cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A simple and efficient implementation of CFS-PML in the FDTD analysis of periodic structures

The use of perfectly matched layers (PMLs) is one of the most popular techniques employed for mesh truncation in finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations. Its original form, however, has a poor absorption of evanescent waves, which are highly present in simulations of periodic structures. A better absorption has been achieved using a complex frequency shifted (CFS) PML, which has been implemented via a convolution scheme. In this letter, we present a simple and efficient implementation of the CFS PML and apply it to periodic structures.
Can Administrative Data on Child Support Be Used to Improve the EITC? Evidence from Wisconsin

We examine EITC compliance using a unique dataset combining income tax returns, Unemployment Insurance data, state child support data, and data collected by hand from Wis- consin courthouses. A substantial number of EITC claims are made by adults listed as the court-ordered payor or by adults not identifi ed in child support data. Simple calculations extrapolating Wisconsin's experience to the rest of the country suggest that as much as $1.7 billion of noncompliant EITC claims could possibly be identifi ed. We conclude that the child support case registry can be an effective tool for identifying a subset of inappropriate EITC claims prior to payment.
Acute kidney injury biomarkers: renal angina and the need for a renal troponin I

Acute kidney injury (AKI) in hospitalized patients is independently associated with increased morbidity and mortality in pediatric and adult populations. Continued reliance on serum creatinine and urine output to diagnose AKI has resulted in our inability to provide successful therapeutic and supportive interventions to prevent and mitigate AKI and its effects. Research efforts over the last decade have focused on the discovery and validation of novel urinary biomarkers to detect AKI prior to a change in kidney function and to aid in the differential diagnosis of AKI. The aim of this article is to review the AKI biomarker literature with a focus on the context in which they should serve to add to the clinical context facing physicians caring for patients with, or at-risk for, AKI. The optimal and appropriate utilization of AKI biomarkers will only be realized by understanding their characteristics and placing reasonable expectations on their performance in the clinical arena.
Bhutan: educational challenges in the land of the Thunder Dragon

The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, where images of magical splendor obscure its challenges, provides a viewpoint from which to understand the contradictions that emerging economies face as they move towards mass education. Isolated from the outside world in every sense except for the mythologies that surround it, Bhutan is attempting to move from a basic agrarian societal framework as found in the feudal 1800s into the whirl of a technologically savvy twenty-first century. The demands for such a transition require educators and politicians at all levels to rethink the role of schooling and what it means to be educated in this country at this point in time. To provide guidance, the government set up a special task force, the Royal Education Council, to devise a curriculum and pedagogy that would equip young people with the skills to move into the future without forsaking their past. This ethnographic piece of research explores the challenges faced by teachers and principals in nine designated Beacon schools ...
Picoscale science and nanoscale engineering by electron microscopy

A future scanning/transmission electron microscope is proposed to be a comprehensive machine that is capable of providing picoseconds time-resolved information at sub-nanometer scale and even at picometer scale, spatial resolution. At the same time, physical and chemical properties can be measured in situ from a region as small as a few nanometers by introducing local electric, mechanical, thermal, magnetic and/or optical stimulations/excitations under vacuum or even in a quasi-ambient environment. It is anticipated that nanoscopy and picoscopy will be key tools for studying picoscale science and developing nanoscale technology related to materials science, biology, physics and chemistry.
On the job usability for database manuals: meeting users' workplace strategies for learning data retrieval tasks

Summary form only given. Research that focuses on the educational needs of workers who are learning to operate database applications is being carried out. Specifically, attention is being given to the problem-solving strategies that users in a workplace employ in complex data retrieval tasks, such as formatting reports, sorting records, selecting subsets of records, and relating records from two or more databases. The investigation has two dimensions: analyzing workers' actual learning styles and cognitive strategies for on-the-job tasks and analyzing the information, knowledge, and conceptual representations required for various types of complex problems. The data obtained are intended to be a starting point for designing content and terminology in user manuals that truly accord with worker's actual processes and language of learning and performance. >
Distributed Training Strategies for the Structured Perceptron

Perceptron training is widely applied in the natural language processing community for learning complex structured models. Like all structured prediction learning frameworks, the structured perceptron can be costly to train as training complexity is proportional to inference, which is frequently non-linear in example sequence length. In this paper we investigate distributed training strategies for the structured perceptron as a means to reduce training times when computing clusters are available. We look at two strategies and provide convergence bounds for a particular mode of distributed structured perceptron training based on iterative parameter mixing (or averaging). We present experiments on two structured prediction problems -- named-entity recognition and dependency parsing -- to highlight the efficiency of this method.
Leptin Is Present in Human Cord Blood

