cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Failure to Thrive A Continuing Problem of Definition

The term "failure to thrive" (FTT) has been used for more than 50 years to describe the infant or young child whose growth falls substantially behind that of his or her peers. Currently, the predominant use of FTT is to describe a child's growth failure resulting from caloric or maternal deprivation or both. Despite widespread use, the term FTT lacks a clarified definition.In this study the authors review 22 current reference texts in general pediatrics, pediatric nutrition, and pediatric gastroenterology and 13 recent journal articles addressing FTT. Only 9 of the 22 texts and 9 of the 13 journal articles describe FTT in quantitative terms, but even these references lack consensus on the anthropometric indices used and their criteria for abnormality.The absence of a standard, scientifically credible definition for FTT, which reflects the dynamic nature of this syndrome, continues to produce an ambiguous body of literature on the subject.
Agents Swarming in Semantic Spaces to Corroborate Hypotheses

To anticipate and prevent acts of terrorism, Indications and Warnings analysts try to connect clues gleaned from massive quantities of complex data. Multi-agent approaches to support Indications and Warnings are appropriate because ownership and security issues fragment the data. Furthermore, the massive scale of the data suggests the need for large numbers of agents. The Ant CAFE system uses fine-grained swarming agents to extract and organize textual evidence that corroborates hypotheses about the state of the world. Multiple swarming processes are required, including the clustering of paragraphs, identification of semantic relations in text, and assembly of evidence into structures that instantiate the hypothesis. These processes occur in semantic spaces defined using the WordNet ontology. This paper describes an Ant CAFE prototype. It describes the systemýs architecture, and provides detail on the innovative algorithm for evidence assembly. Initial experiments using artificially generated data confirm that a global property that we call "clarity" emerges from agent decisions made in a local, and therefore scalable, manner.
A new algorithm for transistor sizing in CMOS circuits

This paper describes a new algorithm for automatic transistor sizing in CMOS circuits. The algorithm consists of three phases: critical path analysis, transistor sizing and transistor desizing. This approach is different from conventional sizing methods that optimize a given design locally, using one or several paths at a time. The authors' algorithm reduces the delays of all paths in a given design simultaneously. Using their transistor desizing approach, the minimal transistor areas can be achieved to meet a set of timing requirements. Furthermore, by tuning NFET and PFET transistor sizes separately, this algorithm has control over rise and fall time delays of a gate depending on the input trigger signal. Experimental results show that this algorithm can improve the delay in approximately linear time. >
Molecular Stability and Function of Mouse Hemoglobins

Abstract The hemoglobin types of mouse strains can be distinguished according to patterns observed on cellulose acetate electrophoresis. The two common mouse hemoglobin patterns are single and diffuse. The differences in the patterns result from differences in the β-globin chains of the hemoglobin molecules. Mice with the single hemoglobin pattern have one β-globin type identified as β-single (Hbbs), whereas mice with the diffuse hemoglobin pattern have two different β-globin types identified as β-major (Hbbmaj) and β-minor (Hbbmin). We examined the functional and stability properties in these mouse hemoglobins, and the oxygen binding properties of red blood cells obtained from mice with four different hemoglobin phenotypes: Hbbs/Hbbs, Hbbs/Hbbmin, Hbbmin/Hbbmin and Hbbmaj/Hbbmin. The P50, the partial pressure of oxygen at which hemoglobin is half-saturated, of purified forms of Hbbs, Hbbmin and Hbbmaj was 14.8 ± 0.4 mm Hg, 13.3 ± 0.6 mm Hg and 13.6 ± 0.5 mm Hg, respectively. The n value, determined from ...
17O NMR studies of torsion angle relationships in aryl alkyl ketones and aromatic aldehydes

17O NMR spectroscopic data, at natural abundance, in acetonitrile at 75 °C were obtained for a series of phenyl alkyl and cycloalkyl ketones, benzophenone, methyl alkyl ketones, three fused-ring aryl ketones and a series of variously hindered aromatic aldehydes. The trend in chemical shifts for the relatively unhindered alkyl aryl ketones is a general increase in shielding with increasing size of the alkyl group. However, when steric hindrance becomes significant, torsion angle rotation occurs and deshielding is observed. Cyclopropyl ketones show much larger shielding effects than their isopropyl analogs. Torsion angles for aryl ketones and aromatic aldehydes are estimated using an indirect method based on previous results from electronically similar hindered ketones.
Multi-institutional analysis of robotic partial nephrectomy for hilar versus nonhilar lesions in 446 consecutive cases.

