cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation and Support Mechanisms of an Emerging University-wide Global Health Training Program.

Abstract Background Global health education is in high demand in the United States, across the continuum of learning, and field experiences are an essential part of this education. However, evaluations of these programs are limited. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate a field placement program at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, to understand how to better support student training overseas and faculty mentorship. Methods We used qualitative and quantitative methods to gather data from program reporting requirements (152 student surveys and 46 experiential narrative essays), followed by 17 semistructured interviews, and 2 focus groups. Data were analyzed through manual coding and a socioecological model served as an analytical and a synthesizing framework. Findings A series of factors influence the participants' experience in overseas placements spanning across 4 aggregate levels, from individual to societal, including opportunity for professional advancement, independence, loneliness and illness, mentorship quality, funding, institutional partnership building, opportunity for public health contribution, and for development of cultural competency. Faculty and students thought that the program was beneficial to the learning experience, particularly for its contribution to experiential knowledge of a low- and middle-income country setting and for developing cross-cultural relationships. Communication and scope of work were 2 areas in which students and faculty members often had different expectations and many students emerged having cultivated different skills than they or their mentor initially expected. Students found the experience useful for both their academic and professional careers and faculty members saw mentorship, one of their professional responsibilities, emerge. Conclusions Many socioecological factors influence an overseas field experience, which in turn produces important effects on students' career choices, and faculty members appreciate the opportunity to serve as mentors. The most vital support mechanisms suggested for faculty and students included available funding, clear preparation, and communication facilitation across the experiential continuum.
State Regulation of Judicial Campaign: The Constitutionality of Limiting Political Activities and Speech of State Trial Court Candidates

Since the US Supreme Court decided Republican Party of Minnesota v. White in 2002, there have been serious questions about the constitutionality of Judicial Canons which bar judicial candidates from activity and speech that would clearly be constitutionally protected if engaged in by non-judicial candidates. This paper examines the ways in which some states have responded to White by allowing judicial candidates greater latitude in voicing their political views, while other states, such as Ohio, have moved in the opposite direction. Particular attention is devoted to the constitutionality of Ohioﾒs 2009 modifications of its Code of Judicial Conduct which further restricted judicial candidatesﾒ political speech and association. Finally, the paper examines the impact of White on judicial election campaign advertising, speech and disciplinary measures in Ohio to determine whether the added restrictions have reduced partisanship and spending in contested judicial races.
Energy Levels of O 18 and F 21

The reactions ${\mathrm{F}}^{19}(t, \ensuremath{\alpha}){\mathrm{O}}^{18}$ and ${\mathrm{F}}^{19}(t, p){\mathrm{F}}^{21}$ have been studied, yielding the following results: the energy levels of ${\mathrm{O}}^{18}$ up to 6.8 Mev are 1.989, 3.504, 3.929, 5.007, 5.170, 5.311, 5.456, 6.190, and 6.328 Mev. The energy levels of ${\mathrm{F}}^{21}$ up to 2.14 Mev are 0.269, 1.087, 1.694, and 2.036 Mev. The mass defect of ${\mathrm{F}}^{21}$ is measured to be 6.195 Mev, giving a mass of 21.006653 atomic mass units. The yields and cross sections of the levels are studied. These results are compared with data obtained elsewhere and the isobaric systems of mass 18 and 21 are discussed.
Analysis of Spinning Spacecraft with Wire Booms Part 1: Derivation of Nonlinear Dynamics

Algebraic expressions for the governing equations of motion are developed to describe a spinning spacecraft with flexible appendages. Two limiting cases are investigated: appendages that are self-restoring and appendages that require spacecraft motion to restore. Solar panels have sufficient root stiffness to self-restore perturbations. Radial wire antennae have little intrinsic root stiffness and require centripetal acceleration from spacecraft rotations to restore perturbations. External forces applied for attitude corrections can displace spacecraft appendages from their steady-state position. The Radiation Belt Storm Probe (RBSP) satellite is used as an example to explore numerical results for several maneuvers.
Pharyngeal pneumococcal acquisitions in "normal" families: a longitudinal study.

counted for 59% of the isolates. The dynamics of acquisitions of types 3 and 19 in each age group were determined by the initial level of resistance, community prevalence, household carriage, and season. In the 5-9-year-old age group, males more often became carriers. Crowding was not found to be a significant factor. While the proportion of individuals resistant to pneumococcal acquisition was related to age, the levels of risk of susceptible individuals did not differ significantly by age. Conversion to resistance occurred in an estimated 42% of type 3, and 32% of type 19 carriers. Those who remained susceptible after carriage were at unchanged risk of reacquisition. Before the availability of effective treatments for pneumococcal infections, considerable effort was expended on the study of the relation of the disease to the carrier state. Serotyping was employed in the investigation of the carrier state among contacts of patients with pneumococcal pneumonia [1, 2] in areas endemic for this disease [3-5] and in healthy individuals [6-11]. The usual studies were conducted among small numbers of individuals for relatively short periods. While such surveys may provide general overviews of the carrier state, data which adequately describe
Variation in the Larval Development of Crangon nigricauda (Decapoda: Caridea), with Notes on Larval Morphology and Behavior

