cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Learning-Disabled Readers' Working Memory as a Function of Processing Demands.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate whether limitations in the enhancement of learning-disabled readers' working memory performance are attributable to process or storage functions. For Experiment 1, performance of reading-disabled, chronological age-matched, and reading level-matched children was compared on verbal and visual–spatial working memory measures under initial (no probes or cues), gain (cues that bring performance to an asymptotic level), and maintenance conditions (asymptotic conditions without cues). The results indicated that (a) learning-disabled readers' working memory performance was comparable on visual–spatial measures, but inferior to CA-matched children on verbal working memory measures; (b) learning-disabled readers' performance was superior to reading-matched counterparts across working memory conditions; and (c) performance differences remained between learning-disabled and CA-matched children on gain and maintenance conditions, even when initial and processing efficiency (probe) scores were partialed out in the analyses. Experiment 2 included the same conditions as Experiment 1, except that verbal short-term memory scores were also partialed out in the analysis. The results indicated that learning-disabled readers are inferior on both verbal and visual–spatial working memory measures when compared to CA-matched children on high demand conditions (maintenance). Two findings that emerged across experiments were (a) intercorrelations among diverse WM measures increased on demanding conditions and (b) verbal WM was not directly related to reading skill. In sum, the results support the notion that learning-disabled readers' poor working memory performance on demanding conditions reflect constraints in a central executive storage system.
The educational mission in forensic publishing.

Organizing frameworks that affect medical education include requirements for residency education set out by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), board certification requirements of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN), and requirements of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) for awarding continuing medical education (CME) credits. Physicians rely on a variety of sources to meet these requirements, including medical journals. It is unclear, however, whether journals actually assist physicians in meeting these educational requirements. In this review of articles, we make the first known attempt at a systematic comparison of an academic journal’s content areas to national standardized educational indices for physicians. Findings from the 2008 to 2012 content of The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law demonstrated that The Journal’s articles cover the gamut of board certification examination topics, although content areas are not weighted in parallel with the examination. Some overlap and differences were seen when comparing journal content with ACGME topic areas. The Journal appears to meet identified gaps in knowledge that CME can address. The importance of balancing readers’ educational needs with the ability to provide a resource for unique topics is discussed, along with other implications of these findings.
Murder, mystery, game: a novel approach to science writing

Student creation of an interactive, science murder mystery game can result in accurate and coherent writing that describes scientific facts and principles. The activity capitalizes on various forms of learner motivation and on the benefits of interactive multimedia games. In addition, it requires students to think out a scenario and many permutations, provides exercises in logic and linking, demands the analysis of motives, and necessitates the construction of a narrative. That narrative stimulates students' powers of invention regarding causes, effects, conclusions, and solutions. The game assignment offers students the opportunity to use presentation software and to assemble a lively, colorful project.
The Positivism-Humanism Debate in Sociology: A Reconsideration*

This paper examines the claim that positivism and humanism are mutually exclusive alternatives to the study and amelioration of human society. In the first part of the paper, eight theses normally associated with twentieth-century positivism are documented and explicated at length, ranging from the verification doctrine and the unified-language thesis to an emphasis on the nomological-deductive model of explanation and the fact-value distinction. In the second part the claims associated with a humanistic sociology are then examined, particularly those concerning scientism, the value-laden character of all scientific inquiry, and the relation between science and human emancipation. In the third part of the paper a distinction is between those claims which were definitive of positivism and those which were either peripheral or later amended by the leading positivists. It is then argued that a number of the criticisms leveled against positivism such as the latter's supposed affirmation of strict determinism, of scientism, and that normative considerations, being nondescriptive in character, are of little consequence, are entirely unfounded criticisms. Such claims were never an explicit part of the positivist program. On the contrary, it is argued that both contemporary positivism and humanism are motivated by parallel ideals of enlightenment-through-science, by a concern with reliable social knowledge as the basis for rational public policies, and—to quote Hempel—with “the broadening of our (moral) horizons.”
SmartLDWS: A robust and scalable lane departure warning system for the smartphones

Lane Departure Warning Systems (LDWS) have recently become an integral part of many advance vision-based drive assistance systems. However, high cost and the requirement of professional installation have limited such systems to mostly commercial or luxury vehicles. To help bring the technology to the mainstream market, we have leveraged the popularity of smartphones and built SmartLDWS, the first LDWS that runs on these devices. SmartLDWS employs a novel lane detection algorithm that is both robust and scalable to overcome poor camera quality and limited processing power faced by most smartphones. Experimental results show that the system performs reliably with extremely low false-positive under different weather and lighting conditions, detecting various types of lane markings at over 30fps.
Automated Feature Learning: Mining Unstructured Data for Useful Abstractions

