system and roasting operation. Cocoa powders were produced from unfermented cocoa beans using different treatments representing extremes of fermentation and roasting. Cocoa beans were fermented in a simulated pulp media for 168 h. Fermentation and roasting temperatures varied depending on treatment group. Further processing (winnowing, grinding, pressing) produced cocoa powders for each treatment. Extracts were made from the final beans and powders. Total polyphenols were quantified by the Folin-Ciocalteu assay. HILIC UPLC-MS/MS was employed to analyze flavanols based on their degree of polymerization (DP). Fermentation and roasting contributed to losses of native flavanols. Total polyphenol levels and individual flavanols (DP 1–10) were approximately 27–90% lower in hot fermented/hot roasted cocoa powder and approximately 11–54% lower in cool fermented/cool roasted cocoa powder when compared to the unfermented/unroasted (control) treatment. Hot roasting had the most significant impact on flavanol degradation. There was also a direct relationship between increasing flavanol concentration in cocoa powder and DP. Compared to fermentation, roasting demonstrated a more significant impact on flavanol degradation and composition among cocoa bean treatments. Further research in vitro and in vivo is being performed currently to determine whether these process-induced flavanol losses correlate with reduced anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory activities. This work was supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) of the US Department of Agriculture.
Synthesis and crystal structure of 1,3-bis­(4-hy­droxy­phen­yl)-1H-imidazol-3-ium chloride

Imidazolium salts are common building blocks for functional materials and in the synthesis of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) as σ-donor ligands for stable metal complexes. The title salt, 1,3-bis­(4-hy­droxy­phen­yl)-1H-imidazol-3-ium chloride (IOH·Cl), C15H13N2O2+·Cl−, is a new imidazolium salt with a hy­droxy functionality. The synthesis of IOH·Cl was achieved in high yield via a two-step procedure involving a di­aza­butadiene precursor followed by ring closure using tri­methylchloro­silane and paraformaldehyde. The structure of IOH·Cl consists of a central planar imidazolium ring (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0015 A), with out-of-plane phenolic side arms. The dihedral angles between the 4-hy­droxy­phenyl substituents and the imidazole ring are 55.27 (7) and 48.85 (11)°. In the crystal, O—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds connect the distal hy­droxy groups and Cl− anions in adjacent asymmetric units, one related by inversion (−x + 1, −y + 1, −z + 1) and one by the n-glide (x − {1\over 2}, −y + {1\over 2}, z − {1\over 2}), with donor–acceptor distances of 2.977 (2) and 3.0130 (18) A, respectively. The phenolic rings are each π–π stacked with their respective inversion-related [(−x + 1, −y + 1, −z + 1) and (−x, −y + 1, −z + 1)] counterparts, with inter­planar distances of 3.560 (3) and 3.778 (3) A. The only other noteworthy inter­molecular inter­action is an O⋯O (not hydrogen bonded) close contact of 2.999 (3) A between crystallographically different hy­droxy O atoms on translationally adjacent mol­ecules (x + 1, y, x + 1).
VR Simulation Leads to Enhanced Procedural Confidence for Surgical Trainees.

Objective Active learning techniques result in greater knowledge acquisition compared to passive methods. For medical students with limited hands-on operative experiences, virtual reality platforms represent active learning and may enhance procedural training. We hypothesize that virtual reality simulators like Toolkit for Illustration of Procedures in Surgery (TIPS) are a more effective modality in teaching laparoscopic surgical techniques to medical students when compared to passive learning tools like videos. Design In this crossover study, participants were randomly assigned to perform either a TIPS laparoscopic appendectomy followed by video of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, or video of a laparoscopic appendectomy followed by TIPS laparoscopic cholecystectomy. A knowledge assessment followed each intervention. A postsurvey was used to gather feedback and subjective impressions of the learning experience. Setting University of Central Florida College of Medicine. Participants Second, third, and fourth-year medical students (n = 37). Results Validation of the content assessments revealed strong internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.73). A 2-tailed Fisher's exact test revealed that the video had greater ease of use (p = 0.032), but TIPS had greater utility as a learning tool (p Conclusions Video and TIPS both enhanced different aspects of student learning; however, the active TIPS platform produced greater confidence in the ability to reproduce the steps of the procedure and had greater utility as a learning strategy. Videos are simple to use and can serve a complementary role in curriculum design.
BURDEN OF ATRIAL FIBRILLATION AMONG PATIENTS HOSPITALIZED FOR BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANT IN THE UNITED STATES

Atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF) is frequently encountered in patients undergoing bone-marrow transplant (BMT). The epidemiology of inpatients admitted for BMT that develop AF is poorly defined. Using the National Inpatient Sample, we reviewed hospital admissions in the U.S. between 2002 and 2014
Should We Be Utilizing More Liver Grafts From Pediatric Donation After Circulatory Death Donors? A National Analysis of the SRTR from 2002 to 2017.

BACKGROUND Rates of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment are higher among critically ill pediatric patients compared to adults. Therefore, livers from pediatric donation after circulatory death (pDCD) could improve graft organ shortage and waiting time for listed patients. As knowledge on the utilization of pDCD is limited, this study used US national registry data (2002-2017) to estimate the prognostic impact of pDCD in both adult and pediatric liver transplant (LT). METHODS In adult LT, the short-term (1-year) and long-term (overall) graft survival (GS) between pDCD and adult donation after circulatory death (aDCD) grafts was compared. In pediatric LT, the short- and long-term prognostic outcomes of pDCD were compared with other type of grafts (brain dead, split, and living donor). RESULTS Of 80 843 LTs in the study, 8967 (11.1%) were from pediatric donors. Among these, only 443 were pDCD, which were utilized mainly in adult recipients (91.9%). In adult recipients, short- and long-term GS did not differ significantly between pDCD and aDCD grafts (hazard ratio = 0.82 in short term and 0.73 in long term, both P > 0.05, respectively). Even "very young" (≤12 y) pDCD grafts had similar GS to aDCD grafts, although the rate of graft loss from vascular complications was higher in the former (14.0% versus 3.6%, P < 0.01). In pediatric recipients, pDCD grafts showed similar GS with other graft types whereas waiting time for DCD livers was significantly shorter (36.5 d versus 53.0 d, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Given the comparable survival seen to aDCDs, this data show that there is still much scope to improve the utilization of pDCD liver grafts.
Director Industry Expertise and Voluntary Corporate Disclosure

We examine if firms with directors with related industry expertise (DRIs), or directors that are supply chain partners, exhibit a greater propensity to forecast earnings, and improve the specificit...
Externalities of Accounting Disclosures: Evidence from the Federal Reserve

Using unique data that track the Federal Reserve’s direct access of SEC filings, we provide evidence that accounting disclosures are associated with the Fed’s economic forecasts and, by extension, its monetary policy. We find that the Fed’s access of SEC filings reflects economic trends as well as the Fed’s demand for “granular” firm information to better assess the state of the economy and its prospects. In addition to aggregated quantitative information in accounting disclosures, we show that qualitative information in Fed-accessed filings is predictive of the Fed’s economic growth forecasts, beyond information in commercial forecasts. Overall, the study identifies an important macroeconomic externality of accounting disclosures.
Antonio Gramsci, Scritti (1910-1926), Sezione Diretta da Leonardo Rapone, Vol. 1. 1910-1916

Given the indisputable importance of Gramsci for modern and contemporary thought, this volume—whose editing is a tribute to the historical materialist method of inquiry, the “storicismo assoluto” t...
The crown and the capitalists: the ethnic Chinese and the founding of the Thai Nation: by Wasana Wongsurawat, Seattle, University of Washington Press, 2019, xiii + 201 pp., US$30.00 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-295-74624-1

