cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of high LDL cholesterol in New York City, 2004.

Author(s): Upadhyay, Ushma D; Waddell, Elizabeth Needham; Young, Stephanie; Kerker, Bonnie D; Berger, Magdalena; Matte, Thomas; Angell, Sonia Y | Abstract: IntroductionLow-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is a major contributor to coronary heart disease and the primary target of cholesterol-lowering therapy. Substantial disparities in cholesterol control exist nationally, but it is unclear how these patterns vary locally.MethodsWe estimated the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of high LDL cholesterol using data from a unique local survey of New York City's diverse population. The New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2004 was administered to a probability sample of New York City adults. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2004 was used for comparison. High LDL cholesterol and coronary heart disease risk were defined using National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) guidelines.ResultsMean LDL cholesterol levels in New York City and nationally were similar. In New York City, 28% of adults had high LDL cholesterol, 71% of whom were aware of their condition. Most aware adults reported modifying their diet or activity level (88%), 64% took medication, and 44% had their condition under control. More aware adults in the low ATP III risk group than those in higher risk groups had controlled LDL cholesterol (71% vs 33%-42%); more whites than blacks and Hispanics had controlled LDL cholesterol (53% vs 31% and 32%, respectively).ConclusionHigh prevalence of high LDL cholesterol and inadequate treatment and control contribute to preventable illness and death, especially among those at highest risk. Population approaches - such as making the food environment more heart-healthy - and aggressive clinical management of cholesterol levels are needed.
Jones Lang LaSalle 2005-2008

The case traces the evolution of Jones Lang LaSalle's organization and strategy between the years 2005-2008, as it transitioned from a modular to an integrated structure. The case protagonist, CEO Peter Roberts, deals with the challenges of creating an organization that pursues multiple logics and requires both focus and collaboration among individuals and groups.Learning Objective: To familiarize students with the thought processes and challenges of planning and executing organizational evolution.
Regionally specific hyperfine polarization of Rb atoms in the vicinity ( ∼ 10 − 5 cm ) of surfaces

We made regionally specific measurement of the hyperfine polarization $⟨\mathbit{S}∙\mathbit{I}⟩$ of Rb atoms in the vicinity $(\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{cm})$ of coated and uncoated Pyrex glass surfaces in optical pumping cells. This is in contrast to the previous hyperfine polarization studies, where the quantity measured is the bulk hyperfine polarization, which depends on surface interactions averaged over the entire cell surfaces. We probe the hyperfine polarization of the Rb atoms in the vicinity of cell surfaces using the evanescent wave of a weak laser beam. We find that the polarization in the vicinity of uncoated surfaces is significantly lower than that in the bulk. The polarization decreases rapidly with decreasing distance from the surface. By contrast, the polarization in the vicinity of a silicone-coated Pyrex glass surface is independent of the distance from the cell surface and is equal to the bulk polarization. Regionally specific measurement of the hyperfine polarization as a function of the penetration depth of the evanescent wave allows us to deduce the hyperfine polarization, its normal gradient, as well as the normal gradient coefficient ${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{\mathbit{S}∙\mathbit{I}}$ at the cell surface. We present the values of these quantities for three representative uncoated cells.
Effects of a domiciliary restoration program on state-trait anxiety and self-ideal concepts.

An experimental and a control group of domiciled veterans showed a significant increase in state anxiety over a period of approximately 4 mo. Trait anxiety decreased in the control group and increa...
Validation of the Miles-in-Trail Modeling Function in a Traffic Flow Management Concept Prototype

A commonly used method of modulating the air traffic flow between control facilities involves the spacing, in distance, between successive flights in a stream. Miles-in-trail (MIT) restrictions are easy to understand and to implement, and are used throughout the National Airspace System. A new tool for the Traffic Flow Management System models the impacts of MIT restrictions. The capability allows a traffic manager to model different parameters and generate a more efficient solution. We describe here the validation of this model.
Attitude similarity and evaluation of an athletic team

This study extends the effect of attitude similarity or dissimilarity upon the evaluation of others to the athletic arena. Thirty-eight male high school varsity basketball athletes rated a hypothetical attitudinally similar college team more positively than an attitudinally dissimilar hypothetical college team on five of nine dependent measures. Implications arise concerning the recruiting and counseling of athletes with respect to the maintenance of team cooperation and morale.
Image and Reality: The Railway Corporate-State Metaphor *

