cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adolescent Weight Control: An Intervention Targeting Parent Communication and Modeling Compared With Minimal Parental Involvement

Objective Adolescent weight control interventions demonstrate variable findings, with inconsistent data regarding the appropriate role for parents. The current study examined the efficacy of a standard adolescent behavioral weight control (BWC) intervention that also targeted parent-adolescent communication and parental modeling of healthy behaviors (Standard Behavioral Treatment + Enhanced Parenting; SBT + EP) compared with a standard BWC intervention (SBT). Methods 49 obese adolescents (M age = 15.10; SD = 1.33; 76% female; 67.3% non-Hispanic White) and a caregiver were randomly assigned to SBT or SBT + EP. Adolescent and caregiver weight and height, parental modeling, and weight-related communication were obtained at baseline and end of the 16-week intervention. Results Significant decreases in adolescent weight and increases in parental self-monitoring were observed across both conditions. Analyses of covariance revealed a trend for greater reduction in weight and negative maternal commentary among SBT condition participants. Conclusions Contrary to hypotheses, targeting parent-adolescent communication and parental modeling did not lead to better outcomes in adolescent weight control.
Ruptured retinal arterial macroaneurysm: Diagnosis and management

Retinal arterial macroaneurysm is an acquired, focal dilation of a retinal artery, typically occurring within the first three bifurcations of the central retinal artery. The clinical presentation of a retinal arterial macroaneurysm is highly variable, making initial diagnosis difficult and differentials many. Identification of retinal arterial macroaneurysms is crucial to appropriately co-manage with the primary care physician for hypertension control. Prognosis is generally good and observation is often an adequate treatment. However, in cases of macular threat or involvement, some treatment options are available and referral to a retinal specialist is indicated.
Failure to Thrive: When to Suspect Inborn Errors of Metabolism

Failure to thrive (FTT) is a common symptom, not a diagnosis, of a wide range of childhood diseases. Although FTT is usually caused by inadequate energy intake in diet or constitutional small size, organic pathology should be considered in some cases of FTT. This article is intended to guide primary care physicians for when to suspect inborn errors of metabolism in children who present with FTT.
Geographical topic discovery and comparison

This paper studies the problem of discovering and comparing geographical topics from GPS-associated documents. GPS-associated documents become popular with the pervasiveness of location-acquisition technologies. For example, in Flickr, the geo-tagged photos are associated with tags and GPS locations. In Twitter, the locations of the tweets can be identified by the GPS locations from smart phones. Many interesting concepts, including cultures, scenes, and product sales, correspond to specialized geographical distributions. In this paper, we are interested in two questions: (1) how to discover different topics of interests that are coherent in geographical regions? (2) how to compare several topics across different geographical locations? To answer these questions, this paper proposes and compares three ways of modeling geographical topics: location-driven model, text-driven model, and a novel joint model called LGTA (Latent Geographical Topic Analysis) that combines location and text. To make a fair comparison, we collect several representative datasets from Flickr website including Landscape, Activity, Manhattan, National park, Festival, Car, and Food. The results show that the first two methods work in some datasets but fail in others. LGTA works well in all these datasets at not only finding regions of interests but also providing effective comparisons of the topics across different locations. The results confirm our hypothesis that the geographical distributions can help modeling topics, while topics provide important cues to group different geographical regions.
A simple multi-sensor sequential detection procedure

A simple multisensor decentralized sequential test is proposed and analyzed. The average sample number (ASN) of the proposed scheme is shown to be a monotonically decreasing function of the number of sensors used. The authors use the MLGDS procedure in the multisensor decentralized scheme. The ASN is shown to be a monotonically decreasing function of the number of sensors used. This result shows the feasibility of using the MLGDS-test-procedure-based multisensor scheme to outperform the SPRT of A. Wald (1947) for a single detector, thereby compensating for the performance loss due to the grouping of samples. Some comments about truncation are made. Some numerical results are presented. >
Task Environment Complexity, Global Team Dispersion, Process Capabilities, and Coordination in Software Development

Software development teams are increasingly global. Team members are separated by multiple boundaries such as geographic location, time zone, culture, and organization, presenting substantial coordination challenges. Global software development becomes even more challenging when user requirements change dynamically. However, little empirical research has investigated how team dispersion across multiple boundaries and user requirements dynamism, which collectively increase task environment complexity, influence team coordination and software development success in the global context. Further, we have a limited understanding of how software process capabilities such as rigor, standardization, agility, and customizability mitigate the negative effects of global team dispersion and user requirements dynamism. To address these important issues, we test a set of relevant hypotheses using field survey data obtained from both project managers and stakeholders. Our results show that global team dispersion and user requirements dynamism have a negative effect on coordination effectiveness. We find that the negative effect of global team dispersion on coordination effectiveness decreases as process standardization increases and that the negative effect of user requirements dynamism on coordination effectiveness decreases as process agility increases. We find that coordination effectiveness has a positive effect on global software development success in terms of both process and product aspects.
Performance limitations in autocatalytic networks in biology