In The Crown and the Capitalists, Wasana Wongsurawat (Wasana hereafter) has added another authoritative study of ethnic Chinese in Thailand to G. William Skinner’s classic Chinese Society in Thaila...
The European Union and Brexit: analysis from the perspective of the Visegrad Group countries

The article aims to analyze Brexit from the perspective of the Visegrad Group countries in the context of the future of the European Union. Addressing this issue is important from the point of view of assessing the role of the EU for the Visegrad countries. The main thesis of the research is that Brexit will not lead to a reform of the EU in the coming years, which is what some of the Visegrad Group countries are trying to do. The article is provocative, because, during the migration crisis, the Visegrad Group was shown as a brake on the European integration process. After Brexit, it was considered that some of EU Member States could follow Great Britain and leave the EU. The article complements the scientific achievements in this field, as it presents the view from the country of Central and Eastern Europe.
Regional Differences in School-Based Physical Therapy: Examination of Therapist and Student Characteristics, Service Delivery, Activities, Interventions, and Outcomes.

The aim of this study was to examine regional differences in school-based physical therapy practice focusing on the attributes of the school-based physical therapists and students; service delivery...
Prevalence and adverse events of special interest among COVID19-vaccinated patients with chronic inflammatory skin diseases: An early look

Despite increasing rates of COVID-19 vaccination among those living in the United States, there is little known about the prevalence of vaccination among patients with chronic inflammatory skin diseases and if any significant adverse reactions have occurred within these specific groups. The goal of this study was to further analyze these trends. A retrospective analysis was conducted from December 2020 to March 2021 using TriNetX, a national federated, real time database of 69 million records. The prevalence of COVID-19 vaccination among patients with inflammatory skin diseases including psoriasis (Pso), atopic dermatitis (AD), and hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) was calculated. A 1:1 matched propensity score analysis was then conducted, adjusting for comorbidities and demographics, to generate adjusted risk ratios (aRR) with 95% CI. The outcome was any adverse event of special interest (AESI), as defined by the CDC and FDA, that occurred at any point after vaccination. In a sample of 301,878 patients who were vaccinated,1.5% had Pso, 1.4% had AD, and 0.3% had HS. After matching, cases had no significant differences compared to controls for any AESIs after either the first dose (Pso: 1.1[0.5-2.3], AD: 1.4[0.7-2.8], HS:1.0[0.4-2.4]) or second dose of vaccine (Pso: 1.4[0.7-2.7], AD: 1.0[0.6-1.7], HS: 1.0[0.4-2.4]). Matched subgroup analysis among the two major COVID-19 vaccine brands also revealed no differences in AESIs among Pso, AD, and HS patients. While preliminary, the current data reveals that patients with chronic inflammatory skin diseases are not at higher risk of any AESIs after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Further studies are warranted to continuously evaluate the trends in side effect profiles of these vaccines.
Design, Implementation, and Validation of an Automated, Algorithmic COVID-19 Triage Tool.

Objective We describe the design, implementation, and validation of an online, publicly available tool to algorithmically triage patients experiencing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)-like symptoms. Methods We conducted a chart review of patients who completed the triage tool and subsequently contacted our institution's phone triage hotline to assess tool- and clinician-assigned triage codes, patient demographics, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) test data, and health care utilization in the 30 days post-encounter. We calculated the percentage of concordance between tool- and clinician-assigned triage categories, down-triage (clinician assigning a less severe category than the triage tool), and up-triage (clinician assigning a more severe category than the triage tool) instances. Results From May 4, 2020 through January 31, 2021, the triage tool was completed 30,321 times by 20,930 unique patients. Of those 30,321 triage tool completions, 51.7% were assessed by the triage tool to be asymptomatic, 15.6% low severity, 21.7% moderate severity, and 11.0% high severity. The concordance rate, where the triage tool and clinician assigned the same clinical severity, was 29.2%. The down-triage rate was 70.1%. Only six patients were up-triaged by the clinician. 72.1% received a COVID-19 test administered by our health care system within 14 days of their encounter, with a positivity rate of 14.7%. Conclusion The design, pilot, and validation analysis in this study show that this COVID-19 triage tool can safely triage patients when compared with clinician triage personnel. This work may signal opportunities for automated triage of patients for conditions beyond COVID-19 to improve patient experience by enabling self-service, on-demand, 24/7 triage access.
Fast Laser Excitations in VO2 at the Semiconducting-Metallic Phase Transition