Of the innumerable types of business enterprise that flourished in nineteenth-century America, none was more important than the railroads. For the first time in the national experience they provided relatively cheap, dependable transportation into the heartland and created a national market that prompted the growth of so many other aspects of national endeavor. As railroad leaders built what became America's first big business, they also developed a new self-image and with it a vocabulary drawn from their conception of competition as war. It is this new self-image and the lexicon that went with it that form the subject of this article by James A. Ward.
Study on Dynamic Characteristics of Hydraulic Position Control System Based on AMESim

Using the batch processing function of AMESim,setting preamplifier gain,damping ratio and frequency of servo valve,dead oil amount of the hydraulic cylinder and the existence of relief valve respectively,dynamic tracking error and steady-state error of the typical position control system were analyzed.The results show that appropriate parameters are very important to system performance.AMESim can commendably simulate the dynamic behaviour of closed-loop control system.
Mapping among the nodes of infinite trees

K?nig's infinity lemma states that an infinite rooted tree in which every node has finite degree has an infinite path. A variation of this lemma about mappings from one tree to another is presented in this note. Its proof utilizes K?nig's lemma, and K?nig's lemma follows from this variation. K?nig's infinity lemma states that an infinite rooted tree that has finite branching at every node has an infinite path.We present a variation of the lemma about any binary relation over the nodes of two trees, source and target.Under certain conditions every path in the target tree has a corresponding path in the source tree.The proof utilizes K?nig's lemma, and K?nig's lemma follows from this variation.
Estimating PM 2.5 -associated mortality increase in California due to the Volkswagen emission control defeat device

Abstract The Volkswagen Group of America (VW) was found by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to have installed “defeat devices” and emit more oxides of nitrogen (NOx) than permitted under current EPA standards. In this paper, we quantify the hidden NOx emissions from this so-called VW scandal and the resulting public health impacts in California. The NOx emissions are calculated based on VW road test data and the CARB Emission Factors (EMFAC) model. Cumulative hidden NOx emissions from 2009 to 2015 were estimated to be over 3500 tons. Adult mortality changes were estimated based on ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) change due to secondary nitrate formation and the related concentration-response functions. We estimated that hidden NOx emissions from 2009 to 2015 have resulted in a total of 12 PM2.5-associated adult mortality increases in California. Most of the mortality increase happened in metropolitan areas, due to their high population and vehicle density.
Tropical Cyclone Intensity Errors Associated with Lack of Two-Way Ocean Coupling in High-Resolution Global Simulations

AbstractTropical cyclones (TCs), particularly those that are intense and/or slow moving, induce sea surface temperature (SST) reductions along their tracks (commonly referred to as cold wakes) that provide a negative feedback on storm energetics by weakening surface enthalpy fluxes. While computing gains have allowed for simulated TC intensity to increase in global climate models as a result of increased horizontal resolution, many configurations utilize prescribed, noninteractive SSTs as a surface boundary condition to minimize computational cost and produce more accurate TC climatologies. Here, an idealized slab ocean is coupled to a 0.25° variable-resolution version of the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) to improve closure of the surface energy balance and reproduce observed Northern Hemisphere cold wakes. This technique produces cold wakes that are realistic in structure and evolution and with magnitudes similar to published observations, without impacting large-scale SST climatology. Multimember ens...
The human should be part of the control loop

The capabilities of autonomy have grown to encompass new application spaces that until recently were considered exclusive to humans. In the past, automation has focused on applications where it was preferable to completely replace the human. Today, though, we have the opportunity to leverage the complementary strengths of both human and autonomy technologies to maximize performance and limit risk, and the human should therefore remain “in” or “on” the loop. To adequately assess when and how to accomplish this, it requires us to assess not only the capabilities, but the risks and the ethical questions; coupled to this are the issues with degradation of performance in specific instances (for instance, recovery from failure) that may require a human to remain the sole control authority. This paper investigates the contributors to success/failure in current human-autonomy integration frameworks, and proposes guidelines for safe and resilient use of humans and autonomy with regard to performance, consequence, and the stability of human-machine switching. Key to our proposed approach are (i) the relative error rate between the human and autonomy and (ii) the consequence of possible events.
Major Tom: created in 48 hours for Global Game Jam 2017

In this paper, we describe our showcase submission --- the cooperative VR game Major Tom. We show how the constraints of a game jam led to a unique gameplay experience.
Guillain-Barre syndrome: Demographics, clinical profile & seasonal variation in a tertiary care centre of central India.

