cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quality of Life before and after Endoscopic Pituitary Surgery as Measured by the Short-Form-36

Objectives/Hypotheses To assess quality of life (QOL) after transnasal, endoscopic pituitary surgery using the 36-item short form (SF-36) instrument. Design Retrospective review was used for this study. Setting The study was conducted in a tertiary academic medical center. Participants Patients who underwent endoscopic, transnasal, transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenomas between January 1, 2007 and July 1, 2016 and completed preoperative and postoperative SF-36 surveys. Main Outcome Measures SF-36 survey data as measured by its eight domains (physical functioning, physical role functioning, emotional role functioning, energy/fatigue, emotional well-being, social functioning, pain, and general health). Results There were 18 preoperative, 13 short-term (2 weeks or less after surgery) postoperative, and 14 longer term (>2 weeks after surgery) postoperative surveys. There was no significant difference between preoperative and long-term postoperative SF-36 scores across domains ( p > 0.05). In comparing short-term postoperative and preoperative scores, tumor size was positively associated with emotional well-being ( p = 0.049) and general health scores ( p = 0.031), while visual changes preoperatively were positively associated with general health scores ( p = 0.046). Compared with standard U.S. general population summary data, these patients scored lower preoperatively in all domains except for emotional role functioning and pain ( p p Conclusion Patients undergoing endoscopic, transnasal, transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenomas had lower QOL in six of eight domains preoperatively, but improved to baseline values on the long run after surgery in seven of eight domains. This suggests that minimally invasive pituitary surgery has a restorative role in general QOL as measured by the SF-36.
Improved Charge Collection in Highly Efficient CsPbBrI2 Solar Cells with Light-Induced Dealloying

Halide dealloying in CsPbBrI2 perovskite solar cells proves to be critical in achieving high performance. This dealloying occurs under steady illumination and is a reversible process, suggesting transitions between equilibrium states under dark and illuminated environments. Through decoupling charge collection in the electron- and hole-transporting layers, our photoluminescence, X-ray diffraction, and solar cell device characterization results suggest that the light-induced halide dealloying improves hole collection in solar cells, resulting in increased efficiency (9.2% ± 0.64 on average with a champion power conversion efficiency of 10.3%). Our results provide deeper insights on the impact of dealloying on perovskite solar cell performance and highlight the growing potential of all-inorganic perovskite solar cells.
Mapping the Middle Ground: Exploratory Surveying as Distributed Cognition

Cartographic encounters, where geographical knowledge possessed by Native Americans was translated into forms understood (or misunderstood) by Euro-Americans, provided a significant contribution to the Euro-American exploration of North America. The concept of distributed cognition has been used to describe, for example, the piloting of ships and the operation of the Hubble Telescope. In this article, an exploratory survey of the Mississippi River headwaters conducted by David Thompson in 1798 is modeled as an effective instance of distributed cognition which translated internal representations of the region’s geography into external representations amenable to scientific mapping.
Corneal Diseases in Children: Congenital Anomalies

Anterior segment development involves important contributions from neural crest cells as well as surface ectoderm. Transcription factors and other genetic influences orchestrate proper morphogenesis. Several forms of anterior segment dysgenesis, such as sclerocornea and Peters anomaly, lead to corneal opacity. However, this traditional terminology allows neither genotype–phenotype correlations nor prediction of outcomes following surgical intervention. A descriptive classification is presented as more valuable alternative. Corneal dystrophies, epibulbar choristomas, peripheral sclerocornea, and CYP1B1 cytopathy are discussed as forms of primary neonatal corneal opacification. Secondary corneal opacification can be congenital, due to kerato-irido-lenticular or irido-trabecular dysgenesis, or acquired following infection, trauma, or metabolic disease. Peters anomaly, aniridia, and Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome are discussed separately. Finally, congenital anomalies of corneal size—microcornea and megalocornea—and shape—cornea plana and keratoglobus—are reviewed.
Barriers to Performing Ergonomic Scanning Techniques for Sonographers

This study aimed to identify the barriers that prevent currently practicing credentialed sonographers from using industry standard ergonomic scanning techniques. A quantitative descriptive design w...
The Optimal Advertising-Allocation Rules For Sequentially Released Products: The Case of the Motion Picture Industry

ABSTRACT This study investigates the optimal advertising-allocation rules for sequentially released products. The authors used both analytical and empirical approaches to derive and validate the rules using theatrical prerelease, postrelease, and DVD advertising and sales data in the movie industry. Theatrical prerelease advertising increased when there was a strong prerelease advertising effect on the opening box office or a strong carryover effect on DVDs through the opening box office. The optimal allocation percentages are proposed on the basis of the estimated parameters of the empirical analysis. A simulation study proposes likely improvements in revenues for 74 percent of the titles with optimal rules.
An analytical model to conduct a person-based evaluation of transit preferential treatments on signalized arterials