Abstract Background Minimally invasive approaches to partial nephrectomy have been rapidly gaining popularity but require advanced laparoscopic surgical skills. Renal hilar tumors, due to their anatomic location, pose additional technical challenges to the operating surgeon. Objective We compared the outcomes of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RPN) for hilar and nonhilar tumors in our large multicenter contemporary series of patients. Design, setting, and participants We retrospectively reviewed prospectively collected data on 446 consecutive patients who underwent RPN by renal surgeons experienced in minimally invasive techniques at four academic institutions from June 2006 to March 2010. Patients were stratified into two groups: those with hilar lesions and those with nonhilar lesions. Measurements Patient demographics, operative outcomes, and postoperative outcomes, including oncologic outcomes, were recorded. Results and limitations Forty-one patients (9%) had hilar renal masses; 405 patients (91%) had nonhilar masses. There was no statistical differences in patient demographics except for larger median tumor size in the hilar cohort (3.2cm vs 2.6cm; p =0.001). The only significant difference in operative outcomes was an increase in warm ischemia times for the hilar group versus the nonhilar group (26.3±7.4min vs 19.6±10.0min; p = Conclusions The data represent the largest series of its kind and strongly suggest that RPN is a safe, effective, and feasible option for the minimally invasive approach to renal hilar tumors with no increased risk of adverse outcomes compared with nonhilar tumors in the hands of experienced robotic surgeons.
Efficacy of ertapenem against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus in complicated skin/skin structure infections: results of a double-blind clinical trial versus piperacillin-tazobactam

Staphylococcus aureus is the predominant pathogen in complicated skin/skin structure infections. In this analysis of a subgroup of data from a randomised, double-blind trial, the efficacy of ertapenem 1 g daily was compared with piperacillin-tazobactam 3.375 g Q6H for treatment of complicated skin/skin structure infections caused by methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA). Of the 529 treated patients in this trial, 185 (35.0%) had MSSA as a baseline pathogen. At the test of cure assessment 10-21 days post-therapy, 54 of 67 (80.6%) protocol evaluable patients in the ertapenem group and 55 of 68 (80.9%) in the piperacillin-tazobactam group were cured (odds ratio: 1.0 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.4-2.4), P = 0.99). In both treatment groups, cure rates were higher in patients with monomicrobial than polymicrobial infections, but the difference was not significant. In this subgroup analysis of patients with MSSA complicated skin/skin structure infections, therapy with ertapenem 1 g daily was as effective as piperacillin-tazobactam 13.5 g divided in four daily doses.
An active vertical-direction gravity compensation system

To perform simulations of partial or microgravity environments on Earth requires some method of compensation for the Earth's gravitational field. This paper discusses an active compensation system that modulates the tension in a counterweight support cable in order to minimize state deviation between the compensated body and the ideal weightless body. The system effectively compensates for inertial effects of the counterweight mass, viscous damping of all pulleys, and static friction in all parts of the gravity compensation (GC) system using a hybrid PI (proportional plus integral)/fuzzy control algorithm. The dynamic compensation of inertia and viscous damping is performed by PI control, while static friction compensation is performed by the fuzzy system. The system provides a very precise gravity compensation force, and is capable of nonconstant gravity force compensation in the case that the payload mass is not constant. >
Adaptive sampling for tracking in pursuit-evasion games

In this paper, we investigate target tracking with adaptive sampling in order to optimize the use of expensive and limited resources that Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) have at disposition in pursuit-evasion games. An adaptive sampling policy is developed in order to minimize energy consumption while satisfying performance guarantees such as, increased probability of detection over time, and maintenance of the targets in sensors' Field Of View (FOV). The approach is applicable to networks that have perfect knowledge of the workspace, but little or no prior information about the targets. Furthermore, we propose a predictor-corrector tracking filter that uses geometrical properties of targets' tracks to estimate their positions using imperfect and intermittent measurements. It is shown that this filter requires substantially less prior knowledge about the targets and measurement noise, and processing power than Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) and Sampling Importance Resampling Particle Filter (SIR PF) while providing comparable estimation performance in scenarios with intermittent information. The proposed approach is validated both in numerical simulations and experiments involving heterogeneous ground and aerial vehicles.
Device optimization for ultra-low power digital sub-threshold operation

Digital circuits operated in the sub-threshold region (supply voltage less than the transistor threshold voltage) can have orders of magnitude power advantage over standard CMOS circuits for applications requiring ultra-low power and medium frequency of operation. It is possible to implement sub-threshold logic circuits using the standard transistors that are designed primarily for ultra high performance super-threshold logic design. However, a Si MOSFET so optimized for performance in the super-threshold regime is not the best device to use in the sub-threshold domain. In this paper, we propose device designs apt for sub-threshold operation. Results show that the optimized device improves the delay and power delay product (PDP) of an inverter chain by 44% and 51%, respectively, over the normal super-threshold device operated in the sub-threshold region.
Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ϵ4 Allele Is Associated with Increased Symptom Reporting Following Sports Concussion