Background & objectives: Guillain–Barre syndrome (GBS) is an autoimmune disease and a recognized cause of generalized progressive paralysis worldwide. The present study was aimed to document the clinical findings, demographics and seasonal variations amongst the patients with GBS during the hospital stay. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 66 referred cases diagnosed as GBS was conducted. Medical records and the data related to age, sex, antecedent illness, duration of symptoms before admission, muscle power graded by the Medical Research Council scale, functional scores, details of Intensive Care Unit complications and need for ventilation were obtained. The patients were divided into four seasonal groups: S1 (spring, February to April), S2 (summer, May to July), S3 (rainy, August to October) and S4 (winter, November to January) and parameters were studied. Results: The mean age of the patients was 40.69 yr. Forty one (62.1%) patients had a history of preceding illness. Forty nine (74.2%) patients showed quadriparesis as most common complaint. Thirty three (50%) patients were of acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP) variant. The highest number of GBS cases (60%) was found in S1 and S2. The maximum duration of hospital stay was observed in S3 group (mean 23 days). Interpretation & conclusions: GBS seems to affect all age groups with male preponderance. Most common antecedent event and presenting feature were flu-like illness and quadriparesis, respectively. AIDP was the most common variant. Most cases occurred from February to July (S1 and S2 group) (maximum in July) with preceding influenza and diarrhoea and maximum duration of hospital stay was observed in S3 group. Prospective studies with follow up of GBS patients need to be done to confirm findings.
Second-order grasp planning reflects sensitivity to inertial factors.

Abstract Previous studies have shown that people’s grasps of objects are tuned to the objects’ inertial properties. In most of those studies, information obtained about the attunement of the grasps to the objects’ inertial properties was limited to first-order grasp planning (i.e., planning of grasps based on immediate task demands). We investigated attunement of grasps to an object’s inertial properties in the context of second-order grasp planning (i.e., planning of grasps based on subsequent task demands). In Experiment 1, participants grasped a horizontal rod whose right or left end would be brought down onto a target. Consistent with previous findings, participants grasped the rod so as to complete the movement with a thumb-up posture, using an overhand grasp when the right end of the rod was to be brought to the target and an underhand grasp when the left end was to be brought to the target. They also grasped the rod to the right of center, but more so when doing this with an underhand than when with an overhand grasp. In Experiment 2, participants performed the same task with an asymmetrically weighted rod. Changes in subjects’ grasps in Experiment 2 compared to Experiment 1 suggested that participants grasped the rod based on the inertial properties of the rod in a way that took advantage of the pendular properties of the hand-plus-object.
Effect of large deformation and surface stiffening on the transmission of a line load on a neo-Hookean half space

A line force acting on a soft elastic solid, say due to the surface tension of a liquid drop, can cause significant deformation and the formation of a kink close to the point of force application. Analysis based on linearized elasticity theory shows that sufficiently close to its point of application, the force is borne entirely by the surface stress, not by the elasticity of the substrate; this local balance of three forces is called Neumann's triangle. However, it is not difficult to imagine realistic properties for which this force balance cannot be satisfied. For example, if the line force corresponds to surface tension of water, the numerical values of (unstretched) solid–vapor and solid–liquid surface stresses can easily be such that their sum is insufficient to balance the applied force. In such cases conventional (or naive) Neumann's triangle of surface forces must break down. Here we study how force balance is rescued from the breakdown of naive Neumann's triangle by a combination of (a) large hyperelastic deformations of the underlying bulk solid, and (b) increase in surface stress due to surface elasticity (surface stiffening). For a surface with constant surface stress (no surface stiffening), we show that the linearized theory remains accurate if the applied force is less than about 1.3 times the solid surface stress. For a surface in which the surface stress increases linearly with the surface stretch, we find that the Neumann's triangle construction works well as long as we replace the constant surface stress in the naive Neumann triangle by the actual surface stress underneath the line load.
Internet Security Liberated via Software Defined Exchanges

With software defined networking and network function virtualization technologies, networks can be programmed to have customized processing and paths for different traffic at manageable costs and for massive numbers of applications. Now, picture a future Internet where each entity - a person, an organization, or an autonomous system - has the ability to choose how traffic in their respective network sessions is routed and processed between itself and its counterparts. The network is, essentially, liberated from today's homogeneous IP-based routing and limited connection options. To realize such a network paradigm, we propose a software defined exchange architecture that can provide the needed network programmability, session-level customization, and scale. We present a case study for traffic-analysis-resistant communication among individuals, campuses, or web services, where IP addresses no longer need to have a one-to-one correspondence with service providers.
MODELING IRRADIANCE ON TILTED PLANES: A SIMPLER VERSION OF THE PEREZ MODEL; US-WIDE CLIMATIC/ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION

Preliminary findings of research undertaken in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories (Menicucci and Fernandez, 1986) for improving photovoltaic simulation are presented. The objective is to systematically evaluate and improve the diffuse model for tilted planes proposed by Perez and coworkers (1986), by (1), simplifying the original model and, (2) constructively investigating site dependency. A new simplified algorithm is provided along with recommendations suggested by the analysis of the first data sets.
More push from your push-off: Joint-level modifications to modulate propulsive forces in old age.