Autocatalytic networks, where a member can stimulate its own production, can be unstable when not controlled by feedback. Even when such networks are stabilized by regulating control feedbacks, they tend to exhibit non-minimum phase behavior. In this paper, we study the hard limits of the ideal performance of such networks and the hard limit of their minimum output energy. We consider a simplified model of glycolysis as our motivating example. For the glycolysis model, we characterize hard limits on the minimum output energy by analyzing the limiting behavior of the optimal cheap control problem for two different interconnection topologies. We show that some network interconnection topologies result in zero hard limits. Then, we develop necessary tools and concepts to extend our results to a general class of autocatalytic networks.
Variation of lactoferrin and mastitis and their heritabilities.

Analyses were of lactoferrin and mastitis of milk samples taken every other month from 830 Holstein cows in eight herds for 1 yr. Patterns of variation and amounts in lactation, colostrum, and dry period were similar to reports. In negative mastitis tests of milk samples, lactoferrin content was lower during lactation and lower as age of the cow advanced than for positive tests. However, heritability of mastitis was .14, whereas for lactoferrin was .44 in records of 289 cows. This latter is high enough to be useful but unreliable with large standard error .30. Several sire groups differed significantly.
Management of neonatal urinary ascites

Four cases of neonatal urinary ascites are added to the previous reported 46 cases. Three are males with posterior urethral valves, and one is a female whose bladder was ruptured during traumatic breech extraction. The renal site of urine extravasation was verified by retrograde pyelogram in one instance and operative exploration in another. If relief of the lower urinary tract obstruction does not resolve the ascites, percutaneous or open nephrostomy tube placement on the side of extravasation is advised. With this approach all the patients have survived and now have normal renal function.
Effect of white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) and rust-resistance breeding on genetic variation in western white pine (Pinus monticola)

Western white pine (Pinus monticola) is an economically and ecologically important species from western North America that has declined over the past several decades mainly due to the introduction of blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) and reduced opportunities for regeneration. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to assess the genetic variation in northern Idaho populations of western white pine (including rust-resistant breeding stock) in relation to blister rust. A total of 176 individuals from four populations was analyzed using 163 AFLP loci. Within populations, an average 31.3% of the loci were polymorphic (P), and expected heterozygosity (He) was 0.123. Genetic differentiation values (Gst) showed that 9.4% of detected genetic variation was explained by differences among populations. The comparison between the rust-resistant breeding stock and a corresponding sample derived from multiple natural populations produced similar values of P (35% vs. 34.4%) and He (0.134 vs. 0.131). No apparent signs of a genetic bottleneck caused by rust-resistance breeding were found. However, a comparison of two natural populations from local geographic areas showed that the population with low pressure from blister rust had higher polymorphism and heterozygosity than the population that had experienced high mortality due to blister rust: P (30.7% vs. 25.1%) and He (0.125 vs. 0.100), respectively. In addition, the population from low blister-rust pressure had twice as many unique alleles as the blister rust-selected population. The genetic distance and Dice's similarity coefficients among the four populations indicated that the local population that survived high blister-rust pressure was genetically similar to the rust-resistant breeding stock.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Ego Defense Mechanisms, and Empathy among Urban Paramedics:

Although numerous studies have indicated that paramedics experience high occupational stress, there has been a lack of research addressing the mental health implications of this elevated stress on these emergency workers. Related constructs such as the coping mechanisms and personality characteristics of paramedics have also been neglected. Groups of experienced paramedics (n = 120) and paramedic students (n = 105) were, therefore, assessed for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, the extent and mode of ego defense utilization, and empathy. Analyses indicated that 20% of the experienced paramedics and 22% of the paramedic students appear to be suffering from trauma as measured by the MMPI-2 PK Scale. Denial and Repression scores were significantly high compared to normative samples for both groups, while Regression and Reaction Formation scores were significantly low. Both the paramedics and paramedic students had significantly low scores on Empathy. It is suggested that paramedics may be predisposed to these personality traits and that high denial and low empathy serve as functionally adaptive mechanisms in a chronically stressful work environment.
Urban Sprawl, U.S. External Policies, and the Onset of World War II