When the amount of training data is limited, the successful application of machine learning techniques typically hinges on the ability to identify useful features or abstractions. Expert knowledge often plays a crucial role in this feature engineering process. However, manual creation of such abstractions can be labor intensive and expensive. In this paper, we propose a feature learning framework that takes advantage of the vast amount of expert knowledge available in unstructured form on the Web. We explore the use of unsupervised learning techniques and non-Euclidean distance measures to automatically incorporate such expert knowledge when building feature representations. We demonstrate the utility of our proposed approach on the task of learning useful abstractions from a list of over two thousand patient medications. Applied to three clinically relevant patient risk stratification tasks, the classifiers built using the learned abstractions outperform several baselines including one based on a manually curated feature space.
Queer Sonorities: Sound as Persuasion in Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons

ABSTRACTThis essay considers the feminist implications of Gertrude Stein’s sonic devices in the extended prose poem Tender Buttons, a study in persuasive sound that avoids the foreclosures of semantics and grammar through the ephemerality of sound. Situating domestic space and its conversational tones as the sonic context in which Stein produced her work, I explore how she offers collaborative, embodied, and playful communicative strategies that encourage the reader to hear and speak the sounds of her domestic experiences. In Stein’s prose, vocal readers exceed the impositions of written text through performance and linguistic sonorities enabling the sounds of words (as opposed to their meanings) to slip away from static positions. Readers are encouraged to participate in the process of making meaning, to both sound out and listen to the words on the printed page. Stein’s sound writing, in other words, resonates with feminist communication theories that foreground listening, collaboration, experiential kn...
Periodic photonic filters: theory and experiment

Photonic multiline filters exhibiting periodic resonance lines on a dense spectral grid in a broad wavelength range are demonstrated. We design the filters using rigorous numerical methods and then proceed with experimental verification by patterning, etching, and collecting spectral data. We use standard double-side-polished 300- μ m -thick silicon wafers for the experiments. On one side of the wafer, we place a shallow grating whereas the other side has a quarter-wave antireflection layer. An example filter with a ∼ 200-nm -deep TiO 2 grating on the wafer yields 12 narrow resonance peaks within a 10-nm wavelength range centered at 1550 nm. The spectral width of each filter peak is ∼ 0.1 nm with a free spectral range of ∼ 0.8 nm . Peak efficiency approaches 80% with low sidebands between the resonant filter lines. We discuss briefly design of polarization-independent periodic filters and the concept of Brewster-angle filters. Possible applications include spectral sampling and wavelength discretization as used, e.g., in sensing gas species and quantifying toxic gas concentrations.
Lithium and leukocytosis

Peripheral blood specimens from 22 hospitalized psychiatric patients and one outpatient were examined for white blood cell (WBG) count changes during treatment with lithium carbonate. Significant leukocytosis occurred during periods of lithium ingestion; this phenomenon was reversible, apparently innocuous, and not related to psychiatric diagnosis or the many variables of hospitalization. While elevations in WBG count are likely the result of a drug effect, they were not dose related or dependent on the concentration of lithium in the peripheral blood. A trend toward neutrophilia and lymphocytopenia emerged for the group but cannot be said to account for the global change in total WBG.
The burden of bladder cancer care: direct and indirect costs.

Purpose of reviewBladder cancer is a common, complex, and costly disease. Every year in the USA, bladder cancer is responsible for 70 000 diagnosed cases and over 15 000 deaths. Once diagnosed, patients with nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) are committed to a lifetime of invasive procedures
Assessing and Treating Co-occurring Substance Abuse

Estimates of co-occurring substance abuse in patients with chronic pain and opioid use disorder vary between 3 and 48 % based on the population studied and the definition of opioid use disorder. This chapter reviews the abuse patterns of the various substances abused by patients with chronic pain and comorbid opioid dependence and explores the interaction of specific substances with opioids. Rationale for the need to assess and treat for specific substances of abuse is discussed based on current literature and approach to assessment and treatment of these comorbid substances is also discussed.
Towards ALD thin film stabilized single-atom Pd1 catalysts

Supported precious metal single-atom catalysts have shown interesting activity and selectivity in recent studies. However, agglomeration of these highly mobile mononuclear surface species can eliminate their unique catalytic properties. Here we study a strategy for synthesizing thin film stabilized single-atom Pd1 catalysts using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The thermal stability of the Pd1 catalysts is significantly enhanced by creating a nanocavity thin film structure. In situ infrared spectroscopy and Pd K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) revealed that the Pd1 was anchored on the surface through chlorine sites. The thin film stabilized Pd1 catalysts were thermally stable under both oxidation and reduction conditions. The catalytic performance in the methanol decomposition reaction is found to depend on the thickness of protecting layers. While Pd1 catalysts showed promising activity at low temperature in a methanol decomposition reaction, 14 cycle TiO2 protected Pd1 was less active at high temperature. Pd L3 edge XAS indicated that the low reactivity compared with Pd nanoparticles is due to the strong adsorption of carbon monoxide even at 250 °C. These results clearly show that the ALD nanocavities provide a basis for future design of single-atom catalysts that are highly efficient and stable.
The Emergency Physician and End-of-Life Care.