Introduction Compared to young adults, older adults walk with smaller propulsive forces and a redistribution to more proximal leg muscles for power generation during push-off. Despite this deficit in propulsive function, older adults can increase push-off intensity when encouraged to via real-time biofeedback. However, the specific joint-level modifications used by older adults to enhance propulsive force generation has yet to be elucidated. The purpose of this study was to identify the joint-level modifications used by young and older adults to modulate propulsive forces when walking at their preferred speed. Methods 9 young and 16 older adults walked at their preferred speed while visual biofeedback prompted them to modulate their propulsive forces using targets prescribed at ±10% and ±20% of their preferred value. Older adults were then divided into groups exhibiting relatively larger or smaller baseline redistribution to more proximal leg muscles for power generation. Results Neither young nor either older adult cohort modulated propulsive forces by altering their peak ankle power generation. Instead, subjects increased trailing limb extension and attenuated mechanical power demands at the hip during push-off. Older adults that had a larger baseline redistribution exhibited larger responses to enhanced push-off intensity than their peers–for example, walking with 11% less hip flexor power and 10% more trailing limb extension during push-off when exerting larger than preferred propulsive forces. Conclusion Propulsive force biofeedback that elicits larger than preferred propulsive forces also increases trailing limb extension and attenuates mechanical power demands at the hip in older adults most exhibiting a distal-to-proximal redistribution. Our results suggest that considering baseline redistribution may be important in the personalized prescription of interventions aimed at enhancing walking performance by improving push-off intensity.
Device-free Personalized Fitness Assistant Using WiFi

There is a growing trend for people to perform regular workouts in home/office environments because work-at-home people or office workers can barely squeeze in time to go to dedicated exercise places (e.g., gym). To provide personalized fitness assistance in home/office environments, traditional solutions, e.g., hiring personal coaches incur extra cost and are not always available, while new trends requiring wearing smart devices around the clock are cumbersome. In order to overcome these limitations, we develop a device-free fitness assistant system in home/office environments using existing WiFi infrastructure. Our system aims to provide personalized fitness assistance by differentiating individuals, automatically recording fine-grained workout statistics, and assessing workout dynamics. In particular, our system performs individual identification via deep learning techniques on top of workout interpretation. It further assesses the workout by analyzing both short and long-term workout quality, and provides workout reviews for users to improve their daily exercises. Additionally, our system adopts a spectrogram-based workout detection algorithm along with a Cumulative Short Time Energy (CSTE)-based workout segmentation method to ensure its robustness. Extensive experiments involving 20 participants demonstrate that our system can achieve a 93% accuracy on workout recognition and a 97% accuracy for individual identification.
Young children’s reasoning about equality and ownership in resource conflicts

Abstract This study examined how young children reasoned about two important factors—equality and ownership—when they were in conflict with one another in a resource distribution context. The sample included N = 110 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse 5- to 7-year-olds (MAge = 6;4, SD = 9 months). Children reasoned about how to distribute resources (gummy bears) between two peers who differed in their outcomes (pictures colored) and their opportunities (crayons to color with). Many children found it unacceptable to distribute resources based on outcome when the opportunity to earn them was unequal, particularly if they explicitly reasoned about unequal opportunities. Once recipients had taken possession of their gummy bears, however, children who reasoned about ownership concluded that it was unacceptable to redistribute the treats in order to adjust for unequal opportunity while children who reasoned about equality found this action acceptable. These results highlight young children’s emerging ability to balance competing moral concerns and resolve resource conflicts.
North American independent coffeehouse culture: a comparison of Seattle with Vancouver

Phenomenologists argue that place is central to human existence and that much of human behavior is habitual. A person who regularly visits a coffeehouse is likely to meet others engaged in a similar routine, over time they feel at ease and develop a sense of attachment to the space; a so-called third place—where people meet and engage in conversation. Since the early 1980s, the number of coffeehouses in North America has soared, but despite their ubiquity researchers have largely ignored whether they are third spaces. In the United States, critics charge that they have become places to be alone together, while in Canada, some research indicates that face-to-face conversation still flourishes in independent coffeehouses. This paper attempts to reconcile these competing perspectives by examining 30 coffeehouses in two neighborhoods in Seattle and Vancouver. Since design can affect social interaction, the coffeehouses are assessed on their spatial structure, how patrons use that space and how that space is assessed on social media. No difference was found between the coffeehouses in terms of their locational characteristics and how their physical environment was structured. However, a statistically significant difference was found in patron behavior. A majority of Vancouver customers engaged in face-to-face conversation, while Seattle patrons preferred to sit alone. Finally, Seattleite patrons were more likely to emphasize a coffeehouse’s workplace function in their online reviews than their Vancouver counterparts. In sum, despite the two cities close proximity there appears to be a difference between their residents in how they perceive coffeehouses, a workspace versus a social space.
Evaluation of Cell Balancing Circuits for Supercapacitor-Based Energy Storage Systems

