cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Substitution Model Adequacy Using Frequentist and Bayesian Methods

In order to have confidence in model-based phylogenetic methods, such as maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian analyses, one must use an appropriate model of molecular evolution identified using statistically rigorous criteria. Although model selection methods such as the likelihood ratio test and Akaike information criterion are widely used in the phylogenetic literature, model selection methods lack the ability to reject all models if they provide an inadequate fit to the data. There are two methods, however, that assess absolute model adequacy, the frequentist Goldman‐Cox (GC) test and Bayesian posterior predictive simulations (PPSs), which are commonly used in conjunction with the multinomial log likelihood test statistic. In this study, we use empirical and simulated data to evaluate the adequacy of common substitution models using both frequentist and Bayesian methods and compare the results with those obtained with model selection methods. In addition, we investigate the relationship between model adequacy and performance in ML and Bayesian analyses in terms of topology, branch lengths, and bipartition support. We show that tests of model adequacy based on the multinomial likelihood often fail to reject simple substitution models, especially when the models incorporate among-site rate variation (ASRV), and normally fail to reject less complex models than those chosen by model selection methods. In addition, we find that PPSs often fail to reject simpler models than the GC test. Use of the simplest substitution models not rejected based on fit normally results in similar but divergent estimates of tree topology and branch lengths. In addition, use of the simplest adequate substitution models can affect estimates of bipartition support, although these differences are often small with the largest differences confined to poorly supported nodes. We also find that alternative assumptions about ASRV can affect tree topology, tree length, and bipartition support. Our results suggest that using the simplest substitution models not rejected based on fit may be a valid alternative to implementing more complex models identified by model selection methods. However, all common substitution models may fail to recover the correct topology and assign appropriate bipartition support if the true tree shape is difficult to estimate regardless of model adequacy.
Achieving vascular access success in the quality outcomes era

Abstract Background In 1997 the National Kidney Foundation put forth guidelines for hemoaccess through its Dialysis Outcomes Quality Initiative (DOQI). Some centers have been able to meet these standards; most have not. Methods A retrospective review was made of our database of more than 3,500 hemoaccess procedures from 1986 to 2003. Results Our approach, increased use of transposed fistulas and preoperative duplex mapping, has led to a fistula incidence (84%) and prevalence (54%) exceeding DOQI criteria. Meeting the DOQI guideline for thrombectomy rate (0.5 per year) is mostly achieved by increased use of fistulas. Additionally, access monitoring, as well as intraoperative angiography, angioplasty, stenting, and surgical revision, can aid in decreasing the frequency of occlusions (0.45 per year). This operative approach has led to a 98% success rate for surgical thrombectomy, exceeding the DOQI guideline of 85%. Earlier referrals from nephrologists have lowered the catheter use prevalence to 9%. Conclusions An aggressive approach to placing fistulas, maintaining the access, and receiving prompt referrals can lead to success in meeting DOQI criteria.
Quantifying the legacy of foliar winter injury on woody aboveground carbon sequestration of red spruce trees

Red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) decline has been quantitatively attributed to foliar winter injury caused by freezing damage. The results of this injury include foliar mortality, crown deterioration, and negative carbon (C) balances that can lead to tree health declines and eventual mortality. In 2003, a severe region-wide event damaged over 90% of red spruce in the northeastern United States (US). We assessed the influence of the 2003 winter injury event on long-term growth and C sequestration of red spruce trees by measuring the xylem growth (basal area increment) in forest stands in Vermont (VT), New Hampshire (NH), and Massachusetts (MA) where winter injury was quantified in 2003. Although previous work reported 2 years of significant linear relationships between winter injury and growth declines, here we show that growth declines relative to pre-injury (average for 2001 and 2002) growth persisted for an additional (third) year. Using 3 years of significantly reduced growth, we estimated that the 2003 winter injury event reduced the regional C sequestration of red spruce trees >17.78 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) by about 673,000 metric tons (t) of C (approximately 2,465,000 t of CO2) - approximately 70% larger than the previous estimate. Because winter injury in 2003 was positively and significantly related to plot elevation, we also examined relative changes in red spruce growth for three elevation groups: low (920 m). Relative growth was below pre-injury levels and significantly less for high compared to low elevation groups from 2003 to 2006, after which growth between these groups was indistinguishable through 2010. In 2007, and continuing through 2010, trees in mid-elevation plots exhibited significantly higher growth relative to pre-winter injury levels. Eight years after the winter injury event, mid-elevation plots had significantly higher net growth than high elevation plots and had rebounded from growth declines following the 2003 winter injury event. As of 2010, trees in the high elevation plots continued to show net C reductions - an enduring legacy of the 2003 winter injury event. The long-lasting reductions in growth subsequent to the 2003 winter injury event were followed by an unprecedented upsurge of growth in recent years, particularly in 2009 and 2010 at mid-elevation plots. This growth increase could reflect the dominance and established ecological niche of red spruce at these elevations, but it could also be influenced by more moderate temperature trends during fall through spring in recent years.
The cn/cn dwarf mouse. Histomorphometric, ultrastructural, and radiographic study in mutants corresponding to human acromesomelic dysplasia Maroteaux type (AMDM)