Modeling the 341K semiconductor-metal phase transition (SMT) in VO2 has proved successful in the case of the electronic and magnetic properties of the high temperature (tetragonal-metallic, M) and low temperature (monoclinic-Semiconducting, SC) equilibrium phases. There are, however, several conflicting theoretical viewpoints as to the origin of the forces which drive the SMT [1]. Reduced to its most elementary form, the debate centers on the relative importance of electron and lattice effects.
Creep behaviour of Cu-30 percent Zn at intermediate temperatures

The present, intermediate-temperature (573-823 K) range investigation of creep properties for single-phase Cu-30 percent Zn alpha-brass observed inverse, linear, and sigmoidal primary-creep transients above 573 K under stresses that yield minimum creep rates in the 10 to the -7th to 2 x 10 to the -4th range; normal primary creep occurred in all other conditions. In conjunction with a review of the pertinent literature, a detailed analysis of these data suggests that no clearly defined, classes M-to-A-to-M transition exists in this alloy notwithstanding the presence of both classes' characteristics under nominally similar stresses and temperatures.
Modeling and characterization of three-dimensional effects in physical etching and deposition simulation

With the ever decreasing transistor feature sizes, scaling of interconnect has caused many new challenges in fabrication technology. Three-dimensional (3D) geometrical effects due to mechanical stress and electrical charge on short-length or sharp-corner conductors and dielectrics has become more prominent in analyses of IC process variation, leakage current and reliability. In this paper modeling and characterization of 3D effects for etching and deposition, extended from physical models calibrated in 2D, will be discussed in view of boundary movement accuracy and robustness, and methodology for calibration with direct measurements. An L-shaped test structure will be used as a technology example.
The effect of a coordinated care program on uninsured, chronically ill patients

THE EFFECT OF A COORDINATED CARE PROGRAM ON UNINSURED, CHRONICALLY ILL PATIENTS By Jennifer Christine Mills Neimeyer, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010 Director: Robert E. Hurley, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus Department of Health Administration This study explored how being enrolled in a program that both coordinates patient care and provides a medical home changes health care utilization for uninsured patients, more specifically those persons with chronic conditions, through the use of the Chronic Care Model and Andersen and Aday’s Behavioral Model for Access to Health Care. Uninsured patients typically seek out care in a fragmented manner, which may lead to ineffective and inefficient care, especially for conditions that may require ongoing treatment and monitoring such as chronic conditions. The methodology used to examine the relationship between the interaction of enrollment and chronic condition status and health care utilization was multivariate linear regression. The results of this study show that enrollment in a coordinated care program does have an impact on health care utilization, and that the impact differs for patients with no chronic conditions, a single chronic condition, and multiple chronic conditions. These results point to the effectiveness of implementing the Chronic Care Model to improve access to health care for patients with chronic conditions.
Adaptive methods for classification in arbitrarily imbalanced and drifting data streams

Streaming data is pervasive in a multitude of data mining applications. One fundamental problem in the task of mining streaming data is distributional drift over time. Streams may also exhibit high and varying degrees of class imbalance, which can further complicate the task. In scenarios like these, class imbalance is particularly difficult to overcome and has not been as thoroughly studied. In this paper, we comprehensively consider the issues of changing distributions in conjunction with high degrees of class imbalance in streaming data. We propose new approaches based on distributional divergence and meta-classification that improve several performance metrics often applied in the study of imbalanced classification. We also propose a new distance measure for detecting distributional drift and examine its utility in weighting ensemble base classifiers. We employ a sequential validation framework, which we believe is the most meaningful option in the context of streaming imbalanced data.
Motion and Structure of Relativistic Jets

