cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Proximal watershed validation of a remote sensing- based streamflow estimation model

Remotely sensed time series of landscape biophysical states and radar estimates of precipitation are assessed in a statistical streamflow estimation model in four regionally proximate south-central Texas watersheds. Sandies Creek watershed (1420 km 2 ) served as calibration of a streamflow estimation model based on 8-day composited time series of land surface (radiant) temperature (LST) and a vegetation moisture stress index (MSI) from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite imagery products. These time series were hypothesized to serve as proxies for soil moisture condition antecedent to streamflow-generating precipitation events as estimated by NEXRAD (Next Generation Weather Radar) precipitation products. A linear multiple regression statistical model yielding estimation equation for observed flows at Sandies Creek was validated in 3 additional proximal watersheds of varying spatial dimension (860 km 2 - 2940 km 2 ), soils, land cover, and climatology. The validation yielded encouraging results as assessed with Pearson's r, Nash-Sutcliffe's E, and relative volume error or bias. Equivalent performance of the calibrated model was seen in the watershed mostly adjacent to Sandies Creek, the mostly similar one in terms of size, land cover, precipitation, and soils. Performance of the model diminished slightly in the more distal, and climatologically-environmentally dissimilar watersheds. The estimation model was re-calibrated for all three validation watersheds, with positive results. The contribution of LST uncertainty and NEXRAD precipitation bias to model discrepancies were evaluated along with discussion of known sources of model error.
Hair Cell Interactions in the Statocyst of Hermissenda

Hair cells in the statocyst of Hermissenda crassicornis respond to mechanical stimulation with a short latency (<2 ms) depolarizing generator potential that is followed by hyperpolarization and inhibition of spike activity. Mechanically evoked hyperpolarization and spike inhibition were abolished by cutting the static nerve, repetitive mechanical stimulation, tetrodotoxin (TTX), and Co++. Since none of these procedures markedly altered the generator potential it was concluded that the hyperpolarization is an inhibitory synaptic potential and not a component of the mechanotransduction process. Intracellular recordings from pairs of hair cells in the same statocyst and in statocysts on opposite sides of the brain revealed that hair cells are connected by chemical and/or electrical synapses. All chemical interactions were inhibitory. Hyperpolarization and spike inhibition result from inhibitory interactions between hair cells in the same and in opposite statocysts.
Higher-order schemes for 3D first-arrival traveltimes and amplitudes

In the geometrical-optics approximation for the Helmholtz equation with a point source, traveltimes and amplitudes have upwind singularities at the point source. Hence, both first-order and higher-order finite-difference solvers exhibit formally at most first-order convergence and relatively large errors. Such singularities can be factored out by factorizing traveltimes and amplitudes, where one factor is specified to capture the corresponding source singularity and the other factor is an unknown function smooth near the source. The resulting underlying unknown functions satisfy factored eikonal and transport equations, respectively. A third-order Lax-Friedrichs scheme is designed to compute the underlying functions. Thus, highly accurate first-arrival traveltimes and reliable amplitudes can be computed. Furthermore, asymptotic wavefields are constructed using computed traveltimes and amplitudes in the WKBJ form. Two-dimensional and 3D examples demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithms, and the constructed WKBJ Green’s functions are in good agreement with direct solutions of the Helmholtz equation before caustics occur.
Folate Status Response to Controlled Folate Intake in Pregnant Women

A metabolic study (84-d) was conducted to investigate the folate status response of pregnant subjects (n = 12) during their second trimester and nonpregnant controls (n = 12) to folate intakes approximating the current (400 microg/d) and former (800 microg/d) recommended dietary allowance (RDA). The overall goal of the study was to provide metabolic data to assist in the interpretation of the current RDA for folate. Subjects were fed a controlled diet containing 120 +/- 15 microg/d (mean +/- SD) folate and either 330 or 730 microg/d synthetic folic acid. Outcome variables between and within supplementation groups were compared at steady state. Serum folate was higher (P 0.05) were detected in serum folate between pregnant and nonpregnant women within the same supplementation group. Urinary 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate excretion was greater (P 0.05) in 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate excretion were detected between pregnant and nonpregnant women within supplementation groups. Differences (P </= 0.05) were not detected in red cell folate between pregnant women consuming either 450 or 850 microg/d (1452.5 +/- 251.8, 1733.5 +/- 208.5 nmol/L, respectively) or between pregnant and nonpregnant women consuming 450 microg/d. Our data suggest that 450 microg/d (dietary folate + synthetic folic acid) is sufficient to maintain folate status in pregnant women. This level of intake equates to approximately 600 microg/d dietary equivalents, assuming 50 and 75% availability of dietary folate and synthetic folic acid consumed with meals, respectively.
The role of awareness in differential conditioning.