ABSTRACT Ovigerous females of Crangon nigricauda were captured in Humboldt Bay, California, and their larvae were reared in the laboratory. A larval form intermediate in morphological complexity between previously described zoea V and postlarva was discovered. The new form, an "early megalopa," is described. There are no discrete morphological "stages" in the ontogeny of C. nigricauda after instar III when independence of ecdysis and morphogenesis becomes apparent. Variable larval development of C. nigricauda is discussed in terms of relative maturity of individual larvae of the same age. During development, the natatory exopods of the thoracic appendages gradually degenerate as the pleopods differentiate, resulting in a gradual transition in swimming emphasis: from strictly thoracic (zoeae), to thoracic-abdominal (megalopae), to strictly abdominal (juveniles). The spiraling swimming behavior exhibited by zoeae of C. nigricauda is not the result of an antagonistic effect of respiratory ventilation currents on swimming speed. Rather, it is a dynamic behavior exhibited by healthy zoeae that probably helps maintain a relatively fixed vertical position in the water column, thereby possibly aiding in escape from predation.
A Coupled Chemical-Mass Transport Submodel for Predicting Radionuclide Release from an Engineered Barrier System Containing High-Level Waste Glass

A mechanistic model describing a dynamic mass balance between the production and consumption of silicic acid was coupled to a near-field mass transport model to predict the dissolution kinetics of a high-level waste glass in a deep geologic repository. The effects of interactions between an iron overpack and the glass are described by a time-dependent precipitation reaction for a ferrous silicate mineral. The kinetic model is used to transform radionuclide concentration-versus-reaction progress values, predicted from a geochemical reaction path computer code, to concentration-versus-time values that are used to calculate the rate of radionuclide release by diffusive mass transfer to the surrounding host rock. The model provides for both solubility-limited and kinetically limited release; the rate-controlling mechanism is dependent on the predicted glass/groundwater chemistry.
Extranodal lymphoid disorders.

Lymphomas that involve extranodal sites generally are divided into two classifications:primary and secondary extranodal lymphomas. They are relatively common, representing from 10-40% of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. 1-3 Primary extranodal lymphomas are defined as localized lymphomas that appear or originate in extranodal tissues, with or without involvement of regional lymph nodes (stage I E or II E ). 2 Extranodal lymphomas occurring in the presence of predominantly node-based or disseminated disease are considered to be secondary extranodal lymphomas
How Our Neighborhoods Lost Food, and How They Can Get It Back

Does food matter in neighborhood planning and design? Should it matter? The answer is yes, but decades of planning policy and practice seem to suggest otherwise. There are many proven benefits of healthy, accessible, affordable and sustainable food. Proper nourishment has been linked to better classroom performance. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention argue that walkable access to healthy food can reduce America’s growing obesity and diabetes epidemics. Locally-sourced food reinforces better dietary habits as consumers connect with the value chain and perceive eating as a more natural process.
Women’s Health and Household Fuels Used-An Analysis

According to the National Sample Survey (NSS) conducted in 1999–2000, more than 70 percent of all households in India used solid fuels mostly biomass, such as firewood and dung, but also coke and coal as their primary cooking fuels. For convenience, cleanliness, and public health, gaseous fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or piped natural gas are the preferred fuels for cooking, followed by kerosene. The study attempts to focus on social, environmental and economic dimensions of house-hold fuel use in Tuticorin District and find feasible solutions to minimize indoor air pollution and to move to better fuels and its effects on women’s health.The present study has covered the three villages from Tuticorin District viz, Meelavittan, Mullakkadu and Korampallam. Totally 238 women respondents were selected by using simple random sampling method. The data relates to the month of January 2011.It could be concluded that 72 per cent of the women respondents said "yes" to healthier alternative fuel. 28 per cent of the respondents said "no" to alternative fuel. The result of chi-square- test (χ2=51.88, P=
Visual Diagnosis: A 3-month-old Male With Wheezing