The cn/cn dwarf mouse is caused by a loss-of-function mutation in the natriuretic peptide receptor 2 (NPR-2) gene which helps positively regulate endochondral longitudinal bone growth. The gene mutation corresponds to that in the human skeletal dysplasia Acromesomelic Dysplasia Maroteaux type (AMDM). This study assesses histomorphometric, ultrastructural and radiographic correlates of the growth abnormality. Ten litters of cn/cn and cn/+littermates at ages ranging from 2.5 to 6.5 weeks were studied by skeletal radiographs, histomorphometry and physeal ultrastructure. Skeletal radiographs were done on 2 cn/cn and 2 cn/+littermates at 5 weeks of age. Humeral, femoral, and tibial lengths were measured from 34 intact bones (17 cn/cn, 17 cn/+) at 2.5 to 6.5 weeks. Growth plate histomorphometry in 50 bones (26 cn/cn and 24 cn/+) determined the hypertrophic zone/entire physeal cartilage ratios in 204 sections (87 cn/+, 117 cn/cn) at 3 time periods (2.5-3, 4–4.5, and 6–6.5 weeks). Electron microscopy assessed 6 cn/cn and 6 cn/+age and site-matched physeal cartilage. Cn/cn mice were two thirds the size of the cn/+. Cn/cn bones were normal in shape or only minimally deformed except for the radius with mid-diaphyseal bowing. Length ratios of cn/cn humeri, femurs, and tibias were a mean of 0.65 (±0.03, n = 34, 17 ratios) compared to cn/+bones. The main physeal abnormality was a markedly shortened hypertrophic zone with the ratio of hypertrophic zone to entire physis 0.17 (±0.063) in the cn/cn and 0.30 (±0.052) in the cn/+mice. Ratio assessments were similar comparing humeral, femoral, and tibial growth plates as were ratios from each of the 3 time periods. Ultrastructural assessments from the resting zone to the lower hypertrophic zone-metaphyseal junction showed no specific individual cell abnormalities in cn/cn compared to cn/+physes. The disorder causes a shortened physeal hypertrophic zone but normal ultrastructure of cn/cn chondrocytes points to abnormality primarily affecting the hypertrophic zone rather than a structural cell or matrix synthesis problem.
Adaptive solution strategy for solving large systems of p‐type finite element equations

A solution strategy is proposed and implemented for taking advantage of the hierarchical structure of linear equation sets arising from the p-type finite element method using a hierarchical basis function set. The algorithm dynamically branches to either direct or iterative solution methods. In. the iterative solution branch, the substructure of the finite element equation set is used to generate a lower order preconditioner for a preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) method. The convergence rate of the PCG algorithm is monitored to improve the heuristics used in the choice of the preconditioner. The robustness and efficiency of the method are demonstrated on a variety of three dimensional examples utilizing both hexahedral and tetrahedral mesh discretizations. This strategy has been implemented in a p-version finite element code which has been used in an industrial environment for over two years to solve mechanical design problems.
“A moving target”: a critical race analysis of Latina/o faculty experiences, perspectives, and reflections on the tenure and promotion process

This article examines how Latina/o professors perceive, experience, and reflect on the tenure and promotion process. Findings for this longitudinal study are drawn from a purposive sample of nine female and seven male, Latina/o tenure-track faculty participants. Using a Critical Race Theory, Latino Critical (LatCrit) Race Theory, and Chicana Feminist framework, this article documents fundamental inequities in the tenure and promotion policies and practices that affected the Latina/o faculty in this study. Using narrative data, educational biographies, in-depth semi-structured interviews, and unstructured ethnographic interviews, this study found four common themes: (1) tenure and promotion processes functioned as a “tool of fear,” (2) the tenure and promotion process was like a “moving target,” (3) tenure provided limited forms of respect but not full membership, and (4) Latina/o supervivencia enabled the professors to thrive despite unsupportive and sometimes hostile campus and departmental climates.
Block-Level Relaxation for Timing-Robust Asynchronous Circuits Based on Eager Evaluation

As variability and timing closure become critical challenges in synchronous CAD flows, one attractive alternative is to use robust asynchronous circuits which gracefully accommodate timing discrepancies. In this approach, each gate in an initial Boolean netlist is typically replaced by a robust dual-rail asynchronous template. However, these circuits typically have significant area and latency overhead. A gate-level relaxation approach has recently been proposed: replacing selected simple gates by asynchronous templates performing eager evaluation, without affecting the circuit's overall timing robustness. In this paper, the approach has been significantly extended to block-level relaxation: handling arbitrarily complex multi-output blocks. For these circuits, a much wider range of optimizations is applicable than in the gate-level approach. A block-level relaxation algorithm is implemented, and experiments performed on several high-speed arithmetic circuits (Brent-Kung and Kogge-Stone adders, combinational multipliers). On average, 38.4\% of the blocks could be relaxed (48.4\% best-case),with area improvement of 27.2% (49.7% best-case)and delay improvement of 13.1% (25.5% best-case) for the critical path,while still preserving the circuit's overall timing robustness.
Community Violence and Youth: Affect, Behavior, Substance Use, and Academics