It has recently been reported that the ob gene receptor was expressed on human and murine hematopoietic stem cells and that the ob gene product leptin stimulated hemato- and lymphopoiesis at the stem cell level. These findings suggest a role for leptin in hemato- and lymphopoiesis during fetal development. There is at present no evidence, however, that leptin is synthesized and released by the fetus. To investigate this possibility, we have measured plasma leptin concentrations in the cord blood of 78 newborn infants. We found that leptin was present in all 78 infants in concentrations comparable with those found in adults (0.6-55.7 ng/ml). Overall, plasma leptin concentrations in the cord blood of infants correlated with birth weight (r = 0.74, P < 0.001). These observations show that leptin is synthesized and released by fetal fat cells. In addition, they are compatible with the concept that leptin may play a role in human fetal hematopoiesis.
Trends in Neisseria gonorrhoeae Susceptibility to Cephalosporins in the United States, 2006-2014

Gonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted disease that, if untreated, can cause reproductive health complications. Gonorrhea treatment has been repeatedly jeopardized by antimicrobial resistance. To ensure effective treatment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) periodically updates treatment guidelines based on resistance trends. In 2010 and following declining cephalosporin susceptibility in several countries, CDC updated its treatment recommendation from single-dose cephalosporin (injectable ceftriaxone or oral cefixime) to intensified combination therapy of either ceftriaxone (at a higher dose than previously recommended) or cefixime, plus a second antimicrobial.1 CDC again updated guidelines in 2012 to recommend ceftriaxone-based combination therapy as the single recommended therapy.1 We describe recent gonococcal cephalosporin susceptibility trends emphasizing changes following publication of these guidelines.
Alchemist: A Transparent Dependence Distance Profiling Infrastructure

Effectively migrating sequential applications to take advantage of parallelism available on multicore platforms is a well-recognized challenge. This paper addresses important aspects of this issue by proposing a novel profiling technique to automatically detect available concurrency in C programs. The profiler, called Alchemist, operates completely transparently to applications, and identifies constructs at various levels of granularity (e.g., loops, procedures, and conditional statements) as candidates for asynchronous execution. Various dependences including read-after-write (RAW), write-after-read (WAR), and write-after-write (WAW), are detected between a construct and its continuation, the execution following the completion of the construct. The time-ordered {\em distance} between program points forming a dependence gives a measure of the effectiveness of parallelizing that construct, as well as identifying the transformations necessary to facilitate such parallelization. Using the notion of post-dominance, our profiling algorithm builds an execution index tree at run-time. This tree is used to differentiate among multiple instances of the same static construct, and leads to improved accuracy in the computed profile, useful to better identify constructs that are amenable to parallelization. Performance results indicate that the profiles generated by Alchemist pinpoint strong candidates for parallelization, and can help significantly ease the burden of application migration to multicore environments.
Precious metals in SDSS quasar spectra. II. Tracking the evolution of strong, 0.4 < z < 2.3 Mg II absorbers with thousands of systems

We have performed an analysis of over 34,000 Mg II doublets at 0.36 < z < 2.29 in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 quasar spectra; the catalog, advanced data products, and tools for analysis are publicly available. The catalog was divided into 14 small redshift bins with roughly 2500 doublets in each and from Monte Carlo simulations, we estimate 50% completeness at rest equivalent width W_r ≈ 0.8 A. The equivalent width frequency distribution is described well by an exponential model at all redshifts, and the distribution becomes flatter with increasing redshift, i.e., there are more strong systems relative to weak ones. Direct comparison with previous SDSS Mg II surveys reveals that we recover at least 70% of the doublets in these other catalogs, in addition to detecting thousands of new systems. We discuss how these surveys came by their different results, which qualitatively agree but because of the very small uncertainties, differ by a statistically significant amount. The estimated physical cross section of Mg II-absorbing galaxy halos increased approximately threefold from z = 0.4 to z = 2.3, while the W_r ≥ 1 A absorber line density, dN_(Mg II)/dX, grew by roughly 45%. Finally, we explore the different evolution of various absorber populations—damped Lyα absorbers, Lyman limit systems, strong C IV absorbers, and strong and weaker Mg II systems—across cosmic time (0 < z < 6).
In vitro anti-Mycobacterium avium activities of quinolones: predicted active structures and mechanistic considerations.