An emergency physician describes how end-of-life care in the emergency room has broadened over time from a model that involved resuscitating all patients with CPR to a one that includes palliative/compassionate care programs and respect for advance directives. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Data depth based clustering analysis

This paper proposes a new algorithm for identifying patterns within data, based on data depth. Such a clustering analysis has an enormous potential to discover previously unknown insights from existing data sets. Many clustering algorithms already exist for this purpose. However, most algorithms are not affine invariant. Therefore, they must operate with different parameters after the data sets are rotated, scaled, or translated. Further, most clustering algorithms, based on Euclidean distance, can be sensitive to noises because they have no global perspective. Parameter selection also significantly affects the clustering results of each algorithm. Unlike many existing clustering algorithms, the proposed algorithm, called data depth based clustering analysis (DBCA), is able to detect coherent clusters after the data sets are affine transformed without changing a parameter. It is also robust to noises because using data depth can measure centrality and outlyingness of the underlying data. Further, it can generate relatively stable clusters by varying the parameter. The experimental comparison with the leading state-of-the-art alternatives demonstrates that the proposed algorithm outperforms DBSCAN and HDBSCAN in terms of affine invariance, and exceeds or matches the ro-bustness to noises of DBSCAN or HDBSCAN. The robust-ness to parameter selection is also demonstrated through the case study of clustering twitter data.
GLP-2 in the capacity of (-)-epicatechin and anthocyanidins to improve insulin sensitivity

Glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) is an incretin involved in energy balance through the regulation of postprandial glycaemia. GLP-2 is generated from the post-translational cleavage of proglucagon, being rapidly degraded in the bloodstream by dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV). We currently investigated the effects of (-)-epicatechin (EC) and anthocyanidins (AC) to modulate GLP-2 using in vivo and in vitro approaches. To assess in vivo effects on proglucagon mRNA and plasma GLP-2 concentrations, male C57BL/6 J mice were fed for 14 w control (C) or high fat (HF) diets without or with 20 mg EC/kg or 40 mg AC/kg BW. Supplementation with EC and AC mitigated HF-induced insulin resistance (improved GTT, ITT, plasma insulin and glucose levels). Plasma GLP-2 levels were 148 and 200% higher in C mice supplemented with EC and AC compared to non-supplemented C mice, and 83 and 46% higher in HF mice supplemented with EC and AC compared to non-supplemented HF mice. Colon proglucagon mRNA levels were higher (84%) in AC-supplemented vs unsupplemented C mice, while EC had no effect. In vitro, cyanidin, but not EC, inhibited DPP-IV activity. The improvement of insulin sensitivity by EC and AC in a model of high fat diet-induced type 2 diabetes could be in part due to GLP-2 upregulation. The underlying mechanisms for AC involve an increase in proglucagon expression and decreased GLP-2 degradation.
Comparative Theology, Religious Discourse, and Phenomenological Imagination

For the purpose of comparative theology and multiple modernities, I seek to elaborate and revise Husserl’s phenomenological method through Ricouer, Geertz, and Gadamer for the viable project of articulating theological phenomenology and comparative theology. Phenomenology of lifeworld facilitates our elucidation of comparative theology in engagement with sociology of religion in Weber, Geertz, and critical theory.
The role of unsteady effusion rates on inflation in long-lived lava flow fields

Abstract The emission of volcanic gases and particles can have global and lasting environmental effects, but their timing, tempo, and duration can be problematic to quantify for ancient eruptions where real-time measurements are absent. Lava flows, for example, may be long-lasting, and their impact is controlled by the rate, tempo, and vigor of effusion. These factors are currently difficult to derive from the geologic record but can have large implications for the atmospheric impact of an eruption. We conducted a set of analogue experiments on lava flow inflation aiming at connecting lava morphologies preserved in the rock record to eruption tempo and dynamics through pulsating effusion rates. Inflation, a process where molten material is injected beneath the crust of an active lava flow and lifts it upwards, is a common phenomenon in basaltic volcanic systems. This mechanism requires three components: a) a coherent, insulating crust; b) a wide-spread molten core; and c) pressure built up beneath the crust from a sustained supply of molten material. Inflation can result in a lava flow growing tens of meters thick, even in flow fields that expand hundreds of square kilometers. It has been documented that rapid effusion rates tend to create channels and tubes, isolating the active part of the flow from the stagnant part, while slow effusion rates may cause crust to form quickly and seize up, forcing lava to overtop the crust. However, the conditions that allow for inflation of large flow fields have not previously been evaluated in terms of effusion rate. By using PEG 600 wax and a programmable pump, we observe how, by pulsating effusion rate, inflation occurs even in very low viscosity basaltic eruptions. We show that observations from inflating Hawaiian lava flows correlate well with experimental data and indicate that instantaneous effusion rates may have been 3 times higher than average effusion rates during the emplacement of the 23 January 1988 flow at Kīlauea (Hawai‘i). The identification of a causal relationship between pulsating effusion rates and inflation may have implications for eruption tempo in the largest inflated flows: flood basalts.
Active Microrheology of Hydrogels Based on Oscillations Induced by Optical Radiation Pressure

Using phase-sensitive OCT, we detect sub-nanometer bead oscillation induced by radiation pressure from a low-NA beam in agar hydrogels. Our method may enable characterization of microscale viscoelastic properties, with applications in cell mechanics.
Plumbing the Wastefulness of Zinc Protoporphyrin as a Pediatric Lead Screen.