Community violence is recognized as a major public health problem (WHO, World Report on Violence and Health,2002) that Americans increasingly understand has adverse implications beyond inner-cities. However, the majority of research on chronic community violence exposure focuses on ethnic minority, impoverished, and/or crime-ridden communities while treatment and prevention focuses on the perpetrators of the violence, not on the youth who are its direct or indirect victims. School-based treatment and preventive interventions are needed for children at elevated risk for exposure to community violence. In preparation, a longitudinal, community epidemiological study, The Multiple Opportunities to Reach Excellence (MORE) Project, is being fielded to address some of the methodological weaknesses presented in previous studies. This study was designed to better understand the impact of children’s chronic exposure to community violence on their emotional, behavioral, substance use, and academic functioning with an overarching goal to identify malleable risk and protective factors which can be targeted in preventive and intervention programs. This paper describes the MORE Project, its conceptual underpinnings, goals, and methodology, as well as implications for treatment and preventive interventions and future research.
Distribution of Uranium-Bearing Phases in Soils From Fernald

Electron beam techniques have been used to characterize uranium-contaminated soils and the Fernald Site, Ohio. Uranium particulates have been deposited on the soil through chemical spills and from the operation of an incinerator plant on the site. The major uranium phases have been identified by electron microscopy as uraninite, autunite, and uranium phosphite [U(PO{sub 3}){sub 4}]. Some of the uranium has undergone weathering resulting in the redistribution of uranium within the soil.
A review of plastics recycling in the USA with policy recommendations

Plastics are the fastest-growing component of municipal solid waste in the USA, and over the past decade there has been increasing public demand for plastics recycling. However, the necessity to separate the various plastic resins to make their recycling possible, combined with the low cost of virgin resins, make this technically difficult and expensive.Most sorting of plastic waste is done manually, and this method has been constrained to the diversion of only one or two types of plastics, because human sorters are incapable of distinguishing different plastics. A number of technologies are being developed in order to address this problem. Use of these technologies requires considerable capital investment and this makes many of them economically unfeasible at present. The federal, state, and local governments in the USA have continued to explore demand-side policy measures in an effort to promote market formation and operation. Where they have been successful, in the establishment of markets for recycled polyethylene terepthalate (PET), and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) resins, demand has outpaced supply, highlighting the need to find more effective methods to sort and divert different plastic resins. Even with these supply shortages, and with prices for virgin PET and HDPE at historic highs, however, most plastics recycling remains only marginally profitable. This demonstrates the need for continued policy support for the still-developing plastics recycling industry and recycled-plastics market.An analysis of the factors driving the recycling of PET, HDPE and polypropylene indicates that, as long as manual sorting is used, it would make sense for supply- and demand-side policies to focus on the recycling of particular plastic products that are easy to recognize, rather than resins that are not. Appropriate policies can help make specific products easily recognizable sources of specific resins. Such policies, implemented in conjunction with measures designed to facilitate capital investments and promote the establishment and operation of markets for all resins, are necessary to increase significantly the recycling of plastic waste above present levels.
Albumin preparations and placental alkaline phosphatase activity.

A 68-year-old male with nephrotic syndrome due to diabetic glomerulosclerosis was found to have high serum alkaline phosphatase after albumin infusions. By examining several albumin preparations, certain products were found to contain as high as 200 Sigma units of alkaline phosphatase per ml. By disc electrophoresis and heat treatment (56 C for 30 min), all of the alkaline phosphatases in the albumin preparations were found to be heat stable and of placental origin. Since a high alkaline phosphatase activity in serum may mislead diagnosis, it is quite important to know whether the high level of the enzyme in patient's specimens is of exogenous or endogenous origin. It is recommended that sera obtained from patients who have been treated with albumin should be heat tested before determination of alkaline phosphatase. Most of the alkaline phosphatase activity of liver, intestine, and bone origins is inactivated by heat, whereas that of placental origin is not inactivated.
Maintenance of CD8 effector T cells by CD4 helper T cells eradicates growing tumors and promotes long-term tumor immunity.