A view of the processes involved in single cue and differential skeletal conditioning is presented, and the implications for studies investigating the effects of awareness on autonomic conditioning are discussed. Skeletal conditioning studies are described which indicate that masking tasks can greatly reduce and in some cases largely eliminate differential responding, but not response acquisition per se. These effects occur even when Ss report the conditioning contingencies. The data thus suggest that Ss given masking tasks may be “functionally unaware’ during conditioning, with an attendant decrease in differential conditioning performance, even though they have knowledge of the conditioning contingencies as demonstrated by post-experimental report.
Multiresolution image acquisition and surface reconstruction

Consideration is given to the problem of surface reconstruction from stereo images for large scenes having large depth ranges where it is necessary to aim cameras in different directions and to fixate at different objects. The authors concentrate on the selection of new fixation points from among the nonfixated, low resolution scene parts, and subsequent processing for surface reconstruction. The coarse stereo estimates in the vicinity of the new fixation point are refined as the images of the new fixation point gradually deblur during the process of refixation and are subsequently used to analyze the fixated parts of the scene. >
Performance evaluation of the Consumer Electronic Bus

The results of a simulation study undertaken to evaluate the performance of the Consumer Electronic Bus (CEBus) under various traffic patterns and especially under large traffic generated by high-priority nodes are reported. The CEBus is based on the ISO/OSI model of layered architecture. The simulation results have shown that, when the throughput of the network is small (30%), the delay is bounded for all messages of all priorities. As the throughput of the network increases to more than 70% due to an increasing number of high-priority messages, the lower-priority messages get queued at their nodes. It is also shown that the delay can be bounded, when needed, by assigning high-priority status to nodes generating messages with urgent communications and lower-priority status to nodes sensing messages which do not require immediate response. >
Why Lewis’ appeal to natural properties fails to Kripke’s rule-following paradox

I consider Lewis’ appeal to naturalness to solve Kripke’s rule-following paradox. I then present a different interpretation of this paradox and offer reasons for thinking that this is what Kripke had in mind. I argue that Lewis’ proposal cannot provide a solution to this version of paradox.
Fabrication of Silicon on Borosilicate Glass Microarrays for Quantitative Live Cell Imaging

Planar arrays of microwells were fabricated in Silicon on borosilicate glass (pyrex) substrates in order to facilitate live cell fluorescence imaging experiments for cells sequestered inside their own individual microenvironments for incubation and quantification of single cell seceretions. Two methods of deep silicon etching were compared: cryogenic deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) and time multiplexed DIRE (Bosch Process). A 200um Si wafer was bonded to a 500um pyrex substrate. Cryogenic DRIE allowed for the reliable fabrication of 75-100um deep microwells with 60x60um openings across a 10x10mm substrate while the Bosh Process allowed for etching entirely through the Si layer, producing 200um deep microwells with transparent bottoms and steep sidewalls while maintaining the target 60x60um opening geometry.
Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhi Impairs CD4 T Cell Responses by Reducing Antigen Availability

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi is associated with a disseminated febrile illness in humans, termed typhoid fever, while Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium causes localized gastroenteritis in immunocompetent individuals. One of the genetic differences between both pathogens is the presence in S. Typhi of TviA, a regulatory protein that shuts down flagellin (FliC) expression when bacteria transit from the intestinal lumen into the intestinal mucosa. Here we investigated the consequences of TviA-mediated flagellum gene regulation on flagellin-specific CD4 T cell responses in a mouse model of S. Typhimurium infection. Introduction of the S. Typhi tviA gene into S. Typhimurium suppressed antigen presentation of dendritic cells to flagellin-specific CD4 T cells in vitro. Furthermore, TviA-mediated repression of flagellin expression impaired the activation and proliferation of naive flagellin-specific CD4 T cells in Peyer's patches and mesenteric lymph nodes, which was accompanied by increased bacterial dissemination to the spleen. We conclude that TviA-mediated repression of flagellin expression reduces antigen availability, thereby weakening flagellin-specific CD4 T cell responses.
Incarceration and Health

The expansion of the penal system has been one of the most dramatic trends in contemporary American society. A wealth of research has examined the impact of incarceration on a range of later life outcomes and has considered how the penal system has emerged as a mechanism of stratification and inequality in the United States. In this article, we review the literature from a comparatively new vein of this research: the impact of incarceration on health outcomes. We first consider the impact of incarceration on a range of individual outcomes, from chronic health conditions to mortality. We then consider outcomes beyond the individual, including the health of family members and community health outcomes. Next, we discuss mechanisms linking incarceration and health outcomes before closing with a consideration of limitations in the field and directions for future research.
Events at the Host-Microbial Interface of the Gastrointestinal Tract IV. The pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori persistence

Long-term interactions between Helicobacter pylori and humans significantly increase the risk for peptic ulcer disease and noncardia gastric adenocarcinoma. The vast majority of infected persons remain persistently colonized unless a targeted antibiotic regimen is employed; thus regulation of inflammation by H. pylori is governed by levels of host-bacteria equilibria that are not found during cellular interactions with acute enteric pathogens. It is important to gain insight into mechanisms that regulate immune evasion by H. pylori not only to develop more effective treatments for disease, but also because such knowledge may serve as a paradigm for the role that other chronic infectious agents play in the genesis of pathological lesions that arise from inflammatory foci.
The evolving role of renal mass biopsy