Abstract The complexities of urban transportation networks where multiple modes with different characteristics and needs travel in combination with constraints on space and funding make the sustainable management of these systems a challenge. In order to improve transit service, space (e.g., dedicated bus lanes) and time (e.g., transit signal priority strategies) Transit Preferential Treatments (TPT) are deployed to improve transit operations. The objective of this paper is to develop an analytical model that allows for a person-based evaluation of alternative TPTs when considered individually and in combination. In particular, the analytical model is developed to assess person delay and person discharge flow at any intersection that is part of a signalized arterial, where auto arrivals are in platoons. The performance of TPTs is evaluated using both the analytical model and through microsimulation tests on two intersections of San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, CA. Space TPTs such as dedicated bus lanes and queue jumper lanes are beneficial in reducing bus person delay when provided in addition to the existing lanes; however, the effectiveness of time TPTs such as green extension depends on the level of auto demand in combination with signal settings. Changes in person discharge flow are not significant for any of the treatments tested with the exception of the bus lane substitution with and without green extension, which led to a significant decrease in person discharge flow. Increased bus frequency increases the effectiveness of transit signal priority in reducing total and bus person delay. The analytical model results produce ranking outcomes that are comparable with the microsimulation ones and therefore, the model may be used for a quantitative evaluation of TPTs without the need for data intensive and time consuming calibration efforts required for microsimulation models. The developed model can be used to guide infrastructure and investment decisions on where such TPTs should be implemented and under what conditions space TPTs should be combined with time TPTs to improve person mobility.
MAPPING THE EXTENT AND MAGNITUDE OF SEVER FLOODING INDUCED BY HURRICANE IRMA WITH MULTI-TEMPORAL SENTINEL-1 SAR AND INSAR OBSERVATIONS

Abstract. During Hurricane Irma’s passage over Florida in September 2017, many sections of the state experienced heavy rain and sequent flooding. In order to drain water out of potential flooding zones and assess property damage, it is important to map the extent and magnitude of the flooded areas at various stages of the storm. We use Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Interferometric SAR (InSAR) observations, acquired by Sentinel-1 before, during and after the hurricane passage, which enable us to evaluate surface condition during different stages of the hurricane. This study uses multi-temporal images acquired under dry condition before the hurricane to constrain the background backscattering signature. Flooded areas are detected when the backscattering during the hurricane is statistically significantly different from the average dry conditions. The detected changes can be either an increase or decrease of the backscattering, which depends on the scattering characteristics of the surface. In addition, water level change information in Palmdale, South Florida is extracted from an interferogram with the aid of a local water gauge as the reference. The results of our flooding analysis revealed that the majority of the study area in South Florida was flooded during Hurricane Irma.
Characterization of dermatitis after PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor therapy and association with multiple oncologic outcomes: A retrospective case-control study.

Background Cutaneous adverse events are common with programmed death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors. However, the nature of the specific cutaneous adverse event of dermatitis has not been investigated across various PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Oncologic outcomes potentially associated with dermatitis are not well characterized. Objective To assess the nature of dermatitis after exposure to a PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor and oncologic outcomes associated with dermatitis. Methods Retrospective, matched, case-control study conducted at a single academic center. Results The most common histologic patterns were lichenoid dermatitis (50%) and spongiotic dermatitis (40%). The overall tumor response rate was 65.0% for the case patients and 17.0% for the controls (P = .0007) (odds ratio, 7.3; 95% confidence interval, 2.3-23.1). The progression-free survival and overall survival times were significantly longer for the case patients than for the controls by Kaplan-Meier analysis (P Limitations The retrospective design and relatively small sample size precluded matching for all cancer types. Conclusions Lichenoid and spongiotic dermatitis associated with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors could be a sign of robust immune response and improved oncologic outcomes. The value of PD-1/PD-L1–related dermatitis in predicting cancer outcomes awaits investigation through prospective multicenter studies for specific cancer types.
Learning Adversarial Networks for Semi-Supervised Text Classification via Policy Gradient

Semi-supervised learning is a branch of machine learning techniques that aims to make fully use of both labeled and unlabeled instances to improve the prediction performance. The size of modern real world datasets is ever-growing so that acquiring label information for them is extraordinarily difficult and costly. Therefore, deep semi-supervised learning is becoming more and more popular. Most of the existing deep semi-supervised learning methods are built under the generative model based scheme, where the data distribution is approximated via input data reconstruction. However, this scheme does not naturally work on discrete data, e.g., text; in addition, learning a good data representation is sometimes directly opposed to the goal of learning a high performance prediction model. To address the issues of this type of methods, we reformulate the semi-supervised learning as a model-based reinforcement learning problem and propose an adversarial networks based framework. The proposed framework contains two networks: a predictor network for target estimation and a judge network for evaluation. The judge network iteratively generates proper reward to guide the training of predictor network, and the predictor network is trained via policy gradient. Based on the aforementioned framework, we propose a recurrent neural network based model for semi-supervised text classification. We conduct comprehensive experimental analysis on several real world benchmark text datasets, and the results from our evaluations show that our method outperforms other competing state-of-the-art methods.
Body composition of Native-American women estimated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and hydrodensitometry.