During the late 19th century, the U.S. manufacturing sector expanded greatly, and it needed a corresponding growth in consumer demand in order to profitably stabilize its operations. Economic elites, operating in significant part through the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), centered their hopes on accessing the mythic China market. In the 1920s, when it was evident that the Chinese market could not be the market that many had hoped it would be, a number of economic elites turned to promoting domestic urban sprawl to grow market demand for manufactured goods. (Urban sprawl expands demand for automobiles, and other consumer durables [manufactured items expanded to last at three years], such as home appliances and furniture – to fill the large homes that are characteristic of low-density urban development [i.e., urban sprawl].) Economic elites' emphasis on domestic urban sprawl was manifest through the 1921 President's Conference on Unemployment. This conference initiated the federal government's promotion of urban sprawl. Because the U.S. could rely on domestic urban sprawl to stabilize and expand its economy (within its borders were large amounts of petroleum), the U.S. did not have to integrate its huge economy with that of Europe. (By the 1920s, the U.S. made up 25 percent of the world's GDP.) This, in turn, economically and politically de-stabilized Europe (especially Germany), which subsequently led to the outbreak of World War II.
Financial reporting accountability

This paper analyzes the real consequences of making a firm's executives more accountable for the fidelity of a firm's financial reports using a basic model of investment under asymmetric information with reporting. Greater accountability generally leads to less underinvestment but more overinvestment. The level of accountability that maximizes investment efficiency is low enough to allow some misreporting to occur in equilibrium. The results yield a sharp testable implication and have implications for reporting regulation.
What Modulates Tonic Modulation of Spinal Dorsal Horn Neurons

The purpose of this chapter is neither to answer the question raised by the title (we must assume that anything we do to the preparation may alter modulatory systems), nor to provide a review of spinal dorsal horn physiology and pharmacology, but rather to provide examples of the possible impact that changes in tonic modulatory systems may have upon our understanding of sensory processing in the spinal dorsal horn. As such this chapter will rely heavily upon data from our laboratory with citations of only the most poignant examples of other investigators work to support our contentions.
Dogmatism and Internet Usage by University Students: Are Dogmatics Late Adopters?

Dogmatism is one of several personality traits that has been quite useful in differentiating between consumer innovators and noninnovators. This study examined the characteristics of Internet users and nonusers, and innovators and noninnovators in regard to their scores on the dogmatism scale. Contrary to expectations, the dogmatism scores of 425 students completing questionnaires were not able to distinguish between the groups studied.
Mounting Insects from Alcohol

Mounting insects out of alcohol requires, if one is to achieve good dry mounts, some special care in treatment. Previously (Sabrosky 1957), I outlined an alcohol→absolute alcohol→xylol (xylene) method in some detail, and briefly mentioned a quicker alcohol→cellosolv→ ethyl acetate technique. Vockeroth (1966) recently modified the latter to a sequence of alcohol→ (alcohol + ethyl acetate)→ (ethyl acetate + 1% or less of ethylene glycol). The necessity of avoiding the irritating and slightly toxic vapor of ethyl acetate has caused me to experiment further, with the pleasant result of a still simpler technique that results in better specimens: Aleohol→cellosolve (or ethylene glycol monoethyl ether)→ xylene.
FingerIO: Using Active Sonar for Fine-Grained Finger Tracking

We present fingerIO, a novel fine-grained finger tracking solution for around-device interaction. FingerIO does not require instrumenting the finger with sensors and works even in the presence of occlusions between the finger and the device. We achieve this by transforming the device into an active sonar system that transmits inaudible sound signals and tracks the echoes of the finger at its microphones. To achieve sub-centimeter level tracking accuracies, we present an innovative approach that use a modulation technique commonly used in wireless communication called Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). Our evaluation shows that fingerIO can achieve 2-D finger tracking with an average accuracy of 8 mm using the in-built microphones and speaker of a Samsung Galaxy S4. It also tracks subtle finger motion around the device, even when the phone is in the pocket. Finally, we prototype a smart watch form-factor fingerIO device and show that it can extend the interaction space to a 0.5×0.25 m2 region on either side of the device and work even when it is fully occluded from the finger.
Application of lightweight aggregate and rice husk ash to incorporate phase change materials into cementitious materials

Using phase change materials (PCMs) in buildings and pavements improves their thermal performance. However, PCMs cannot be directly added to cementitious media due to the interference of PCMs with hydration reactions. This study aims to evaluate the practicability of lightweight aggregate (LWA) and rice husk ash (RHA) to be used as PCM carrier agents in Portland cement-based mortars. The results show that LWA and RHA can absorb and contain liquids in their porous structures; and since these materials are compatible with cementitious media, they can be used as PCM carriers. However, a portion of the PCM may stick to the surface of the carriers or leak out of them and subsequently affect different properties of the binder. Incorporation of LWA presoaked in PCM decreased the compressive strength of the mortar by about 10%; however, when RHA was used as the carrier, the compressive strength was reduced by more than 35%.
Pharmaceutical industry-sponsored meals and physician prescribing patterns for medicare beneficiaries