The relationship between the structures of quinolones and their anti-Mycobacterium avium activities has been previously derived by using the Multiple Computer-Automated Structure Evaluation program. A number of substructural constraints required to overcome the resistance of most of the strains have been identified. Nineteen new quinolones which qualify under these substructural requirements were identified by the program and subsequently tested. The results show that the substructural attributes identified by the program produced a successful a priori prediction of the anti-M. avium activities of the new quinolones. All 19 quinolones were found to be active, and 4 of them are as active or better than ciprofloxacin. With these new quinolones, the updated multiple computer-automated structure evaluation program structure-activity relationship analysis has helped to uncover additional information about the nature of the substituents at the C5 and C7 positions needed for optimal inhibitory activity. A possible explanation of drug resistance based on the observation of suicide inactivation of bacterial cytochrome P-450 by the cyclopropylamine moiety has also been proposed and is discussed in this report. Furthermore, we confirm the view that the amount of the uncharged form present in a neutral pH solution plays a crucial role in the drug9s penetration ability.
Changing patterns of social inequalities in anaemia among women in India: cross-sectional study using nationally representative data

Objectives: To examine the patterns of social inequalities in anaemia over time among women of reproductive age in India. Design: Repeated cross-sectional study using nationally representative data from the 1998/1999 and 2005/2006 National Family Health Surveys of India. Multivariate modified Poisson regression models were used to assess trends and social inequalities in anaemia.
An analog floating-gate node for Supervised learning

We present an improved analog floating-gate pFET synapse that implements a supervised learning algorithm similar to the least mean square (LMS) learning rule. Weight decay plays a key role in several learning rules; this floating-gate synapse exhibits this behavior. We examine implications of the weight decay appearing in the correlation learning rule realized in the floating-gate synapse and provide experimental data characterizing the synapse and its performance in one-input and two-input LMS networks. Analog floating-gate synapses will enable larger-scale, on-chip learning networks than previously possible.
Evolutionary Paths that Expand Plasmid Host-Range: Implications for Spread of Antibiotic Resistance

The World Health Organization has declared the emergence of antibiotic resistance to be a global threat to human health. Broad-host-range plasmids have a key role in causing this health crisis because they transfer multiple resistance genes to a wide range of bacteria. To limit the spread of antibiotic resistance, we need to gain insight into the mechanisms by which the host range of plasmids evolves. Although initially unstable plasmids have been shown to improve their persistence through evolution of the plasmid, the host, or both, the means by which this occurs are poorly understood. Here, we sought to identify the underlying genetic basis of expanded plasmid host-range and increased persistence of an antibiotic resistance plasmid using a combined experimental-modeling approach that included whole-genome resequencing, molecular genetics and a plasmid population dynamics model. In nine of the ten previously evolved clones, changes in host and plasmid each slightly improved plasmid persistence, but their combination resulted in a much larger improvement, which indicated positive epistasis. The only genetic change in the plasmid was the acquisition of a transposable element from a plasmid native to the Pseudomonas host used in these studies. The analysis of genetic deletions showed that the critical genes on this transposon encode a putative toxin–antitoxin (TA) and a cointegrate resolution system. As evolved plasmids were able to persist longer in multiple naive hosts, acquisition of this transposon also expanded the plasmid’s host range, which has important implications for the spread of antibiotic resistance.
Cost-Benefit Analysis as a Framework for Financial Regulation

Should Congress enact a formal cost-benefit analysis requirement for financial regulation? I survey the nature of costs and benefits of financial regulation, both “macro” regulation designed to stop crises and “micro” regulation of products, markets, and institutions. Although I find that financial regulation often grossly violates cost-benefit tests, the nature of its costs and benefits means that financial regulation is not likely to be much improved by adding a formalized cost-benefit procedure.
Moderate Prematurity and Risks for Cerebral Palsy

The association between moderate prematurity and the incidence of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes was assessed in a cohort of infants born in the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program of Northern California.
Implementation of a new dantrolene formulation across a multifacility health system.

Purpose An initiative to optimize the treatment of malignant hyperthermia in surgical patients through a dantrolene product conversion program is described. Summary A large health system’s formulary evaluation of a new dantrolene sodium product indicated that despite a higher cost per treatment course, the product could offer key advantages over older formulations of dantrolene in terms of preparation and administration time, product content, and storage requirements. A work group, consisting of pharmacy personnel, an anesthesiologist, a nurse anesthetist, and a representative of the health system’s group purchasing organization, determined that a switch to the new dantrolene product would offer both patient care benefits and process benefits. With the approval of the health system’s pharmacy and therapeutics committee, the new product was added to the formulary as the preferred dosage form of dantrolene, and existing dantrolene product stock was converted to the new formulation. Key implementation steps included (1) concurrent replacement of dantrolene stock on all “malignant hyperthermia carts” across the 15-hospital health system, (2) development of educational materials to raise awareness of the conversion and revised product preparation procedures, (3) anesthesiology provider and pharmacy staff education, (4) revision of dantrolene listings in each hospital’s computerized prescriber-order-entry system, and (5) redistribution of returned dantrolene product stock. The dantrolene product conversion occurred over a four-month period. Conclusion A multifacility health system was successful in converting an existing stock of dantrolene to a newly available formulation.
Development of Antimicrobial Resistance in Bacterial Isolates