Variation in the relative amounts and densities of bone mineral and water in the fat-free body (FFB) will alter the density of the FFB. This produces a systematic error in estimating %BF when equations based on the two-component model1,2 are applied. Depending on the population studied, the theoretical error for estimating %BF from total body density (Db) could be as much as 2–4% BF due to interindividual variability in the densities and relative proportions of mineral, water, and protein comprising the fat-free mass (FFM).3 Within a homogeneous population, the %BF prediction error has been estimated at 2.77% due to biological variation of the density of the fat-free body.3
Apoptosis Assessment by the DNA Diffusion Assay

A simple, sensitive, and reliable DNA diffusion assay for quantification of apoptosis is based on the principle that nuclear DNA of apoptotic cells have abundant alkali-labile sites and under alkaline conditions small pieces of DNA thus generated diffuse in agarose, giving the appearance of a halo if stained with a sensitive fluorescent dye such as YOYO-1. The protocol for detection of apoptosis described here is tested for estimation of apoptosis in human leukocytes (mostly neutrophils) incubated at 37 degrees C for 24 h. Cells were mixed with agarose, microgels were made, and cells were lysed in a solution of high salt, detergents, and alkali. DNA was precipitated in microgels by ethanol and spermine. Staining of DNA was done with an intense fluorescent dye, YOYO-1. Apoptotic cells show a circular gradient of granular DNA with a dense central zone and a lighter and hazy outer zone, giving the overall appearance of a halo.
The Cutting Edge: Moving to SMP

Wondering about multiprocessing? Think it might be fun? For one man's experience with setting up SMP, read on.
Dynamics of a flexible superhydrophobic surface during a drop impact

In this study, coupled dynamic responses of flexible superhydrophobic surfaces during a drop impact were investigated with position sensing and high-speed imaging. A smooth polydimethylsiloxane surface was spray coated with commercially available superhydrophobic paint particles. The influence of initial and subsequent impacts of a water droplet on the surface dynamics was studied at various natural frequencies of the surface (50 < fs < 230 Hz) and Weber numbers (2 < We < 90). We discovered that the flexible superhydrophobic surface was deflected twice during contact of the droplet by an impact force of the droplet as well as its reaction force during recoil. The magnitude of the droplet reaction force was estimated to be comparable to the droplet impact force. As the Weber number increased, however, the influence of the droplet reaction force on the surface displacement was attenuated because of the instability of the droplet rim. The contact time of the droplet and surface dynamics were found to be dependent on the phase of the surface. The contact time was reduced as much as 7% when a completion of the droplet spreading matched to the upward motion of the surface. One of the two local minima of the surface position observed during the contact of the droplet was diminished by matching the instance of the droplet reaction force to the downward motion of the surface. This study provides new insight into the effect of the droplet reaction force on dynamics of flexible superhydrophobic surfaces.
Decapitation, Pregnancy and the Tongue: The Body as Political Metaphor in Measure for Measure

This paper argues that the political metaphor of the king’s two bodies, as explicated by King James in his 1598 and 1599 political treatises, is the prevailing political theme of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Written in 1604, one year after James’ ascension to the English throne, the play acknowledges and critiques the metaphor, especially the conflation of its three valences: the juxtaposition of the king’s natural and political bodies, the king as the head of the body politic, and the king’s espousal of the body politic. In the play, the manifestations of the metaphor occur: in the character of Angelo, whose carnal body is constantly at odds with his political body; in the duplication of various organs as both carnal and political organs, most notably the tongue and heart; in scenes of pregnancy and impregnation; and, in farcical scenes of decapitation. Shakespeare’s critique of the metaphor culminates in his introduction of the marriage contract in Act 5, which replicates the idea of the social contract that threatened James’ monarchical authority. While acknowledging the play as political commentary, this paper retains the play’s status as a problem play and refutes strict correlations between the play and its political moment in favor of revealing a relationship between the contemporaneous metaphor of the king’s body and the use of the body in Measure for Measure , illuminating the intricacies and fallacies of the metaphor as well Shakespeare’s complicated treatment of them.
Real-time insight into the doping mechanism of redox-active organic radical polymers.