To the Editor: Lead testing is recommended for children 40 μg/dL (2). Hematofluorometry also had the benefit of detecting remote lead exposure, as the ZPP concentration in red blood cells is stable throughout …
The Constitutionality of Irrebuttable Presumptions

What is an "irrebuttable presumption"? And are they permissible under the Constitution? The Supreme Court of Virginia and the Virginia Court of Appeals have both mistakenly declared that the Due Process Clause forbids a court to use an irrebuttable presumption, even in a civil case. This view is not merely mistaken; it is incoherent and indefensible, because both state and federal legislatures routinely create irrebuttable presumptions. Indeed, even the Supreme Court of Virginia has created a number of such presumptions itself, although the Court obviously does not perceive the blatant contradiction in what it has done. This article presents a short and plain explanation of what presumptions are and how they operate. It distinguishes between those presumptions that may be rebutted, and those that are said to be irrebuttable or conclusive. It explains why the use of such presumptions in a civil case ordinarily poses no significant constitutional difficulty of any kind. Indeed, irrebuttable presumptions have always abounded in the American legal tradition, and there is nothing illegal or unusual – much less unconstitutional – about their use in a civil case. The article includes some valuable guidance for courts struggling to make sense of the constitutional limits on the use of irrebuttable presumptions in civil and criminal cases. It also concludes with some even more valuable guidance for legislatures on how to draft statutes that will avoid the problem altogether.
Innovating at Cloud Speed for IoT, AI, and Semiconductor Design

Rapid adoption and production deployments of connected devices, coupled with AI-driven methods of advanced analytics, have led to an explosion in demand for non-traditional, more scalable computing and data management platforms. This increasing demand is being seen in the public cloud as well as in cloud-connected IoT edge devices. AI is at the heart of many the newest, most advanced analytics and IoT applications, ranging from robotics and autonomous vehicles, to cloud-connected products such as Amazon Alexa, to smart factories and consumer-facing services in the financial and healthcare sectors. This talk presents examples of such use-cases within Amazon, as well examples of how Amazon customers increasingly rely on AI coupled with IoT hardware and software stacks, and use cloud-based EDA to innovate faster, and at cloud scales.
Psychological Factors in Alcoholism

Psychological factors in alcoholism require broader coverage than the genetic factors excellently reviewed in the preceding chapter by Goodwin and Guze. As indicated in that chapter, it is unlikely that chronic, heavy drinking produces any constitutional changes which are transmitted to the offspring. Therefore, the review of genetic factors is limited to the constitutional factors which affect the likelihood of developing alcoholism, seen in a difference between alcoholics and nonalcoholics in the incidence of particular genetically determined characteristics.
CORF: Coalescing Operand Register File for GPUs

The Register File (RF) in GPUs is a critical structure that maintains the state for thousands of threads that support the GPU processing model. The RF organization substantially affects the overall performance and the energy efficiency of a GPU. For example, the frequent accesses to the RF consume a substantial amount of the dynamic energy, and port contention due to limited ports on operand collectors and register file banks affect performance as register operations are serialized. We present CORF, a compiler-assisted Coalescing Operand Register File which performs register coalescing by combining reads to multiple registers required by a single instruction, into a single physical read. To enable register coalescing, CORF utilizes register packing to co-locate narrow-width operands in the same physical register. CORF uses compiler hints to identify which register pairs are commonly accessed together. CORF saves dynamic energy by reducing the number of physical register file accesses, and improves performance by combining read operations, as well as by reducing pressure on the register file. To increase the coalescing opportunities, we re-architect the physical register file to allow coalescing reads across different physical registers that reside in mutually exclusive sub-banks; we call this design CORF++. The compiler analysis for register allocation for CORF++ becomes a form of graph coloring called the bipartite edge frustration problem. CORF++ reduces the dynamic energy of the RF by 17%, and improves IPC by 9%.
The Pathology of Rapid Cognitive Decline in Clinically Diagnosed Alzheimer’s Disease