1. Kamakshya P. Patra, MD 2. Suman Shekar, MD 3. Robert D. Jackson, MD 4. Ernest A. Kiel, MD 5. Jon D. Wilson, MD 1. Department of Pediatrics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Shreveport, LA. A 3-month-old boy presents to the emergency department with difficulty breathing and wheezing for the past week. His medical history is notable for being born at term via normal vaginal delivery, followed by an uneventful neonatal period. There is a family history of asthma in both parents. The patient’s mother has recently recovered from a viral upper respiratory tract infection. On physical examination, the infant’s vital signs include a temperature of 99°F, heart rate of 192 beats per minute, respiratory rate of 77 breaths per minute, blood pressure of 50/36 mm Hg, and 95% oxygen saturation in room air. The extremities are cool to touch, the peripheral pulses are thready, and the capillary refill time is 5 seconds. A gallop rhythm and a grade 3/6 holosystolic murmur with radiation to the left axilla are present. There are bibasilar crackles and wheezes. The liver edge is palpable 5 cm below the right costal margin, with a total span of 8 cm. There is generalized hypotonia and head lag. There are no obvious facial abnormalities. The rest of his physical findings are normal. A chest radiograph shows an enlarged cardiac silhouette (Fig 1). Complete blood cell count and metabolic profile results are normal for age. The serum creatine kinase level is elevated at 438 U/L (normal: 22–198 U/L). Electrocardiography demonstrates a short PR interval with tall and broad QRS complexes (Fig 2). Figure 1. Chest radiograph demonstrates a large cardiac silhouette. Figure 2. Electrocardiogram demonstrates high-voltage QRS complexes and shortened PR intervals. Further tests confirm the suspected underlying diagnosis. Doppler echocardiography demonstrated severe mitral regurgitation and a concentric, hypertrophied left ventricle (Fig …
Why Do You Like What You Like? The Impact of Previous Netflix User Ratings on Subsequent User Experience

This paper examines whether Netflix user ratings can be explained by a combination of the movies’ characteristics and the influence of popular opinion. Using a data set of almost 8 million user ratings for 300 movies, we use a 2SLS framework to find that time, movie characteristics, and measures of commercial success are statistically significant explanatory variables of viewer ratings. Popular opinion carries a sizeable amount of sway as well, and the results indicate that movies on Netflix do in fact age like a fine bottle of wine.
Personalized Medicine for the Treatment of Human Cancer

Our understanding of the sequential events that lead to the development of human cancer has resulted in better diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic approaches to the management of this disease. Personalized medicine offers the ability to begin to tailor management strategies for each individual patient based on genetic variants associated with the metabolism, transport, and absorption/excretion of therapeutic drugs. In addition, the detection of specific protein targets and mutations in signal transduction specific pathway genes will enable the healthcare provider to utilize novel therapeutics, such as monoclonal antibody and small molecule therapeutics, more effectively. This chapter highlights several examples of these pharmacogenomic applications as they pertain to personalized medicine in the management of the cancer patient.
Living Additive Manufacturing: Transformation of Parent Gels into Diversely Functionalized Daughter Gels Made Possible by Visible Light Photoredox Catalysis.

Light-initiated additive manufacturing techniques typically rely on layer-by-layer addition or continuous extraction of polymers formed via nonliving, free radical polymerization methods that render the final materials “dead” toward further monomer insertion; the polymer chains within the materials cannot be reactivated to induce chain extension. An alternative “living additive manufacturing” strategy would involve the use of photocontrolled living radical polymerization to spatiotemporally insert monomers into dormant “parent” materials to generate more complex and diversely functionalized “daughter” materials. Here, we demonstrate a proof-of-concept study of living additive manufacturing using end-linked polymer gels embedded with trithiocarbonate iniferters that can be activated by photoinduced single-electron transfer from an organic photoredox catalyst in solution. This system enables the synthesis of a wide range of chemically and mechanically differentiated daughter gels from a single type of paren...
Immunoglobulin Light Chains Form an Extensive and Highly Ordered Fibril Involving the N- and C-Termini

Light-chain (AL)-associated amyloidosis is a systemic disorder involving the formation and deposition of immunoglobulin AL fibrils in various bodily organs. One severe instance of AL disease is exhibited by the patient-derived variable domain (VL) of the light chain AL-09, a 108 amino acid residue protein containing seven mutations relative to the corresponding germline protein, κI O18/O8 VL. Previous work has demonstrated that the thermodynamic stability of native AL-09 VL is greatly lowered by two of these mutations, Y87H and N34I, whereas a third mutation, K42Q, further increases the kinetics of fibril formation. However, detailed knowledge regarding the residues that are responsible for stabilizing the misfolded fibril structure is lacking. In this study, using solid-state NMR spectroscopy, we show that the majority of the AL-09 VL sequence is immobilized in the fibrils and that the N- and C-terminal portions of the sequence are particularly well-structured. Thus, AL-09 VL forms an extensively ordered...
Multipolar Cardiac Ablation: Is It Time for the Ventricles?

