cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Symptom Severity Patterns in Experimental Common Colds and Their Usefulness in Timing Onset of Illness in Natural Colds

Mean total symptom severity scores for subjects with experimental rhinovirus colds peak 48 h after viral inoculation. Also, total symptom scores for natural rhinovirus and nonrhinovirus colds peaked on day 2 of illness in a long-term, noncompensated epidemiology study. In contrast, the mean total symptom scores for compensated patients receiving placebo in natural cold treatment trials peaked on day 1. Comparisons by day indicated that scores for symptoms reported as occurring on day 1 in the natural cold treatment trials corresponded with experimental cold scores for symptoms reported 48 h after viral inoculation. Comparisons of frequency and cumulative distribution scores for the 2 groups indicated that natural colds in the treatment trials were of longer duration than reported. A mean total symptom severity score of <or=7 would capture 95% of experimental colds 24 h after inoculation while excluding 30.5% of natural colds on day 1 of illness. Histories given by compensated patients in natural cold treatment trials are inaccurate.
Role of Intracellular Carbon Metabolism Pathways in Shigella flexneri Virulence

ABSTRACT Shigella flexneri, which replicates in the cytoplasm of intestinal epithelial cells, can use the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas, Entner-Doudoroff, or pentose phosphate pathway for glycolytic carbon metabolism. To determine which of these pathways is used by intracellular S. flexneri, mutants were constructed and tested in a plaque assay for the ability to invade, replicate intracellularly, and spread to adjacent epithelial cells. Mutants blocked in the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway (pfkAB and pykAF mutants) invaded the cells but formed very small plaques. Loss of the Entner-Doudoroff pathway gene eda resulted in small plaques, but the double eda edd mutant formed normal-size plaques. This suggested that the plaque defect of the eda mutant was due to buildup of the toxic intermediate 2-keto-3-deoxy-6-phosphogluconic acid rather than a specific requirement for this pathway. Loss of the pentose phosphate pathway had no effect on plaque formation, indicating that it is not critical for intracellular S. flexneri. Supplementation of the epithelial cell culture medium with pyruvate allowed the glycolysis mutants to form larger plaques than those observed with unsupplemented medium, consistent with data from phenotypic microarrays (Biolog) indicating that pyruvate metabolism was not disrupted in these mutants. Interestingly, the wild-type S. flexneri also formed larger plaques in the presence of supplemental pyruvate or glucose, with pyruvate yielding the largest plaques. Analysis of the metabolites in the cultured cells showed increased intracellular levels of the added compound. Pyruvate increased the growth rate of S. flexneriin vitro, suggesting that it may be a preferred carbon source inside host cells.
Listening to Graduates of a K-12 Bilingual Program: Language Ideologies and Literacy Practices of Former Bilingual Students.

This study investigated the language and literacy practices of five graduates of a Spanish-English K-12 dual language immersion program through semistructured interviews to understand the residual impact of thirteen years in a Spanish-English bilingual school program. Drawing from sociocultural theory, the interviews also sought to provide an understanding of the participants’ specific social networks and uses of Spanish and cultural affinities. Transcripts of the interviews, which were 1-2 hours in length, were analyzed primarily for content related to language use, social networks, and cultural affiliations. Coding by general themes that emerged was done first, and then patterns within and across interview transcripts were identified and analyzed. The basic research question guiding this interview study was: What can be learned about the Spanish-English bilingualism and biliteracy of former students who attended a 13-year bilingual school program? Three main findings were: 1) All of the former students reported being bilingual and biliterate in English and Spanish; 2) Two prominent language ideologies in the everyday uses of Spanish by the participants were identified. One language ideology may be described as a functional language ideology, where Spanish was used primarily to accomplish only specific, limited kinds of communication with others. The other language ideology was one where linguistic and cultural affinities with native Spanish speakers were a key part of the participants’ orientation and use of Spanish; and 3) The issue of who may be reaping the most benefits from the K-12 dual language immersion program arose through an analysis of the interviews, especially at the secondary levels, because of the relatively small numbers of Latina/o students that completed the program. The findings are significant because they indicate some of the strengths and limitations of K-12 bilingual programs in the U.S. Given that there has been very little research in
Vibration control of super tall buildings subjected to wind loads

Excessive vibration due to wind loads is a major obstacle in design and construction of a super tall building. The authors recently introduced an innovative method for controlling the wind response of super tall buildings, which takes advantage of the so-called mega-sub structural configuration. Preliminary investigation was performed under the assumption that the wind load is a white noise and the building can be modeled as a shear structure. In this paper, a more reasonable tall building model (a cantilever beam) and a more realistic wind load model (a non-white stochastic process in time and space) are employed to design passive and hybrid mega-sub control systems and to examine the performance of such controlled buildings. Building vibration in both along-wind and across-wind directions is examined. The control parameters of the proposed systems, including the frequency ratio of the sub to the mega structures, the damping ratio of the sub structure, and the feedback gains of the actuator force, are studied and their optimal values are obtained. For comparison, a tall building without control and one with the conventional tuned-mass-damper control are also studied under the same load conditions. The significant cost-effectiveness of the proposed mega-sub systems is demonstrated in reducing the acceleration and deformation responses of tall buildings to wind loads, not only enhancing the safety of structure and its contents but also improving the comfort of occupants.
A Bayesian network model for assessing natural estrogen fate and transport in a swine waste lagoon