Exploring the relationship between genetic factors and outcome following brain injury has received increased attention in recent years. However, few studies have evaluated the influence of genes on specific sequelae of concussion. The purpose of this study was to determine how the ϵ4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene influences symptom expression following sports-related concussion. Participants included 42 collegiate athletes who underwent neuropsychological testing, including completion of the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), within 3 months after sustaining a concussion (73.8% were evaluated within 1 week). Athletes provided buccal samples that were analyzed to determine the make-up of their APOE genotype. Dependent variables included a total symptom score and four symptom clusters derived from the PCSS. Mann-Whitney U tests showed higher scores reported by athletes with the ϵ4 allele compared to those without it on the total symptom score and the physical and cognitive symptom clusters. Furthermore, logistic regression showed that the ϵ4 allele independently predicted those athletes who reported physical and cognitive symptoms following concussion. These findings illustrate that ϵ4+ athletes report greater symptomatology post-concussion than ϵ4- athletes, suggesting that the ϵ4 genotype may confer risk for poorer post-concussion outcome. (JINS, 2016, 22, 89-94).
Analysis of the pdx-1 (snz-1/sno-1) Region of the Neurospora crassa Genome: Correlation of Pyridoxine-Requiring Phenotypes With Mutations in Two Structural Genes

We report the analysis of a 36-kbp region of the Neurospora crassa genome, which contains homologs of two closely linked stationary phase genes, SNZ1 and SNO1, from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Homologs of SNZ1 encode extremely highly conserved proteins that have been implicated in pyridoxine (vitamin B6) metabolism in the filamentous fungi Cercospora nicotianae and in Aspergillus nidulans. In N. crassa, SNZ and SNO homologs map to the region occupied by pdx-1 (pyridoxine requiring), a gene that has been known for several decades, but which was not sequenced previously. In this study, pyridoxine-requiring mutants of N. crassa were found to possess mutations that disrupt conserved regions in either the SNZ or SNO homolog. Previously, nearly all of these mutants were classified as pdx-1. However, one mutant with a disrupted SNO homolog was at one time designated pdx-2. It now appears appropriate to reserve the pdx-1 designation for the N. crassa SNZ homolog and pdx-2 for the SNO homolog. We further report annotation of the entire 36,030-bp region, which contains at least 12 protein coding genes, supporting a previous conclusion of high gene densities (12,000-13,000 total genes) for N. crassa. Among genes in this region other than SNZ and SNO homologs, there was no evidence of shared function. Four of the genes in this region appear to have been lost from the S. cerevisiae lineage.
INDIGO: an in situ distributed gossip framework for sensor networks

With the onset of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), distributed algorithms on Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have been receiving renewed attention. The distributed consensus problem is a well studied problem having a myriad of applications which can be accomplished using asynchronous distributed gossip algorithms on Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). However, a practical realization of gossip algorithms for WSNs is found lacking in the current state of the art. In this paper, we propose the design, development, and analysis of a novel in situ distributed gossip framework called INDIGO. A key aspect of INDIGO is its ability to perform on a generic system platform as well as on a hardware oriented testbed platform in a seamless manner allowing easy portability of existing algorithms. We evaluate the performance of INDIGO with respect to the distributed consensus problem as well as the distributed optimization problem. We also present a data driven analysis of the effect certain operating parameters like sleep time and wait time have on the performance of the framework and empirically attempt to determine a sweet spot. The results obtained from various experiments on INDIGO validate its efficacy, reliability, and robustness and demonstrate its utility as a framework for the evaluation and implementation of asynchronous distributed algorithms.
Early experiences with node-level power capping on the Cray XC40 platform

Power consumption of extreme-scale supercomputers has become a key performance bottleneck. Yet current practices do not leverage power management opportunities, instead running at "maximum power". This is not sustainable. Future systems will need to manage power as a critical resource, directing it to where it has greatest benefit. Power capping is one mechanism for managing power budgets, however its behavior is not well understood. This paper presents an empirical evaluation of several key HPC workloads running under a power cap on a Cray XC40 system, and provides a comparison of this technique with p-state control, demonstrating the performance differences of each. These results show: 1.) Maximum performance requires ensuring the cap is not reached; 2.) Performance slowdown under a cap can be attributed to cascading delays which result in unsynchronized performance variability across nodes; and, 3.) Due to lag in reaction time, considerable time is spent operating above the set cap. This work provides a timely and much needed comparison of HPC application performance under a power cap and attempts to enable users and system administrators to understand how to best optimize application performance on power-constrained HPC systems.
Multisite Study of Infants With Single-Suture Craniosynostosis: Preliminary Report of Presurgery Development