This paper evaluates the cell balancing capabilities of several commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)supercapacitor chargers to facilitate the design and implementation of supercapacitor-based energy storage systems. Comprehensive simulations are performed using the device model provided by the manufacturer and an $RC$ ladder circuit model capturing the porous electrode structure and charge redistribution process of supercapacitors. Simulation results show that the supercapacitor terminal voltage pattern is dependent on the supercapacitor initial condition characterized by the voltages across the $RC$ branch capacitors. The supercapacitor equivalent series resistance (ESR)may significantly impact the terminal voltage fluctuation.
Evaluation of the current treatment strategies for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

611Background: The management of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNET) varies between observation (O), pancreatic resection (PR) and enucleation (E). Currently, size, grade and location are used ...
Jahaji-bahin feminism: a de-colonial Indo-Caribbean consciousness

This essay examines the trope of jahaji-bahin consciousness through a de-colonial feminist lens to highlight the ways in which Indo-Caribbean women claim a sense of identity and belonging in the Ca...
ATP synthase c-subunit ring as the channel of mitochondrial permeability transition: Regulator of metabolism in development and degeneration

The mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) or mitochondrial megachannel is arguably one of the most mysterious phenomena in biology today. mPTP has been at the center of ongoing extensive scientific research for the last several decades. In this review we will discuss recent advances in the field that enhance our understanding of the molecular composition of mPTP, its regulatory mechanisms and its pathophysiological role. We will describe our recent findings on the role of ATP synthase c-subunit ring as a central player in mitochondrial permeability transition and as an important metabolic regulator during development and in degenerative diseases.
Noise Data Removal Method of Frequency Response Curve Based on MNKriging Interpolation Algorithm

The frequency response method is one of the most commonly used methods for determining the winding deformation of a power transformer. However, in the actual measurement, the frequency response curve of the test results will generate spiking data due to interference. If this impact cannot be accurately identified and reduced, the availability of the test results will be seriously affected, causing difficulties and even errors to the analysis and judgment of the test. A multidimensional nonuniform Kriging (MNKriging) interpolation algorithm is proposed in this paper to eliminate spiking data in the frequency response curve and improve the accuracy of the test results. The method constructs a nonuniform multidimensional deformation field model by using the optimal weight coefficient combination, and optimizes it with the particle swarm optimization algorithm to extend the Kriging interpolation to the multidimensional nonuniform field space. It has been applied to the interpolation of the transformer frequency response data. The results prove that the method reduces the noise interference to a certain extent, and therefore the points on the frequency response curve of the transformer winding deformation subject to noise interference are well recognized and repaired.
Dynamic L1-Norm Tucker Tensor Decomposition

Tucker decomposition is a standard method for processing multi-way (tensor) measurements and finds many applications in machine learning and data mining, among other fields. When tensor measurements arrive in a streaming fashion or are too many to jointly decompose, incremental Tucker analysis is preferred. In addition, dynamic adaptation of bases is desired when the nominal data subspaces change. At the same time, it has been documented that outliers in the data can significantly compromise the performance of existing methods for dynamic Tucker analysis. In this work, we present Dynamic L1-Tucker: an algorithm for dynamic and outlier-resistant Tucker analysis of tensor data. Our experimental studies on both real and synthetic datasets corroborate that the proposed method (i) attains high bases estimation performance, (ii) identifies/rejects outliers, and (iii) adapts to changes of the nominal subspaces.
Big Data Analysis of Massive PMU Datasets: A Data Platform Perspective

The discovery of ‘event signatures’ and useful insights from very large historical Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) datasets is predicated on offline Big Data analysis approaches that rely on the generation of predictive features on a massive scale. This paper presents lessons learned from a data platform perspective towards reducing barriers to adoption of Big Data analytics against a real dataset of almost half a trillion data points drawn from over 400 PMUs distributed across the North American power grid. We demonstrate software abstractions and targeted performance optimizations that can lead to significant productivity gains for power systems researchers seeking to perform offline exploratory temporal analysis and modeling tasks, with a focus on feature generation. We describe how our optimized approach goes beyond a naive application of mainstream Big Data technologies, enabling feature generation tasks, that previously took days or even weeks, to now be completed in just a few hours.
Autonomic and cholinergic mechanisms mediating cardiovascular and temperature effects of donepezil in conscious mice.