Human papillomavirus, particularly type 16 (HPV-16), is present in more than 99% of cervical cancers, and oncogenic HPV infection is one of the most important etiologies. It is now clear that CD4 + T cells play an important role in controlling HPV-associated lesions because immunocompromised patients have a higher frequency of HPV-associated lesions. In the current study, we characterized the significance of CD4 + T cells in the generation of E7-specific CD8 + T cell immune responses in mice vaccinated with SINrep5-E7/HSP70 and boosted with vac-E7/HSP70. In addition, we characterized the contribution of CD4 + T cells to the long-term antitumor effects. We found that vaccination with CD4 depletion significantly reduced the number of E7-specific CD8 + T cells in mice. Furthermore, CD4 + T cells are important for the long-term anti-tumor effects generated by vaccination with SINrep5-E7/HSP70 and booster with vac-E7/HSP70. Thus, CD4 T cells clearly have an important role in successful tumor immunity and maintenance of long-term tumor antigen-specific memory responses in vaccinated mice with established tumors. © 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Detection of factor V leiden and prothrombin gene mutations in patients who died with thrombotic events.

Abstract Context.—Individuals with factor V or prothrombin gene mutations are at increased risk for thrombotic events. Furthermore, the risk of recurrent deep venous thrombosis in heterozygous carriers of both factor V Leiden and prothrombin gene mutations is high enough that some investigators suggest lifelong warfarin prophylaxis for these individuals, even with a single spontaneous thrombotic event. Objectives.—To assess the incidence of factor V Leiden and prothrombin gene mutations in an autopsy population and to determine if these tests can prove useful in identification of at-risk family members. Design.—We analyzed factor V Leiden and prothrombin gene mutations in 45 patients who died with or of thrombotic events, using archival tissue and multiplex allele-specific polymerase chain reaction amplification. The wild-type factor V gene was amplified in all 45 patients, whereas the wild-type prothrombin gene was amplified in 29 patients. Results.—Two patients (4.4%) who died with thrombotic events at ...
Improving NCLEX First-Time Pass Rates: A Comprehensive Program Approach

For nursing schools to retain accreditation, their students must achieve a benchmark first-time pass rate on the NCLEX-RN® and NCLEX-PN® examinations. Because the NCLEX test is updated periodically, based on a practice analysis conducted every 3 years, and due to increasing required benchmark pass rates, nurse educators are challenged to meet these standards. One evidence-based method, a continuous improvement plan, can help education programs achieve success. This approach provides a way to assess and improve a program from the admission period through program progression to graduation. This article describes such a program and its benefits.
The Role of the Library in the Southeast in Peace and War

to appoint State interracial commissions, which might function within the States. In view of the attitude which certain southern governors have recently shown toward racial issues, it seems clear that any State action which some of the States would undertake could not possibly be satisfactory and would likely suffer political infanticide, and that it is perhaps better that a private agency take the lead in the organization of such groups. Still a Need for Private Initiative. The consensus seems to be that there does not exist in the Federal and State governments a program of racial welfare and interracial cooperation adequate to cope with the racial issues and problems of this country, and that the work which government performs in this field does not constitute an adequate substitute for what the Commission has been doing in the past or may do in the near future. In spite of all that the governmental units are likely to accomplish, there will still be a job for private agencies to do.
Cryo-Transmission Electron Microscopy Imaging of the Morphology of Submicrometer Aerosol Containing Organic Acids and Ammonium Sulfate

The effects of aerosol particles on heterogeneous atmospheric chemistry and climate are determined in part by the internal arrangement of compounds within the particles. To characterize the morphology of internally mixed aerosol particles in the accumulation mode size regime, we have used cryo-transmission electron microscopy to investigate the phase separation behavior of dry, submicrometer particles composed of ammonium sulfate mixed with carboxylic acids (adipic, azelaic, citric, glutaric, malonic, pimelic, suberic, and succinic acid). Determining the morphology of dry particles is important for understanding laboratory studies of aerosol optical properties, reactivity, and cloud condensation nucleus activity, results from field instruments where aerosol particles are dried prior to analysis, and atmospheric processes like deposition mode heterogeneous ice nucleation that occur on dried particles. We observe homogeneous morphologies for highly soluble organic compounds. For organic compounds with limit...
Use of Mild Plethora to Demonstrate an Erythropoietic Effect from Small Amounts of Androgens

SummaryTwo daily injections of as little as 0.1 mg testosterone are capable of stimulating erythropoiesis in mildly plethoric mice. Twenty-five hundredths of a milligram of testosterone is sufficient to elevate the erythropoietin titers of hypoxic mice.
Randomized Trial of Lower Extremity Splinting to Manage Neuropathic Pain and Sleep Disturbances in People Living with HIV/AIDS.