BACKGROUND Variable rate of cognitive decline among individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an important consideration for disease management, but risk factors for rapid cognitive decline (RCD) are without consensus. OBJECTIVE To investigate demographic, clinical, and pathological differences between RCD and normal rates of cognitive decline (NCD) in AD. METHODS Neuropsychology test and autopsy data was pulled from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center database from individuals with a clinical diagnosis of AD. Individuals with average decline of 3 or more points on the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) per year over 3 years were labeled RCD; all others were NCD. RESULTS Sixty individuals identified as RCD; 230 as NCD. These neuropsychology tests differed at baseline (RCD versus NCD): WMS-LM Immediate Recall (4.35[3.39] versus 6.31[3.97], p < 0.001), Animal Naming (12.1[4.83] versus 13.9[4.83], p = 0.007), TMT Part B (187[86.1] versus 159[79.0], p = 0.02), WAIS-Digit Symbol (29.5[11.3] versus 29.5[11.3], p = 0.04), and the BNT (21.5[7.05] versus 23.6[5.09], p = 0.04). RCD had more thyroid disease (30% versus 16%, p = 0.01) and greater usage of AD medication at baseline (80% versus 62%, p = 0.01). RCD had more severe cerebral amyloid angiopathy (1.62[1.0] versus 1.13[1.0], p = 0.002), more neocortical Lewy bodies (20% versus 10%, p = 0.04), and more atrophy (1.54[0.92] versus 1.17[0.83], p = 0.04). A model combining select variables was significant above chance (χ2 = 25.8, p = 0.002), but not to clinical utility (AUC < 0.70; 95% CI). CONCLUSION Individuals with RCD have more severe pathology, more comorbidities, and lower baseline neuropsychology test scores of language and executive function.
Long-term (1999–2019) variability of stratospheric aerosol over Mauna Loa, Hawaii, as seen by two co-located lidars and satellite measurements

Abstract. As part of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC), ground-based measurements obtained from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) stratospheric ozone lidar and the NOAA stratospheric aerosol lidar at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, over the past 2 decades were used to investigate the impact of volcanic eruptions and pyrocumulonimbus (PyroCb) smoke plumes on the stratospheric aerosol load above Hawaii since 1999. Measurements at 355 and 532 nm conducted by these two lidars revealed a color ratio of 0.5 for background aerosols and small volcanic plumes and 0.8 for a PyroCb plume recorded on September 2017. Measurements of the Nabro plume by the JPL lidar in 2011–2012 showed a lidar ratio of ( 64±12.7 ) sr at 355 nm around the center of the plume. The new Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology (GloSSAC), Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) Level 3 and Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III on the International Space Station (SAGE III-ISS) stratospheric aerosol datasets were compared to the ground-based lidar datasets. The intercomparison revealed a generally good agreement, with vertical profiles of extinction coefficient within 50 % discrepancy between 17 and 23 km above sea level (a.s.l.) and 25 % above 23 km a.s.l. The stratospheric aerosol depth derived from all of these datasets shows good agreement, with the largest discrepancy (20 %) being observed between the new CALIOP Level 3 and the other datasets. All datasets consistently reveal a relatively quiescent period between 1999 and 2006, followed by an active period of multiple eruptions (e.g., Nabro) until early 2012. Another quiescent period, with slightly higher aerosol background, lasted until mid-2017, when a combination of extensive wildfires and multiple volcanic eruptions caused a significant increase in stratospheric aerosol loading. This loading maximized at the very end of the time period considered (fall 2019) as a result of the Raikoke eruption, the plume of which ascended to 26 km altitude in less than 3 months.
An embedding framework for video reconstruction using Gaussian mixture models

In this paper, we propose a novel video reconstruction methodology which is built based on alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) algorithm. In this regard, a new enhanced ADMM model has been used which permits the user to apply image or video reconstruction techniques as sub-problems being embedded to a denoising methodology. Correspondingly, we use conventional compressive sensing (CS) based Gaussian mixture models (GMM) as a subproblem of our proposed framework. On the other hand, sparse 3D transform-domain block matching (BM3D) is used as the denoiser of algorithm in order to remove the remaining artifacts and noise in the reconstructed video frames. Consequently, by considering both online and offline CS-based GMM frameworks, we are able to make two forms of GMM based video reconstruction algorithms which are represented as online and offline structures. Using the proposed algorithms, video reconstruction is more satisfactory in terms of visual quality in comparison with other state of the art techniques.
Space Time Approaches to Measure Sub-National Inequality: Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

This paper responds to a growing literature on sub-national inequality and uses a spatial decomposition of the Gini coefficient to illustrate changes in regional inequality over time. Typically, countries present data at the sub-national level, but do not present them using measures that account for adjacency or nearness. Data from China, Mongolia, and Russia's United Nations Development Programme Reports are used as case studies on how to analzye changes in sub-national inequality over time. Data show that the Human Development Index (HDI) may for the country as a whole, but some HDI subscales may cluster with neighbours suggesting that inequality at the sub-national level may still be issue. As the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs) are phased into the MDGs, we propose that this spatial decomposition of the Gini coefficient be considered to measure progress decreasing regional inequality.
Effect of Contact Precautions on Staphylococcus aureus and Clinical Outcomes of Colonized Patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

