cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 1960: Ginger consumption may delay the onset of prostate cancer

Ginger active components are widely known for being a potent antioxidant and recently as a potential anticancer agent. To date, the precise mechanism(s) for the antitumor effect of ginger is not well understood. An active chemical component of ginger, 6-gingerol, was recently shown to inhibit angiogenesis and tumorigenesis. In this study we investigated the role of ginger in prostate cancer growth and proliferation using PCa cell lines from African American (AA) and Caucasian American (CA) men. To that end, MDA-PCa 2b (AA), LnCap (CA) and PC-3 (CA) cells were treated with different concentrations of 6-gingerol or 6-shogaol for 24 hours and cell proliferations were measured by XTT assay. To determine the effect of 6-gingerol in cell signaling, cell lysates were assayed for β-arrestin 1 and 2 expression, MAP kinase and caspase activity by Western Blotting. The data demonstrated that 6-gingerol inhibits cellular proliferation and promotes apoptosis in both AA and CA PCa cell lines. These effects correlated with decrease in β -arrestin 2, not β -arrestin 1, expression and Akt phosphorylation but increased caspase activity. Taken together the data suggests that 6-gingerol inhibits PCa growth and promotes PCa apoptosis via a βarr-2/Akt-dependent mechanism. Since PC-3 cells do not express AR, the data likely indicates that 6-gingerol effect is independent of AR activation and PSA expression. Citation Format: Tonya S. Lane, Ricardo M. Richardson. Ginger consumption may delay the onset of prostate cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1960. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1960
Frank Tannenbaum: The Making of a Mexicanist, 1914-1933

On April 19, 1914—two days before the seizure of Vera Cruz by United States marines—North American radicals gathered at Carnegie Hall in New York City to protest the expected use of force against Mexico by the administration of Woodrow Wilson. One of the speakers, William (“Big Bill”) Haywood of the Industrial Workers of the World, threatened a nationwide general strike should the United States go to war against Mexico, and the crowd approved a resolution condemning any act of armed intervention. But the Mexican crisis was not the only issue that aroused the crowd at Carnegie hall. A second resolution was approved which denounced the imprisonment of a young immigrant called Frank Tannenbaum, who had recently been sentenced to a year in the penitentiary for participating in an illegal assembly. On March 4 — his twenty-first birthday — Tannenbaum had led an “army of the unemployed” into the Roman Catholic Church of St. Alphonsus on West Broadway and had demanded shelter. His arrest that night and subsequent trial had become a cause celebre among liberals and radicals who believed that he had been the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
Taming Hosted Hypervisors with (Mostly) Deprivileged Execution.

Recent years have witnessed increased adoption of hosted hypervisors in virtualized computer systems. By non-intrusively extending commodity OSs, hosted hypervisors can effectively take advantage of a variety of mature and stable features as well as the existing broad user base of commodity OSs. However, virtualizing a computer system is still a rather complex task. As a result, existing hosted hypervisors typically have a large code base (e.g., 33.6K SLOC for KVM), which inevitably introduces exploitable software bugs. Unfortunately, any compromised hosted hypervisor can immediately jeopardize the host system and subsequently affect all running guests in the same physical machine. In this paper, we present a system that aims to dramatically reduce the exposed attack surface of a hosted hypervisor by deprivileging its execution to user mode. In essence, by decoupling the hypervisor code from the host OS and deprivileging its execution, our system demotes the hypervisor mostly as a user-level library, which not only substantially reduces the attack surface (with a much smaller TCB), but also brings additional benefits in allowing for better development and debugging as well as concurrent execution of multiple hypervisors in the same physical machine. To evaluate its effectiveness, we have developed a proof-ofconcept prototype that successfully deprivileges ∼ 93.2% of the loadable KVM module code base in user mode while only adding a small TCB (2.3K SLOC) to the host OS kernel. Additional evaluation results with a number of benchmark programs further demonstrate its practicality and efficiency.
Fernerkundung einer Stadt als Mensch-Umwelt-System