Background/Aims:Distal symmetrical peripheral neuropathy (DSPN) and sleep disturbances are among the most common complications reported in people living with the human immunodeficiency virus infect...
Comparative Effectiveness of Second Vasoactive Agents in Septic Shock Refractory to Norepinephrine

Objective:We aim to identify the appropriate vasoactive agent in patients with septic shock who are refractory to optimal doses of norepinephrine.Methods:In this retrospective observational cohort ...
Preparation of Microencapsulated phase change materials and its application in IR stealth paint

To effectively improve the performance of IR stealth paint,encapsulating phase change materials with microcapsules technology were made into infrared stealth paint that was applied to military goals.The hot inertia and temperature of goal surface could be controlled,and the infrared radiation difference between the goal and the background could be eliminated or reduced by which the infrared feature of the background could be imitated.On the basis of target surface temperature and the conditions of phase change materials according to special requirements.Three materials with different phase change temperatures were prepared,with polyamide as the wall material and n-hexadecane, n-octadecane and paraffin as the core materials.Its performances met anticipative requirements by testing.After equably mixing microencapsulated phase change materials with IR stealth paint,truck model was painted.The test result indicates that it markedly increases IR stealth performance of the target under the thermal background of hungriness and hill.
IEC 61970 Standards to Data Interactive Platform in Smart Hydropower Plant

In order to meet the needs of the huge amount of information and data exchange in automation system of intelligent hydropower plant,the solution of data interactive platform based on IEC 61970 standard is put forward.The CIM model of intelligent hydropower plant is established by reference to CIM and then the part of CIS interface is improved according to business requirement.Finally,the communication between data interactive platform and external systems is described.
Accurate interconnect modeling for efficient transient simulation in vlsi chip design

Aggressive VLSI feature size shrinking makes integrated circuits and systems both larger and faster. CMOS integrated circuits are now operating at well more than 3 GHz of clock; nevertheless, it is projected that the VLSI chip speed will enhance in a decade by a factor of four. As the interconnect scaling poses a serious challenge to signal integrity and circuit speed, these interconnects must be represented as distributed RLC transmission lines. The huge number of interconnects within the chip makes the traditional simulators prohibitively slow. Therefore, among other techniques to speed up the simulation, efficient interconnect modeling algorithms are needed to obtain accurate models for efficient circuit simulation in VLSI chip design. Since the Differential Quadrature (DQ) method was invented for solving partial differential equations (PDE's) in 1972, it has been recognized by mathematicians as a computationally efficient approximation technique. The DQ method can accurately compute nonlinear PDE's with ten times less grid points than required by the finite difference (FD) methods. In this research, this key feature of the DQ method is exploited to build faster mathematical modeling tools for solving inter-connect modeling problems in high-speed VLSI chip design and simulation. Passivity preservation is an important criterion for interconnect modeling. Although original DQ methods demonstrate high efficiency, their passivities are not guaranteed. We have adapted DQ methods to interconnect modeling to ensure its passivity. Using the equivalent circuit based on the DQ method to represent interconnects, a speedup of up to six times over HSPICE is demonstrated in the numerical experiments of transient simulation. The Finite Difference Quadrature FDQ method is proposed for transmission line modeling. The FDQ method adapts coarse grid points along the transmission line to compute the finite difference between adjacent grid points by using a global approximation scheme in the form of a weighted sum of quantities beyond the local grid points. Unlike the Gaussian Quadrature method that computes numerical integrals by using global approximation framework, the FDQ method uses global, quadrature method to construct the approximation schemes to compute, however, numerical finite differences. The FDQ method has superior numerical dispersion to the FD method and needs much sparser grid points to achieve comparable accuracy. Numerical results show that FDQ method is an effective way to accurately model transmission lines for fast circuit simulation.
Comparison of radiographic parameters for analysis of normal and dysplastic hips in the adult.

Radiographic quantitation of the dysplastic hip in adults is difficult. This study compares the values for commonly used indices, the acetabular angle (AA), the center edge angle (CEA), and femoral head coverage, and the X-Y coordinate system on the anteroposterior pelvic radiograph in 30 adult patients with 60 normal hips, and 20 adult patients with 27 dysplastic hips. Dysplastic hips demonstrated significantly higher values for the AA and the X-Y coordinates, and significantly lower values for the CEA and femoral head coverage compared to normal hips. Femoral head coverage in dysplastic hips correlated best (negatively) with the Y coordinate, i.e., poorer coverage was associated with greater superior migration of the femoral head. The AA describes the slope of the acetabular roof, but does not take into account the relative position of the femoral head. The CEA measures the position of the femoral head in relation to the lateral lip of the acetabulum, but does not necessarily use the true acetabulum. The X-Y coordinate system relates the center of the femoral head to an identifiable acetabular landmark, the teardrop shadow. These coordinates are easily determined and can serve as an adjunct to other radiographic indices that quantitate the amount of subluxation in dysplastic hips in adults.
Advanced electrochemical performance of hybrid nanocomposites based on LiFePO4 and lithium salt doped polyaniline

LiFePO4 (LFP) is one of the commercially usable cathode materials for lithium batteries. To overcome its main drawback—low conductivity—LFP particles are usually covered by carbon shell. But this approach lowers the capacity of the whole cathode due to electrochemical inactivity of the carbon shell at the required potentials. In the present work, we propose a novel approach which is based on mechanochemical insertion of LFP particles inside polyaniline doped with lithium salt. It is established that during charge–discharge of these nanocomposites, both LFP and polyaniline are redox active. It is shown that the prepared nanocomposites exhibit improved electrochemical performance as a cathode in lithium batteries compared with the individual LFP. It is shown that the presence of the polyaniline in the nanocomposite could facilitate the transport of lithium ions inside (outside) the inorganic component during discharge (charge).
Traffic fatalities of drivers who visit urban and rural areas: an exploratory study