Renal mass biopsy (RMB) is becoming a common method to evaluate patients with incidental renal masses (1). Richard et al. recently reported their experience with RMB at a single academic medical center over 13 years (2). This large series adds to the growing body of literature that provides evidence for increasing utilization of RMB. The authors report that RMB is safe, with only one major complication in 492 patients for whom data was available and no needle tract seeding was reported. These findings are consistent with a recent meta-analysis of over 5,000 patients treated with RMB, suggesting that contemporary RMB is rarely associated with serious adverse events (3).
Bioelectric properties of cultured epithelial monolayers from distal lung of 18-day fetal rat

In vivo studies of fetal sheep suggest that the liquid present in the lumen of the lung throughout fetal life is derived from Cl- secretion by the pulmonary epithelium. Monolayer preparations of enriched epithelial cells from distal fetal rat (18-day gestation) lung, grown in serum-free media, were histologically similar to acinar (prealveolar) structures of fresh tissue. In Ussing chambers, basal transepithelial potential difference (PD), calculated equivalent short-circuit current (Ieq), and transepithelial resistance (R) were 4.4 +/- 0.3 mV (matrix positive), 35.6 +/- 1.6 microA/cm2, and 120.0 +/- 4.0 omega cm2, respectively. Ouabain (10(-3) M) eliminated 57% of basal Ieq within 30 min, amiloride (10(-4) M) induced a 13% fall in Ieq, and phlorizin (10(-4) M) had no effect on bioelectric properties. Diphenylamine-2-carboxylate (DPC, 3 x 10(-3) M) inhibited Ieq by 50%. Bumetanide had no effect on baseline bioelectric parameters. The hyperpolarization that accompanied apical or bilateral replacement of Cl- and was enhanced by terbutaline suggested an apical Cl- permselectivity. Effects of Na+ replacement on amiloride-pretreated monolayers were consistent with Na(+)-dependent Cl- secretion or amiloride-insensitive pathways. Under these growth conditions, this preparation exhibits bioelectric characteristics that are compatible with Cl- secretion and Na+ absorption. The mechanism of Cl- secretion may be similar to that of airways but is uniquely bumetanide insensitive.
Responsivity to Incongruent Verbal and Non-Verbal Communications and A-B Therapist Type

The premise that particular personality characteristics of the psychotherapist interact with those of the patient to influence therapeutic outcome has stimulated research. The major part of this has concerned the A-B therapist type variable (2). Although the early studies of the A-B variable involved actual therapists and actual patients, further research has regarded the A-B variable as defining male characterological types, a position having empirical support (3). Viewing the A-B dimension as charanerological has resulted in a burgeoning of research designed to "define" rhe A and B cype male. Smith (5) summarized this research as suggesting that A males, relative to Bs, tend to be socially cautious, inhibited, desiring of social approval, highly verbal, uninterested in mechanics and mechanical activities, field-dependent, trusting, intropunitive, and collaborative in stress situations, and low in extrapunitive reactions to frustration. In contrast to the A, the B tends ro be risk-taking, socially affiliative, masculine, high in namral science aptitude, interested in engineering, field-independent, suspicious, extrapunitive, and avoidant in stress situations, and extrapunicive in situations of frustration. The present research is an outgrowth of Smith's (5) work, in which he found that As and Bs exhibited significantly different postural and gestural behaviors during dyadic interviews (As being more subtle and cautious than Bs). Based on the over-all pictures . of the A and the B it was hypothesized that As relative ro Bs are more sensitive to the subtle non-verbal channels of communication. If this is true, As and Bs should react differentially to communications in which the verbal and non-verbal channels are incongruent, i.e., As will react more to the non-verbal, Bs to the verbal. Two instruments were employed to investigate the hypothesized differential reactions of As and Bs to incongruent communications. First, was a standardized paper-and-pencil scale (4) in which line drawings depicting emotional states were to be matched with written statements. The second instrument ( I), consisted of videotaped statements of an actor, in which his verbal and non-verbal statements were either congruent or incongruent (the statements involved the dimensions of happy-sad and of superior-inferior). Fifty-eight male undergraduates, designated as As or Bs on the A-B scale, rated the videotaped scenes as to their message, and then were given the Shapiro scale. An analysis of variance gave no differences between As and Bs on either the videoTape ratings or scores on the Shapiro scale. The consistent lack of differences between As and Bs on the two methodologically diverse instruments suggests strongly that the hypothesis is not valid. The data suggest rhe conclusion that As and Bs are. not (as groups) differentially sensitive to non-verbal channels of communication.
Variation in maturity observed along individual cotton fibers using confocal microscopy and image analysis

A prior work describing a computer vision system for measuring maturity using longitudinal views of cotton fibers reported observing a large variation in maturity within a single fiber. This paper describes the use of confocal microscopy as an independent measuring method to validate those findings. Individual cotton fibers are imaged from end to end by a confocal microscope producing hundreds of image volumes of cotton fiber segments, each ∼150 µm in length. From these volumes, virtual fiber cross-sections are extracted, processed using the level set method, and measured according to AATCC standards. The results demonstrate with both visual and quantitative analysis that fiber maturity can exhibit large variations within a single fiber.
EFFECTS OF ACID CATABOLITES ON ACTIVITY IN VITRO OF PHENYLALANINE HYDROXYLASE FROM RAT LIVER.