Wo steht die urbane Fernerkundung heute? Ist sie bereits ein integraler Teil einer neuen, multidisziplinaren urbanen Geographie? Wie muss es in der Mitte des zweiten Jahrzehnts des 21. Jahrhunderts mit der urbanen Fernerkundung weitergehen? Reicht es aus, immer neuere und bessere Satelliten und Sensoren zu bauen oder brauchen wir ein anderes Verstandnis von raumlichen Informationen aus dem All? Renommierte Experten aus der methodischen sowie angewandten Fernerkundung sowie aus den Themenfeldern Geomatik, Stadtgeographie, Wirtschaftswissenschaften und Soziologie diskutieren Entwicklungen, Herausforderungen, Erwartungen und Visionen aus ihren fachlichen und personlichen Blickwinkeln heraus. Diese Perspektivenwechsel formulieren indirekt eine Zukunftsagenda fur die Fernerkundung in einem stadtgeographischen Kontext.
Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a relatively rare but potentially devastating entity that mainly affects young adults and children and represents between 0.5 and 1 % of all strokes (Saposnik et al., Stroke 42(4):1158–1192, 2011). Despite significant improvements in outcomes (Coutinho et al., Stroke 45(5):1338–1341, 2014), CVST is a heterogeneous stroke subtype that can be challenging to diagnose and effectively treat and, as a result, is still a significant cause of death and disability (Coutinho et al., Stroke 45(5):1338–1341, 2014; Ferro et al., Stroke 35(3):664–670, 2004). Anticoagulation is currently the mainstay of treatment (Coutinho et al., Cochrane Database Syst Rev (8):CD002005, 2011; Einhaupl et al., Eur J Neurol 17(10):1229–1235, 2010; Weimar, Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 14(1):417, 2014), but a multidisciplinary approach is usually required to achieve optimal outcomes. Expertise in neurologic diagnosis, medical/surgical management of intracranial hypertension and cerebral edema, neuro-endovascular therapy and critical care often places the neurosurgeon at the center of this multidisciplinary team. And as an integral part of this team, modern neurosurgeons must have an excellent understanding of this complex and interesting stroke subtype. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a basic review of CVST and its treatment with a focus on the role of systemic anticoagulation as a part of the overall treatment methodology. The specific objectives are to review the epidemiology and clinical significance of CVST, discuss the pathophysiology of CVST and its relation to clinical subtypes and potential treatments, provide evidence based review of modern treatment options for CVST with a focus on anticoagulation, offer a clinical algorithm for care of the CVST patient and highlight future directions for management of CVST. As awareness improves and more is known about how and why CVST affects certain groups, more can be done to prevent or eliminate CVST. The neurosurgeon is an integral part of the modern multidisciplinary approach to CVST and thus must maintain a high clinical awareness for CVST and be familiar with the use of anticoagulation and other treatment options for CVST.
Evidence for the Existence of Group 3 Terminal Methylidene Complexes

Terminal group 3 methylidene complexes are generated by thermolysis of monoanionic PNP-supported scandium and yttrium dialkyl complexes. The reaction mechanism has been probed by deuterium-labeling experiments and DFT calculations. Abstraction of a γ-hydrogen from one alkyl group by the other affords a metallacyclobutane that undergoes [2 + 2] cycloreversion, analogous to a key step in the olefin metathesis reaction, to generate a methylidene complex and isobutene. The resulting methylidene complex dimerizes in the case of scandium and decomposes to a mixture of products in the case of yttrium.
Hardware acceleration of feature detection and description algorithms on low-power embedded platforms

Image features are broadly used in embedded computer vision applications, from object detection and tracking to motion estimation and 3D reconstruction. Efficient feature extraction and description are crucial due to the real-time requirements of such applications over a constant stream of input data. High-speed computation typically comes at the cost of high power dissipation, yet embedded systems are often highly power constrained, making discovery of power-aware solutions especially critical for these systems. In this paper, we present a power and performance evaluation of three low cost feature detection and description algorithms implemented on various embedded systems (embedded CPUs, GPUs and FPGAs). We show that FPGAs in particular offer attractive solutions for both performance and power and describe several design techniques utilized to accelerate feature extraction and description algorithms on low-cost Zynq SoC FPGAs.
Combination Chemistry: Structure–Activity Relationships of Novel Psychoactive Cannabinoids

Originally developed as research tools for use in structure–activity relationship studies, synthetic cannabinoids contributed to significant scientific advances in the cannabinoid field. Unfortunately, a subset of these compounds was diverted for recreational use beginning in the early 2000s. As these compounds were banned, they were replaced with additional synthetic cannabinoids with increasingly diverse chemical structures. This chapter focuses on integration of recent results with those covered in previous reviews. Whereas most of the early compounds were derived from the prototypic naphthoylindole JWH-018, currently popular synthetic cannabinoids include tetramethylcyclopropyl ketones and indazole-derived cannabinoids (e.g., AB-PINACA, AB-CHMINACA). Despite their structural differences, psychoactive synthetic cannabinoids bind with high affinity to CB1 receptors in the brain and, when tested, have been shown to activate these receptors and to produce a characteristic profile of effects, including suppression of locomotor activity, antinociception, hypothermia, and catalepsy, as well as Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-like discriminative stimulus effects in mice. When they have been tested, synthetic cannabinoids are often found to be more efficacious at activation of the CB1 receptor and more potent in vivo. Further, their chemical alteration by thermolysis during use and their uncertain stability and purity may result in exposure to degradants that differ from the parent compound contained in the original product. Consequently, while their intoxicant effects may be similar to those of THC, use of synthetic cannabinoids may be accompanied by unpredicted, and sometimes harmful, effects.
Particle Filtering-Based Target Tracking in Binary Sensor Networks Using Adaptive Thresholds