Traffic fatalities are considerably higher on rural roads than in cities. However, little research has considered where crash victims reside relative to the location of the crash. This study examined the fatalities of drivers who were visiting from different urban and rural areas, compared to local residents. There was an overall greater risk on rural roads, and this risk was even higher for city residents visiting these roads, one of the few instances that document a greater risk to drivers from urban (versus rural) areas. When looking at crashes occurring in cities, visiting rural residents had a higher fatality risk than city residents. Overall, these disparities could not be explained by motorists journeying any place far from their home—it was travel between urban and rural areas that accounted for the elevated mortality. The results show that the excessive fatalities in rural areas are not just a rural health problem—visitors from cities are in at least as much danger when driving on these roads. Understanding the excess fatalities of visitors has implications for how, and toward whom, driving safety messages might target.
Pathways to Desistance Among Men Convicted of Sexual Offenses: Linking Post Hoc Accounts of Offending Behavior and Outcomes

Within many sexual offender-specific treatment programs, clients and their therapists devote considerable time to understanding "cycles" or "pathways" to sexual offending, and clients often need to fit their stories into existing offending paradigms. Although this post hoc processing of offending behaviors may assist clients in understanding their individual pathway toward crime, we know little about how they situate this information within their lives moving forward. Relying on in-depth interview data, the current study examined accounts of the sexually related crimes that brought 28 men to prison. Analyses suggest varied perspectives among the men regarding pathways to and from their sexual offenses; some aligning with existing models, but others merging around different theoretical frameworks. Implications are discussed as they relate to treatment models and the desistance process for men convicted of sexual offenses.
Atmospheric science: Energy and precipitation

The latitude of the tropical rainbelt is constrained by the energy balance between hemispheres. An expansion of this theory that includes longitudinal variations of atmospheric heating can predict regional changes in tropical precipitation.
First-principles Studies of the Electronic and Thermoelectric Properties of Misfit Layered Phases of Calcium Cobaltite

The electronic and thermoelectric properties of two phases of calcium cobaltite, a misfit layered compound, are investigated and compared using first-principles DFT calculations. The two phases considered here include the conventional bulk phase that consists of alternating layers of Ca2CoO3 and CoO2, and a new phase that consists of alternating layers of CaCoO2 and CoO2, which was recently discovered in nanotubes. Electronic structure calculations reveal that both phases are ferrimagnetic materials with one important difference: the bulk phase is metallic, whereas the nanotubular phase is semiconducting. The metal-to-semiconductor transition that accompanies the Ca2CoO3 to CaCoO2 structural transition is shown to arise from the depletion of free carriers from the donor Ca atoms. The implications of the difference in electronic structure for the thermoelectric performance of these two phases are further examined with Boltzmann transport calculations. Relative to the metallic phase, the semiconducting phase displays appreciably higher Seebeck coefficients at minimal doping levels; these increased Seebeck coefficients compensate for the reduced conductivity and result in large power factors. In conjunction with the fact that the semiconducting phase is peculiar to 1D nanotubes, it is expected that additional effects from quantum confinement could render these low-dimensional materials as promising thermoelectric materials.
Budget-optimal crowdsourcing using low-rank matrix approximations

Crowdsourcing systems, in which numerous tasks are electronically distributed to numerous “information pieceworkers”, have emerged as an effective paradigm for human-powered solving of large scale problems in domains such as image classification, data entry, optical character recognition, recommendation, and proofreading. Because these low-paid workers can be unreliable, nearly all crowdsourcers must devise schemes to increase confidence in their answers, typically by assigning each task multiple times and combining the answers in some way such as majority voting. In this paper, we consider a model of such crowdsourcing tasks and pose the problem of minimizing the total price (i.e., number of task assignments) that must be paid to achieve a target overall reliability. We give a new algorithm for deciding which tasks to assign to which workers and for inferring correct answers from the workers' answers. We show that our algorithm, based on low-rank matrix approximation, significantly outperforms majority voting and, in fact, is order-optimal through comparison to an oracle that knows the reliability of every worker.
Provider and Patient Determinants of Generic Levothyroxine Prescribing: An Electronic Health Records-Based Study.