The time-dependent structures predicted to arise on relativistic jets are presented and compared to structures appearing in jet simulations. Apparent motions of these structures and the relation to jet flow speeds is discussed.
SEARCH FOR CP VIOLATION VIA $e^ + e^ - \to B^0 \bar B^0 \gamma $

I propose an experiment to measure CP violation in B0 meson decays by collecting B mesons via and looking for a difference between final states with a positive lepton and a CP eigenstate and those with a negative lepton and a CP eigenstate. It is predicted that ~107 events would be sufficient.
Brachial artery endothelial function is stable across the morning in young men

The morning hours are associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) risk, and vascular endothelial function (VEF) is a strong predictor of CV disease. A diurnal rhythm in VEF has been established but the morning variation in VEF is not well-documented. Thus, we tested if VEF is impaired across the vulnerable morning period. After overnight fasts, eight healthy men (age 26.3 ± 3 yr) underwent assessments of VEF under standardized testing conditions every 2 h from 0700 to 1300 h on two separate days. VEF was estimated following 5 min brachial artery occlusions by hyperemic flow-mediated dilation (FMD). There was no significant change in FMD or hyperemic shear stimulus across the 6 h vulnerable period on either day, despite changes in physical activity and meals across these periods. In this healthy group of young men, VEF is stable across the vulnerable morning period when typical behaviors occurred (breakfast and physical activity). Future research should focus on the roles of sleep, physical inactivity during sleep and endogenous circadian rhythm in VEF.
Dental and Maxillofacial Abnormalities in Long-Term Survivors of Childhood Cancer: Effects of Treatment with Chemotherapy and Radiation to the Head and Neck

Sixty-eight long-term survivors of childhood cancer were evaluated for dental and maxillofacial abnormalities. Forty-five patients had received maxillofacial radiation for lymphoma, leukemia, rhabdomyosarcoma, and miscellaneous tumors. Forty-three of the 45 patients and the remaining 23 who had not received maxillofacial radiation also received chemotherapy. Dental and maxillofacial abnormalities were detected in 37 of the 45 (82%) radiated patients. Dental abnormalities comprised foreshortening and blunting of roots, incomplete calcification, premature closure of apices, delayed or arrested tooth development, and caries. Maxillofacial abnormalities comprised trismus, abnormal occlusal relationships, and facial deformities. The abnormalities were more severe in those patients who received radiation at an earlier age and at higher dosages. Possible chemotherapeutic effects in five of 23 patients who received treatment for tumors located outside the head and neck region comprised acquired amelogenesis imperfecta, microdontia of bicuspid teeth, and a tendency toward thinning of roots with an enlarged pulp chamber. Dental and maxillofacial abnormalities should be recognized as a major consequence of maxillofacial radiation in long-term survivors of childhood cancer, and attempts to minimize or eliminate such sequelae should involve an effective interaction between radiation therapists, and medical and dental oncologists.
Genetic manipulation of single neurons in vivo reveals specific roles of flamingo in neuronal morphogenesis.