Target tracking in wireless sensor networks with constrained resources is a challenging problem. In this paper we consider scenarios where sensors sense an object of interest and process the received measurements using adaptive thresholds to obtain quantized data in the form of two levels. The data are quantized to address resource constraints in sensor networks. The processed data are then sent to a fusion center which resolves the tracking problem by means of a particle filter which can handle non-linearities in the state model. The performance of various strategies for threshold adaptation is studied by computer simulations and the results reveal that improvement is obtained over scenarios with fixed thresholds.
Subwavelength diffractive acoustics and wavefront manipulation with a reflective acoustic metasurface

Acoustic metasurfaces provide useful wavefront shaping capabilities, such as beam steering, acoustic focusing, and asymmetric transmission, in a compact structure. Most acoustic metasurfaces described in the literature are transmissive devices and focus their performance on steering sound beam of the fundamental diffractive order. In addition, the range of incident angles studied is usually below the critical incidence predicted by generalized Snell's law of reflection. In this work, we comprehensively analyze the wave interaction with a generic periodic phase-modulating structure in order to predict the behavior of all diffractive orders, especially for cases beyond critical incidence. Under the guidance of the presented analysis, a broadband reflective metasurface is designed based on an expanded library of labyrinthine acoustic metamaterials. Various local and nonlocal wavefront shaping properties are experimentally demonstrated, and enhanced absorption of higher order diffractive waves is experimentally shown for the first time. The proposed methodology provides an accurate approach for predicting practical diffracted wave behaviors and opens a new perspective for the study of acoustic periodic structures. The designed metasurface extends the functionalities of acoustic metasurfaces and paves the way for the design of thin planar reflective structures for broadband acoustic wave manipulation and extraordinary absorption.
Activation of monocytes through FcRγ-signaling promotes IL-33-dependent migration into the lung interstitium (HYP7P.270)

The development of Type 2 responses, such as those seen in asthma, has been significantly associated with IL-33. Previously, we demonstrated that allergen-specific IgG immune complex (IC) signaling through FcγRIII on IL-33 sufficient DCs induced Type 2 allergic airway inflammation. These data suggested that IL-33 -/- mice, which had diminished Type 2 responses in the lungs, had a defect in APC function. For this study, we focused on monocytes and CD11b + monocyte-derived DCs (moDCs) as they were shown to have the highest levels of FcγRIII expression, antigen uptake, and IL-33 upregulation. Notably, there was a significant reduction in the numbers of monocytes and CD11b + moDCs in the lungs of IL-33 -/- mice compared to WT mice after IC sensitization, although no defect was observed at baseline. Using intravascular staining to identify cell localization, we demonstrated that antigen uptake of ICs promoted migration of monocytes from the lung vasculature to the lung interstitium in an FcγRIII- and IL-33-dependent manner. Functionally, failure of monocyte migration during IC-mediated Type 2 inflammation led to reduced eosinophilia in the lungs. Overall, our findings suggest that during sensitization, activation of FcγRIII in monocytes promotes migration into the interstitium in an IL-33 dependent manner, and that this migration is essential for the development of Type 2 responses in the lungs during allergic airway inflammation.
Doxazosin Inhibits MCP-1 Directed Migration of Human Monocytes

P65 Monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) - directed transendothelial migration of monocytes plays a key role in the early development of atherosclerosis. Migration requires degradation of extracellular matrices, a process that involves matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMP). Recent studies suggest that the alpha1-adrenergic receptor (alpha1-AR) antagonist doxazosin (Dox) might have antiatherosclerotic effects by inhibiting proliferation and migration of vascular cells. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of Dox on MCP-1 directed monocyte migration, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 regulation, and to identify signalling pathways mediating these processes. MCP-1 (50ng/ml) stimulated migration of human peripheral blood monocytes (HPBM) by 2.8 +/-0.7 fold and of THP-1 human monocytes by 7 +/- 2.7 - fold (both p<0.05 vs. unstimulated cells). Dox inhibited MCP-1 induced migration in a dose dependent manner, with a maximal reduction at 10μM of 50.8 +/- 1.9% in HPBM and 73.5 +/- 3.2 % in THP-1 cells (both p<0.01 vs. MCP-1 alone). Dox blocked migration even after pretreatment with phenoxybenzamine (PBA), an irreversible alpha1-AR antagonist (THP-1 cells: PBA 1μM + Dox 10μM: 76 +/- 11.6% inhibition, p<0.01 vs. MCP-1 alone), suggesting that the antimigratory activity of Dox is mediated through a novel mechanism unrelated to its blocking the alpha1-AR. Pretreatment of monocytes with SB203580 (10μM), a p38 MAPK inhibitor, also attenuated MCP-1 directed migration ( HPBM: 55.3 +/- 0.3% inhibtion; THP-1 cells: 55.4 +/- 13.9% inhibition, both p< 0.05 vs. MCP-1 alone), indicating that activation of this pathway is required for migration towards MCP-1 by these cells. Dox (10μM) inhibited MMP-9 activity by 62% +/- 3.15% (p<0.05) measured by ELISA, whereas MMP-9 protein levels were not affected. Dox also increased phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) induced TIMP-1 expression, which may account for its inhibition of MMP activity. The present study demonstrates a potential novel antiatherosclerotic action of Dox by blocking MCP-1 directed-monocyte migration, mediated, in part, through an inhibtion of MMP-9 activity and upregulation of TIMP-1 production.
Classical Conditioning of “Hypnotic” Arm Movement