Disc-agar diffusion antimicrobial susceptibility results obtained October 1, 1989 to September 30, 1990 were studied to identify organisms and antimicrobial agents exhibiting development of resistance. There were 88 instances (14 antimicrobial agents in 14 species) in which results changed from susceptible to resistant in 50 patients. The 50 patients had 58 cultures (sputa, 25; urine, 23; miscellaneous, 8; and blood, 2) with organisms developing resistance. The most common antimicrobial agents exhibiting development of resistance were piperacillin (20 instances), cefoperazone (18), and cephalothin (10). The most common organisms were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (23), Escherichia coli (18), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (11). The most common antimicrobial agent–organism combinations were P aeruginosa -mezlocillin (7), P aeruginosa -piperacillin (6), K pneumomae -cephalothin (5), and Enterobacter aerogenes -cefoperazone (6). These results suggest that certain organisms and antimicrobial agents should be monitored for development of resistance in our institution.
Structural and Electronic Stability of Russian-Doll-Structured Sc4C2@C80

Recent experimental work reported the synthesis, isolation, and characterization of a “Russian-doll”-style endohedral fullerene, encompassing a carbon dimer within a scandium tetrahedron, all encased by a C80 cage. We have investigated the equilibrium conformations and the associated charge transfer of the endohedral fullerene Sc4C2@C80 based on first-principles density-functional calculations. Our results show that a distorted tetrahedron Sc4 cluster enfolding around the C2 dimer has the desired electronic structure that leads to efficient charge transfer to the open-shell icosahedral C80. A detailed analysis of the charge transfer between the Sc4C2 configurations and the icosahedral C80 cage indicate that the structural stability of the Russian-doll-structured Sc4C2@C80 can be attributed to the donor−acceptor effects.
Investigations of an Americanist

David Harlan's comparison of my work to Satan's rebellion makes sense only if one thinks of America as heaven. The essay that follows, excerpted from the introduction to a forthcoming book, explains why I don't. It also sets out the context of my Puritan studies and so speaks to issues raised in Harlan's misguided jeremiad. I respect his moral passion and wish he would find among the values he celebrates the source of tolerance for my different, nonprescriptive project. Harlan assumes that the Puritans can tell us a lot "about how we should live." I would like to understand the constraints (as well as the creative energies) embedded in the rhetorical and conceptual forms that we use when deciding upon those "shoulds." I consider this a positive, not a negative, pursuit. For the record: I have always considered and written about Perry Miller as America's greatest intellectual historian and I have always tried to convey in my teaching and writing the extraordinary richness, depth, and complexity of the New England Puritan imagination, as well as its intellectual power and radically affirmative spirit. I would say of the major Puritan writers, mutatis mutandis, what I say of classic American literature:
Corporeal Implications of Contemporary Schooling Practices

Lacking empirical data on how teachers read students’ bodies for social class status, this chapter suggests that one can consider this question by examining the corporeal implications of contemporary curricular and programmatic influences in schools. This chapter analyzes Ruby Payne’s A Framework for Understanding Poverty and the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) charter school movement as two examples of such educational practices. This chapter argues that due to their deficit constructions of poor children, these programs narrowly define self-control as requiring poor children to comport themselves as middle-class children do, which results in a form of symbolic violence against working-class children.
Quality Characteristics of Fresh and Cooked Ground Beef can be Improved by the Incorporation of Lean Finely‐Textured Beef (LFTB)

Ground beef was formulated into six treatments of 82 or 93% lean with 0, 10, or 20% lean finely-textured beef (LFTB). Batches (n = 5/treatment) were ground and formed into patties, then aerobically packaged for 5 days of simulated retail display to measure fresh color and lipid oxidation (TBARS). Additional patties were cooked to 71.1C before measuring external and internal cooked color, TBARS, and Lee-Kramer shear force (LKSF). Lightness (L*), redness (a*), and pH of fresh patties increased (P 0.07) cooked color. Practical Applications Lean finely-textured beef (LFTB) is a product made using an advanced meat recovery system from high-fat, beef trimmings, and LFTB is treated with food-grade ammonia to increase product pH and reduce potential pathogenic bacteria contamination. Even though LFTB has received considerable negative media coverage since 2012 (Yadavalli and Jones 2014), results of this research indicate that the inclusion of LFTB up to 20% could lend many positive quality characteristics to both fresh and cooked ground beef patties. Decreased lipid oxidation along with improved fresh color could result in a product with greater quality attributes, especially a more appealing color to consumers. With no negative effects on cooked color or cooking loss and the potential for increased tenderness, LFTB inclusion is a viable way to produce a desirable product while ensuring more complete utilization of beef carcasses.
Understanding Work-Related Stress and Practice of Professional Self-Care – An Innovative Pedagogical Approach