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the cognitive and language development of untreated infants with a single suture craniosynostosis at time of diagnosis. Design and Participants: The study presents time 1 assessments on the first 100 infants with a single suture craniosynostosis (sagittal, metopic, unilateral coronal, and lambdoid) referred to the Infant Learning Project, a prospective, multisite, longitudinal study evaluating neurocognitive development. Main Outcome Measures: Infants were assessed with the mental (Mental Development Index [MDI]) and motor scales (Psychomotor Developmental Index [PDI]) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and the Preschool Language Scale receptive (PLS-AC) and expressive (PLS-EC) language scales. Mothers completed the Parenting Stress Inventory, a brief measure of intelligence (maternal IQ [MAT-IQ]), and provided information regarding family socioeconomic status (SES). Results: As a group, infants scored significantly lower than the normative data on the MDI (91.9), P...
An Institutional Analysis: Racial Group Identity, Group Consciousness and Political Socialization

The research is an empirical analysis of how racial group identity and group consciousness impact the political socialization processes of state legislators. Essentially, the study seeks to discern how race influence patterns of political socialization at the elite level. Theoretically, I predict that racial differences in the political socialization experiences of state legislators will significantly affect their political behavior (e.g., agenda setting).
Oviposition Attractants and Stimulants of Aedes triseriatus (Say) (Diptera: Culicidae)

Fifteen compounds structurally related to the Aedes triseriatus oviposition attractant, p -cresol, have been assayed for oviposition attractant and stimulant activity. Of these, 3 were attractants, 3 stimulants, and the remainder inactive by either mode. Structure-activity implications are discussed.
Fundamental Research on Boundary Layer Separation and Entropy Generation Using a Transonic Research Turbine

Internal flow related to turbines and turbine components form a class of flow fields that are of scientific and practical interest. The performance and entropy generated in such flows impacts the amount of fuel used in propulsion as well as land-based power applications. A high-speed turbine facility has been constructed, commissioned, and utilized over the last five years for the purpose of studying the fluid mechanics of flows related to turbines. The facility was designed so that detailed measurements could be acquired using a wide variety of test articles and instrumentation. This paper will provide a review of many of the pertinent design features and details, and will provide examples of detailed measurements obtained using a highly-loaded, low-pressure turbine. Nomenclature m c = corrected mass flow rate N c = design corrected rotational speed η = stage efficiency π = stage total pressure ratio τ = stage total temperature ratio
Creating the American Newspaper Boy: Middle-Class Route Service and Juvenile Salesmanship in the Great Depression

Speaking before a gathering of circulation managers in 1935, Rex Fisher of the East St. Louis (Illinois) Journal, lauded the revolutionary changes that were transforming his industry. "Years ago a boy applying for a newspaper route would come in and ask, 'Can I get a job peddling papers?'" he recalled. "Today on most newspapers the carrier is known as a carrier-salesman? He is taught the fundamentals of salesmanship and learns that there are definite steps he must take to accomplish desired ends." From the moment a boy entered into work for the Journal, he was "guided and instructed by competent men who measure his ability to accept responsibility and conduct the affairs pertaining to his work in a business-like manner." Fisher believed that the lessons learned through daily route service complemented more conventional types of academic instruction, affording the boy "an opportunity to apply the theories he learns" to real life situations.1 Though individual newspapers had experimented with carrier training schemes as early as World War I, it took the jolt of the Great Depression to spur circulation managers to collective action. In the aftermath of the 1929 stock market crash, advertising revenues for daily newspapers in the United States swiftly declined. Managers responded to deteriorating conditions with one of the few resources at their command?juvenile workers. Beginning in 1930, the industry launched a national campaign to increase home newspaper readership by instructing route carriers in the principles of door-to-door subscrip? tion marketing. This movement, which I term juvenile salesmanship, led to the creation ofthe familiar middle-class newspaper boy and permanently altered the relationship between childhood and work in modern America.2 Sociologist Viviana Zelizer, in her study of the changing social value of child? hood, has shown how evolving conceptions of legitimate economic roles for chil? dren shaped the nature of work performed by boys during the twentieth century. Throughout the Victorian era, most Americans accepted unregulated newspaper selling for minors because they believed such activity taught working-class boys the value of economic self-reliance. Following World War I, the standards for determining suitable work for children were "dramatically reversed, converting the previously admired independent role of a newsboy into a liability." Route service now became appealing to middle-class parents precisely because it was under strictly regulated adult supervision. According to Zelizer, the "search for new boundaries" between childhood and labor was instrumental in creating new kinds of work to replace discredited forms of child labor. Viewed within this con? text, juvenile salesmanship should properly be seen as an attempt to expand the borders of acceptable children's work in the United States.3 In one sense the imperative to increase subscriptions had always been a part of delivering papers: the more customers a boy could acquire, the more money
Case Report Acute Cor Pulmonale Due to Massive Pulmonary Embolism and Successful Response to Thrombolytic Therapy