According to a classical conditioning view of hypnosis, responses used as criteria of hypnosis should develop via classical conditioning without the necessity for hypnotic induction. This hypothesis was tested by having experimental subjects first experience one trigram (e.g., “bex”) in conjunction with heavy objects and another trigram (e.g., “pob”) in conjunction with light objects. Control subjects had the trigrams associated with rough and smooth tactual stimuli in a random manner. The test for conditioning was an adaptation of standard arm lowering and levitation procedures. During the test, the subject was instructed to imagine one trigram in the left hand and the other trigram in the right hand. Objective bilateral arm movement in the conditioned direction, subjective reports of feelings of heaviness and lightness, and qualitative characteristics of experimental subjects’ behavior led to the conclusion that hypnotic behavior was conditioned to the trigram.
Carbon nanodots crosslinked photoluminescent alginate hydrogels

Alginate hydrogels are commonly used in biomedical applications and these hydrogels are usually prepared by ionic or covalent crosslinking. This study reports a new synthesis route for preparing photoluminescent alginate hydrogels using amine functionalized carbon nanodots (CNDs). CNDs with amine functional groups have been synthesized from ortho, para, and meta phenylenediamine by using the solvothermal method. The nanodots display yellow, red, and blue color when excited with a UV light with the wavelength of 365 nm. Amine groups on the CNDs form chemical crosslinks with alginate chains leading to the formation of a crosslinked network. The sol-to-gel transition has been monitored by using in situ shear rheometry. The CNDs crosslinked hydrogels maintain their fluorescent activity in a phosphate-buffered saline solution for a prolonged duration. Stable hydrogels with photoluminescent activity will have potential applications in metal ions sensing, drug delivery, and other biological applications.
Active Learning in Systems Courses: (Abstract Only)

Research shows the benefit of using active learning in computer science education; however, only limited resources (such as, prior publications) exist for systems courses (including architecture, networking, operating systems). This BoF brings together practitioners of various levels of experience to discuss ways to augment or replace traditional lecturing. We will discuss different techniques, possible materials available, and results measured. This BoF should benefit both instructors considering adopting techniques and instructors looking to discuss issues with their usage.
The Changing Treatment Landscape for Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma

Urothelial carcinoma is the predominant histologic type of bladder cancer. After 30 years of minimal progress in the treatment of advanced-stage disease, recent advances in the genomic characterization of urothelial cancer and breakthroughs in bladder cancer therapeutics have rejuvenated the field. Nivolumab, pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, durvalumab, and avelumab are among the exciting recent novel therapeutic advances gaining approvals by the FDA for treatment of advanced-stage urothelial carcinoma. Yet the challenge for clinicians is to determine the optimal choice of agents as first-line or second-line therapy and which offers the best chance for overall survival for the individual patient in this rapidly changing field.
Psychological and behavioral assessment in mental retardation

Standardized testing using norm-based instruments is central to educational evaluation and intelligence testing of persons with mental retardation. Treatment planning for these clients often hinges on a careful functional assessment in which behavioral deficits and excesses are identified, problematic contexts studied, and interventions planned to address these needs in an ecologic context. Persons with mental retardation benefit from ongoing assessment in which treatment informs evaluation and vice versa.
Basal reproductive hormonal profiles are altered in endurance trained men

OBJECTIVE The purpose was to examine the basal reproductive hormonal profiles in age-matched groups of endurance trained (ET) and sedentary (SED) men under controlled conditions. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Resting basal blood samples were obtained from groups of ET and SED men after a 24-hr control period. Blood specimens were analyzed for testosterone (T), free-testosterone (fT), sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG), luteinizing hormone (LH), cortisol, and prolactin. The design of the study was retrospective and cross-sectional in nature. SETTING Laboratory setting at the University of North Carolina, North Carolina USA. PARTICIPANTS ET men (n = 53) who had been involved with chronic endurance exercise training for > or = 5 years. SED men (n = 35) were selected of comparable ages and the fact that they had done no formal exercise training. RESULTS Results indicated that the basal T and fT of the ET men were significantly (p 0.05) were found between the ET and SED men. CONCLUSIONS ET men have lowered basal T and fT levels and this suppression may be related to an alteration in the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular regulatory axis since the LH of the ET was not elevated. Whether these hormonal changes have any significant beneficial (i.e., protective cardiovascular) or negative (i.e., decrease anabolic-androgenic processes) physiologic consequences remains to be determined.
Proceedings of the 12th ACM SIGSOFT twelfth international symposium on Foundations of software engineering