Commercial swine waste lagoons are regarded as a major reservoir of natural estrogens, which have the potential to produce adverse physiological effects on exposed aquatic organisms and wildlife. However, there remains limited understanding of the complex mechanisms of physical, chemical, and biological processes that govern the fate and transport of natural estrogens within an anaerobic swine lagoon. To improve lagoon management and ultimately help control the offsite transport of these compounds from swine operations, a probabilistic Bayesian network model was developed to assess natural estrogen fate and budget and then compared against data collected from a commercial swine field site. In general, the model was able to describe the estrogen fate and budget in both the slurry and sludge stores within the swine lagoon. Sensitivity analysis within the model demonstrated that the estrogen input loading from the associated barn facility was the most important factor in controlling estrogen concentrations within the lagoon slurry storage, whereas the settling rate was the most significant factor in the lagoon sludge storage. The degradation reactions were shown to be minor in both stores based on prediction of average total estrogen concentrations. Management scenario evaluations demonstrated that the best possible management options to reduce estrogen levels in the lagoon are either to adjust the estrogen input loading from swine barn facilities or to effectively enhance estrogen bonding with suspended solids through the use of organic polymers or inorganic coagulants. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2014;10:511–521. © 2014 SETAC
GRASSMANNIAN APPROACH TO THE RESONATING-VALENCE-BOND STATE OF THE 2D HEISENBERG ANTIFERROMAGNET

A systematic representation of the resonating-valence-bond state of the 2D spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet in terms of anticommuting Grassmann variables is derived. This representation is extended to the dilute case and the holon statistics are considered. Independent phase fluctuations on each valence-bond yield a U(1) gauge theory with low-lying gapless excitations in accordance with other approaches.
Transgene silencing of sucrose synthase in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) stem vascular tissue suggests a role for invertase in cell wall cellulose synthesis.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a widely adapted perennial forage crop that has high biomass production potential. Enhanced cellulose content in alfalfa stems would increase the value of the crop as a bioenergy feedstock. We examined if increased expression of sucrose synthase (SUS; EC 2.4.1.13) would increase cellulose in stem cell walls. Alfalfa plants were transformed with a truncated alfalfa phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase gene promoter (PEPC7-P4) fused to an alfalfa nodule-enhanced SUS cDNA (MsSUS1) or the β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene. Strong GUS expression was detected in xylem and phloem indicating that the PEPC7-P4 promoter was active in stem vascular tissue. In contrast to expectations, MsSUS1 transcript accumulation was reduced 75–90 % in alfalfa plants containing the PEPC7-P4::MsSUS1 transgene compared to controls. Enzyme assays indicated that SUS activity in stems of selected down-regulated transformants was reduced by greater than 95 % compared to the controls. Although SUS activity was detected in xylem and phloem of control plants by in situ enzyme assays, plants with the PEPC7-P4::MsSUS1 transgene lacked detectable SUS activity in post-elongation stem (PES) internodes and had very low SUS activity in elongating stem (ES) internodes. Loss of SUS protein in PES internodes of down-regulated lines was confirmed by immunoblots. Down-regulation of SUS expression and activity in stem tissue resulted in no obvious phenotype or significant change in cell wall sugar composition. However, alkaline/neutral (A/N) invertase activity increased in SUS down-regulated lines and high levels of acid invertase activity were observed. In situ enzyme assays of stem tissue showed localization of neutral invertase in vascular tissues of ES and PES internodes. These results suggest that invertases play a primary role in providing glucose for cellulose biosynthesis or compensate for the loss of SUS1 activity in stem vascular tissue.
PYRAMID: Informed content reconciliation for vehicular peer-to-peer systems

In vehicular P2P systems, content reconciliation is crucial since it guides two communicating vehicles to match their interests, prioritize task execution, and ensure redundant contents not to be exchanged. We propose PYRAMID, a probabilistic abstraction framework, to efficiently abstract and approximate content with different granularity. Particularly, coarse-granularity sketches estimate the contribution from potential transaction partners so that tasks could be prioritized accordingly; fine-granularity summaries help conduct membership test, to avoid transmitting redundant contents. Using a fleet of research vehicles equipped with Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) radios, we experimentally demonstrate that, across a rich variety of scenarios, PYRAMID improves the utility value of content exchanges by 20%–30% and improves effective throughput by at least 25%, while only incurring a minimal computational overhead.
Why Has Idiosyncratic Volatility Increased