SummaryThe activity of phenylalanine hydroxylase from rat liver can be inhibited in vitro by several organic acids including a few catabolites of phenylalanine, e.g., phenyl-pyruvate and homogentisate. However, the concentrations of such compounds necessary to produce significant inhibition of a generally competitive nature is far in excess of physiological amounts, and the effects can be minimized when an adequate amount of pteridine cofactor is present. Thus, the lowered activity of hydroxylase measured in experimental phenylketonuria may be attributed to a real suppression of enzyme synthesis, rather than inhibition by catabolites.
Inbreeding and Relationship to Performance in a Closed Herd of Small-Framed Angus Cattle1

Abstract The objective of this study was to estimate level of inbreeding and relate it to performance in a closed herd of small Angus cattle. This herd of Angus cattle was created in 1973 when the shift from small-framed, compact cattle to the largeframed, more upstanding type of cattle was advocated by the breed association. From 1974 to 1991, 396 cows were exposed to bulls, resulting in 318 live births. Data included percentage of inbreeding for all animals, calf crop percentage for each year, and birth, weaning, and yearling weights of progeny. Regression procedures were used to examine increase in inbreeding over time. Correlation analyses were used to examine relationships between calf crop percentage and average inbreeding. Relationships of inbreeding to birth and weaning weights of progeny were examined by analysis of variance using a model that included terms for year, sex of calf, year by sex of calf interaction, and percentage of inbreeding of calf and(or) dam as covariates. The model for yearling weights included only terms for year and inbreeding. Average inbreeding of progeny ranged from 3.25% in 1975 to 18.37% in 1990, and average inbreeding of cows exposed for breeding ranged from .89% in 1977 to 11.76% in 1989. Average inbreeding of cows actually calving was comparable, ranging from .89% in 1977 to 10.58% in 1988. A linear relationship (P .10). Inbreeding both of calf and of dam influenced (P
Coming Up or Coming to Grips? Upward Mobility, the American Dream, and Young Residents of Houston’s Fifth Ward

ABSTRACTThe ethos of the American Dream is such that an individual’s efforts, abilities, and responsible choices can spur a more prosperous economic future. For the urban poor, this ethos can be elusive. If rejected, it may vindicate the defeatism and fatalism alleged by cultural deficiency frameworks. If accepted, it may corroborate claims that social isolation leaves the poor unaware of the extent of the barriers to upward mobility. Through participant observation and ethnographic fieldwork with young residents of a high-poverty urban community, I probe the participants’ assessments of the ambiguities and contradictions of the American Dream. Results indicate that the participants’ faith in meritocratic individualism in prescriptive terms related to future success as well as in remedial terms in order to reconcile self-blame and internalized failure. I interpret these results in light of prevailing frameworks on the cultural contexts of urban poverty.
Fusing Organizational Theory, Policy, and Leadership: A Depiction of Policy Learning Activities in a Principal Preparation Program:

This pedagogy–practice article portrays three instructional activities that were implemented with aspiring leaders and refined over four rounds of teaching the course in a northeastern state’s prin...
Operational Implications of Environmental Regulation

Environmental regulation has important implications on the design and operation of sustainable supply chains. In particular, driving supply chains towards environmental sustainability heavily depends on how such regulation is implemented. To realize a simple regulative principle, different implementation choices may be available to regulators, and these choices can generate very different incentives on different stakeholders and how they operationalize sustainability. In this chapter, we review a number of recent research papers to illustrate this phenomenon in the context of take-back regulation and posit that looking through an operational lens should be an essential component of designing and coping with environmental regulation.
A Clinical Approach to Cognitive Impairment

Cognitive impairment is ubiquitous in medicine and a common experience in everyday life. When severe, persistent, or progressive, it becomes a matter of clinical concern. Top causes of clinically significant cognitive impairment are neurodegenerative disease, stroke or atherosclerotic vascular disease of the brain, medication toxicity, and alcoholism. Several of these conditions are associated with aging of the population in industrialized nations, and they are comorbid with multiple other illnesses and polypharmacy. In evaluating such problems, history is paramount, including a detailed time course of symptoms and input from caregivers. Examination should include neurologic and mental status components and should be as thorough as possible. Ancillary testing should be strategic and address specific problems in the differential diagnosis. Appropriate referrals to other medical disciplines should be promptly arranged, with engagement of the primary care provider. The caregiver is often a hidden patient. Th...
Modeling and Evaluating Carbon Nanotube Bundles for Future VLSI Interconnect Applications