Point-by-point radiofrequency catheter ablation for scar-related ventricular tachycardia (VT) is frequently laborious and comes with long procedural times.1–3 This is driven, in part, by the time required to traverse the often large substrate with several point-by-point radiofrequency applications. The additional effort needed to optimize each radiofrequency application with regard to contact force, overlap, and duration can also be demanding. Although procedural success still requires operators to locate critical isthmuses and make deep lesions, a reduction in overall radiofrequency and procedure times would be widely welcomed both by operators and by our increasingly sick patients. The world of pulmonary vein isolation on the other hand, having been besieged by long radiofrequency times and reconnection related to gaps, has quickly embraced 1 shot approaches to ablation given their speed and efficacy.4,5 See Article by Nazer et al In this issue, Nazer et al6 make a case for bringing a similar approach to the world of scar VT ablation. This is particularly relevant given the increasing popularity of strategies, such as scar homogenization, core isolation, etc., where multiple radiofrequency lesions are …
Geocomputation: Data, Methods, and Applications in a New Era

Geocomputation is a research field where computational technology and methods are applied to geographic data. We are in the midst of a fundamental change that affects how computers are used in handling geographic data. The Web has provided access to much new data as well as hardware agnostic software platforms for mapping and analysis. These new data and capabilities offer both opportunities and challenges to researchers. Traditional methods of geocomputation face new challenges to cope with and take advantage of these new opportunities. In this article we survey these changes and discuss how they are influencing new directions of spatial data applications.
Using shape to turn off blinking for two-colour multiexciton emission in CdSe/CdS tetrapods

Semiconductor nanostructures capable of emitting from two excited states and thereby of producing two photoluminescence colours are of fundamental and potential technological significance. In this limited class of nanocrystals, CdSe/CdS core/arm tetrapods exhibit the unusual trait of two-colour (red and green) multiexcitonic emission, with green emission from the CdS arms emerging only at high excitation fluences. Here we show that by synthetic shape-tuning, both this multi-colour emission process, and blinking and photobleaching behaviours of single tetrapods can be controlled. Specifically, we find that the properties of dual emission and single-nanostructure photostability depend on different structural parameters—arm length and arm diameter, respectively—but that both properties can be realized in the same nanostructure. Furthermore, based on results of correlated photoluminescence and transient absorption measurements, we conclude that hole-trap filling in the arms and partial state-filling in the core are necessary preconditions for the observation of multiexciton multi-colour emission. CdSe/CdS tetrapods exhibit the unusual trait of two-colour multiexcitonic emission. Here Mishraet al. study this type of dual emission at the single-nanocrystal level. By tuning arm diameter and length they seek to understand shape-dependent evolution of the emission and of blinking behaviour.
Time-Optimal Control for Underwater Vehicles

Abstract This paper addresses time-optimal control problems for a special class of controlled mechanical systems, underwater vehicles. Lie algebras associated to mechanical systems enjoy certain very special properties, which, together with the maximum principle, allow the deduction of information regarding the structure of singular extremals, and in particular of time-optimal trajectories. We apply the general theory to a model of an underwater vehicle and illustrate our results with some simulations. We consider the fully actuated and the underactuated situations.
Risk Adjustment and Performance Measurement for Lung Cancer Resection

Comparative audit is an essential tool for multicenter quality efforts. The components include a rigorously defined and collected data source, carefully selected and defined preintervention patient variables that may impact outcome, appropriate risk stratification to aid in comparing varying populations, meticulous outcome selection and analysis, and independent audit to ensure the veracity of the data.
Automatic noise estimation and context-enhanced data fusion of IMU and Kinect for human motion measurement

The aim of this paper is to propose a robust, accurate and portable system for human body motion measurement. The system includes Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) and a Kinect or vision sensors. Since Kinect sampling rate is low (30 Hz per second) and it suffers from occlusion, it cannot individually measure human body motion accurately and robustly. On the other hand, IMU does not suffer from these problems, but it suffers from drift in particular with long-term motion monitoring and other types of errors (e.g., high acceleration motions, temperature and voltage variations). Thus, in this study, IMU and Kinect data were fused using a context enhanced extended Kalman filter. Rules were generated based on the context of motion in order to adjust Kalman filter parameters. In addition, an automated approach is introduced to estimate the variance of the noise of the sensors during the operation. Considering motion context and automatic noise detection, the robustness of monitoring is enhanced against errors related to motion context (i.e., high acceleration and long-term motions); furthermore, offline calibration is no longer required to set the parameters of the filter. The system was tested on leg and arm motions. The root mean square error of our fusion method was 6.08° lower than using only gyroscope, 16.98° lower than using only accelerometer, 2.49° lower than using only the Kinect and 8.99° lower than using simple EKF fusion method, which does not consider motion context and automatic noise estimation.
Comparisons of traffic-related ultrafine particle number concentrations measured in two urban areas by central, residential, and mobile monitoring