The proper place of thrombolytic agents in the management of pulmonary embolism is not yet well defined. A number of survivors of acute massive pulmonary thromboembolism remain in a delicate balance of hemodynamic compensation and where recurrent emboli could frequently be fatal. Successful response to urokinase therapy in such a case is presented and the status of currently available thrombolytic drugs is discussed. We suggest that thrombolytic therapy in massive pulmonary embolism would provide greater hemodynamic reserve, alleviate shock, minimize the chances of recurrent emboli and prevent permanent impairment to the pulmonary vascular bed.
Prophylactic Antiepileptics and Seizure Incidence Following Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

Background and Purpose— The utility of prophylactic antiepileptic drug (AED) administration after spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage remains controversial. AEDs have not clearly been associated with a reduction in seizure incidence and have been associated with both neurological worsening and delayed functional recovery in this setting. Methods— We retrospectively analyzed a prospectively collected database of subarachnoid hemorrhage patients admitted to our institution between 2005 and 2010. Between 2005 and 2007, all patients received prophylactic AEDs upon admission. After 2007, no patients received prophylactic AEDs or had AEDs immediately discontinued if initiated at an outside hospital. A propensity score–matched analysis was then performed to compare the development of clinical and electrographic seizures in these 2 populations. Results— Three hundred and fifty three patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage were analyzed, 43% of whom were treated with prophylactic AEDs upon admission. Overall, 10% of patients suffered clinical and electrographic seizures, most frequently occurring within 24 hours of ictus (47%). The incidence of seizures did not vary significantly based on the use of prophylactic AEDs (11 versus 8%; P =0.33). Propensity score–matched analyses suggest that patients receiving prophylactic AEDs had a similar likelihood of suffering seizures as those who did not ( P =0.49). Conclusions— Propensity score–matched analysis suggests that prophylactic AEDs do not significantly reduce the risk of seizure occurrence in patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Physisorption: Structures and Interactions

We survey simple inert gas adsorption emphasizing surfaces where registry forces play an unimportant role. Such systems allow a detailed analysis of the structural and thermodynamic properties in terms of adatom-adatom and adatom-substrate interactions. We discuss the experimental techniques, primarily those giving structural information. Comparison of these data with results of statistical mechanical models allows quantitative assessment of the contributions to the interactions.
Die Verbindung zur Strategie

Die Herausforderung an die Forschung und Entwicklung der Unternehmen ist nie groser gewesen als heute.
Failure Analysis of Nuclear Plant Components

Analyses offailed components from nuclear power-generating stations have been conducted at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) since 1974. The considerations involved in working with and analyzing ra...
Rainfall-runoff modeling using computational intelligence techniques

Rainfall and corresponding Runoff estimation are substantially dependent on various geographic, climatic, and biotic features of the catchment or basin under study and these factors often induce a linear, non-linear or highly complex relation between rainfall and runoff. The few of key factors include precipitation, percolation, infiltration, evaporation, stream flow, and air temperature. Plenty of Rainfall-Runoff (RR) regression models are available, each one distinguished by a varying level of complexity and data requirement. Most of the time due to complex relationship between rainfall and runoff the traditional models (SCN-CN, MISDc, GA, CN4GA) with regression equations don't resembles the correct scene of rainfall-runoff connection. Computational Intelligence (CI) approaches play a key role in modeling those complex tie-ups between rainfall and runoff. The rainfall-runoff process was modeled using a mamdani Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) implemented within a layered design of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and was applied to a small area of Koshi basin in Bihar, using 12 year's (1980–1992) observed records of daily rainfall, soil moisture and runoff. A comparison was also made between proposed models and existing soft computing models. The proposed computational intelligence model proves significantly better than existing soft computing models in terms of performance.
Molecular Mechanisms of Hormone Action