A very interesting reason to study idiosyncratic volatility is that it may tell us quite a bit about the evolution of the firm's investment and financial policies. The purpose of this essay is to investigate the role of evolving investment and financial policies at the firm level as well as other exogenous variables that shape the volatility of idiosyncratic stock returns. In this regard, the essay targets two questions specifically: 1) What firm level charateristics explain the cross section of firm level volatility? 2) How have exogenous variables that shape firm level volatility evolved?
Crystal structure of {2,2'-[N,N'-bis-(pyridin-2-yl-meth-yl)cyclo-hexane-trans-1,2-diyldi(nitrilo)]di-acetato}-cobalt(III) hexa-fluorido-phosphate.

The title compound [Co(C22H26N4O4)]PF6, commonly known as [Co(bpcd)]PF6, where bpcd2− is derived from the historical ligand name N,N′-bis­(2-pyridyl­meth­yl)-trans-1,2-di­amino­cyclo­hexane-N,N′-di­acetate, crystallized by slow evaporation of a saturated aceto­nitrile solution in air. The cation of the hexa­fluorido­phosphate salt has the CoIII atom in a distorted octa­hedral coordination geometry provided by an N4O2 donor atom set. The acetate groups, which are oriented trans with respect to each other, exhibit monodentate coordination whereas the pyridyl N atoms are coordinating in a cis configuration. The geometry of the cation is compared to the geometries of other di­amino di­acetate complexes with CoIII.
Exploring the theoretical foundations of playfulness in computer interactions

This paper develops an integrated theory of playfulness in computer interactions using multiple constructs. Although previous researchers have suggested that playfulness should be measured as both a state and a trait, fully understanding the constructs involves much more than simply a state-trait measurement issue. This manuscript synthesizes the literature from social psychology, applied psychology, and human resource management and presents a comprehensive model of the network of constructs surrounding playfulness in computer interactions. This model serves to clarify both the trait and state influences on playfulness in computer interactions. Trait influences are captured through the Big Five theory of personality while state influences are captured by flow theory. Twenty-two hypotheses emerging from this model were tested using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that playful behaviors and flow had direct and significant causal paths, as theorized. Moreover, as predicted, the relationship between these constructs was in both directions—that is, a feedback loop existed. However, hypothesized causal paths between flow and microcomputer playfulness were not supported, nor were paths from the Big Five traits to the playfulness constructs. Further, the causal paths from computer anxiety to other constructs received mixed results, with multiple paths indicating relationships that were not in the hypothesized direction. Additional testing with a larger and independent sample is needed to further test and refine the theories advanced in this paper.
Positive inotropic action of ouabain on rat ventricle strips.

SummaryA positive inotropic effect of ouabain has been demonstrated on the rat ventricle strip. At a given ouabain concentration the magnitude of the response was quite uniform. The effects of variation in the concentration of ouabain, calcium, and phosphate, and in initial tension on the positive inotropic response have been investigated.
The parity of privies: summary research on privies in North Carolina.

Outdoor latrines have been recorded in North Carolina from a variety of historic sites. Though the function remains the same, their location, architecture, and subsequent contents evidence considerable variation. This paper presents the survey results of archaeologically-recorded privy pits, their contents, and their cultural interpretation. Also included in this study is information gathered from statewide architectural surveys of sites with extant privy buildings. To augment the archaeological and architectural data sets, historical information is abstracted from early State Board of Health records and other public documents. A summary of architectural attributes from the privies reflects the change in structure and sanitation of these buildings against an historical backdrop. The convergence of these privy attributes is offered as a guide to future archaeological investigations and historical preservation projects through use of predictability models.
Z-scan characterization of nonlinear materials

We review the use of Z-scan1 for measuring nonlinear absorption (NLA) and nonlinear refraction (NLR), and we compare the information obtained with that given by other techniques, such as degenerate four- wave misting (DFWM) and third-harmonic generation (THG). For example, a normal Z-scan gives the sign of the nonlinear refractive index n2 but does not give information regarding the response time of the nonlinearity. On the other hand, DFWM does not give the sign but does give temporal information, whereas THG can give (he sign and specifically gives information about only the ultrafast electronic response. Normally, the sensitivity of DFWM to induced phase distortion is considerably greater than that of a Z-scan. We will discuss an extension of the Z-scan that can enhance the signal by a factor of ~10, allowing induced phase distortion of less than λ/3000 to be monitored. The interpretation of data from each technique depends on the input-laser beam parameters, i,e., wavelength, mode quality, and pulse width.
Quantum computing with trapped ions

Quantum information encoded in single trapped ions provides a promising avenue towards a scalable quantum computer. This contribution describes most of the necessary building blocks for such a device. Particular emphasis is given to the implementation of single-qubit and multi-qubit gate operations.
Emophilia, sociosexuality, and anxious attachment: Approach and inhibition differences