Traffic-related ultrafine particles (UFP; 12,000 hours of measurements at the central sites, 1,000 hours of measurements at each of 20 residential sites in the two study areas, and >120 hours of mobile measurements over the course of ~1 year in each study area. Our results show differences between the monitoring strategies: mean one-minute PNC on-roads were higher (64,000 and 32,000 particles/cm3 in Boston and Chelsea, respectively) compared to central-site measurements (23,000 and 19,000 particles/cm3) and both were higher than at residences (14,000 and 15,000 particles/cm3). Temporal correlations and spatial heterogeneity also differed between the platforms. Temporal correlations were generally highest between central and residential sites, and lowest between central-site and on-road measurements. We observed the greatest spatial heterogeneity across monitoring platforms during the morning rush hours (06:00-09:00) and the lowest during the overnight hours (18:00-06:00). Longer averaging times (days and hours vs. minutes) increased temporal correlations (Pearson correlations were 0.69 and 0.60 vs. 0.39 in Boston; 0.71 and 0.61 vs. 0.45 in Chelsea) and reduced spatial heterogeneity (coefficients of divergence were 0.24 and 0.29 vs. 0.33 in Boston; 0.20 and 0.27 vs. 0.31 in Chelsea). Our results suggest that combining stationary and mobile monitoring may lead to improved characterization of UFP in urban areas and thereby lead to improved exposure assignment for epidemiology studies.
Return-to-Play Laws

The family of a high school football player filed suit against the high school after their son suffered a concussion during team practice which resulted in the young athlete's death, due to the sch...
Development of a signal-head-free intersection control logic in a fully connected and autonomous vehicle environment

Abstract Establishment of effective cooperation between vehicles and transportation infrastructure improves travel reliability in urban transportation networks. Lack of collaboration, however, exacerbates congestion due mainly to frequent stops at signalized intersections. It is beneficial to develop a control logic that collects basic safety message from approaching connected and autonomous vehicles and guarantees efficient intersection operations with safe and incident free vehicle maneuvers. In this paper, a signal-head-free intersection control logic is formulated into a dynamic programming model that aims to maximize the intersection throughput. A stochastic look-ahead technique is proposed based on Monte Carlo tree search algorithm to determine the near-optimal actions (i.e., acceleration rates) over time to prevent movement conflicts. Our numerical results confirm that the proposed technique can solve the problem efficiently and addresses the consequences of existing traffic signals. The proposed approach, while completely avoids incidents at intersections, significantly reduces travel time (ranging between 59.4% and 83.7% when compared to fixed-time and fully-actuated control strategies) at intersections under various demand patterns.
The Illusory Flow and Passage of Time within Consciousness: A Multidisciplinary Analysis

Flow and passage of time puzzles were analyzed by first clarifying their roles in the current multidisciplinary understanding of time in consciousness. All terms ( flow , passage , happening , becoming ) are carefully defined. Flow and passage are defined differently, the former involving the psychological aspects of time and the latter involving the evolving universe and associated new cerebral events. The concept of the flow of time (FOT) is deconstructed into two levels: (a) a lower level ― a perceptual dynamic flux, or happening , or flow of events (not time); and (b) an upper level ― a cognitive view of past/present/future in which the observer seems to move from one to the other. With increasing evidence that all perception is a discrete continuity provided by illusory perceptual completion, the lower-level FOT is essentially the result of perceptual completion. The brain conflates the expression flow ( passage , for some) of time with experiences of perceptual completion. However, this is an illusory percept. Converging evidence on the upper-level FOT reveals it as a false cognition that has the illusory percept of object persistence as its prerequisite. To research this argument, an experiment that temporarily removes the experience of the lower-level FOT might be conducted. The claustrum of the brain (arguably the center of consciousness) should be intermittently stimulated to create a scenario of discrete observations (involving all the senses) with long interstimulus intervals of non-consciousness and thereby no perceptual completion. Without perceptual completion, there should be no subjective experience of the lower-level FOT.
Three hours, two apps, no problem! A quick introduction to iPhone/iPad development: pre-conference workshop

The iPhone and iPad are revolutionary technologies that have transformed the computing landscape. Computer Science students own these devices, and naturally want to learn how to write apps for them. For faculty interested in obliging, there is, unfortunately, a dauntingly steep learning curve. The purpose of this workshop is to help flatten that curve. It will start with an introduction to the language, frameworks and development tools in which all of the apps that are available on the App Store - from Angry Birds to Zulu Time - are developed. Participants will then create two modest apps that will illustrate the major design patterns common to all apps.
The normativity of meaning