Organic radical polymers for batteries represent some of the fastest-charging redox active materials available. Electron transport and charge storage must be accompanied by ion transport and doping for charge neutrality, but the nature of this process in organic radical polymers is not well understood. This is difficult to intuitively predict because the pendant radical group distinguishes organic radical polymers from conjugated, charged or polar polymers. Here we show for the first time a quantitative view of in situ ion transport and doping in organic radical polymers during the redox process. Two modes dominate: doping by lithium ion expulsion and doping by anion uptake. The dominance of one mode over the other is controlled by anion type, electrolyte concentration and timescale. These results apply in any scenario in which electrolyte is in contact with a non-conjugated redox active polymer and present a means of quantifying doping effects. Organic radical polymers are currently being considered as active materials for fast-charging battery electrodes but their transport and charge storage characteristics are not well understood. A quantitative view of in situ ion transport and doping in these systems during the redox process is now provided.
HDX-MS reveals dysregulated checkpoints that compromise discrimination against self RNA during RIG-I mediated autoimmunity

Retinoic acid inducible gene-I (RIG-I) ensures immune surveillance of viral RNAs bearing a 5'-triphosphate (5'ppp) moiety. Mutations in RIG-I (C268F and E373A) lead to impaired ATPase activity, thereby driving hyperactive signaling associated with autoimmune diseases. Here we report, using hydrogen/deuterium exchange, mechanistic models for dysregulated RIG-I proofreading that ultimately result in the improper recognition of cellular RNAs bearing 7-methylguanosine and N1-2'-O-methylation (Cap1) on the 5' end. Cap1-RNA compromises its ability to stabilize RIG-I helicase and blunts caspase activation and recruitment domains (CARD) partial opening by threefold. RIG-I H830A mutation restores Cap1-helicase engagement as well as CARDs partial opening event to a level comparable to that of 5'ppp. However, E373A RIG-I locks the receptor in an ATP-bound state, resulting in enhanced Cap1-helicase engagement and a sequential CARDs stimulation. C268F mutation renders a more tethered ring architecture and results in constitutive CARDs signaling in an ATP-independent manner.
Prediction of CO2 adsorption-induced deformation in shale nanopores

Abstract Understanding of CO2 adsorption in shale provides significant information about the potential for geological storage of CO2 in shale formations to mitigate the impact of carbon emissions on the climate. This work focuses on the adsorption behavior of CO2 in shale with various pore sizes at a wide temperature range including 31.28 °C, 40 °C, 65 °C, and 90 °C and pressures up to 15 MPa through a comprehensive model. Using a thermodynamic approach, we combine lattice density functional theory with finite element formulation to estimate CO2 adsorption behavior along with its induced strain in shale nanopores. We study the effect of geometric confinement, including pore size and pore geometry, on the excess adsorption and swelling strain of shale under different temperatures. When the model was applied to sorption of CO2 in Posidonia Shale samples, all reported experimental features of the phenomenon were reproduced. Although the developed model applied to the specific case of CO2 adsorption-induced swelling in shale, it is also applicable to any problem regarding adsorption of any fluid confined in a porous medium and its triggered swelling strain. We found that the highly confined geometry of the duct pore, which applies a large attractive surface field to adsorbed layers, leads to a faster, and a higher amount of adsorption compared with that of a slit pore. This effect is more significant in larger pore widths. The results also demonstrate a sharp rise in the adsorption isotherm and swelling strain near the bulk critical point of CO2. This phenomenon attributes to the highly compressive behavior of CO2 near its critical point, which leads to a sharp increase in bulk density and, thus, in adsorbed phase density and its resultant swelling strain. The results also denote that total volumetric strain is a function of temperature, pore width, and pore shape. The effect of pore shape and temperature is more prominent for pores with larger sizes.
Development of a practical evaluation for cookstove usability

Abstract While improved cookstoves have been designed and distributed for decades with the goal of addressing the human health and environmental issues caused by traditional biomass cooking, many have not achieved the impact intended. One of the main reasons for this shortcoming is that engineers tend to focus on technical attributes of cookstove designs, such as improved fuel and combustion efficiency, but neglect usability. If a stove design does not meet a cook's needs and preferences, however, the stove will likely be used only as a supplement to a traditional stove, or not used at all. To help close this gap, a testing protocol for cookstove usability was created. The development process and resulting protocol are described in this article. The proposed protocol is based on established usability practices from fields such as software and consumer product design, as well as usability criteria taken from existing cookstove research and interviews with subject experts. Ethnographic testing methods from the field of anthropology have also been incorporated to make the protocol more appropriate for cross-cultural applications, as well as adaptive to a wide range of testing scenarios. The protocol includes objective measurements and observation, as well as subjective survey and semi-structured interview questions. Usability criteria are generally assessed with paired Likert scale survey questions that elicit user perceptions of criteria, as well as the relative importance of each. These results are supplemented by interview results and objective measurements, wherever possible, for comparison and to identify bias or uncertainty in the results. This protocol may be useful to stove designers as a way to better understand users and validate designs, to implementers as a way to assist with the selection of the most appropriate stove for a given project, and to researchers as a tool to assess cookstoves and cookstove programs.
Assessing government grants: evidence from greenhouse tomato and pepper farmers in Kosovo