Importance The association between industry payments to physicians and prescribing rates of the brand-name medications that are being promoted is controversial. In the United States, industry payment data and Medicare prescribing records recently became publicly available. Objective To study the association between physicians’ receipt of industry-sponsored meals, which account for roughly 80% of the total number of industry payments, and rates of prescribing the promoted drug to Medicare beneficiaries. Design, Setting, and Participants Cross-sectional analysis of industry payment data from the federal Open Payments Program for August 1 through December 31, 2013, and prescribing data for individual physicians from Medicare Part D, for all of 2013. Participants were physicians who wrote Medicare prescriptions in any of 4 drug classes: statins, cardioselective β-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin-receptor blockers (ACE inhibitors and ARBs), and selective serotonin and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs and SNRIs). We identified physicians who received industry-sponsored meals promoting the most-prescribed brand-name drug in each class (rosuvastatin, nebivolol, olmesartan, and desvenlafaxine, respectively). Data analysis was performed from August 20, 2015, to December 15, 2015. Exposures Receipt of an industry-sponsored meal promoting the drug of interest. Main Outcomes and Measures Prescribing rates of promoted drugs compared with alternatives in the same class, after adjustment for physician prescribing volume, demographic characteristics, specialty, and practice setting. Results A total of 279 669 physicians received 63 524 payments associated with the 4 target drugs. Ninety-five percent of payments were meals, with a mean value of less than $20. Rosuvastatin represented 8.8% (SD, 9.9%) of statin prescriptions; nebivolol represented 3.3% (7.4%) of cardioselective β-blocker prescriptions; olmesartan represented 1.6% (3.9%) of ACE inhibitor and ARB prescriptions; and desvenlafaxine represented 0.6% (2.6%) of SSRI and SNRI prescriptions. Physicians who received a single meal promoting the drug of interest had higher rates of prescribing rosuvastatin over other statins (odds ratio [OR], 1.18; 95% CI, 1.17-1.18), nebivolol over other β-blockers (OR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.69-1.72), olmesartan over other ACE inhibitors and ARBs (OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.51-1.53), and desvenlafaxine over other SSRIs and SNRIs (OR, 2.18; 95% CI, 2.13-2.23). Receipt of additional meals and receipt of meals costing more than $20 were associated with higher relative prescribing rates. Conclusions and Relevance Receipt of industry-sponsored meals was associated with an increased rate of prescribing the brand-name medication that was being promoted. The findings represent an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship.
Leapfrogging: primordial germ cell transplantation permits recovery of CRISPR/Cas9-induced mutations in essential genes.

CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing is revolutionizing genetic loss-of-function analysis but technical limitations remain that slow progress when creating mutant lines. First, in conventional genetic breeding schemes, mosaic founder animals carrying mutant alleles are outcrossed to produce F1 heterozygotes. Phenotypic analysis occurs in the F2 generation following F1 intercrosses. Thus, mutant analyses will require multi-generational studies. Second, when targeting essential genes, efficient mutagenesis of founders is often lethal, preventing the acquisition of mature animals. Reducing mutagenesis levels may improve founder survival, but results in lower, more variable rates of germline transmission. Therefore, an efficient approach to study lethal mutations would be useful. To overcome these shortfalls, we introduce ‘leapfrogging’, a method combining efficient CRISPR mutagenesis with transplantation of mutated primordial germ cells into a wild-type host. Tested using Xenopus tropicalis, we show that founders containing transplants transmit mutant alleles with high efficiency. F1 offspring from intercrosses between F0 animals that carry embryonic lethal alleles recapitulate loss-of-function phenotypes, circumventing an entire generation of breeding. We anticipate that leapfrogging will be transferable to other species.
The German Right-Extremist Scene, 1945–1990

In order to understand German right extremism in a country that has been unified only since 1990, it is necessary to look back at its antecedents. This chapter will deal primarily with the rightist political parties and neo-Nazi and skinhead groups that made up the right-wing extremist side of the West German political landscape from 1945 to 1990. We must ask why some of the groups arose so soon after the Nazi regime collapsed in 1945 and why former Nazis in leadership positions found a political home in some of the newly established democratic parties. What led to the right-wing extremist parties’ and groups’ rapid cyclical rise and fall? Did they constitute a danger to the fledgling new democratic order? Did the democratic parties take a stand on the issues raised by the rightist parties and groups? This chapter will also deal with rightist groups in the German Democratic Republic prior to its demise in 1990. Why did the groups play a lesser role than similar ones in West Germany? Did they ever constitute a threat to the GDR regime?
Economics invents the economy: Mathematics, statistics, and models in the work of Irving Fisher and Wesley Mitchell