Social workers experience tremendous work-related stress - particularly among those providing direct services in healthcare settings. A review of related literature summarized several critical challenges faced by social workers who work with highly difficult clients in these settings, including (a) clients who engage in manipulative high-risk behaviors; (b) clients with serious illness who have multiple relapses; (c) clients who attempt or commit suicide; and (d) those who perpetrate violent or aggressive acts against themselves or others. This paper described and evaluated three sets of experiential learning activities with graduate level social work students, designed to increase their self-awareness and understanding of work-related stress, establish professional boundaries with difficult clients, and practice professional self-care. Major themes covered in these activities include: (a) increasing self-awareness and therapeutic competence; (b) becoming emotionally present and accepting limits; and (c) assessing traumatic stress and self-care. Selected journals from 26 students who took a clinical social work practice in health care elective course and the instructor’s blogs were content analyzed. An evaluation survey was administered with 43 students to gather their overall feedback about the course activities. Results indicated that students felt that course activities increased the amount and quality of interaction they had with other students and the instructor. Many students showed an increase of self-awareness and their own abilities in managing work-related stress. Overall, the findings support the use of experiential learning activities and self- reflective journals, as an innovative pedagogical approach, to enhance students’ self-awareness and abilities to manage work-related stress.
Thalamocortical dysconnectivity in autism spectrum disorder: An analysis of the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange.

Abstract Background Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit differences in basic sensorimotor processing as well as general cortical excitability. These observations converge to implicate thalamocortical connectivity as a potential unifying neural mechanism. The goal of this study was to clarify mixed findings on thalamocortical functional connectivity in a large sample of individuals with ASD. Methods Using the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange, we examined thalamocortical functional connectivity in 228 individuals with ASD and a matched comparison group of 228 typically developing individuals. To fully characterize thalamocortical functional networks, we employed complementary seed-based approaches that examined connectivity of major cortical divisions (e.g., prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe) with the thalamus and whole-brain connectivity of specific thalamic subregions. Results The prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe, and sensorimotor cortex exhibited hyperconnectivity with the thalamus in individuals with ASD. In the whole-brain analysis, hyperconnectivity of several thalamic seeds included multiple cortical areas but tended to converge in temporal cortical areas, including the temporoparietal junction. Follow-up analyses of age effects revealed that the connectivity abnormalities in individuals with ASD were more pronounced in adolescents compared with children and adults. Conclusions These results confirm previous findings of temporal and motor thalamocortical hyperconnectivity in ASD and extend them to include somatosensory and prefrontal cortices. Although not directly addressable with the data available in the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange, this widespread hyperconnectivity could theoretically account for sensorimotor symptoms and general cortical excitability in ASD. Future studies should target comprehensive clinical and behavioral characterization in combination with functional connectivity to explore this possibility.
Winter warming and summer monsoon reduction after volcanic eruptions in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) simulations

Though previous studies have shown that state-of-the-art climate models are rather imperfect in their simulations of the climate response to large volcanic eruptions, the results depend on how the analyses were done. Observations show that all recent large tropical eruptions were followed by winter warming in the first Northern Hemisphere (NH) winter after the eruption, with little such response in the second winter, yet a number of the evaluations have combined the first and second winters. We have looked at just the first winter after large eruptions since 1850 in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) historical simulations, and find that most models do produce a winter warming signal, with warmer temperatures over NH continents and a stronger polar vortex in the lower stratosphere. We also examined NH summer precipitation responses in the first year after these large volcanic eruptions, and find clear reductions of summer monsoon rainfall.
Participatory Communication versus Communication Strategies of a Transnational NGO: Implementing the Indoor Residual Spraying Program in the Northern Region, Ghana

AbstractThis descriptive case study of the communication strategies used by a US-based transnational non-governmental organization (NGO) contracted to implement an indoor residual spraying aid program in the Northern Region of Ghana with the goal of eradicating malaria holds that aid recipients should hold decision-making power, be provided with information to make decisions, and collaborate with NGOs in order for an aid program to be successful and sustainable. A top down management approach by the NGO worked in concert with traditional and democratic structures in this collectivistic culture with high power distance leaving out meaningful participatory communication with the intended aid recipients.
A note on modeling world equity markets with nonsynchronous data

Abstract We investigate information transmission in world equity markets using lengthy time series of daily data for nine developed equity markets over the 1999–2014 (post-Euro) time interval. Three nine-variable systems are examined, including stock indexes in both local currency and US dollars plus foreign exchange rates. After finding only weak evidence of cointegration in the three nine-variable systems, vector autoregression models are used to identify which price indexes drive the others. Our initial tests are consistent with earlier findings; that is, the US market appears to be the clear price leader. However, after constructing alternative models with the US data series lagged one period (making it the first market reported each day rather than the last ), the results are reversed; the US is no longer the price leader. The US market is driven by nearly all other markets, while making little or no impact on the others. Thus, in earlier studies using nonsynchronous data reported by calendar date, it only appears that the US drives other stock markets, when in fact the US is merely an equal participant in information transmission around the world.
Cardiac Arrest Management