Genetic matching with an evolutionary algorithm was applied to evaluate the impact of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development (MAFRD) grant programs to support greenhouse vegetable production in Kosovo. The primary contribution of the paper is to assess whether grants have an impact on the farmers’ gross seasonal revenue after matching similar grantees to non-grantees. The findings showed that greenhouse tomato grantees make 2,151.80 euros more per growing season in comparison to the non-grantees (95 % confidence interval -324.71 to 4,628.31 euros). Similarly, greenhouse pepper grantees make 2,866.69 euros more per growing season compared to non-grantees (95 % confidence interval 446.42 to 5,286.96 euros). The study identified farmers’ education and region as important matching variables which may be of interest to policy researchers in Kosovo.
Value dynamics in the secondary market: How pricing and product lines in the primary market affect value retention

Abstract The secondary market, the market for used goods, is growing rapidly. Yet, research to date does not provide firm insights into how much value different products retain in this secondary market. Although most products lose value when transitioning from the primary to the secondary market, this research shows that not all products within a line lose value at the same rate. Sales data from the North American used automobile market and from used iPads on eBay are modeled to examine how product level factors, such as a product's features, and product line level factors, such as the breadth and boundaries of a product line and a product's position relative to others in its product line, affect value retention. The findings provide guidance for firms to optimize profits and pave the way for further research on the dynamics of value retention in the marketplace.
84. TEACHING SOCIAL DETERMINANTS VIA SERVICE LEARNING AND COMMUNITY EXPLORATION

Background Residents must be familiar with the community they serve and understand the impact of social determinants of health (SDH). Service learning is an educational approach that combines community service with reflection to achieve meaningful community engagement and understanding of SDH. We designed an intern orientation program to engage new trainees in conversations about SDH and advocacy through service learning and a team building experience. Objective Assess the impact of a community tour and volunteer experience on knowledge of local community, attitudes around SDH screening, and intern bonding. Methods The intervention included a didactic session on SDH; a walking tour of East Harlem (EH), the hospital neighborhood; and a visit to a local food pantry/community-based organization where residents engaged in a volunteer activity (packing meals). Residents completed a mixed methods survey with retrospective pre/post questions to reflect on the impact of the activity on knowledge and attitudes regarding: patient demographics, SDH (particularly food insecurity), and familiarity with co-interns. Data were analyzed using McNemar's test. RESULTS:35 residents were surveyed in 2017-2018. The program was effective in increasing interns’ understanding of the demographics and health issues affecting EH children (p=0.001) as well as increasing comfort discussing food insecurity with patients (p=0.001). All respondents reported a future plan to screen patients for food security, and 100% affirmed that program participation provided tools to help their patients. 97% agreed the activity helped them get to know their fellow interns. When asked for favorite aspects of the day, “volunteering at the pantry and giving back to the community,” “learning more about the EH community” and “getting to know our co-residents,” were identified. Conclusion A volunteer experience followed by a walking tour gave interns the opportunity to learn about EH while performing community service and bonding with their co-interns. Future research is needed to ascertain whether this hands-on experience inspires and sustains a program culture of advocacy.
Fundamental non-qualitative properties

The distinction between qualitative and non-qualitative properties should be familiar from discussions of the principle of the identity of indiscernibles: two otherwise exactly similar individuals, Castor and Pollux, might share all their qualitative properties yet differ with respect to their non-qualitative properties—for while Castor has the property being identical to Castor, Pollux does not. But while this distinction is familiar, there has not been much critical attention devoted to spelling out its precise nature. I argue that the class of non-qualitative properties is broader than it is often taken to be. When properly construed, it will not only include properties such as being identical to Castor, which somehow make reference to particular individuals, it will also include more general properties such as identity, composition, set membership, as well as various peculiarly ontological properties. Given that some of these more general properties help to explain objective similarity, we have reason to believe that there are fundamental non-qualitative properties.
Distortion of the local magnetic field appears to neither disrupt nocturnal navigation nor cue shelter recognition in the amblypygid Paraphrynus laevifrons