The “embeddedness” of economic life in social relations has become a productive analytical principle and the basis of a penetrating critique of economic orthodoxy. But this critique raises another important, social and historical question, of how the economy became “disembedded” in the first place – how the multitude of transactions designated (somewhat arbitrarily) as economic were abstracted from the rest of social life and reconstituted as an object, the economy, which behaves according to its own logic. This article investigates the social sources of some innovations in economic thought that contributed to the emergence of the economy, particularly statistical indicators and mechanical models. By examining the redefinitions of the object of economic research developed by Irving Fisher and Wesley Mitchell in the 1890s and the first decades of the twentieth century, I argue that the abstraction of the economy from the remainder of social life was a strategy linked to the position of these innovators within the field of economics, conceived as a social structure. Possessing a specialized scientific cultural capital, but lacking upper class background, contacts, and dispositions that characterized the founders of academic economics, Fisher and Mitchell elaborated new definitions of their discipline's object of study, and a new type of economic expertise.
Music intervention during daily weaning trials-A 6 day prospective randomized crossover trial.

Abstract Purpose To examine the effect of patient-selected music intervention during daily weaning trials for patients on prolonged mechanical ventilation. Methods Using a crossover repeated measures design, patients were randomized to music vs no music on the first intervention day. Provision of music was alternated for 6 days, resulting in 3 music and 3 no music days. During weaning trials on music days, data were obtained for 30min prior to music listening and continued for 60min while patients listened to selected music (total 90min). On no music days, data were collected for 90min. Outcome measures were heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), oxygen saturation (SpO 2 ), blood pressure (BP), dyspnea and anxiety assessed with a visual analog scale (VAS-D, VAS-A) and weaning duration (meanh per day on music and non-music days). Results Of 31 patients randomized, 23 completed the 6-day intervention. When comparisons were made between the 3 music and 3 no music days, there were significant decreases in RR and VAS-D and a significant increase in daily weaning duration on music days (p Conclusions Providing patient selected music during daily weaning trials is a simple, low-cost, potentially beneficial intervention for patients on prolonged mechanical ventilation. Further study is indicated to test ability of this intervention to promote weaning success and benefits earlier in the weaning process.
Differential Gene Signature and Signaling Pathways in Childhood Burkitt (BL) vs Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL).

The prognosis and treatment of both major forms of advanced childhood B-NHL (BL and DLBCL) is similar with short and intensive multi-agent chemotherapy (Cairo/Patte et al., Blood, 2007 and Patte/Cairo et al., Blood, 2007). Despite both BL and DLBCL being germinal center derived, our recent cytogenetic results of BL vs DLBCL in the FAB LMB 96 study have demonstrated significant differences in secondary chromosomal aberrations in BL vs DLBCL and a differential prognosis based on secondary cytogenetic findings (Poirel/Cairo/Patte, Blood, 2003a). Thus, we sought to identify genes that could uniquely differentiate childhood BL vs DLBCL and discover potential genetic mechanisms of differential molecular pathogenesis and to determine the signal pathways that contribute to the genetic disparity between these two histological types of childhood B-NHL. Nine BL (7 patient samples and 2 cell lines, Raji and Ramos) and 3 DLBCL (1 patient sample and 2 cell lines, Pfeiffer and DB) were compared. Total RNA was isolated, reverse transcribed to cDNA biotinylated cRNA and hybridized to Affymetrix U133A_2 as we have previously described (Jiang/Cairo et al., Journal of Immunology, 2004). Data were analyzed using Agilent GeneSpring 7.3. Signal intensities were compared using one way ANOVA and Welch Test for statistical analysis. Two-fold changes between BL and DLBCL were considered as significant (p
Quantitative Metrics for Generative Justice: Graphing the Value of Diversity

Scholarship utilizing the Generative Justice framework has focused primarily on qualitative data collection and analysis for its insights. This paper introduces a quantitative data measurement, contributory diversity , which can be used to enhance the analysis of ethical dimensions of value production under the Generative Justice lens. It is well known that the identity of contributors—gender, ethnicity, and other categories—is a key issue for social justice in general. Using the example of Open Source Software communities, we note that that typical diversity measures, focusing exclusively on workforce demographics, can fail to fully illuminate issues in value generation. Using Shannon’s entropy measure, we offer an alternative metric which combines the traditional assessment of demographics with a measure of value generation. This mapping allows for previously unacknowledged contributions to be recognized, and can avoid some of the ways in which exclusionary practices are obscured. We offer contributory diversity not as the single optimal metric, but rather as a call for others to begin investigating the possibilities for quantitative measurements of the communities and value flows that are studied using the Generative Justice framework.
Peripheral Nerve Blocks in Foot and Ankle Surgery