It is currently estimated that over 300,000 out-of-hospital cardiac (OHCA) arrests occur in the United States. Over half of OHCA cases are managed by EMS systems (Daya et al. Resuscitation 91:108–115, 2015). The national average for survival from an OHCA is approximately 12 % however; there is considerable variation by region and EMS system (Prevention, C.f.D.C.a., Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) National Summary Report: Non-Traumatic National Survival Report, 2014; Abella et al. Circulation 111:428–434, 2005). Factors associated with an improved survival from OHCA include crew witnessed arrest and bystander CPR (Hollenberg et al. Circulation 118:389–396, 2008). Survival from witnessed VF arrest decreases by 8 % for every minute delay in CPR and defibrillation (Sutton et al. Emerg Med Clin N Am 30(1):105–122, 2012). Overall outcomes correlate with early implementation of chest compression. There is a strong suggestion that bystander CPR whether with “chest compression only” or standard CPR is associated with better mortality and neurologic outcomes (Bernard and Buist Crit Care Med 31(7):2041–2051, 2003; Bohm et al. Resuscitation 82:1490–1495, 2011).
A Practical Application of a Maximum Entropy, Non-parametric Approach to Account for Epistemic Uncertainty Using Random Matrices

One major difficulty that exists in reconciling model predictions of a system with experimental measurements is assessing and accounting for the uncertainties in the system. There are several sources of uncertainty in model prediction of physical phenomena, the primary ones being: aleatoric uncertainty (i.e., uncertainty in the model parameters), epistemic uncertainty (i.e., uncertainty in the model itself), and model solution error. These forms of uncertainty can have insidious consequences for modeling if not properly identified and accounted for. In particular, confusion between aleatoric and epistemic uncertainty can lead to a fundamentally incorrect model being inappropriately fit to data such that the model seems to be correct. As a consequence, model predictions may be nonphysical or nonsensical outside of the regime for which the model was calibrated. This chapter presents a practical understanding of the method developed by Soize for incorporating estimates of epistemic uncertainty into parameter distributions used in structural dynamics analysis. Sample source code is provided in order to facilitate adoption of these techniques.
Somatic growth, aging, and longevity.

Although larger species of animals typically live longer than smaller species, the relationship of body size to longevity within a species is generally opposite. The longevity advantage of smaller individuals can be considerable and is best documented in laboratory mice and in domestic dogs. Importantly, it appears to apply broadly, including humans. It is not known whether theses associations represent causal links between various developmental and physiological mechanisms affecting growth and/or aging. However, variations in growth hormone (GH) signaling are likely involved because GH is a key stimulator of somatic growth, and apparently also exerts various “pro-aging” effects. Mechanisms linking GH, somatic growth, adult body size, aging, and lifespan likely involve target of rapamycin (TOR), particularly one of its signaling complexes, mTORC1, as well as various adjustments in mitochondrial function, energy metabolism, thermogenesis, inflammation, and insulin signaling. Somatic growth, aging, and longevity are also influenced by a variety of hormonal and nutritional signals, and much work will be needed to answer the question of why smaller individuals may be likely to live longer.
Children and Adolescents' Development of Executive Functions in Digital Contexts

This symposium will focus on developmental aspects of executive functions, and how technology may contribute to the enhancement of these essential cognitive skills over the lifespan. Speakers will address the development of executive functions in childhood and adolescence and will discuss issues relating to individual differences in executive functions. Throughout the presentations, speakers will discuss some of the methodological challenges in studying such an elusive construct and will discuss the opportunities afforded by new and emerging digital technologies. Issues include: (1) opportunities afforded by digital technologies for enhancing EF; (2) notable changes in EF over the course of development; (3) studying the transfer of EF with respect to more domain-specific skills; and (4) and challenges in consistently measuring EF across ages and in different populations. This symposium aims to point towards limitations and new directions in understanding and improving the development of EF in a technologically advanced society, with consideration of how digital technologies can impair -- or improve the development of specific cognitive skills. Implications for children and adolescents' development in a digital context will be discussed.
A Quasi-Periodic Linear Feeder for the Impurity Granular Injection on DIII-D