To study the roles of intracellular factors in neuronal morphogenesis, we used the mosaic analysis with a repressible cell marker (MARCM) technique to visualize identifiable single multiple dendritic (MD) neurons in living Drosophila larvae. We found that individual neurons in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) developed clear morphological polarity and diverse dendritic branching patterns in larval stages. Each MD neuron in the same dorsal cluster developed a unique dendritic field, suggesting that they have specific physiological functions. Single-neuron analysis revealed that Flamingo did not affect the general dendritic branching patterns in postmitotic neurons. Instead, Flamingo limited the extension of one or more dorsal dendrites without grossly affecting lateral branches. The dendritic overextension phenotype was partially conferred by the precocious initiation of dorsal dendrites in flamingo mutant embryos. In addition, Flamingo is required cell autonomously to promote axonal growth and to prevent premature axonal branching of PNS neurons. Our molecular analysis also indicated that the amino acid sequence near the first EGF motif is important for the proper localization and function of Flamingo. These results demonstrate that Flamingo plays a role in early neuronal differentiation and exerts specific effects on dendrites and axons.
Simulation of the response of the North Pacific Ocean to the anomalous atmospheric circulation associated with El Niño

During El Nino events when positive sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies form in the equatorial Pacific, SST anomalies also tend to develop in the North Pacific. This study attempts to model and explain the large-scale features of the observed SST anomaly field in the North Pacific during the fall and winter of the El Nino year. The experiment design consists of a mixed layer ocean model of the North Pacific which is forced by atmospheric surface fields from two sets of Community Climate Model (CCM) integrations: the El Nino set with prescribed positive SST anomalies in the tropical Pacific; and the control set which is obtained from an extended CCM integration with prescribed climatological SSTs. The response of the midlatitude ocean to atmospheric surface fields associated with El Nino is obtained by compositing each set of model integrations (El Nino and Control) and then taking the difference between the composites. The ocean model is able to reproduce the general features of the observed midlatitude SST anomaly pattern: warm water in the northeast Pacific and an elliptically shaped cold pool in the central Pacific. In these regions, a large fraction of the temperature anomalies are significant at the 95% level as indicated by a two tailed t-test. The ocean temperature anomalies simulated by the model are primarily caused by changes in the sensible and latent heat flux and to a lesser extent the longwave radiation flux. Entrainment of cold water from below the mixed layer also influences ocean temperatures. However, the entrainment anomaly pattern has a complex spatial structure which does not always coincide with the simulated mixed layer temperature anomalies.
2-Azacycl[3.2.2] azine. Polyhalogenation and nucleophilic displacement reactions

1,4-Dibromo-2-azacycl[3.2.2] azine (2) when treated with methanolic sodium methoxide affords the I-methoxy-4-bromo derivative (3). Perchloro-2-azacycl[3.2.2]azine (7) was prepared and treated with methanolic sodium methoxide to yield the 5-methoxy (8) and 5,7-dimethoxy (9) derivatives as major products, depending upon reaction conditions. Catalytic removal of the chlorine substituents of compounds 8 and 9 afforded the 5-methoxy (10) and 5,7-dimethoxy (11) derivatives. Treatment of compound 2 with butyllithium affords the I-butyl derivative (5) of 2-azacycl[3.2.2]azine, while treatment with zinc in acetic acid yields 4-bromo-2-azacycl[3.2.2]azine (6). 4-Formyl-2-azacycl[3.2.2]azine (12) when treated with phosphorus pentachloride affords the 1,3-dichloro-4-formyl derivative 13. Possible rationals for the nucleophilic displacement are given.
Effects of Low-Flow Oxygen on the Hemodynamics and Left Ventricular Function in Patients with Uncomplicated Acute Myocardial Infarction

Cardiac output, arterial, central venous and left ventricular pressures and systolic time intervals were measured in patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction during room air breathing and administration of oxygen at 6 L/min. With oxygen cardiac output decreased and arterial pressure increased. These changes were of small magnitude. Measurement of left ventricular pressures, stroke work, and the ratio of pre-ejection period to left ventricular ejection time failed to show evidence of impaired ventricular performance resulting from oxygen administration. Blood gas measurements revealed a high incidence of hypoxemia which was easily corrected by administration of low-flow oxygen. From these data we conclude that low-flow oxygen does not significantly impair the hemodynamic status or left ventricular performance of patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction. Since hypoxemia is often present, low-flow oxygen should be used routinely.