Postoperative pain is one of the most important factors in regard to patient outcomes. It has been linked with patient satisfaction, length of stay, and overall hospital costs. Peripheral nerve blocks have provided a safe, effective method to control early postoperative pain when symptoms are most severe. Peripheral nerve blocks, whether used intraoperatively or postoperatively, provide an alternative or adjunct to conventional pain management methods for patients who may not tolerate heavy narcotics or general anesthesia, in particular the elderly and those with cardiopulmonary disease.
An Oral Vaccine for TGEV Immunization of Pigs

Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) is a commercially important pathogen of hog farms and causes contagious, lethal diarrhea in piglets. While orally and parenterally administered vaccines made from inactivated or attenuated TGEV are commercially available, they require individual administration to piglets, which is time and labor intensive, and run the risk of reversion to pathogenicity. Also, parenteral vaccines produce neutralizing serum antibodies which may be less effective against an orally transmitted pathogen, compared to an oral vaccine that would induce the production of mucosal antibodies. There has been an effort to produce subunit vaccines in an edible form in plants for convenient administration through feed. These efforts towards the expression of the S-antigen of TGEV in maize seed, its effectiveness at inducing neutralizing antibody production in the colostrum of gilts, and its efficacy in protecting piglets against challenge by virulent TGEV are summarized here.
Capacity Fade and Its Mitigation in Li-Ion Cells with Silicon-Graphite Electrodes

Silicon-graphite (Si-Gr) electrodes typically contain lithiated carboxylates as polymer binders that are introduced through aqueous processing. Li-ion cells with such electrodes show significantly faster capacity fade than cells with graphite (Gr) electrodes. Here we examine the causes for capacity loss in Si-Gr cells containing LiPF6-based electrolytes. The presence of SiOxFy in the Si-Gr electrode, fluorophosphate species in the electrolyte, and silica on the positive electrode indicates the crucial role of the hydrolytic cycle. In particular, HF acid that is generated through LiPF6 hydrolysis corrodes Si particles. As it reacts, the released water re-enters the cycle. We trace the moisture initiating this detrimental cycle to the hydration water in the lithiated binders that cannot be fully removed by thermal treatment. The rate of HF corrosion can be reduced through the use of electrolyte additives. For the fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) additive, the improved performance arises from changes to the so...
Sex differences in obesity, lipid metabolism, and inflammation-A role for the sex chromosomes?

Abstract Background Sex differences in obesity and related diseases are well established. Gonadal hormones are a major determinant of these sex differences. However, sex differences in body size and composition are evident prior to exposure to gonadal hormones, providing evidence for gonadal-independent contributions attributable to the XX or XY sex chromosome complement. Large-scale genetic studies have revealed male/female differences in the genetic architecture of adipose tissue amount and anatomical distribution. However, these studies have typically neglected the X and Y chromosomes. Scope of the review Here we discuss how the sex chromosome complement may influence obesity, lipid levels, and inflammation. Human sex chromosome anomalies such as Klinefelter syndrome (XXY), as well as mouse models with engineered alterations in sex chromosome complement, support an important role for sex chromosomes in obesity and metabolism. In particular, the Four Core Genotypes mouse model—consisting of XX mice with either ovaries or testes, and XY mice with either ovaries or testes—has revealed an effect of X chromosome dosage on adiposity, hyperlipidemia, and inflammation irrespective of male or female gonads. Mechanisms may include enhanced expression of genes that escape X chromosome inactivation. Major conclusions Although less well studied than effects of gonadal hormones, sex chromosomes exert independent and interactive effects on adiposity, lipid metabolism, and inflammation. In particular, the presence of two X chromosomes has been associated with increased adiposity and dyslipidemia in mouse models and in XXY men. The enhanced expression of genes that escape X chromosome inactivation may contribute, but more work is required.
Long Term Function of the Peritoneal Membrane in Children Receiving CAPD/CCPD

The majority of children and many adults with chronic renal failure are maintained on chronic ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) or continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis (CCPD) which allows for flexibility with exchanges leading to improved school and work attendance, less severe dietary restriction, home care, and freedom from complex machinery (1–5). Although renal transplantation is the preferred renal replacement therapy for many children and adults with end stage renal disease, some patients with high antiHLA antibody titers or recurrent allograft failure and those who are not transplant candidates are committed to long-term dialysis. However, long term peritoneal dialysis is not possible in all patients, and some patients must convert to chronic hemodialysis due to inadequate function of the peritoneal membrane. Not long after the acceptance of peritoneal dialysis as a viable form of chronic dialysis therapy, reports of peritoneal membrane failure appeared in the literature (6–18). Some patients with ultrafiltration failure also developed abdominal pain, weight loss, intestinal obstruction, and sclerotic thickening of the peritoneal membrane (6–9). As described below, several studies demonstrate that the incidence of membrane failure increases with the duration of peritoneal dialysis and may be as high as 30–50% in patients maintained on peritoneal dialysis for more 5 to 6 years (10–12).
Responses to Deficiencies in Macronutrients