Injection of solid nonfuel pellets has been actively used as a tool for pacing and mitigation of edge localized modes (ELMs). In DIII-D, effective ELM pacing has been demonstrated by the high-frequency injection of lithium and carbon submillimeter spheres, using the impurity granule injector (IGI). This device injects granules into the plasma at speeds up to 150 m/s, through impact with a rotating impeller. In the IGI, high-frequency granule delivery was accomplished through a vibrational granule dropper, in which high time-average rates are obtained at the cost of lack of period control. We present a new in-line granule feeder, capable of delivering granules of size 0.2–2 mm with no restriction of material properties, at quasi-periodic rates of up to 150 Hz, for 0.7-mm diameter lithium granules (600 Hz using 0.3-mm granules). The new dropper mechanism combines two piezo-in-line units; one which feeds the impeller and one which circulates granules that are filtered out of the feeder path. A remotely adjustable filter eliminates granules that are stacked, oversized, or side by side allowing the formation of a single moving granule injection line. The granules fall off the in-line feeder exit one at a time, achieving a quasi-periodic delivery rate proportional to the exit speed. At higher rates, the periodicity deteriorates. This behavior was studied using high-speed cameras and electrostatic measurements, and it was found that at drop rates <60 Hz, the granule delivery period has a variation of ±25% which appears to be caused by gaps which develop in the last centimeter of the injection line, as granules exit off the moving track. The linear feeder concept is robust against bridge instabilities and clogging issues, thanks to the simple diverter filter and constant recirculation of granules. Furthermore, the open-top design of the device facilitates refilling the device from separate reservoirs and has easy access for directly monitoring operation and adjustment. This paper describes the details of the in-line feeder design, along with several design iterations. The goal is a robust in-vacuum mechanism that can deliver granule flow ranging from a single particle to a line of particles at 150 per second, using different sizes and materials from the same apparatus.
Integrating interactive computer simulations into K-12 earth and environmental science

This paper discusses our work in progress aiming to explore how computer simulations can be integrated into the K-12 curriculum of Earth and Environmental science. Several interactive simulations using Netlogo, a multi-agent modeling environment, and Scratch, a visual programming software are being developed with steerable parameters and the corresponding output plots for students to manipulate and interpret the results, respectively. Here, we present two simulations we designed on water cycle and discuss how these may help students learn about the distribution of water and its continuous move in the ecosystem.
From HOW to WHAT to WHY: The search for educational utility

Educational technologists have moved from a unique concern with the how-to-do-its of behavior change (such as television, computers, and instructional delivery systems) to the inclusion ofwhat to teach. This expanded scope was encouraged and made possible by the pioneering work on measurable objectives.
A Fractionated Space Weather Base at L5 using CubeSats and Solar Sails

The Sun–Earth L5 Lagrange point is an ideal location for an operational space weather forecasting mission to provide early warning of Earth-directed solar storms (coronal mass ejections, shocks and associated solar energetic particles). Such storms can cause damage to power grids, spacecraft, communications systems and astronauts, but these effects can be mitigated if early warning is received. Space weather missions at L5 have been proposed using conventional spacecraft and chemical propulsion at costs of hundreds of millions of dollars. Here we describe a mission concept that could accomplish many of the goals at a much lower cost by dividing the payload among a cluster of interplanetary CubeSats that reach orbits around L5 using solar sails.
Modulation of Thecal Progesterone Secretion by Estradiol-17β

The effects of estradiol-17s on progesterone secretion by isolated bovine theca interna were studied. Preparations of theca interna were obtained from preovulatory follicles of Holstein heifers (n = 5) prior to the endogenous LH surge and cultured for 3 days in a defined medium containing various concentrations of estradiol (0, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, or 10 μg/ml). Secretion of progesterone by control theca was low during the first 24 h of culture and increased steadily during the subsequent 48 h. The lowest concentration of estradiol (0.001 μg/ml) significantly stimulated thecal progesterone production, while higher concentrations (0.1,1, and 10 μg/ml) significantly inhibited secretion of progesterone. Estradiol content of the follicular fluid of these preovulatory follicles and several others (n = 13) averaged 1.5 μg/ml ± 0.1 (SEM). It is concluded that bovine theca interna is capable of secreting progesterone, that high intrafollicular concentrations of estradiol may inhibit thecal progesterone production in vivo prior to the LH surge, and that estradiol concentration may be be an important modulating factor in the control of follicular progesterone secretion.
Optimal Sampling Frequency for Wearable Sensor Data in Arthroplasty Outcomes Research. A Prospective Observational Cohort Trial.