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) bundles have the potential to provide an attractive solution for the resistivity and electromigration problems faced by copper inter-connect as process technology scales. In this paper, we develop a scalable equivalent circuit model that captures the statistical distribution of metallic nanotubes, which can impact interconnect reliability, while accurately incorporating recent experimental and theoretical results. Leveraging the circuit model, we examine the performance and reliability of nanotube bundles for both individual signal lines and system-level designs. The results indicate that SWCNT interconnect bundles can provide significant improvement in delay over traditional copper interconnect depending on bundle geometry and process technology.
Excommunication in Jewish Babylonia: Comparing Bavli Mo‘ed Qaṭan 14b–17b and the Aramaic Bowl Spells in a Sasanian Context

According to rabbinic literature of late antiquity, a Jew could be excommunicated or banished from the community for around twenty-four spiritual and social violations. The Talmuds’ list of sins that necessitated the separation of a transgressor includes, for instance, profaning the name of God, selling forbidden meat, insulting one's master, and obstructing justice. Once condemned, the sinner was physically isolated from other people and prohibited from the same actions that a mourner was, such as cutting one's hair or wearing phylacteries. After the sinner repented or a certain amount of time passed, the ban was then lifted, typically by the master who had initiated it. Indeed, the master-disciple relationship is often at the center of banning and cursing in rabbinic literature. Although the rabbinic concept of excommunication draws from earlier biblical and Second Temple precedents, such as the book of Ezra, it is in many ways a late antique innovation featuring prominently in Babylonia. The reason that bans and excommunication emerge as a salient feature of Jewish society in this period is related to the rabbis’ historical contexts within Roman Palestine and Sasanian Babylonia. As I show in this article, exegesis and history both played a role in the formation of the talmudic laws of banishment.
Optimizing a Flexible Mobility on Demand System

This paper analyzes an innovative transportation concept called Flexible Mobility on Demand (FMOD), which provides personalized services to passengers. FMOD is a demand-responsive system: a list of travel options is provided in real-time for each passenger request. The system provides passengers with flexibility to choose from a menu that is optimized in an assortment optimization framework. For operators, there is flexibility in terms of vehicle allocation to service types: taxi, shared taxi, and minibus. The allocation of the available fleet to these three services is carried out dynamically and is based on demand and supply so that vehicles can change roles during the day. The FMOD system is built on a choice model that enables it to analyze the consumer surplus. This paper describes the FMOD system and presents simulation results for a network in Tokyo. For FMOD, three models that maximize profit, consumer surplus, or both are considered. FMOD is compared with its counterpart, which does not have flex...
The avoidance of (relative) catastrophe, heuristic competence, genuine dynamic weighting and computational issues in heuristic problem solving

To solve difficult problems heuristically, requires detailed attention to computational efficiency. This paper describes how a heuristic problem solving system, HPA, attempts to find a near optimal solution to the traveling salesman problem. A critical innovation over previous search algorithms is an explicit dynamic weighting of the heuristic information. The heuristic information is weighted inversely proportional to its depth in the search tree -- in consequence it produces a narrower depth first search than traditional weightings. At the same time, dynamic weighting retains the catastrophe protection of ordinary branch and bound algorithms.
Ingesting 25 g/day Milled Chia Seeds for Two Weeks Does Not Affect Exercise Performance

Milled chia seed contains 4.4 grams of α-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n-3) per 25 gram serving; previous research in our laboratory indicates that plasma ALA increases significantly within 2 h after in...
Feeding methods for infants with single ventricle physiology are associated with length of stay during stage 2 surgery hospitalization.

BACKGROUND Tube feedings are often needed to achieve the growth and nutrition goals associated with decreased morbidity and mortality in patients with single ventricle anatomy. Variability in feeding method through the interstage period has been previously described, however, comparable information following stage 2 palliation is lacking. OBJECTIVES To identify types of feeding methods following stage 2 palliation and their influence on length of stay. DESIGN Secondary analysis of the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative registry was performed on 932 patients. Demographic data, medical characteristics, postoperative complications, type of feeding method, and length of stay for stage 2 palliation were analyzed. RESULTS Type of feeding method remained relatively unchanged during hospitalization for stage 2 palliation. Gastrostomy tube fed only patients were the oldest at time of surgery (182.7 ± 57.7 days, P < .001) and had the lowest weight-for-age z scores at admission (-1.6 ± 1.4, P < .001). Oral + gastrostomy tube groups had the longest median bypass times (172.5 minutes, P = .001) and longest length of stay (median 12 days, P < .001). Multivariable modeling revealed that feeding by tube only (P < .001), oral + tube feeding (P ≤ .001), reintubation (P < .001), and prolonged intubation (P < .001) were associated with increased length of stay. Neither age (P = .156) nor weight-for-age z score at admission (P = .066) was predictive of length of stay. CONCLUSIONS Feeding methods established at admission for stage 2 palliation are not likely to change by discharge. Length of stay is more likely to be impacted by tube feeding and intubation history than age or weight-for-age z score at admission. Better understanding for selection of feeding methods and their impact on patient outcomes is needed to develop evidence-based guidelines to decrease variability in clinical practice patterns and provide appropriate counseling to caregivers.
Preliminary evidence that computerized approach avoidance training is not associated with changes in fMRI cannabis cue reactivity in non-treatment-seeking adolescent cannabis users.