Abstract Emophilia is defined by a tendency to fall in love quickly and often, which is associated with rapid romantic involvement. However, questions linger as to how it is different from anxious attachment, which also predicts rapid romantic involvement. One key difference is the process (i.e., approach vs. avoidance) through which these individuals perceive rewards and punishments. Whereas emophilia is defined as a reward-based approach process, anxious attachment is an anxiety based avoidance process. Three overlapping variables (emophilia, sociosexuality, and anxious attachment) were examined against the backdrop of Gray's Behavioral Activation and Inhibition Systems (BAS & BIS, respectively) using 240 participants from Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Each had a unique reinforcement pattern. Whereas anxious attachment was associated with both aspects of BIS, emophilia was associated with BAS-Reward and sociosexuality was associated with BAS-Fun and BAS-Drive. These findings suggest that while emophilia is associated with reward-based “approach” processes, anxious attachment is associated with fear and anxiety based “inhibitory” processes. These avoidance processes are presumably associated with need-based affiliation with a romantic partner.
Stored Coulomb Self-Energy of a Uniformly Charged Rectangular Plate

A large number of electronic devices contain charged, flat plates (electrodes) as their components. The approximation of considering such components as infinitely large plates is not satisfactory for the current status of consumer electronics where size is now extremely small. In particular, the nanotechnology revolution has made the fabrication of truly finite systems with arbitrary shape and characteristic lengths that measure in nanometers possible. As a result the only accurate approach for such situations is to consider the system realistically as one with a finite size extent. In this work we calculate the amount of electrostatic energy that is stored in a charged finite size electrode that is modelled as a uniformly charged rectangular plate with arbitrary length and width. Nontrivial mathematical transformations allow us to derive a closed form exact expression for the Coulomb self-energy of such a system as a function of its length and width (therefore, shape, too). The exact result derived can be useful to understand the storage process of electrostatic energy as a function of size/shape in uniformly charged plate systems. The result also applies to calculations that deal with the properties of a finite two-dimensional electron gas within the jellium model where the finite jellium domain can have an arbitrary rectangular shape.
Water treatment process evaluation of wildfire-affected sediment leachates

The recent increase in wildfire activity has raised concerns among many water utilities that rely on forested watersheds susceptible to wildfire for drinking water supplies. An understanding of post-fire treatment challenges, and guidance on how water providers can prepare is needed. In this study, dark, charred, riverbank sediment deposits were collected from the High Park fire burn area in northern Colorado, USA and leached in the laboratory to simulate the impact of post-fire runoff on source water quality. A comparison of the sediment leachates to post-fire river samples collected during flow events indicated the turbidity, phosphorus, nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon concentrations were similar, although the leachates do not reflect extreme concentrations observed in the field. The treatability of the leachates was evaluated with conventional coagulation and additional unit processes (pre-oxidation, powdered activated carbon, biofiltration), and samples were analyzed for disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation. Material leached from the sediments was enriched in haloacetonitrile (HAN) and chloropicrin precursors compared to baseline organic material of source waters, whereas total trihalomethane and haloacetic acid precursor reactivity were not statistically different from baseline source waters. Sediment leachates were amenable to conventional coagulation (25 mg L−1 aluminum sulfate), but may require additional treatment to meet DBP maximum contaminant levels. Enhanced coagulation (50 mg L−1) or pre-ozonation followed by conventional treatment are recommended as the best options for reducing carbonaceous DBP formation. Pre-ozonation/coagulation/biofiltration resulted in the lowest HAN and chloropicrin formation of the sediment leachates.
Improving photoluminescence collection from nitrogen vacancy ensembles in diamond via surface texturing

We demonstrate a 60% increase in collected photoluminescence from nitrogen-vacancy ensembles in single-crystal diamond by surface texturing. Enhancements of up to a factor of 23 are predicted for optimized texturing and collection.
Insight into the Electrical Double Layer of an Ionic Liquid on Graphene

Graphene is a promising next-generation conducting material with the potential to replace traditional electrode materials in supercapacitors. Since energy storage in supercapacitors relies on the electrolyte-electrode interface, here we elucidate the interfacial subnanometer structure of a single component liquid composed solely of cations and anions - an ionic liquid- on electrified graphene. We study the effect of applied potential on the interaction between graphene and a silicon tip in an ionic liquid and describe it within the framework of the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeck (DLVO) theory. The energy is stored in an electrical double layer composed of an extended Stern layer, which consists of multiple ion layers over ~2 nanometers, beyond which a diffuse layer forms to compensate the applied potential on graphene. The electrical double layer significantly responds to the applied potential, and it shows the transition from overscreening to crowding of counterions at the interface at the highest applied potentials. It is proposed that surface charging occurs through the adsorption of the imidazolium cation to unbiased graphene (likely due to π-π interactions) a﻿nd that the surface potential is better compensated when counterion ﻿crowding happens. This study scrutinizes the electrified graphene-ionic liquid interface, with implications not only in the field of energy storage, but also in lubrication.
Tunable Q-enhanced LC dual-band filtering at microwave frequencies in 0.13 µm SiGe BiCMOS