This volume contains the 25 research papers and abstracts for keynote addresses that were presented at the 2004 ACM SIGSOFT Twelfth International Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering (FSE-12). The symposium was held on November 2-4, 2004 in Newport Beach, California. The International Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering is a forum for presenting new research results that address challenges in developing software systems. It draws on work from academic, government, and industry research organizations. The symposium is open to a wide range of topics and research methods, but it only accepts papers that are judged to clearly present significant, relevant, and correct results. The research papers were selected by the program committee from 170 submissions. Each paper was reviewed by at least three program committee members and many received additional reviews. A two-day committee meeting was held in Edinburgh, Scotland where all papers were considered; the selection of papers to be presented at the symposium was made at that time by the committee as a whole. Comments from reviewers were returned to all authors of submitted papers. The program chair and general chair thank Debra A. Brodbeck for her extensive organizational and publicity work, Ginger Ignatoff, Donna Baglio and Erin Dolan for providing support from the ACM, Lisa Tolles at Sheridan Printing for making proceedings arrangements, and Richard van de Stadt for his prompt and flexible administration of CyberChair.
Kittens, Mathematical Blackjack, and Combinatorial Codes

Can coding theory help you be a better gambler? Do unexpected combinatorial patterns (called Steiner systems) arise naturally in codes? This chapter attempts to address these types of questions. (The books by Assmus and Key (Designs and Codes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1992) and Conway and Sloane (Sphere Packings, Lattices and Groups, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin, 1999) do into more detail in these matters and are highly recommended.)
Responding to Unsolicited Medical Requests from Health Care Professionals on Pharmaceutical Industry-Owned Social Media Sites: Three Pilot Studies

Background: The use of social media has risen tremendously over the past decade with usage rates spanning from 5% American adults in 2005 up to 69% in 2016. A 2011 survey of 4033 clinicians found that 65% physicians use social media for professional purposes. To meet the changing needs and preferences of their customers, medical information departments within the pharmaceutical industry must continue to assess new digital channels such as social media and evolve their medical information services. Objective: The objective of the study was to pilot the use of social media as an additional channel to respond to unsolicited medical requests from health care professionals (HCP RUR) directed toward the pharmaceutical industry. Methods: From November 2016 to June 2017, 3 pilots were conducted during 3 professional congresses: the 2016 American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting, the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, and the 2017 American Headache Society Annual Scientific Meeting. For each social media account, an identified community manager monitored the incoming account feed for proper triaging of posts. When an unsolicited medical request appeared, the community manager routed the question to the Tier One medical information contact center agents to respond. The following metrics were collected: total number of unsolicited requests directed to medical information contact center agents, total number of unsolicited requests that required escalation to Tier Two medical information associates, total number of unsolicited requests that were confirmed US HCPs, total number of unsolicited requests received after hours, and total number of unsolicited requests that were redirected to a different channel. Results: During the 3 pilots, 9 unsolicited medical requests were received with request numbers ranging from 2 to 4 requests per pilot. Of these, 1 was from a confirmed US HCP that required escalation to the Tier Two medical information associates. A majority of requests (7 out of 9) came in after the scheduled monitoring hours. There were 4 requests redirected to the medical information contact center phone number. The marketing accounts received more unsolicited medical requests than the corporate accounts (7 vs 2, respectively), and the 3 Twitter accounts saw more overall engagement (ie, medical requests and other general engagement) than the LinkedIn account. Conclusions: A limited number of medical questions were asked by confirmed HCPs using social media during the 3 pilots. New innovative medical information contact center channels often take time to build awareness. Continued channel awareness is needed to fully understand the channel’s desired use. Because consumers currently make up a majority of social media engagement, companies should look into creating a combined consumer and HCP RUR strategy to provide a better experience for all customers.
Analytical Study on the Torsional Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Beams Strengthened with FRCM Composite

AbstractIn this study, an analytical approach was used to predict the full torsional response of RC beams strengthened with externally bonded fiber-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) composite. ...
Can food safety shortfalls disrupt ‘Ag for Nutrition’ gains? Evidence from Eid al-Adha