Donepezil is a centrally acting acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor with therapeutic potential in inflammatory diseases; however, the underlying autonomic and cholinergic mechanisms remain unclea...
Range Estimation of Electric Vehicle using MATLAB

Simulation modeling tackles real life problems securely and feasibly. It gives an outstanding strategy for assessment which is effectively checked, passed on and acknowledged. In this paper, dynamic model of an electric vehicle is made with the help of MATLAB Simulink. The energy consumption estimation of the electric vehicle is resolved, compared to the drive cycles related. The impact of various drive cycles on the utilization of energy by vehicle and its consequences for other vehicle boundaries are discussed.
Disability and Sexuality: Toward a Focus on Sexuality Education in Ghana

Around the world, persons with disabilities (PWDs) experience disproportionate barriers to obtaining comprehensive, accessible, and inclusive sexual health education due to sexually ableist ideologies. Despite Ghana's more recent efforts to advance sexuality education, considerations for PWDs have not been addressed in the most recent Education Strategic Plan. To formulate future policy recommendations given limited PWD-specific research on sexuality education in the nation, the current status of sexuality education in Ghana is reviewed and an analysis of the international literature on barriers to sexuality education for PWDs is presented. Impediments to ensuring comprehensive sex education involve a western-colonist influence, current economic conditions, and religiously oriented educational structures and practices. The international analysis indicates that sexual ableism manifests in both policy and practice-based impediments to access. When sexuality education is provided, it is often inaccessible, devoid of disability-specific considerations, and communicates desexualizing messages for PWDs. To account for these barriers, recommendations consider the role of the Ghanaian Government in training and offering resources to educators as well as content-specific considerations such as accessible modalities, sex-positive messaging, and recognition of disability-specific needs. Together, these suggestions will promote inclusive sexuality education for PWDs in Ghana.
Using data from the US Korean War Dead and the Terry Collection to demonstrate problems of the common “overlap methods”

Abstract The “overlap method” is commonly used to produce age-at-death intervals from bones and/or teeth in forensic cases. This method combines age intervals from reference sample summary statistics of ages within stages or composite scores. The combination is achieved by taking the maximum of the lower boundaries for age intervals and the minimum for the upper boundaries for age intervals. These age intervals may be age ranges (minima and maxima) or plus and minus some multiplier of the standard deviation of age around the mean age. This chapter uses the Terry Anatomical Collection as the reference sample and applies variants of the “overlap method” to a sample of US Korean War Dead. The results are compared to a transition analysis with an informative prior age distribution and with a uniform prior. The “overlap method” is found to perform very poorly relative to transition analysis.
Consequential drug combinations for tuberculosis treatments.

Improved therapies for tuberculosis will require the careful revision of complex, multi-drug regimens. In this issue of Cell Systems, Larkins-Ford et al. integrate extensive dose-response measurements of drug combinations, in vivo animal data, and computational analysis to provide a new predictive framework for the prioritization of specific antitubercular drug regimens.
On the anelasticity and fatigue fracture entropy in high-cycle metal fatigue

Abstract The concept of thermodynamic entropy generation in a degradation process is utilized to study the high-cycle fatigue of medium carbon steel 1018. Uniaxial tension–compression fatigue tests are carried out with tubular dogbone specimens at different stress levels and loading frequencies. It is shown that a phase lag between the stress and the strain caused by the internal friction includes a considerable amount of non-damaging anelastic energy in a hysteresis loop when the amplitude of cyclic load is substantially smaller than the yield strength of the material. A methodology is proposed to determine the anelastic energy associated with metal fatigue at a stress level lower than the yield strength of a material. Finite element simulations are carried out with a 3-D model of the specimen to determine the validity of the proposed methodology. The evolutions of the plastic strain energy and temperature are discussed and utilized to calculate the entropy accumulation. It is shown that the accumulation of entropy generation in the HCF of the material—beginning with a pristine specimen and ending at fatigue fracture—is nearly constant within the experimental and loading conditions considered. The concept of tallying entropy is useful for the prediction of the fatigue life evolution of a material undergoing cyclic loading.
A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Academic Dishonesty in High School Economics Classrooms