Abstract Background Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) has garnered interest as a potential addiction treatment. CBM interventions such as Approach Avoidance Training (AAT) are designed to alter automatic tendencies to approach drugs or drug-related cues. In our previous work, the cannabis AAT (CAAT) reduced cannabis approach bias, which was related to reduced cannabis use, among 80 non-treatment-seeking cannabis-using youth ( Jacobus et al., 2018 ). In this preliminary examination, a subsample of these youth underwent neuroimaging to explore CAAT’s effect on cannabis cue-related neural activation. Methods Sub-study participants were 41 cannabis-using youth ages 17–21 (mean age = 18.83; 47.5% female). Participants completed a cannabis cue-reactivity task during a functional MRI scan pre- and post CAAT-training or CAAT-sham to examine CAAT-related neural changes. Results Thirty-seven youth completed all six CAAT (n = 19) or CAAT-sham (n = 18) training sessions and had usable neuroimaging data. The group*time interaction on cannabis approach bias reached trend-level significance (p = .055). Change in approach bias slopes from pre-to post-treatment was positive for CAAT-sham (increased approach bias) and negative for CAAT-training (change to avoidance bias), consistent with the larger study. No significant changes emerged for cannabis cue-induced activation following CAAT-training or CAAT-sham in whole brain or region of interest analyses. However, active CAAT-training was associated with small-to-medium decreases in amygdala (Cohen’s dz = 0.36) and medial prefrontal cortex (Cohen’s dz = 0.48) activation to cannabis cues. Conclusions Despite reducing cannabis use in the larger sample, CAAT-training did not alter neural cannabis cue-reactivity in the sub-study compared to CAAT-sham. More research is needed to understand neural mechanisms underlying AAT-related changes in substance use.
The impacts of quantity and quality of health clinics on health behaviors and outcomes in Nigeria: analysis of health clinic census data.

Past studies have identified that inconvenient access to health clinics is one of the important barriers to health service utilization and health outcomes. However, establishing the link between the lack of access to health clinics and the high maternal and child morbidity and mortality in Nigeria has been a challenge due to the lack of data. This paper overcomes this problem by using the country’s health clinic census data. Using the Nigerian health clinic census, we evaluate the intercorrelation between the quantity and the quality of health clinics available across the country. We also examine the correlation between the access to health clinics and health behaviors/outcomes for residents by merging the health clinic census data with data from the demographic and health survey (DHS). The health clinic census data makes it possible to capture the overall geographical allocation of health services across the country as well as their comprehensive relationship with health outcomes. We find a strong positive correlation between the quality of a health clinic and the quantity and quality of neighboring clinics. The high quality clinics are concentrated in areas where the density of clinics is high, and where more of the clinics around them are also of high quality. We also find that an increase in access to health clinics of high quality that are in close proximity is significantly and positively correlated with an improvement in health behaviors as well as health outcomes. Women who are more disadvantaged benefit more from the access to high quality clinics than others. Health clinics of good quality are unevenly distributed geographically in Nigeria. The quality of health clinics should be of a level that can support the promotion of recommended health behaviors and achieve improved health outcomes throughout the country. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the optimal distribution of clinics of good quality, given that residents in less populated areas gain a higher marginal benefit from improved access to health service, despite the higher costs of supplying the service in those areas.
Reaching the sparse-sampling limit for reconstructing a single peak in a 2D NMR spectrum using iterated maps

Many of the ubiquitous experiments of biomolecular NMR, including $$R_2$$, $$R_{1\rho }$$, and CEST, involve acquiring repeated 2D spectra under slightly different conditions. Such experiments are amenable to acceleration using non-uniform sampling spectral reconstruction methods that take advantage of prior information. We previously developed one such technique, an iterated maps method (DiffMap) that we successfully applied to 2D NMR spectra, including $$R_2$$ relaxation dispersion data. In that prior work, we took a top-down approach to reconstructing the 2D spectrum with a minimal number of sparse samples, reaching an undersampling fraction that appeared to leave some room for improvement. In this study, we develop an in-depth understanding of the action of the DiffMap algorithm, identifying the factors that cause reconstruction errors for different undersampling fractions. This improved understanding allows us to formulate a bottom-up approach to finding the lowest number of sparse samples required to accurately reconstruct individual spectral features with DiffMap. We also discuss the difficulty of extending this method to reconstructing many peaks at once, and suggest a way forward.
Phosphorus Limits Nitrogen Dynamics in the O Horizon of a Forested Watershed in Maine, USA