Many arthropods are known to be sensitive to the geomagnetic field and exploit the field to solve spatial problems. The polarity of the geomagnetic field is used, for instance, as an orientation cue by leafcutter ants as they travel on engineered trails in a rainforest and by Drosophila larvae as they move short distances in search of food. A ubiquitous orientation cue like the geomagnetic field may be especially useful in complex, cluttered environments like rainforests, where the reliability of celestial cues used to navigate in more open environments may be poor. The neotropical amblypygid Paraphrynus laevifrons is a nocturnal arachnid that wanders nightly in the vicinity of its shelter and occasionally travels 30 m or more in the rainforest understory before it returns to its shelter. Here, we conducted a field experiment to determine whether navigation by P. laevifrons is guided by the ambient magnetic field and a complimentary laboratory experiment to assess whether a magnetic anomaly could be used to pinpoint the entrance of a shelter. In the field experiment, subjects were fitted with a radio transmitter and a small, powerful magnet or a similar‐sized brass disk and displaced 10 m from their shelter. The return rate of magnet‐fitted subjects was similar to that of brass‐fitted subjects and to that of subjects in an earlier study fitted with only a radio transmitter. In the laboratory experiment, we trained P. laevifrons with a protocol under which the amblypygid Phrynus marginemaculatus rapidly learns—in 1–14 trials over two daily sessions—to associate an olfactory stimulus with access to a shelter. The conditioned stimulus here was a magnetic anomaly characterized by a high total field intensity and a 180° reversal of the polarity of the ambient magnetic field. The magnetic anomaly‐shelter contingency was not learned in 50 trials conducted over 10 daily sessions. These results imply prima facie that P. laevifrons does not rely on a magnetic compass to locate or recognize a shelter and, perhaps, that the magnetic field cannot be detected, but alternative explanations are discussed.
Static and interactive concept maps for chemistry learning

Over 40 years of research, concept maps have shown that they are beneficial for learning. However, much of this research has been conducted in laboratory settings. Although there are a few studies ...
Use of Cigarettes and E-Cigarettes/Vaping Among Transgender People: Results From the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey.

Introduction This study examines the demographic characteristics, transgender-specific factors, and discrimination experiences associated with current cigarette smoking, e-cigarette use/vaping, and dual use in a large sample of transgender people. Methods This was a secondary analysis of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (n=27,715). Conducted in 2019, logistic regression models were used to estimate the AORs and 95% CIs of current smoking, e-cigarette use/vaping, and dual use among transgender people. Results Overall, 23.6% of respondents used cigarettes, 9.3% used e-cigarettes/vaping products, and 5.2% reported dual use within the past 30 days. Visually nonconforming individuals had greater odds (cigarettes: AOR=1.49, 95% CI=1.35, 1.65; e-cigarettes/vaping: AOR=1.43, 95% CI=1.25, 1.65; dual use: AOR=1.81, 95% CI=1.52, 2.15) than visually conforming individuals. Transgender people who had disclosed their transgender identity to their social networks had greater odds of cigarette smoking (AOR=1.30, 95% CI=1.17, 1.45), e-cigarette use/vaping (AOR=1.30, 95% CI=1.12, 1.52), and dual use (AOR=1.95, 95% CI=1.61, 2.35) than individuals who were out to none or some people within their networks. Experiencing discrimination (i.e., unequal treatment, verbal harassment, or physical assault) significantly increased the odds for cigarette smoking, e-cigarette use/vaping, and dual use. Transgender people who experienced all 3 types of discrimination had 2 times greater odds of current cigarette smoking (AOR=2.06, 95% CI=1.79, 2.37) and dual use (AOR=2.17, 95% CI=1.73, 2.74) than those who had not experienced discrimination. Conclusions Discrimination, visual nonconformity, and being out as transgender increased the odds of cigarette smoking, e-cigarette use/vaping, and dual use. This study informs disease prevention efforts for transgender populations with increased risks for these health behaviors.
Impact of aortic valve disease on outcomes of aortic root replacement.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY Aortic stenosis (AS) has been associated with higher mortality in patients undergoing aortic root replacement (ARR). In this analysis, we compare the outcomes among patients with moderate to severe AS or aortic insufficiency (AI) undergoing ARR in a tertiary aortic center. METHODS A total of 889 patients underwent ARR from 1997 to 2020, of whom 798 had AI and 91 had AS. We excluded valve-sparing procedures. The primary endpoint consisted of major adverse events (MAEs), including operative mortality, myocardial infarction, tracheostomy, new dialysis, and cerebrovascular accidents. All patients had either a mechanical or biologic composite valve-graft implanted using button and exclusion techniques. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to compare outcomes. Long-term survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS Patients with AI had a higher incidence of connective tissue disorder (8.0% vs. 0.0%; p = .01) and were more likely to be classified as having an urgent or emergent procedure (22.4% vs. 8.8%; p = .004). PSM achieved a good balance between the groups. There was no difference in MAE rates, postoperatively (AI vs. AS, 1.6% vs. 1.6%; p = .85). Long-term survival was similar at 5 years in the matched cohorts (AI vs. AS, 75.9% vs. 95.5%; p = .36). CONCLUSION In patients undergoing ARR, the presence of moderate to severe AI or AS does not impact operative outcomes. ARR can be carried out with excellent outcomes and low operative mortality when performed in specialized centers.
Experiences of Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Background The first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 was a global event for which nurses had limited time to prepare before receiving an influx of high-acuity patients and navigating new plans of care. Objectives To understand nurses' lived experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak and to examine their resiliency. Methods A convergent mixed methods design was applied in this study. For the quantitative portion, resiliency was measured by using the Brief Resilience Coping Scale. Colaizzi's phenomenological method was used for qualitative analysis. Results A total of 43 nurses participated in the study. The mean score on the Brief Resilience Coping Scale was 14.4. From 21 robust narratives, Colaizzi's qualitative method yielded 5 themes to describe the experience of being a nurse during the pandemic. Conclusions Understanding the lived experience provides a unique lens through which to view nursing during a global pandemic, and it serves as a starting point to ensure future safeguards are in place to protect nurses' well-being.
Computational prediction of the effect of amino acid changes on the binding affinity between SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and the human ACE2 receptor