High school students in six transitional economies, Belarus, Croatia, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Russia, and Ukraine, along with students in the U.S, were surveyed about academic cheating. Regardless of geographic location, a substantial majority of all students reported that they had personally cheated on an exam or course assignment. In general, however, the percentages of students who reported that they had cheated and that they would assist others to cheat were higher in the transitional economies than in the U.S. A bivariate probit model was estimated to determine the factors which contribute to the probability of cheating. The results indicated that the most consistently significant determinants of cheating behavior were personal beliefs about the ethics and social acceptability of cheating and various attributes of the classroom environment. With the exceptions of Lithuania and Ukraine, students in each transitional economy had a higher probability of cheating relative to students in the U.S., ceteris paribus. The relative differences ranged from 8.9 percent for Belarus up to 17.1 percent for Croatia. For Russia, the difference was a relatively high 15.4 percent. These and other results suggests that researchers must be extremely careful in making cross-national comparisons of student outcomes.
Characterization of muscle plasticity in a neotropical migrant, Dumetella carolinesis (gray catbird) (878.2)

This study focuses on how avian migration is facilitated by changes in organismal metabolism, muscle structure, and muscle metabolism. These specific migratory changes were examined across the annual cycle on-an organismal level by investigating whole body oxidative capacity (ability to use energy) and, on a tissue level by characterizing muscle tissue size and oxidative capacity. In order to quantify whole body oxidative capacity, summit metabolism was measured to determine the peak oxygen consumed by each individual. Birds were euthanized and the pectoralis (flight muscle) and gastrocnemius (leg muscle) were removed and weighed. Mitochondrial content of the muscle was quantified by measuring enzyme activity via citrate synthase and cytochrome oxidase assays to determine oxidative capacity of the muscles. Summit metabolism and flight muscle mass were greatest during southward migration compared to temperate breeding and tropical wintering. The Gray Catbird displays phenotypic plasticity during migration ...
Immunochemistry of serum albumin--VIII. The antigenic reactivity of the third domain of bovine serum albumin resides in the last sub-domain. A dynamic examination of the change of antibody affinity and specificity.

Abstract In a preceding paper, immunochemical and conformational studies on chemical derivatives of fragment 377–571 of bovine serum albumin (BSA) suggested that the immunochemical reactivity of this fragment (the third domain of the albumin molecule) resided entirely in the last sub-domain. In the present work, the immunochemical reactivities of fragments 377–571 and 504–581 with serial antisera to BSA were studied in detail. Antisera against BSA were raised in two rabbits and serial bleedings were obtained at different periods after the first immunization. The serial antisera were not mixed but were kept and studied separately. Immunoadsorbent titration studies showed that the plateau values of 125 I-antibody binding by the immunoadsorbents of the two fragments changed with time after the initial immunization but were, for a given antiserum, identical in all serial antisera from 15 days up to 398 days. However, in very early antisera (7 days) the larger fragment 377–571 possessed a higher immunochemical reactivity than the small fragment 504–581. The inhibitory activities of the two fragments towards the binding of 125 -albumin and 125 I-fragment 377–571 with serial antisera to BSA in a Farr assay were compared. The two fragments exhibited comparable inhibitory activities and, in addition, fragment 504–581 was able to inhibit completely the binding of 125 I-fragment 377–571. Acid dissociation studies of complexes of serial 125 I-antibodies on immunoadsorbents revealed that the affinity of the antibodies increased while their heterogeneity decreased with time after immunization. The results with serial antisera from each of the two rabbits show that although in very early (7 days) antisera, the larger fragment appears to carry some additional antigenic sites, the shared antigenic sites become completely immunodominant relatively early (15 days) after the first immunization.
Enhanced osteoclastogenesis by mitochondrial retrograde signaling through transcriptional activation of the cathepsin K gene

Mitochondrial dysfunction has emerged as an important factor in wide ranging human pathologies. We have previously defined a retrograde signaling pathway that originates from dysfunctional mitochondria (Mt-RS) and causes a global nuclear transcriptional reprograming as its end point. Mitochondrial dysfunction causing disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential and consequent increase in cytosolic calcium [Ca(2) ](c) activates calcineurin and the transcription factors NF-κB, NFAT, CREB, and C/EBPδ. In macrophages, this signaling complements receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastic differentiation. Here, we show that the Mt-RS activated transcriptional coactivator heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein A2 (hnRNP A2) is induced by hypoxia in murine macrophages. We demonstrate that the cathepsin K gene (Ctsk), one of the key genes upregulated during osteoclast differentiation, is transcriptionally activated by Mt-RS factors. HnRNP A2 acts as a coactivator with nuclear transcription factors, cRel, and C/EBPδ for Ctsk promoter activation under hypoxic conditions. Notably, our study shows that hypoxia-induced activation of the stress target factors mediates effects similar to that of RANKL with regard to Ctsk activation. We therefore suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction and activation of Mt-RS, induced by various pathophysiologic conditions, is a potential risk factor for osteoclastogenesis and bone loss.
Accounting for seasonal patterns in syndromic surveillance data for outbreak detection.