BACKGROUND Staphylococcus aureus is a common pathogen in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), yet little is known about the effect of contact precautions and clinical outcomes of colonized patients. METHODS Retrospective cohort study of all neonates from August 2014 to November 2018 colonized with either methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) or methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) and select noncolonized patients at two neonatal intensive care units at the University of California, Los Angeles. Outcomes during two time periods (during and after the use of contact precautions) were assessed. RESULTS A total of 234 patients were included in the study: 83 colonized and 151 noncolonized patients. There was a fourfold higher incidence of MSSA colonization versus MRSA (P < 0.001). There was a higher incidence of positive surveillance cultures after contact precautions were discontinued (P = 0.01), but this did not correlate with a higher incidence of invasive cultures (P = 0.475). There were twice as many MSSA invasive cultures than MRSA, but a higher rate of invasion with MRSA (P < 0.05). Colonized patients were more likely to develop an invasive infection than noncolonized (P = 0.003 MRSA; P = 0.004 MSSA). When controlling for gestational age and surgical interventions, colonization was more likely to be associated with skin and soft tissue infections (P < 0.001) and a longer length of stay by a mean of 27.8 days (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Contact precautions resulted in a lower incidence of colonization without a difference in invasive cultures in our NICUs. Those colonized with S. aureus had a higher incidence of skin and soft tissue infections and a longer NICU length of stay.
Children’s Coping With Academic Failure Relations With Contextual and Motivational Resources Supporting Competence

There is little consensus on how to conceptualize coping after perceived failure and less is known about the contextual resources that may support or undermine the use of specific coping strategies. This study examined parenting in relation to coping using the framework of self-determination theory and examined the motivational processes through which parenting, specifically parental structure, autonomy support, and involvement, may be associated with coping. Findings showed that the relations between parental structure and parental autonomy support and defensive coping were mediated by perceived control; however, there were also direct effects of structure and autonomy support, unmediated by this motivational resource. Findings also suggest that parent involvement directly predicts mastery coping.
Stress Detection in Steels Through Variations in Magnetic Properties

The evaluation of stress in large scale constructed facilities, such as pipelines in power plants, is important for assessing the condition of the structure. The development of viable NDE techniques for high precision evaluation of stress in steels has remained a long standing problem. Some success has been achieved in recent years in the quantitative measurement of stress along a single axis coaxial with applied magnetic field. This paper reports on subsequent work aimed at the evaluation of the stress in two dimensions. This is clearly a problem of direct relevance to the estimation of stress in the surface of a pipeline.
Negative pressure wound therapy: past, present and future.

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), which was introduced as a commercial product (V.A.C.® Therapy, KCI USA, Inc., San Antonio, TX) less than 20 years ago, has revolutionised the treatment of complex wounds. Indicated for wide variety of wound types, NPWT is an adjunctive therapy that can be used safely in a range of care settings. Current research indicates that there are four primary NPWT mechanisms of action: macrodeformation, microdeformation, fluid removal and environmental control of the wound. The interaction of the primary mechanisms results in secondary effects through cell signalling (e.g. granulation tissue formation, cell proliferation and modulation of inflammation). Better understanding of the mechanisms of action also provides insight into future directions for NPWT research that could create better solutions for patients with complex wounds.
Victim Offender Settlements, General Deterrence, and Social Welfare

Two relatively new systems - Victim Offender Mediation programs and compromise statutes - are currently experiencing a period of relative growth as states try to grapple with various problems facing the criminal justice system. The feature that distinguishes both of these programs, and thus the feature that requires the most justification, is that they place the victim at the center of the sentencing procedure. This paper seeks to fill a gap in the discussion surrounding these new systems. Advocates of these programs focus almost exclusively on certain alleged benefits of the programs, such as increased victim satisfaction and cost savings. However, no analyst has truly attempted to balance, in an overall sense, the likelihood these benefits actually are realized against the likelihood social welfare is being reduced through other unintended consequences - for instance, the fact that letting the victim set the level of punishment is likely to result in a sanction level that is less than optimal, thereby harming social welfare. Because few actual studies have been done to determine the actual effect of these programs, the paper takes a more generalized approach. It first describes the key aspects of each program, then attempts to determine whether each key variable makes it more or less likely that the programs' claimed benefits will in fact outweigh their likely consequences.
Interactions between fibrin and the plasminogen activators produced by cultured endothelial cells