Background: Despite the availability of generic levothyroxine products for more than a decade, uptake of these products is poor. Objective: We sought to evaluate determinants of generic prescribing of levothyroxine. Methods: In a cross-sectional analysis of electronic health records data between 2010 and 2013, we identified adult patients with a levothyroxine prescription from a primary-care physician (PCP) or endocrinologist. We used mixed-effect logistic regression models with random intercepts for prescribing provider to examine predictors of generic levothyroxine prescribing. Models include patient, prescription, and provider fixed-effect covariates. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs were generated. Between-provider random variation was quantified by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: Study patients (n = 63 838) were clustered among 941 prescribing providers within 25 ambulatory care clinics. The overall prevalence of generic prescribing of levothyroxine was 73%. In the multivariable m...
Abstract P069: Interplay Between the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System and Autophagy in the Heart

The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and autophagy are responsible for the degradation of most cellular proteins. Dysfunctions in the UPS and autophagy are both implicated in cardiac pathogenesis. The UPS and autophagy, thought to be two parallel pathways, seem to interact. Pharmacologically induced proteasome inhibition (PSMI) was shown to increase autophagosomes in cultured cardiomyocytes (CMs) but this observation remains to be demonstrated in intact animals and it is unclear whether the increased autophagosomes are caused by an increased autophagic flux. A recent report shows that chronic autophagic inhibition (AI) impairs the degradation of proteasomal substrates in a p62-dependent manner in cultured cells but this has not been tested in intact animals or CMs. Here we sought to address these important issues. Using the GFP-LC3 reporter, we demonstrate in both cell cultures and intact mice that PSMI upregulates p62 and increases autophagic flux in CMs. This is consistent with the increased autophagic flux in proteinopathic mouse hearts in which proteasome function is inadequate. We then tested the effect of AI on the degradation of a surrogate proteasome substrate (GFPu) in cultured CMs. GFPu was expressed in cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) via adenoviral delivery. Compared with the vehicle treatment, a 24-hr treatment but not 6-hr treatment of autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) or lysosome inhibitor bafilomycin A1 (BFA) significantly increased GFPu and p62 proteins in cultured NRVMs. Next, we tested the effect of AI on UPS-mediated protein degradation in intact mice. Transgenic mice overexpressing GFPdgn, a previously validated surrogate proteasome substrate, were treated with BFA (1.6 mg/kg/12hr, i. p. ). BFA induced lysosome inhibition was verified by a significant increase in LC3-II and p62. Myocardial GFPdgn protein levels were significantly increased 24hrs but not 3hrs after the first BFA injection. The protein level of representative proteasome subunits was not affected by AI. Our data demonstrate that PSMI activates autophagy while chronic AI impairs the degradation of proteasome substrates in the heart. It will be interesting and important to test the role of p62 in the interplay.
Poly(methyl 6-acryloyl-β-d-glucosaminoside) as a Cationic Glycomimetic of Chitosan

Chitosan, a cationic polysaccharide derived from one of the most abundant natural polymers, chitin, has been investigated extensively for its antimicrobial properties. However, it suffers from the inherent drawbacks of natural products such as batch-to-batch variability, limited supply, contamination, and potential adverse reaction. Additionally, its solubility depends on the degree of deacetylation and pH, as it is only soluble under acidic conditions. As an alternative to chitosan, we synthesized the protected cationic glycomimetic monomer methyl N-Fmoc-6-acryloyl-β-d-glucosaminoside from glucosamine. This monomer retains structural features critical to recapitulating the properties of the chitosan repeat unit, namely, the pKa of the protonated amine. We optimized the free radical polymerization of methyl N-Fmoc-6-acryloyl-β-d-glucosaminoside and fractionated the resultant poly(methyl N-Fmoc-6-acryloyl-β-d-glucosaminoside) to obtain a range of molecular weights. Following Fmoc deprotection, the cationic...
Observations and simulations of the seasonal evolution of snowpack cold content and its relation to snowmelt and the snowpack energy budget

Abstract. Cold content is a measure of a snowpack's energy deficit and is a linear function of snowpack mass and temperature. Positive energy fluxes into a snowpack must first satisfy the remaining energy deficit before snowmelt runoff begins, making cold content a key component of the snowpack energy budget. Nevertheless, uncertainty surrounds cold content development and its relationship to snowmelt, likely because of a lack of direct observations. This work clarifies the controls exerted by air temperature, precipitation, and negative energy fluxes on cold content development and quantifies the relationship between cold content and snowmelt timing and rate at daily to seasonal timescales. The analysis presented herein leverages a unique long-term snow pit record along with validated output from the SNOWPACK model forced with 23 water years (1991–2013) of quality controlled, infilled hourly meteorological data from an alpine and subalpine site in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The results indicated that precipitation exerted the primary control on cold content development at our two sites with snowfall responsible for 84.4 and 73.0 % of simulated daily gains in the alpine and subalpine, respectively. A negative surface energy balance – primarily driven by sublimation and longwave radiation emission from the snowpack – during days without snowfall provided a secondary pathway for cold content development, and was responsible for the remaining 15.6 and 27.0 % of cold content additions. Non-zero cold content values were associated with reduced snowmelt rates and delayed snowmelt onset at daily to sub-seasonal timescales, while peak cold content magnitude had no significant relationship to seasonal snowmelt timing. These results suggest that the information provided by cold content observations and/or simulations is most relevant to snowmelt processes at shorter timescales, and may help water resource managers to better predict melt onset and rate.
Evaluating GPS biologging technology for studying spatial ecology of large constricting snakes