Abstract Background Wearable sensors can track patient activity after surgery. The optimal data sampling frequency to identify an association between patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and sensor data is unknown. Most commercial grade sensors report 24-hour average data. We hypothesize that increasing the frequency of data collection may improve the correlation with PROM data. Methods Twenty-two total joint arthroplasty (TJA) patients were prospectively recruited and provided wearable sensors. Second-by-second (Raw) and 24-hour average data (24Hr) were collected on 7 gait metrics on the 1st, 7th, 14th, 21st, and 42nd days postoperatively. The average for each metric as well as the slope of a linear regression for 24Hr data (24HrLR) was calculated. The R2 associations were calculated using machine learning algorithms against individual PROM results at 6 weeks. The resulting R2 values were defined having a mild, moderate, or strong fit (R2 ≥ 0.2, ≥0.3, and ≥0.6, respectively) with PROM results. The difference in frequency of fit was analyzed with the McNemar’s test. Results The frequency of at least a mild fit (R2 ≥ 0.2) for any data point at any time frame relative to either of the PROMs measured was higher for Raw data (42%) than 24Hr data (32%; P = .041). There was no difference in frequency of fit for 24hrLR data (32%) and 24Hr data values (32%; P > .05). Longer data collection improved frequency of fit. Conclusion In this prospective trial, increasing sampling frequency above the standard 24Hr average provided by consumer grade activity sensors improves the ability of machine learning algorithms to predict 6-week PROMs in our total joint arthroplasty cohort.
Myeloblastic leukemia cells conditionally blocked by myc-estrogen receptor chimeric transgenes for terminal differentiation coupled to growth arrest and apoptosis

Conditional mutants of the myeloblastic leukemic M1 cell line, expressing the chimeric mycer transgene, have been established. It is shown that M1 mycer cells, like M1, undergo terminal differentiation coupled to growth arrest and programmed cell death (apoptosis) after treatment with the physiologic differentiation inducer interleukin-6. However, when beta-estradiol is included in the culture medium, M1 mycer cells respond to differentiation inducers like M1 myc cell lines, where the differentiation program is blocked at an intermediate stage. By manipulating the function of the mycer transgene product, it is shown that there is a 10-hour window during myeloid differentiation, from 30 to 40 hours after the addition of the differentiation inducer, when the terminal differentiation program switches from being dependent on c-myc suppression to becoming c-myc suppression independent, where activation of c-myc has no apparent effect on mature macrophages. M1 mycer cell lines provide a powerful tool to increase our understanding of the role of c-myc in normal myelopoiesis and in leukemogenesis, also providing a strategy to clone c-myc target genes.
Synergistic population encoding and precise coordinated variability across interlaminar ensembles in the early visual system

Sensory stimuli are represented by the joint activity of large populations of neurons across the mammalian cortex. Information in such responses is limited by trial-to-trial variability. Because that variability is not independent between neurons, it has the potential to improve or degrade the amount of sensory information in the population response. How visual information scales with population size remains an open empirical question. Here, we use Neuropixels to simultaneously record tens to hundreds of single neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) and lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of mice and estimate population information. We found a mix of synergistic and redundant coding: synergy predominated in small populations (2-12 cells) before giving way to redundancy. The shared variability of this coding regime included global shared spike count variability at longer timescales, layer specific shared spike count variability at finer timescales, and shared variability in spike timing (jitter) that linked ensembles that span layers. Such ensembles defined by their shared variability carry more information. Our results suggest fine time scale stimulus encoding may be distributed across physically overlapping but distinct ensembles in V1.
Procalcitonin's Adjunct Role in the Diagnosis and Management of Pneumonia.

World Pneumonia Day will be observed this year on November 12, 2019, to raise awareness about pneumonia, a severe infection of one or both lungs. In the US, pneumonia (tied with influenza) is the 8th leading cause of death (1). Annually, approximately 4.9 million individuals receive a pneumonia diagnosis, and the economic burden to treat pneumonia is about $13.9 billion (2). Children <5 years old, the elderly (≥65 years of age), and minority populations are disproportionately affected by pneumonia (3). Individuals can develop pneumonia within their community, the hospital, healthcare facility (or shortly after being discharged), or while undergoing mechanical ventilation—hence, the terms community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)3, hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) (4). CAP is the leading cause of sepsis, “a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection injures its own tissue” (5). Bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites all can cause pneumonia; however, the majority of patients will not have a pathogen identified (6). It can be challenging to diagnose pneumonia when individuals present with parallel syndromes or diseases such as acute dyspnea, acute heart failure (AHF), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Furthermore, in individuals presenting with suspected pneumonia, it can be difficult to determine when to initiate and discontinue antibiotic therapy in the absence of microbial evidence of a causative pathogen. Procalcitonin has been proposed as an essential biomarker for the management of pneumonia in predicting admission to an intensive care unit, projecting mortality, and guiding antibiotic treatment (7, 8). Procalcitonin is the peptide precursor of calcitonin comprising 116 amino acids. Circulating procalcitonin concentrations are low in healthy individuals but significantly increased in bacterial compared with viral infections (9). Maisel et al. demonstrated the clinical utility of procalcitonin for guiding appropriate antibiotic treatment in patients with AHF. Adverse events …