Abstract The international health community has stressed the need to raise consumption levels of animal-source foods in developing countries. Development programs based on so-called ‘agriculture for nutrition’ strategies emphasize the importance of smallholder livestock production to achieve these goals. While much of the literature has highlighted the high nutritional potential of such foods, little attention has been paid to infrastructural deficiencies for handling and processing animal-source foods, particularly meat. Such shortfalls in food safety have the potential to counteract some health gains, especially if renewed efforts to increase animal consumption are not combined with improved processing capacity. The spike in meat consumption among Muslims worldwide on Eid al-Adha provides a natural experiment to test the extent to which such food safety concerns are justified. Meat processing on this holiday often exceeds the capacity of formal slaughter and processing infrastructure, and thus provides an excellent opportunity to observe the implications of a rapid intensification of meat production and consumption across several countries. Using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from countries in Africa and Asia, we estimate the impact of this holiday on the incidence of diarrheal illness among children. Eid al-Adha provides a plausibly exogenous source of variation in home or informally sourced meat consumption among Muslims, a natural comparison group (Non-Muslims) and independence from seasonal influences (the holiday follows the lunar Islamic calendar). We find that relative to non-Muslims, diarrhea morbidity increases for Muslim children following Eid al-Adha by 18 percent. No such similar increase is found on Eid al-Fitr, a similarly important Muslim holiday without extensive home slaughter. These findings reinforce the importance of food safety concerns in livestock sector interventions.
Three Dimensions of Social Media Messaging Success by Environmental NGOs

Studies show that NGOs persist in using social media to impart unidirectional messages rather than taking advantage of the participatory nature of networked media. Fear of a loss of message control...
ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE EBB SIDE AND FLOOD SIDE OF TIDAL ESTUARIES AS A FACTOR IN HARBOR LOCATIONS

In a previous paper presented at the Second Conference on Coastal Engineering concerning the environmental aspects of harbors, mention was made of the fact that owing to the differences between the ebb and flood side of an estuary, the ebb side presented certain advantages which might make it the more suitable location for a harbor. No expanded discussion was attempted at that time, but the problem seemed to be of sufficient interest to warrant further study.
Psychological Assessment of Handicapped Adolescents

This article calls attention to the current need for systematic diagnostic assessment in the secondary schools. The social organizational pressures of the secondary schools and the limited professi...
Stop Them in Their Tracks: Migration Policies, Drug Markets, and Terrorism

Do migration policies shape the drug-terrorism nexus? A narrow empirical scholarship shows that drug trafficking heightens the rate of terrorism. To date, however, scholars have not investigated ho...
Acute fulminant hemolysis after transcatheter mitral valve replacement for mitral annular calcification.

Transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) is emerging as an alternative treatment strategy to surgery for patients with severe mitral annular calcification (MAC) who are not candidates for traditional mitral valve surgery. Paravalvular leak (PVL) is common following TMVR for severe MAC and can lead to heart failure symptoms and/or intravascular hemolysis, the latter of which usually is clinically stable. We report the case of a 67-year-old woman with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis and mitral stenosis with MAC in the setting of prior chest irradiation who was treated initially with transcatheter aortic valve replacement followed by TMVR at a later date (Sapien S3 system; Edwards Lifesciences). Immediately following TMVR, she developed acute profound hemolysis which manifested with hemoglobinuria, transfusion-dependent anemia, and acute renal failure requiring renal replacement therapy. She was treated with post-dilation balloon valvuloplasty after failed transcatheter PVL closure 10 days following TMVR with resulting improvement in the PVL. The hemolytic anemia resolved and renal function recovered without the need for continued hemodialysis 2 months later and stabilization of glomerular filtration rate at 6 months. This case highlights a potential severe complication of TMVR in MAC and suggests that improvement in hemolysis and late recovery of renal function may occur following treatment of PVL.
Perceptions of Mobile Apps for Smoking Cessation Among Young People in Community Mental Health Care: Qualitative Study

Background Young adults with serious mental illness are over twice as likely to have tobacco use disorder than those in the general population and are less likely to utilize proven treatment methods during quit attempts. However, little research has evaluated the efficacy of interventions for this group. Smartphone apps may be an underutilized tool for tobacco use disorder among young adults with serious mental illness. Objective The aim of this study was to explore attitudes toward smoking cessation apps and preferences regarding app design in young adult smokers with serious mental illness. Methods Five focus groups involving 25- to 35-year-old adults with serious mental illness receiving treatment at a community mental health center were conducted between May 2019 and August 2019. Three researchers independently coded transcripts and identified themes using thematic analysis. Results Participants (n=22) were individuals who smoke daily: 10 (46%) self-identified as female, 18 (82%) self-identified as White, and 9 (41%) had psychotic disorders. Key themes that emerged included a general interest in using health apps; a desire for apps to provide ongoing motivation during a quit attempt via social support, progress tracking, and rewards; a desire for apps to provide distraction from smoking; concerns about app effectiveness due to a lack of external accountability; and concerns that apps could trigger cravings or smoking behavior by mentioning cigarettes or the act of smoking. Conclusions Apps have the potential to support smoking cessation or reduction efforts among young adults with serious mental illness. However, they may require tailoring, optimization, and clinical support to effectively promote cessation in this population.
Trace2TAP: Synthesizing Trigger-Action Programs from Traces of Behavior