All organisms are able to acclimate to less than optimal environmental conditions. In this chapter we discuss how Chlamydomonas reinhardtii acclimates to deficiencies in macronutrients. The physiological changes that occur during macronutrient starvation can be classified as specific and common responses. Specific responses occur during limitation for a particular nutrient, while common responses occur during limitationfor any nutrient.Specific responses include changes in nutrient transport characteristics and induction of nutrient scavenging systems. General responses include decreases in cell division, photosynthesis and respiration. The decrease in photosynthesis has been shown to be essential for surviving severe sulfur-stress as a mutant unable to decrease photosynthesis cannot survive these conditions. We propose a model of how specific and general responses to nutrient limitation are regulated and discuss how mutants deficient in these responses fit in to this model.
Jackknife Bias Correction of a Clock Offset Estimator

Internet telephony and wireless geolocation prediction are two examples of many data networking applications that require synchronization among independent network clocks. An approach to estimating the offset between two clocks in the presence of variable network delays involves exchanging timing messages between the clocks. A well known clock offset estimator based on this approach can be interpreted as the maximum likelihood estimator when the underlying network delay distributions are assumed to be exponential. Several studies on network delay characteristics show that no single distribution adequately characterizes delays. Not only are delays highly dependent on the nature of traffic, but they are also time varying. Therefore, robustness with respect to the assumed underlying network delay distribution is an important property for any clock offset estimator.
A design for an automatic programming system

The algorithm design problem is concerned with the construction of an algorithm satisfying a given specification of a problem. We present an overview of a system, called NAPS, which designs Algorithms in a top-down manner. Given a formal specification of a problem NAPS produces a top level algorithm plue specifications for any necessary subalgorithms. The specifications for the subalgorithms are produced in such a way that the top level algorithm will satisfy the original specifications if and only if subalgorithms can be built which satisfy the subalgorithms specifications.
Incidence and Risk Factors of Early Postoperative Small Bowel Obstruction in Patients Undergoing Hysterectomy for Benign Indications

Background Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is a major cause of postoperative mortality and morbidity following abdominal and pelvic surgery, with 225,000−345,000 annual admissions. SBO may be classified based on onset from day of surgery. Early SBO occurs within the first 30 days following surgery, whereas late SBO occurs after the initial 30-day postoperative window. The majority of either type of bowel obstruction is believed to be secondary to intra-abdominal adhesions. Early SBO warrants special attention because of the difficulty in distinguishing between mechanical and nonmechanical obstruction during this period. Whereas conservative management often leads to resolution of nonmechanical obstruction and some partial SBO, surgical management is associated with a higher rate of complications compared to surgery for late SBO because of the presence of hypervascular adhesions in the early postoperative period. The current literature regarding SBO, and early SBO in particular, following hysterectomy is limited. Given that approximately 400,000 hysterectomies are performed annually, understanding the risk factors associated with SBO following these types of surgeries is imperative for improving patient outcomes. Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence of and risk factors for early small bowel obstruction (SBO) after hysterectomy for benign indications. Materials and Methods This was a retrospective cohort study using data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database from 2014 to 2016. Current Procedural Terminology codes were used to identify patients undergoing hysterectomy for benign indications with or without concomitant colpopexy, lysis of adhesions (LOA), adnexectomy, or appendectomy. Data on patient demographics and clinical and surgical factors were obtained. Patients were then stratified into those with and those without SBO. Pairwise comparison was performed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Fisher exact tests. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify significant independent predictors of SBO. Results Of 47,937 hysterectomies, SBO occurred in 286 patients, at a rate of 5.9 per 1000 hysterectomies. Comparing patients with and without SBO, those with an obstruction were older (49 vs 46 years, P 170 minutes (aOR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.37−2.58), uterine weight >250 g (aOR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.11−2.14), lysis of adhesions (aOR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.23−3.66), and concurrent appendectomy (aOR, 2.64; 95% CI, 1.06−6.65). Conclusion Early SBO is a rare complication of benign hysterectomy. Although route of hysterectomy was not found to be a significant risk factor for early SBO, variables typically associated with abdominal hysterectomy compared to minimally invasive hysterectomy, including higher wound class, larger uteri, and perioperative transfusion (a marker of intraoperative blood loss), were strongly correlated with subsequent development of early obstruction.
Base saturation in mixed substrate for seedlings of Eugenia uniflora and Eugenia involucrata