Over the past year or two I have had a fine time arguing with Frank Beach about ways one can proceed in the analysis of the effects of hormones upon behavior. I have argued that the wave of the future is the study of the molecular actions of hormones, and immediately Frank responds that our greater need is a finer grained analysis of behavior; he then proceeds to illustrate this point by his work on proceptivity, which is elegant both in concept and data (Beach, 1976). In this presentation, however, I shall attempt to illustrate the other approach, namely a finer grained analysis of the effects of hormones on those neural systems that mediate sexual behavior. In what follows I will focus on the receptive behavior of female rodents.
Human agency shaping tourism competitiveness and quality of life in developing economies

Abstract The study investigates the nature of the relationship between tourism competitiveness and quality of life with human agency as an intervening variable. The study argues that integrating human agency as a foundational construct within the tourism competitiveness framework will enhance the theoretical knowledge of tourism competitiveness. A panel data analysis was applied to the case of Central America to examine the relationship between tourism competitiveness (TC) and quality of life (QoL). The results reveal a bi-directional causal relationship between the two constructs, as well as human agency acting as a moderator between TC and QoL, indicating a negative impact on such relationship. Such findings provide a number of theoretical and managerial implications, thus reinforcing the central role of human agency in defining the nature of the relationship between TC and QoL.
Dealing a Duty: Why Casino Markers Should Establish a Legal Duty of Care to Patrons

Despite using markers, courts have recently held that casinos owe no legal duty to these patrons. In dismissing a duty, courts rely heavily on state self-exclusion statutes, which require compulsive gamblers to enroll on a list where they are prohibited from entering a casino. These self-exclusion states, however, are largely unsuccessful and ultimately do very little to help stifle compulsive gambling, especially the use of markers and compulsive gambling. I argue that casinos who use markers should owe a legal duty of care to those patrons to decrease problem and compulsive gamblers. In support of this conclusion, I discuss the legal, economic, and societal advantages of establishing this new duty. Casinos could ultimately be found legally responsible for a breach of a duty of care, which would result in casinos suffering litigation exposure and potential economic loses. If markers then become less popular, problem gambling and the negative societal implications would decrease. This article fills the scholarly gap in gaming law academic literature concerning markers and compulsive gambling. Additionally, this article analyzes the recent West Virginia Supreme Court case Stevens v. MTR Gaming Corp., in which a casino was held to have no legal duty of care to a patron who ultimately committed suicide because of his gambling addiction. Through a fresh analysis of recent cases, my article could provide courts and legislatures with a better solution to solving compulsive and problem gambling.
Donald Trump and the Politics of the Spectacle

I first came up with the concept of media spectacle to describe the key phenomenon of US media and politics in the mid-1990s. This was the era of the O.J. Simpson murder case and trial, the Clinton sex scandals, and the rise of cable news networks like Fox, CNN, and media MSNBC and the 24/7 news cycle that has dominated US politics and media since then.
Native American youth obesity : intervention with interactive software

The purposes of the study were to use Dance Dance Revolution, an interactive software, to promote a healthy lifestyle among Native American youth and to assess the effectiveness of the treatment to lower BMI. Participant ages ranged from 6-16 years, and enrollments varied for 12 week sessions held in Summer, Fall, and Spring. Over time, changes in sample size and sporadic attendance to engage with the interactive software created research problems including data collection and analysis. Given the limitations of data, generalizations are not possible. However, there is evidence that continuous participation in such an intervention can have an effect on lowering BMI, hence affecting weight loss. A valuable research lesson was learned. A structured intervention may be at odds with persistent participation and retention of Native American youth. A cultural paradigm which values interdependence of relations takes precedence in most "self" endeavors. Decisions made are superseded by other relevant cultural activities. The implication for research is that cultural factors prove difficult to anticipate; however it is necessary to consider them when implementing interventions with Native American youth. A sensitive eco cultural participatory approach in collaboration with the tribal community must be used for insuring success.
Effect of length of dental resident clinical rotations on patient behavior

AIM The purpose of this retrospective chart review study was to determine if the length of residents' comprehensive dental care rotations in a general practice residency affected late cancellations, broken appointments, completion of treatment, timeliness of recall visits, emergency visits, and the need for redo of restorations and prostheses. METHODS Patients who presented for comprehensive care from 2010 to 2013, during which residents had 3- to 4-month dental clinic rotations, comprised Group 1, and patients who presented for comprehensive care from 2013 to 2016, during which residents had 11-month dental clinic rotations, comprised Group 2. Subjects were excluded if they only presented for emergency care, they had only one visit, or their care was delivered in both time periods. There were 105 patients in Group 1 and 55 patients in Group 2. RESULTS The statistically significant results were that Group 1 patients had more late cancellations and broken appointments and failed to reach recall status more often than Group 2 patients, and that Group 1 patients had fewer emergency visits. CONCLUSION Within the limitations of this retrospective study, the results suggest that short block rotations have an adverse effect on resident experience and outcomes of patient care in a hospital outpatient setting.
Microelectromechanical Systems from Aligned Cellulose Nanocrystal Films.