This paper presents an active Q-enhanced LC dual-band band-pass filtering approach using parallel synthesis techniques at X- and Ku-bands in 0.13 µm SiGe BiCMOS technology. By employing two independently tunable parallel LC-tanks with either in-phase and out-of-phase addition, independently tunable dual-band filtering is achieved. For higher out-of-band (OOB) attenuation, subtraction of the two 2nd-order bandpass filter is implemented. The two bands are independently tunable in terms of Q and center frequency. The dual-band filter at 9.7 GHz and 13.9 GHz achieves a normalized dynamic range of 165–154.5 dB.Hz with an OOB attenuation of >50 dB below 3 GHz. In between the two bands, the attenuation is 22 dB when the two passbands have 200 MHz bandwidth each. The total group delay is 0.8 ns and 1.9 ns for Q of 20 and 50, respectively. The filter achieves better OOB rejection with wider band channels at X- and Ku-bands compared with state of the art integrated filters. The filter consumes 115–130 mW of DC power. The core die area is 0.53 × 0.7 mm2.
Taphonomic Pathways in Vertebrate Fossil Assemblages Illustrated by a Bovine Mass Drowning Event

Fluvial transport is recognized as a common manner by which bone assemblages forming in or near moving water can be taphonomically modified. Here we study an assemblage of 38 cow carcasses, killed during a mass-mortality event and deposited in a fluvial system (the Yellowstone River of eastern Montana), over the course of three years. Seven of the 38 carcasses were observable throughout the study, allowing assessment of patterns of disarticulation and element loss with respect to time and microenvironment. The probability of loss of individual elements corresponds broadly with Voorhies' bone transport experiments, modified to account for disarticulation order. Evidence of scavenger-mediated bone loss is minimal, despite abundant evidence of the presence of scavenging taxa. Individual carcasses show different patterns of element loss, depending on the magnitude of fluvial energy that the carcass was subject to. Carcasses in very high energy regimes lose all elements immediately on disarticulation, whereas carcasses in lower energy regimes show a more typical lag-assemblage profile. Comparison of disarticulation patterns from similar modern and fossil assemblages indicates the Yellowstone cow assemblages define part of a widely expressed spectrum of bone modification in fluvial systems, strongly controlled by the magnitude of transport energy to which bone assemblages are exposed.
Communicating Meaning and Role in Distributed Design Collaboration: How Crowdsourced Users Help Inform the Design of Telepresence Robotics

Design has been described as a conversation: with the problem that is being addressed, with materials and artifacts, with our colleagues and ourselves. The language of this conversation is made up of words and images, actions and behaviors. Focusing on the role of gesture in design collaboration, we ran two studies to explore how embodied telepresence robots, or physical avatars, can support better communication in distributed teams. The studies drew upon crowdsourced study participants to provide their impressions of: (1) the meaning of individual gestures, and (2) the social roles of design team partners. Distant collaborators were better understood when their telepresence intermediaries portrayed relevant gestures in concert with their facial expressions. When the avatars displayed such physical motions, teammates on both sides of the interaction were perceived as more involved in the conversation, more composed in demeanor, and more equal in stature. Our next step is to apply these requirements to the design of our next generation of field-robust communication avatar.
The Corresponding Committee of Fifty, 1961–1971, and the Section on Continuing Professional Education (Section 2), 1971–1986

As Division 12 president in 1961, Nicholas Hobbs appointed what was called the Corresponding Committee of Fifty (CCF). This committee was intended as a way of getting younger people involved in the division’s activities and thus increasing communication between the leadership and the membership of the division. To recruit for CCF, Hobbs asked the chairs of various psychology departments with APA-approved clinical training programs to nominate their most outstanding clinical psychology graduates of the last 5 years. These individuals were then contacted and asked to form CCF.
Accreditation of hospitals for percutaneous coronary intervention on the basis of volume or clinical outcome using MEDPAR data sets: effect on patient mortality, cost and treatment accessibility.