Anthropogenic emissions have altered the N status of forests in the northeastern United States, highlighting the importance of our imperfect understanding of the interaction between nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in response to atmospheric N deposition. We investigated soil N and P dynamics at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM), a long-term paired watershed experiment established to study ecosystem response to experimental N enrichment. One watershed (West Bear [WB]) was treated bimonthly for 25 yr with ammonium sulfate, and the reference East Bear (EB) received only ambient N deposition. We conducted field and laboratory studies to examine the interaction between N and P in O horizon soils in both EB and WB. In the “Field Addition” study, an addition of 100 kg P ha⁻¹ resulted in an overall 38% decrease in extractable ammonium (NH₄⁺–N) due to increased immobilization. Even under ambient N deposition rates, EB displayed parallel, although lower, evidence of P limitation compared with WB. In contrast, in the “Laboratory Addition” study, soils incubated in the laboratory at rates of 0 to 200 kg P ha⁻¹ showed increases in potential net N mineralization (PNNM) and NH₄⁺–N concentrations in response to P additions. There was no effect of N status in the Laboratory Addition study, but hardwood soils showed a faster response and greater rates of PNNM compared with softwood soils. Despite contrasting responses, both the field and laboratory studies suggested that N dynamics at BBWM were P limited and that N status and forest type influenced the N and P interaction.
A real-world experience of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).

647Background: ICI therapy has changed the treatment landscape in mRCC. Here we present the safety and efficacy of ICIs used in an academic medical center (UT Southwestern Medical Center) and affil...
Mediating Islamic State| Toward a Protostate Media System:The Role of ISIS’s Content

Militant groups introduce a layer of complexity to existing theories of media systems. Operating as a protostate, ISIS defies the common understandings of Hallin and Mancini’s four dimensions of national media systems by blurring the lines among the media, journalists, and the state. This study offers a first step toward understanding the role of content in this emerging media system by analyzing the most recurring components (photographs) during a key transitional period (Mosul battles). A mixed-methods analysis of 1,204 images that one ISIS province disseminated under immense military pressure breaks the photographic campaign into nine military and nonmilitary visual frames and identifies key visual semiotic tools that delineate among the group’s militants, Iraqi forces, and civilians. The study reveals that ISIS has established an enduring, highly visual protostate media system, in which frames and semiotics serve to help sustain the system and retain meaning in online circulation. The article concludes with a discussion about how a protostate media system may be countered.
Political Ideology and Executive Functioning: The Effect of Conservatism and Liberalism on Cognitive Flexibility and Working Memory Performance:

Although models of political ideology traditionally focus on the motivations that separate conservatives and liberals, a growing body of research is directly exploring the cognitive factors that va...
The agency problem revisited: a structural analysis of managerial productivity and CEO compensation in large US commercial banks

The paper analyzes performance, incentives, and the inefficiencies that may arise due to agency problems and market power using a newly developed panel of large US commercial banks that have too-big-to-fail nature. We use a structural model to characterize managerial efficiency, which complements technical efficiency in standard stochastic frontier models. We incorporate managerial decisions, bank-specific characteristics, and market competition in deriving managerial efficiency. Data on the 50 largest commercial banks in the USA during 2000 and 2017 are collected from the Call Reports and are matched with CEO compensation from S&P’s ExecuComp database. The paper connects empirical evidence with economic theory and contributes to the literature on efficiency and management. The ultimate goal is to better understand the linkages among managerial performance, CEO compensation, and the size and scope of bank operations. Current results point to robust empirical findings. Economies of scale have steadily declined throughout the period and are not positively related to managerial performance and CEO compensation. The size of a bank does not seem to be justified by the evidence in that larger banks offer larger bonuses and tend to have lower managerial efficiency and diminishing scale economies.
Evaluation of an Education Strategy versus Usual Care to Implement the STEADI Algorithm in Primary Care Clinics in an Academic Medical Center.

Background Although falls are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the US in the older adult population, there is little information regarding implementation of evidence-based fall prevention guidelines within primary care settings. The objective of this study was to address this gap in the literature by determining the effectiveness of the use of education and written materials as implementation strategies. Methods Using a prospective, mixed methods, controlled before-and-after study design, we studied the effect of the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries (STEADI) education and written materials on knowledge and intention to use in primary care clinics as well as test the screening, assessment, and intervention behaviors. This manuscript details the quantitative findings of the study, using STEADI Knowledge Test, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Reaction Questionnaire, and EMR Reports. We compared data between the study arms (usual implementation versus education implementation) using descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, and factorial ANOVAs. Results In total, data from 29 primary care staff, including physicians, APRNs, RNs, and medical assistants, were analyzed. Although we found a statistically significant difference within the education arm between immediate pretests and posttests/surveys mean scores, there was no statistically significant difference between the study arms' knowledge, intent to use STEADI, or use behaviors. The pre/immediate post education mean knowledge score increased by 1.19 (p= 0.02) and the pre/immediate post education intent to use mean increased by 0.64 (p 0.01). There was no statistically significant change between the study arms over time. Conclusion Educational strategies, particularly written materials and an online module, did not increase the long-term use of the STEADI toolkit. Implementation research is needed to identify the strategies that are most effective for promoting the adoption of STEADI in primary care.
A prospective cohort study of immunogenicity of quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccination among Alaska Native Children, Alaska, United States