Two common approaches for automating IoT smart spaces are having users write rules using trigger-action programming (TAP) or training machine learning models based on observed actions. In this paper, we unite these approaches. We introduce and evaluate Trace2TAP, a novel method for automatically synthesizing TAP rules from traces (time-stamped logs of sensor readings and manual actuations of devices). We present a novel algorithm that uses symbolic reasoning and SAT-solving to synthesize TAP rules from traces. Compared to prior approaches, our algorithm synthesizes generalizable rules more comprehensively and fully handles nuances like out-of-order events. Trace2TAP also iteratively proposes modified TAP rules when users manually revert automations. We implemented our approach on Samsung SmartThings. Through formative deployments in ten offices, we developed a clustering/ranking system and visualization interface to intelligibly present the synthesized rules to users. We evaluated Trace2TAP through a field study in seven additional offices. Participants frequently selected rules ranked highly by our clustering/ranking system. Participants varied in their automation priorities, and they sometimes chose rules that would seem less desirable by traditional metrics like precision and recall. Trace2TAP supports these differing priorities by comprehensively synthesizing TAP rules and bringing humans into the loop during automation.
Sonar target representation using two-dimensional Gabor wavelet features.

This paper introduces a feature extraction technique that identifies highly informative features from sonar magnitude spectra for automated target classification. The approach involves creating feature representations through convolution of a two-dimensional Gabor wavelet and acoustic color magnitudes to capture elastic waves. This feature representation contains extracted localized features in the form of Gabor stripes, which are representative of unique targets and are invariant of target aspect angle. Further processing removes non-informative features through a threshold-based culling. This paper presents an approach that begins connecting model-based domain knowledge with machine learning techniques to allow interpretation of the extracted features while simultaneously enabling robust target classification. The relative performance of three supervised machine learning classifiers, specifically a support vector machine, random forest, and feed-forward neural network are used to quantitatively demonstrate the representations' informationally rich extracted features. Classifiers are trained and tested with acoustic color spectrograms and features extracted using the algorithm, interpreted as stripes, from two public domain field datasets. An increase in classification performance is generally seen, with the largest being a 47% increase from the random forest tree trained on the 1–31 kHz PondEx10 data, suggesting relatively small datasets can achieve high classification accuracy if model-cognizant feature extraction is utilized.
Internal Control Systems on Financial Accountability in National Public Secondary Schools in Kenya

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of internal control systems on financial accountability in national public secondary school in Kenya. The specific objectives were; to evaluate the effect of control environment on financial accountability, to determine the effect of control activities on financial accountability, to ascertain the effect of risk assessment on financial accountability to examine the effect of information and communication on financial accountability and to assess the effect of monitoring on financial accountability in national public secondary schools in Kenya. However, accountability is still wanting in some public secondary schools. The study was carried out in 103 national public secondary schools in Kenya. Survey research design was used on a population of 309 consisting of; 103 principals, 103 bursars, 103 BOM chairs. Purposive and simple random sampling were used to select principals, bursars and BOM chair. Primary data was collected by use of questionnaires, while secondary data was collected through audited financial statements. Reliability of the research instruments was tested through Cronbach’s Alpha. Descriptive statistics comprised of frequencies; means, standard deviation and variance. Inferential statistics comprised of; Correlation analysis, ANOVA, regression analysis, testing for normality, autocorrelation and multicollinearity. The dimensions of internal control systems were found to have a significant joint effect on financial accountability. It was therefore recommended that the government should ensure that BOM have accounting knowledge and should be appointed based on integrity and ethical values. Segregation of duties should be strengthened with clear roles of the principal, bursar, other BOM members, storekeeper and other employees. Authorization of activities should be mandatory. Impromptu checks of ongoing projects and approved expenditure should be frequently done. The government should employ all principals and bursars on contract basis renewable only based on financial accountability. The government should interlink the schools bank accounts to a central accounting information system. The government should ensure through independent checks that the budgets and other financial statements are complete, reliable and correct. There should be frequent external audits by county auditors. JEL: H52; H75; I10 Article visualizations:
A prospective study to determine the clinical utility of pharmacogenetic testing of veterans with treatment-resistant depression.

Background:Pharmacotherapies for depression are often ineffective and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is common across bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and post-traumati...
Critical care outcomes in COVID-19 patients on long-term corticosteroids for coexisting conditions: Does age matter?