Syndromic surveillance (SS) can potentially contribute to outbreak detection capability by providing timely, novel data sources. One SS challenge is that some syndrome counts vary with season in a manner that is not identical from year to year. Our goal is to evaluate the impact of inconsistent seasonal effects on performance assessments (false and true positive rates) in the context of detecting anomalous counts in data that exhibit seasonal variation. To evaluate the impact of inconsistent seasonal effects, we injected synthetic outbreaks into real data and into data simulated from each of two models fit to the same real data. Using real respiratory syndrome counts collected in an emergency department from 2/1/94–5/31/03, we varied the length of training data from one to eight years, applied a sequential test to the forecast errors arising from each of eight forecasting methods, and evaluated their detection probabilities (DP) on the basis of 1000 injected synthetic outbreaks. We did the same for each of two corresponding simulated data sets. The less realistic, nonhierarchical model's simulated data set assumed that "one season fits all," meaning that each year's seasonal peak has the same onset, duration, and magnitude. The more realistic simulated data set used a hierarchical model to capture violation of the "one season fits all" assumption. This experiment demonstrated optimistic bias in DP estimates for some of the methods when data simulated from the nonhierarchical model was used for DP estimation, thus suggesting that at least for some real data sets and methods, it is not adequate to assume that "one season fits all." For the data we analyze, the "one season fits all " assumption is violated, and DP performance claims based on simulated data that assume "one season fits all," for the forecast methods considered, except for moving average methods, tend to be optimistic. Moving average methods based on relatively short amounts of training data are competitive on all three data sets, but are particularly competitive on the real data and on data from the hierarchical model, which are the two data sets that violate the "one season fits all" assumption.
Toasters, Seat Belts, and Inferring Program Properties

Today's software does not come with meaningful guarantees. This position paper explores why this is the case, suggests societal and technical impediments to more dependable software, and considers what realistic, meaningful guarantees for software would be like and how to achieve them.
Investigating power characteristics of memristor-based logic gates and their applications in a security primitive

The fourth fundamental circuit element, memristor, attracts increasing attention because of its memory characteristic. The special memory behavior of the memristor has been exploited to design control systems, memory arrays, logic gate, and security primitives in previous work. However, the power characteristics of the memristor have not been widely studied yet. In this work, we used a memristor model that is suitable for circuit simulation to investigate the power characteristics of the memristor itself and memristor-based logic gates. Our simulation results indicate that memristor has different power characteristic compared with CMOS devices. The peak power of memristor-based gates does not monotonically increases with input voltage amplitude; instead, the combination of input period length and voltage amplitude determines the occurrence of power peak. The reason is that the power consumption of memristors depends on the effective memristor width, which is controlled by the input. We further examine the feasibility of utilizing memristors to implement a new block cipher, SIMON. Our studies show that the unique power characteristic of memristor based SIMON may add extra challenges for extraction of the secret key from the cipher as it introduces 94% power deviation while power sampling.
Exergame Apps and Physical Activity: The Results of the ZOMBIE Trial.

Background: Although there are thousands of health and fitness smartphone apps currently available, little research exists regarding the effects of mobile app technology on physical activity behavior. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test whether Exergame smartphone applications increase physical activity levels. Methods: This was a 12-week randomized, controlled, parallel group trial. The intervention consisted of the use of Exergame smartphone apps and motivational messaging. Validated instruments were used to measure physical activity, enjoyment, motivation, and competence. Results: Forty subjects were randomized and completed baseline assessments; 39 (97.5%) completed the 12-week follow-up. Median age was 32 years (interquartile range [IQR] = 25, 41.75); 85% were women. No differences between groups were identified in primary or secondary outcomes. Within group, physical activity decreased in the controls and autonomous motivation increased in the intervention group. Discussion: Exploratory f...
Synergistic Effects of Acid Deposition and Road Salts on Corrosion

The interaction of our natural environment (rain, snow, humidity) with chemicals introduced to the environment (road salts, emissions) provides a complex chemistry. During the past three decades, this chemistry throughout the world has changed drastically. Use of sodium chloride and calcium chloride for ice and snow removal has increased to an extremely high level. Emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxides have also risen to such levels. These emissions convert to sulphuric and nitric acids and are deposited over large areas by precipitation. The combination of protective film disruption on metals by chlorides and the deposition of reducible hydrogen ions by acid precipitation provides a synergistic effect on corrosion of infrastructure metals. Results of laboratory and field tests show that steel is much more susceptible to corrosion in this type of environment. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 857776.