Abstract Objective In the United States, HPV vaccination is routinely recommended at age 11 or 12 years; the series can be started at age 9. We conducted a cohort study to assess long-term immunogenicity of quadrivalent HPV vaccine (4vHPV) in an American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Indigenous population. Methods During 2011–2014, we enrolled AI/AN girls and boys aged 9–14 years, who were vaccinated with a 3-dose series of 4vHPV. Serum specimens were collected at five time points: immediately prior to doses 2 and 3, and at one month, one year, and two years after series completion. Antibody testing was performed using a multiplex virus-like-particle-IgG ELISA for 4vHPV types (HPV 6/11/16/18). Results Among 477 children (405 girls/72 boys) completing the 3-dose series, median age at enrollment was 11.2 years. Of the 477, 72 (15%) were tested before dose 2 and 70 (15%) before dose 3. Following series completion, 435 (91%) were tested at one month, 382 (80%) at one year, and 351 (74%) at two years. All tested participants had detectable antibody to 4vHPV types at all time points measured. Geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) for 4vHPV types at one month and two years post-series completion were 269.9 and 32.7 AU/ml for HPV6, 349.3 and 42.9 AU/ml for HPV11, 1240.2 and 168.3 IU/ml HPV16, and 493.2 and 52.2 IU/ml for HPV18. Among children tested after each dose, GMCs after doses 1 and 2 were 3.9 and 32.2 AU/ml for HPV6, 5.3 and 45.6 AU/ml for HPV11, 20.8 and 187.9 IU/ml for HPV16; and 6.6 and 49.7 IU/ml for HPV18. No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusion All AI/AN children developed antibodies to all 4vHPV types after vaccination. GMCs rose after each dose, then decreased to a plateau over the subsequent two years. This cohort will continue to be followed to determine duration of antibody response.
Steam-based thermotherapy for managing nematodes in strawberry transplants

Aerated steam-based thermotherapy was developed and evaluated for its efficacy in managing three nematode species (Aphelenchoides besseyi, Meloidogyne hapla, and Pratylenchus penetrans) that are often transported as quiescent passengers on strawberry transplants shipped to Florida from out-of-state nurseries. Initial studies were focused on evaluating the intrinsic temperature sensitivity of each nematode species to hot water in laboratory conditions. Each nematode species was exposed to hot water at 40, 44, 48, and 52°C for 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, 120, and 240 min. Exposure for 60 min or higher at 40°C paralyzed all three nematode species when examined immediately after heat treatment. Examination of the nematodes 24 hr post-treatment suggested that 100% mortality of all three nematode species was achieved when nematodes were exposed to hot water at a minimum temperature of 44°C for 120 min. Further studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of aerated steam to kill all three nematode species by exposing nematode-infested strawberry transplants at 44°C for 60, 120, and 240 min. Exposure of nematode inoculated plants to steam for 60 or 120 min reduced the populations of all three nematode species, but this was not enough to completely eradicate any of the three nematode species. Exposure for 240 min, however, was the most effective in reducing the populations of the three nematode species. A 240 min of exposure to aerated steam completely eradicated A. besseyi and M. hapla while P. penetrans populations were reduced only by 85%. Furthermore, the aerated steam had minimal to no adverse effect on plant biomass. Results from both the laboratory and greenhouse studies indicated that M. hapla was more sensitive to heat treatment followed by A. besseyi and P. penetrans. Results from this study suggested that aerated steam-based thermotherapy has good potential as a non-chemical method of management of nematodes of strawberry transplants.
Marx and the Other Sraffa: The Insignificant Empirical Effect of Price-Value Deviations on Economic Aggregates

Sraffa’s elegant book transformed the treatment of prices of production. He showed that at a theoretical level prices of production and wage-profit curves were capable of complex movement, and the wage-profit frontiers could exhibit reswitching and reverse capital deepening. These results were used to criticize both neoclassical theory and Marx. The material in Sraffa’s archives came as a shock because it showed that he believed, before and after the publication of his book, that Marx was correct in thinking that labor value and price aggregates would be essentially the same at the empirical level. This chapter shows that major economic aggregates derived from six input-output tables between 1947 and 1998 are indeed very close at observed profit shares, and even within a wide range of socially feasible profit shares. Sraffa was correct about Marx being correct.
Reclaiming Malcolm X: Epideictic Discourse and African-American Rhetoric

This essay examines the epideictic rhetoric of Nuri Muhammad, a Nation of Islam student minister, at a Malcolm X Festival in 2018. Nuri’s rhetorical performance demonstrates how he uses the memory ...