Given the occurrence of a vast amount of degraded areas in Brazil, recovery projects have been necessary. In order to propose a feasible project, we must be concerned about the production of seedlings, preferably native ones, using low-cost inputs. In this research, we aimed to evaluate the seedlings growth of two forest species ( Eugenia uniflora and E. involucrate ) in different base saturation of a substrate. To this, we tested different dosages of dolomitic lime applied to a substrate composed of soil and sand in a 70/30 ratio. By varying the base saturation of substrate at 40%, 45%, 50%, 55% and 60%, five treatments were tested in a completely randomized design with five repetitions of three seedlings per treatment. We verified that in a mixed substrate of soil and sand the base saturation equal to 45% was the best one to improve the height growth of E. uniflora and E. involucrata seedlings during one year of evaluation. There was no significant difference among treatments in relation to the variable collar diameter and height/collar diameter ratio for E. involucrata
Birdsong learning, avian cognition and the evolution of language

The most language-like aspect of the song of songbirds is its development: as with human speech, birdsong develops through vocal production learning, in which individuals modify the structure of their vocalizations in response to experience with the vocalizations of others. As is true of speech development, birdsong learning qualifies as a cognitive ability, as it involves the acquisition, storage and processing of information obtained from the environment. Accordingly, if cognitive abilities are in general positively associated in songbirds, as has been argued for humans and other mammals, then song learning ability should be positively associated with other cognitive abilities, and learned attributes of song should serve as an indicator of domain-general cognition. A review of studies in which songbirds have been subjected to batteries of cognitive tasks finds, however, that different cognitive measures are not consistently positively associated. Moreover, learned attributes of birdsong do not show consistent positive associations with other cognitive measures. These results argue that, rather than being a component of domain-general cognition, song learning is an autonomous cognitive module. Birdsong learning shows other characteristics of modularization in that it is domain specific, is based on a localized and highly structured neural system and exhibits a level of innate specification. Whether language learning in humans is similarly modularized has been much debated. Despite a possible difference in modularization, much can be learned about the evolution of human language learning from studying birdsong learning. Aspects of birdsong learning that are especially relevant include vocal interaction learning, pragmatics and the initial selective benefits and neural underpinnings of vocal production learning.
Saline Irrigation for Allergic Rhinitis.

asal saline irrigation reduces the severity of allergy symptoms for up to eight weeks vs. no treatment. It is uncertain if adding nasal saline to pharmacologic treatment further improves symptoms over pharmacologic treatment alone.
Interrupting cyclic dinucleotide-cGAS-STING axis with small molecules.

The cyclic dinucleotide-cGAS–STING axis plays important roles in host immunity. Activation of this signaling pathway, via cytosolic sensing of bacterial-derived c-di-GMP/c-di-AMP or host-derived cGAMP, leads to the production of inflammatory interferons and cytokines that help resolve infection. Small molecule activators of the cGAS–STING axis have the potential to augment immune response against various pathogens or cancer. The aberrant activation of this pathway, due to gain-of-function mutations in any of the proteins that are part of the signaling axis, could lead to various autoimmune diseases. Inhibiting various nodes of the cGAS–STING axis could provide relief to patients with autoimmune diseases. Many excellent reviews on the cGAS–STING axis have been published recently, and these have mainly focused on the molecular details of the cGAS–STING pathway. This review however focuses on small molecules that can be used to modulate various aspects of the cGAS–STING pathway, as well as other parallel inflammatory pathways.
Cultural Models of Substance Use Risk and Attributed Stigma: A Comparison of Young Adults in Brazil and the United States:

The stigma associated with substance use is well known, but little research has examined stigma attribution, or the tendency to stigmatize, nor is there much cross-cultural research on the topic. W...
Surveillance of hepatocellular cancer-why can't we do better?

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has become a priority because of high case fatality and increasing incidence, especially in the United States. Because the best curative therapies are liver resection and transplantation, the Holy Grail of HCC is early identification. Finding smaller tumors allows for surgical intervention with better outcome and also allows time to wait for precious donor livers. In this recent article, Kanwal and Singal summarize the current best practices for HCC surveillance. They rightfully point out that the direct evidence for benefit of HCC surveillance has included only 2 large randomized controlled trials from Chinese patients with hepatitis B and multiple retrospective studies which inferred survival benefit (1,2).
Gender and White Collar Crime – Implications for Corrections Research and Practice

ABSTRACTThe last couple of decades have seen a considerable increase in the number of studies that have examined the risk/need factors of individuals under correctional supervision and the validity...