The association of the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 viral spike with human angiotensin converting enzyme (hACE2) represents the first required step for viral entry. Amino acid changes in the RBD have been implicated with increased infectivity and potential for immune evasion. Reliably predicting the effect of amino acid changes in the ability of the RBD to interact more strongly with the hACE2 receptor can help assess the public health implications and the potential for spillover and adaptation into other animals. Here, we introduce a two-step framework that first relies on 48 independent 4-ns molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories of RBD-hACE2 variants to collect binding energy terms decomposed into Coulombic, covalent, van der Waals, lipophilic, generalized Born electrostatic solvation, hydrogen-bonding, {pi}-{pi} packing and self-contact correction terms. The second step implements a neural network to classify and quantitatively predict binding affinity using the decomposed energy terms as descriptors. The computational base achieves an accuracy of 82.2% in terms of correctly classifying single amino-acid substitution variants of the RBD as worsening or improving binding affinity for hACE2 and a correlation coefficient r of 0.69 between predicted and experimentally calculated binding affinities. Both metrics are calculated using a 5-fold cross validation test. Our method thus sets up a framework for effectively screening binding affinity change with unknown single and multiple amino-acid changes. This can be a very valuable tool to predict host adaptation and zoonotic spillover of current and future SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Abstract MP28: Nationwide Racial Disparities in Smoking Cessation After Stroke in the United States

Introduction: Black Americans face a higher risk of recurrent stroke than White Americans, and the reasons are unclear. Smoking after stroke is associated with a higher risk of recurrence. We inves...
Metric approximations of spectral triples on the Sierpiński gasket and other fractal curves

Abstract Noncommutative geometry provides a framework, via the construction of spectral triples, for the study of the geometry of certain classes of fractals. Many fractals are constructed as natural limits of certain sets with a simpler structure: for instance, the Sierpinski gasket is the limit of finite graphs consisting of various affine images of an equilateral triangle. It is thus natural to ask whether the spectral triples, constructed on a class of fractals called piecewise C 1 -fractal curves, are indeed limits, in an appropriate sense, of spectral triples on the approximating sets. We answer this question affirmatively in this paper, where we use the spectral propinquity on the class of metric spectral triples, in order to formalize the sought-after convergence of spectral triples. Our results and methods are relevant to the study of analysis on fractals and have potential physical applications.
Effect of micromagnetorotation on magnetohydrodynamic Poiseuille micropolar flow: analytical solutions and stability analysis

The present study deals with the effect of micromagnetorotation (MMR) on a micropolar Poiseuille flow in the presence of a uniform magnetic field. Micromagnetorotation is associated with the impact of magnetization on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) micropolar flows. Previously, magnetization was assumed to be parallel to the applied magnetic field and thus, its influence on the flow was ignored. This assumption is incorrect in the case of micropolar fluids, because their anisotropy affects magnetization. Here, the velocity and microrotation fields, as well as the skin friction coefficient are examined analytically by using a new MHD micropolar fluid theory that includes a constitutive equation for magnetization. Results reveale that MMR has a strong braking effect both on velocity and microrotation. Flow deceleration is found to be up to 16 %, while an increase in the skin friction coefficient is also observed. Moreover, the stability of the MHD micropolar flow is studied by introducing a modified version of the Orr–Sommerfeld equation, which incorporates MMR. The eigenvalue problem is solved with the use of the open-source Chebfun library. It is found that the MMR has a strong stabilizing effect on the MHD micropolar flow. Thus, the MMR is proved to be a mechanism similar to the Lorentz force, which dissipates additional magnetic energy to the flow via microrotation. In summary, the important effect of MMR, neglected by researchers so far, should be considered for industrial and bioengineering applications that involve micropolar fluids and magnetic fields.
Linear Time-Periodic Modeling of Single-Phase Elementary Phase-Locked-Loop