Construction d'une theorie de la normativite de la signification qui rend compte de la relation essentielle entre la signification et la justification, d'une part, et fournit une critique satisfaisante du naturalisme semantique, d'autre part. Examinant la critique de la reduction type-type du mental au physique chez D. Davidson, et la critique de la theorie dispositionnaliste chez S. Kripke, l'A. defend l'argument du role justificatoire essentiel de la signification (EJRM) contre la reduction naturaliste, synthetique et a posteriori, de la justification et de la signification
The Living Stone

I am in an empty room with several long floor-to-ceiling windows. I am lying down on a wooden floor on the second storey. It is afternoon. Outside two boys are walking in a path. Shortly, a stone is hurled through a very small opening in the window in front of where I lie. The stone lands beside me. Shortly after, another stone is hurled, also through the very small opening; it too lands beside me.
Assessment of Intracellular Oxygenation of Solid Tumors

This study was launched to determine whether oxygenation of tumor cells, as opposed to intra-tumor red blood cells, could be verified with a non-invasive methodology. The markers used to differentiate between the two cell types were hemoglobin for the RBC and cytochrome c oxidase (cytochrome aa3) for the tumor cells. Near infrared and visible mu lt iwave length, differential spectrophotometry were used to directly assess in vivo kinetic changes in relative hemoglobin saturation, tissue blood volume, and cytochrome aa3 redox state in the BA1112 rhabdomyosarcoma and in skeletal muscle, its derivative tissue. Tissue hemodynamics and intracellular redox status were monitored both independently in tumors and concurrently with muscle in anesthetized WAG/Rij/Y rats breathing normoxic, hyperoxic, hypoxic, and hypercapnic gas mixtures and also in response to administered vasoactive agents. Optical signal responses were not necessarily influenced by changes in arterial perfusion pressure (MAP) as verified by use of vasoactive agents chosen to increase and decrease MAP. Hypoxia and hypercapnic acidosis invariably decreased both tumor and muscle oxygenation as evidenced by hemoglobin deoxygenation, reduced tissue blood volume, and increased intra-mitochondrial cyt aa3 reduction. Muscle was not responsive to hyperoxia (FIO2=1.0). In tumors, hyperoxia consistently increased the HbFIO2 content even though tissue blood volume fell. However, the direction and magnitude of oxidation-reduction changes in cytochrome aa3 varied among tumors. These responses were not correlated with the size (volume) of the tumor. We speculate that the underlying cause of this idiosyncratic behavior was the variable stage and degree of vascular proliferation/degeneration in the tumors. These findings emphasize that increased oxygenation of the tumor cells, for instance prior to radiation treatment, can only be judged by their intracellular cytochrome response, not by the local blood oxygenation.
TLR4 inhibitor TAK-242 attenuates the adverse neural effects of diet-induced obesity

Obesity exerts negative effects on brain health, including decreased neurogenesis, impaired learning and memory, and increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Because obesity promotes glial activation, chronic neuroinflammation, and neural injury, microglia are implicated in the deleterious effects of obesity. One pathway that is particularly important in mediating the effects of obesity in peripheral tissues is toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling. The potential contribution of TLR4 pathways in mediating adverse neural outcomes of obesity has not been well addressed. To investigate this possibility, we examined how pharmacological inhibition of TLR4 affects the peripheral and neural outcomes of diet-induced obesity. Male C57BL6/J mice were maintained on either a control or high-fat diet for 12 weeks in the presence or absence of the specific TLR4 signaling inhibitor TAK-242. Outcomes examined included metabolic indices, a range of behavioral assessments, microglial activation, systemic and neuroinflammation, and neural health endpoints. Peripherally, TAK-242 treatment was associated with partial inhibition of inflammation in the adipose tissue but exerted no significant effects on body weight, adiposity, and a range of metabolic measures. In the brain, obese mice treated with TAK-242 exhibited a significant reduction in microglial activation, improved levels of neurogenesis, and inhibition of Alzheimer-related amyloidogenic pathways. High-fat diet and TAK-242 were associated with only very modest effects on a range of behavioral measures. These results demonstrate a significant protective effect of TLR4 inhibition on neural consequences of obesity, findings that further define the role of microglia in obesity-mediated outcomes and identify a strategy for improving brain health in obese individuals.
Relocating the Qing in the Global History of Science: The Manchu Translation of the 1603 World Map by Li Yingshi and Matteo Ricci

AbstractThe Map of Observing the Mysteries of the Heaven and Earth is a world map in eight panels created in 1603 by the Ming dynasty military official Li Yingshi 李應試. The map is a variant of the k...
Structures and Energetics of NI 3 and N 2 I 4

We have applied new methods for performing coupled-cluster calculations to small molecules containing iodine atoms; specifically, NI3 and N2 I4 . Because NI3 is known to be very reactive, attempts to measure its thermodynamic properties have been challenging at best. To date, N2 I4 has not been isolated, and our results suggest that its isolation will be just as challenging. We find that the ΔHf (NI3 )=+307.7 kJ mol-1 and ΔHf (N2 I4 )=+551.6 kJ mol-1 , confirming that they are unstable with respect to their decomposition products N2 and I2 .
Topology optimization under topologically dependent material uncertainties

A methodology allowing for the algorithmic integration of topologically dependent random fields of material parameters in topology optimization processes is presented. A detailed example is provided to illustrate the methodology step by step.
The relationships between worry, happiness and pain catastrophizing in the experience of acute pain.