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have become a ubiquitous part of a multitude of industries including transportation, communication, medical, and consumer products. The majority of commercial MEMS devices are produced from silicon using energy-intensive and harsh chemical processing. We report that actuatable standard MEMS devices such as cantilever beam arrays, doubly clamped beams, residual strain testers, and mechanical strength testers can be produced via low-temperature fabrication of shear-aligned cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) films. The devices had feature sizes as small as 6 μm and anisotropic mechanical properties. For 4 μm thick doubly clamped beams with the CNC aligned parallel to the devices’ long axes, the Young’s moduli averaged 51 GPa and the fracture strength averaged 1.1 GPa. These mechanical properties are within one-third of typical values for polysilicon devices. This new paradigm of producing MEMS devices from CNC extracted from waste biomass provides the simplicity and tunability ...
The Spiritual Aspects of an International Adult Education Program

The aim of this chapter is to present my reflection on my experience of teaching adults in several international contexts from 1987 to 2008, with the specific purpose of identifying the lessons that my students and I learned, lessons that can be applied in the designing, development, and delivery of International Adult Education Programs. I have keen interest in the subject of Spirituality and have over the years taught numerous courses in its many facets. Some specific areas in Spirituality that are close to my heart and mind are: the formidable power of spirit within us to bring infinite good to ourselves, others and world; the precious and unique contribution of each culture and tradition toward the emergence of an ever new and richer understanding and practice of spirituality; the power of effective mentoring as a service that helps others to disclose their unique gifts and talents to be freely given out to others and world; the essential inter-relationship between wisdom and knowledge; the role of religion as a bridge to Spirituality; Spirituality as the art of living honestly and generously; and Spirituality as an ongoing process of contemplative journeying into our innermost self and at the same time reaching out to make a positive difference around us. Spirituality is therefore an area of life and study that I am passionate about, in particular because Spirituality as an academic discipline and as a way of life has given me opportunities to be a little more aware of the importance of bonding in a spirit of interconnectedness with others and with all that is. Several interrelated factors have enriched my interest and experience of Spirituality, and these are: ongoing study, teaching, writing and advising of diverse students, and ongoing reflection on these experiences in order to learn from them. This chapter therefore is born out of my ongoing reflection on my teaching and learning experience of adult educational programs from two main perspectives: the international and the spiritual. Even though the programs I have designed, developed and taught belong mostly in the realm of spirituality, it is my belief and conviction that these
Mycoplasma infections of goats and sheep

This chapter outlines some of the changes in the basic methodology for the diagnosis of mycoplasma infections in goats and sheep. Diagnostic tests for caprine and ovine mycoplasma infections have been marked by an expansion in a number of newly characterized mollicute species, especially those inhabiting the caprine detection of pathogenic species on a flock basis. The detection of mollicutes in plant and insect infections covers an extensive host range, with relevance to a multitude of different mollicutes, representing as ear. Culture methods are usually successful in the diagnosis of colonization or infection in both goats and sheep, with urogenital and mammary gland infections being most commonly observed.
The Celebrity of infamy: A review essay of five autobiographies by three criminal geniuses

Cet article analyse cinq autobiographies de grands criminels americains. L'A compare ici ces recits de crimes et de vies carcerales dans le but de comprendre des individus au QI superieur a la moyenne, et de mieux connaitre une categorie de genies criminels peu etudiee en criminologie
Exploring platform firms in an international supply chain: The case of specialty coffee

This article introduces a rather unfamiliar literature to management scholars called platform firms and multi-sided markets. It does so while exploring the case of one of the most globalized commod...
Design of Eigenportfolios for US Equities Using Exponential Correlation Model

The eigen decomposition of Toeplitz matrix, with exponential correlations as its elements, to model empirical correlations of US equity returns is investigated. Closed form expressions for eigenvalues and eigenvectors of such Toeplitz matrix are available. Those eigenvectors are used to design the eigenportfolios of the model. The Sharpe ratios and PNL curves of eigenportfolios for stocks in Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index for the period from July 1999 to Nov. 2018 are calculated to validate the model. The proposed method provides eigenportfolios that closely mimic the eigenportfolios designed based on empirical correlation matrix generated from market data. The modeling of empirical correlation matrix brings new insights to design and evaluate eigenportolios for US equities and other asset classes.
Blending Noisy Social Media Signals with Traditional Movement Variables to Predict Forced Migration