Phase-locked-loops (PLLs) are the most common synchronization units used for integration of voltage source converters to the power grid. One of such type of PLL is a single phase elementary PLL which is inherently nonlinear. The standard approach of Linear Time Invariant (LTI) modelling generally ignores this nonlinear behavior. To accurately model the PLL with nonlinearity included, Linear Time Periodic (LTP) framework is adopted. In this paper, first the method of extracting LTP model of a single phase elementary PLL is illustrated, then the LTI model is developed from the LTP model by expanding the time periodic quantities into complex Fourier series. The two models obtained are simulated in MATLAB/Simulink. Bode plots are also used to obtain the output variable. The results obtained are subsequently validated with the nonlinear PLL model.
Genetic and environmental influences on executive functions and intelligence in middle childhood.

Executive functions (EFs) and intelligence (IQ) are phenotypically correlated. In twin studies, latent variables for EFs and IQ display moderate to high heritability estimates; however, they show variable genetic correlations in twin studies spanning childhood to middle age. We analyzed data from over 11,000 children (9- to 10-year-olds, including 749 twin pairs) in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study to examine the phenotypic and genetic relations between EFs and IQ in childhood. We identified two EF factors-Common EF and Updating-Specific-which were both related to IQ (rs = 0.64-0.81). Common EF and IQ were heritable (53%-67%), and their genetic correlation (rG = 0.86) was not significantly different than 1. These results suggest that EFs and IQ are phenotypically but not genetically separable in middle childhood, meaning that this phenotypic separability may be influenced by environmental factors.
"What ELSE about this job?" Teaching Job Decision-Making to College Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Decision-making is the central element of self-determination, requiring targeted, systematic instruction to learn. In this study, researchers developed a multicomponent intervention, “What ELSE about this job?”, to teach job decision-making skills to college students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The intervention coupled remote audio coaching (RAC) with a mnemonic device, ‘ELSE’, to guide students to make decisions about whether certain jobs would be a good fit for them. The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the intervention and determine whether the skills would maintain once the intervention was removed. All students who received the intervention substantially increased their ability to make job decisions. Additionally, all participants maintained the skills upon removal of the intervention, and showed signs of generalizing their skills to novel job coaches and web-based job search apps. Implications and future research are discussed.
New Developments in Image Tampering Detection

Statistical feature-based pattern recognition approach has been proved to be useful in digital image forgery detection. In this paper, we first present this approach adopted in Phase 1 of the first IEEE IFS-TC Image Forensics Challenge, in which the task is to classify the tampered images from the original ones, together with the experimental results. Several different kinds of statistical features and their combinations have been tested. Finally, we have chosen to use co-occurrence matrices calculated from the rich model of noise residual images. Furthermore we have selected a subset of the rich model to further enhance the testing accuracy by about 2 % so as to reach a high detection accuracy of 93.7 %. In Phase 2 of the competition, the task is to localize the tampered regions by identifying the tampered pixels. For this purpose, we have introduced the Hamming distance of Local Binary Patterns as similarity measure to tackle the tampering without post-processing on copy-moved regions. The PatchMatch algorithm has been adopted as an efficient search algorithm for block-matching. We have also applied a simple usage of the scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) when other kinds of processing such as rotation and scaling have been performed on the copy-moved region. The achieved f-score in identifying tampered pixels is 0.267. In summary, some success has been achieved apparently. However, much more efforts are called for to move image tampering detection ahead.
Noncompact 4-manifolds with uniformly positive isotropic curvature

In this paper, we study Ricci flow on noncompact 4-manifolds with uniformly positive isotropic curvature and with no essential imcompressible space form. That means there is positive lower bound of isotropic curvature and bounded geometry. Then by Perelman’s technique, we can analyze the structures of such manifolds.
Multilevel Relaxation in Low-Level Computer Vision

Variational (cost minimization) and local constraint approaches are generally applicable to problems in low-level vision (e.g., computation of intrinsic images). Iterative relaxation algorithms are “natural” choices for implementation because they can be executed on highly parallel and locally connected processors. They may, however, require a very large number of iterations to attain convergence. Multilevel relaxation techniques converge much faster and are well suited to processing in cones or pyramids. These techniques are applied to the problem of computing optic flow from dynamic images.
Multiple Penicillin-binding Components in Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli

Abstract A variety of techniques have been employed to investigate the penicillin-binding components of Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. Virtually all the binding sites in these organisms are located in the cell membrane. All the techniques which have been employed suggest that more than one binding component exists in each of these organisms, although S. aureus and E. coli both appear to have only a single major one. A particularly interesting observation was that in Bacillus subtilis one of the two major components which reacts with penicillin G does not react readily with cephalothin.