Serum-free conditioned medium (CM) from cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEs) was fractionated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate and analyzed for plasminogen activator (PA) activity by fibrin autography. Distinct size forms of PA with molecular weights (mol wt) of 100,000, 74,000, and 52,000 were readily identified by this approach. When fibrinogen and thrombin were added to CM containing these forms, approximately 55% of the total activity was found to associate with the resultant fibrin clot. The other 45% remained free in the supernatant. This relationship did not change at higher fibrin concentrations. Subsequent analysis revealed that only the larger PA forms (mol wt 74,000-100,000) were recovered in the clot. The 52,000 form did not bind to the polymerizing fibrin under these conditions. The fibrin-binding forms also bound to immobilized concanavalin-A and could be separated from those forms that did not interact with fibrin by concanavalin-A affinity chromatography. The PA activity of the separated forms was then compared by assessing their ability to cleave 125I-plasminogen. Although cleavage by the 52,000 mol wt form was apparent, little if any cleavage was initiated by the mixture containing the 74,000-100,000 forms. The addition of fibrin to this sample resulted in the generation of a potent PA activity. These results indicate that cultured BAEs produce multiple forms of PA that differ both in size and in behavior toward fibrin and concanavalin-A. These forms include molecules that functionally and immunochemically resemble human urokinase, and others that resemble human tissue-type PA.
Inflation and Equipment Replacement Economics

The proposed analysis procedure enables construction contractors to correctly account for the costs associated with machine price increases caused by inflation. Methods for acquiring the necessary input data for the procedure are presented. An example set of calculations based on actual contractor cost files is worked out and the results discussed. The dynamic nature of equipment economics is also stressed.
The interaction of surface and internal tides with boundary currents

Barotropic (surface) and baroclinic (internal) tidal motions are known to be prevalent in major boundary currents. The variable bottom topography and the sheared mean flow influence the propagation properties of such motions. Hence, the trapping and scattering properties of the continental margin are affected by boundary currents. In turn, the baroclinic tides affect the dynamic stability of boundary currents.
Human pheromones: have they been demonstrated?

Efforts to collect evidence of human pheromones have focused on three partly overlapping classes of possible human pheromones: (1) axillary steroids, (2) vaginal aliphatic acids, and (3) stimulators of the vomeronasal organ. Examples of each of these classes have been patented for commercial use, and in some cases aggressively marketed, but there is only incomplete evidence supporting any particular claim that a substance acts as a human pheromone. The large axillary scent glands found in humans appear to be well adapted for the production of pheromones, but may actually be used for non-pheromonal odor communication, such as the sharing of information about the immune system. Putative menstrual synchronization within social groups of women and putative acceleration of the menstrual cycle caused by men's odors may suggest the existence of human pheromone systems, but evidence in both cases is still inconclusive.
ARIS: an interface for application relocation in an interactive space

By enabling users to better manage information across PDAs, laptops, graphics tablets, and large screens, the use of an interactive space could dramatically improve how users share information in collaborative work. To enable a user to better manage information in an interactive space, we iteratively designed an interactive space window manager called ARIS. We discuss the implementation of ARIS and we share lessons learned from user evaluations about how to design a more effective window manager for an interactive space and how to better evaluate low-fidelity prototypes in an interactive space. Our work can enable richer collaborations among users of an interactive space.
Crystal Growth and Structural Characterization of a New Series of Rare Earth Palladates, LnNaPd6O8 (Ln = Tb - Lu, Y)

Single crystals of a new series of lanthanide containing palladates, LnNaPd6O8 (Ln = Tb - Lu, Y), were grown from sodium hydroxide fluxes in sealed silver tubes. The compounds are isostructural and crystallize in the Pm3 space group with the lattice parameter a = 5.75650(10)−5.72500(10) A. The crystal structure consists of slabs of LnO8 and NaO8 cubes bridged together by PdO4 square planes. The Ln and Na atoms are disordered within the slabs in all cases except in LuNaPd6O8, where a 1:1 ordered arrangement of LnO8 and NaO8 cubes is achieved. The amount of A-site disorder decreases as the ionic radius of the lanthanide cation decreases from Tb - Lu.
Single-center Comparison of Three Chemoembolization Regimens for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract Purpose Transarterial chemoembolization regimens for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) vary, without a gold-standard method. The present study was performed to evaluate outcomes in patients with HCC treated with doxorubicin/ethiodized oil (DE), cisplatin/doxorubicin/mitomycin-c/ethiodized oil (CDM), or doxorubicin drug-eluting beads (DEBs). Materials and Methods Patients received the same regimen at all visits, without crossover. Groups were compared based on Child–Pugh disease status, tumor/node/metastasis stage, and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage. Imaging outcomes were assessed based on modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors to calculate tumor response (ie, sum of complete and partial response), progressive disease (PD), and time to progression (TTP). Results A total of 228 infusions were performed in 122 patients: 59 with DE, 30 with CDM, and 33 with DEBs. The groups had similar Child–Pugh status ( P = .45), tumor/node/metastasis stages ( P = .5), and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer scores ( P = .22). Follow-up duration was similar among groups ( P = .24). Patients treated with DE underwent significantly more treatments (2.3±1.4) than those treated with CDM (1.6±0.7; P = .004) or DEBs (1.4±0.6; P P = .003) or DEBs (82%; P = .004). PD was significantly more likely with DE (37%) than with CDM (13%; P = .02) or DEBs (9%; P = .004). TTP was similar between groups ( P = .07). CDM and DEBs were similar in regard to disease progression ( P = .6) and response ( P = .83). Conclusions During a similar follow-up period, patients treated with CDM or DEB chemoembolization showed a significantly higher response rate and a lower incidence of tumor progression, with fewer required treatment sessions, than those treated with DE chemoembolization.
Effects of chemical mediators of anaphylaxis on ciliary function