BACKGROUND The current study aimed to (a) evaluate the effects of an experimental manipulation of worry and happiness on pain perception and measures of worry about pain and pain catastrophizing and (b) determine if changes in situation-specific worry about pain and pain catastrophizing would be related to changes in acute pain. METHODS The study included 120 healthy, pain-free volunteers. Participants were exposed to four levels of noxious stimulation and asked to report on the pain intensity, worry about pain and pain catastrophizing they experienced during the stimulation procedures. They were then randomly assigned to either a Happy or a Worry condition, where they were exposed to emotion induction procedures. The noxious exposure procedures and measures of pain, pain-related worry and pain catastrophizing were then repeated. RESULTS Participants in the Worry condition reported significant increases in pain intensity, and those in the Happy condition reported significant decreases in pain intensity. Further, the Worry condition participants reported significant increases in both pain-related worry and pain catastrophizing, while the Happy condition showed the opposite effects. Finally, changes in worry about pain and pain catastrophizing were found to mediate the impact of the affect induction procedure on pain intensity. CONCLUSIONS The findings demonstrate that pain intensity, worry about pain and pain catastrophizing are all sensitive to changes in mood. The results have potential clinical implications. SIGNIFICANCE The current study shows that manipulation-induced changes in pain-related worry, pain catastrophizing, and affect have direct effects on the experience of acute pain. More broadly, the overlap of these three variables provides with anxiety and mood disorders offers the promise of new vistas for research and treatment of pain conditions by assessing and targeting the cognitions and behaviors that are common to worry and catastrophizing.
An Objective System for Quantifying the Effect of Cognitive Load on Movement in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

For someone with Autism Spectrum Disorder, performance on tasks that require coordinated motor and cognitive activities, such as walking while talking (or texting) on our phones, can take substantially more effort to accomplish. While it is more common to isolate and examine motor and cognitive skill in separate experiments, we propose a dual task experiment to allow us to examine performance in people with autism more realistically. We designed a system composed of three task types and accompanying hardware to simultaneously quantify balance, fine motor skill, and cognitive ability. We hypothesized that the additional demands of the balance and speeded finger-tapping tasks would degrade motor performance in the simultaneous conditions, but not impact cognitive (N-Back task) performance. Movement data were evaluated by comparing the change of each group across 3 levels of cognitive load (0-, 1-, and 2-back). We tested the task on a small sample of young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n=4) and matched controls (n=4). We observed a trend largely consistent with our hypotheses. The system’s temporal precision and modular design also allow for the incorporation of other sensors as needed, like EEG or heart rate variability. We propose that a version of this system be tested as a putative outcome measure for interventions involving attention, cognitive load or certain types of motor skill training.
Knowledge Gaps and Opportunities for Research

Through the process of researching, writing and editing this book, many knowledge gaps within supportive care for pediatric oncology patients are quite evident, leading to a multitude of possible avenues for research in the supportive care field. Although the majority of research dollars go toward projects whose goal is to improve patient survival through treatment of the underlying malignancy, improvement in supportive care practices has been a vital aspect of the survival gains made to date. Continued assessment and advancement in this field will continue to yield results in improvement in patient quality of life and potentially treatment-related morbidity and mortality. Here we outline some of the areas that necessitate further work.
An Algorithm for Quasi-Associative and Quasi-Markovian Rules of Combination in Information Fusion

In this paper one proposes a simple algorithm of combining the fusion rules, those rules which first use the conjunctive rule and then the transfer of conflicting mass to the non-empty sets, in such a way that they gain the property of associativity and fulfill the Markovian requirement for dynamic fusion.
Trends in Mortality for Medicare Beneficiaries Treated in the Emergency Department From 2009 to 2016.