BACKGROUND The risk of major complications of percutaneous coronary revascularization (PCR) is modestly lower in high-volume as opposed to low-volume hospitals, but this is not a consistent finding for all hospitals. There are also limitations comparing risk-adjusted outcomes between hospitals. We sought to ascertain the effect of credentialing hospitals for PCR, either on the basis of procedural volume or outcome, on clinical outcome, cost and accessibility to treatment, in states of varied population density. METHODS We evaluated Medicare administrative data sets for all PCRs performed in 9 states during 1994Eth 1995. Based upon volume- and risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality during 1994, hospitals were OaccreditedO using varying volume and outcome thresholds, and the effect of accreditation using these thresholds was ascertained by analysis of 1995 outcomes. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the effect of altered assumptions. RESULTS During 1994, one hundred and thirty-three hospitals performed 34,879 PCRs in Medicare patients, with an overall mortality of 1.36%. If credentialing were performed based upon 1994 volumes, a sizable clinical benefit could be expected only if large numbers of catheterization laboratories were OclosedO, e.g., if laboratories with 50 miles distant in 6Eth 38% of patients, but as many as 18Eth 94% of patients in low-density states. If credentialing were done on the basis of 1994 adjusted mortality, a somewhat lesser reduction of risk of death (best case scenario, 0.93%), but little improvement in cost, could be expected. CONCLUSIONS If generalizable, these data suggest that to achieve a sizable reduction in procedure-related mortality by hospital-based credentialing, large numbers of catheterization laboratories would need to be closed and patient access to care would be adversely impacted. Cost savings of a very considerable magnitude may be more readily achieved.
Increasing Environmental Health Literacy through Contextual Learning in Communities at Risk

Environmental health literacy (EHL) has recently been defined as the continuum of environmental health knowledge and awareness, skills and self-efficacy, and community action. In this study, an interdisciplinary team of university scientists, partnering with local organizations, developed and facilitated EHL trainings with special focus on rainwater harvesting and water contamination, in four communities with known environmental health stressors in Arizona, USA. These participatory trainings incorporated participants' prior environmental health risk knowledge and personal experiences to co-create training content. Mixed methods evaluation was conducted via pre-post participant surveys in all four trainings (n = 53). Participants who did not demonstrate baseline environmental science knowledge pre-training demonstrated significant knowledge increase post-training, and participants who demonstrated low self-efficacy (SE) pre-training demonstrated a significant increase in SE post-training. Participants overall demonstrated a significant increase in specific environmental health skills described post-training. The interdisciplinary facilitator-scientist team also reported multiple benefits, including learning local knowledge that informed further research, and building trust relationships with community members for future collaboration. We propose contextual EHL education as a valuable strategy for increasing EHL in environmental health risk communities, and for building academia-community partnerships for environmental health research and action.
Friends or Foes? How Managerial Perceptions of the Political Opportunity Structure Shape Nonprofit Advocacy

Policy advocacy is an important tool that nonprofit managers use to build relationships with public officials and others in furtherance of their charitable missions. Through advocacy, nonprofits wo...
Pop Star Fan Tourists: An Application of Self-expansion Theory

Abstract Given the growth of pop culture tourism, fans are recognized as an important destination market segment. This study applied self-expansion theory to examine if pop star fans' self-expansion was a significant motivation to seek fan club membership and lead to a positive relationship with their favorite pop star's country. South Korea pop star fans revealed that highly self-expanded fans were more likely to belong to fan clubs and to exhibit stronger group identity, higher travel satisfaction, and greater destination loyalty. The application of self-expansion theory offers a new theoretical perspective to understand pop star fans' psychological characteristics that affect their travel behaviors. By purposefully choosing pop star fans, the study makes a unique contribution with new insights regarding pop culture tourism fans. Destination marketing organizations should recognize pop star fans as potential loyal tourists and develop tailored travel products and services to capture this market.
Oncostatin M Mediates Adipocyte Expression and Secretion of Stromal-Derived Factor 1.

Adipose tissue homeostasis depends on interactions between stromal cells, adipocytes, and the cytokines and chemokines they produce. The gp130 cytokine, oncostatin M (OSM), plays a role in adipose tissue homeostasis. Mice, lacking the OSM receptor (OSMR) in adipocytes (OsmrFKO mice), exhibit derangements in adipose tissue, insulin sensitivity, and immune cell balance. Here, we describe a possible role for the chemokine stromal-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) in these alterations. We treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes with OSM and observed a suppression of SDF-1 gene expression and protein secretion, an effect which was partially blunted by OSMR knockdown. However, OsmrFKO mice also exhibited decreased SDF-1 gene and protein expression in adipose tissue. These contrasting results suggest that the loss of adipocyte OSM–OSMR signaling in vivo may be indirectly affecting adipokine production and secretion by altering OSM target genes to ultimately decrease SDF-1 expression in the OsmrFKO mouse. We conclude that adipocyte OSM–OSMR signaling plays a role in adipose tissue SDF-1 production and may mitigate its effects on adipose tissue homeostasis.
Stereodynamics of 1,3,5-Trialkyl-1,3,5-triazacyclohexanes: 1H and 13C Dynamic NMR Studies. Solvent Effects. Ab Initio and Molecular Mechanics Calculations