Worldwide displacement due to war and conflict is at all-time high. Unfortunately, determining if, when, and where people will move is a complex problem. This paper proposes integrating both publicly available organic data from social media and newspapers with more traditional indicators of forced migration to determine when and where people will move. We combine movement and organic variables with spatial and temporal variation within different Bayesian models and show the viability of our method using a case study involving displacement in Iraq. Our analysis shows that incorporating open-source generated conversation and event variables maintains or improves predictive accuracy over traditional variables alone. This work is an important step toward understanding how to leverage organic big data for societal--scale problems.
Dynamics studies of diglycine scattering from highly oriented pyrolytic graphite

The dynamics of neutral diglycine collision with highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) were studied by molecular dynamics simulations using a reactive force field. The simulations were performed at an initial incident energy of 481.5 kJ/mol for four different initial incident polar angles of 0°, 20°, 45°, and 70°, and a surface temperature of 677 K. The angular, translational and internal energy, and residence time distributions of the scattered products were determined and analyzed. As a polyatomic molecule, diglycine has several low frequency vibrational modes and shows a rather strong attraction to HOPG, which leads to a long residence time on the surface and facile energy loss, particularly along the normal surface. Since there is significant normal momentum lost while parallel momentum is partially conserved, the scattering angular distribution is found to be generally superspecular and the final translational energies are much lower than the values predicted by the so-called hard-cube model. This study extends our knowledge of collisional energy transfer during collisions of polypeptide molecules with HOPG, which is expected to help the design of a neutral-gas concentrator for the fly-by collection of such molecules in rarefied atmospheres.
A Novel Application of Flexible Inertial Sensors for Ambulatory Measurement of Gait Kinematics

Ambulatory motion sensors can generate a mobile system for human kinematics measurement as an alternative to the more constrained optical motion capture systems. Flexible inertial sensors are emerging as a potential solution to overcome the drawback of the conventional inertial measurement sensors with a soft, flexible design that allows for direct body-conforming adhesion to the skin. Thus, this study aims to establish the viability of the flexible inertial sensors for the ambulatory measurement of human knee flexion–extension (F/E) during level walking. The accuracy of flexible inertial sensors with our proposed algorithm is investigated by comparing the derived kinematics with those measured using a conventional motion capture system. Three volunteers (two males and one female, aged 24–27) served as subjects. Three flexible inertial sensors were placed on the subjects’ right legs, two on the thigh (lateral thigh and distal anterolateral thigh), and one on the lateral shank, and subjects performed level walking with varied walking cadence (80, 100, and 120 steps/min). The overall root-mean-square-error across all participants is 7.8° for distal anterolateral thigh sensor (using the data of distal anterolateral thigh sensor and shank sensor to estimate knee F/E) and 4.5° for lateral thigh sensor (using the data of lateral thigh sensor and shank sensor to estimate knee F/E). The results illustrate that our proposed method can generate comparable results with motion capture systems and is insensitive to different walking cadence. A significant effect of sensor placement is observed, and a more proximal lateral thigh strategy is suggested. The advantages of the flexible inertial sensors in human motion analysis over the existing inertial measurement units are also highlighted.
Reciprocal Influence of Mobility and Speech-Language: Advancing Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy Cotreatment and Collaboration for Adults With Neurological Conditions.

Mobility and speech-language impairments and limitations in adults with neurological conditions manifest not in isolated anatomical components but instead in the individual-environment system and are task-dependent. Optimization of function thus requires interprofessional care to promote participation in meaningful life areas within appropriate task and environmental contexts. Cotreatment guidelines (ie, the concurrent intervention of disciplines) were established by the physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language and hearing professional organizations nearly 2 decades ago to facilitate seamless interprofessional care. Despite this, cotreatment between physical therapy and speech therapy remains limited. The purpose of this Perspective article is to encourage physical therapists and speech-language pathologists to increase interprofessional collaboration through cotreatment in the management of adults with neurological conditions. Evidence from pediatrics and basic motor control literature points toward reciprocal interactions between speech-language and mobility. We provide recommendations for clinical practice with an emphasis on the gains each discipline can provide the other. This Perspective is rooted in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health model and ecological theory. IMPACT The goals of speech therapy and physical therapy are complementary and mutually supportive. Enhanced cotreatment, and collaboration more generally, between physical therapists and speech-language pathologists in the management of adults with neurological conditions can augment task-relevant conditions to improve function.