Introduction: Current literature shows benefit of steroid treatment for 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) but there is scarcity of data about outcomes in COVID-19 patients on chronic corticosteroids for comorbid conditions. We aim to evaluate the critical care outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients on chronic corticosteroids for coexisting conditions. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review within our hospital network to identify COVID-19 patients on chronic corticosteroids for coexisting diseases. We collected data on patient characteristics and critical care outcomes. Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and on corticosteroids (equivalent of Prednisone > 5 mg daily) for at least 30 days prior to COVID-19 diagnosis met inclusion criteria. We excluded patients less than 18 years of age and patients treated as an outpatient. The means and frequencies of patient characteristics and critical care outcomes were calculated utilizing SPSS version 26. P-values were calculated through chi-square and Fisher exact test as indicated. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 948 charts were reviewed and 139 met inclusion criteria. Patients were divided into elderly (> 65 years) and non-elderly (< 65 years) groups. Median age amongst the elderly was 79 years (range 65-97 years) and 58 years (range 19-64 years) amongst the non-elderly. A significantly higher proportion of patients in the elderly group were Caucasian and nursing homes residents while the non-elderly group had a higher proportion of obese patients. There were no additional statistically significant variations between other characteristics, the proportion of patients admitted to the ICU or in the complications they subsequently suffered during hospital course (Table 1). Significantly more patients from the non-elderly group received steroids, vasopressors (p=0.03) and mechanical ventilation (p=0.03);however, the mortality was high in both groups of ICU patients (p=0.30). When comparing overall mortality, there was a significantly larger proportion of patient deaths in the elderly group (35.0% vs 7.6%, p= 0.001) and the hospital stay duration was significantly less (8.5 vs 11.7 days, p=0.04). These results contributed to fact that the elderly were sicker on admission and died shortly after limiting their access to critical care and overall admission length. Conclusion: Our data shows that COVID-19 patients on chronic corticosteroids have higher mortality rates than the general population, and identifies elderly, obese, non-Caucasians and those requiring critical care support as high risk groups. Therefore, our study supports current literature that advocates cautious use of chronic corticosteroids when only clinically necessary.
A psychometric model for respondent-level anchoring on self-report rating scale instruments

Among the various forms of response bias that can emerge with self-report rating scale assessments are those related to anchoring, the tendency for respondents to select categories in close proximity to the rating category used for the immediately preceding item. In this study we propose a psychometric model based on a multidimensional nominal model for response style that also simultaneously accommodates a respondent-level anchoring tendency. The model is estimated using a fully Bayesian estimation procedure. By applying this model to a real test data set measuring extraversion, we explore a theory that both response styles and anchoring might be viewed as evidence of a lack of effortful responding. Empirical results show that there is a positive correlation between the strength of midpoint response style and the anchoring effect; further, responses indicative of either anchoring or response style both negatively correlate with response time, consistent with a theory that both phenomena reflect reduced respondent effort. The results support attending to both anchoring and midpoint response style as ways of assessing respondent engagement.
Parasitic Resistance Reduction for Aggressively Scaled Stacked Nanosheet Transistors

An analysis of NanoSheet (NS) transistor parasitic resistance components is presented and correlated to the resistance readout on Si wafers. With this model, it is possible to identify which components cause the parasitic resistance increases as CPP (contacted poly-Si pitch) further scales from 48 nm to 44 nm pitch. In this study, an alternative MOL (middle of line) metallization scheme is implemented to reduce circuit RC delay. This model helps to further reduce the transistor parasitic resistance from NFET/PFET S/D (source/drain) epitaxy or silicide. As CPP scales, NS PFET parasitic resistance reduction is more challenging and requires optimization in S/D epitaxy, silicide and metallization. Based on parasitic resistance modeling, we present a new wrap-around contact structure which eliminates the vertical epi resistance component, hence reducing overall device resistance.
Silicon-29 echo train coherence lifetimes and geminal 2J-couplings in network modified silicate glasses.

Abstract The natural abundance 29Si echo-train coherence lifetimes in network-modified silicate glasses were examined under static and magic-angle spinning (MAS) conditions. The nuclear magnetic properties of modifier cations were found to play a major role in determining 29Si coherence lifetimes, leading to differences as large as three orders of magnitude. In compositions with abundant NMR active nuclei, such as alkali silicates, the 29Si coherence lifetimes are dominated by coherent dephasing due to residual heteronuclear dipolar couplings, whereas in compositions dilute in NMR active nuclei, such as alkaline earth silicates, the 29Si coherence lifetimes are dominated by incoherent dephasing due to paramagnetic impurities. Expressing the inverse of the coherence lifetime as a residual full width at half maximum (FWHM), we found that increasing rates of both MAS and a π-pulse train are effective in removing the residual 29Si heteronuclear broadenings, with a near-linear relationship between FWHM and MAS rotor period and π-pulse spacing. Based on these results, we conclude that accurate 29Si J coupling measurements will be the most challenging in lithium silicate glasses due to strong homonuclear dipolar couplings among 7Li nuclei, requiring MAS speeds up to 100 kHz, and be the least challenging in the alkaline earth silicate glasses. At a modest MAS speed of 14 kHz , distributions of geminal J couplings across Si-O-Si linkages were measured in alkali and alkaline earth silicate glasses giving mean values of 4.2 Hz and 5.1 Hz in 0.4 CaO·0.6 SiO2 and 0.33 Ba2O·0.67 SiO2 glasses, respectively, and 5.2 Hz and 5.3 Hz in 0.33 Na2O·0.67 SiO2 and 0.33 K2O·0.67 SiO2 glasses, respectively. We also observe greater variance in the J distributions of alkaline earth silicate glasses consistent with greater structural disorder due to increased modifier cation potential, i.e., the charge-to-radius ratio, Z / r of the cation.