Importance Emergency department (ED) visits are common and increasing. Whether outcomes associated with care in the ED are improving over time is largely unknown to date. Objective To examine trends in 30-day mortality rates associated with ED care among Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study used a random 5% sample in 2009 and 2010 and a 20% sample from 2011 to 2016, for a total of 15 416 385 ED visits from 2009 to 2016 among Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older. Exposures Time (year) as a continuous variable. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was 30-day mortality, overall and stratified by illness severity and hospital characteristics. Secondary outcomes included mortality rates on the day of the ED visit (day 0) as well as at 7 and 14 days. Changes in disposition from the ED (admission, observation, transfer, died in the ED, and discharged) over time were also examined. Results The sample included 15 416 385 ED visits (60.8% women and 39.2% men; mean [SD] age, 78.6 [8.5] years) at 4828 acute care hospitals. The percentage of patients discharged from the ED increased from 53.6% in 2009 to 56.7% in 2016. Unadjusted 30-day mortality declined from 5.1% in 2009 to 4.6% in 2016 (−0.068% per year; 95% CI, −0.074% to −0.063% per year;P Conclusions and Relevance Among Medicare beneficiaries receiving ED care in the United States, mortality within 30 days of an ED visit appears to have declined in recent years, particularly for patients with the highest severity of illness, even as fewer patients are being admitted from an ED visit. This study’s findings suggest that further study is needed to understand the reasons for this decline and why certain types of hospitals are seeing greater improvements in outcomes.
Applying a Freirian Lens on Social Justice Education: One Practitioner’s Perspective

Freire’s writings beyond Pedagogy of the Oppressed offer value to social justice educators looking to deeply explore and inform their own practice. His ideas related to class suicide, authority and freedom, political clarity, educational directivity and epistemological circling can enhance social justice educators approach to recognizing personal prejudices, negotiating emotions, personal disclosure, and navigating authority in educational settings. Through phenomenological reflections on my social justice education practice as a curriculum designer and facilitator within higher education, Freire’s ideas are used to analyze my experiences and provide insight for how I can re-imagine my practice to contribute to democratic, participatory educational processes for students. Openly offering my praxis aspires to provide insight for how others may also use Freire’s broader works to engage in praxis themselves.
Tailoring the Toughness and Electrochemical Capacitance of CNT Reinforced Mortars

To unlock the contribution of carbon nanotubes in potential applications it is necessary to take into consideration the degree of their dispersion. In this work, a simple technique has been used for characterizing the degree of CNT dispersion in mortar based on values of the capacitive reactance measured using AC impedance spectroscopy. The relationship between capacitance values and fracture toughness provides valuable information on the actual CNT distribution in the matrix.
Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapy, and Pharmacopolicy Through an Evidence-Based Medicine: A Novel Approach for First-Year Medical Students.

Introduction As evidenced by student performance on various assessments, pharmacotherapy remains a comparative weakness in undergraduate medical education, with several institutions developing nove...
Risk factors for penile fracture compared with a surgical control cohort in the United States: the role of substance abuse

Penile fracture (PF) is a surgical emergency. Given its rarity, we queried a national cohort over an 11-year period to study the temporal and demographic variations in presentation, evaluation, and management of patients with PF compared with a cohort of control patients. The National Inpatient Sample was queried between the years 2005 and 2016 for patients with a diagnosis of PF. Appendectomy patients were selected as a control cohort, given the non-discriminatory nature of this disease. Clinical and demographic data of the patients were compared with that of controls. Presenting symptoms, rates of surgical repair, and rates of associated surgical procedures were evaluated in the PF cohort. During the study period, 5802 patients were hospitalized for PF. The annual incidence of PF remained unchanged at 1.0-1.8 cases per 100 000 hospitalizations over the study period. Compared with the control cohort, PF patients were more likely to be younger (38.7 years vs 41.2 years, P ≤ 0.001), have lower rates of comorbidities except erectile dysfunction (1.4% vs 0.1%, P ≤ 0.001), and were more likely of Black race (25.4% vs 6.2%, P ≤ 0.001). Notably, PF patients had significantly higher rates of substance abuse (26.4% vs 18.1%, P ≤ 0.001), despite no difference in the diagnosed psychiatric disorders. PF rarely presented with hematuria (3.5%); however, urethral evaluation was performed in 23.1%, most commonly with cystoscopy (19.2%). PF occurs more commonly in a younger, healthier male population, and among minorities. Importantly, rates of substance abuse appear to be higher in the PF cohort compared with those of controls.
Neighborhood Context and Neighboring Ties

This article analyzes whether neighborhood context or environment in Seattle influences dimensions of social ties among neighbors, independent of the individual attributes of residents such as home ownership and socio-economic status. Three dimensions of neighbor ties are examined: interaction, organizing collectively, and knowing about neighbors. A number of environmental attributes are considered, including the age of the housing, residential stability, levels of affluence, the presence of blacks and foreign born, the concentration of commercial areas (heterogeneous land use), and the degree of upkeep in the area. While many are correlated with neighbor ties, few have a strong relationship with neighbor ties when individual attributes are controlled statistically. We find, in addition, that the importance of context varies with the type of neighbor tie. We discuss the implications of these findings for formulating a contextual theory of neighborhood life.