GPS telemetry has revolutionized the study of animal spatial ecology in the last two decades. Until recently, it has mainly been deployed on large mammals and birds, but the technology is rapidly becoming miniaturized, and applications in diverse taxa are becoming possible. Large constricting snakes are top predators in their ecosystems, and accordingly they are often a management priority, whether their populations are threatened or invasive. Fine-scale GPS tracking datasets could greatly improve our ability to understand and manage these snakes, but the ability of this new technology to deliver high-quality data in this system is unproven. In order to evaluate GPS technology in large constrictors, we GPS-tagged 13 Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) in Everglades National Park and deployed an additional 7 GPS tags on stationary platforms to evaluate habitat-driven biases in GPS locations. Both python and test platform GPS tags were programmed to attempt a GPS fix every 90 min. While overall fix rates for the tagged pythons were low (18.1%), we were still able to obtain an average of 14.5 locations/animal/week, a large improvement over once-weekly VHF tracking. We found overall accuracy and precision to be very good (mean accuracy = 7.3 m, mean precision = 12.9 m), but a very few imprecise locations were still recorded (0.2% of locations with precision > 1.0 km). We found that dense vegetation did decrease fix rate, but we concluded that the low observed fix rate was also due to python microhabitat selection underground or underwater. Half of our recovered pythons were either missing their tag or the tag had malfunctioned, resulting in no data being recovered. GPS biologging technology is a promising tool for obtaining frequent, accurate, and precise locations of large constricting snakes. We recommend future studies couple GPS telemetry with frequent VHF locations in order to reduce bias and limit the impact of catastrophic failures on data collection, and we recommend improvements to GPS tag design to lessen the frequency of these failures.
Changes in School Engagement as a Function of No Child Left Behind: A Comparative Interrupted Time Series Analysis:

After the adoption of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), a host of anecdotal evidence suggested that NCLB diminished students’ school engagement—a multidimensional construct that describes students’ acti...
PATIENT-PROVIDER RACIAL CONCORDANCE AND PATIENT REPORTED HEALTHCARE EXPERIENCE, AMONG ADULTS WITH ATHEROSCLEROTIC CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: INSIGHTS FROM MEDICAL EXPENDITURE PANEL SURVEY, 2010-2013

To date, evidence whether patient-physician racial concordance (PPRC) is associated with lower healthcare disparities is conflicting and the effect of PPRC on patient satisfaction has been largely inconclusive. We therefore explore the relationship between PPRC and patient reported healthcare
Connecting levels of activity with classroom network technology

Classroom activity traditionally takes one of three forms, variously oriented toward the levels of individual students, small groups, or the whole class. CSCL systems, however, may enable novel ways to facilitate instruction within or sequence activity across these different levels. Drawing on theoretical accounts of learning at and across different scales of social interaction, this paper examines episodes of classroom activity featuring two learning environment designs that leverage networked digital devices to support face-to-face collaboration. Analysis of these episodes focused on two questions: When did activity shift between small and whole-group levels, and what mechanisms enabled or supported those shifts? Findings suggest that classroom activity in these environments was sometimes characterized by frequent, rapid shifts between levels, as well as instances that suggested hybrid forms of small-group and whole-class interaction. These shifts between and overlaps across levels were enabled and sustained through mechanisms including teacher orchestration, mediating roles played by virtual mathematical objects, learners’ appropriation of shared artifacts and resources, and emergent properties of these complex interactions among classroom participants.
Resistance to Thyroid Hormone (RTH) and Resistance to TSH (RTSH)

Resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH) is a syndrome characterized by variable tissue hyporesponsiveness to thyroid hormone (TH). Mutations in both TH receptors (THRA and THRB) isoforms have been identified and manifest different phenotypes of RTH, RTH-alpha, and RTH-beta. Patients with the RTH-beta phenotype seek medical attention for goiter, abnormal thyroid function tests (TFTs), or through neonatal screening programs. Biochemically, RTH-beta is characterized by elevated TH values in the setting of non-suppressed thyrotropin (TSH) levels. Resistance at the level of the hypothalamus and pituitary leads to elevated TSH, which stimulates the thyroid gland to increase production of TH; however, reduced action elsewhere results in compensated TH hyporesponsiveness to a lesser or greater degree depending on the predominant TH receptor (TR) isoform in the tissue, alpha (α) or beta (β). THRA gene mutations have remained elusive until recently. The first case of RTH-α was identified through whole genome sequencing. Because TRα is not involved in the feedback regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, the TFTs are different from patients with RTH-β, namely, low or normal T4, high normal T3, and normal or slightly elevated TSH. These mild thyroid abnormalities lead patients to present themselves in non-endocrinological clinical departments.