The 1H NMR signal due to the ring methylene protons of 1,3,5-trimethyl-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane (TMTAC), 1,3,5-triethyl-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane (TETAC), 1,3,5-tri-isopropyl-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane (TPTAC), and 1,3,5-tri-(tert-butyl)-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane (TBTAC) decoalesces over the temperature range from 330 down to 190 K due to the slowing of chair-to-chair interconversion. Free energies of activation (ΔG⧧ = 12.8−10.3 kcal/mol) decrease with increasing steric bulk of the alkyl substituents. At temperatures below 200 K, in solvents that do not hydrogen-bond to nitrogen, the 1H and 13C{1H} NMR spectra show a second decoalescence due to slowing inversion at nitrogen. Under conditions of slow chemical exchange, the spectra of all four compounds show a strong preference for three equivalent monoaxial conformations. No other conformations are detected. Free energies of activation for interconversion among monoaxial conformations via sequential inversions at nitrogen (ΔG⧧ = 7.3−5.7 kcal/mol) decrease with inc...
Regional Analysis of the Brain Transcriptome in Mice Bred for High and Low Methamphetamine Consumption

Transcriptome profiling can broadly characterize drug effects and risk for addiction in the absence of drug exposure. Modern large-scale molecular methods, including RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq), have been extensively applied to alcohol-related disease traits, but rarely to risk for methamphetamine (MA) addiction. We used RNA-Seq data from selectively bred mice with high or low risk for voluntary MA intake to construct coexpression and cosplicing networks for differential risk. Three brain reward circuitry regions were explored, the nucleus accumbens (NAc), prefrontal cortex (PFC), and ventral midbrain (VMB). With respect to differential gene expression and wiring, the VMB was more strongly affected than either the PFC or NAc. Coexpression network connectivity was higher in the low MA drinking line than in the high MA drinking line in the VMB, oppositely affected in the NAc, and little impacted in the PFC. Gene modules protected from the effects of selection may help to eliminate certain mechanisms from significant involvement in risk for MA intake. One such module was enriched in genes with dopamine-associated annotations. Overall, the data suggest that mitochondrial function and glutamate-mediated synaptic plasticity have key roles in the outcomes of selective breeding for high versus low levels of MA intake.
Pilgrimage into the last third of life: 7 gateways to spiritual growth: by Jane Marie Thibault and Richard L. Morgan, Nashville, TN, Upper Room Books, 2012, pp. 144. $16.00 (Paperback), ISBN 0835811174.

Pilgrimage into the Last Third of Life: 7 Gateways to Spiritual Growth is an encouraging and uplifting read for the older adult. Authors Jane Marie Thibault and Richard L. Morgan provide short medi...
Transforming Health Sciences Library Spaces

Any health sciences library concerned with space reductions, wanting to change the value of physical spaces, or reviewing the literature on these topics can begin with Transforming Health Sciences Library Spaces.
Brief articleComparing pluralities

What does it mean to compare sets of objects along a scale, for example by saying “the men are taller than the women”? We explore comparison of pluralities in two experiments, eliciting comparison judgments while varying the properties of the members of each set. We find that a plurality is judged as “bigger” when the mean size of its members is larger than the mean size of the competing plurality. These results are incompatible with previous accounts, in which plural comparison is inferred from many instances of singular comparison between the members of the sets (Matushansky & Ruys, 2006). Our results suggest the need for a type of predication that ascribes properties to plural entities, not just individuals, based on aggregate statistics of their members. More generally, these results support the idea that sets and their properties are actively represented as single units.
Robust A -Type Order and Spin-Flop Transition on the Surface of the Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulator MnBi 2 Te 4

Here, we present microscopic evidence of the persistence of uniaxial A-type antiferromagnetic order to the surface layers of MnBi_{2}Te_{4} single crystals using magnetic force microscopy. Our results reveal termination-dependent magnetic contrast across both surface step edges and domain walls, which can be screened by thin layers of soft magnetism. The robust surface A-type order is further corroborated by the observation of termination-dependent surface spin-flop transitions, which have been theoretically proposed decades ago. Our results not only provide key ingredients for understanding the electronic properties of the antiferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi_{2}Te_{4}, but also open a new paradigm for exploring intrinsic surface metamagnetic transitions in natural antiferromagnets.
A highly selective iron oxide-based imaging nanoparticle for long-term monitoring of drug-induced tumor cell apoptosis