We assessed the effects of selected chemical mediators of anaphylaxis on CBF in vitro. Ciliated epithelial cells were obtained from the trachea of conscious sheep with a cytology brush and suspended in a perfusion chamber containing KH. Ciliary activity was viewed microscopically and recorded on videotape for subsequent slow-motion analysis of CBF. Prostaglandin E1 (10(-8) M to 10(-6) M), prostaglandin E2 (10(-10) M to 10(-6) M), and leukotriene-C4 (10(-8) M) increased CBF between 7% and 33%. Histamine caused ciliostimulation only at the relatively high concentrations above 10(-5) M (7% increase in CBF), whereas prostaglandin F2 alpha (10(-10) M and 10(-6) M) was without effect. In no preparation was ciliary discoordination observed. These findings indicate that several chemical mediators of anaphylaxis stimulate CBF and that the previously described impairment of mucociliary transport in stable allergic asthma or antigen-induced bronchoconstriction is probably not caused by a primary alteration of ciliary function.
Use of the emergency department for hypertension screening: A prospective study

There is controversy as to whether the emergency department is an inappropriate site for screening for hypertensive patients. The pain and apprehension associated with many ED visits have been thought to elevate blood pressure readings falsely in this setting. To resolve this question, all patients admitted to the ED of a university hospital during a one-year period were screened prospectively for hypertension. Follow-up was attempted for patients who, on admission and discharge, had systolic pressures higher than 159 mm Hg or diastolic pressures higher than 94 mm Hg. A total of 239 patients met these criteria, and follow-up was obtained in 45% of the cases. Significant hypertension (systolic > 159 mm Hg or diastolic > 94 mm Hg) was found in 35% of these patients on follow-up. Borderline hypertension (systolic, 140 to 159 mm Hg; or diastolic, 90 to 94 mm Hg) was documented in 33% of the patients. Thirty-two percent were found to be normotensive when evaluated in a follow-up visit. The number of patients experiencing pain at the time of their initial ED visit was similar among the three groups. Almost half the patients with hypertension on follow-up needed further workup or therapy. The ED can be a useful screening site for hypertension; elevated blood pressure on discharge should ensure referral for follow-up evaluation and therapy.
Nitrous oxide production in riparian zones and its importance to national emission inventories

Abstract Riparian zones, which sit at the interface between terrestrial and aquatic components of the landscape, often receive and process large amounts of excess nitrogen (N) that moves out of agricultural fields towards streams. These areas thus have the potential to be “hotspots” of nitrous oxide (N2O) production in the landscape. However, current Intergovernmental Program on Climate Change (IPCC) methodologies for calculating national N2O emission inventories do not explicitly account for riparian N2O production. In this paper, we examine the nature and extent of N2O production in riparian zones, present some new data on N2O production in these areas, and propose a modification to the current IPCC methodology for quantifying N2O emissions from agriculture. We also present an example of how large-scale riparian restoration efforts to achieve agricultural water quality objectives could cause significant changes in regional N2O budgets. Although current data are inadequate to propose a quantitative emission factor for riparian N2O emissions, they suggest that these emissions are likely to be significant in many regions. Specific data on riparian N2O emissions should be collected in association with detailed watershed mass balance studies that allow for evaluation of several aspects of the IPCC methodology at once and provide constraints on the magnitude of fluxes that are difficult to measure, e.g. N2O flux, N2O:N2 ratio. Riparian and wetland restoration projects to reduce NO3− delivery to coastal waters are being considered in many areas of the world. These projects may affect regional and global N2O budgets, but only if they alter the N2O:N2 ratio during denitrification.
Finite-temperature fractional quantum Hall effect

We investigate the fractional quantum Hall effect at finite temperature using a fermion Chern-Simons field-theoretical approach. In the absence of impurity scattering, the essential aspects of the fractional quantum Hall effect, such as the quantization of Hall conductance, as well as quasiparticle charge and statistics are not renormalized by thermal fluctuations. On the other hand, we find that the low-energy excitation spectrum at finite [ital T] may undergo some qualitative changes as the temperature is raised. Interesting new features include a splitting of the low-energy collective modes and a redshift of the magnetoroton minimum at finite [ital T]. Possible experimental consequences are discussed.