The ability to visualize and quantify apoptosis in vivo is critical to monitoring the disease response to treatment and providing prognostic information. However, the application of current apoptosis labeling probes faces significant challenges including nonspecific tissue uptake, inefficient apoptotic cell labeling and short monitoring windows. Here we report a highly specific apoptosis labeling nanoparticle (NP) probe with Pisum sativum agglutinin (PSA) as a tumor targeting ligand for prolonged in vivo apoptosis imaging. The NP (namely, IONP-Neu-PSA) consists of a magnetic iron oxide core (IONP) conjugated with PSA, and a reporter fluorophore. IONP-Neu-PSA demonstrated minimal cytotoxicity and high labeling specificity towards apoptotic cells in vitro. When applied in vivo, IONP-Neu-PSA tracks apoptotic tumors for a prolonged period of two weeks under near-IR imaging with low background noise. Moreover, IONP-Neu-PSA possesses T2 contrast enhancing properties that can potentially enable apoptosis detection by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The high specificity for apoptotic cells, sustained fluorescence signals, and non-invasive imaging capability exhibited by IONP-Neu-PSA make it a versatile tool for cancer treatment monitoring and pathological research.
A novel approach to estimate fuel energy from urban areas

Abstract The rapid growth of urbanization has caused the intertwined relationship between the man-made system and the Earth development more dynamical and complicated. As the main link connecting the urban and environment, fuel energy has always been one of the hop-spots in recent scientific research. This paper proposed a novel method to estimate the mass of fuel load from urban area. The model comprehensively studied the parameter, fire load density (FLD), which is used to account for the total energy released by the surveyed building. A database of FLD was founded to investigate the influence of building type. In order to compile the urban land-use area in orderly manner, this study developed a classification of land-use type such as residential, commercial, business and the other six categories. Then, this paper described the conceptual framework that how to calculate total amount of fuel energy released and mass of various combustible materials in urban area. Additionally, the proposed model was applied in Washington D.C as case study. According to D.C. Zone Planning, the entire D.C. was divided into eight wards, which containing ten district area. The total area of each district was divided into the eight categories of land-use types. Finally, the models presented the mass distributions of various combustible materials in all districts of Washington D.C. Moreover, the differences in the fuel mass per capita among each district demonstrate that the different distribution areas of various land-use type show the significant influence on the fuel mass quantities.
Scalable Planning in Multi-Agent MDPs.

Multi-agent Markov Decision Processes (MMDPs) arise in a variety of applications including target tracking, control of multi-robot swarms, and multiplayer games. A key challenge in MMDPs occurs when the state and action spaces grow exponentially in the number of agents, making computation of an optimal policy computationally intractable for medium- to large-scale problems. One property that has been exploited to mitigate this complexity is transition independence, in which each agent's transition probabilities are independent of the states and actions of other agents. Transition independence enables factorization of the MMDP and computation of local agent policies but does not hold for arbitrary MMDPs. In this paper, we propose an approximate transition dependence property, called $\delta$-transition dependence and develop a metric for quantifying how far an MMDP deviates from transition independence. Our definition of $\delta$-transition dependence recovers transition independence as a special case when $\delta$ is zero. We develop a polynomial time algorithm in the number of agents that achieves a provable bound on the global optimum when the reward functions are monotone increasing and submodular in the agent actions. We evaluate our approach on two case studies, namely, multi-robot control and multi-agent patrolling example.
English-As-A-Second-Language (ESL) Nursing Students' Academic Integration: A Review of Literature.

AIM The purpose of this literature review is to provide nurse educators with the evidence necessary to support future research and expansion of programs for English-as-a-second-language (ESL) nursing students. BACKGROUND Nursing education has expanded significantly in response to the Institute of Medicine's 2010 call for an increase in the number of baccalaureate-prepared nurses. The demographics of nursing students have also grown to include those who are ethnically and linguistically diverse. This literature review presents a robust compilation of evidence providing insight into the integration experience of nursing students from diverse cultural and language backgrounds. METHOD Peer-reviewed articles, along with other seminal sources, were identified. RESULTS The evidence highlights student challenges with academic language, cultural stressors, and faculty support. CONCLUSION Findings indicate that ESL nursing students experience challenges with academic integration. Future research can provide insight into how these students navigate specific learning environments.
Making stability dependable: stable cellphone access leads to better health outcomes for those experiencing poverty

The technology maintenance framework argues that digital access is unreliable and thus consequential for individual/social welfare. However, no one has demonstrated a causal effect of cell phone ac...
Machine learning-based model predictive control of diffusion-reaction processes

Abstract In this work, we develop a machine-learning-based predictive control design for nonlinear parabolic partial differential equation (PDE) systems using process state measurement time-series data. First, the Karhunen-Loeve expansion is used to derive dominant spatial empirical eigenfunctions of the nonlinear parabolic PDE system from the data. Then, these empirical eigenfunctions are used as basis functions within a Galerkin's model reduction framework to derive the temporal evolution of a small number of temporal modes capturing the dominant dynamics of the PDE system. Subsequently, feedforward neural networks (FNN) are used to approximate the reduced-order dominant dynamics of the parabolic PDE system from the data within a desired operating region. Lyapunov-based model predictive control (MPC) scheme using FNN models is developed to stabilize the nonlinear parabolic PDE system. Finally, a diffusion-reaction process example is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed machine-learning-based predictive control method.